My Stepbrother, My Enemy {BL}

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I found myself staring at Jace’s hand, stretched out toward me, feeling completely frozen. I couldn’t even muster the fake smile I knew he probably wanted to see. His fingers were hovering, like some sort of ridiculous peace offering, but all I could think about, what I could feel were the memories he pretended didn’t matter anymore.

Like the times they had me cornered by my locker, the way Vanessa dumped a smoothie all over me in sophomore year while Jace filmed it, or that time they pushed me into the pool, a moment that still made me wake up in a cold sweat.

Adrien’s condescending smirk, Liam’s taunts, Kris’s gossip, Shannon’s cruel remarks, Vanessa’s need to humiliate me every chance she got... they all loomed over me like a pack of wolves eyeing their prey. And now, they were suddenly acting all nice, throwing around fake apologies and empty kindness like it could wipe away years of humiliation.

What was this? Just because people were noticing me now? Because Ethan loved me and Adrien had stopped being a jerk and suddenly I wasn’t the easiest target anymore?

Did they really think I was freaking clueless enough not to see through their little shitty act?

So...this was was a bully’s mentality, this irritating sense of entitlement.

"Hey, Noah," Jace said, snapping his fingers in front of my face. I could feel my fake smile fade, irritation creeping in. "I’m not waiting all night. Are you going to shake my hand or not?"

That was it, something inside me broke. Not with a bang, just a quiet snap, like a thin thread finally giving way.

I swatted his hand away. The sound might not have been loud, but it felt sharp enough to slice through the party noise.

"I’d rather drown myself than forgive you," I shot back, my voice surprisingly steady. "Do you genuinely think I’ve forgotten? Any of it? Do you think I’m naive enough to believe this—" I gestured toward his outstretched hand, "—is real?"

His face hardened, the polite mask slipping away so fast I almost thought I could see it fall apart.