CHAPTER NINE_Quiet Protection
644 Words
CHAPTER NINE
Quiet Protection
LILY POV
The week started normally.
Or at least, as normal as things could be at Blackthorn.
I was beginning to learn the small routines of the school now.
Where people walked faster.
Where people always gathered.
Which corridors were quieter between classes.
It made things easier.
A little.
I still didn’t fully feel like I belonged anywhere, but I also wasn’t completely lost anymore.
That was progress, I guess.
---
It happened during break time.
I was walking through the hallway with my books when a group of boys stepped into my path.
Not aggressively.
Just casually.
Like they were used to stopping people.
“Hey,” one of them said, smiling. “You’re the new Vale girl, right?”
I slowed slightly.
“…Yes.”
Another one laughed. “Didn’t know Asher had a sister.”
Stepsister.
The word still felt a little strange, even when I heard others say it.
I adjusted my grip on my books. “Do you need something?”
The first boy smiled wider. “We just wanted to say hi.”
It sounded harmless.
But I still felt uncomfortable.
I took a small step back without meaning to.
And that’s when I saw him.
Asher.
He was at the end of the hallway.
Not rushing.
Not reacting immediately.
Just looking.
At them.
At me.
The air felt different for a second.
Not tense exactly.
Just… paused.
One of the boys noticed him first and immediately straightened slightly.
“Oh,” he said under his breath. “Vale’s here.”
Asher walked closer.
Slow.
Calm.
Like nothing about the situation mattered.
But his eyes didn’t leave the group.
He stopped beside me.
Not in front of me.
Just beside.
And said nothing for a moment.
Then he spoke.
“Class starts in two minutes.”
That was it.
The boys shifted immediately.
“Oh—yeah, we’re going,” one of them said quickly.
They left faster than they arrived.
No argument.
No explanation.
Just gone.
I watched them leave, a little confused.
Then I looked at Asher.
“…They were just talking,” I said quietly.
He glanced at me briefly.
“Mm.”
That was his only response.
Then he turned slightly like he was about to leave too.
But before he did, he added—
“Don’t stop in the hallway like that again.”
I frowned. “I wasn’t doing anything wrong.”
He didn’t answer.
Just walked ahead.
Like the conversation didn’t need continuation.
---
Later that day, I saw Damien again in the cafeteria.
He waved me over when he spotted me alone.
“Hey, Lily,” he said, pushing a chair out for me.
I sat down slowly. “Hi.”
He looked around briefly. “You’re getting more comfortable here?”
“I think so,” I admitted.
He smiled lightly. “Good. Blackthorn eats people alive if they stay lost too long.”
That made me laugh a little.
Not much.
But enough to surprise me.
We talked for a while.
Normal things.
Classes.
Teachers.
Random school gossip.
It was easy with him.
Too easy in a way I didn’t think too deeply about.
---
I didn’t notice Asher at first.
Not until I felt it.
That shift again.
When I looked up, he was standing near the cafeteria entrance.
Looking at us.
At me.
Damien noticed him too and raised a hand casually.
“Yo.”
Asher didn’t respond.
He just looked for a second longer.
Then he turned away.
And left.
Damien blinked slightly. “Huh. That was quick.”
I watched the direction he left for a moment.
Then looked back at my food.
“…Yeah,” I said quietly.
But I didn’t know why that felt slightly different from before.
Like something had changed.
Even if I couldn’t explain what.
- Writer
