Kicked Around

Erik sat back down in his desk chair. He tilted the lid forward so he could see the screen from his sitting position. There was a still frame shot of the last picture in the video, Lola blowing the kiss. Erik stared at the photo. He felt utterly in love with Lola. It was late, and Erik felt tired and sick (from throwing up moments ago). Erik stood up from his chair. He was completely naked, except for his socks, having shed his clothing sometime during the 3 hours of watching Lola. Erik climbed into his bed, pulled up the sheet, and went to sleep.

The next day was Saturday, and Erik slept later than usual. He woke up feeling the best he had felt in 3 days. Erik logged on to Lara's website and saw another new video with Rocco. The video was over 25 minutes long, and it had several edits to it, with multiple camera angles, fade-ins and flash-in/outs. It looked like one of the most professionally shot videos that Lara had over posted.

This time, Rocco was manhandling Lola around her apartment. He was lifting her up and carrying her around all over the place. He was fucking her up against the wall, the window, and the desk. He flipped her around and did a standing 69. His head was buried between her legs, and she furiously sucked his cock while she was upside down. Then, Rocco put her down on the couch and laid down on the floor. He put his arms over his head and bridged upward, so his feet and hands were supporting the weight of his body that was pushed up off the ground. Lara grabbed her red cowboy hat, which was lying on the floor and held it above her head as she straddled him. Rocco held the bridge position while Lara jumped up and down on top of him like she was riding a horse. "Yee-haw!" she screamed out as she rode on top of Rocco. Just then, the same cowboy stripper song that Lara played for Erik started to play in the video.

Erik's jaw dropped in pure amazement. "How the fuck am I going to do that?" Erik thought. "I need to get back to the gym right now." Erik put on his workout clothes and ran to the rec center. There were more people there today, but Erik's same machine was still open. It had been four days since his last workout, and most of the soreness had worn down. He didn't feel the discomfort anymore when doing normal activities. Every now and again, he would move awkwardly and feel the fatigue, but it was no longer the norm. Erik's skin redness had also gone down, so his skin wasn't as sensitive from the burn. Erik was now ready to workout again.

Erik looked at the machine and remembered how strong Rocco was. "I'm never going to get ripped unless I really boost the weight and push myself," he thought. Erik set the weights to double what he worked out with during his previous workout session. He sat down to try and bench press. Erik pushed with all his might, but the bar barely budged. "I guess that's too much," he thought. He reduced the weight slightly and tried again. He pushed with all his might and slowly was able to put up the weight. He attempted another rep and was shaking under the crushing weight.

"UNLEASH THE FURY!" Erik yelled inside his head, trying to motivate himself to lift the weight. He held his breath and kept adjusting himself, trying to throw more power to each side to gradually get the bar up. As he did it, he felt a tearing sensation in his back-left shoulder, which sent him reeling in pain. He dropped the bar, and the plates fell with a smack.

Everyone heard it and looked over to see Erik sit up, looking like he was going to cry as he rubbed his back shoulder. "Are you OK?" someone said walking over to him.

"Yeah," Erik winced. "I think I pulled something."

"Let me see," he walked behind Erik and pushed on his shoulder. "Does that hurt?"

"Yes," Erik winced again.

"It looks like you pulled a muscle," the guy said. "You should go warm it up and then stretch it out. Get some pain relievers. That's going to hurt for a few days. Try not to use it until it's healed."

"OK," Erik gasped. "Thanks."

"If you need a personal trainer, here's my card," the guy said handing him a card. Erik took the card as he walked away.

Erik walked back to his room rubbing his shoulder the whole time. He felt defeated, but he was more concentrated on stopping the pain. When he finally got back to his room, he took a hot shower to loosen up his muscles, swallowed some aspirin and fell asleep. When he woke up, it was dinner time. He went downstairs with Bret and Steve and told them about pulling his muscle.

"What the fuck are you doing to yourself?" Bret asked.

"I'm trying to, you know, look better," Erik said.

"You're going to make porn with Lola aren't you?" Bret asked.

"What?" Steve said looking at Erik.

"No," Erik said. He paused, then looked down. "I don't know."

Steve started laughing to himself.

"What's so funny?" Erik asked defensively, looking up at Steve.

"Calm down," Steve said. "I'm not trying to be a dick, but you aren't the porn type."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Erik shot back.

"You look like a white toothpick," Steve responded. "Porn guys look more like me."

