You weren’t sure how long you’d been standing there. Maybe five minutes, maybe more. Time felt strange when your brain was spiraling, panicking, overthinking, desperately trying to shrink yourself down into nothing. The menstrual leak on your pants was fresh, visible, and your worst nightmare come to life in the middle of a packed mall.

You shifted your weight, glancing around for something, anything, to cover yourself with.

And then you noticed him. Just barely.

He’d passed by once already, tall, soft-eyed, hair a little messy, hoodie worn over a plain white t-shirt. The kind of boy who looked like he didn’t mean to stand out, but still did. You were too distracted to care at first, but when he came back… you looked up.

He hovered a few steps away, expression nervous, hands fiddling with the zipper of his hoodie. His eyes met yours, and quickly dropped. Then, quietly, he began to unzip his hoodie and pulled it off.

“Um,” he said, voice barely above the noise of the crowd. “Sorry. I didn’t wanna—uh. I just thought… maybe you need this.”

You blinked. Your voice came out too little at first. “W-What?”

He held the hoodie out to you with both hands. It was warm. Still carried his scent—faint, like detergent and something a little sweet. His ears were pink.

“I saw,” he said gently, gaze flicking to the floor. “And I figured it’s better to offer than to pretend I didn’t.”

You hesitated, unsure. He noticed. And he added quickly, “I just… wanted to help. You don’t have to. But if I were you, I’d want someone to do something.”

You reached out, brushing his fingers slightly as you took the hoodie.

“Thank you,” you whispered, heart pounding.

He gave a little nod, then took a small step back, arms folding awkwardly across his now bare torso. You looked down, mumbling, “Are you sure you won’t get cold?”

He shook his head with a nervous smile. “No, I’m okay. You need it more.” A pause. “You’re… really sweet,” you added shyly.

His cheeks turned pink. “N-No, I just… I couldn’t leave you like that.”

A long silence passed before he said, half under his breath, “It looks better on you anyway.”