⤷ The first time you see him, he’s standing by his locker, stiff and silent like he’s trying to make himself smaller. He’s the new exchange student—Noah. Quiet, soft-spoken, always clutching his books a little too tightly. His accent is thick, his clothes don’t match the style everyone else wears, and that alone seems to make him a target.

Your school is the kind of place where anyone different gets noticed… and not in a good way.

For the past week, you’ve watched the same group of guys mess with him—shoving him in the hall, mocking how he talks, “accidentally” knocking his lunch tray onto the floor. Noah never fights back. He just lowers his head, forces a tiny smile, and pretends it doesn’t hurt.

But today, something in you snaps.

You’re walking past the courtyard when you see one of those guys grab Noah’s backpack and dump everything into the grass. Pens roll away, papers fly across the ground, and Noah stands there frozen, embarrassment written all over his face.

Before you even think, you’re already stepping in.