The beginning of hate

Ariana quickly learned that ignoring Oliver Knight did not make him disappear.

If anything, it made things worse.

Every hallway she walked through, every class she attended, every quiet moment she tried to enjoy—he was there. Not always directly, not always speaking, but watching. Observing. Studying her like she was some kind of puzzle he intended to solve.

And Ariana hated it.

She wasn’t scared of him. That was the difference between her and everyone else. But that didn’t mean she liked the attention. It felt suffocating, like being pulled into something she never asked for.

“Okay, I need you to be honest with me,” a voice said, snapping her out of her thoughts.

Ariana looked up to see Liam dropping into the seat across from her in the cafeteria, a grin already forming on his face.

Liam wasn’t just her friend—he was her cousin. They had grown up together, shared everything, and he was the only reason she had agreed to transfer to Westbridge High in the first place.

“What?” Ariana asked, narrowing her eyes slightly.

“You and Oliver Knight,” Liam said, leaning forward. “What’s going on there?”

“Nothing,” she replied instantly.

“Yeah, I don’t believe that,” he said, laughing. “The whole school is talking about it. You stood up to him. Do you know how crazy that is?”

Ariana rolled her eyes. “He’s just a guy, Liam. An arrogant one.”

“‘Just a guy,’ she says,” Liam repeated dramatically. “That ‘just a guy’ has half the school terrified of breathing too loud around him.”

“Well, that’s their problem,” Ariana muttered.

Liam studied her for a moment before smirking. “You’re not scared of him at all, are you?”

“No,” she said simply.

And she meant it.

What she didn’t say was that something about Oliver didn’t feel normal. It wasn’t just arrogance or power. There was something deeper. Something darker.

And that made her cautious.

Not afraid.

Just careful.

Across the cafeteria, Oliver sat with his crew, his attention fixed on one thing.

Ariana.

“She’s laughing,” James said, noticing it too. “That’s new.”

Tomos followed his gaze and spotted Liam sitting across from her. “Who’s the guy?”

Bucky shrugged. “Probably her boyfriend.”

The moment those words left his mouth, the air around Oliver shifted.

Cold.

Sharp.

Dangerous.

Daniel noticed immediately. “Relax,” he said. “You don’t even know if that’s true.”

Oliver didn’t respond.

His jaw tightened slightly as he watched Ariana lean forward, laughing at something Liam said.

It shouldn’t have bothered him.

But it did.

More than he expected.

“Find out who he is,” Oliver said finally, his voice low.

Tomos smirked. “Now this is getting interesting.”

---

The next few days only made things worse.

Ariana and Liam were inseparable.

They walked to class together.

Ate lunch together.

Left school together.

They laughed easily, talked constantly, and looked completely comfortable around each other.

To anyone watching…

They looked like a couple.

And Oliver was watching.

“You’re going to do something stupid,” James said one afternoon as they leaned against the lockers.

Oliver’s eyes remained fixed down the hallway, where Ariana and Liam stood talking.

“Define stupid,” Oliver replied calmly.

James sighed. “Anything that involves you and jealousy.”

“I’m not jealous,” Oliver said.

Bucky snorted. “Yeah, and I’m the principal.”

Tomos chuckled. “Come on, man. We’ve known you too long. That look on your face? That’s not curiosity anymore.”

Oliver didn’t deny it this time.

Because deep down…

He knew they were right.

---

It happened on a Friday afternoon.

School had just ended, and most students were heading home.

Liam had stayed behind to help a teacher, leaving Ariana waiting near the back gate.

That’s when Oliver made his move.

“Where’s your boyfriend?” he asked as he approached her.

Ariana didn’t even look surprised.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” she said.

Oliver stopped in front of her, studying her face carefully.

“Really?” he said. “Because it doesn’t look that way.”

Ariana finally looked at him, her expression calm but firm.

“That’s your assumption, not my problem.”

Something about her tone irritated him.

Not because it was disrespectful…

But because it didn’t carry fear.

“Stay away from him,” Oliver said suddenly.

Ariana blinked, caught off guard.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me,” he said. “Stay away from him.”

For a moment, she just stared at him.

Then—

She laughed.

Not nervously.

Not awkwardly.

But genuinely.

And that… made things worse.

“You don’t get to tell me who I can or can’t talk to,” she said, shaking her head. “You’re not that important.”

The words hit harder than she expected.

Oliver’s expression darkened, his patience thinning.

“Don’t test me,” he warned.

Ariana stepped closer instead of backing away.

“Or what?” she challenged. “You’ll bully him like you bully everyone else?”

Silence fell between them.

Heavy.

Tense.

And then…

Oliver stepped back.

Not because he was backing down.

But because he had already made a decision.

“Let’s go,” he said quietly to his crew, who had been watching from a distance.

Tomos frowned slightly. “That’s it?”

Oliver glanced back at Ariana one last time.

“No,” he said. “Not even close.”

---

That night…

Everything changed.

Liam was walking home alone when they found him.

Four boys stepped out of the shadows.

Tomos.

James.

Bucky.

Daniel.

And behind them…

Oliver.

Liam frowned. “What’s this?”

“You’ve been getting comfortable,” Tomos said casually.

“With someone you shouldn’t,” James added.

Liam’s expression hardened as he realized what was happening.

“This is about Ariana?” he asked.

Oliver didn’t answer.

That was enough.

Liam sighed. “You’ve got it all wrong. She’s my—”

The first punch cut him off.

And just like that…

The beating began.

---

The next morning, the school buzzed with rumors.

“A student was attacked.”

“He’s in the hospital.”

“They say it was Oliver’s crew.”

Ariana didn’t believe it.

Not at first.

Until she saw the message.

Liam was hurt.

Badly.

Her hands trembled as she read it again and again.

Then something inside her snapped.

Without thinking, she stormed through the school, ignoring the stares, the whispers, the warnings.

Until she found him.

Oliver Knight.

Standing in the same place.

Like nothing had happened.

Her anger exploded.

“WHAT DID YOU DO?!” she shouted, her voice echoing through the hallway.

Every head turned.

Oliver looked at her calmly.

Too calmly.

“What are you talking about?” he asked.

That was it.

That was the moment.

The moment Ariana Blake went from uninterested…

To furious.

To hateful.

“You attacked him!” she yelled. “You hurt him for no reason!”

Oliver’s expression didn’t change.

But his silence said everything.

And that silence…

Broke something inside her.

“I hate you,” she said, her voice shaking with emotion.

“You’re disgusting.”

For the first time…

Those words actually hit him.

Not like the others.

Not like fear.

Not like insults.

This one stayed.

Because it came from her.

And for reasons he didn’t understand…

That mattered.

More than it should have.