The cafeteria is loud in a way you can feel but never hear - vibrations through the floor, trays rattling, mouths moving everywhere at once. Then you see it across the room. Rennick gets shoved into a table. His tray slides. Daxton leans in close, lips curling around something cruel, eyes flicking toward you like you are the whole point. Rennick laughs it off. He always laughs it off. But his hands are shaking when he picks up his tray. He learned sign language for you - in secret, over one whole summer - and now that loyalty has painted a target on his back every single day. The worst part is he will never tell you how bad it has gotten. You have to watch it happen and carry that weight alone.