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 Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2025 6:28 am
It was that kid again.
Riker froze in the hall. Classes had just let out, and he was going to try and catch up with Julian so he could make sure he got home okay, but that meant having to pass that nerdy little kid he’d bullied a couple years back--
Before he’d gained magical powers and a secret identity and realized that there was more to life than just trying to convince his brother to like him by following in his footsteps.
He remembered every kid he was mean to, and while he’d managed to apologize to some of them -- some of them definitely didn’t want to have anything to do with him, but others seemed like they were hesitantly accepting of his apology -- he hadn’t worked up the courage to talk to this kid.
Especially since he always seemed to run away when he caught sight of Riker.
Which Riker thought was absolutely fair. Especially since he’d made fun of his glasses and hair, and kind of pushed him into the soft sand of the playground. He’d been careful! He made sure it wasn’t into rocks or anything! Looking back, Riker cringed at how bad of a bully he was. It was no wonder why his brother still hated him. He could probably tell that Riker’s heart wasn’t really into it.
But he still did it. And it was still his guilt and burden to carry. One of his saving graces was that people like Elliot and Julian would vouch for him. Cassidy too, now.
Riker didn’t deserve forgiveness, he knew that. But those he’d hurt in whatever way? They deserved a heartfelt apology.
So instead of immediately turning around to let the kid escape, Riker took several determined steps forward.
“Hey,” he called, hoping to get his attention so he wouldn’t startle him too much.
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Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2025 6:24 pm
“Should’ve waited longer,” Xavier murmured as he scanned the rowdier-than-usual hallway from the safety of the doorway of his last class. Normally he had his nose in a book and was heading home by now, but it was a little too crowded to do that. So he was instead scouting the best path out when a certain crop of red hair stuck out to him, and he felt a prickle of discomfort run down his back.
His bullies hadn’t been the worst, but that didn’t make them not bullies. His school days were mostly peaceful now, so he figured they all grew out of it. A lot of the books he’d read had some kind of redemption arc for that type of character, so it…well, it kind of tracked. And he wanted to think the best of everyone, give them the benefit of the doubt that they grew out of it rather than move on to someone else. That didn’t mean he had to interact with them while they went through that arc, though.
So when he saw the other boy start to make his way over Xavier’s instinct was, naturally, to escape. He was about to step back when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Sorry, Xavier,” he heard his teacher say. Oh, no. “I need to close the door to prep for a meeting. Excuse me.” No…nonono…!
“Actually, could I just–” he started to say, but by the time he turned around his door to escape was quite literally closed right in his face. A slight panic took hold, and he hoped he still had time to turn and find another way out.
He flinched at the greeting, turned slowly, and looked up.
If there was ever a time he wished he could magically have a growth spurt, that time would be now. Now that he was being forced to interact with a past bully of his, he thought maybe being able to at least look across to meet the other’s eye would make him feel less…small and insignificant.
“...Hey.”
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Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2025 6:25 pm
Oh… oh the kid actually didn’t run away. Although maybe he’d tried to, but with his back against the door, it looked like his escape path had been blocked off.
“Uh…”
Now that Riker was actually talking to the kid, he didn’t know what to say. Wait, no, he knew he wanted to apologize, but suddenly he lost all comprehension of words.
His ears burned red, and he shuffled his feet a bit as he nervously adjusted his bag over his shoulder.
“Uh...” he tried again, because surely saying the same sound twice would make words happen.
“So-- I was a jerk to you before, and that was really uncool of me--”
Duh, it was uncool of him. Like, that was obvious. He felt the eyes of other people on them as he tried to figure out what to say. Did they think he was trying to harass this kid? He wasn’t! It just didn’t help that the kid looked so uncomfortable about talking to him!
“Sorry. For all that,” he quickly sputtered, hoping that if he at least got those words out, things would be a little easier to handle.
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Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2025 6:26 pm
The first sound–not even another word–that came out of Riker’s mouth made him flinch again. Not that he was doing anything imposing or intimidating. He was just…standing there…sounding awkward and honestly, who knew what it was he was trying to say. But old habits… Xavier wasn’t all that interested in sticking around to hear it, but he was blocking the only other way of escape! If he could melt into the ground like some kind of X-men, he would have, if only to get away that much sooner.
When another sound came he was about to say “excuse me” to try and get away, but this time the sound was followed by actual words, so he wound up just looking like a fish–opening and closing his mouth soundlessly. Not only that, but based on what was being said, it almost sounded like…
He felt the crowd melt away for a dramatic little moment as he sorted through his memories. Riker…well. He really hadn’t been all that bad as a bully, compared to some of the others. Contributing to some of his self-esteem issues and ever growing collection of scrapes, cuts, and bruises was far more forgivable than a lot of what else he experienced.
And he actually had it in him to apologize.
