Fight for Yourself (manxman) *Completed*

Eleven. Dante. / Oliver.

Dante

Once Oliver's car drove out of the driveway, I slowly shut the front door before walking back into the dining room. Everyone was talking and laughing with each other as I sat back down, feeling pretty awkward. At least when Oliver was here he helped to calm me down but now I was on my own. Millie and Nathan were cool but I had only been with them one other time. And I had just met his parents and was now eating dinner with them. All of this didn't feel real.

"So you said you were a boxer right?" His mom was suddenly asking me. When I nodded she said, "That sounds pretty interesting. How often do you fight?"

I finished my wine before saying, "Well I used to fight pretty much all the time. I had gotten hurt and needed surgery, not from fighting though, so that slowed me down. And now I honestly haven't fought in awhile." My fingers were then nervously starting to play with my napkin. "I know I'm not a doctor like Oliver or engineer like Nathan. I'm just trying to figure things out now."

When I felt a hand on mine I looked up to see Millie smiling at me. "Dante, not everyone has to be a doctor or engineer. You've been doing something you enjoy your whole life. It really only matters that you're happy."

I noticed his parents and Nathan were nodding as well. "You sound just like Oliver," I said with a small laugh.

"It's pretty obvious that he cares about you, and we do too. Anything you ever need just tell me." Millie was smiling at me again as I scrunched my eyebrows together.

"I just don't get that. You don't even know me, why are you being so nice to me?"

"Why would we be mean?" Nathan suddenly asked. "You make my brother happy, something he hasn't truly been in a while. And also you're a nice person Dante."

I could feel a warm tingling in my chest as I smiled down at the plate in front of me. The rest of the night was actually pretty enjoyable and by the time Nathan drove me home I was really comfortable with Oliver's family. The ride back to Oliver's was quiet but nice, Nathan giving me a friendly hug once he dropped me off.

The house was quiet and dark by the time I entered it, a yawn escaping my lips. As I entered the bedroom I yawned again before taking my shirt off and putting one of Oliver's on. Since it was still a little early, I decided to try and bake something to occupy my time.

It took longer than usual to make some simple cookies, but I finally had some cookies that didn't look like shit. Feeling happy, I drove over to the hospital and walked inside.

"Hi Paul."

The security guard smiled at me as he set his newspaper down. "Evening Dante, here to see Oliver?"

"I am. I just have some things to drop off to him. Do you want some cookies? I can't promise they're good though."

He happily took a zip lock bag of cookies with a smile. "Thanks Dante, they look great."

After giving him a small wave, I held the cookies closer to my chest before walking up the stairs. The path to his office was so familiar by now that I was basically on autopilot. Once I came up to his office I knocked, the door slowly opening once my palm touched it. It must not have been latched all the way when it was shut.

I took a look inside while asking, "Oliver?"

The small light on his desk was on, multiple papers sprawled everywhere. It definitely looked like he rushed out of here in a hurry, maybe to an emergency. Deciding just to wait I plopped down in his comfy chair while taking out one of the cookies.

As I bit off a large chunk, my eyes traveled down to his desk. I didn't want to snoop but my eyes zeroed in on a name that was way too familiar. Kate Ambrosia was labeled at the top of a large stack of documents, making me put the cookie down. I immediately picked the papers up and watched as a picture fell out.