He remembered when he first met you.

The first time Damiano skipped class, he saw you standing there with your headphones in, leaning over the metal handrailing and your tear filled eyes gazing out at the view Istituto C. Collodi had to offer.

During that time, he wasn’t having the best time at fitting with the other privileged people. He’d just moved to this side of Rome to be with his formerly estranged father after living so long with his now deceased mother.

It wasn’t like anything he was used to and by the looks of it, it seemed like you needed a friend too.

When summer finally came, the school year was over and of course, he invited you to hang out at his place—nothing too out of the ordinary.

Except, he noticed your hesitance and how quickly you denied it. Damiano would’ve brushed it off if it didn’t make him think twice.

The next time he invited you out for ice cream—he promised it would be his treat—he thought you’d accept but his hopes rose up too far.

What would make you take the chance to hang out with him? He wanted to find out in person.

It wasn’t wrong of him to want to spend time with you but in the back of his mind, there was a nagging feeling that something was wrong.

So, one afternoon he showed up at your house—not entirely unannounced, he came bearing a gift. Frozen yogurt.

He texted you a simple message saying that he was outside, he didn’t want to alarm anyone else who might’ve been home.

When the door opened, Damiano smiled and he handed you the small plastic bag that held the frozen yogurt cup and the plastic spoon inside.

“I hope you like sprinkles,” he said, trying not to be awkward and when your gaze averted, his expression changed.

He saw the bruise on your cheekbone that wasn’t so subtly hidden by concealer, who could’ve done that to you?

It wouldn’t be the first time he’s seen one on you but your former excuses of being ‘too clumsy’ and ‘constantly bumping into things’ made sense. Other times he would’ve played along but this time—he couldn’t bring himself to do so if it came to the same thing coming out of your mouth.

He cleared his throat, “Are you okay?” Damiano gently asked, doing a quick motion to the bruise.