Beyond Control

05

"Bro, you're going to dinner with her!? Where?" Xavian exclaimed over the phone. 

I was smiling widely, unbelieving of it myself. "We haven't gotten that far yet. I was too shocked to think of those things." 

He laughed. "Sounds just like you. This restaurant that opened a couple of months ago might be worth checking out. It has a bit of everything. Sandwiches, pasta, and a bunch of meat options. You know how girls are when choosing where they want to eat." 

"You're not wrong," I responded with a chuckle. "What's the name of it?" 

"Uh, if I recall, it's Captain David's," he answered. "It's about a ten to fifteen-minute drive from where you're at." 

I nodded in approval. "I'll take your word on it." 

He sighed. "Oh, goodness, Eli. Last week, you were as introverted as you've always been since I met you way back when. Now, you have these extraordinary powers, gave a girl your number, and you're going out with her tomorrow. I'm so proud of you." 

Xavian was fake crying after that last sentence. I rolled my eyes and shook my head. "It's not that big of a deal." 

"It's not?" he asked. "Wow, now you have a set of balls made of pure iron. What have you been taking? I want whatever you have so I can retain the charisma you suddenly have." 

"We're just friends is what I'm saying," I stated. "Believe me, I'm trying to keep my expectations low. It's Emily Jackson we're talking about. I'm just Elijah Bell." 

"And I'm Xavian Murdock," he responded. "What's your point? Emily's a nice girl. Honestly, I can see why she can fall for you." 

I frowned in interest. "What do you mean?" 

"I know you're a humble guy, but you have a handsome face and a great personality," Xavian started. "Like when you stood up for that freshman boy who was bullied by Cason. Man, if it wasn't for his dick-bag gang, you looked like you were going to smash his face into the lockers. Girls love that shit." 

"Yeah, and it felt like it was my head that was smashed into the lockers," I recalled, shaking my head and rubbing my cheek where I had gotten hit. I sat down on my bed. "It's fine and all to stand up for people, but it's different when you only get in the way." 

"Well, the point is that you made the effort to stand up for the weak. The teachers stepped in for once and did something about it. Cason was suspended, remember? He had a history of bullying." 

I twitched my lip and tried to hold back my anger. "I guess. I don't know. It would've been so much more convenient to fucking smash him with my powers, but I couldn't do it. I didn't even think to do it. I was used like a damn punching bag." 

"I-I get it, dude," Xavian reassured, sounding taken aback by the sudden change of tone. "I know it's happened more than once, too." 

He was right. Throughout a ton of my middle school years and into high school, I was bullied pretty harshly by the popular boys and picked on by the girls. Being pushed into lockers, and being tripped which led to falling on my face in a humiliating manner, and fighting in the hallway over the stupidest reasons. 

My mind recalled a different situation with Cason a few years ago. He shoved me so hard into the concrete wall that I felt something pop in my back. I came so close to smashing him with a wall of earth that'd give him an overdose of his own medicine. My hand was in the starting position and everything.

I didn't do it, though. I was too much of a coward. 

Xavian sighed. "I know it sucks, man. Nobody should ever have to go through what you and a lot of people have had to deal with."