System Nullification

Chapter 26

~Reed

 I was in a particularly bad mood after school. It was the day after I got my ass kicked by Nate. I was mostly okay, but I still felt a little bit sore (although less sore than I would've felt if it weren't for Charlotte's healer bands).  My chest was more sore than any of the other parts in my body. Fortunately, I survived through school because barely anyone made any physical contact with me except Brianna, and she didn't touch my chest.

 I replayed my fight with Nate again and again in my head. It was irritating me to no end. In the beginning, I used really good tactics such as getting him in the gut to take him down. He was right. Even though my strategy was good, I was too weak to do any damage to him in the first place. A mistake I also made strategizing was the fact that I didn't analyze my opponent either. He was bigger than me, so I should've concluded that he was more durable than me, and was able to take more hits than me and give stronger hits than me.

 I sat up and sighed, taking out my binder to do some homework only to realize that I already did it in school. "Damn it, brain," I thought to myself.

 I wasn't sure what this feeling was in myself. I couldn't tell if I was beating myself up for being too weak, or if I was just hating on Nate. Probably both, but hopefully not both. The power of human emotion always threw off my logic, and that annoyed me to no end. One thing worth the whole struggle, though, is Brianna.

 I'd always come to school to see Brianna arriving, her bright blonde hair shining in the sun and her blue eyes staring right at me. Then she smiles, simply because of the sight of me. It made me feel loved. I fell in love with her, too. Gladly enough, I'd be hanging out with the group soon.

 Soon... I looked at my watch. It was already 6 pm. I quickly took all my stuff and ran out the door despite the slight pain in my chest. I hurried to the park, where the group usually hung out at. The sight I saw was Brianna sitting at a picnic table as the sun shone on her and the breeze blew her hair. "Can I just take a moment to stand back and enjoy the scenery because the temperature suddenly rose and—" I thought, breathing in the fresh air. "Who am I kidding? We're in love with each other."

 I made my way to Brianna, and she looked around, turned around and saw me. "Reed! Hi!" Brianna squealed.

 "Haha, hey Brianna," I said, sitting next to her and kissing her for a second.

 "What's up?" Brianna asked, nuzzling against me and putting her hand on my chest.I tried really hard not to react to the incoming pain but... I winced. "Ah, fuck," I cursed, warmth from Brianna's hand being combined with the pain from the bruise on my chest.

 "Whoa, Reed, what's wrong?" Brianna asked, concerned.

 "It's uh... hmm..." I scrambled, looking for an explanation, wanting to hold her close but not knowing if I should because of the pain.

 "Does it hurt when I touch it right there?" Brianna wondered, touching the same spot.

 I gave a slightly pained cry again, and Brianna gasped. "Oh my gosh, Reed, are you okay? What happened to you?!"

 I sighed. How could I explain to Brianna that I was practically forced to fight a guy who was taller, bigger, and stronger than me, and got myself beaten up because of it? "It's nothing," I lied.

 "Liar," Brianna pouted. "I could try to help you."

 "Hey guys!" Skylar said, appearing behind us. "Ah, I'm the first third wheeler again. Hehe. I sure did help a lot with you two. What's up?"

 "Skylaaaaar!" Brianna whined. "Something's wrong with Reed and I don't know what it is! But there's like, a pain on or in his chest."

 "Dude, are you getting old? A pain in your chest is like... a medical condition. Like, you could literally be like, having a heart attack right at this—" Skylar said.