LOVE ME MORE

CHAPTER FIVE:MIDNIGHT FOOLS

Kai stared at the door, his pulse still uneven

For half a second, every worst-case scenario flashed through his mind.

Something had happened.

A problem with the championship

Maybe Professor Eleanor Whitmore had finally lost patience with their constant fighting and decided to remove them from the competition altogether.

The thought made his stomach twist.

He swung his legs off the bed yanking open the door.

Adrian stood in the dimly lit hallway, hands in his coat pockets, looking infuriatingly composed

Kai frowned immediately.

“What happened?”

Adrian’s expression was unreadable.

“Come with me.”

“What?”

“Now.”

Kai’s irritation sharpened.

“It’s almost midnight.”

“Yes, I’m aware.”

“Then explain.”

“I’ll tell you when we get there.”

Kai folded his arms.

“No.”

Adrian exhaled, impatient.

“Kai.”

“No. You don’t get to show up at my door acting mysterious and expect me to blindly follow you.”

For a moment, Adrian said nothing.

Then his voice dropped,

“It concerns the championship.”

Kai froze.

His scholarship.

His future.

The pressure weighing on his chest all evening tightened instantly.

“What about it?”

Adrian’s eyes held his.

“If you care about staying in the competition, come with me.”

Kai hesitated.

Every instinct told him this was suspicious.

Adrian was many things—cold, arrogant, impossible—but dramatic secrecy wasn’t one of them.

And there had been something off about his tone.

Something tense.

Kai clenched his jaw.

“Fine.”

He stepped into the hallway, pulling the door shut behind him.

“Lead the way.”

A faint flicker of something unreadable crossed Adrian’s face.

Then he turned and began walking.

---

The academy corridors were eerily silent at night.

The usual daytime noises had faded into heavy stillness.

Only the soft echo of their shoes broke the quiet.

Kai followed several paces behind Adrian, growing more irritated with every passing minute.

Neither of them spoke.

Adrian simply kept walking with that same calm, deliberate stride Kai had always hated.

Finally, after what felt like forever, Kai snapped.

“Are you planning to explain where we’re going?”

“No.”

Kai glared at the back of his head.

“Then why exactly am I here?”

“You’ll see.”

Kai clenched his fists.

He hated vague answers.

He hated Adrian’s infuriatingly calm tone.

And he especially hated that he’d let himself get dragged out of bed because of four stupid words.

If this turned out to be nothing, Kai swore

Adrian suddenly stopped.

Kai nearly walked into him.

“What now?”

Adrian turned slightly, his expression unreadable.

“We’re here.”

Kai frowned.

They stood outside the old west courtyard.

The most isolated part of Ravenscroft Academy.

At night, it looked almost abandoned.

Moonlight spilled across cracked stone pathways and overgrown ivy-covered walls.

The iron gate creaked softly in the wind.

Kai looked around.

There was no one else there.

No teachers.

Nothing.

His suspicion sharpened instantly.

“Why are we here?”

Adrian didn’t answer.

Instead, he stepped aside and gestured toward the center of the courtyard.

Kai followed his line of sight.

And froze.

There, hanging from the academy fountain, was a massive white banner.

Painted across it in bold black letters were the words:

KAI BENNETT RAVENSCROFT’S MOST DEVOTED ADMIRER OF ADRIAN VALE

For one full second, Kai’s brain refused to process what he was seeing.

Then his face went hot.

His eyes widened.

And finally—

“What.”

Adrian was silent.

Kai turned slowly.

The corner of Adrian’s mouth twitched.

Then, to Kai’s absolute disbelief—

Adrian laughed.

Not his usual quiet exhale of amusement.

An actual laugh.

Low, brief, and undeniably real.

Kai stared at him in horror.

“You—”

The pieces clicked into place all at once.

The mysterious midnight knock.

The urgent tone.

The dramatic secrecy.

This.

This was the serious problem.

Kai’s jaw dropped.

“You absolute psychopath.”

Adrian’s expression settled into faint amusement.

“I thought it was creative.”

Kai looked back at the banner.

His soul physically left his body.

“How long has that been there?”

“About twenty minutes.”

“You did this?”

“No.”

Kai narrowed his eyes.

“Then who?”

Adrian tilted his head.

“Take a guess.”

Kai’s stomach dropped.

“Ethan.”

Adrian said nothing.

Which was answer enough.

Kai made a strangled sound somewhere between rage and disbelief.

“You dragged me out of bed for this?”

Adrian folded his arms.

“Technically, I warned you there was a serious problem.”

“This is not a serious problem!”

“It is for your dignity.”

Kai looked ready to combust.

“You think this is funny?”

Adrian’s lips curved slightly.

“Yes.”

Kai had never wanted to throw someone into a fountain more in his life.

“This was your idea.”

“It was Ethan’s.”

“You participated.”

“I approved it.”

“That’s the same thing!”

Adrian shrugged.

“Not exactly.”

Kai stared at him.

Something about Adrian’s composure—his obvious amusement, his complete lack of remorse—made fury flare hot in Kai’s chest.

Because this wasn’t just teasing.

This was humiliation.

And Adrian knew exactly how much the gossip already irritated him.

He’d used that.

On purpose.

“You unbelievable jerk.”

Adrian arched an eyebrow.

“That’s mild for you.”

“Don’t test me.”

“What will you do?”

Kai stepped closer.

“Plenty.”

Adrian didn’t move.

Moonlight caught sharply against his pale features, illuminating the faint smirk still lingering on his face.

It only made Kai angrier.

“You know what your problem is?” Kai snapped.

Adrian regarded him coolly.

“Enlighten me.”

“You think everything is some game.”

