L*ck Me If You Can-Chapter 26

They say when you talk about the devil, the devil appears. And sure enough, she did.

Koi watched as Ashley’s girlfriend walked toward them. She stopped a couple of steps away, scanning Koi from head to toe with an unreadable expression.

“Ash.”

Her voice was sweet as she turned to her boyfriend, a bright smile spreading across her face. Without hesitation, Ariel placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned up on her toes to kiss him. Her affectionate smile didn’t waver.

“I need to talk to you for a second. Is that okay?”

“I have class.”

Ashley didn’t look particularly eager. Though he had finally removed his chin from Koi’s head, his arms were still draped over his shoulders. Ariel glanced at them before shifting her gaze back to Ashley.

“Let’s have lunch together. How about it?”

“...Sure.”

The moment Ashley agreed, Ariel’s smile brightened. She kissed him once more before turning away.

Koi, who had been watching her retreating figure, lifted his head—only to find Ashley still staring after her.

“Uh, Ash?”

Koi called out hesitantly. Ashley blinked, snapping out of his daze, and finally lowered his gaze.

“You’re gonna be late for class.”

“Oh.”

Ashley mumbled as if just remembering.

“Right.”

He finally dropped his arms from Koi’s shoulders and started walking. Koi hurried to follow.

When he stole a glance up at Ashley’s face, it looked... serious—more so than usual.

*

By lunchtime, the usual energy around the ice hockey team felt off. Unlike their usual rowdy chatter, today, they were whispering among themselves, glancing toward a specific direction.

“What do you think they’re talking about?”

“Hold on, let me read their lips.”

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“No way she’s breaking up with him, right?”

“Why would they break up all of a sudden?”

“It’s not sudden.”

One of the guys lowered his voice.

“Ash doesn’t seem into Elle anymore.”

“What? Why?”

“That’s crazy. She’s literally the queen of the school.”

The hushed murmurs turned into suppressed gasps, but the guy continued.

“I heard Ashley and Elle haven’t seen each other much lately.”

“What? But we all hung out together before—are you saying they haven’t met since then?”

“I dunno. Just that they don’t see each other often. Apparently, Elle’s pissed about it.”

“What the hell is going on?”

As their curiosity grew, the guys turned to their next potential source of information.

“Koi, do you know anything?”

Bill, as if it were only natural, directed the question at Koi. The whole group turned to look at him.

Up until now, Koi had only been quietly listening to their conversation, but being put on the spot so suddenly caught him off guard.

“Uh... well, I don’t really know either.”

Half true, half false.

Koi wasn’t sure exactly when the last time Ashley and Elle had met was. But if the last time had been when Ashley had stopped by the shop where Koi worked to grab drinks for a party, then it had been quite a while since they had gone on a date.

After all, Ashley had spent the rest of summer break with Koi.

Of course, they usually met in the evenings after Koi’s shift, so it was possible that Ashley had spent his afternoons with Elle. But... somehow, Koi doubted that.

Still, it was hard to believe that Ashley had spent all that time with him instead of his own girlfriend. Even though it made the most sense.

Of course. There’s no way Ash would have chosen me over his girlfriend.

Koi tried to brush off the thought, but his gaze lingered on Ashley and Elle.

The two of them sat alone at a table, their faces unusually serious as they talked.

*

“So, what exactly kept you so busy?”

In a noisy corner of the cafeteria, Ariel sat with her arms folded just beneath her chest, her untouched food pushed aside. Her gaze bore into Ashley with an expression that practically screamed, Go ahead, give me an {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} excuse. I’ll tear it to shreds.

Ashley, however, had no intention of making excuses.

“I had a lot to do.”

His vague answer made Ariel raise an eyebrow. She was definitely pissed.

“You could’ve at least called.”

That was true. Ashley exhaled a slow sigh before admitting,

“Yeah. That was my fault.”

Ariel narrowed her eyes, clearly suspicious, before blurting out the question she had been holding back.

“You didn’t cheat on me, did you?”

“What?”

Ashley grimaced, his expression instantly souring. Ariel tilted her chin up playfully.

“Good, then.”

“Of course not.”

