Aarvin walked slowly along the empty Oakridge path, hands tucked into his hoodie pockets, the cool night brushing against his skin.
But the cold didn't matter.
Nairi's voice was still warm in his ears.
Her smile.
Her questions.
Her quiet way of noticing things nobody else did.
He replayed every moment from the court —
every word she said,
every silence they shared,
every small spark that made his world feel a little less dark.
He didn't know what to call it yet.
But he knew he wanted more.
The path ahead was dim, lined with old lamps flickering like they were tired of trying.
Aarvin wasn't paying attention—
Until a shadow stepped forward.
Not Riyan.
Not Adrien.
Someone new.
Kade Walker.
His name floated around Oakridge like smoke —
dangerous without needing proof,
silent without needing explanations.
Tonight… he was blocking Aarvin's way.
"You're the younger Hale?" Kade asked, voice calm but edged.
Aarvin stiffened.
"Do I know you?"
Kade smiled slightly.
Not friendly. Not mocking.
Just… measuring him.
"No," he said. "But I know her."
Aarvin's stomach tightened.
"Nairi?"
Kade nodded once.
"So you understand why we're having this conversation."
He stepped closer — not threatening loudly, but threatening quietly.
"You've been spending time with her," Kade said.
"Talking. Meeting. Sitting with her."
Aarvin stayed silent.
"You're new," Kade continued.
"And new people usually don't understand how things work here."
Aarvin clenched his jaw.
"What are you trying to say?"
Kade's smirk faded.
"She's important to me."
Aarvin felt anger flicker — small but strong.
"So you're telling me to stay away?"
"I'm not telling you," Kade said.
"I'm warning you."
A chill shot down Aarvin's spine.
"But she decides who she talks to," Aarvin said slowly.
"Yes," Kade replied.
"She decides."
He paused.
"But I decide what happens to people who get too close."
His tone wasn't loud.
But it was sharp enough to cut through 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 still locked on Aarvin.
"I liked her first."
Not shouted.
Not dramatic.
Just truth.
"And I don't lose," Kade added as he walked past, brushing Aarvin's shoulder lightly.
Aarvin stood frozen.
Up on the old classroom balcony…
Adrien watched silently.
He saw the tension.
He saw the warning.
He saw the beginning of chaos.
"This… just got complicated," he muttered, disappearing into the shadows.
Aarvin finally exhaled — long, shaky, heavy.
Nairi's laughter from earlier echoed in his mind,
but now it mixed 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.
He didn't know what he was supposed to do next.
But he knew one thing:
For the first time in a long time…
he didn't want to run.
Not from her.
Not from this.
And especially —
not from himself.