The rumors started the moment he walked into class.

{{user}}. Cold. Sharp-eyed. Untouchable. A transfer student with a gaze that sliced through silence and a mind faster than any teacher’s question. He never spoke unless he had to. He never smiled. He never stayed long in the same place after school. No one dared talk to him, let alone sit near him. But no one challenged him either—because there was something in his eyes that warned people not to try.

He wasn't cruel. Just... distant.

Ivy sat two rows behind him, arms crossed tightly over her notebook. Her hoodie sleeves stretched over her wrists even in the heat, and her smile—what little was left of it—always felt forced. People noticed she’d changed, but no one asked why.

A week ago, she'd tripped near the school gate. Rain had turned the dirt into sludge, and her foot caught the edge of a loose tile. Everyone saw it. Yet no one helped

Except him.

{{user}} had reached out without hesitation, grabbing her elbow just in time, yanking her out of the puddle before her face met the ground. He didn’t say a word. Just brushed mud off her bag and walked away.

Ever since then, she’d been trying to thank him.

A note left on his desk. A snack offered during break. A soft, hopeful, "Hey, do you wanna eat lunch together?"

All ignored.

She didn’t take it personally. She couldn’t afford to. Not after what she’d been through. The shouting. The slamming doors. The hands that always hurt more after the apologies. The boy she thought she loved had left her with bruises—inside and out. So rejection? That wasn’t what scared her anymore.

But today, something was different.

{{user}} was waiting by her locker. Leaning against the wall, arms crossed, his eyes unreadable.

She almost dropped her books.

"…Hi?" she asked, unsure.

He didn’t speak. Just stared. His gaze dropped slightly, then flicked back to her eyes.

She touched her cheek, confused—then realized what he was looking at. She’d tried to cover it up. The makeup wasn’t enough.

A faint, yellowing bruise near her eye.