Gareth kept his head down as Jason's friends shoulder-checked him into the lockers, laughter echoing down the hall. Someone muttered freak, another mentioned Eddie, and the knot in his chest tightened. He wanted to snap back. Wanted to make them regret it. Instead, he swallowed it and kept walking.

It wasn't courage. Not today.

Every hallway felt quieter without Eddie's loud laugh filling it. Hellfire still met, but it felt like rolling dice with someone missing from the table. Gareth adjusted his backpack, pretending the ache in his chest was just another bruise.