William looked at Richard and asked, "So… where should we go?"
Richard replied, "Well… there's this place called the Teen Café. It's popular with teenagers and perfect for dates."
They headed toward the café together.
William pushed open the door.
Ding ding!
Inside, they looked around for the girls.
Scanning the room, they spotted two girls waving at them.
Both had long, straight hair and were wearing matching flower hairpins.
William and Richard felt nervous but quietly walked toward their table and sat down side by side.
William stammered, "H-hello."
Richard greeted them too.
One of the girls, with dark brown hair, smiled warmly and said, "Hi, I'm Rosa. It's nice to meet you. This is my friend, Nina."
Nina looked a bit younger than Rosa — probably a grade below them.
Richard said, "Nice to meet you, I'm Richard Shaham, and this is my classmate and friend, William."
William blushed when Richard called him his friend.
The conversation was going well, and William began to feel a little more at ease.
Rosa laughed at one of Richard's jokes, and even Nina smiled warmly at William's shy comments.
The conversation was going well until suddenly one of the girls gave William a cold look and said,
"Honestly, I don't think your friend here is cool enough to hang out with us."
William blushed and replied, "Why not? I'm trying my best."
Another girl sneered, "Trying? You don't even know what you're doing."
Richard, visibly angry, stood up in front of William and said,
"Cut it out! Talking to my friend like that just makes you look small."
One of the girls snapped back angrily,
"Who do you think you are telling us what to do?!"
Richard clenched his fists and said firmly,
"I'm just saying show some respect to my friend. If there's gonna be trouble here, maybe we should end this now."
The tension escalated quickly as one of the girls grabbed a small bottle from the table and threw it toward the boys.
William quickly stepped back, but in the chaos, one of the girls suddenly pushed him.
He stumbled, and his hand hit the sharp edge of the table.
A small cut opened on his palm, and blood started to trickle down.
Everyone froze.
William looked at his bleeding hand, then up at the girls with surprise and pain in his eyes.
Rosa's face changed immediately.
"Oh my God, are you okay? I didn't mean to—"
Nina quickly stood up, her voice shaking.
"We're so sorry! We didn't want to hurt you."
Richard stepped forward, keeping calm but watching carefully.
"This is serious. Maybe it's best if you all just leave before things get worse."
The girls nodded hurriedly, looking ashamed.
"We'll go. Sorry again."
They left quietly, leaving William and Richard alone.
William clenched his jaw but managed a small smile.
"Thanks for standing up for me."
Richard gave a reassuring nod.
"You're never alone."