Ava POV
The walk back to the dorms felt peaceful for the first time all day. The cool breeze brushed against my face, and the leftover cheers from the field still echoed faintly somewhere behind us. I couldn't stop smiling, thinking about Axel — his grin, his teasing, that look he gave me before leaving with his friends.
I was still caught in that warm haze when I heard a voice behind me.
"Ava!"
I turned, startled. And then I froze.
"Ethan?"
Before I could even react, my older brother was already striding toward me, grinning from ear to ear, arms open. "Surprise, kiddo!"
He scooped me into a hug before I could say a word, lifting me slightly off the ground. I laughed, muffled against his chest. "What are you doing here?"
"Just passing through town," he said, setting me down but keeping an arm around my shoulder like always. "Thought I'd come check up on my little sister. Didn't think I'd catch her walking back from a baseball game though."
I smiled, still surprised. "You should've told me you were coming!"
"Where's the fun in that?" he said, smirking.
Before I could reply, a familiar sound drifted from behind us — loud laughter, familiar voices. My chest tightened instantly.
Axel.
I turned, and there he was — walking with Josh, Liam, and Luca, laughing about something, that lazy grin on his face that always made my stomach twist. But the moment his eyes found me, that grin froze.
His steps slowed.
His gaze dropped to the arm slung around my shoulders — Ethan's arm — and in that instant, his expression changed. Calm at first. Then dark. Controlled fury behind that beautiful calm.
Josh must've noticed it because I heard him mutter, "Oh boy."
Liam snorted quietly. "He looks like he's about to kill someone."
"Shut up," Axel said sharply without even looking at them. The words were quiet, but they sliced through the air like ice.
He started walking toward us, slower this time. Deliberate. Measured. Every step radiating a kind of quiet tension that made my heart beat way too fast.
Ethan noticed him now, turning his head slightly. "Who's that?" he asked, curious.
"Uh—" I began, but Axel was already there.
He stopped a few feet away, hands in his pockets, eyes flicking from Ethan's arm around me to my face. His voice came out low. "Mind telling me who he is?"
There was no anger in his tone, not directly — but the weight behind the question made Ethan's easy smile fade just a little.
"This is my brother, Ethan," I said quickly, stepping forward slightly, as if that could ease the tension building in the air.
Axel's eyes stayed on him for a long second before his jaw unclenched. "Brother," he repeated, his tone softening just a fraction. "Good to know."
Ethan's smile returned, polite but tighter now. "You must be Axel, then. I've heard the name."
Axel's brows lifted slightly. "Oh? And what exactly have you heard?"
The way he said it wasn't aggressive — just sharp enough to make Ethan straighten his back a little.
Ethan chuckled, trying to keep the moment light. "Just that my sister's been spending a lot of time with you lately. Thought I should see who she's been talking about."
"Talking about me, huh?" Axel said, and this time, his lips curved into that slow, dangerous grin that made my chest squeeze. "Interesting."
"Relax," Ethan said lightly, chuckling. "Big brother instincts, you know?"
Axel's grin didn't fade. "Oh, I get it," he said, his tone soft, casual — but the undercurrent of steel was unmistakable. "Just make sure those instincts know when to let her breathe."
Ethan blinked, his smile faltering a little. "Excuse me?"
"Ethan—" I started, panicking, but Axel didn't break eye contact.
"I mean," Axel continued, voice smooth as glass, "she's not a little girl anymore. She doesn't need to be watched every second." His head tilted slightly. "Especially when I'm around."
The way he said I'm around made Ethan's brows knit together. He crossed his arms. "And what exactly does that mean?"
"It means," Axel said, taking a small step forward, "that she's safe. With me."
The air between them went tense enough to cut through. Ethan's easy-going demeanor was gone now, his posture firm, protective. "Safe?" he repeated, eyes narrowing slightly. "I hope that's true. Because if it's not—"
Axel cut him off, his tone still calm but his gaze unwavering. "It is."
Neither of them moved. For a long second, they just stared at each other — two completely different types of strength colliding in the quiet dusk.
Then I stepped between them, exhaling sharply. "Okay, that's enough. Both of you."
Ethan blinked, finally breaking eye contact and letting out a short laugh. "Alright, alright. Didn't mean to start anything."
Axel's jaw unclenched again, and he ran a hand through his hair, muttering something under his breath that sounded like yeah, sure you didn't.
Ethan turned to me, pressing a quick kiss to my forehead. "I'll grab a cab to my hotel. You text me later, okay?"
"Yeah," I said softly, still caught between the tension that lingered in the air.