"So you saying you could be in porn and I can't?" Erik asked raising his voice.

"I'm saying I look like I could be in porn and you don't," Steve said calmly. "I'm not doing porn."

"Oh, so since you're a jock, you can do fucking anything, but the skinny computer dork, he can't do shit?" Erik blurted out defiantly. "You are a fucking egomaniac!"

"Maybe," Steve said. "But I know what I look like, and I don't look like a strong wind could blow me around like a kite."

"Fuck you," Erik said.

"I bet you were the kind of guy in High School who got a fake ID just to vote," Steve said.

"OK there Sporto," Erik responded. "Real fucking original and clever for a fucking halfwit ogre."

"Watch it snowflake," Steve shot back. "I'm trying to be honest with you."

"Whoa!," Bret cut in. "Both of you, chill the fuck out."

"He fucking started it!" Erik yelled.

"Shut the fuck up Erik," Bret said. "I don't give a fuck who said what or started shit. I'm not going to witness a murder tonight."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Erik shot back. "You don't think I could take him out?" Steve started to laugh, and Bret cracked a smile.

"Erik," Bret said. "Calm your shit down... and think about what you want to do next. I don't want to watch my friends try to kill each other over dinner, alright? Just take a deep breath and finish your food."

"Yeah," Steve started. "And the..."

"You too," Bret cut him off. "Stop this shit... now."

There was an awkward pause. Then, Erik stood up, "I'm going to the bathroom." Erik walked out of the cafeteria.

"C'mon, you think he had a chance against me?" Steve asked condescendingly.

"No," Bret said. "But he's fucking himself up all over the place. Against you, he might hurt himself, permanently." Steve understood and nodded.

Erik never returned. Instead, he went upstairs to his room and locked the door. He used the API account to watch the videos from Lola's live webcams. Erik started the first video and noticed that she was with Rocco. There was another user logged on to the API account, which Erik assumed was the plugin logging on multiple times to upload other new files. Lola introduced Rocco as her boyfriend. Erik's heart was ripping out of his chest as he watched the 2 of them perform all kinds of sexual acts on the live webcam for Lola's customers. Erik cried for 3 hours watching them, drowning himself in his own personal pool of tears. He cried while he watched them kiss each other, he cried while he jerked off to them, and he cried listening to them say kind loving things to each other. "I never had a chance," Erik thought.

In the end, Erik logged out and cried himself to sleep. It was an exhausting night.

Sunday morning, Erik's shoulder was extremely sore from the injury the day before. He stayed in his room all morning and afternoon. Just before dinner, there was a knock at the door.

"Erik, it's Bret," the voice said. "I know you're in there man, open up. Dude, c'mon. You can't waste your life sitting in your fucking room all day. Open the fucking door."

Erik walked to the door and opened it. "What?" Erik said sharply.

"Let's talk," Bret said. Erik stared at him.

"Fine," Erik said walking back into his room. Bret followed him and shut the door behind him.

"Alright," Bret said sitting down. "Wanna tell me what the fuck is going on?"

"She's with someone else?" Erik said.

"Who?" Bret asked.

"Lara," Erik said.

"The porn chick?" Bret asked. "Again? Seriously? She's the reason you're all fucked in the head?"

"She's dating some other porn dude," Erik said. "He's like some musclehead jock guy."

"That guy that just fucked her in the ass?" Bret asked.

"How did you see that?" Erik asked.

"She's got some good videos, so I check them out," Bret said.

"You pay the subscription?" Erik asked.

"No, I saw the username and password on your desk," Bret responded. "You don't keep that shit hidden. 'J McKeegan and Smash the mirror' are easy to remember."

"Nice...," Erik said condescendingly.

"Anyway, how many times do I need to say this to you?" Bret responded. "She's not the dating type."

"I saw her," Erik said. "On her webcams. That guy and her both do porn together and then they must be dating or something. She was kissing him, and they were saying how much they loved each other."

"Dear fucking god!" Bret said. "How fucking stupid are you?"

"What?" Erik said.

"You saw her put on some fucking show, with some fucking jersey shore looking mother fucker, and you think she's in love with this guy?" Bret asked. "That's what you're telling me?"

"I saw it," Erik said.

"You saw it on her fucking porn show!" Bret said. "That shit ain't real! That's the whole fucking point."

Erik thought about it some more. But then he remembered more. "But they were kissing," Erik said. "She would never kiss me. She probably only does that with him."

Bret stared at him. Erik stared back waiting for Bret to say something.