Xavier had his eyes down when the word “sorry” finally came out of the other boy. None of his bullies had ever apologized before, so he felt…awkward, more than anything else. He wasn’t sure what to think or say, so he kept quiet for a long moment, in part waiting for perhaps another shoe to drop or for him to just give up and leave.
“Mm…” That…wasn’t much better than Riker just a second ago. But whatever. “Thanks, I guess? Just…I mean. This doesn’t change anything that happened back then, so…”
Was it bad to ask why someone who was mean to you on purpose was bothering to apologize?
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Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2025 6:26 pm
“Oh, yeah, no!” Riker blurted out and waved his hands in front of him to be extra sure that the kid knew he wasn’t expecting anything in return. He didn’t even expect forgiveness. He didn’t think he deserved it, if he was being honest with himself.
“It doesn’t change what happened, and I’m not trying to erase all that. I know I ******** up. I was--”
What? Misinformed? Too stupid to realize he didn’t have to try and make his brother like him? That there were other people out there who could actually care about him? That he didn’t have to live in the shadow of trying to make his mother happy, despite her hatred for him?
“It doesn’t matter. It’s not an excuse. I’m not trying to make excuses for myself. Um…”
He could tell the other teenager was feeling cornered and awkward, and he was pretty sure there were others watching them. Sure enough, one of the Senior boys that Riker didn’t know walked up to them.
“Are you trying to start something?” the older guy asked, and…
For a moment, Riker was relieved. Not for himself! He quickly shook his head and took a step back so he wasn’t blocking the way or anything like that! But he was relieved that someone would come to the younger teenager’s defense. Good. They needed more of that.
“No, sorry,” he quickly apologized again, hoping that would be enough to satisfy the Senior.
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Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2025 6:26 pm
Xavier again turned into a fish, soundlessly opening and closing his mouth because a Senior boy had stepped in to try and help. He was in the middle of processing everything that was happening, from Riker’s apology to his acknowledgement that apologizing now seemed almost moot considering it undid nothing. Still, he could understand the concept of closure, at least in theory. And would he, himself, find some? At least where his past bullies were concerned?
That was a solid maybe, and would only stay that way if this actually fully played out.
“Just confirming that he isn’t,” said the much smaller boy compared to the other two. Gods, why couldn’t his growth spurt have hit him this past summer? “Thank you, though.”
Xavier gave Riker a quick pat on the shoulder. It was an awkward gesture at best, and one he was clearly copying from something he might have seen on a TV show or movie somewhere, because after doing it he had no idea where the hell his arm or hand was supposed to go…so it wound up just hanging lamely by his side again.
“C’mon, we can walk and talk, right?” Not that he really wanted to do any of the latter, or at least maybe not yet, but this was a great excuse to try and get out of the hallway.
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Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2025 6:28 pm
Riker hadn’t been really sure what to expect. Definitely not an offer to walk with the kid. Not that he was a kid. They were close in age, right?
He’d flinched at the pat on his shoulder, but his ears immediately burned red. What a stupid reaction. He knew if the other teen decided to hit him, he’d deserve it. It was just a habit, though. He wasn’t used to people being close enough to touch him, anyway.
“Uh, yeah,” he agreed, because it was better than having to try and convince other guys that he really wasn’t trying to do anything! He just wanted to say he was sorry.
The senior didn’t seem satisfied, but eventually took a step back when it was clear Xavier wasn’t being harassed.
“Uh… Riker,” he quietly introduced as he shoved his hands into his pockets, taking a step back so they could walk-- uh, not that he knew where the other wanted to walk, but hopefully they’d figure things out.
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Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2025 6:29 pm
Thankfully he didn’t fight him on the idea of taking a walk, so once agreed he slipped past Riker and indicated a relatively clear path through the hallway. Not that he had a specific destination in mind, just that he wanted to not be in the hallway. Awkward conversations were bad enough in private, never mind in plain view of anyone and everyone there…
“Xavier,” he replied to the introduction, glancing over at him in quiet surprise. Maybe it was a tall order to expect a bully to know the names of their targets, but still. He shoved his free hand in his pocket and let out a little sigh.
At least he knew it now. And he was…trying.
“And, uh…let’s go that way? I gotta swing by the library, anyway.” It was an excuse, but hopefully it would get them out of the hallway.
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Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2025 6:29 pm
Well… this was definitely awkward. He didn’t want to just leave, especially when others were watching him, probably expecting him to mess things up. He wished Julian would suddenly appear. Or Cassidy. Heck, he’d take Elliot or Atticus. Any kind of distraction to get him out of the mess he’d put himself into.
He wanted to make sure this kid-- Xavier knew he was serious about being sorry and wanting to make up for what he did, but he also didn’t know what he was doing.
