The Dark Side of His Mates

Ashley Roderick closed his eyes for a moment as he took a long, deep breath before exhaling slowly, and he opened his eyes and looked at Michael Raymond. 

A human with a very poor fashion sense, who always managed to do his job of hurting his eyes by combining a baby green sweater with black trousers and his already old and dirty sneakers. 

Michael’s hair was not even neatly styled, with the front hair falling down to cover his eyes, preventing anyone near him from knowing what kind of reaction was showing on his face.

Ashley knew from Michael's body language that this piece of garbage was afraid of him. It could be seen from the way Michael tightly gripped the pile of books he was carrying—typical of nerdy people for whom he did not even want to spare his time to understand their existence. 

Michael's two legs were shaking so badly that he felt that sooner or later, this nerd would fall if he continued to stand with shaking legs like that.

Well, that was none of his business. His dealings with Michael were far more important than Michael's feet.

"Michael Raymond."

"Y... yes!" Michael jumped in surprise, stepped back, and was about to find a way to escape from Ashley. Yet he swallowed hard when his back hit the wall behind him, telling him there was no escape from Ashley.

Besides Michael, three of Ashley’s friends—Gabriella Garfield, Sawyer Florence, and Cain Melville—stand around Michael to prevent him from escaping Ashley.

"I am sure I already told you what you should do, didn't I?" He stepped toward Michael until the distance between their faces remained a few centimeters. 

His irises turned hazel, which reflected clearly in Michael’s eyes. Michael was now trembling in fear as he noticed the change in Ashley's irises.

"And where is my assignment you were supposed to give me today, Michael?"

His hand landed on Michael’s right shoulder, gripping it until Michael winced in pain from his grip.

"I...I forgot to bring it..."

"What did you just say to me? You forgot to bring it to me?" Ashley said again in a high-pitched voice, full of annoyance. He could not take it anymore when he heard the classic excuse Michael had given him. "Do you think that's a good reason?"

This time, he could no longer contain his anger. His hand moved away from Michael’s shoulder, then he signaled to his three friends to stay away from him while he immediately grabbed Michael by the collar. 

He threw the body away from them for a few meters, creating a loud boom that echoed through the lobby of the university building where they were now.

"I just gave you one simple task, Michael! It was one simple task, you moron!" 

Ashley shouted loudly, approaching the figure of Michael, who was trying to stand up with difficulty after the throw earlier, and then punched Michael's cheeks in turn over and over again until the glasses worn by