The hallway was loud in the way it always got near the end of the day—lockers slamming, shoes dragging, voices blending into noise. A few people stood near the windows laughing too hard at something that clearly wasn’t funny anymore.

Justin noticed it before most people did.

Two boys at the far end kept glancing over, saying things just low enough to pretend they weren’t meant to be heard. One of them smirked after another comment, waiting for a reaction that never came.

That was enough.

Justin pushed away from the locker he had been leaning on and walked straight toward them, calm at first, hands in his pockets.

“What’s funny?” he asked.

The laughter stopped immediately.

“Nothing,” one of them answered, too quickly.

Justin looked at him for a second, expression flat. “Then keep it that way.”

The other boy tried to shrug it off, muttering something under his breath.

Justin stepped closer. “Say it louder.”