LOGINPresentGrayson's POV The room exploded.“What the fuck!” Nate yelled.“Are you serious?” Theo barked, half on his feet already.Selene pressed a trembling hand over her mouth, trying to muffle her laughter or maybe a scream.In an instant, everyone was on Josh, cheering, clapping him on the back, pelting him with questions. He looked both overwhelmed and ridiculously happy.Selene was the first to reach him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, saying something too soft for me to hear. Josh’s lips moved in an equally quiet response. When they pulled back, her cheeks were wet and Josh’s eyes shone.For a second, I just watched. Something in my chest twisted and warmed all at once. Then I leaned forward and thumped him on the back, grinning.“About damn time,” I said. “I knew it. I always said Ally was endgame for you.” Theo said, his voice turning a little rough around the edges. “God, I’m so fucking happy for you, man.”“I can’t believe this,” Nate whispered and to all our surpri
PRESENTGRAYSON’S POV:I pushed open the door of my office and three familiar faces turned toward me at once.Theo was sprawled unevenly on the couch, Nate stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, frozen mid-step as if caught doing something he shouldn’t. Josh hovered behind my chair, one hand on the backrest, clearly about to sit before I walked in.Despite the red-hot rage still thrumming through my veins, I felt the corner of my mouth twitch upward. My shoulders loosened, barely.“Seriously?” I asked, gaze drifting from three guilty faces to the pens cluttered on my desk. “You all need to grow up.”Josh crossed the room in two strides and all but threw himself at me.“Ah, I missed you!” He exclaimed dramatically, pulling me into a side hug.“It’s good to see you, man,” I replied, shoving him aside. Affectionately. “When did you land?”“This morning,” he replied. “Thought I’d surprise you but apparently you and Hale had other plans.”I scoffed, my gaze drifting towards her before
PresentSelene's Pov: The boys exchanged one look and then they were bolting toward the wide glass panel that doubled as a one-way mirror, throwing up the blinds Grayson usually kept down.“Are you serious right now?” I said, mortified.They ignored me.Theo squinted through the glass. “Is that him? He doesn’t look like your type.”“True,” Nate said, nodding thoughtfully. “Is he British? He looks British.”I gaped at him. “Yes and how exactly does someone look British?”He shrugged. “Something about the posture. Or the shirt. Feels British.”“A year long dating hiatus and this is the direction you’re going in?” Josh asked, giving me a meaningful look. “Gentleman-core?”“It wasn’t a year long hiatus and what does that even mean?”“He means your type has always either been Grayson himself or a Grayson prototype,” Theo said a little too casually. “He looks the complete opposite.”“I agree,” Nate chimed in. “Poor guy looks…nice. Respectable. How are you into him, Hale?”“I’m not even goi
PRESENTSELENE’S POV:“If it isn’t the great Selene Hale!”I looked up from my computer screen, startled, my sleep deprived brain working to recognize that voice.A squeal escaped me when I spotted Josh striding over, with Theo and Nate right behind him—wearing matching grins and all.I shot up from my chair, darted around my desk, and crashed into Josh with the force of a shameless hurricane.He laughed, one arm circling my waist to steady me. “Good to see you too!”“What are you doing here?” I asked, pulling back from the hug.“I told you we were due for a reunion,” Nate replied as I greeted him.“Oh, you were serious about that? I thought it was a joke or something,” I said, raising a brow.“You ever take me seriously, Hale?” He asked, sounding mock-offended.“You ever take yourself seriously, dude?” Josh countered, snickering.I turned to Theo, my eyes narrowed as I smacked his arm.“Ow!” He exclaimed, rubbing the spot. “What was that for?”“You’ve been here, what—an entire month
PASTSELENE’S POV:Yes, the school had a game room. And not the dusty, half-forgotten kind you expect to find in a public school.The game room at Crescent High was massive, almost the size of my LA apartment, with sleek rows of pool tables lined up like they belonged in a private club.A few ping pong tables stood near the far wall. A vending machine hummed in the corner, fully stocked as always, its glass front reflecting the pale glow of the single light left on.The rest of the room sat in a kind of hush, enveloped in soft and lazy shadows, like the place was half-asleep.And it was empty. Well, mostly.Because Grayson was there.He stood near one of the pool tables, cue in hand, idly spinning it between his fingers, eyes on the two remaining balls. His jacket was slung carelessly over the edge of the table, sleeves of his white uniform shirt rolled up, exposing the veins in his arms and the light marks of chalk that dusted his fingers. There was an open bottle of Coke sweating
PASTSELENE’S POV:“God, you look like shit,” Maya’s voice reached me and I turned in the general direction of the sound, eyes squinted against the glare of the blazing sun.“Thank you,” I shot back. To be fair, I did look like hell. Though, in my defence, I spent the last entire night either crying or staring numbly at my ceiling.In fact, I figured I deserved a medal for showing up to school at all.“What’re you doing here?” She asked me as she settled herself on the bleachers besides me.“Enjoying some fresh air,” I shrugged, then titled my head to the white box she was holding. “What’s that?”She rolled her eyes like I somehow offended her by asking that question as she shoved the box in my hands.“You could’ve told me it was your birthday,” she said, voice deliberately casual.“What?” I blinked, peering through the plastic side of the box to see a bento cake within. “How’d you even find out?”“Grayson mentioned,” she said, shrugging. “Apparently he’s been stalking you like a ps
PRESENTSELENE’S POV:“Hale!” Grayson’s voice made my skin erupt in goosebumps and I swallowed down the sudden burst of fear that crawled up my throat.The girl I was chatting with stood up straighter, her wide eyes darting towards the door of his office, where Grayson stood, thunder etched into e
PAST SELENE’S POV:Zoey picked up my call on the second ring. My world could be falling apart but I knew I could always count on her to always be meticulously consistent.“Oh, my God, finally!” Zoey exclaimed, her face popping onto my screen. Her dark almond eyes shone with mischief, her dark hair
PASTGRAYSON’S POV:“Dude!” Nate exclaimed from the bed behind me, tossing his controller aside. It bounced twice before landing on the edge of the mattress.I couldn’t help the grin that spread across my face as I whirled around in my chair to face him.“You clearly cheated,” Nathan said with a ro
PAST SELENE’S POV:“Selene Hale!” Josh Maddox sing-songed, his voice loud enough to attract the attention of the entire cafeteria.My face burned. I wanted to sink into the floor and never resurface again.Josh’s grin was so huge it looked like his face might split in two. “Finally, we meet.”My h







