Unnecessary apologies

Emma was sitting on the couch of her living room still trying to process everything that happened that day. Yve and Gyanna were sitting right next to her as they didn’t want to leave her alone. AI-Juliet was also there with them trying to calm her down.

Her eyes were red from all the crying. Not only had Lasson recorded her in the shower, he had bullied Nyco all day long because of that video. The poor girl hugged her shivering legs tightly as she remembered the camera hovering over her.
The thought of someone seeing her in her most vulnerable way, disgusted and scared her. Her friends hugged her and tried to calm her down without really knowing what to say. AI-Juliet felt powerless watching who she felt was her daughter weeping like that. It couldn’t even touch her to comfort her.

Emma asked if anyone had heard about Nyco after he left school. Unfortunately, none of them had any news from him. The boy had ignored all their calls.

The 19 year old felt horrible, if it weren’t for that video, Nyco wouldn’t have let Lasson beat him up. She felt responsible. “Why wasn’t I more careful? Nyco got hurt in order to protect me, so nobody would see that damn video… Gosh… Where are you Nyco? Answer my calls, please. I… I’m sorry” she apologized in her head.

Suddenly, Emma’s E-C made a sound. She took her E-C out of her pocket and saw Nyco’s message on the screen.

-It’s from Nyco…-, Emma said.

-What does it say?-, AI-Juliet asked with concern.

-He wrote: “I’ve deleted the video from Lasson’s drone and made sure nobody has a copy of it”-, Emma read.

-That’s great!-, Yve cheered.

-Yes. Now you don’t have to worry about him anymore-, Gyanna noticed.

-And then he… apologizes…-, Emma said.

-What? Why would he apologize?-, Yve questioned.

-I need to call him-, Emma stated.

She tried a couple of times but he didn’t answer. Emma didn’t like the sound of that apology. He made it sound as if this was his fault. She couldn’t let that feeling of guilt sink in his heart. After 5 minutes of not getting any type of response, Emma decided she would go out to find him wherever he was.

The cop sitting on the passenger’s seat felt Nyco’s E-C buzzing non stop. The policeman then looked over at the handcuffed boy in the backseat. The black haired boy with a horrible scar on his face was looking down at the ground as if his arrest didn’t even face him. He looked like an empty shell with his mind being far away from that car.

-Someone obviously cares about you, boy. They keep calling and texting you-, the cop announced. He looked over but still couldn’t get a reaction out of him. The cop gave up and looked at the driver. -This boy is completely gone, man. It’s like he is in some type of trance.

-Don’t lower your guard, you saw how he left that other boy. Good Lord, what happened between these two?-, the driver asked.

-Probably some type of competition to see who gets the girl. At that age it’s always the same-, the cop joked.

-I ain’t ever fought someone like that, Kyle. Not at that age. These kids were about to kill each other. Did you see the state of that other boy’s leg?-, the cop driver asked.

-Yep. He’ll probably need a loooot of rehabilitation-, he answered.

-What the hell got into you, boy? Why did you two fight?-, the cop asked looking at the rear-view mirror to see his face. But the boy didn’t look up, he kept staring down at the floor.

When they arrived at the police station, a man with a white uniform was waiting for them. The cops got out and left Nyco inside the car.

After a few minutes of waiting alone in the car, Nyco started wondering what was going on. He looked outside the window and saw the same Planet-Gazer he had met at the hospital. Alan saw Nyco looking at him and gave him a friendly wink.

5 minutes later, the cops took him out of the car and uncuffed him. “Consider yourself lucky, boy”, said the cop that arrested Nyco.

Alan waved goodbye to the cops and instructed Nyco to follow him. The blue eyed boy agreed to go with him as he had just freed him from the arrest.

Nyco followed Alan to his car without uttering a word. Alan opened the door for him and then closed it when Nyco stepped in. The Planet-Gazer got inside his car and started it.

