I nod, his arm securing me, and we go on the move. I follow his body, weaving in and out of crowds that haven’t caught on that the cameras are after me.

The west gate is usually locked in the morning unless there’s an early track practice. I pray Quincy knows what he’s doing.

There’s a buzz behind me, cameras clicking. People talking, coming after us. I block it out, listening to Quincy tell me to duck my head and he’ll take care of the rest. He takes off ahead of me; even with his limp, he’s still fast as hell. He races toward the door, then skips, leaning heavily on his left leg. It doesn’t stop him from hopping and gliding to the door.

Quincy enters in a code, the gate unlocks, and I race through it.

He slams it shut, then takes my hand and leads me behind the school through the path toward the senior lockers. There’s a buzz behind us, followed by a series of camera clicks, but we’re beyond their reach.

Panting, I touch Quincy’s shoulder as he grips his hands on his knee. He bites on his lip; pain must be shooting through his body. This is what made track impossible for him, even if the coach said he could still train but not compete. The steel bolts keeping his left leg together just make it too hard.

“You okay?” I calm my breath, the fear fading away with him being here, even if he’s in pain.

“I’m good.” Quincy rubs his knee and walks back and forth, shaking his leg. “Just got locked up running. Haven’t moved that fast in a long time.”

“That was out of control. Thank you for helping. I wouldn’t be able to handle the cameras like that. I told Mama it’s too soon to go to school.”

“Come on. They can still see you.” Quincy takes my hand again, and my heart flutters. I look at him, shake my head because I didn’t expect that.

We walk past the lockers into a breezeway.

“If you go out that way, and back through those doors, you’ll find your way to your locker.”

“How do you even know this?” I ask, when our view is blocked from the corner.

“Skipping class. Gotta know the best route to move unseen.” Quincy turns to leave.

“Wait.”

Quincy pauses, and I hug him before he slips away. I fight back the ache in my body. I just needed to get into school today, and Quincy made that happen.

“Remember when this was my job? I forgot how physical it could get helping fight your battles.” Quincy chuckles, covering up the awkwardness.

“Justin’s always been an asshole, huh?” I say.

“You gonna be all right?” Quincy asks.

“I can’t do this every day. What am I supposed to do?” I let go of him.