L*ck Me If You Can-Chapter 7

I can't take it anymore.

Koi clenched his teeth, his bloodshot eyes flashing with frustration. His condition was a mess from staying up all night—though that was due to another assignment—and he couldn't think rationally. More than anything, Ashley Miller had been driving him insane for days.

To pull a scam on me with such a fresh-faced smile.

In his mind, Ashley Miller was already a traitor of the highest order. If he didn’t show up and hand over his part of the assignment immediately, no excuse would be enough to quell his anger.

But in reality, Koi couldn't even see him, let alone confront him. Emails were ignored, the messages he sent went unanswered, and though fury bubbled inside him, there was nothing he could do. As a last resort, he stationed himself in front of the lockers before class, waiting for Ashley’s usual group. If anyone knew what had happened to him, it had to be them.

When the opportunity finally came, what he heard from them was entirely unexpected.

“Ashley’s sick?”

Startled, Koi’s voice shot up without him realizing it. One of the guys in the group gave a nonchalant shrug.

“Yeah, just a cold or something. He’ll get better after some rest. Why?”

“Oh... Nothing. ...Thanks.”

Muttering hastily, Koi turned and walked away as if fleeing the scene, guilt creeping into his gut.

Was it because he gave me his jacket...?

That was the only explanation he could think of. Ashley hadn’t come to school since that day, and now he had a cold—it was undeniable proof.

“Is he really sick?”

He asked hesitantly, but the reply was just a dismissive shrug.

“He’ll be back when he’s better. Why? You need to see him?”

“Uh...”

The unexpected question made Koi hesitate. If he said that Ashley had caught a cold because of him, what would happen? No one was going to praise Ashley for it—that much was certain.

If anything, I'd just get bullied even more.

The chilling thought made Koi shake his head violently.

“No, nothing. Forget it. Thanks, see you.”

He blurted out his words and left in a hurry. As he ran, he glanced back briefly. The group was walking away, chatting among themselves, not even sparing him another thought.

"Phew."

Leaning against a wall, Koi let out a shaky breath and closed his eyes. See? Living like a speck of dust, invisible to everyone, was the best. Those guys had probably already forgotten his face. He was sure of it.

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Anyway, whatever. It was unfortunate that Ashley was sick, but Koi had bigger problems—his assignment. How was he supposed to deal with this? Lost in thought, he headed to his next class, a deep frown on his face.

Of course.

Things had been going too smoothly. He should’ve known better. The assignment he had arrogantly assumed would go off without a hitch had taken a drastic turn. He was used to this by now. Even in his short life, nothing had ever gone according to plan.

But it's just a damn assignment.

Did it really have to be this complicated? The thought alone made him furious. He wanted to hurl a string of expletives at the world, but his lack of practice in swearing only frustrated him more. Why the hell can't I even curse properly?

After a brief moment of self-loathing, Koi took a deep breath and calmed down. This wasn’t the time to sulk. He needed to find a solution—fast.

It didn't take long for him to make a decision. He felt bad that Ashley was sick, but there was no way he could finish the assignment alone. He had too many other subjects piling up already. At the very least, he had to ask Ashley to do what he could.

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Once the decision was made, he acted immediately. Koi pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts. It wasn’t hard to find Ashley’s number—he barely had ten saved in total, including the one for his part-time job. And since Ashley’s name started with ‘A,’ it was right at the top.

Taking a deep breath, Koi pressed the call button before he could hesitate. As the dial tone rang, his heart pounded so violently that he had to take several deep breaths just to steady himself.

And finally, after what felt like an eternity, the voice on the other end answered.

“...Yeah.”

It was Ashley Miller.

The moment Koi heard his low, hoarse voice, his wildly beating heart froze for a second—only to start racing twice as fast. His breath caught in his throat, and he had to clamp a hand over his mouth to stop himself from making a noise.

A short silence passed before Ashley spoke again.

“...Hello? Who is this?”

His voice was heavy with exhaustion, unmistakably sick. Hearing it filled Koi with both guilt and a growing sense of urgency.

“Uh, hey. Hi. It’s Koi Niles from Spanish class. We’re partners for the assignment. We even discussed it at Green Bell, remember?”

His words tumbled out in an awkward rush, but Ashley didn’t respond right away.

“Ah...”

It was impossible to tell if that sigh was one of realization or exasperation. Koi pulled the phone slightly away from his ear, only to bring it back as he forced himself to speak again.

“I, um, I sent you emails and messages, but you didn’t reply. I heard you were sick—are you okay?”

“...Shouldn’t you be asking that first?”

Ashley’s voice was laced with sarcasm, hoarse and laced with irritation. But Koi knew it wasn’t because he was actually upset—it was just the typical crankiness of someone who was sick.

It wasn’t like they were close enough to actually care about each other. And it wasn’t like Ashley needed Koi’s concern—he probably had his gorgeous, popular girlfriend showering him with attention already.

Koi cleared his throat and got straight to the point.

“Uh, sorry about last time. I asked too many personal questions. I won’t do that again. But can we please finish the assignment?”

Ashley frowned slightly, then let out a half-hearted noise.

“...The assignment?”

His reaction was even more lackluster than Koi had expected. He knew Ashley wasn’t going to be as desperate about the project as he was, but he ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ hadn’t expected this level of indifference.

“Uh, yeah, we talked about it last time, remember? The research on Argentine food culture? I was doing coffee, and you were doing sandwiches. You, uh... You did your part, right...?”

Even to his own ears, his voice was embarrassingly weak. It was obvious that his confidence had completely disappeared. And as much as he hated how pathetic he sounded, there was nothing he could do about it.

Ashley sighed heavily and muttered.

“...I don’t know.”

“What?”

Koi’s eyes widened, but Ashley already seemed to have lost interest. He murmured in a dull, exhausted voice.

“It’s not even a mandatory assignment. Just wing it.”

“No, no, wait! Ash!”

Sensing that Ashley was about to hang up, Koi hurriedly tried to stop him. He heard a deep sigh from the other end of the line and instantly felt discouraged, but he couldn’t back down now.

Summoning every ounce of courage he had, Koi’s voice trembled slightly as he made one last plea.

“Fine, I’ll do the research. Just take care of a couple of chapters. I’ll handle the outline and the topic and everything, okay?”

Before Ashley could brush him off again, Koi added,

“I need this grade.”

A few seconds of silence passed. Please! He clenched his eyes shut, silently praying.

“...Not my problem.”

“Ash—”

Desperately, he called out, but the call had already been cut off.

Koi stared blankly at his phone screen.

Did he... really just hang up on me?

It was unbelievable—but it was the truth. The call was over.

He tried calling again, but this time, Ashley didn’t even pick up.

Despair settled in his gut.

Ashley had no intention of doing the assignment.