"Alright," Bret finally said. "I'm not getting through to you. So, let me try it this way. You're fucked up. You're making dumb decisions, you're picking fights with people, and you're hurting yourself in the process. If I didn't step in between you and Biggs yesterday, he would have torn you a new asshole. So, whatever it is that's fucking with you, try to figure that shit out before you decide to walk into another suicide mission. Cause, I don't want to see you get hurt, but I ain't always going to be there to stop you."

Bret got up and opened the door. "And I know you like this girl," Bret followed. "And I'm sure she's made you feel good. But what you don't see is how everyone looks at you when she makes you feel like shit. Cause you ain't being you right now. You're someone else." Then, Bret walked out and shut the door behind him.

Erik knew Bret was right, but he just couldn't accept it. After thinking about it for some time, Erik decided that he needed to sever all ties with Lara. Erik felt it was the only way he could get over her. He remembered that he gave Lara a backup of her website already, so there was no need to keep any of the accounts or the information anymore. So, Erik walked to his desk, found the paper where he wrote down Lara's website information, tore it up and threw it out. Then he cleaned up his room and showered. After that, he went downstairs. He met up with Bret and Steve for dinner.

Chapter 16

00110001

00101011

00110001

00111101

00110011

Monday morning, Erik woke up and completed his daily routine. At his first class, Professor Hand reminded everyone again that Friday was the midterm exam. Professor Hand passed out envelopes to everyone with their grades. When Erik received his, Erik opened the envelope to see the grade of C-.

"Fuck," he thought. "I'm not doing so great in here." Professor Hand reminded the class that the midterm was worth 30% of their final grade. "I need to get a good grade on this test, or I'm totally fucked." After class, Jessica waited for Erik.

"Hey!," she said.

"Hey," Erik said back nervously.

"We're getting together every day for a nightly study group for the midterm," she continued. "You want to join us?"

"Uh, yeah!" Erik said. "Sounds great!"

"Cool," Jessica said. "Meet us at the Liberal Arts library at seven tomorrow night."

"I'll be there," Erik said. Jessica smiled and then walked out with the other student that she normally talked to.

"Alright, that should help," Erik thought to himself, feeling more relieved. He took the bus back to the dorms and ate lunch. After lunch, Erik did homework and played video games with Bret. When it was time, Erik went to his next class. Just as Professor Hand had done earlier that day, Ms. Benes reminded the students of midterms on Friday. And again, just like in Erik's earlier class, Ms. Benes handed out the current grades. Erik looked at his grade in the math class and saw that he was receiving a B+. "I was pretty sure I would be fine in here," he thought.

After class, Jessica stopped him. "Do you want to study together for this class?" she asked.

"Sure," Erik said. "I'm doing better in this class then Psych."

"I'm not," Jessica said. "I'm getting an A in Psych, but I have a B- in here."

"Oh," Erik said. "I have a C- in Psych and a B+ in here."

"Yikes," Jessica said. "Are you worried?"

"About Psych, yes," Erik said. "About this math class, nope. I haven't studied for anything in here."

"Really?" Jessica said. "I've been studying, and I'm struggling."

"I can help you," Erik said. "When do you want to study?"

"How about after Psych class tomorrow?" Jessica said.

"Sounds great," Erik said.

The two rode the bus together back to the dorms and walked to the cafeteria for dinner. They sat down together at a table. Lexi was already in the cafeteria with another girl but saw Jessica sit down at the other table with Erik. Both, Lexi and the other girl walked over to Erik and Jessica and sat down with them. Lexi introduced the girl as Li, another girl that lived on the same floor as Jessica and Lexi. Then, Bret and Steve saw them all sitting together and joined them at the table.

Jessica and Lexi both rolled their eyes at each other at the sight of Steve. When Steve sat down, he couldn't take his eyes off of Li. Li could feel Steve's eyes burning a hole through her. She didn't look over at him, thinking that he would stop staring at some point. Instead, he continued to stare. Finally, Li looked over at him. "What?" she said to him.

"Nothing," Steve said.

"Why do you keep staring?" Li asked.

"I'm watching you, so you don't go all kung fu on me again," Steve said.

"Don't say anything stupid," Li jabbed back.

"What's this about?" Bret asked.

"She's fucking crazy," Steve said.

"Your friend is a moron," Li said.

"Yep," Bret said.

"And he says pigheaded crap to girls that walk by," Li continued.

