Page 5 of Fight for You

“Hey,” I greeted, feeling my lips stretch into a dumb, lopsided smile as he approached. “You look great. Sorry I'm underdressed.”

Avery cocked his head in confusion before glancing down at his outfit. “These are just my school clothes.”Holy shit; my little nerd dresses like this all the time. Adorable.

“Have a seat,” I offered with a wave of my hand, and Avery slid into the booth. As I did the same, I clocked my head on the damn light again, but luckily, he didn't notice. I handed him a menu as I asked, “How was class?”

“It was great. We discussed one of my favorite topics; combinatorics.”

I blinked, not knowing what the hell he was talking about. “I'm glad you enjoyed it.” Avery beamed before looking over his menu some more. Feeling dumb but curious, I scratched the back of my head and requested, “Remind me what that is again?”

“It's a branch of mathematics that focuses on counting, arranging, and selecting elements within a finite or discrete system.”

Yeah, that answers nothing.All I knew for sure was that it sounded, “Impressive.”

“Eh, I'm just a number nerd,” Avery insisted with a humble wave of his hand. “My love of math is what led me to studying cryptography.”

Cryptography.I searched my brain, but came up with nothing. It sounded like it had something to do with dead people or even mummies, but then why would he need math? Searching for clues while trying not to sound like a total moron, I asked, “What are you wanting to do after graduation?”

“Ideally, I'd like to work for the CIA.”Holy shit, maybe itdoeshave somethingto do with dead bodies. “I'd love to be a Cyber Security Officer, but I know I'll have to work my way upover time. I’ll need years of experience before I could apply to the Agency.”

Cyber security? Ohh, I get it now.“You write encryptions.” Avery nodded. It made much more sense than mummies.

“I encrypt sensitive material into code, so that third parties can't read it.”

“So what you're telling me is that you're basically a genius.” I was teasing, but the way Avery’s cheeks pinked told me I wasn't too far from the truth. “I'm jealous.”

“Don't be,” he sighed. I narrowed my eyes, hoping he would explain, but a waitress appeared at the end of our table before he could do so. I nodded for Avery to order first, and he chose pan fried chicken and vegetables. That just so happened to be one of my favorite meals, so I smiled and ordered the same.

Once we were alone again, I leaned forward, preparing to ask him to explain what he meant, but Avery began talking before I could get the words out. I wasn't sure if he was reading my cues, or if he just needed to talk to someone, but I gave him my full attention.

“I've always been smart,” he began quietly, as if it were something to be ashamed of. “School always came easy for me. I never had to study, yet always received good grades.”

“That's great,” I smiled, but Avery didn't seem as enthused.

“Sometimes. But in other ways, it was stressful. Peers got angry with me when I would cancel out a grading curve on a test, or get praised by a teacher. It put a target on my back that has unfortunately followed me throughout life.”

“The guys bothering you,” I surmised, and he nodded.

“They struggled in grade school and high school, and took out their frustrations and jealousy on me. I thought things would calm down as I got older, but I guess not. They've actually gotten worse. I believe these guys are seeing that their future is not going to be easy, and I'm an easy target for them. Hurting me makes them feel better.”

Avery wasn't only book smart; he was emotionally intelligent as well. He understood the actions of others, even though they were inexcusable.

“So those assholes from school; they're the only ones bothering you?”

“Yeah, it's just them now.” I didn't miss his use ofnow,and Avery didn't either. His eyes widened before skittering away. I longed to know his story, but he didn't seem ready to tell it yet, so I changed the subject by bringing up my own.

“I got picked on in school too.”

His gaze snapped back to me.“You?”

I nodded with a chuckle. “I didn't always look like this. When I was younger, I was actually a pretty gangly kid. But that's not why I got bullied; I suffered with dyslexia, and had trouble with reading.” Avery got picked on for being ahead of his peers, while I got picked on for being behind. It seemed like some people just hated anyone who was different.

“I always hated reading out loud in class. I tried my best, but I was slow and had a bit of a stutter. The other kids would groan or laugh at me, and I made the mistake of letting them see it bothered me. Since they knew it got under my skin, they went at me even harder.

“One day, a kid in my grade was acting tough in front of his buddies. He was making them laugh by mimicking mystutter right in my face. He was getting spit all over me and I told him to stop. He didn't, so I pushed him. He pushed me back. And that was the day my life changed when I realized I had a mean right hook.

“My mom was worried about the fighting, but my dad was excited. He saw my potential and immediately got me into training. I got better, and I got bigger. When my growth spurt hit, I became a force to be reckoned with. I won most of my matches. But win or lose, after every fight, I trained even harder.”

“Did your mom ever warm up to it?” Avery asked curiously, and I smiled at his care.

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