The moment Alex and Liam stepped onto campus, the world seemed to pull in two different directions. Laughter spilled from groups of students scattered across the courtyard, sneakers squeaked on concrete, the smell of cafeteria pancakes still lingered faintly in the air—but for Alex, all of it felt muffled, drowned beneath the suffocating replay of that man's voice from earlier.
"Disgusting! Godless! You'll burn for it!"
He kept seeing the man's twisted face, the way his spit had flown as he screamed at them for holding hands. He kept feeling Liam's hand—warm, grounding, safe—slip away the moment Alex panicked and pulled back. And the hurt on Liam's face.
Now, as they walked toward the entrance, Liam was trying to keep close, his shoulder brushing Alex's arm, but Alex deliberately slowed his steps. It wasn't because he wanted to. It was because fear had taken root somewhere deep, choking him until every breath burned.
