Righting Wrongs
Owen felt bad about the days when he would haze Riley and beat on Adam and Zane. Something changed when his brother came out of the closet. Tristan didn't want to come out. Some kids at school found out he was gay and beat him up. When Owen picked him up that day, he was crying. When he told Owen why, Owen was furious, not with Tristan, but with himself. He knew that he let his brother down; he let himself down. He wanted to make it right, but he didn't know how. Call them up and say, "hey, I wanted to apologize for being a jerk to you. My brother's gay, so I get it now. Can we be cool?" It didn't really sound right. Owen tried to put it to the back of his mind, but it would always find it's way to the surface.
One time it happened, he was walking down the street and he heard. "You fucking queer, stay away from my sister." He looked up and it was no other than Adam Torres getting beat up by Luke Baker and some punks from Bardell. Owen shouted at them to fuck off, and when he got closer, the boys ran.
Adam was a bloody mess. Owen reached over him.
"Here to finish the job," Adam hissed.
"No. I'm gonna take you home. You look like shit."
"Why do you even care?"
"I just do okay. Or you can stay here and hope those idiots don't come back. Your choice." Adam reluctantly got up. Owen Milligan was the last person he expected to save him from bullies. Owen had a first aid kit in the car. He used it to clean up Adam's face and survey the damage. "Nothing looks broken, but you should ice it when you get home."
"Why are you doing this?"
"What?"
"Helping me. You hate me."
"I don't hate you. I used to be an idiot okay. Now I'm not, well not so much anyway."
Adam was curious, but he didn't pry.
When they got to his house, Adam grumbled thanks and went inside.
His mother screamed. "What the heck happened?" She went to get ice for his face. Unfortunately, this was all too familiar for her to see. It still hurt just as much though, every time.
"Luke was mad that I went on a date with his sister. He and some thugs beat me up."
"I'm calling their parents."
"No you're not. If they find out and punish him, I'm just going to get it worse."
"You can't just do nothing."
"Oh I'm going to do something. I'm going to keep dating Becky. It takes more than a couple of bruises to take me out."
Drew came down. "Did I just see Owen's car?"
"He gave me a ride home."
"You got in his car," his mother questioned.
"It was that or wait on the street and hope that Luke didn't come back."
"I wonder why he stopped at all," Drew wondered.
Owen felt like he blew it. He had the opportunity to make things right with Adam and he blew it. Driving him home wasn't enough. Owen shook his head and went to get a milkshake. Milkshakes fix everything.
The next day, Adam's face looked worse. It always looked worse before it got any better. Mrs. Torres called the school to make sure that Luke's old friends from Bardell wouldn't be allowed on campus. She, however, did respect Adam's request not to file a formal complaint.
Becky was surprised to see Adam looking so bad.
"What happened?"
He saw Luke approaching.
"I got mugged."
"They didn't steal anything."
"Just my iPod. I'll get a new one."
She gave him a hug. That made Luke really mad, but Simpson was approaching. Luke got lost.
Drew went up to Owen after class. "Why did you help my brother?"
"Because I know what it's like to have your little brother come home, beaten up by jerks."
"You have a little brother."
Owen figured he may as well tell him. "Tristan. He's in eighth grade and when his classmates found out he was gay, they beat the crap out him after school. It's not a good feeling, knowing that your little brother has a target on his back."
"Tell me about it. It is kind of ironic though."
Owen glared at him. "Yeah it is. I just wish I could undo the stupid shit I did before."
"I know that feeling. Well, you can't unbeat up Adam, but you could teach him how to fight."
"That's a great idea." Owen followed Drew to the Torres house. Adam was there with Clare, studying. "Adam, get out here," Owen yelled.
"What does he want?" Clare only knew one thing about Owen. He hung out with Fitz, bad news.
"I have no clue."
Adam went outside. "What?"
"I'm going to teach you how to fight."
"What?"
"You can't avoid bullies forever. They always find you, but if I teach you how to fight, you can beat Luke Baker's ass once and for all."
"As much as I would like that, he always comes with a group. I can't take him by myself."
"Actually you can. In my martial class, they teach you how to deal with multiple assailants."
