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How did it start? Oh right, Luka had a nervous breakdown in front of everyone, on the tennis court, like an idiot. Pavel just wanted to help him, to calm him down. He took him by the arms and forcibly carried him to the locker room. There Luka went crazy like a raging bull at the rodeo
He started throwing everything in the air: his bag, Pavel's. He opened his locker and took out a photo of himself and the rest of the team. That shitty team. Those pieces of shit. Those shits!
He tore the photo in half. Pavel ran after him and blocked him with his elbow. Luka grunted and spat in his shirt. Pavel stepped back and Luka tried to take the photo again, but Pavel took the two pieces and held them up to the sky. Luka reached out to grab it, but failed. He was so uncontrollable that he started scratching his own arm and even bite his wrist:
"Will you please calm down dude!?" Pavel begged him, his voice was desperate
Luka tightened his teeth on his wrist. Pavel took it and stared at the bite marks. His face became pale and melancholy. But even that didn't stop Luka's rage, and he pushed him away and stared at his wrist. His damn wrist hurt, but he had done it. How fucking strong were his teeth?
"I'm saying this for your own good, Luka! You... You scare me, okay?"
Luka scoffed: "Oh sure, let's put all the blame on the nigger on duty, huh!?"
Pavel put his hands over his eyes: "Good heavens... Nigger here, nigger that, why do you think everyone is mad at you just because you're black!? Could you also notice your actual mistakes instead!?"
"You know what, Pav? Fuck you! Because, if you haven't noticed yet, people like me always make mistakes!"
"Nobody here is accusing you, Luka!"
"I wouldn't be here if it weren't for... For... Ugh!" He punched the wall
Pavel put his hands on his shoulders, rubbing them. For a moment, Luka seemed to calm down. Suddenly he gritted his teeth:
"Leave me alone" He said dryly
"Are you sure?"
"I said Leave. Me. Alone"
"But..."
Luka whirled around and punched him in the face. Pavel fell to the ground and held his nose, noticing that it was dripping blood. Maybe something was broken. Luka's eyes widened, realizing what was happening, and he reached out his hand, then retreated it. Pavel's eyes became watery, then he started crying. He took his nose in both hands, and sobbed, hiding his face between his knees. Luka felt himself dying inside. How could he have treated him like that?
The coach arrived and, seeing the situation, didn't know what to do. The idea of calling the police seemed reckless to him, because after all, they were kids, and fights weren't that uncommon among them. He simply sent Luka home and called Pavel's parents to come and pick him up
He had really made a mistake. It was at that moment that Luka realized that if he didn't want to hurt anyone anymore, he had to change
Change for real
•••
Ringing the doorbell of your best friend who you beat up a few hours earlier is as humiliating as it is depressing. The boy's mother opened the door and was, we underline, 'very happy' to see him
Pavel had been in his room, crying for hours. It wasn't just the pain in his nose, but because he felt like he'd failed. He felt obliged to make Luka feel good and calm him down, and so he had shown that he was not a born comforter as he was believed to be. But Luka was a difficult guy, it wasn't his fault if he couldn't take the situation in his hands
Luka took a deep breath and knocked on the door. Pavel sobbed before saying he was allowed in. The boy entered and saw Pavel with blocked pores in his nose, breathing through his mouth with difficulty, swallowing more than he should. Luka clutched his chest but quickly took his hand away as soon as Pavel looked at him, his eyes were as red as apples
How could he apologize? Simply saying "sorry" was too easy. Joking about it? Absolutely not. Being direct? He didn't think he was capable of it. Pavel took it upon himself, once again, to speak for him:
"Sorry. I didn't mean to make you angrier" He sniffed
Luka sat down next to him and clasped his hands on his knees: "It's not your fault, Pav. It was my fault" he put a hand on his shoulder: "I shouldn't have hit you, it was... Unfair. You just wanted to help"
"But I failed" Pavel's voice cracked: "I should have... I could have..."
"It's not important now. Let's make each other a promise, okay?"
"... What?"
Luka looked up to his right, then stuck out his little finger: "I promise to try to control myself and be less violent"
He managed to make Pavel smile without even trying. Pavel licked his lip and stuck out his pinky, intertwining it with Luka's: "I promise to... Make myself less stressed out?"
"You don't look so sure, buuuut I'll accept it"
The two laughed and threw their little fingers in the air. Luka took Pavel by the shoulders and hugged him; the other gritted his teeth and touched his nose in pain, then hugged him back
Those close to Luka were surprised by how much he had changed. Sure, he hadn't become a 100% saint, but he now shouted less, and if something was wrong, he said it openly and in the kindest way. He also stopped taking everything personally, as Pavel had advised him
Everyone wondered what had happened to him
Pavel was the only one who didn't ask him
He knew. They promised