Ethan rolled up his sleeves, his aura menacing as he went practically nose to nose with Oliver, pushing me behind him protectively. "No." 

“Ethan-” I tried to catch his attention, but Oliver’s bristling took away my chance. My gratitude was replaced by a wash of sharp guilt as Oliver’s expression went dark, and he threw the first punch. While I’d known it was coming, the sharp crack of fist connecting with flesh still made me wince. Ethan didn’t budge, standing still in the moment of tense silence, seemingly unphased by the blow. It only seemed to enrage Oliver further, his scowl deepening. “I warned you,” he snapped, and my stomach dropped as he lashed out again, looking as dangerous as he claimed I was. 

              While I expected Ethan to take another hit, my hands on his back almost pleadingly, he didn't. Ethan's hand flew forward, catching Oliver's fist mid punch. He bent Oliver's wrist back, the other boy bending in agony to prevent it from snapping. 

               The crowd went silent, shocked as Ethan suddenly took on an aura that overwhelmed even me. He snarled at Oliver whose eyes were watering, teeth gritted. "Final warning. If you're worried about what Lyn might do, you really don't want to mess with me." 

Tense silence hung in the air, the potential for more violence thick and suffocating. For a moment, as Oliver tried to summon the same fiery anger past his obvious pain, I was worried I might not be the only one dragged to the station this week.

Then Oliver’s tight shoulders dropped, and he spat out a curse. “You’re no better than he is.” Oliver looked away, at the watching crowd, several of whom had phones out in their hands. “I’ll drop it today, we’ve made enough of a scene."

            Ethan didn't move, his chest rising and falling with heavy breath. 

            His calm seemed to set Oliver off. "Let me go, damn it! Before security shows up to haul us off in cuffs.”

            Releasing him, Ethan raised a brow, huffing out a false laugh. "Us? You're the one that assaulted me, unprovoked." To say Ethan was royally pissed and brimming with threat was an understatement, even so, compared to Oliver he was the picture of composure. 

Oliver shook his arm out, wincing, and frowned at Ethan- from a few paces back, out of reach. “I think your... ‘friend’ provoked me plenty- I just didn’t think he’d charmed you so much you’d actually protect him.” Oliver scoffed.

            "Somehow I don't think that argument would hold up in custody." Ethan stood determinedly in front of me, a hand still outstretched to keep me at bay. 

           Oliver snarled, his accusations finally finished. 

I breathed a sigh of relief- despite the posturing, it seemed like the situation had finally diffused. Oliver grumbled something that was probably nasty under his breath, slicing me a lethal glare before he collected himself. I inched closer to Ethan as Oliver stormed into the dorm. Without him leading the crowd, there was no reason for the other students to stay, and I watched them file inside, whispering in groups. The last person through the door was the same girl I had silently asked for help; her dark eyes met mine again, a fire behind them, before the door shut behind her.  

There would be plenty of rumors flying around campus after the show Oliver had put on, and I sighed as I turned to Ethan. “You just destroyed your social life- and your face,” I said with a grimace, my fingers curling into my palm as I resisted the urge to check for swelling. 

            Ethan looked down at me, his expression worried as he shook his head and uttered the last words I’d expected to hear. "Are you okay?" 

“A-am I…?” I stared at him, surprised, as my mind tried to make sense of the unexpected question. A laugh tumbled out of me as I rubbed at my forehead. “I’m fine. I’m used to this. You’re the one that took a blow- I caused so much trouble by coming to see you."

             "Are you serious?" He grinned, wincing slightly as he felt the side of his face. It would likely leave a hefty bruise. He took a step forward, shoving his hands into his pockets. His eyes were kind as he looked down at me, a warmth radiating off of him. "You coming to see me was the highlight of my day." 

I couldn’t help smiling back at him. “It’s not hard to be better than a punch in the face,” I said, that damnably earnest grin of his putting me at ease in a way I hardly ever was outside of home. “You helped me- let me return the favor. I can make a compress that can help with the bruising and swelling, if you’ll come to the shop with me. And I can make that tea I promised, too,” I offered, trying to salvage the moment we almost had when Oliver had come out to ruin it. 

Ethan hesitated for a moment, before nodding. “Thanks. Let me go get my helmet and-”

“No, that’s okay!” I spoke quickly. “We can just walk, it’s not that far.”

“Are you sure? It’s no trouble,” Ethan said, looking puzzled as I dropped my gaze to the pavement.

It wasn’t that I didn’t trust him- but the memory of the roar of his motorcycle’s engine and the likelihood that he only had one helmet had me suppressing a shudder. The roads were usually empty, and the speed limit low, but it was still a risk I wasn’t keen on taking. I’d seen too many news stories detailing the horrors of what could happen if a bike crashed and some idiot wasn’t wearing a helmet.

Clearing my throat, I scrambled for a plausible excuse. “Oliver just hit you in the head- operating heavy machinery is probably bad for you. I mean, just in case! I don’t want you to hurt yourself.” ‘Or me’.

The glimmer of amusement in Ethan’s eyes told me he saw through the excuse, but he was nice enough to let it slide. “You’re probably right. I don’t mind walking, it’s good exercise.” He nudged me as he said, "You're going to have to let me take you for a ride eventually though." 

Breathing a sigh of relief, I flashed him my best smile. “I’ll lead the way, then,” I said, gesturing in the direction of home. Ethan nodded, and we set off together. It was surprisingly nice, having a companion on my usually lonely walk. My chest was light as we filled the air with idle talk, and as we walked the streets together, I finally found the sense of peace I had craved.