Chapter 17

Eli didn’t move immediately.

For a second, he just stood there—staring at Kieran across the café.

The noise around him faded.

The laughter.

The music.

The conversations.

Everything blurred into the background.

Because Kieran’s presence didn’t belong there.

Not in a place like this.

Not in Eli’s normal world.

“…What are you doing here?” Eli said finally, his voice low.

Kieran didn’t answer right away.

His gaze shifted briefly—

To Charlotte.

Still seated.

Still watching.

Still holding onto the moment Eli had just stepped out of.

Then his eyes returned to Eli.

“You left.”

Eli frowned.

“…Of course I left. I told you I had plans.”

Kieran stepped further inside.

The door closed behind him with a soft click.

“You shouldn’t be here.”

Eli let out a sharp breath.

“…And you shouldn’t be following me.”

A pause.

Then Kieran said:

“I didn’t follow you.”

Eli scoffed.

“…Really?”

Kieran’s voice remained calm.

“I knew where you would be.”

That didn’t make it better.

At all.

Eli ran a hand through his hair, frustration rising.

“…That’s not normal, Kieran.”

“I never said I was.”

That answer—

That easy answer—

Made Eli even more irritated.

“…You can’t just show up like this,” Eli said. “This is not the forest. This is not training.”

Kieran stepped closer.

Slow.

Deliberate.

“But you’re still in danger.”

Eli shook his head.

“No. I’m not.”

“You are.”

“I’m not!” Eli snapped this time, louder than he intended.

A few people glanced their way.

Charlotte stood up immediately.

“Eli…”

He didn’t look at her yet.

His focus was still on Kieran.

“…You don’t get to do this,” Eli continued, his voice lower again but sharper. “You don’t get to follow me into my life like this.”

Kieran’s gaze darkened slightly.

“You’re already part of mine.”

That—

That hit a nerve.

Eli stepped closer.

“…That doesn’t mean I belong to you.”

Silence.

Heavy.

Charged.

Kieran didn’t step back.

Didn’t react.

But something in his expression shifted.

Subtle.

Dangerous.

Charlotte moved then.

Stepping beside Eli.

Not in front.

Not hiding him.

But standing with him.

“Kieran, right?” she said calmly.

Kieran’s eyes moved to her again.

Assessing.

Cold.

“Yes.”

Charlotte nodded once.

“I don’t know what’s going on between you two,” she said, “but this isn’t the place for it.”

Eli exhaled quietly.

“…Thank you.”

Charlotte continued, her tone still gentle but firm.

“If there’s something you need to say, you can say it without… this.”

Kieran watched her.

Silent.

Unmoving.

Then his gaze shifted back to Eli.

“Come outside.”

Eli frowned immediately.

“…No.”

“Eli,” Charlotte said softly.

He shook his head.

“No. I’m not leaving.”

Kieran’s voice dropped.

“You don’t have a choice.”

Eli laughed once—dry, disbelieving.

“…You keep saying that.”

“Because it’s true.”

Eli stepped forward again.

“And I keep telling you it’s not.”

The tension snapped tighter.

Charlotte placed a hand lightly on Eli’s arm.

“…Hey,” she said softly. “It’s okay. Just go talk to him.”

Eli hesitated.

“I don’t want to.”

“I know,” she said. “But this isn’t going to stop unless you do.”

Eli exhaled slowly.

She wasn’t wrong.

He hated that.

“…Fine,” he muttered.

He looked at Kieran.

“Outside. Then you leave.”

Kieran didn’t argue.

He turned.

And walked out.

Like he already knew Eli would follow.

Eli sighed.

“…I’ll be back,” he told Charlotte.

She nodded.

“I’ll be here.”

The night air was cooler.

Quieter.

But not calm.

Not with Kieran standing there.

Waiting.

Eli stepped out and shut the door behind him.

“…You have five minutes,” he said immediately.

Kieran turned toward him.

“You’re staying with her tonight.”

Not a question.

Eli frowned.

“…Yes.”

“Don’t.”

Eli laughed again.

“…You’ve got to be joking.”

“I’m not.”

Eli shook his head.

