Cheering Love On Ice: My Accidental Stepbrother

~~ Asher's POV ~~

TWO YEARS AGO

"Hey, Ash!" Jamie called as he ran toward me, breathing heavily.

I turned at the sound of his voice and watched him hurry across the path toward me. His chest rose and fell rapidly, and his hair was slightly messy, like he had been running for his life.

Jamie Collins was the person I trusted most and the only person I shared my secrets with. I wouldn't call him my best friend because he was more than that to me.

We had grown up together and shared almost everything. Secrets, stupid jokes, embarrassing moments, and even the things we swore we would never tell anyone else.

We were so close that our parents eventually became close too.

Jamie finally stopped in front of me and bent over, placing both hands on his knees as he struggled to catch his breath.

His shoulders moved with every heavy breath he took.

For a few seconds, he couldn't even form a proper sentence.

I frowned at him.

He looked as if he had been chased by a monster.

Or maybe he actually had been.

"I-I..." Jamie stammered.

He swallowed hard and straightened a little, still breathing heavily. His eyes darted around us before finally settling on me.

"I saw Ryder Blackwood again."

My eyes immediately darkened.

Ryder Blackwood.

Just hearing that name was enough to make the irritation in my chest rise.

That son of a bitch who always pushed me to my limit.

He was the only person I would ask the heavens to make sure I never met in any of my afterlives.

I hated him.

Actually, hate wasn't even enough to describe it.

Ryder was an asshole who was always after everything that was mine.

I had never been able to date anyone properly because of him.

Whenever I developed a crush on someone, he would somehow find out and start flirting with them.

And if they were interested in him?

He would sleep with them and dump them like they meant absolutely nothing.

How the hell did he even know who I liked?

You wondered too, right?

Actually, that was the same question I always asked myself whenever it happened.

I had never understood how he kept finding out.

I could keep a crush completely to myself, without even telling Jamie about it, and somehow Ryder would appear out of nowhere and ruin everything.

And the worst part?

He didn't even try to hide what he was doing.

He would flaunt them right in front of me.

It was as if stealing the person I liked wasn't enough.

He wanted me to watch.

"What did he do this time, Jamie?" I asked, using the little self-control I still had left.

I already knew whatever Jamie was about to say wasn't going to make me happy.

Jamie stared at me for a second, then he blurted everything out at once.

"He's with that tall, pretty girl you told me yesterday you liked."

For a moment, I just stared at him. My brain refused to process his words.

Finally, they sank in properly.

"WHAT? AGAIN?" My voice echoed around us.

A few students nearby turned their heads; their conversations stopped as they looked in our direction.

I didn't care.

My fingers curled into fists. My nails dug into my palms, but the slight pain did nothing to calm me down.

My jaw tightened as anger rushed through me so quickly that it made my chest feel hot.

Of course.

Of fucking course.

It had to be Ryder.

My mom had warned me countless times not to fight at school because she knew how easily I lost my temper.

I had tried.

I really had.

I had tried to be a good boy and ignore Ryder.

I had tried walking away whenever he deliberately provoked me.

I had tried pretending I didn't care whenever he flirted with someone I liked.

But today...

It wasn't going to happen.

I was done tolerating Ryder's stupidity.

'Fucking asshole... watch how I give you some special treatment.'

Fuck you.

My chest heaved as I stared ahead of me, my heartbeat pounding hard against my ribs.

Jamie watched me for a moment. He knew that look. He had seen it too many times.

"Ash..." he called slowly.

I looked at him. "What?"

"Don't."

I raised an eyebrow. "Don't what?"

"You know exactly what."

Jamie knew me too well.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm just going to talk to him."

Jamie stared at me. Neither of us believed that lie.

I looked at Jamie one last time.

There was no need to ask him where that bastard was. I already knew.

The rink.

That was where Ryder spent most of his day.

And don't ask me how I knew... because I always knew.

I knew his habits.

I knew where he usually spent his time.

I knew when he had practice and when he usually stayed around the rink afterward.

It was irritating how much I knew about someone I hated so much.

I turned around and started walking toward the rink. My steps were quick, my shoes striking the ground with every hurried movement.

Jamie hurried after me. "Ash, wait!"

I didn't stop.

"You're going to get yourself expelled again."

"Then he should stop giving me reasons." I said as I continued walking.

"Ash!"

The anger inside me seemed to move with me, burning beneath my skin and making it impossible to think about anything else.

The closer I got to the hockey building, the more the noise around me changed.

The sounds of students talking faded behind me. The faint scrape of skate blades against ice grew louder.

When I pushed open the doors, cold air hit my face. I immediately felt the temperature drop against my skin.

The rink always smelled different from the rest of the school.

There was the sharp, clean smell of ice mixed with rubber, damp equipment, and the faint scent of sweat that lingered in the air.

Somewhere ahead, hockey sticks clacked against the boards and skates scraped across the ice with a rough, grating sound.

I barely noticed any of it.

I squeezed my hands into fists and started looking around for that bastard.

Then I saw him.

Ryder was sitting on one of the bleachers, and he wasn't alone.

He was talking to my goddamn crush.

My stomach twisted.

He sat there comfortably, looking as if he didn't have a single problem in the world.

One arm rested casually against the back of the seat while he smiled at the girl.

Then he reached up and tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. The small movement made something inside me snap.

The girl smiled and lowered her head shyly.

Fuck it.

This was getting ridiculous.

I didn't waste another second. I started walking toward them.

My shoes struck the floor with every step. Ryder seemed to notice me coming.

His eyes lifted and they met mine. Neither of us looked away.

For a moment, we stared at each other.