"No doubt," Bret quickly responded.

"And he harassed me," Li continued again.

"Sounds right," Bret responded.

"And I kicked his ass," Li ended.

"Awesome!," Bret said looking over at Steve. "You got beat up by a girl?"

"She's stronger than she looks!" Steve exclaimed. The whole table erupted in laughter while Steve sat there glaring at Li. She smiled coldly back at him.

"You could have just said you had a boyfriend," Steve said.

"I do," Li responded.

"Great. Who's the lucky guy?"

"His name is Guy... umm... Nice."

"Guy Nice?" Steve blurted out. "That's so fake you might as well call him Hero Protagonist."

"Oh... Protagonist," Li responded. "That's a big word for you. Was that an accident? You feeling ok? You having a seizure or something? Speaking in tongues is common for brain injuries, strokes, demonic possessions..."

"You're fucking hilarious. It's too bad Nice Guy isn't here to laugh along."

"I know, he would love to meet the dumb jock I fucked up."

"And I would love to meet Yours Truly." Steve and Li continued glaring at each other.

Just then, Jessica's boyfriend and his friend, who was in Jessica and Erik's morning Psychology class arrived and sat down as well. Jessica introduced them as Dave, her boyfriend, and his friend Bob. There was a friendly conversation around the table, and everyone seemed to get along. Afterward, everyone said their goodbyes and split off into groups going their own separate ways.

Bret, Steve, and Erik went outside for Bret's cigarette and then back to Bret's room for their nightly after dinner video game session. As they were playing the video game, Bret started talking about their company at dinner.

"Jessica's boyfriend is a real dick," Bret said.

"What?" Erik said. "Why do you say that?"

"Fucker walks around like he's tough shit," Bret said. "Arrogant prick." Steve nodded.

"I think he's fine," Erik said trying to pacify Bret.

"You didn't mind that he was laying into you?" Bret asked.

"What do you mean?" Erik asked.

"He must have said 'Hey, lay off my girlfriend,' like twenty fucking times whenever you two were talking about school.," Bret said. "He acts like she's his fucking property and you're trespassing or some shit like that."

Erik remembered that Dave did say that a lot, but Erik thought it was just his way of being funny and working his way into the conversation.

"I think he's alright," Erik said. "That's probably just the way he is."

"He's a fucking dick is what he is," Bret said. "What the fuck was that shit!?!" Bret threw his hands up in the air watching a replay on the TV that depicted his character being quick-scoped by a sniper halfway across the map.

"Where the fuck did that asshole come from?" Bret said.

"I got 'em," Steve said. On Steve's split screen, he ran up behind an enemy. The enemy turned and killed Steve with a melee attack.

"That's some shit right there," Steve said.

"That must have been that Asian chick from dinner that stuck you," Bret said jokingly. "Did she turnaround like that with a pipe and beat you with it?"

"No," Steve said defensively. Then, his volume went down. "She didn't have a weapon. She just... Knows how to fight..." Bret and Erik laughed hysterically.

"She fought you straight up and kicked your ass?" Bret asked.

"As I said," Steve said defensively. "She's a lot tougher than she looks. Besides, I wasn't going to hit a..." Just then, Bret and Steve were both killed on the screen by the same player, again. They both swore at the TV.

"You guys aren't very good at this," Erik said. "Not exactly Griggs and Ghost."

"What?" Bret said still playing the game.

"The heroes," Erik said. No one said anything. Steve and Bret looked at each other confused.

"The guys from the campaign," Erik said.

"Camp, what?" Steve said.

"The single-player game," Erik said.

"Who the fuck plays that?" Bret said. "You play this game online, or you don't fucking play it. Again! That mother fucker!" Bret gestured to the TV again.

"Fuckers," Steve said at the end of the round. The team Steve and Bret were on had lost.

"Pick a map you guys are better at for the next round," Erik said. "You'll probably still get spanked from Anzio to Argantan, or in the Avalanche." Bret and Steve looked back at Erik. "Nevermind. Just, try not to die. There's a strategy for you." Erik said smiling to himself.

"Whatever," Bret said changing the subject. "Just watch yourself with that asshole she's dating. That fucker and his big fucking weasel of a friend are no good."

"You're just saying that cause he was hitting on Lexi," Erik said. Erik thought Bret was just jealous and territorial.

"Man, she can make up her own mind about that jackass," Bret said. "But for you... those two would stab you in the back without even thinking about it. Just watch yourself."