Lick Me Up If You Can Novel (Completed) - Chapter 13

“You’ve been acting strange lately.”

After finishing all their after-school training, Ashley and the ice hockey team gathered at Green Belt with their respective girlfriends.

After exercising, Ariel spoke up when her boyfriend, who was not much different from a beast, had finished eating a hearty meal, boasting of his vigorous appetite, and had somewhat regained his senses. Ashley looked down at his girlfriend, who spoke with a frown, and asked in surprise.

“Me?”

“Yes.”

The other guys gathered there watched them with interest. Ariel continued.

“You’re hanging out with some weird loser. You never even looked at guys like that before.”

“Who?”

“Aren’t you talking about Koi?”

One of the guys watching spoke to Ashley, who was frowning. Only then did Ashley nod, saying, “Ah, I see.” Ariel crossed her arms below her chest and pouted her lips.

“You never used to bother with guys like that, did you? Why the sudden change? Don’t tell me he has something on you?”

“Me?”

Ashley laughed out loud. The main players of the ice hockey team gathered with him and also burst into laughter. Ariel blushed but feigned nonchalance and turned her head.

“That’s what I mean, so to speak.”

“Well, yeah, we were curious too.”

Bill, one of the guys who hung out together, chimed in.

“You keep including that guy at lunchtime. Why are you doing that? It can’t be that he has something on you.”

Bill deliberately added the last part and grinned at Ariel. Ariel frowned, and Ashley, who had taken a big bite of his hamburger and swallowed it, opened his mouth.

“It’s nothing. I just… felt sorry for him.”

“Sorry for him?”

Ariel asked, dumbfounded. Then, instead of Ashley, another guy nodded, saying, “Oh.”

“Well, that guy seemed to be bullied quite a bit by some bad guys.”

At that, another guy agreed.

“Yeah, when I first saw him, wasn’t he probably getting beaten up?”

“He wasn’t getting beaten up. He was about to, though.”

“It’s the same thing.”

“No, it’s different? Completely different?”

Ashley, who had let the conversation drift into pointless jokes for a moment, opened his mouth.

“Anyway, so you guys just be roughly nice to him too. He’s a pathetic guy.”

Everyone looked at each other, then nodded, saying, “Okay.”

“Just accept his greetings, right?”

At Bill’s words, Ashley tilted his head and picked up a french fry, putting it in his mouth. Ariel, who had been sitting with a displeased expression until then, spoke.

“Don’t bother hanging out with guys like that. You’ll look like a simpleton too.”

She brought her cola to her lips and added primly,

“We’re different from guys like that.”

Ashley casually looked at the ice in her cola cup and opened his mouth.

“Different, of course.”

Because he’s the only one who doesn’t put ice in carbonated drinks.

He thought inwardly, then chuckled and dismissed the thought.

“Oh, now that I think about it, that guy is in the same class as us.”

Bill said, as if just remembering, and another guy nodded.

“He’s in a few with me too. Almost all of them overlap with Ash, right? He seems to take all the AP classes.”

Whoosh, the guy who let out a short whistle, had his girlfriend chuckle and say,

“If you have nothing to do, you might as well study. He doesn’t have any friends, does he?”

“Who would hang out with a loser like that?”

Ariel scolded, and everyone laughed. Ashley also laughed, feigning ignorance of the small pang of guilt in his chest.

Why does that guy’s smiling face come to mind right now?

He deliberately put an ice cube from his cup into his mouth and crunched it, making a loud sound. Then he cleared his mind and started chatting with the other guys.

“Hi, Koi.”

“Hi, Bill.”

One of the main players on the ice hockey team, whom he met in front of the lockers, greeted him first. Koi also happily returned the greeting, and he grinned, then headed to his own locker.

Since that day, the guys who hung out with Ashley often acknowledged Koi. Even if it was just a simple greeting, it was an enormous change for Koi. Until now, no one at school had ever greeted him first, so no one but himself knew how much heartwarming joy a single word of greeting could bring.

That wasn’t the only change. The attitude of the other students towards Koi also changed. The way they treated him like he didn’t exist or whispered behind his back disappeared, replaced by simple greetings or even light small talk.

The first time a classmate in the same class casually talked about a TV show they had watched the day before, Koi was so surprised he almost fainted. Although the classmate soon left when Koi couldn’t answer properly, this was a huge step forward. That day, Koi spent the entire day engrossed in searching for the program his classmate had mentioned on his phone, checking the content, and watching free clips on YouTube.

The best part was that Nelson’s gang’s bullying had disappeared. How peaceful and happy it was to spend a day without being ridiculed or beaten, without even the fear of it. Koi was experiencing that daily life for the first time and was living every day with utmost satisfaction. All thanks to Ashley Miller.

How could such a person exist?

Koi felt his heart pound anew as he thought. He was handsome, had a good physique, was tall, good at sports, smart, and even had a good personality! Could there be another human being this perfect in the world?

If a religion named Ashley Miller were to be founded, Koi would be the first to become a follower. That’s how much Ashley had come to occupy a significant place in his heart. It might have been nothing to Ashley, but he had transformed Koi’s life, which had only been despair, into such a happy and satisfying one. He could never thank Ashley enough. He thought he would do anything if he could ever be of help to him. Though Ashley Miller would never need someone like Connor Niles.

Time passed like that, the semester ended, and they welcomed vacation.

♪♪♪♬♬♩♪…….

Ashley woke up to the sound of his phone ringing early in the morning.

“Uuugh…”

He groaned miserably, burying his face in his pillow, and stretched out a long arm, fumbling for his phone on the bedside table. The phone continued to ring.

• Ash?

Ashley was momentarily unresponsive to the shrill voice that came as soon as he answered the phone.

“…Ariel?”

When he called out in a still-sleepy voice, Ariel replied from the other end.

• Ash, what are you doing? Still sleeping?

“…What time is it?”

He forced his heavy eyelids open to check the time on his phone and almost swore.

“So, what’s up?”

Ariel paused, then said in response to his rough tone.

• Just, I don’t think we can meet today. Dad said we’re all having dinner together.

Ashley, who had been frowning, soon realized.

“…It’s July 4th.”

Ariel replied, “Yeah,” to his sigh-like mumble.

• I’m sorry, are your parents coming or anything?

It was common knowledge that Ashley’s parents were on the East Coast and he lived alone here. Ashley replied without much emotion.

“It’s fine, families should spend Independence Day together. Got it.”

• I’ll call you, Ash.

Ariel left a kissing sound on the phone and hung up. Ashley looked at the disconnected call for a moment, then tossed his phone onto the bed and, with a sigh, rolled over.

“Right. Holidays should be spent with family.”

He repeated his own words and fell silent. The surroundings were infinitely quiet.

He heard a faint whistling sound from afar, and then a loud boom exploded. The fireworks had begun. Koi, standing behind the counter, casually looked outside. Beyond the glass door, only the fading tails of fireworks were barely visible in the sky.

Looks fun.

Koi thought blankly. Independence Day was one of the biggest holidays of the year, and everywhere was bustling. Restaurants often raised their prices, and families, of course, paid the price and spent time together.

But it had nothing to do with him. Especially time with family, that had been lost long ago. On days like this, it was better to work. He pulled himself together and turned his head. What was important now was the college entrance exam next month. All preparations were done. All that was left was the score.

He was grappling with the math problems he hadn’t finished the day before when a sudden bell sound startled Koi.

“Oh.”

He blinked in surprise at the unexpected person who opened the store door and walked in. The man, who had readily entered, also stopped when he saw Koi standing behind the counter.

“Ash.”