CHAPTER 284: NIGHTSHADE: HAVE TO LIVE IT

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Chapter 284

~Valerie’s POV~

Kai nodded. I understand. But you’re not anyone, Val," he replied softly, and that—more than anything—made my heart ache.

I could feel the weight of his gaze lingering on me, sincerely, with unspoken feelings.

Before I could process what to say next, Xade cleared his throat, stepping forward slightly as if about to speak.

But someone else beat him to it.

"He’s right. You’re not just anyone."

Startled, I turned toward the doorway just as Axel stepped out from behind the door.

He’d been there this whole time, hidden in the shadows. The light from the room finally caught on his familiar messy hair and sharp cheekbones.

He stepped in with slow strides, hands in his pockets as his eyes swept over us all before landing briefly on me.

"You could’ve announced yourself," Xade said dryly.

"I wanted to listen first. Make sure I wasn’t interrupting something... delicate," Axel said, a faint smirk tugging at his lips.

I rolled my eyes, but the fondness in my chest betrayed me. Even with all his aloofness, Axel always had a way of knowing when to insert himself.

He walked over to the other armchair, perched on the edge, and folded his arms.

"So... since we’re apparently doing story time, is Dristan next?" he asked casually, but the silence that followed his words was anything but.

The moment grew still. I watched all three of them and no one said a word.

I looked around, waiting for someone to speak. But Kai’s lips pressed into a thin line while Xade shifted uncomfortably. And Axel... well, even his brows furrowed slightly as he registered the reaction.

It was like a shared silence, one they’d all agreed upon without needing to say anything out loud.

"What?" I asked quietly. "Is his story... that bad?"

"No one knows," Kai said finally.

"Yeah," Xade added. "There were no whispers about it, no rumours. He just... woke up with it one day."

Axel nodded, unusually serious now. "And we all knew better than to ask. He never talks about it. Not even a hint."

I glanced at the empty spot where Dristan should have been. That same eerie silence around his story, the mystery cloaking him... it settled heavily in my chest.

They weren’t lying, and that was the blunt truth; no one knew.

But I had a speculation.

"And no one knows if it was something involving his mother?"

At once, I sensed them stiffen. And bingo. It was either that or another dangerous topic he never wanted to touch.

"Let’s not assume and jump into dangerous, uncharted waters."

I took Xade’s words literally.

Soon, the tension of the conversation lifted as we slowly began to stand up. Kai gave me a light squeeze on the shoulder before heading out, followed by Xade and then Axel.

One by one, they murmured goodnight and disappeared into the hallways. The silence that settled after their departure was loud in a different way.

I remained seated for a moment, thoughts spinning.

Their stories had stayed with me, haunting in different ways. I couldn’t unsee the pain in Kai’s eyes, nor the guilt that lay buried behind his voice.

I couldn’t forget how Xade clenched his fingers as if holding onto something he’d once lost. Or how Axel, despite his guarded smirk, had avoided every emotionally charged part of the conversation and stayed hidden.

But Dristan... Dristan was a locked box.

I eventually stood, brushing off my pants and heading toward the door. Sleep was nowhere in sight, and my head was too full.

’Maybe warm milk would help,’ Jade suggested, and I took her advice.

Padding down the dim hallway, I kept my steps light. The house was hushed, shadows from the sconces flickering along the walls as I passed.

For some reason, ever since I came a third or fourth time, the house had started respecting itself around me.

No more confusion as before. And I wondered if the house was finally accepting me.

Just as I turned the corner into the open kitchen, I froze.

Dristan.

He was already there, standing by the fridge with the door open, the soft light casting a faint glow around him.

His golden blonde hair was slightly tousled, and his loose T-shirt hung lazily off one shoulder like he’d just rolled out of bed.

He turned, sensing me.

"Couldn’t sleep either?" he asked, his voice low and rough with sleep.

I nodded slowly, stepping in. "Yeah. Too much in my head."

He closed the fridge silently, a juice box in his hand. "Warm milk’s on the counter. I figured someone would need it."

My eyes flicked to the already warm kettle, and I smiled faintly.

He leaned against the counter, sipping from the straw of his drink like it was the most normal thing in the world. But his eyes... they watched me.

I didn’t know exactly how to feel, but I tried to focus on what I was doing until he spoke.

