Aarvin walked slowly along the empty Oakridge path, hands buried deep in his hoodie pockets. The night air nipped at his skin, sharp and indifferent, but he barely noticed. Every laugh, every word, every quiet smile from Nairi replayed in his mind—her attention, her warmth, the way she noticed the small details nobody else even saw. His chest tightened with a strange new feeling, one he didn't have a name for yet—but he knew he wanted more.
The path ahead stretched dim and uneven, old lamps flickering like exhausted sentinels. He didn't notice the shadow until it stepped forward. Not Riyan. Not Adrien. Someone new. Kade Walker. A name whispered through Oakridge like smoke—dangerous, controlled, untouchable. Tonight, he was blocking Aarvin's way.
"Younger Hale?" Kade's voice was calm, measured, sharp without raising its tone.
Aarvin stiffened. "Do I… know you?"
Kade smirked faintly, neutral, but all eyes felt measured under it. "No," he said. "But I know her."
Aarvin's stomach tightened. "Nairi?"
Kade nodded once, slow and deliberate. "Exactly. So you understand why we're talking." He stepped closer, movement controlled, threatening in subtle precision.
"You've been spending time with her," Kade continued. "Talking. Meeting. Sitting with her."
Aarvin remained silent.
"You're new," Kade said. "And new people rarely understand how things work here."
Aarvin clenched his jaw. "Then what are you trying to say?"
Kade's smirk softened into something sharper, colder. "She's important to me."
A flicker of anger ignited in Aarvin—small, but fierce. "So you're telling me to stay away?"
"I'm not telling you," Kade said evenly. "I'm warning you." A chill ran down Aarvin's spine, sharper than the night air.
"But she decides who she talks to," Aarvin said slowly, firmly.
"Yes," Kade replied, voice low and deliberate. "She decides. But I decide what happens to people who get too close." His words landed like steel on Aarvin's chest.
"I never wanted trouble," Aarvin whispered.
"You didn't want trouble," Kade said. "But trouble… always finds the Hales." He stepped back, eyes locked on Aarvin, unreadable but dangerous. "I liked her first." Not loud. Not dramatic. Just truth. "And I don't lose." He brushed Aarvin's shoulder lightly as he passed, a final, silent warning.
Up on the old classroom balcony, Adrien watched from the shadows. Silent, calculating. He saw the tension, the warning, the first sparks of chaos. "This… just got complicated," he murmured, disappearing into the night.
Aarvin exhaled slowly, long and shaky. Nairi's laughter echoed in his mind, mingling with Kade's threat. Oakridge wasn't going to let him have something good without a fight. Not when he was a Hale. Not when someone else wanted her too.
But for the first time in weeks, fear didn't grip him. A spark lit in his chest—quiet, fierce, unyielding. He didn't want to run. Not from her. Not from the danger. Not from himself.
And that was enough.
*To be continued…