Chapter 17:
Friday came with a strange energy in the air. Liam felt it the moment he stepped through the school gate. Eyes still followed him and Kaela, but today there was no hostility—just anticipation. Whispers trailed behind them like wind. Something was coming.
It came between classes.
Liam and Kaela were walking down the corridor toward their next lesson when Brody stepped out from around the corner.
Liam's posture shifted instinctively. He didn't clench his fists, but his muscles were ready.
Kaela narrowed her eyes. "You again."
Brody didn't raise his hands to fight. He raised them in surrender.
"I'm not here to start anything," he said, eyes sincere and… nervous?
Kaela's brows twitched. "That's new."
Behind Brody, John appeared. His usual cocky swagger was replaced with something unfamiliar—hesitation.
"We came to talk," John said, rubbing the back of his neck.
Liam said nothing, just watched them.
"We were wrong," Brody said. "About you. About everything."
John nodded. "You're no match for us—I mean… we're no match for you. What happened the other day made that clear."
Liam opened his mouth to respond, but Kaela beat him to it. "And?"
The brothers looked at each other.
Brody stepped forward, voice more serious. "We want to make things right. No more fights. No more bullying."
"And maybe," John added, "we could even be… friends?"
Liam glanced at Kaela, about to shrug and say something casual, when—
"No," Kaela said firmly.
Brody's face fell. "Wait, what? But—"
Kaela crossed her arms. "You think you can just say 'sorry' and everything's fine?"
John frowned. "We are sorry. Genuinely."
"Then prove it," she said. "Apologize properly. To Liam. And then, stop bullying other students. For real. Only then can we even consider being friends."
The hallway had gone quiet. Even some students nearby had stopped pretending not to eavesdrop.
Brody and John looked at Liam and gave deep bows. "We're sorry, Liam. For the insults. For the fights. For treating you like trash when you were just trying to live."
John added, "You didn't deserve it. And we were cowards."
Liam blinked. It was weird… being apologized to. Part of him still wanted to punch Brody, just once for old times' sake—but the other part, the newer part, recognized the courage in their words.
"…It's okay," Liam said at last, offering a small nod. "Let's move on."
Kaela smiled slightly. "Now that's more like it."
The bell rang, and students began filing into classrooms. Brody and John started walking away.
But that wasn't the end of it.
After lunch, Liam and Kaela were heading to class when John and his boys popped out from behind a hallway corner like overexcited puppies.
"MAKE WAY!" one of them bellowed. "CLEAR THE HALLS!"
"OUR MASTERS APPROACH!"
"LEGENDS WALK AMONG YOU, PEASANTS!"
Kaela and Liam froze.
Liam leaned in with a tight smile. "Please tell me this is a joke."
Kaela muttered through her teeth, "This is so embarrassing."
John's boys kept clearing a path as if Liam and Kaela were royalty. Students parted like the Red Sea, half amused, half confused.
"Could you… stop that?" Liam whispered, trying not to draw attention. "Please?"
"Sorry," John grinned. "We're just making it official."
Kaela looked like she wanted to disappear. "I swear, if you don't stop, I'll knock you back into last semester."
Eventually, they made it to class and the weird parade ended.
When school was dismissed, Liam let out the deepest sigh of relief he'd had in days.
---
Saturday Morning
Liam was lounging on the couch, mindlessly flipping through a book on combat theory when there was a knock at the door.
He opened it to find Kaela, hands on her hips, a sly grin on her face. "Hey. Got plans today?"
Liam blinked. "Um, not really. Training, maybe?"
"Good. Cancel it."
"Why?"
"Because we're going out. Walk around town. Get some snacks. Do normal people stuff."
Liam turned to Dreck, who was sipping his tea at the table. Dreck didn't speak—just raised a brow and gave a subtle nod of approval.
"Alright," Liam said. "Give me ten minutes."
"Make it five," Kaela said, flopping onto the couch.
As Liam rushed upstairs to freshen up, Kaela looked around the house. Everything was clean, organized… but also full of scars—tiny ones on the walls, scuffs on the floor. Like the house had seen battle too.
Dreck's voice broke the silence.
"He's better because of you."
Kaela glanced at him.
"You bring out a side of him that training can't."
She didn't respond—just nodded softly.
Liam came bounding down the stairs moments later. "Okay, ready!"
"Let's go," Kaela said, standing.
"Bye, Uncle Dreck," Liam called. "Be back soon."
"Don't cause trouble," Dreck replied. "But if you do, make it worth it."
Kaela chuckled. "Noted."
---
Downtown
They walked in silence for a while. The streets were alive with vendors, chatter, and smells of grilled food and sweet bread.
But something was… off.
Not wrong—just different.
Kaela kept sneaking glances at Liam.
Liam kept pretending not to.
It wasn't like their walk to school. That was filled with sarcasm and adrenaline. This was quieter. Softer. And neither knew what to say.
Finally, Kaela broke the silence.
"You ever wonder what we'd be doing if none of this ever happened?"
Liam shrugged. "I'd probably still be struggling to make friends and failing math."
Kaela smirked. "I'd probably still be suspended for beating up some jerk."
They both laughed.
They stopped by a small street stall where Liam bought two skewers of grilled meat and handed one to her.
"Bribing me with food?" she asked.
"Only way to keep you from beating me in public," he said.
They wandered through a bookstore, then a gadget shop where Kaela made fun of a "pocket flame-thrower" display until the clerk asked them to leave.
They walked through the park, sat near the fountain, and just… talked.
About stupid things.
About deep things.
About everything in between.
And for the first time in what felt like forever, there were no Syndicates. No bloodlust. No training sessions or danger.
Just Liam.
Just Kaela.
And maybe—just maybe—that was enough for today.
--