“…You’re unbelievable.”

Kieran stepped closer.

That familiar pressure building again.

“You don’t understand what’s coming.”

Eli held his ground.

“Then explain it.”

Kieran’s jaw tightened slightly.

“…I can’t.”

Eli threw his hands up.

“Exactly! That’s the problem!”

His voice rose again.

“You keep saying things without explaining anything! ‘Don’t go here, don’t do this, stay away from people’—do you hear yourself?”

Kieran didn’t interrupt.

Didn’t argue.

But his gaze never left Eli.

Sharp.

Focused.

Unyielding.

Eli took a step closer.

Frustration spilling over now.

“You don’t get to control who I care about.”

Kieran’s voice came lower.

“Then stop caring about her.”

Eli froze.

For half a second.

Then—

“…What?”

“Stop caring about her,” Kieran repeated.

Eli stared at him.

Disbelief turning into anger.

“…Are you serious right now?”

Kieran didn’t back down.

“She’s a liability.”

That was it.

Eli snapped.

He shoved Kieran.

Not hard.

But enough.

“Don’t talk about her like that!”

The air shifted instantly.

Dangerously.

Kieran didn’t move from the shove.

Didn’t react physically.

But his eyes—

Darkened.

Deepened.

“You’re choosing her,” he said quietly.

Eli’s chest rose and fell with sharp breaths.

“Yes.”

No hesitation.

No doubt.

“I am.”

Silence.

Heavy.

Then Eli added—

“Because she actually makes sense.”

That landed.

Kieran looked at him.

Really looked at him.

And for the first time—

There was something raw there.

Something unguarded.

“…And I don’t?” he asked.

Eli hesitated.

Just for a second.

“…No,” he said finally.

That was the truth.

Kieran’s expression didn’t break.

Didn’t crack.

But something in him shifted.

Subtly.

“…You will,” he said quietly.

Eli frowned.

“…What?”

“You will,” Kieran repeated. “Eventually.”

Eli shook his head.

“No. I won’t.”

Kieran stepped closer.

Slow.

Deliberate.

“You will.”

Eli didn’t move.

Didn’t step back.

But his voice was firm.

“No, Kieran. I won’t.”

A pause.

Then—

“I love her.”

That word again.

Love.

Clear.

Undeniable.

Final.

Kieran’s gaze dropped briefly.

Then returned to Eli’s face.

“…That doesn’t change anything.”

Eli stared at him.

“…It changes everything.”

But Kieran shook his head once.

“No.”

Eli let out a frustrated breath.

“…You’re impossible.”

“And you’re mine.”

The words came quietly.

But they hit like something solid.

Eli’s eyes widened slightly.

“…Don’t say things like that.”

Kieran didn’t take it back.

Didn’t soften it.

Didn’t explain it.

Eli shook his head again.

“…You’re crossing a line.”

Kieran held his gaze.

“I crossed it the moment I met you.”

Eli’s chest tightened again.

That pull—

Stronger.

Unstable.

Confusing.

“…I didn’t ask for this,” Eli said.

Kieran’s voice dropped.

“I know.”

“…Then stop forcing it.”

A pause.

Then—

“No.”

Eli exhaled sharply.

“…You’re unbelievable.”

Kieran stepped back this time.

Finally.

Creating space.

But his eyes stayed on Eli.

“…Go back to her.”

Eli blinked.

“…What?”

Kieran’s voice was calm again.

Controlled.

“Go.”

Eli hesitated.

Suspicious.

“…That’s it?”

“For now.”

Eli studied him for a moment.

Trying to read him.

Failing.

“…You’re really confusing.”

Kieran didn’t respond.

Eli sighed.

“…Whatever.”

He turned—

And walked back toward the café.

But just before he entered—

He paused.

Something in his chest pulling again.

He glanced back.

Kieran was still there.

Watching.

Unmoving.

Eli frowned slightly.

Then—

He went inside.

Kieran didn’t leave immediately.

He stood there.

In the quiet.

Watching the door Eli had just walked through.

“…For now,” he repeated softly.

But there was nothing uncertain about the way he said it.