Adrian’s amusement dimmed slightly.

“This was a joke.”

“At my expense.”

“You’ll survive.”

“That’s not the point.”

Adrian’s expression hardened.

“Then what is?”

Kai opened his mouth—

And stopped.

Because suddenly he wasn’t sure.

It wasn’t just the prank.

It was everything.

The constant superiority.

The mockery.

The way Adrian always seemed to find some new way to get under his skin.

And maybe what made it worse was the fact that Kai had actually believed him.

For one stupid moment, he’d thought Adrian was serious.

That maybe, just maybe, they’d reached some kind of reluctant understanding.

That the midnight knock had meant something important.

Instead, Adrian had just wanted to laugh at him.

Kai’s fists clenched.

“You know what?” he said tightly. “Forget it.”

He turned sharply toward the banner.

With one violent yank, he tore it free from the fountain.

The fabric ripped loudly.

Good.

He hoped Ethan cried over it.

Adrian watched in silence.

Kai crumpled the banner into a tight ball and shoved it against Adrian’s chest.

“Give this back to your cousin.”

Adrian caught it easily.

“And tell him if he tries anything like this again, I’ll personally launch him off the bell tower.”

A faint spark of amusement returned to Adrian’s eyes.

“I’ll pass along the message.”

Kai glared.

Then, without another word, he turned and stormed back toward the gate.

Behind him, Adrian’s voice rang out.

“Kai.”

He stopped.

Against his better judgment, he turned.

Adrian stood exactly where he’d left him.

Still composed.

Still infuriating.

But now there was something sharper in his expression.

Almost challenging.

“You came awfully fast for someone who claims not to trust me.”

Kai froze.

Heat rushed to his face.

Adrian noticed.

And smiled.

It wasn’t a warm smile.

It was smug.

Victorious.

Like he’d just found the perfect way to make this worse.

Kai’s eye twitched.

“You are insufferable.”

“Yet you followed me.”

“You said it was about the championship.”

“And you believed me.”

The teasing edge in Adrian’s voice made Kai’s blood boil.

“That says more about your gullibility than my acting.”

That did it.

Kai marched back toward him.

Fast.

Adrian barely had time to register what was happening before Kai shoved him hard.

Not enough to hurt.

Just enough to send him stumbling backward into the fountain’s stone edge.

Adrian caught himself quickly, eyes flashing with genuine surprise.

For one glorious second, Kai felt satisfied.

Then Adrian straightened slowly.

And something in his expression shifted.

The amusement was still there.

But now it carried a dangerous edge.

“Oh,” Adrian said softly.

Kai’s stomach dropped.

That tone never meant anything good.

Before he could react, Adrian moved.

Fast.

He grabbed Kai’s wrist, twisted sharply, and pulled.

Kai lost his balance completely.

The next thing he knew, freezing water exploded around him.

The fountain.

He was in the fountain.

For half a second, all he could do was sputter in stunned disbelief.

Then he looked up.

Adrian stood at the edge, staring down at him.

And he was laughing again.

Actually laughing.

Kai had never hated anyone more.

“You—”

He scrambled upright, drenched and furious.

Adrian took one look at him and made the fatal mistake of smirking.

Kai lunged.

Adrian dodged.

Barely.

Kai grabbed the front of his coat instead.

Momentum carried both of them sideways.

There was a sharp splash.

And suddenly Adrian was in the fountain too.

Silence.

Water dripped.

Both of them froze.

Then Kai slowly turned.

Adrian was staring at him in complete disbelief, soaked from head to toe.

Kai blinked.

And then—

He laughed.

He couldn’t help it.

The sound burst out before he could stop it.

Adrian looked utterly offended.

Which only made it worse.

Kai laughed harder.

“This is your fault.”

Adrian’s eyes narrowed.

“You pulled me in.”

“Self-defense.”

“That’s not how that works.”

“It does tonight.”

For one bizarre moment, neither moved.

The moon reflected off the water around them.

Their breathing was uneven.

And despite himself, Kai noticed something strange.

Adrian looked… different like this.

Less perfectly composed.

His dark hair was soaked and falling messily across his forehead.

His usual cold precision was gone, replaced by visible irritation.

It should have been satisfying.

Instead, it felt oddly

No.

Kai cut the thought off immediately.

Absolutely not.

Adrian noticed him staring.

“What?”

Kai scowled.

“Nothing.”

Adrian studied him for a moment.

Then his lips curved slightly.

“What?”

Kai narrowed his eyes.

“That expression.”

“What expression?”

“The one you make when you’re losing an argument with yourself.”

“I’m not losing anything.”

“Mm.”

Kai splashed water directly at his face.

Adrian recoiled.

“Kai.”

“Oops.”

Adrian stared.

Then very deliberately scooped up water in both hands.

Kai’s eyes widened.

“Don’t you dare—”

Too late.

A wall of freezing water hit him squarely in the face.

The courtyard erupted into chaos.

By the time they finally climbed out of the fountain, both were soaked, exhausted, and glaring again.

Kai crossed his arms tightly against the cold.

“This changes nothing.”

Adrian adjusted his drenched coat.

“Obviously.”

“I still hate you.”

A beat of silence.

Then Adrian said, almost thoughtfully—

“Yes. I know.”

Something about the way he said it unsettled Kai.

Before he could respond, footsteps echoed suddenly through the courtyard.

Both turned sharply.

Then a voice called out

“Who’s there?”

Kai’s stomach dropped.

That voice belonged to Headmaster Lucian Blackwood.

And he was getting closer.

Adrian’s eyes widened fractionally.

For the first time all night, he looked genuinely alarmed.

Then he grabbed Kai’s wrist.

“Run.”