Lants was the chubby kid with the quiet eyes, always the target of cruel jokes and side glances. He learned to shrink himself, to laugh along just enough so the hurt wouldn’t show. Josh, on the other hand, was bold—outspoken, sharp, the kind of boy who wouldn’t stay silent when something felt wrong.
One day, Josh stood up for him. No big speech, no dramatic scene—just a firm word and that look that made bullies back off. After that, something shifted.
Years passed. They moved on. Different paths. Different lives.
Now, with time and distance between them, they meet again—older, changed, but carrying echoes of who they were. Lants isn’t the boy he used to be, and Josh… he still has that fire, but it burns quieter now.
Their reunion isn’t loud. It’s casual. Brief. But underneath the small talk, there’s a flicker of something—recognition, warmth maybe even gratitude. A sense that, even if they were never close, they mattered to each other in a way that time didn’t erase.
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