This is what he gets for trying to play hero. Who was he kidding? He wasn’t the knight-in-shining-armor type. Never had been. But when he saw a bunch of jocks cornering some girl behind the school, instincts kicked in.

So, he did what he knew—he threw punches until they backed off. Subtlety was never his thing.

“Hey,” he said, stepping forward, hands stuffed in his pockets, eyes sharp.

“I’m not gonna hurt you.”

The words felt hollow, especially with three groaning bodies behind him.

He saw the fear in your eyes, the tension in your shoulders. Yeah… this wasn’t working.

With a sigh, he turned to walk away. Should’ve known better.