As Ethan walked away, Axel's eyes followed him for a moment longer — unreadable, stormy — before finally shifting back to me.
The look in them made my breath catch again. Controlled fury, jealousy, something rawer beneath it all.
And as the silence settled between us, I knew — he wasn't angry that Ethan was here. He was angry at how easily someone else had touched me.
That stupid, fluttery feeling came roaring back, stronger than ever.
The moment Ethan disappeared down the path, the air seemed to thicken. The breeze that had felt cool a minute ago was now heavy, warm, like the whole world was holding its breath.
Axel hadn't said a word. He just stood there, watching the direction my brother had gone, his jaw tight, shoulders tense, hands shoved into his pockets as if holding himself back.
I bit my lip. "You can stop glaring now," I said softly, trying to sound casual.
He didn't look at me. " I wasn't glaring."
"You were."
He exhaled sharply, finally turning his head. His eyes — those dark, stormy eyes — locked on mine, and my heart stuttered like it always did. "Who just walks up to you and hugs you like that?" he muttered, his voice low, rough. "Thought he was some guy from campus."
I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, some random guy I let pick me up off the ground. Totally makes sense."
He gave me a look. "You'd be surprised."
"Axel," I said, folding my arms. "He's my brother. You literally heard me say it."
"Yeah, well, I wasn't sure at first," he said, stepping closer. "And you didn't look in any hurry to clear it up."
My brows furrowed. "What is that supposed to mean?"
He tilted his head, his expression unreadable. "You looked... comfortable. Laughing. Smiling like that."
I blinked, thrown off by his tone — it wasn't teasing this time. It was honest. Vulnerable, even, buried under all that arrogance.
"Of course I was smiling," I said quietly. "He's family."
He studied me for a long moment, then huffed a quiet laugh, but there was no real humor in it. "You should've seen my face when he hugged you like that. I almost walked over before I even thought about it."
I couldn't help it — I laughed. "You? Jealous?"
He didn't smile. "You think that's funny?"
The words were so serious, so soft, that my laughter died instantly.
He took another step forward. My breath caught as the space between us disappeared again. "You think I like watching someone else touch you?" he said, voice barely above a whisper now.
My pulse picked up, racing. "Axel—"
"I know," he said, his jaw tightening. "But my head doesn't exactly care about logic when it comes to you."
That stupid feeling returned in full force — that heat in my stomach, the way my heart couldn't decide whether to stop or sprint. I looked down, unable to hold his gaze any longer. "You're ridiculous," I whispered.
His lips curved slightly. "Darling. But you like it."
"I don't."
He smirked. "Sure."
There was a moment of silence — heavy, electric — before I sighed.
He shrugged, completely unbothered. "He needed to know I'm around."
I groaned, covering my face. "You didn't just say that."
He laughed quietly, and when I peeked between my fingers, his expression softened just a little. "Relax. I wasn't gonna bite your brother."
"Could've fooled me," I muttered.
He stepped closer again, voice dropping low enough to make my stomach twist. "Maybe I didn't like seeing you in someone else's arms. Even for a second."
I swallowed. "You're impossible."
He grinned. "You said that before."
"And I meant it," I said, trying to sound annoyed, but my voice came out softer than I wanted.
He smirked, brushing a stray strand of hair behind my ear. "Maybe. But you didn't pull away."
My breath hitched at the warmth of his fingers against my skin. He tilted his head, eyes flicking down to my lips for half a second before meeting my gaze again.
"Guess that means you don't want to," he murmured.
I stared at him, heart pounding so hard it almost hurt. "Axel…"
"Hmm?"
"You're being—"
"What?" He leaned in slightly, his voice a low whisper that brushed against my skin. "Honest?"
I hated how easily he could turn everything into something that made me lose all sense of control.
I stepped back, trying to put space between us. "You're— you're impossible to deal with."
"Maybe," he said again, smiling lazily. "But you still deal with me."
I turned to walk toward the dorm entrance, trying to ignore the grin I could feel on his face.
He caught up easily, matching my pace. "So," he said casually, "your brother staying long?"
I glanced at him. "Not sure. Why?"
He smirked. "Just wanna know how many days I'll have to behave."
I shot him a glare, and he laughed, the sound soft but real this time.
And even though I wanted to be mad, the corners of my lips twitched.
Because no matter how much he drove me crazy, that stupid feeling wouldn't leave.
The kind that made my heart race just from hearing his voice.
The kind that made even his jealousy feel like something dangerous and intoxicating.
The kind that made me realize — I was already his, even before he ever said it out loud.