Andy was still standing there, shocked and confused, when Cooper and Matt ran out to see what happened.
"Andy, man, we called the police," Coop panted. Then he saw the unconscious man at Andy's feet. "What happened here?"
Andy had dropped the crowbar when he went to punch the thief, and it was also laying at his feet.
"Long story short, this guy was pissing me off and pushed it too far," Andy told him, surprising even himself with the evenness of his voice. "I mean you can break into my car and threaten my life, but don't bitch at me for trying to protect my rights."
"Well the cops will be here in a minute. What are you gonna say?" Cooper seemed very concerned over this, wanting to make sure his friend didn't get wrongly charged.
"I'll just tell them the truth, I guess," Andy replied. "I heard him trying to break into it, I ran out and grabbed his crowbar, we had a verbal fight, and I punched him."
"So you're saying you did that with your hand?" Matt asked. Up until this point, he had been so uncharacteristically quiet that they had forgotten about him. "I am now officially scared of you."
"You know, I think I'm scared of me too," Andy added, examining his right fist, which he had used to punch out the man that had been robbing his car. Not only was nothing broken, but it wasn't even sore or bleeding.
Just then, a cop car, lights flashing and all, pulled up and an officer stepped out.
"Who here called to report an automobile robbery?" the officer asked. He was somewhat tall with a slightly bulky build, and not much older than they were. His light brown hair was shaved into a buzz cut and his eyes were a shocking green.
"That would be me," Cooper answered. "My friend's car was being robbed. He had gone out to try and slow it down and I called the cops."
The cop looked down. "I'm assuming that man was the robber."
Cooper nodded. "Yes, sir."
"Well, which of your friends was the one whose car was being invaded?"
Andy then spoke up. "That would be me. You see, us three were coming upstairs from watching movies in the basement and I heard this screeching metal sound so I looked outside and I saw someone trying to get into my car. So I ran out and grabbed the crowbar off the guy. He threatened me. I didn't really reply, but then he continued taunting me and it kind of pushed me off the edge, so I dropped the crowbar and punched him in the face."
"You hit this man with your hand and caused damage like this?" the cop asked, now examining the unconscious robber's face. "You broke his nose and his jaw, yet still managed to give him a black eye. He might need facial reconstruction procedure."
Andy didn't say anything after that-he just kind of stood there staring at his open hands.
"You okay, son?" the cop asked, gently shaking Andy's shoulders.
"He's a dedicated pacifist," Cooper told the cop. "He doesn't believe in more violence than necessary, and necessary means either slasher movies or self-defense. He's just kind of in shock."
Then Andy jumped in yet again. "Do we need to come to the police station?"
"Well, this man is already wanted for three robberies in this area," the cop told him after an unmasking and quickly comparing the man's face with what looked like a recent mugshot. "From the looks of this case, you might not even need to testify."
Andy breathed a sigh of relief and shivered.
"You kids should get inside and warm up," the officer said. He took another good look at Andy. "You came out here without any shoes? I suggest you get in the house immediately."
Andy didn't say anything, but started shivering and immediately began walking towards the house. Matt and Cooper followed. "You kids stay out of trouble!" the cop yelled to them as they shut the door behind them. Once inside, Andy immediately slipped on his shoes and grabbed a blanket.
"Man, are you okay?" Matt asked him, with a surprisingly serious tone in his voice.
"Y-yeah. I'm f-f-fine, just a little c-cold," Andy replied, shivering. Andy was always pale, washed-out, and with barely a hint of flush in his cheeks, but he was almost blue in the face with chills and his ivory cheeks were fading out to a chalky white. "Man, can one of you get me some c-coffee or something? I'm f-freezing."
Matt got him another blanket and Cooper went into the kitchen to make coffee.
"Man, are you sick ?" Matt asked Andy as Cooper walked into the kitchen. "First you stare down some chick at the mall like...I don't know, then you run out into the rain after some guy with a crowbar, you break his face, and now you're shivering on the couch like a lost dog."
"What are you trying to say?" Andy asked him seriously, a hint of a growl on his voice.
"Just like now!" Matt exclaimed. If you listened close, the hint of fear was there in his voice. "Are you crazy or something? What, are you gonna kill me now? Huh? What about Kathy?"
Matt was hysterical, and Andy didn't know how much more he could take. The hard part was that everything that Matt had said was true. He had been acting out of character lately, and he didn't know what was wrong with himself. He did know, however, that it was only a matter of time before all hell broke loose in Matt's living room.
He didn't feel cold anymore-heat was radiating through his body, his hands were itching for a fight, and his vision was once again tinted with red. Matt was still raving and ranting when a earth-shaking growl escaped Andy's lips. Matt then stopped right in his tracks and started backing away slowly.
He started to get up, fists shaking and teeth bared, but stopped himself. He closed his eyes and put his hands on the couch, taking deep breaths and concentrating on controlling his anger. After a few minutes, he opened his eyes and scanned the room for Matt. He was sitting on the steps, watching Andy like a hawk. He quickly averted his eyes when he saw Andy looking back.
Slowly, Andy made his way over to the steps and stood there, waiting for Matt to speak. After a few minutes, he finally did.
"What was that?" he asked, still slightly shaking. His grey eyes were still wide and fearful.
"I honestly have no idea," Andy replied, closing his eyes and taking another deep breath.
After that, Matt relaxed a little. "Well at least now I know not to piss you off, right?"
Andy chuckled. "I guess so."
They both laughed in unison. It was a tense, nervous laugh, but it was easily preferred over the awkward silence that would be there otherwise.
