"There he is, the beloved king of the year, the one who will take anyone to bed as long as they breathe."
I had just arrived. As usual, my friends would gather outside the clubs to complain about being single and resent those who were more successful than them.
But this time I could hear in Moyo an unheard of contempt.
"Hey there! who are you talking about?"
I approach the group.
Moyo doesn't say anything, but points to the most handsome boy on campus.
"What did Sander do to you?"
Moyo looks at me suspiciously
"You know him?"
He's been inhabiting my dreams for a long time.
"Sander? Not in person..."
I just hope I don't show too much of the blush that has suddenly sprung up on my cheeks
"Ah, his half-normal, half-fag fame precedes him..."
Before I could retort to that gigantic nonsense, Moyo walks up to Sander and starts repeating the same things in his face:
The tension is through the roof and they start shoving each other.
"Back off, I'm not interested in your judgments."
"It's not judgments it's the truth."
I approach.
And I get in the way.
"Moyo knock it off. We're here for a party. What's wrong with you tonight?"
"He fucked the girl I liked and then left her for a guy."
"So?"
"So Robbe? That's not normal!"
Enough. I was fed up.
"That's enough, Moyo."
"No, let me vent."
My hand departs without thinking and the punch that lands on Moyo is quite strong and unexpected:
"Now you listen to me: the fact that you couldn't be with that girl has nothing to do with Sander, understand?"
Moyo hits me back:
"You're defending the half-fag and not your friend? Are you from that side too? Or do you go back and forth like him?"
My nose is bleeding but I pretend not to feel the pain.
"I'm defending justice, it has nothing to do with how I feel about him because Moyo..."
I throw myself at him with an anger I've never felt.
"I've been gay all my life, but I've never said it because I have a bunch of obtuse dickheads as friends."
Moyo is clearly stronger than me, and he doesn't stop hitting me until I come out: that's when he seems to wake up, as if having a gay man around is a game changer.
"Robbe."
"You and I are done, I don't want to have friends like that...and now..."
I stand up but I don't know how long I can keep from passing out.
"Leave Sander al..."
I couldn't. I passed out.
I'm not used to fighting. I wake up and it hurts everywhere. The place where I am I don't know, but I don't care, I just want to sleep.
"Robbe, that's your name right?"
I nod.
"Are you thirsty?"
"I throw up if I drink."
"Do you fight a lot?"
I try to open my eyes and see a blurry Sander.
I try to smile at him
"First time ever...are you Sander?"
"Yes I am...You weren't bad for a newbie...however you didn't have to..."
"No, I did have to. I was sick of hearing their talk out of time. I was sick of having to hide, friends aren't like that..."
"Right, but now it's going to take you a few days to recover. Moyo's a jerk but he's also twice your size."
"Bad start as a fighter right? Where am I?"
"At my house, my mother is a doctor and I thought it best to figure out whether or not I should take you to the hospital... your folks have been notified... I think
you will have to spend the vacations here"
The news hits me but I'm not lucid enough to understand exactly what it entailed.
"I'm sorry you have to take me on for Christmas."
"Don't even joke about that and then Robbe...you stood up for me in front of everyone. Take it as a thank you."