-Well, well, well. You really made a mess this time, ey boy?-, Alan asked as he started driving. Nyco didn’t know how to respond so he just stayed quiet. -It’s ok son, I’m not here to scold you or anything. But I need you to tell me what happened, I did just get you out of a looong and boring justice process that would probably end in juvenile prison. So amuse me-, Alan said. Nyco didn’t want to worsen his situation so he started talking.

-That boy I fought is the school bully. He is always bothering everyone and today I… I wanted to make sure he stopped. That’s why we fought.

-Ok. But why today? What triggered you to leave each other in that state?-, he said pointing at his eyes and bruises. -It wasn’t a normal fight by no means-, Alan pointed out.

-He… He did something to my… my girlfriend-, calling Emma his girlfriend still seemed weird since they hadn’t even been dating for a week. But saying “friend” didn’t feel right either.

-Ah… makes sense. Oh and by the way. Your girlfriend is called Emma right? She’s been calling you non stop on the E-C. Here. Write her a message saying you are ok so she doesn’t worry. But that's it. Don’t write anything more for now or she will start asking too many questions-, Alan indicated as he handed Nyco his E-C.

Nyco decided to follow Alan’s command. If he got him out of trouble with the police he could just as easily take him back. He messaged Emma saying that she doesn't need to worry and that he will talk to her tomorrow. Alan then extended his hand and Nyco gave his E-C back.

-Ok, so it’s clear he did something to your girlfriend and you decided to take matters into your own hands-, the Planet-Gazer said. Nyco felt ashamed with how he formulated the question. He didn’t want to seem like a savage but couldn’t refute his argument. -What did he actually do to your girlfriend?-, Alan asked.

-I… I-, Nyco felt bad just mentioning the incident. -He took a video of her without consent-, he declared.

-Ok, got it. No need to explain more. Is the video taken care of? Do you need me to search for it and delete it?

-I… I think it’s gone-, Nyco answered. He felt a sudden sense of gratitude for this man’s concern about Emma.

-I will still look into it just in case. So don’t worry about it anymore-, Alan declared.

After half an hour of driving, Alan parked in front of the Planet-Gazer’s association.

-Ok Nyco. We are now going to get inside that building and I will explain why I prevented the police from arresting you. But first, I want you to be completely honest with me.

-... okay-, Nyco agreed.

-This is not the first time you’ve gotten into a dangerous fight-, Alan said looking at his scar. -I want you to tell me what makes you jump right into danger like that. You know it’s dangerous but still go without a second thought. Why is that?-, Alan asked.

-... I… I don’t know…

-Ok let me ask you this way. How do you feel when you fight? Are you scared? excited? What goes on in your mind?

-No… I never feel fear. I don’t really think much actually. My mind goes into some kind of primal state and I just act-, he explained.

-I see. And how about joy. Have you ever felt joy while fighting? Even if you are in a really dangerous situation?

-... yes. In the fight that gave me this scar I… I was… happy…-, Nyco looked down in embarrassment.

-Go on…-, Alan pushed.

-I was happy I was taking down scum like my friend Yve’s ex boyfriend. I was actually… glad that he pulled a knife at me. It made it more… interesting. I don’t know how to explain it…

-Ok I’m going to ignore the fact that you said your friend’s ex boyfriend gave you that scar because… Wow, talk about taste-, the Planet-Gazer kid. -So you enjoy when you are in danger right?-, Alan asked.

-Yes…

-Perfect. That’s exactly what I wanted to hear-, stated Alan as Nyco looked at him. -Let me first say that you are not a weirdo, Nyco. Maybe you’ve had that thought before. I don’t know. But I want to make it clear that you are not weird. Quite the contrary. You are extraordinary, Nyco. Never forget it. It will all make sense once we go inside. let’s go.

Alan got out of the car and Nyco followed behind. The big metallic gates of the Planet Gazer’s building opened up, as an astonished Nyco walked inside.