Zak pushed off his car with a backwards thrust of his hips, dropped his cigarette, and stomped it out. He held both arms out as if beckoning Kip toward him for a hug.
That’s when the blue Mustang came roaring down the street, from just behind Kip. The tires squealed as the car hugged the turn and then roared right for him.
Kip dove, smacked the right side of his face on the dry, hard grass next to the sidewalk. The Mustang flew by, and Kip had hoped that would be the end of it, that Chuck would be satisfied by nearly running Kip over.
But then the sports car stopped. Both doors swung open.
“Did y’all see that Toad leap? Damn, looks like the name fits better than I thought.” Chuck wore only a white muscle shirt now, tucked into his blue jeans. Cash and Jerrod followed close behind, both smiling, flexing their muscles and flaring their nostrils.
Kip struggled to get to his feet, his massive backpack weighing him down. He carried all of his books in it at all times, never used his locker. The last time he opened his locker, there was a pile of dead flies in it, and a handwritten note that said, “Bon appetite, Toad.”
A tear escaped his eye and rolled down his cheek, and Kip tried to wipe it away before the boys saw it, but was too late.
“Aw. What’s the matter, Toad? You were such a brave man before. Remember?” Chuck rushed forward before Kip could make a run for it, grabbed him by the arms with both hands. His grip was like two pit bulls biting into the meat of his upper arms, and Kip hissed through his teeth, thought about kicking Chuck but held back, didn’t want to make things worse.
The whole time, the chorus of his buddies’ laughter hit Kip in bursts.
Throb… throb… throb.
“What, your girl isn’t here and now you’re back to being a pussy? That it, Toad? I’m disappointed, man. I was hoping you’d grown some balls overnight, but I guess your vagina is alive and well.” Chuck’s knee thrust upward and slammed into Kip’s groin, exploding the air from his lungs and twisting his guts into knots.
But Chuck still held him there. Wouldn’t let him fall even though all Kip wanted to do then was curl into a ball and weep.
He had forgotten all about Zak.
When his cousin’s face suddenly appeared over Chuck’s shoulder, it was like seeing Batman come to his rescue.
Zak’s hand slammed down on the back of Chuck’s neck, squeezed hard. Kip could tell Zak was squeezing hard because the grin stretching across Chuck’s face flipped into a grimace, and Chuck released Kip and sent him crashing to the concrete.
Kip’s knees slammed against the pavement, and he yelped, rolled around for a minute clutching them. That’s when he noticed Cash and Jerrod. Chuck’s minions rolled around and moaned in the street, neither one of them worried about Chuck anymore, too engulfed in their own pain to care.
Chuck spun in place, shrugging off Zak’s hand. The jock threw a punch, and even Kip could tell it was sloppy.
Zak sidestepped it easily, actually smiled at Chuck as he put his fists up.
He really is like Batman.
Chuck studied his friends writhing in pain on the ground. Cash clutched his stomach, and Jerrod cupped his face with both hands and squealed like a stuck pig.
“You think you can take me, motherfucker?” Chuck spat on the street, cracked his knuckles. “I’m gonna fuck you up so bad, your face’ll look worse than Toad’s over here.”
“Don’t fucking call him that,” Zak said as he rushed forward.
Chuck stood his ground, threw a couple of punches at the approaching boy. They weren’t as sloppy as the last one, but neither of them landed true. His right fist brushed the side of Zak’s head, but did nothing to slow him.
When Zak’s fist slammed into the side of Chuck’s face, Kip’s skin reacted with an orgasmic burst of pleasure. Every inch of him pulsed now, and he smiled wide as he watched his cousin’s fist hit home again, this time throwing Chuck off his feet.
Chuck rocked back and forth on the ground, eyes pinched tight, mouth bleeding. He growled, forced himself back to his feet. His eyes rolled toward Kip, and he spat a wad of red mucus into the street, breathing hard through his nose.
The other boys were getting to their feet too, and for a second, Kip thought they would surround Zak, jump him from every angle. And if they did, Kip didn’t know if Zak could take them, not all at the same time.
And I’m the only one who could help him. Oh no…
But they didn’t do that. Chuck’s minions limped and dragged their sorry asses back to the Mustang. Chuck shot them a look, twisted his mouth in disgust. He turned back toward Kip, pointed a hard finger like a stick of dynamite.
“This shit ain’t over, motherfucker. You hear me?”
Kip noticed that Chuck left the Toad part out. Kip smiled wider, and Chuck’s face got redder.
Chuck turned toward Zak, looked about ready to say something, but then just stomped off, slammed his car door, and peeled out. The car tilted onto two wheels when it turned, and then was out of sight, though Kip could still hear the engine roaring in the distance.
“You okay?” Zak held out a hand, pulled Kip to his feet.
Kip reminded himself that he was mad at Zak, that he was going to give him the silent treatment. But that was before he kicked Chuck’s ass. And Chuck’s minions.
“I didn’t know you could fight like that,” Kip said, unable to make himself stop grinning. “That. Was. Awesome.”
“Thanks,” Zak said, and dusted his hands. “All in a day’s work.”
“Where’d you learn to kick ass so hard?” The throbbing in his skin began to calm, and the euphoric sensation dissolved bit by bit. Made it easier for Kip to get his thoughts together. He couldn’t wait to get home and pop some more of the zits, though, especially the whopper on his bottom lip.
“I learned with you. All those super hero fights we use to have? You remember that?”
“Of course I do! You couldn’t have learned how to fight from that. If that was the case, I’d be a bad ass. And… uh, I’m not.”
Zak cackled, patted Kip on the back, then slid Kip’s backpack off his back for him and tossed it into the Corolla. “Okay. Maybe I had to learn to defend myself when my mom’s boyfriend decided it was fun to kick our asses all the time. But still… our battles helped.”
Kip smiled, rubbed his shoulders where the backpack’s straps had been digging in.
“I’m sorry about today. I promise I didn’t mean for that to happen,” Zak said.
They walked back to the car and Kip slid into the passenger seat. He faced Zak and shrugged. “I was kind of mad. But not anymore. Thanks for sticking up for me… and for telling that asshole to stop calling me Toad. I hate that name.”
“Of course you hate that name. It’s an awful thing to call someone. If that dickhead messes with you again, he won’t get off so easy.”
It’s true. Things really are going to get better now that I have my cousin back. This is great!
“So… um…”
“Yeah? What’s up?”
“Did you… you know. You and Jade. Did you skip class because you wanted to screw her?”
“Screw her? Really, cousin?”
Kip just shrugged, felt his zits start to move again, but he calmed himself down and just smiled.
“The plan was to take her to school, but she was… insistent. That girl is nothing but trouble, I’ll just say that. I won’t be seeing her again.” Zak’s brow lowered a bit and he shook his head slightly.
“You’re breaking up with Jade? But she’s so… she’s got such big—”
“I know. Trust me, it’s not worth the trouble. And it’s not like we were a couple or anything… I just need to stay away from her. She’s bad news for me.”