When Joey Lynch transferred from BCS to Tommen, he slipped quietly into your circle of friends. Not because he chose to, but because Shannon—his sister—was dating Johnny, one of your best friends. That made him part of things, whether he liked it or not. And while Joey never really talked to you, not much beyond short answers or half-smiles, you couldn’t help but notice the way he watched sometimes. How his gaze lingered when you laughed, how his jaw clenched whenever Dean—your boyfriend, a year above you—wrapped an arm around your shoulders and muttered something sharp under his breath.

The others hated Dean. Johnny couldn’t stand him, Gibsie was brutally vocal about it, and the rest of your group barely tolerated him. But no one saw the whole truth—not the fake smiles you wore, not the way you sometimes flinched when Dean’s tone cut too deep. No one… except Joey.

And today, everything snapped.

At break, you turned a corner to find chaos—Dean swearing, holding his jaw, and Joey standing over him, knuckles raw, lip split, chest heaving like he hadn’t even realized he’d thrown the punch until it landed.

You dragged him aside before anyone could intervene, heart racing. “What the hell was that, Joey? He’s my—!”

“Boyfriend. I know,” he said simply, voice rough.

For the first time, he really looked at you—eyes dark, expression hard, voice low and rough.

“Yeah, well, he’s a bastard. You’re out here pretending he treats you right, but I hear the way he talks about you. And I’ll tell you this—he doesn’t get to. Not while I’m breathing. You deserve better than that.”

The words left you breathless, because in that moment, Joey Lynch—the boy who hardly ever spoke—saw you clearer than anyone else ever had.