"You heard the others?" Dristan asked.

"Yeah," I said, pouring the milk into a mug. "Everyone talked about how they got their eyes. Everyone but you."

He didn’t respond right away. Just sipped again.

"Because my case is different."

I turned to look at him. "Different how?"

He studied me for a long moment, then stepped forward slowly, stopping just a foot away from where I stood.

"If you wish to know, Valerie... you’d have to live it."

That silenced me.

He did not say hear or learn, but live.

I swallowed, unsure what that meant, but the intensity in his tone made my chest flutter in a strange way. Before I could say another word, he leaned in and kissed my cheek gently.

Then, with a nonchalant shrug and a slight grin, he turned, juice box in hand, and walked off into the dark hallway.

Leaving me there with a racing heart, a forgotten mug cup, and with a thousand questions suddenly clawing at the edges of my mind.

What did it mean to live it?

***************

After that night, during which I barely got any sleep, thinking of Kai and his stories, I tried to draw my attention to other things.

Time with my mates was okay, and for now, nothing as naughty as what Isla or Emerald discussed had occurred.

It was either that they were behaving or just plainly waiting for the right time.

I walked into school after leaving the house before any of my mates and rushed towards my locker.

"Hey girl!"

I shut my locker instantly, only to see Isla and Emerald staring at me.

"Jeez, girls."

"Hahhaa, just look at your face," Emerald teased, pointing at my slightly flushed face.

I was deep in thought and not expecting them to do that.

"Okay, that face says, yeah, something did happen between us," Isla pointed out wrongly.

I shook my head because it wasn’t right. But tell that to these two, who literally think I am a walking temptation.

"We didn’t."

"We? No one mentioned a ’we.’ That meant you did it with one of them."

"If you call a goodnight peck on the cheek something naughty, then what would you call Rain kissing you during the field trip, Emerald?"

Isla’s eyes went wide as she turned her attention from me to Emerald, who stood there looking pale as though the heavens were against her.

"Oh my gee. Emerald, is it true? You guys are finally progressing," Isla half-squealed.

I watched as Emerald’s face turned completely red in embarrassment before looking away. My smile spread across my lips as I gently placed a hand on my hip.

How did she like the tables turned?

She had no idea I saw them that day, but I never mentioned it.

My gaze darted to Isla. I was tempted to call her out on her own, but hers seemed way more scandalous and would break her more.

"Well, we kissed, so good one, Valerie," Emerald voiced out of the blue, but before either I or Isla could speak, she added, "see you all in volleyball practice later today."

I watched her blush as she hurried away.

As soon as she left, both Isla and I exchanged glances and then burst out laughing.

"She was so cute," Isla commented. "Awwwn, I am happy for her."

"Yeah, I can say I am happy for you, too."

Isla froze, almost forgetting to breathe.

"You know, you have a secret someone who you can seem to stop texting and who seems to text you a lot too."

Isla’s face drained of colour when she heard that, but she quickly recovered. "Umm... hu,h what are you talking about?"

My brows arched at her. Rather than commenting on it further, I smiled and winked at her.

The rest of the school day seemed to pass well, just like class, and finally, it was volleyball practice.

I put on my headphones as I did a few warm-up exercises, my entire mind focused on nothing in particular.

That was a lie. Kai’s voice continued to replay in my subconscious until I heard two girls behind me whisper the one word my whole body ached and screamed for.

"Tonight, Nightshade is finally meeting after a while. I’m excited."

"Shh, dimwit. You do not use that word out loud."

"But no one would hear us."

"Dude, and what about her?" I could feel eyes staring at me, but I ignored it.

"She’s on headphones."

"And even so? Just... shh, our members are handpicked, you do not want to be kicked out now and have your memory wiped, do you?"

"No, I don’t."

"Then shut it and focus on practice first. At midnight, we’d meet at the North Wing’s last wall. Our leader said our last entrance was compromised."

"Yeah. Thank you."

My lips stretched a little to the side. I had waited weeks, months, to gather good intel on one of their operations or meet up so I could sneak in and find all I needed to know before annihilating them, but I had never had a chance like this.

And unknown to the girls, my headphones were connected, and a song was playing; however, one of my ears wasn’t properly covered, so I could hear it all.

’Jade, looks like we have a date.’