Chapter 40: The 'King's' Other Side

Guy #3 is on the ground.

He's holding his face.

He's screaming.

Guy #1 and Guy #2 are frozen.

They look at Daiki.

Daiki is not a 'simp'.

He is not a 'loser'.

He is terrifying.

His bored eyes are gone.

They are on fire.

"You... who the hell are you?" Guy #1 stammers.

"I'm the guy who's gonna break your hands if you don't get lost," Daiki hisses.

He's shaking.

He's shaking with rage.

He cracks his knuckles.

The same knuckles he uses for gaming.

"He's bluffing!" Guy #2 shouts. "He's just a kid! Get him!"

They charge.

Big mistake.

I trip Guy #1. He goes down hard.

Daiki handles Guy #2.

It's not a fight.

It's a combo.

He ducks. He weaves. He hits pressure points.

Jab. Jab. Ribs. Throat.

It's like he's playing a game.

Guy #2 collapses.

Guy #1 scrambles up. He sees his friends.

He runs.

Guy #3 is still crying.

"Get out of here," Daiki spits.

Guy #3 runs.

Silence.

Just us.

In a dark alley.

Surrounded by trash.

Daiki is breathing hard.

He looks at his hands.

"Twilight... you okay?" he pants.

"I'm fine," I say. My voice is shaky.

I hate that my voice is shaky.

That was too close.

That was too much like 'before'.

"What are you doing here?" I ask, trying to sound mad.

"I... I was following you," he admits.

"Following me? That's creepy!"

"I know! I know!" he says, running a hand through his hair. "I just... I felt so bad about 'Fuji'. And you were so mad. I wanted to make sure you got home safe. And then you took the 'stupid-shortcut-of-death' and I was like, 'Of course she did'."

He looks at me.

"You're shaking," he says.

I am.

"I hate that," I mutter. "I hate them. I hate feeling like that."

He doesn't say anything.

He just takes off his hoodie.

His giant, black hoodie.

The one that smells like energy drinks.

He drapes it over my shoulders.

It's huge.

It's warm.

"It's okay to be scared, Twilight," he says, quietly. "Those guys were jerks."

"I wasn't scared," I lie.

"Right," he smirks. A small smirk. A real one. "You were 'tactically concerned'. Got it."

He picks up my school bag.

"Come on," he says. "I'll walk you home. The long way."

We walk.

I'm swimming in his hoodie.

"You were good," I say. "Back there. The fight."

"Yeah... well..." he mutters, shoving his hands in his pockets. "My dad made me take 'self-defense'. Said a gamer's hands are 'worth money'. It's just 'muscle memory'."

"Right. 'Muscle memory'."

We get to my house.

I should give him his hoodie back.

I don't want to.

"So..." he says.

"So..." I say.

"Are we ... okay?" he asks. "Like... you and me?"

I look at him.

He's not a 'bully'.

He just saved me.

"...You're still a simp, Daiki-kun," I say.

He groans.

"Can we PLEASE forget about 'Sakura-Blossom7'?!"

"Never."

He chuckles.

"Okay. Fair."

"But... Daiki?"

"Yeah?"

"...Thanks."

I run inside.

I close the door.

I lean against it.

I'm still wearing his hoodie.

My phone is off.

My house is quiet.

But I don't feel 'peaceful'.

I feel ... confused.

My heart is still pounding.

And I don't think it's from the fight.