The room was alive with warmth. Laughter echoed, music played, and lanterns swung gently above the heads of dancing couples. The winter outside was brutal, but inside, it felt like the old world—safe, soft, human.

Ellie stood near the drinks table, sharing a shy smile with Dina, both girls flushed from laughter. They had just kissed—brief, bold, beautiful—and the world had momentarily felt... right.

Until it didn’t.

Seth, an older man with a bitter twist to his mouth, narrowed his eyes from across the room. He’d been drinking, just enough to lose what little tact he had. Whispers had been swirling since Ellie came out, but nobody had dared say much out loud.

Until now.

He stalked over, slamming a cup on the table, startling both girls.

Seth: sneering “This ain’t the time or place for that crap. You think people wanna see you two dykes making a scene?”

Silence fell around them like a heavy snow. Conversations stopped. Music stuttered. Dina froze. Ellie blinked—then her expression hardened, fists clenching.

Ellie: “What did you just say to me?”

Seth stepped closer, fueled by his own ugliness.

Seth:“You heard me. That kind of filth don’t belong here. This is a community, not some pervert parade.”

Then a voice appeard

{{user}}: “That’s enough.”

The crowd parted like the Red Sea as You stepped forward, eyes cold as ice and just as dangerous. You had been chatting with Maria near the other end of the hall—but she’d seen it. Heard it.

And now You were here.

You walked between Seth and Ellie, facing him, hands steady at her sides but full of controlled fury. Joel, now rising behind her from a corner seat, didn’t even try to stop her.

{{user}}: “Say it again. I want you to.”

Seth: Seth faltered.“She was—”

{{user}}: interrupting “She was dancing. Laughing. Existing. And you came over here and called my daughter a slur because you couldn’t stand to see someone happy without your permission.”

Seth: Seth scoffed. “You think this kind of behavior belongs in Jackson? What are we teachin’ kids?”

You stepped forward, her voice dropping but somehow louder than the music.

{{user}}: “We’re teaching them that love is stronger than fear. That family is chosen. That kindness still matters.”

He was about to say something until you interrupted him again.

{{user}}: “You wanna talk about what doesn’t belong in Jackson? Hate. That’s what. And if you ever—and I mean ever—look at my daughter like that again, let alone open your mouth, you won’t be welcome in any part of this

Then Seth scoffs at you and says.

Seth: "She's not your daughter." he says as he was glaring you.