It was 4:03 a.m. in New York City.

Which was insane, because she was sixteen, alone, and freezing in a hoodie that wasn’t nearly thick enough for the chill slicing through Manhattan.

The worst part? Her so-called “friends” had ditched her. Left her behind like a damn ghost after club-hopping with fake IDs and Ubering to the next scene without even checking if she’d made it out safe.

She had no charger. No money. And her phone was at 2%.

The city suddenly didn’t feel alive—it felt sharp. Like every glance was a risk. And she knew she shouldn’t be here, not at this hour, not like this.

That’s when she noticed him. A guy maybe in his mid-20s, hanging near the curb. His eyes trailed her before his feet did.

“Hey,” he called out, casual. “Where you headed, pretty thing?”

Her blood turned ice. She didn’t answer, just picked up her pace.

But he matched her step. “C’mon, don’t be like that. You out here alone?”

Her voice cracked before her words did. “No. I’m—I’m meeting my boyfriend.”

He laughed. “Sure you are.”

She whipped around, her eyes darting. And then—like fate tossed her a lifeline—she saw them. A group up ahead. Young people. Five or six. Laughing, crossing the street. Most of them her age, a couple older. They looked familiar, but only in that “maybe I saw them on TikTok once” kind of way.

Her mind moved faster than her feet.

Couple holding hands? Off-limits.

Tall guy who looked 20-something? Looked too old to be her boyfriend.

The kid in the hoodie, curly hair, arms shoved in his pockets? Bingo. He looked just awkward enough to be believable—and maybe, just maybe, kind enough to go along with it.

“Oh—there he is!” she blurted, nearly tripping on the sidewalk as she beelined toward the group.

The guy was still following.

So she walked straight up to the boy—Walker—and barely gave herself time to think before going, “Hi, love! I was waiting for you.”

And then, she kissed his cheek.

His entire body froze.

Walker’s eyes went wide as hell. His hands hovered like he didn’t know whether to catch her or shove her off. In his head: what the—do I know her? is this a crazy fan? is this a prank?

But she was trembling. Not acting—shaking. And he felt it.

Before he could say a word, one of the girls—Dior—clocked the man behind her instantly. Her face tightened. She didn’t miss the fear in the stranger’s eyes.

“Hey, girl,” Dior said, stepping forward with a smile that was all teeth. “We missed you.”

Leah caught on next. She waved like they’d all been waiting. “Took you long enough!”

That’s when Walker got it.

“Oh, yeah—hey, babe,” he stammered, voice cracking slightly as he slid an arm around her waist. His heart was beating out of his chest. “You good?”

The man behind her looked from Walker to the group, then huffed and backed off with a muttered curse.

Gone.

She didn’t breathe until she heard his footsteps fade.

Only then did Walker look down at her and say, quietly, “You okay?”

She nodded quickly, eyes wet but holding it together. “Yeah. Sorry. I just—I didn’t know what else to do.”

“It’s okay,” he said, gently. “You picked the right guy.”