...Ryan stood just inside the entrance....
...His hands were shoved into the pockets of his leather jacket, and the smug grin on his face hadn't changed in years....
...Beside him were his two friends, Mason and Eric....
...The three of them laughed about something Damien couldn't hear....
...He didn't need to....
...One look at Ryan's expression told him everything....
...Trouble....
...Lyra noticed Damien's shoulders stiffen....
...She looked from Damien to the three young men....
...Do you know them? she wrote....
...Damien hesitated....
...Then he nodded....
...Before he could explain, Ryan sauntered over to the counter....
...His lips moved slowly, deliberately....
..."Well... if it isn't Damien."...
...Damien looked directly at Ryan's face, reading every word....
...Ryan leaned closer....
..."Still working here?"...
...Damien didn't answer....
...He simply picked up his notebook....
...Can I help you?...
...Ryan glanced at the notebook and laughed....
..."Oh, right."...
...He exaggerated every word, opening his mouth wider than necessary....
..."I. Forgot. You. Can't. Hear."...
...Mason and Eric burst into laughter....
...Lyra frowned....
...She didn't like the way they were looking at Damien....
...Ryan noticed her expression....
...His smile widened....
..."And who's this?"...
...He looked at Lyra....
..."A friend?"...
...Damien immediately stepped out from behind the counter....
...He wasn't trying to be brave....
...He was trying to keep Ryan away from her....
...Ryan chuckled....
..."What?"...
..."You think I'm going to bite?"...
...Lyra took a small step forward....
..."I'm Lyra."...
...Ryan blinked, surprised....
...Then he smiled charmingly....
..."Ryan."...
...He held out his hand....
...Lyra shook it politely....
...Damien's stomach tightened....
...Ryan had always been good at pretending to be someone he wasn't....
...To strangers, he seemed confident and friendly....
...Only Damien knew the person hiding behind that smile....
...Ryan looked back at Damien....
..."So..."...
..."You've finally made a friend."...
...Damien kept his expression calm....
...Ryan leaned even closer....
..."Don't get too attached."...
...The words were soft....
...Almost impossible for anyone else to notice....
...But Damien read them clearly....
...His blood ran cold....
...Before he could react, another customer approached the counter....
...Ryan stepped back with a grin....
..."We'll see each other again."...
...He waved casually before leaving with his friends....
...The automatic doors slid shut behind them....
...The store felt quiet again....
...Too quiet....
...Lyra turned to Damien....
...She opened her notebook....
...He doesn't seem very nice....
...Damien gave a small shake of his head....
...He bullied me in school....
...Lyra read the sentence twice....
...Her smile faded....
...Just in school?...
...Damien looked down....
...After a moment, he wrote again....
...Sometimes even now....
...Lyra clenched the notebook a little tighter....
...Why?...
...Damien stared at the blank space on the page....
...He didn't know how to answer....
...Why had Ryan always hated him?...
...He had asked himself that question countless times....
...Maybe because he was different....
...Maybe because he was an easy target....
...Maybe because Ryan simply enjoyed making other people suffer....
...He finally wrote,...
...I don't know....
...Lyra looked at him for a long moment....
...Then she smiled gently....
...She wrote only four words....
...You're not alone anymore....
...Damien's eyes widened....
...He looked at the sentence again....
...Then at her....
...His fingers tightened around the notebook....
...Nobody had ever said those words to him before....
...Not once....
...He slowly wrote,...
...Thank you....
...Lyra smiled....
..."You're welcome."...
...She forgot for a second that he couldn't hear her....
...When she realized it, she laughed and covered her face....
..."Oh no..."...
...She quickly grabbed the pen....
...I keep forgetting....
...Damien smiled and shook his head....
...It's okay....
...Really?...
...He nodded....
...I can read your lips if you're facing me....
...Lyra's eyes lit up....
...She slowly mouthed the words,...
..."Like... this?"...
...Damien smiled....
...Exactly like that....
..."So if I talk normally..."...
...He nodded....
..."...you'll understand me?"...
...Damien hesitated....
...Then he wrote,...
...Most of the time. Not every word. But enough....
...Lyra's face brightened....
..."Then I don't always have to write."...
...Damien smiled....
...No. But if I look confused... please write it down....
...Lyra laughed....
..."Deal."...
...She held out her little finger....
..."A promise."...
...Damien looked at it, confused....
...She giggled....
..."It's a pinky promise."...
...After a moment, Damien hooked his little finger around hers....
...It was such a small gesture....
...Yet somehow, it felt like the beginning of something important....
...Outside the store, across the street......
...Ryan stood beside his motorcycle....
...He glanced through the glass window....
...His eyes narrowed as he watched Damien smiling....
...Then he looked at Lyra....
...His friendly smile disappeared....
..."What makes you think," he muttered under his breath, "that someone like you deserves to be happy?"...
...He started his motorcycle and rode away....
...But the jealousy in his eyes remained....
...Neither Damien nor Lyra noticed him leave....
...They were too busy smiling at each other....
...Neither of them knew that their happiness had already caught the attention of someone who wanted to destroy it....
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