L*ck Me If You Can-Chapter 59

Startled by her blunt comment, Koi quickly denied it.

“W-what? A jalapeno? It’s not that bad!”

That was the strongest rebuttal he could muster, but of course, it didn’t land with Ariel. She snorted, flipping her ponytail back over her shoulder with a flick.

“You should be grateful it’s even that much. Our squad doesn’t even let in pepperoncinis, for god’s sake.”

That meant this situation was truly an exception. Everyone had laughed about it, but for them, it had been serious. Ariel continued.

“There was a lot of internal pushback before we agreed to let a guy join. A ton of debate. But what could we do? Five people quit in a row. In that context, it made sense.”

“Five? Not just two?”

Koi looked shocked, and Ariel let out a short gasp, covering her mouth with one hand. For a moment, there was a strange, tense silence—then she sighed and gave up.

“Yeah. Five. That was supposed to be a secret.”

She gave him a look: You’re part of the team now, so keep your mouth shut. Then she went on.

“No one wants to join cheer anymore. If our numbers keep dropping like this and we disband, what are we supposed to do? We can’t let that happen.”

Her expression was more serious than ever as she added forcefully,

“That’s why you need to pull your weight. Got it?”

She jabbed him hard in the chest with her index finger, eyes narrowing sharply.

“If you screw up, I will come for you.”

“A-alright.”

Koi staggered back and nodded instinctively, intimidated by her energy. Ariel gave a satisfied nod and brushed past him, pulling her car keys from her pocket. When she hit the button, the trunk of the car parked out front popped open. She turned and barked,

“Load up the bike.”

“Huh?”

Still dazed, Koi blinked at her. She was already heading to the driver’s seat.

“I’m giving you a ride. So hurry up and get it in.”

“Uh...”

He didn’t even have a chance to reply before she slid into the car. Koi scrambled to pull the new bike toward the trunk.

“I-I can get home on my own.”

“Just get in. I’m tired.”

She snapped as she buckled her seatbelt. Koi hurried to lift the bike in and then opened the passenger door.

“Th-thank you.”

“Buckle up.”

Chewing gum, Ariel started the engine and smoothly backed out of the garage. With one hand on the wheel, she hit the remote on the sun visor to close the garage door, then turned out of the neighborhood with practiced ease. Koi sat beside her in a daze as the car rolled toward his house. His tears had completely dried without him even noticing.

*

Ariel’s car reached Koi’s neighborhood in no time. He asked her to pull over on the side of the street. After carefully lifting the bike from the trunk and setting it down, he turned to the driver’s side and thanked her.

“Thanks, Elle. Um... is it okay if I call you Elle?”

Ariel shrugged.

“You’re not my friend, but I’ll allow it. Just while we’re in the same squad.”

“Oh... okay.”

Koi suddenly wondered—did being on the squad make him Ariel’s friend, even just a little?

But he didn’t ask. She started driving again, blowing a bubble with her gum. Koi stood there watching her car disappear, then turned around. The new bike felt unbelievably light, but his steps toward home were heavier than ever.

Ariel had dropped him off at the exact spot where Ashley had once done the same. As the memory returned, the sorrow he’d managed to forget for a little while came flooding back.

He found himself wondering—had he imagined what he heard yesterday? But no, he knew. It hadn’t been a dream or a misunderstanding.

His nose stung again as he fought off another wave of tears and made his way to the familiar motorhome. As always, the lights were off. He stepped into the cramped, empty space and washed up, then crawled into bed.

Curled up tightly, he closed his eyes—and surprisingly, fell asleep right away. Koi slept deeply, dreamless.

*

When Ashley woke up in the morning, he was in a foul mood. No—truthfully, he’d already hit rock bottom before he even fell asleep. He’d spent almost two hours searching but never found Koi. In the end, he had no choice but to go home.

I should’ve at least figured out where he lived...

The regret hit too late. Now, all he could do was go to school and ask Koi directly what had happened.

That anxious morning, he woke earlier than usual and got ready for school immediately. It was the only way he might see Koi—assuming he didn’t skip.

He wouldn’t ditch school... right?

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Ashley gripped the steering wheel and muttered to himself. If Koi really didn’t show up, something was definitely wrong. Something serious.

You’re okay, right, Koi?

His anxiety mounted. One hand on the wheel, the other running through his hair, Ashley cursed how far the school felt this morning.

*

“Ash!”

As usual, Bill spotted him first. Ashley forced down the irritation from his lack of sleep and gave a half-hearted slap to Bill’s raised hand.

“What’d you do yesterday? You look wiped.”

Bill’s tone was casual, but Ashley barely responded.

“Nothing much.”

“Oh... yeah?”

Bill sensed something was off and quickly changed the subject, babbling about his dog, homework, and other meaningless stuff. Ashley replied mechanically, his mind entirely elsewhere.

“Ugh...”

He rubbed his eyes and Bill asked,

“You okay? Something wrong?”

“No, just...”

Ashley’s voice trailed off as °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° a burning sensation flared behind his eyes.

“It’s nothing.”

The pain had started a while back, but it had gotten worse recently. He figured it was from the lack of sleep, but today it was bad enough to really bother him. For a moment, he considered skipping practice and going to the eye doctor—but he already knew what they’d say: nothing’s wrong.

Guess I’ll just use more eye drops.

He thought of the prescription he’d gotten before and kept walking. Near the lockers, their usual crowd had already gathered, laughing and chatting. Bill greeted them first, and as they turned to wave, Ashley looked up—and froze.

Through the noisy crowd, he caught a glimpse of the person he’d been searching for.

It was only for a second. But Ashley didn’t miss it. Even in a crowd of a million, he would’ve found Koi instantly. Because out of all those people, Koi was the only one who stood out so clearly.

“Hang on.”

He tossed the words over his shoulder and pushed through the students without waiting. The group behind him watched as Ashley made a beeline for Koi and started talking to him. They exchanged uncertain glances. The conversation changed, but a vague discomfort lingered in everyone’s thoughts.

*

Koi had arrived at school earlier than usual, riding the new bike Ariel had given him the night before. Unlike his old bike—heavy, slow, constantly leaking air—this one was light and smooth. He figured it could easily last another ten years.

He parked it carefully and made his way to his locker—but stopped when he spotted the hockey team gathered nearby.

Panicked, he shrank into himself and tried to stay out of sight. Luckily, it looked like Ashley wasn’t there yet. Koi hurried to grab his things and get away. He opened the locker and hid behind the door, quickly stuffing books into his bag. As he slammed the door shut, a shadow suddenly fell over him.

“Koi.”

“Ah!”

Koi screamed unintentionally, head snapping up in shock—and met the last face he wanted to see.

Ashley.

Koi’s mind went blank.

“Koi.”

Ashley said his name again, his expression serious.

“Can we talk for a second?”

The hallway was loud and bustling, but for some reason, it felt like there was a bubble of silence around them. Koi swallowed hard and looked up.

There was no way to run from this.

“...Okay.”

The moment the word left his mouth, Ashley slung an arm around his shoulder and strode forward. Koi had no choice but to stumble along, half-running to keep up.