All Chapters of MINE TO BULLY : Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

The JokeBy the next morning, Ezra had almost convinced himself that yesterday hadn’t bothered him.Almost.Unfortunately, pretending became a lot harder when he walked into school and immediately heard laughter.“Speak of the devil.”“Hey, Monroe.”“Careful, guys. He might get interesting.”The last comment sent a fresh wave of laughter through the hallway.Ezra froze.His stomach sank.He knew exactly where the joke had come from.Jace.Of course.The comment from lunch had already spread through the school.That was the thing about Ashford Academy. News traveled fast, but humiliation traveled faster.Ezra tightened his grip on the strap of his backpack and kept walking. Looking at them would only make things worse.“Don’t cry, Monroe.”Another voice.More laughter.Someone bumped his shoulder as they passed.Not hard enough to start a fight.Just hard enough to remind him where he stood.Or rather, where he didn’t.By the time he reached his locker, his mood was already ruined.Gre

Ezra should have looked away.The sensible thing would have been to close the curtains, step back from the window, and remind himself that staring at Jace Ryland was exactly how he’d ended up in this mess in the first place.Instead, he stood there like an idiot.Across the street, Jace remained near his own window. The distance between their houses wasn’t great. Their families had lived opposite each other for years, long enough for the rivalry between the Monroes and the Rylands to become local gossip. Reporters loved it. Voters loved it. Apparently everyone loved it except the people actually involved.For a few awkward seconds, neither boy moved.Then Jace pulled his curtain shut.Just like that.The moment ended.Ezra let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding and stepped away from the window. His heart felt ridiculous. Nothing had happened. They had literally looked at each other through two separate windows. That was it.Yet somehow he couldn’t stop thinking about it

The television was already on when Ezra came downstairs.His father sat at the head of the table with a coffee mug in one hand and a tablet in the other. Across the screen, Senator Ryland stood behind a podium answering questions from reporters.“…and if elected, I intend to continue supporting educational reform across the state..."His father snorted.“Educational reform.”Ezra’s mother looked up from her breakfast.“Thomas.”!!!“What?” he asked. “The man has spent six months repeating the same speech.”The reporter asked another question.Senator Ryland smiled for the cameras.His father immediately looked annoyed.“There’s that smile again.”“Good morning to you too,” Ezra muttered.His mother hid a smile behind her coffee cup.His father pointed a fork at him.“Don’t start.”“I’m not starting anything.”“Tell that to the Rylands.”Ezra groaned.There it was.The daily ritual.The Monroe-Ryland feud had become so normal that nobody in town questioned it anymore. Reporters loved it

The messages didn't stop.Ezra told himself he'd block the number the first night. He told himself the same thing the second night, and the third. By the end of the week, he'd stopped pretending he meant it.There was something dangerous about talking to someone who already knew the worst of it. Someone who didn't ask him to explain, who never demanded he justify why he still watched Jace Ryland the way he did after three years of being nothing but a joke to him. It was easier to be honest with a stranger than with anyone who actually had to look at him the next day.**Unknown: How was school?****Ezra: Same as always.****Unknown: That bad?****Ezra: Logan Pierce called me "project charity case" in front of half the cafeteria. Jace didn't say anything.****Unknown: Did you expect him to?**Ezra stared at that one a long time before answering.**Ezra: No. I don't know. Maybe.****Unknown: That's the part that hurts, isn't it? Not the joke. Him staying quiet.**Ezra's throat tightened.