L*ck Me If You Can-Chapter 44

“Ash, did you see that post?”

As soon as they got out of the car, Bill greeted him with a question. Ashley locked the door and started walking beside him.

“What post?”

“Knew it.”

Bill smirked like he’d expected that answer and quickly pulled out his phone, fingers flying across the screen. Ashley adjusted his bag and started walking again, raising a hand in greeting to a classmate across the lot—when Bill nudged his elbow.

“Dude, look, come on.”

“What is it?”

Ashley gave in to Bill’s insistence and took the phone he held out. He skimmed through the post on the message board and asked,

“Which part are you talking about?”

“Oh, come on.”

Bill, growing impatient, snatched the phone back and started reading aloud.

“‘I’m a high school guy. I recently made a friend, and he’s really amazing. He’s always kind and treats me really well.’”

The overly theatrical tone made Ashley chuckle in disbelief, but Bill didn’t stop.

“‘He’s the captain of the ice hockey team and incredibly good-looking. He’s the most popular guy at school but never acts cocky.’”

Up to that point, it just sounded like any old story. There were tons of hockey captains in the world, and plenty of them were popular. Saying someone was good-looking was subjective anyway. Ashley listened without much thought—until Bill raised his voice and read the next part.

“‘He’s also super smart—takes all AP classes and got a perfect score on his college entrance exams.’”

Huh?

Something about that part felt off. Sure, there were lots of students who took all AP classes, and some who scored perfectly on college exams. But the number of people who matched all those traits at once? That list got a lot shorter. And Ashley was one of them.

“Give me that for a sec.”

Ashley practically snatched the phone away from Bill, who was about to keep reading. Bill stood still, eyes darting as he watched Ashley scan the screen. Eventually, he couldn’t hold back anymore.

“Dude, that’s you, right? Come on, it’s you, isn’t it?”

Bill looked way too entertained. But Ashley said nothing, eyes fixed on the screen. Bill stared at him, surprised by the reaction. He’d expected Ashley to brush it off or laugh—but instead, Ashley was totally silent.

“Ash. Hey.”

At that, Ashley flinched and finally looked up. And when Bill saw his face, he froze too—Ashley’s cheeks were noticeably red.

“Wait, you—”

“There are plenty of hockey captains.”

Ashley cut him off and handed the phone back. Bill looked confused, but quickly caught up to walk beside him again.

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“Yeah, but come on. It’s not just that.”

He waved the screen again in front of Ashley.

“Look, it says the guy takes all APs and is super handsome. Crazy popular, too.”

“There are lots of guys like that.”

“Okay, but what about the perfect college exam score? Dude, even if there are lots of popular hockey captains with good grades, how many people match all that?”

Bill finally sounded genuinely frustrated. Ashley couldn’t exactly argue—he’d thought the same thing. So instead of answering, he just decided to stomp on the First Amendment.

“Don’t talk nonsense. Have you finished your assignments yet? Just ‘cause you play hockey doesn’t mean you can slack off on your GPA. College won’t be so forgiving.”

“Damn, just curse me out, why don’t you.”

Bill grumbled, clearly offended, but soon switched to another topic. As they walked side by side, Ashley nodded and replied out of habit—but not a single word registered. His head was still spinning with the post he’d just read.

My heart races and my face gets hot whenever I see him.

That single line echoed in his mind. As it hit him, he had to cover his mouth with his hand to stop himself from grinning. Ashley knew immediately. He knew it was Koi who had written the post. If he were alone, he would’ve screamed for joy and sprinted across the school field.

Koi likes me!

But he couldn’t celebrate. If this got out, Koi would be humiliated. He might even get bullied. The best thing to do now was to bury it fast. And to do that, he had to pretend he knew nothing. Ashley had to suppress every bit of excitement and keep cool. He wanted nothing more than to run up to Koi, kiss him breathless, and shout I like you too!—but he held back.

Don’t rush it.

Ashley tried to calm himself down. The most important thing was that Koi did like him—but didn’t realize it yet. The fact that he posted about it on some dumb site where clueless idiots spouted nonsense was proof enough. If ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) he knew what those feelings were, he’d never have done something like that.

So how do I get Koi to realize it?

That was the next dilemma. But if every problem could be this fun to solve, Ashley wouldn’t mind having a hundred more.

“Ah.”

He forced his mouth shut again just as it was about to break into another grin. Then he caught a glimpse of someone ducking behind a building.

Of course, Ashley didn’t miss it.

“Catch you later.”

“Huh? Hey, Ash!”

Bill shouted in confusion as Ashley gave him a light shove on the shoulder and jogged off—but Ashley was already halfway across the lot.

*

Huff... huff...

Koi leaned against the wall, breath ragged. Did he see me? He was nervous, but too scared to peek out and check.

He hadn’t slept a wink the night before trying to recover the password. When his dad came home, he’d hidden under the sheets, frantically typing away in the dark—but failed in the end. The post kept gaining views, and replies were flooding in, but he didn’t have the courage to read any of them.

What do I do!

He gave up and came to school, but his head was spinning with the thought of that post. Every student that walked by made him flinch. Do they use that site? Did they read it? Maybe they even commented...

His mind swirled with paranoia, heart pounding from the panic. He walked toward his locker, trying to keep a low profile.

And then—

“Gasp.”

He saw the last person he wanted to run into. That unmistakable, head-turning build—it was Ashley.

Koi’s breath caught in his throat. He immediately ducked out of sight and scurried behind the nearest building, pressing his hand to his chest to steady his heart. But it wouldn’t last. He knew he couldn’t avoid him forever. Still, if he could just delay it—just a little longer—even with their first class together starting in under thirty minutes.

“Haaa...”

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He exhaled slowly, trying to calm himself.

“Boo!”

“AHH!”

A sudden voice made Koi scream. Laughter followed, and Ashley wrapped his arms around him from behind.

“A-Ash...”

Flustered, Koi turned to see Ashley beaming at him. Mouth opening and closing uselessly, he struggled to say something, anything. Ashley asked, still smiling,

“What are you doing here? Our class is in the other building, isn’t it?”

“Y-Yeah...”

Koi stammered, desperately scrambling for words. But nothing came. While he fumbled for an explanation, Ashley tilted his head and said playfully,

“You didn’t run off to avoid me, did you?”

“N-No, no, absolutely not! Of course not! Why would I?!”

He shook his head so hard it was basically a confession. Oblivious to that, Koi was panicking. Ashley narrowed his eyes.

“Koi. Do you remember what I told you?”

“Huh? Wh-What?”

Koi paused and looked at him. Ashley leaned in and whispered,

“I told you—you’d never be able to run away from me.”

Koi instinctively held his breath and locked eyes with him. Ashley added with a sweet smile,

“I said I’d never let you go.”

“U-Uhh...”

Koi stammered, unable to hide how flustered he was. Ashley’s strong arms wrapped around him made it impossible to ignore. The warmth of his body and the breath brushing Koi’s cheek—it was overwhelming.

This is too much.

His heart was racing, breath short, and his mind went blank. He was so overwhelmed, so thrilled, it actually scared him.

Why?

He stared at Ashley, dazed.

Why does this always happen when I see Ash?

And then it hit him—he remembered the post he’d written the night before. His eyes went wide with realization.

“W-Wait, wait!”

Koi flailed in a panic. To Ashley, it was barely a squirm, but seeing Koi struggling to escape made it impossible not to let him go. Though part of him really wanted to hold on tighter and never let go.

Still, he gave in. Loosening his arms, he let Koi slip away. But instead of stepping back a little, Koi jumped away—putting three full steps between them.

Ashley didn’t like that. Not one bit.