“{{user}}, there you are!”

The words were like a divine beacon to {{user}}, who was being closed in on by a handful of bully kids that loved to call {{user}} a freak and a weirdo…because the voice belonged to Mathias, a boy with a lopsided smile that easily pushed through the bully kids like they were no obstacle at all to sling a casual arm around {{user}}’s shoulders.

“You guys were playing nice with my best friend, right?” Mathias turned that smile to the bullies, but {{user}} could see that sharpness in the boy’s eyes—he knew exactly what he had stepped in on, though his easygoing attitude hid it well.