Selene sat in the gritty cafeteria of Rave U's Drakonis Pact, surrounded by the usual suspects. The air reeked of attitude, power, and simmering tension. Conversations were cut with snide remarks, and glares were exchanged like bullets in the underground world they came from. Xyra, her older sister, sat at the head of the table, like the queenpin of this criminal syndicate called school, running her empire with an iron fist and a gaze that could freeze blood. Celesse, the youngest, sat nearby, proudly showing off her baby basilisk. The thing coiled around her neck like a living, breathing necklace, its shimmering, dangerous beauty drawing cautious glances from the others. Most of the students were either too scared or too smart to meet its gaze—everyone knew the kind of damage those cold eyes could inflict.

Selene, however, wasn’t thinking about Celesse’s bizarre reptilian obsession today. She had her mind on something—or rather, someone—far more intriguing: *Ennuy Null*. The new kid had been at Rave U for only a few weeks, but he was already stirring things up in a way that both excited and unnerved her. The dude didn’t move like anyone else here. He wasn’t trying to flex or fit in with the mobsters-in-training that filled the halls. Nah, Ennuy was like a shadow, sliding through the crowd, unnoticed by most but profoundly present if you took the time to watch. And Selene? She was watching.

She’d seen plenty of guys try to play it cool, including her own brother Arian, who was always so flamboyant and loud about his brilliance that it was impossible to ignore. Arian had that obnoxious energy—he was in your face, and you knew when he entered a room. Ennuy? Different story. His intelligence didn’t scream at you; it whispered, leaving you guessing and wanting more. The lavender-haired enigma carried a calm indifference, like he didn’t give a damn about the petty posturing that went on in their circle.

Selene found herself comparing the two—Arian and Ennuy. Where her brother's intelligence was like a neon sign flashing 'LOOK AT ME,' Ennuy’s was more like a hidden blade. Subtle, dangerous. It was that edge that hooked her, the way he didn’t seem fazed by the bullshit. And he had this dark humor that felt like a breath of fresh air in her world of endless schemes and power plays. The first time he’d cracked a sarcastic joke, she’d been caught off guard, laughing harder than she had in months. It felt real, not staged like everything else around her.

Ennuy didn’t care about impressing anyone, least of all the school’s so-called elite. His crew—Payback, Charm, Ragdoll, and Frostie—was proof of that. They were a ragtag bunch, outsiders who looked like they belonged on the streets, not in Rave U’s upper echelons. But they stuck together, like a gang of strays, and Ennuy? He was their leader, whether they realized it or not. The dude had a quiet kind of command that came naturally. And when he’d caught her watching him one day, that flicker of acknowledgment in his red eyes had been enough to spark something in her. Something she wasn’t used to feeling.

But there was one big problem: Xyra.

Her older sister had already sunk her claws into Ennuy, marking him as hers from the moment he arrived. Xyra had this way of seeing potential in people before anyone else did, and when she did, she latched on. Hard. She had plans, always. And those plans usually involved blackmail, manipulation, and straight-up criminal moves. Like how she’d been blackmailing their brother Arian to keep him in line, using the tiniest screw-ups she could find—some shady tax dealings, a few too many ties to Veil’s illegal mod shop. It didn’t matter how small the mistake; Xyra would find a way to leverage it, to turn it into a weapon.

And now, Xyra had her eyes on Ennuy. Selene hated it, but she couldn’t deny it—her sister was grooming him, feeding him hints of power, dangling the potential of what he could become if he stuck with her. Ennuy wasn’t just a pawn; he was a key piece in Xyra’s endless game of domination. She saw him as a weapon, something she could mold and unleash when the time was right.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

But Selene wanted him for herself. Not as a tool, not as a weapon—but for her. She couldn’t shake the feeling that Ennuy was different, and she wanted to be the one to uncover all the layers hidden beneath that cool exterior. So, she made a decision—screw Xyra. She was going to ask Ennuy out. Maybe it was impulsive, reckless even, but Selene was tired of standing in her sister’s shadow. She needed to take something for herself, for once.

