From my Bully to CEO

Chapter 15

PAST

GRAYSON’S POV:

Selene flinched, her body jerking as the ball whizzed right past her head and landed on the ground with a heavy thud.

She spun around and her honey brown waves danced with her. Her eyes were narrowed into slits, her hands curling into fists at her side.

Up until now, she tried to behave in front of the other guys. For a moment, I'd believe that she was just that. A fragile damsel whose first instinct was to run and hide. Nothing interesting.

But then I cornered her in the library. It had happened so unintentionally. I was there just to return a book but Mrs Rodriguez wasn’t on the counter. I walked up the stairs when I heard her voice, very loudly telling someone to leave.

I paused on the steps and considered my choices. But in the end, my father’s words in my head had won.

But if I’m being honest, maybe I wanted to see who she really was when no one was watching. Without the mask she wore like a second skin and pretended no one could notice. When there wasn’t any pressure to behave a certain way.

And of course, she didn’t disappoint.

Selene Hale was a fire incarnate. In front of everyone, she kept the facade of the damsel fixed in place. Maybe because she knew her fire would only fuel our cruelty, would only make her more of a target. It was a wise decision.

And a part—a dark, twisted part of me—was glad that I was the only one who’d gotten to see Selene Hale at her best, when she was most lethal.

But now, as she stared at the trio of me, Josh and Nate approach, her carefully designed facade tethered on the edge of slipping, of breaking under the strain of her anger.

She kept terribly still and before the interaction in the library, I might’ve mistaken that stillness for fear.

But now, I knew better. This was defiance. The silence was a challenge all in itself.

And we were walking straight into it.

She bent down and picked the ball from where it’d fallen, tucking it under one arm as she used her free hand to pull out her earpods, unceremoniously shoving them in her bag.

For a moment, I thought she might launch the ball straight at Nate’s face but she didn't make effort to do such a thing. Instead, she grabbed the ball with both hands, spinning it between her palms.

The action was too bold. It looked like a dare.

Maybe this was it. Maybe we’d finally crossed her limit and she didn’t care about the facade anymore.

Maybe, war was starting. Bold and outright.

But then she caught herself. The ball stilled in her hands. Her shoulders slackened, her stance softened—as if she’d reminded herself to shrink, to fade, to survive instead of fight.

Nathan stopped a step too close, his shadow falling over her.

“Surprised seeing you here, Ninety-Eight,” he said, voice pitched just loud enough to carry. “Don’t tell me you’re trying out for the soccer team.”

The field went silent—the thuds of incessant dribbling stilled entirely.

Her jaw clenched but she didn’t say anything. Instead, her gaze flickered to our team mates all scattered across the field, taking in all the eyes that had now turned to us. These people were attuned to drama like an ant would be to sugar.

“You’d need better shoes than those,” Josh said, nose scrunched up as he stared down at her worn out sneakers. “Those won’t last an hour in the field.”

Nathan snickered at the comment and I noticed the way she blinked extra hard at the comment - like she was trying to swallow down something particularly heavy.

I hated the way my stomach twisted at the sight.

“Or maybe she’s hoping pity will make the coach go easy on her,” Nathan said, the cruelty of his words wrapped under the softness of his voice.

“Oh, that won’t be hard,” Josh said, eyeing her. “Just look at her clothes.”

Selene’s grip on the ball tightened. Her eyes flicked to mine, and heat shot through me, flooding my chest like something volatile waiting for a spark.

I forced the feeling down and broke eye contact.

She turned around, walking away from us, the ball still in her hands.

“Running already?” Nathan whispered, stalking forward until he was in front of her, blocking her part.

The hunching of her shoulders was the only sign I got—sign that she was preparing herself for a fight before she launched the ball at Nate.

Hard.

The ball ripped through the air, missing Nate’s ear by an inch. He flinched instinctively, twisting out of its path. But it hadn’t been aimed at him—just like his hadn’t been aimed at her.

The ball fell helplessly to the ground behind Nate, rolling away as he stared at Selene with wide eyes that looked a little too cartoonish.

But the silence in the air was heavier now. The new girl had dared to fight back. That too against Nathan Blanchard. Had dared to hit him.

This was all out war now.

Everyone held their breaths as they stared at the scene unfolding in front of their eyes.

I stepped forward towards Selene. I wasn’t sure why. Maybe I thought Nathan would do something particularly cruel and maybe I’d wanted to defend Selene from it.

The thought alone made me step back. I glanced at Josh to see his mouth slightly open, gaze darting from Selene to Nathan like a frantic ping pong ball.

But then, to everyone’s surprise, Nathan grinned. All teeth and devilish charm. He whistled lowly, gaze darting from Selene to Josh and then to me. “Damn, Ninety-Eight,” he drawled, eyes glinting with barely restrained amusement. “You’ve got some teeth, after all.”

“Oh, you have no idea, Blanchard,” Selene murmured, “And I have an even better shot so be careful. Next time, that ball will find your face.”

It was the worst thing she could’ve done. The boys were already getting bored of her, already moving on, trying to find a new target. If she’d just kept her mouth shut for one more interaction, she might’ve become old news by next week.

But of course, Selene had chosen this exact moment to snap.

Not that it would’ve mattered to me. Even if they let her go, I wouldn’t. I’d made promises—to my father, to myself, and, in a way, to her. We had our own war to fight.

Nathan’s smile grew almost inhumanly savage. He opened his mouth to respond but Coach chose that exact moment to walk back onto the field.

His voice carried over to us as he yelled, “Everyone, back in position.”

Selene brushed past Nathan, head held high like she was balancing an invisible crown as she disappeared off the field.

“She really did that,” Josh exclaimed, a breathless laugh in his words.

Nathan’s grin only widened. “Told you she’d be fun to play with.”