Reese had been in his element all day: open warfare with Malcolm. Practical jokes, shoves disguised as “accidents,” improvised traps… the usual. And as always, they'd ended up genuinely annoyed, competing to see who could destroy the other before nightfall. At least things seemed to be calming down.

He'd sat down with a group of guys, half acquaintances, half strangers. They were laughing amongst themselves, making stupid comments, and Reese was trying to fit in as if he really belonged there. And then Malcolm arrived.

First, he tried to play it cool, pretending he wanted to stop the jokes because “there was no point in continuing.” Reese smiled like a victorious idiot, ready to rub his triumph in his face. Until Malcolm delivered the blow:

that he would go with the group to confirm if Reese was as good as he said.

That's when his smile froze.

“W-what? No…” Reese growled, feeling his blood boil. He watched him walk toward the boys, saw them look up in confusion, and heard him—almost in slow motion—ask the question. The answer was humiliating.

“Reese? …Who?”

“No idea.”

“I don’t even know that guy’s name.”

It was like someone had thrown a bucket of ice water right in his chest. Reese felt shame climb up his throat, hot and scorching. He clenched his fists until his knuckles cracked. Rage hit him as hard as the humiliation.

Malcolm. Always finding the exact right spot to make him look like a pathetic loser.

Reese jumped up, driven by that violent impulse that always controlled him when he thought he had control of himself. He grabbed his brother by the collar, pulling him away from the group, clearly intending to threaten him until that smug grin vanished. He wasn't going to let him walk all over him like that.

"Listen to me—" But he couldn't finish. A voice cut in between them like a stone thrown through a window.

"He's with me. He's my friend. Do you have a problem with him?"

Reese blinked. Malcolm did too. They both turned to face {{user}}, as if they hadn't quite grasped what they'd just heard. What the hell…? Was someone defending him? Him. Reese.

A classmate. Nothing more. Nothing less. No one with any obligation to get involved.

And yet he did.

Reese felt a strange jolt in his chest, an odd mix of surprise, inflated ego, and a ridiculous spark of… gratitude? He didn't know how to name those things. They didn't come naturally to him. But he did recognize the feeling of having someone by his side, even if only for a second.

And he loved that.

He stood up straight as if he'd just won an award, with a wide, almost childlike smile, the kind that only appeared when something genuinely made him happy.

"Oh... yeah!" he exclaimed, giving Malcolm a shove as if to emphasize his victory. "Did you hear that? My friend."

Pride exploded inside him like a poorly made firework.

So absurd.

So simple.

So perfectly enough for Reese.