Mel ran over and shoved Lewis out of the way, and grabbed my hand to pull me up quickly.

“Mel, don’t get involved. If I don’t end this here, he’s only going to get worse. I know you can take him, you’re a friggin’ black belt.”

“I know you can take him, too. You know kickboxing, dude. Take the safety off.”

I turned around and saw Lewis get back to his feet. He was pissed.

I always saw fighting and martial arts as something that could be fluid and beautiful. But actually fighting someone? That was terrifying. Fear weighed down my lungs, but I knew I had to be light on my feet. I kept my fists in the air.

“Fight me like a man!” Lewis yelled as he balanced himself. He focused on me, and a sneer curved across his chubby face when he saw my ready stance. “Fight me like that.”

Students around us started chanting, “Fight! Fight! Fight!”

I hated having an audience for anything, but Lewis loved it. Maybe that gave him an advantage. He charged toward me, but I stepped out of his way. It pissed him off, so he ran at me again. This time I stepped out of the way and kicked the back of his leg, forcing him down on one knee.

“Stop fighting like —”

“Like what? Like I know how?” I punched him square in the face, and the crowd of students all made a collective “OHHH” sound. They never failed to break routine. I didn’t know where my energy was coming from, but Lewis made me livid. I wasn’t going to let him bully me anymore.

Lewis got back up with a look of fury on his face.

“You shouldn’t have done that!” he yelled. He threw a punch and I dodged it. He threw another one, and I managed to get out of the way, barely.

“God, you’re boring,” I said.

“Shut up!” he yelled at me and charged. I stepped out of the way this time and managed to trip him. He fell flat on the ground.

“No, Lewis. You shut up. Why do you have to yell everything? You really are like a shitty supervillain. You’re going to lose this, just like you lost yesterday, then you’re going to try again, and again, and again, and you’re going to lose again, and again, and again. You know why? Spoiler alert: Because you’re the loser here. Not me.”

The words dug deep — I intended them to. I didn’t care if I hurt Lewis anymore. I was done pretending as if I wasn’t allowed to throw insults at him. He was a bully, but I was no longer going to allow myself to be a victim. He was the reason why I turned to food for comfort; he was the reason why I couldn’t feel comfortable in my body. I wasn’t going to let him torment me anymore.

“I hate you,” he said as he got up.