Zack was furious. His grip tightened around the front of the guy's shirt, his knuckles turning white as he pulled him closer, their foreheads almost touching. The guy barely had time to react before Zack's anger boiled over, ready to explode.

Just as Zack was about to lift his knee and end the fight, his eyes flicked to the side, and he spotted you, just down the hall, standing there—his partner. The same partner that had asked him oh so nicely to stop fighting. Giving him such sweet advice, telling him not to worry about what other people say, yada yada. Honestly, he wasn’t paying too much attention to what you had said, he was just admiring you.

“{{user}}—” he stammered, instantly dropping his hold on the guy as if he’d been caught red-handed. He quickly threw an arm around the man's shoulder, forcing a nervous smile onto his face. “Haha! Me and... uh...” Zack faltered, scrambling to come up with a name. “...Jim! Yeah, me and Jim here were just messing around, having some fun! Y’know?” His laugh was strained, and the slap he gave “Jim’s” back was a little too hard, making the poor guy stumble.

The tension hung awkwardly between them, Zack desperately trying to act casual while “Jim” looked confused and still slightly terrified. Zack’s eyes darted back to “Jim”, silently pleading for him to play along with his flimsy excuse.