“Yeah, uh… okay,” he mumbled, glancing nervously over his shoulder. He knew others were watching him. Which was good! He was glad that others kept an eye out for jerks like him. He just wished he hadn’t been a jerk. There was no taking back what he did, but he wanted to move forward doing the right thing.
“If, uh…” Riker started, not sure if he even knew what he wanted to say, but also wanting to make sure Xavier knew he was serious. “If you need, like… character reference, or… someone to verify that I’m really, uh… different now. I can give you the names of some people.”
Of course, Xavier might just think they were people who would benefit from saying nice things about Riker, so maybe that wouldn’t be very helpful.
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Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2025 6:30 pm
Xavier had his eyes trained on the ground a few feet ahead of them, feeling every bit as awkward as one might imagine in that situation. He wasn’t sure what to say, or do…or how to get away from Riker now. He had offered a way out of that quickly-becoming-insanely-awkward hallway for them both, but only now realized that he hadn’t really come up with an out for himself now that they were alone.
It felt rude to just…bail, not after he had just apologized, and seemed to be going out of his way to make sure that he got the message.
He glanced over at Riker when he broke the silence, and wasn’t fast enough to stop himself from snorting at the idea of getting a character reference for this kind of thing. Not that he meant to sound condescending–if anything, he might have sounded amused–but it was almost touching the lengths to which he was going to prove his sincerity.
“Yeah?” he asked, thinking he could entertain the idea since Riker had brought it up. “Alright, well if you’re offering. There’s probably only two people here that I trust enough to believe about something like this. If you name either of them, I’ll believe you.”
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Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2025 6:30 pm
Riker sputtered. How was he supposed to come up with two names that Xavier trusted enough to believe him?? Was he supposed to just come up with random names? He didn’t know who Xavier knew! Everyone that Riker knew was in a different grade than Xavier, so the likelihood that he knew them…??
He knew his ears were red. He felt flustered and uncertain. What if he ruined this one chance to prove that he was different now? He couldn’t exactly tell this guy that being a knight was what changed things. That was weird. And would put himself and probably a lot of people in danger.
“Uh… I mean, I guess, um,” he stammered, unsure who to say. “Elliot Reid,” he blurted out, because while he and his teammate weren’t incredibly close, Elliot had saved his life. More than once. Besides, there was a higher chance that Xavier knew Elliot, or at least one of the Mr. Reids that taught at the school, so that had to be something. Right?
“And, uh… Atticus DeLunne,” he threw out, because it was the easiest option to offer Elliot’s boyfriend.
“But, um… There’s also Julian McCann and, uh, Cassidy Vicenza.” He was certain any of them would vouch for him.
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Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2025 6:31 pm
Well that was…unexpected.
Xavier blinked, unable to keep the surprise off of his face as he processed the names provided by his old school bully. Granted, he only knew the first two, but those were the only names that mattered to him in this case. It took a second for him to clear his throat and wipe whatever expression was currently on his face, his own ears turning some shade of pink as he tried to think of what to say next.
Not that he was against forgiveness or anything like that, he just didn’t expect for things to turn up in Riker’s favor.
“Uh…alright, well. Since you know those two,” he said, though purposely didn’t mention which names hit the mark. “I guess I can believe you.”
He stopped walking then, and turned to face Riker. Looking over the much taller boy, he was admittedly curious what brought about the change. Not every book went over the details of a bully’s redemption arc, but there was usually more information than what he had when it came to Riker. It felt…sudden…but if both Elliott and Atticus could vouch for him?
Not to mention, there were still at least two others that could do the same.
“And besides, you haven’t done anything to me for a while now, so it’s basically all in the past. I’m still gonna to ask those two just to check, but…” He extended his hand to the other boy. Lame and cliche as it felt, it was the only thing he could think of that seemed like a good way to end the conversation.
“I don’t know if we can be friends or anything like that, but I think I can at least forgive you.”
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Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2025 6:31 pm
Riker didn’t know what he said to make Xavier pause, but something about him seemed to change slightly. The moment the other teenager turned around, Riker straightened up awkwardly, as though ready to be scolded, but was surprised when Xavier reached out his hand instead.
Oh… So he did know at least two of his friends? Ah, he wasn’t going to say which ones, was he? That was okay, because at least he managed to say something right. Right? And he was also certain they would tell Xavier that he wasn’t a jerk any more.
Well, unless someone deserved it. But that was usually reserved for other jerks.
Awkwardly, Riker reached out to take Xavier’s hand.
“We don’t have to be friends,” he quickly promised, because that seemed to be too much. “But, uh… thanks.”
It was a strange weight that lifted from him. He didn’t know how to describe it, but he felt like it must have been a good thing. He just hoped that Xavier wouldn’t regret his decision. Not that Riker would do anything to make him regret it! At least not purposefully. But there was still always that lingering possibility.
Fin!
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