One afternoon during P.E., she spotted him behind the bleachers, hanging back as usual while the other kids messed around with the usual physical training. Ennuy’s team wasn’t with him this time, and that was a rare opportunity. Selene’s heart pounded as she walked over to him, her palms sweaty, but she kept her face calm. She had to be smooth about this, or she’d look like a total idiot.

"Ennuy," she called out, her voice steady, but low enough to sound casual.

He turned, his red eyes catching hers. "Selene," he acknowledged her with a nod, his voice cool, smooth as ever. "What’s up?"

For a second, her mind went blank. She’d spent all this time building up to this moment, but now that she was face to face with him, she had no idea what to say. Still, she wasn’t about to back down. Not now.

"I was thinking... maybe we could hang out sometime?" she blurted out, trying to sound nonchalant but feeling like she’d just stepped into a minefield.

Ennuy’s eyebrows raised slightly, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Hang out?" he repeated, tilting his head as if he was sizing her up. "Sure. Why not?"

Relief washed over her, but before she could say anything else, the sound of approaching footsteps made her stomach drop. She turned, and her heart sank as she saw Xyra and her right-hand girl, Viora, striding towards them. Viora looked like she was ready to throw hands, her eyes practically burning holes into Selene’s skull.

"Selene," Xyra said in that ice-cold tone that could freeze blood. "What do you think you’re doing?"

Selene opened her mouth to answer, but Viora was faster, stepping in front of Xyra like a bodyguard on a mission. "You’re not trying to steal my best friend’s project, are you?" Viora sneered, her voice dripping with malice. "Because that’s exactly what it looks like."

"I wasn’t—"

"Don’t lie," Xyra cut in, her voice soft but sharp as a razor. "I told you. Ennuy is mine. I have plans for him, and I won’t let you ruin that."

The words hit Selene like a punch to the gut, but she held her ground, even though she was seething inside. This was classic Xyra—always taking what she wanted, always making sure everyone knew she was in control. It made Selene sick. But she wasn’t stupid enough to defy her sister outright. Not yet.

"I wasn’t going to do anything," she muttered, forcing her voice to stay calm.

"Good," Xyra said, her tone smug. "Remember that."

As Xyra and Viora walked away, leaving her standing there, Selene clenched her fists, rage boiling under the surface. She glanced at Ennuy, who had watched the whole thing unfold with that same calm, almost amused expression.

"You don’t have to listen to her, you know," he said, his voice low. "You can do whatever you want."

For a second, Selene considered it—defying Xyra, going after Ennuy, taking what she wanted. But she knew better. She wasn’t ready to take on her sister, not yet.

"I’ll keep that in mind," she said, forcing a smile. But as she walked away, the fire in her chest only grew stronger.

Viora, pissed that Selene had even thought about stepping into her territory, began plotting immediately. She enlisted a gang of manipulative girls from their circle—real predators—to constantly flirt with Ennuy, hoping to trip him up. They would corner him in the hallways, brush up against him, whisper suggestive things in his ear. They left notes in his locker, hoping to catch him slipping, to make him falter. It was all part of the game—to prove that Ennuy wasn’t above being played like the rest of them.

And Selene? She had to watch it all go down, powerless to stop any of it. Back in the cafeteria, she could hear Celesse gushing about her damn basilisk, barely noticing the storm brewing around them.

"… if it bites someone, their body goes rigid," Celesse said with a grin. "Turns to stone from the inside out. It's awesome!"

Selene shot her a sideways glance, muttering, "You really shouldn’t wear that thing around your neck. Someone’s gonna end up dead."

Celesse just grinned wider, her eyes glinting with amusement. "Yeah, but they’ll go out in style."

The rest of the cafeteria buzzed with gossip and power plays, but Selene’s thoughts stayed locked on one thing: Ennuy. She knew Xyra would eventually make her move, and when that happened, Selene needed to be ready to strike back.

But first, she had to figure out how to break Ennuy out of her sister's web.