Malik shook his head slightly. "Not to them."
Lisa studied him for a moment. Then she said something that made him look up:
"Who are you doing it for?"
Malik frowned. "What?"
"When you fix something," she said. "When you help somebody. Who is that for?"
Malik didn't answer right away, because he had never thought about it like that.
"It's not for them," Lisa continued. "Not really."
"Then who?"
She smiled softly. "For you," she said. "Because that's who you are."
The words settled over him: slow, quiet. But they didn't push the doubt away; they just sat beside it.
Across town, Tyler stood outside the local gas station, his phone still in his hand. Another notification popped up: more comments, more views, more attention. He should have felt good; he should have felt like he had won something. But instead, he felt restless, annoyed, because no matter how many people laughed at Malik, that first video still existed, and it didn't lie.
Tyler looked up as a car pulled into the lot: a black sedan, clean, out of place. The driver stepped out: William Harrington.
Tyler didn't recognize him, but he recognized something else: the way the man moved—calm, controlled, like he didn't need to prove anything to anyone.
William glanced around the area once, taking everything in: the worn pavement, the flickering neon sign, the people watching from a distance. Then his eyes landed on Tyler.
"Excuse me," William said.
Tyler straightened slightly. "Yeah?"
"I'm looking for someone," William said. "Malik Carter."
Tyler hesitated for a second. Something flickered across his face. Then he smirked. "Yeah," he said. "I know where he is."
William nodded. "Good."
Tyler shoved his phone into his pocket. "I can take you," he said. "For a price."
The words hung in the air. William studied him for a moment, then shook his head slightly. "No," he said. "You can't."
Tyler frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"
William didn't answer. He just turned and walked back to his car. Because he already understood something Tyler didn't: some things weren't for sale. And the boy he was looking for was the one who had proven it.