Off Limits (Christoffer Schistad - Skam)

Part 14

Chris was the first one to cast a stone at Mara. It was predictable – it honestly was – though a bystander might have bet on Mara to do that. Chris was so entirely committed to her, in a way he never was to any other girl before, that people tended to forget how devoted he actually was to his friendship with William. And some might even wonder if it didn't outweigh his affection for Mara.

That's what Mara was forced to think about after he snapped at her not even a week after their fight with William. She missed her brother so very much. She missed eating dinner with him and commenting out loud the stupid movies broadcast on the local channel. She missed walking in on him when he was on the phone with Noora and catching small glimpses of his most tender side. Mara missed her big brother. But she knew – and Chris knew it – that William would get over himself and talk to her again at some point. Because they were family – not just by blood, and not just at heart, but both. Which is why Chris suffered all the more.

This led to a fast paced Thursday afternoon filled with untamed passions and misplaced aggressiveness. Everything escalated very quickly for Chris and before he realised what was happening, he was in yet another fight with the Yakuza guys.

The whole day William had tried twice as hard as usual to get rid of him, and turn the other Penetrators against him. He didn't hide his blatant contempt for his former best friend, and openly suggested he just go home so he and the other could finally have fun. Chris stood firm on his position and argued until he had the support of everyone but William.

"What are you gonna do? Chain me up?" Chris had snickered, earning a few laughs from the group of boys watching the dispute. "I'm more fun than you could ever dream to be anyway. Mara is more fun than you too," he said, which caused a huge vein to throb on Will's temple. It was disloyal of Chris to play this card, but it was too late for regrets, the stupid thing had been said. "Just kiddin'. Why the serious face? Can't take a joke?" Chris said in bad faith.

"Do you really want to go down this path, Chris?" William had asked him, ever so severely.

"There's no going down for me anymore, man. I've reached rock bottom the day you told me to leave," he answered just loud enough for William to hear but no one else. "You wanted this, didn't you? Rivalry? Internal tensions? Pettiness? Well, now you got it! I'm playing your game."

William wanted to smash Christoffer's head against the nearest wall in hopes that it would knock some fucking sense into the boy, but chances were his skull was harder to break through than the concrete wall. From the day William had put an end to their... whatever, Chris hadn't stopped pushing him in hopes to corner him. He didn't stand down and distance himself from the Penetrators, he made himself even more essential to the group and took a leading role despite Will's attempts at thwarting his plans. Everybody liked Chris. He was charismatic enough to convince the whole of them to do anything he wanted against their better judgement, and he was the life of every party. If Chris wasn't there, it wasn't a party, it didn't really start until he walked in. William had the calm yet stern authority and the magnetism to make people gather around him like a flock of sheep around the Shepard, but without Chris he lacked something. He didn't appeal to them the same way Chris did.

"Fine, be an obstinate ass, like I care!" William eventually said, clearly losing this round.

It wasn't such a sore loss since he won every other one during the week, but to Chris it evidently meant victory. Whatever the hell William had planned to do later that day, he will have to count Chris in, because if William could haunt all his nights and spoil his days, then he was in his damn right to ruin what he had in mind for tonight.

*

Mara's day was much different. Good different. The entire school day turned out unexpectedly nice and by the time she came back home, she was smiling bigger than she had during the past week.