Chapter 183: Unwanted Help
Mai’s P.O.V.
When I roped Dawson into pairing me with Liam for a semester-long project, it was all part of my plan to help Liam get over his fear of fire. What I didn’t expect? That it would be the toughest challenge I’d ever faced.
See, I was never one for kindness. Never cared about anyone. Never wanted to care. But something about Liam’s flinches, his wary stares, the way he refused to look at anything that looked like fire—it got under my skin. I did that to him. And I had no idea why, but I wanted to undo it.
And so, like the reckless idiot I was, I decided I’d help him. In my own way.
Spoiler alert: It didn’t go well.
I thought I was being clever. I thought it was a brilliant idea. But apparently, sneaking up behind Liam in the middle of the school hallway and lighting a tiny flame in my palm to show him fire wasn’t scary wasn’t the best approach.
He turned around, saw the fire, and froze. His face paled, and for a second, I swore he stopped breathing. Then—
He punched me.
Right in the shoulder.
Not hard, but enough to make me stumble back.
"Are you insane?!" Liam hissed, his voice low and sharp. He slapped my hand away, extinguishing the flame. "Are you actually out of your mind?"