Page 5 of Rivals on Lockdown

“What about a girlfriend?” Kaden asked, then added with a deliberate smirk, “Or boyfriend?”

“Shut up,” Louis snapped.

“I’m actually serious,” Kaden said, the usual venom absent from his voice.

“I don’t have anyone,” Louis ground out. “What about you? Your parents? Your butler or something?”

“Butler?” Kaden scoffed. “I don’t have a butler.”

“Whatever! Weren’t you supposed to be at some fancy event tonight?”

“You’re just assuming that?” Kaden’s voice turned sharp, defensive.

“Well, weren’t you?” Louis frowned. “Why else would you be dressed like a fucking prince charming?”

“Sort of,” Kaden admitted reluctantly, shoulders slumping slightly as the polished facade dimmed. “But they won’t look for me either. They’ll just assume I didn’t show because of the storm or something.”

“Oh God,” Louis sighed again, slumping forward with his head in his hands.

The silence settled between them for a long moment before Kaden pushed himself to his feet. He wandered to thenearest stall, rifling through the gear bags left behind. A protein bar emerged from Miller’s bag, then another.

“Hey, stop that,” Louis protested. “You can’t steal from people’s bags.”

“They’re your teammates, aren’t they?” Kaden didn’t even pause, moving to the next stall with calm determination. His voice carried easily across the quiet room. “I’m sure they wouldn’t want us to die from starvation.”

“Me, maybe,” Louis muttered. “You? Not so much.”

Kaden’s soft chuckle echoed off the walls as he continued his systematic raid of the room. Stall by stall, his collection grew. When he finally made his way back to the center of the room, he laid his bounty carefully on the bench between them.

“Well,” he announced, arranging the protein bars into a precise stack, “at least we won’t die of starvation. Twelve protein bars should keep us alive long enough to be found.” He picked one up, turning it over in his hands with exaggerated disdain. “Though I have to say, your team’s taste in flavors is questionable at best. Apple cider protein bar?” Kaden wrinkled his nose. “That sounds absolutely vile.”

“I’m not spending Christmas locked in here with you,” Louis growled, more to himself than Kaden.

“What, afraid they’ll come up with another story about us?” Kaden’s voice dripped sweet venom. “Something saucy, maybe? Did you know there are girls who think we fuck?”

Louis clenched his jaws. “Maybe because you lead them on on Twitter?”

“No,” Kaden’s lips curved into a dangerous smile. “I think they’re just feeling this natural tension between us.”

Louis slid off the bench and leaned back against it, the cool tile grounding him as his heart pounded, each beatechoing in his ears. His palms felt clammy, but he ignored the discomfort. Something about tonight—the quiet, the isolation, or maybe just Kaden’s constant needling—made the weight in his chest impossible to ignore. He wasn’t sure if it was courage or exhaustion fueling him, but the urge to finally address the unspoken tension between them surged to the surface. If he didn’t do it now, he never would.

“Okay,” he said, his voice tight but determined. “I see you’re going to keep bringing this up, so let’s talk about the elephant in the fucking room while we’re at it.”

His pulse quickened as the words left his mouth, but there was no taking them back now. He clenched his jaw, bracing himself for whatever came next.

Kaden shifted where he sat, stretching his legs out in front of him with an air of casual ease. His expression remained calm, but there was something in his eyes—something guarded like he was waiting to see where this was going.

He tilted his head just slightly, his voice smooth and maddeningly unaffected. “What elephant?”

Louis’s heart thundered in his chest, but he kept his eyes locked on Kaden, his jaw tightening as he forced the words out. “The fucking kiss.” Each syllable felt like a challenge, but he refused to back down now. It had been buried long enough, and if Kaden wanted to keep pushing, then fine—they’d push.

He could see the flicker in Kaden’s eyes, a split second of something unguarded before it shifted into practiced confusion. Louis knew better. That look wasn’t real—it was Kaden buying time, scrambling for a response.

“Juniors,” Louis pressed on, his voice steady despite the rapid thrum of his pulse. “The last game we played together. I kissed you by the pool at the afterparty.”

The words hit the air like a slap, sharp and unavoidable. Louis stayed rooted, his gaze steady and unrelenting. If Kaden wanted to play dumb, he’d have to do it while staring down the full force of Louis’s resolve. There was no escaping this, not now.

A faint flush crept up Kaden’s neck, but his tone turned sharp, almost biting. “Why the hell are you bringing this up now?”

---