Xander bit his lip. Silence stretched between them as vast as the toilet water Brandon's friends had shoved Xander's face into all those years ago. Xander had made so much progress. He had his own company—with a high salary—an enviable body, and most importantly, power. Nobody bothered him and nothing scared him. The past was gone, flushed away into distant flashbacks, memories he attempted to force out of his mind.
Yet despite his efforts there was Brandon, smiling like nothing ever happened between them, like he hadn't authorized his friends for YEARS to torture Xander, strip him of all his dignity and power. He sat there innocently in Xander's office, flooding the room with all the memories of the bullying Xander had endured. He called Xander "buddy". Ha! As if.
The more Xander stared at him, stared at that idiotic smile, the more he hated him. In fact, he hated Brandon more now than he ever did when he was bullied. Here Xander was, his life assembled perfectly. And just when he had everything right, Brandon had to pounce in and tear it down. This was why Brandon constantly glared when the bullying wasn't enough. Because he was waiting to bully Xander in the worst way possible—by giving him false hope.
Xander pressed his lips across his grinding teeth and forced out an "It's good to see you, too,", causing Brandon to beam even more. Xander clenched his fists under the table, suppressing himself from strangling Brandon in his office.
To his disdain, Brandon sat back down. "So how have you been, man?" he asked, oblivious to Xander's discomfort. "What's been happening in your life?"
"Well..." Xander checked his watch. "As much as I would love to talk, I really have to get going." Xander started to walk out of his office, implying that Brandon should leave too. He shook his hand and nearly darted away before Brandon called to him.
"We need to hang out! Catch up! What's your number?"
Xander's eyes widened. Why was Brandon doing this? He hated Xander. Was this part of the plan? He recalled Brandon's glare and shuddered.
And then he had another thought. He could kill Brandon.
He could take down the enemy himself rather than substitutes for the enemy. And my, would his death be enjoyable. Xander smiled.
"Maybe you can come over for dinner sometime. I'm having a dinner party this Sunday and it would be cool if you came."
Xander gave Brandon his work phone number and agreed to come Sunday.
The smile remained on his face as he watched Brandon walk away.
Two could play this game, Brandon, he thought to himself. And the New Xander always wins.
YOU ARE READING
The Real Bully
قصص عامةAs a child, Xander sees his bullies as people who gained strength from feeding off his weaknesses. As an adult, Xander aspires to turn the tables on his past bullies, steal power from them. But his idea of stealing power is very different from his b...