Ashley ground his teeth, visibly irritated that she had even thought to ask. He stabbed at a sad-looking vegetable on his plate with unnecessary force. Watching him sulk, Ariel let out a small hum before saying,

“Alright, I’ll believe you. But from now on, you better answer my texts right away. Got it?”

“Got it.”

“Good.”

Satisfied, Ariel finally relaxed and started eating her salad. As she did, Ashley asked,

“Nothing else happened, right?”

Ariel frowned, drizzling yogurt over her greens.

“Oh, something did happen. That’s why I wanted to talk to you so badly.”

“What is it?”

Ashley asked as she set down her empty yogurt container and turned to face him.

“There’s an opening on the cheerleading team.”

“What do you mean? They’re short on members?”

Ashley frowned. Ariel’s expression grew serious.

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“Exactly. We just barely filled the last spot when someone quit.”

He vaguely recalled hearing about a cheerleader getting injured before summer break. So they had found a replacement—only for another member to leave.

Ariel shot him a pointed look.

“Do you have any idea how stressed I’ve been? And you didn’t even pick up your phone or text me back.”

Ashley rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

Seeing his reaction, Ariel asked,

“You’re coming to the party, right?”

“What?”

Ashley looked up, and Ariel let out an exasperated sigh.

“The homecoming party. Did you forget?”

“Oh....”

Ashley finally remembered, trailing off. Ariel stared at him expectantly, refusing to let it go.

“Yeah, I’ll go.”

Only then did she drop the subject and return to eating. As she picked at her salad, Ashley bit into his sad excuse for a sandwich, thinking to himself.

Guess I need to buy a ticket.

*

“Ash!”

After walking Ariel back to her classroom, Ashley was heading back when he heard someone call him from behind.

Turning around, he spotted Koi running toward him. At the sight, Ashley’s face softened into a smile. He stayed where he was, waiting for Koi to catch up.

“Did things go okay with Elle?”

Koi asked once he reached him, slightly out of breath. Ashley started walking again as he replied,

“More or less.”

“That’s good.”

Koi nodded as he fell into step beside him. Looking down at Koi’s head, Ashley felt an overwhelming urge to drape himself over him again—to nuzzle his chin into Koi’s hair. He ignored the impulse and kept his eyes straight ahead as he spoke.

“They’re short on people for the cheerleading team.”

“What? Again?”

Koi’s voice came out louder than expected, making him flinch. He quickly followed up.

“Oh, um, I heard about it before. Someone got hurt, so they needed a replacement.”

You guys were talking about it in class before summer break.

Koi remembered the conversation now.

Ashley didn’t seem to think much of it and replied,

“Yeah. I guess the new person quit too.”

“That’s... a problem, right? The season’s starting soon.”

They had been trying to fill the spots before summer break so they could train properly. It would take time for a new member to adjust, which was why they had been in such a rush.

Ashley nodded.

“Yeah. Elle’s pretty stressed about it. I think she just needed to vent.”

Of course. That’s only natural. In times like these, the person she’d rely on most would be her boyfriend.

Koi understood that.

Which meant... he probably wouldn’t be spending much time with Ashley anymore.

The thought left him feeling strangely empty. He quickly shook his head, scolding himself.

Her boyfriend should be her priority. I should just be grateful he spent so much time with me over the summer.

“Haa.”

A deep sigh suddenly came from above him. Reflexively, Koi looked up and found Ashley with an uncharacteristically serious expression.

“Huh?”

Koi blinked in confusion.

Still looking straight ahead, Ashley murmured,

“Elle said she’d talk to the coach, but honestly, maybe they should just change the choreography.”

“Uh-huh...”

Koi had no idea about that kind of stuff, so he made a vague noise of agreement.

Hearing his uncertain response, Ashley narrowed his eyes and looked down at him.

“You’re not thinking about anything, are you?”

“Huh? Uh...”

Koi stammered, face turning red.

Ashley smirked knowingly before pretending to strangle him.

“Agh! Hey! That hurts!”

It didn’t hurt at all, but Koi flailed dramatically, whining.

Ashley’s laughter rang above him.

Koi found himself smiling too, hoping these moments would last.

At that moment, he still thought all of this had nothing to do with him.