She made it clear that she cared for her friends, and she was willing to fight to the death for them, if she had to.
He soon decided he would see to it that she didn't.
He'd honestly had a crush on her from the beginning, so when that crush grew, it was some time before he consciously knew it.
By then they'd played, eaten, and traveled together, and he wondered idly if they were already a couple and he'd only found out now.
She was strong, bright, plesant, and most of all she understood him.
She knew what his life could be like, because she was living it too.
With her, he remembered he was never alone.