I could already see the amusement slowly forming in his eyes.

That smug bastard knew exactly what he was doing. And instead of moving away from the girl, he pulled her closer and then he kissed her.

My blood boiled.

He fucking knew.

He knew exactly what he was doing.

My hands tightened into fists. Heat rushed through my body despite the cold air around me.

I walked faster. My legs carried me across the rink before I could even think twice. The sound of my footsteps seemed louder in my ears.

I reached him and grabbed the front of his shirt. Before he could say anything, I yanked him toward me and threw a hard punch straight at his nose.

My fist connected with a solid impact.

Ryder's head jerked backward.

Then I saw the blood. A thin red line trickled from his nose and down toward his upper lip.

I didn't fucking care.

If anything, the sight made my anger burn hotter.

I threw another punch. This time, my fist caught the corner of his mouth.

Ryder stumbled slightly from the force. Gasps and shocked voices rose around us.

Someone shouted my name, while someone else told us to stop.

I ignored all of them.

All I could see was him.

Ryder.

The bastard who had ruined every crush I had ever had.

The bastard who always found a way to get under my skin.

I pulled my fist back again. But before I could throw the third punch, a warm hand wrapped tightly around my wrist.

The sudden grip stopped me. My fist remained suspended in the air.

I already knew who it was. The only person who could calm me down when I was this angry.

I slowly lowered my arm. My breathing was still heavy, and my fingers were tense from the fight.

I flexed my wrist slightly before slipping my other hand into my pocket. My fingers found the small face towel I always carried.

I pulled it out and wiped my hand.

There was something strangely satisfying about calmly cleaning my hand after punching Ryder twice.

I looked back at him. He was still staring at me. His expression held a mixture of surprise and confusion.

His fingers slowly touched the corner of his mouth. When he pulled them away, there was a smear of blood on them.

I smirked, then threw the towel straight at his face.

"Trash belongs with trash."

The towel landed against his face before falling onto his lap. Ryder slowly pulled it away.

"What the hell was that, bunny?" he asked, calmly.

I glared at him.

That stupid nickname.

He always called me "bunny" because he said I had a big ass like a woman.

Even now, after I had just punched him twice, he still had the nerve to call me that.

I let out a quiet laugh.

"Keep calling me that and you'll need more than two punches."

I didn't wait for his response. I turned toward the girl I had liked yesterday.

The excitement I had felt about her only a day ago was completely gone. Looking at her now, all I felt was disgust.

I snorted and turned around, then I walked away.

Jamie hurried after me. "You know you're probably getting expelled again, right?"

I shoved my hands into my pockets. "Maybe."

"Ash."

"What?"

"You really need to learn how to control your temper."

"I was controlling it, but that asshole was so full of himself."

He sighed.

I couldn't help but smile. At least he knew better than to argue with me when I was still angry.

......

Classes went on as usual, as if nothing had happened.

The school had somehow returned to its normal routine.

Students talked quietly, chairs scraped against the floor, pages turned, and pens moved across notebooks, and teachers continued with their lessons.

The only difference was that Ryder wasn't in class.

I heard students whispering that he had been admitted to the school clinic.

I scoffed quietly.

"I haven't even started with him, and he's already in the clinic," I whispered under my breath. "Next time, he might be lying in a hospital bed, paralyzed. At least then I'll finally have some peace."

Jamie, sitting beside me, gave me a look.

I ignored him and turned my attention to the whiteboard.

Mr. Wells continued writing something on it.

The marker moved across the board with a faint squeaking sound as numbers and equations slowly filled the white surface.

"Open to page 114 in your mathematics textbook," Mr. Wells said.

Chairs shifted around the classroom as everyone reached for their textbooks.

I pulled my mathematics textbook from my bag and placed it on my desk. The pages made a soft rustling sound as I flipped through them.

I found page 114 and rested my hand against the bottom corner.

For a moment, everything seemed normal, almost peaceful.

Unfortunately, my moment of peace didn't even last longer.

The classroom door opened.

A man stepped inside. He walked directly toward Mr. Wells and leaned closer, whispering something into his ear.

I glanced toward them.

Mr. Wells listened quietly. His expression remained calm, but his eyes shifted toward me.

My fingers stopped moving against the edge of my textbook.

I already knew what was happening.

The man whispered a few more words before straightening.

Mr. Wells nodded.

The man turned around and walked out of the classroom.

I sighed quietly. There was no point pretending I didn't know what was coming.

After all, I had punched Ryder Blackwood twice, and I wasn't exactly sorry about it.

Mr. Wells turned toward the class. His eyes landed directly on me.

I didn't flinch.

Instead, I calmly started putting my books back into my bag. I closed my mathematics textbook and also pushed it into my bag.

"Asher Bennett," Mr. Wells said.

I looked up.

"You're needed in the headteacher's office."

A few students immediately glanced in my direction.

Mr. Wells continued, "Leave now so I can continue my class."

I zipped my bag. "Yes, sir."

I stood up. My chair scraped softly against the floor.

I ignored the curious looks following me and walked toward the door at the back of the classroom.

The moment I stepped into the hallway, the classroom noise became quieter behind me.

The door closed with a soft click. I slipped both hands into my pockets and started walking. My footsteps echoed softly against the floor.

I knew what was waiting for me.

A lecture... probably a call to my parents.

Maybe even punishment or even being expelled.

My mother was definitely going to have something to say when she found out.

I sighed.

I continued down the hallway until I finally reached the headteacher's office.

I stopped in front of the door. For a moment, I stared at it and took a deep breath.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Silence followed, but I waited.

Then, almost immediately, the headteacher's voice came from inside.

"Come in."