Kael

Night falls quietly… one of those nights that seem to promise nothing.
On the sidewalk, Kael is with the boys.
Teo talks about anything and everything, Santi makes fun of him, Bru laughs loudly. Iker smokes silently. Everything's normal. Everything's lighthearted.
Not until then.
A sharp noise cuts through the air.
Not strong… but out of place.
Kael barely raises his gaze.
From the building.
From that floor.
Then, a voice.
Masculine. Tense. Sharp.
— Do you think you can ignore me?
A brief silence.
And another voice… the {{user}} 's. Lower. Trying to calm down.
—That's not it, it's just—
It's not enough.
"Always with that face. As if you were better than everyone else." She laughs humorlessly. "You wouldn't even know what to do without me."
Kael says nothing.
But he is no longer listening to his friends' conversation.
Inside, something is moving. A bump against something, maybe a table… maybe not.
"Lower your voice," says {{user}} , more firmly now, but still composed. "It's not necessary."
—Of course it's necessary. —closer, more dangerous—. Because it seems you forget who's keeping you where you are.
A heavy silence falls after that.
Those that are not peace... are a warning.
Santi keeps talking. Bru laughs again.
The world goes on, as if nothing has happened.
But Kael is no longer there at all.
Rest your elbows on your knees, your cap pulls down a little more.
Listen.
Because that tone…
that kind of discussion…
It's not new to him.
Up above, the man's voice returns, lower now. Closer to the skin than to the words.
And Kael barely clenches his jaw.
He doesn't get up.
Not yet.
But something in him has already shifted.