Meet You There

Chapter Seventeen: Fight Or Flight

Sometimes I wonder what I'd be doing if I was in college. Would I be dating someone? Would I be majoring in some computer based subject? Would I be partying more often than I am now?

I ponder this as I work the next day. When I'm not thinking about the life I do not have, I'm thinking about Brody and Shane. Why do I care so much about this? Brody is allowed to have friends just as much as I am, and it's not even like we've established a label for our relationship, so I don't technically have a right to be jealous.

During my lunch break, instead of accepting Vicky's offer of a home cooked meal, I make myself a sandwich and eat it on my sofa, with my laptop on my knee. I decide to do some research in to this Shane, knowing very well how ridiculous I am being.

I find him on Brody's Facebook friends list, which is the first place I look. He is definitely good looking. Short, dark hair. Green eyes. Slightly muscular. He dresses nice.

Brody and Shane still talk and seem pretty close. When I search deeper, and look at his 'Interested In' section, I see that he's gay. Well, if I wasn't worried about him and Brody before, I definitely am now. How can I compete with this guy, who helped Brody when I was just a guy he was friends with a few years back? Brody and Shane share something that Brody and I will never have.

I get back to work and I lose track of time, because before I know it, Megan is running over to me.

At first I think she's just in a perky mood or she has something exciting to tell me, but when she gets closer, I see that she looks both scared and angry.

“Ruben!” she calls as soon as she's in hearing distance. “Brody and Anthony got in to a fight outside the school. Brody won't listen to me. I need you to help calm him down, come on!”

She says all of this so fast I can barely hear what she's saying. She grabs hold of my wrist and I run over, just about able to keep up with Megan. I didn't realize how fast she was.

Ranley High School is only about a five minute walk from the farm if you walk, so by running we get there in about three minutes sharp. Just about time for me to see Anthony on top of Brody, punching him, blood dripping from both their noses. Brody is on the floor doing his best to get up, but he's struggling. I didn't plan on actually getting involved in the fight, but my protectiveness takes its toll on me, adrenaline kicks in, and I come up behind Anthony and pull him off Brody with all the strength I have, then push him to the ground. This gives Megan a couple of seconds to get Brody up off the ground and get him away from Anthony. Anthony stands back up and tries to throw punches, but I'm able to block them. Most of his hits don't land. I didn't know I was this good at fighting. It's not something I've had a lot of practice at. It feels like the entire student body of Ranley High School are watching this happen, screaming, calling, chanting. I can't tell if the majority are doing this in support of me, or Anthony. I'm too focused on the fight to tell.

Just when I think it's about to end, he grabs hold of my collar and looks me dead in the eye. “Fucking disgusting faggot. Stay the fuck away from me if you want to keep your fucking faggot legs,” he growls, then he bares his teeth at me. He actually bares his teeth like he thinks he's a large dog and not a misogynistic, homophobic high school boy. Then, something inside of him seems to switch on, and he has me on the floor, punching and punching and punching my mouth, my neck, my nose, my eyes until the world around me starts to become hazy.

I want to hurt him. Fuck him up really badly, but Kyra (who came to the high school to meet Megan, I assume) pulls me away from him just as a teacher from Ranley comes flying out of the school building. “Break this up right now or I'm calling the police!” she says frantically.

Megan, who is apparently loved by the entire staff of Ranley, runs over to the woman and talks to her, I assume telling her what's happened, I don't know.

I still feel blood pounding in my ears and adrenaline burning through my veins when Kyra and Brody put a hand each on my shoulder and try to calm me down. I want to run back over there and fuck him up, but I know I can't. I don't go to Ranley, I'm not the one who will have to suffer from Anthony 'Not So' Bright's wrath the next morning.

More staff come out of the building and demand the students go home. They all do, but they walk away slowly, turning their heads back around to see if anything else happens as they leave.

Brody, Kyra and Megan and I head back to the farm. Frank and Vicky have gone to the farmers market in Hillroad, the next town, which Brody and Megan seem relieved about.

Kyra and Megan offer to help me get cleaned up, but Brody insists they go to Megan's room to calm down, and he'll stay with me in the barn. I don't point out that Brody is injured and needs help, too.

We stand in my bathroom. Brody simultaneously wipes the blood from my nose and holds a wet cloth to my worst eye, the one I can't open properly. “Stop,” I tell him, moving both his hands away from my face. “I'm fine, you have a bloody nose, too.”

“It's not as bad as yours. Have you seen yourself, Ruben?” he gestures towards my mirrored medicine cabinet and I look at my reflection. I do look pretty terrible, but it doesn't change the fact that Brody is hurt, too.

I appease him by letting him dab at my face for a few minutes longer, then I start tending to his wounds. The blood on his nose has mostly dried up, but some of the blood on his shirt is still wet. I get him a clean t shirt from my wardrobe.

When we're both suitably cleaned up, we both lie down on my bed, next to each other. I turn my head so I'm looking at him. “What the fuck just happened, Brody?”