Adam agreed. He hated being beat up. Owen started 1 on 1, teaching Adam basic blocks and strikes. How to knock someone out, how to cause the most pain very quickly, and if necessary, how to break someone's bones. That part was not something Adam wanted to do, but he wasn't a very big guy. He needed whatever advantages he could get.
Owen left after a couple of hours and said he'd be back with someone else tomorrow, to practice 2 on 1.
Adam came in looking worse than he did before.
"Did you go outside for Owen to beat you up worse?" Clare asked him.
"He was teaching me how to fight."
"Maybe you should recover first."
"No time. Luke won't wait for my bruises to heal. I can't wait either."
Audra was not happy to see Adam looking worse. "What happened today?"
"I was learning how to fight. It's fine, Mom." Audra wasn't sure if he was lying. She asked Drew.
"He was practicing with someone out in the yard."
Audra sighed.
The next day, Adam's first bruises were starting to clear up while the second set was getting darker. He got ready for school and Audra told Drew to keep a close eye on him today. If Luke came by, Drew leered at him until he left. After school, Owen made a stop before he went to Adam's house.
"Where are we going?" Fitz asked him.
"To make amends."
Eli was at Adam's house today, and he was not happy when he saw Owen's car. "What is he doing here?"
"He's been teaching me how to fight."
"What? Are you nuts?"
"I'm sick of getting beat up."
"So if you can't beat the bully, join him?"
"Do you know anyone in school who can fight better?"
Eli couldn't name one. He got even madder, however, when he saw Fitz. "What is he doing here?"
Adam went outside. He gulped. Today was 2 on 1. Owen got Fitz to demonstrate on him first. "In a 2 on 1, you will often have one guy holding you back while the other guy hits you. Most people, tense up trying to fight the guy in front of them. You want to go limp and make it hard for the other guy to hold you." Owen went limp, causing Fitz to struggle with his weight. "This also makes it harder for the other guy to hit you. When he gets lower to try, break free and tackle his ass. Take him out quickly and then turn around and go for the other guy."
Owen grabbed Adam. Of course, Adam tried to fight Fitz instead of going limp. He finally got it and Owen didn't have to struggle that much to hold him, but he had to teach Adam the move, so he "struggled" anyway. Adam broke out of his grip and went after Fitz. Fight on.
"Sometimes," Owen said, "you want to take out the guy holding you first. When you go limp, grab his knee and smash it onto the ground. You might break it or really twist it up. Then lunge for the guy in front of you. I recommend this if it's 3 on 1."
Drew came home from being with Bianca. Owen had him be the third attacker. When Audra came home, she had a panic attack. "What the hell are you doing to your brother?"
Owen let him go. "We're just teaching him to fight Mrs. Torres." Audra shook her head.
Eli had watched from the window. He didn't get why Adam would make friends with such idiots. He did seem to be learning something though. He got Fitz right in the nose.
It was Friday and Adam had another date with Becky. He picked her up and they went to the movies. After it was out, she went to the bathroom, that's when Luke and his two friends appeared.
"Didn't I tell you to leave her alone?"
"Didn't I tell you to get the fuck over yourself?" Adam wasn't scared.
Luke's friend grabbed him and Luke went to punch. Adam went limp. When the guy couldn't hold him up, Adam grabbed his knee and slammed it into the ground. He screamed. Before Luke knew it, Adam punched him in the nose, breaking it. The third guy ran. He didn't sign up for this shit.
Becky came out of the bathroom. "What the hell!"
"I can explain," Adam started.
"You weren't mugged last time were you?"
"No. Your brother and his friends jumped me."
"Why didn't you tell me?" she yelled.
"He was right behind you when you asked. I didn't want him to jump me again, not that it mattered in the end."
"Did you see what this freak did to my nose?" Luke was pissed.
Becky kicked him in the 'nards. "You asshole."
He doubled over. Adam was laughing.
"Will you walk me home?"
"Of course."
Well, Luke and his friends didn't bother Adam anymore, and there would always be future bullies, but for now, life for Adam was pretty good.
Owen was now teaching his brother how to fight. He had Fitz hold Tristan, while Tristan practiced going limp. Owen couldn't teach every target how to fight, but he could start with the ones he knew.