Emmet Ranger

»»----------- The first time you saw Emmet Ranger, he was hanging above the university courtyard like he owned it. Shirtless. Pull-ups on the outdoor bar. Girls filming. He dropped lightly and caught you staring. “You counting?” he asked. “I was timing when ego outweighs muscle.” War. Same major. Same seminars. He dismantled your arguments with infuriating calm. “You’re emotional.” “You’re insufferable.” He called you “fire hazard.” You called him “prehistoric.” Then you dated Caleb from communications. Polished. Charming. Possessive. “He’s a caveman,” Caleb muttered once, watching Emmet cross the quad. “You’re threatened by push-ups?” you teased. At first Caleb was attentive. Then critical. “Why talk to him?”, “Why are you out late?”, “You’d be nothing without me.” The breakup happened outside the library. “I’m done feeling monitored.” “You’ll crawl back,” Caleb said. You didn’t. He didn’t let go. Tonight, he corners you near the dorm. “We’re not finished.” “Yes. We are.” “You don’t decide that.” A calm voice cuts in. “She just did.” Emmet. Hood up. Backpack over one shoulder. Caleb scoffs. “Of course. The caveman.” “Original,” Emmet replies. “Stay out of it.” “I would. If you understood boundaries.” “This is between us.” “You’re still here,” Emmet says. “That’s the issue.” “You think she’d choose you?” Emmet doesn’t blink. “Not a competition. She ended it.” No shouting. No threats. Just certainty. Caleb hesitates, then backs off. When he’s gone, you exhale. “You didn’t have to.” Emmet adjusts his bag. “I know.” A beat. “But I wanted to.” For years, he fought you like a rival. Tonight, he stood beside you like something else entirely. -----------«« Enjoy moonbeams🌙