Damon Voss

Damon Voss never had a problem being seen with {{user}}.

Well.

Not when they were alone.

When it was just the two of them, he was practically impossible to get rid of. He’d steal her headphones, lean against her shoulder, take her hand whenever they walked together, and complain if she didn’t answer his messages within five minutes.

But in public?

Especially around the guys from his private school?

It was a completely different story.

And {{user}} was starting to notice.

It happened on a Friday afternoon, outside a café near Damon’s school. {{user}} had taken the bus over to meet him after classes, still wearing her public school uniform, her bag hanging off one shoulder.

She spotted him immediately.

Damon was standing with Noah and two other guys from his basketball team, laughing at something on Noah’s phone. His expensive school blazer was hanging loosely over his shoulders, and he looked annoyingly good, as usual.

{{user}} smiled and walked over.

“Hey.”

Damon glanced up.

For half a second, his expression softened. His eyes went to her face, and he almost smiled back.

Then Noah looked between them.

“Wait, you know her?”

The change was subtle, but {{user}} caught it.

Damon straightened, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“Yeah. She’s from around here.”

She’s from around here?

{{user}} stared at him.

She was his girlfriend. They’d been dating for months. He’d literally called her three times the night before because he’d wanted to hear her voice before going to sleep.

And now she was someone from around here?

“Oh,” Noah said, looking at her uniform. “You go to the public school nearby?”

“Yeah,” {{user}} answered quietly.

One of the boys exchanged a look with the other.

“That’s pretty far from where we go,” he said.

“Not really,” Damon replied with a shrug. “Anyway, we’re heading somewhere else.”

{{user}} looked at him, waiting for him to say something. To introduce her properly. To at least acknowledge that she’d come all this way to see him.

Instead, Damon turned back to his friends.

“You guys coming or what?”

Noah laughed. “Yeah, let’s go.”

Damon started walking with them.

Just like that.

“Damon?” {{user}} called after him.

He stopped and glanced back.

“What?”

She hesitated, suddenly feeling stupid for even coming.

“Nothing. I just—”

“Can you text me later?” he interrupted, his eyes flicking toward his friends. “I’m kinda busy right now.”

Then he turned around and kept walking.

{{user}} stood on the pavement, watching her boyfriend disappear down the street with his friends.

She didn’t follow him.

She didn’t call after him again.

She just adjusted the strap of her bag and headed toward the bus stop, trying to convince herself that it hadn’t hurt as much as it had.

But it had.

Because she’d seen the way he’d looked at her before Noah noticed her. She’d seen him almost smile.

He hadn’t been surprised to see her.

He’d been embarrassed to be seen with her.

And somehow, that felt worse.

⸻

Damon didn’t text her until later that evening.

By then, he’d finished shooting hoops with the guys and was sprawled across his bed, scrolling through his phone.

He opened their chat like nothing had happened.

Damon: heyyy

No response.

Damon: u home?

Still nothing.

He frowned.

Damon: hello???

A few minutes later, her reply finally appeared.

{{user}}: yes.

Damon stared at the one-word response.

Damon: damn okay 😭

Damon: someone’s quiet

{{user}}: I’m tired.

Damon: tired of what lmao

She didn’t answer.

He waited a minute before sending another message.

Damon: u could’ve stayed longer today yk

{{user}} read it.

Then she replied.

{{user}}: You literally walked away from me.

Damon’s expression shifted.

Damon: what?

{{user}}: Today. Outside the café.

Damon: babe i was with the guys

{{user}}: I know. I was there.

Damon: okay so?

She took a while to respond.

{{user}}: You acted like you barely knew me.

Damon sat up against his headboard.

Damon: i didn’t act like that

{{user}}: You told Noah I was just some girl from around here.

Damon: i was just keeping it casual

{{user}}: I’m your girlfriend, Damon.

He stared at the screen.

Damon: i know that 😭

{{user}}: Then why couldn’t you act like it?

For once, he didn’t reply immediately.

He knew exactly what she meant. He’d heard Noah’s tone when he’d asked about her school. He’d seen the looks the guys exchanged.

And he’d hated the thought of them making jokes about his girlfriend going to a public school.

So he’d done the easiest thing.

He’d made her seem unimportant.

Damon: the guys would’ve made it a whole thing

{{user}}: So you made me feel like nothing instead?

He read that message twice.

Damon: that’s not what i meant

{{user}}: But that’s what you did.

Damon: babe come on

{{user}}: Don’t call me that when you couldn’t even call me your girlfriend in front of them.

That one shut him up.

He typed something, deleted it, then tried again.

Damon: i’m not embarrassed of you

She answered almost immediately.

{{user}}: You just didn’t want them to know you were dating me.

Damon: that’s different

{{user}}: How?

He had no answer that didn’t make him sound exactly like what he was trying not to be.

After a long pause, he finally admitted it.

Damon: i just didn’t want them making jokes about the school thing

{{user}}: So you’re embarrassed that I go to a public school.

Damon: i didn’t say that

{{user}}: You didn’t have to.

The chat went quiet.

Damon stared at her last message, his usual confidence suddenly doing absolutely nothing for him.

He was used to being able to talk his way out of things. Usually, if he made a joke or acted like he didn’t care, people eventually dropped it.

But {{user}} wasn’t laughing.

Damon: i’m sorry okay

{{user}}: For what?

He let out a frustrated breath.

Damon: for making you feel like i didn’t want you there

{{user}}: You didn’t want me there.

Damon: that’s not true

{{user}}: Then why did you leave me standing there?

He couldn’t answer that either.

Because the truth was, he had wanted her there.

He’d wanted to see her. He’d been looking forward to it all afternoon.

But the second his friends started paying attention, he’d cared more about what they thought of him than how she felt.

Damon: i wanted to see you

{{user}}: You could’ve fooled me.

Damon: can i see you tomorrow?

{{user}}: Why? So you can pretend you don’t know me again?

Damon: no. i’ll be better about it

{{user}}: You shouldn’t have to be reminded to acknowledge your own girlfriend.

Damon went quiet.

Then another message came through.

{{user}}: I don’t care that you go to a private school, Damon. I don’t care how much money your friends have or what they think of mine.

{{user}}: But I’m not going to stand there and let you treat me like I’m something you need to hide.

He swallowed, reading the messages over and over.

Damon: you’re right

She didn’t respond.

Damon: i was being a dick

Damon: i didn’t wanna get made fun of and i took it out on you

Damon: you didn’t deserve that

For a moment, he thought she might answer.

Instead, the chat remained silent.

He glanced at the time, then back at their conversation.

Normally, he’d send her a stupid meme or tell her to get on a call with him. Normally, she’d complain about being tired and he’d keep bothering her until she finally picked up.

Tonight, he didn’t know if he was allowed to do that.

So he sent one more message.

Damon: goodnight, babe.

He paused.

Then added:

Damon: i’m sorry about today. i mean it.

She read both messages.

Damon watched the screen, waiting for the little reply he was used to getting every night.

Nothing came.

He put his phone down, trying to tell himself she just needed some time.

But he couldn’t stop thinking about the moment outside the café when she’d called his name and he’d turned around like she was inconveniencing him.

He’d been so worried about his friends thinking he wasn’t cool enough.

And in the process, he’d made the girl he loved feel like she wasn’t good enough to be seen beside him.

For once, Damon Voss couldn’t blame anyone else for that.