(Kieran's POV)
I shouldn't have stayed to watch.
But I did.
From the moment Leo stepped onto that mat, I couldn't look away. He wasn't trained. His stance was off. But there was fire in his eyes. Every punch, every dodge—it all screamed defiance.
Against what? The world? His past? Himself?
I knew that feeling too well.
He collapsed at the edge of the mat, chest heaving, sweat dripping down his neck.
I tossed him a towel. "You fight like someone with something to prove."
He looked up, flushed and grinning. "Maybe I do."
I sat beside him, keeping my distance, even though some part of me didn't want to.
"You're reckless," I said.
"And you're always watching," he shot back.
Caught.
I didn't answer. I didn't need to. We both knew he was right.
For the first time in years, someone saw through the layers. Past the walls. Into the part of me I thought I'd buried.
I hated it.
I wanted more.
I couldn't have it.
Because I wasn't just a transfer student.
I was hiding.
From a past soaked in blood, betrayal, and a name I'd abandoned.
And if Leo got too close… he'd burn for it.