17. Chapter 17
They didn’t hesitate. All twelve vaulted the fence and hit the ground running. The yard erupted. Bats clattered, fists flew. Half of Steve’s crew charged in swinging bats while the rest fought bare-knuckled.
Mano locked onto Kash and drove him to the ground with merciless blows.
Ody stood, staring at the chaos as the world tilted into something unreal.
What were all these people doing here? Steve, Chris, even the guys from basketball, and they had brought others too.
Mano’s punches kept landing, each one forcing Kash to flinch. “I told you you’d regret it one day,” he growled, then smashed a solid punch into his eye, drawing a sharp cry from him.
Around them, the others were locked in an all-out brawl, shouts and grunts filling the air. There were twelve of them against only eight.
“What was it you said? That I was alone?” Mano taunted. “Maybe I am. But you messed with the wrong guy.” He struck Kash again, this time with brutal force.
That was what Kash had counted on, that Mano had no crew. Mano might not, but Ody did.
Kash lay sprawled on the ground while Mano stood over him, raining blows down on his face.
Mano wiped his forehead and scanned the area until he spotted Ody, frozen a few steps away. He walked toward him, while Ody’s wide eyes never left him. “Are we late?” he asked.
Ody spoke slowly, barely audible. “You… you did all this?”
Still catching his breath, Mano sighed. “I had to do something.”
Ody blinked, unable to tear his gaze away, then pulled Mano into a tight hug.
Mano froze, his eyes wide.
“Thank you,” Ody whispered against his ear while chaos raged around them.
The tension eased from Mano’s shoulders. “Were you scared?”
Ody pulled back, their eyes meeting at close distance. “How did you know where they took me?” he asked, his voice still unsteady.
“I was on my bike outside your apartment. I followed you.”
For a moment, Mano’s gaze drifted past him as the memory resurfaced.
Earlier that night, he had been lurking a few meters behind on his motorcycle, trailing them carefully. When he saw them heading toward the school and forcing Ody out of the car, he grabbed his phone and called Steve. “They brought him to the middle school. Get here fast.”
“We’re on our way. Get up,” Steve told the ten friends gathered at his place, and they left.
Mano looked back at Ody.
“Steve…? You called Steve?” Ody asked, confused.
“What do you think? Look around.” Mano gestured at the boys scattered around the yard. “I know you didn’t want them involved, but I couldn’t help you alone. I knew you had friends.”
A shadow crossed Ody’s face.
“Yesterday, when I saw you drenched in the bathroom, I hated that I couldn’t do anything. They told me if I stepped in again, they’d hurt you worse than they hurt me.”
Ody’s shock deepened. Mano had held back to protect him. It made sense now.
“I confronted Kash and told him to leave you alone, but he didn’t listen. Then you showed up at my place and asked what we’d talked about.” Mano watched the memory flicker across Ody’s features.
“That’s when I decided enough was enough. I went through your followers and found Steve.”
The conversation surfaced clearly in his mind.
Mano Jones: We need to talk
Steve frowned at the name. Why did Mano want to talk to him all of a sudden? About what?
Your best friend
Ody?
When and where can we meet? I’ll come to you
They met at the agreed spot.
Steve eyed him, puzzled. “What’s there to say about Ody?”
“Kash and the other two guys from your class…”
“Brandon and Pablo?”
“They’re bullying him.”
“What?” Steve’s brows shot up, his whole posture stiffening.
“He didn’t want to drag you into it. Things have gotten out of hand. I had to talk to you.”
“What do you mean by bullying? What exactly are they doing to him?”
“Don’t you know what bullying is? You’re supposed to be his best friends and you haven’t noticed a thing.”
Steve blinked, his features hardening.
Mano held his stare for a second before explaining everything, from the spilled coffee to the bathroom beating.
“That’s why you beat them up on campus?” Steve asked.
“It got worse. They found me, dragged me to a school, and there were six of them with bats. They said they could bring more. You can imagine what they did to me. I don’t need to spell it out.”
“They hit you…?” Steve’s voice dropped.
Mano gave a humorless laugh. “More like beat the shit out of me. Face, ribs, and those bats weren’t for show.”
Steve stared at him, horrified.
“They threatened me. If I helped Ody again, they’d make him suffer worse.”
“What?”
“I wanted to help him, but I couldn’t. I’m on my own.”
“This can’t be real…” He shook his head.
“Since then it’s gotten worse. You’re the only one I could turn to. We need to do something,” Mano added.
“All this time this was happening and he didn’t tell us anything?” He frowned, rubbing a hand over his buzzcut before looking away, guilt creeping across his face. “Fuck…”
“Do you have people who can take them on?”
“For Ody? Say the word and it’s done,” Steve said without hesitation.
“Good. I’ve seen them harass him at uni. If I see them again, I won’t hold back. Be ready.”
“We will be.”
“How many people?”
“Seven for sure. I can bring more.”
“Bring as many as you can. We don’t know how many they’ll have.”
The memory faded as Mano looked back at Ody.
“I had to put an end to this. If I stepped in alone, they would target you. We had to show them we weren’t alone, that if they laid a hand on us again, they’d deal with all of us.” He glanced at the boys around them.
Most of Kash’s guys were already knocked out.
“I talked to your close friends, and they told me what time your class ended.”
Ody remembered Steve asking if he was okay. Now it made sense. They had figured everything out.
“I told them to keep an eye on you and Kash. They saw you holding a piece of paper.”
Mano’s mind flashed back to that moment.
Meet me in the backyard after class. If you don’t show, you know what’ll happen to Mano.
“What’s that?” Steve asked.
“Nothing. Trash.” Ody crumpled it and tossed it in the bin.
Later, Steve and Chris dug through the small trash bin and unfolded the crumpled paper.
They stared at each other, stunned.
“That bastard…”
“I can’t believe he’s doing this to him,” Chris said, sprinting out of the classroom with Steve right behind him.
They found Mano pacing in the hallway, his expression tight with panic.
“I saw him leave the building. Where did he go?” Mano demanded.
“Kash gave him this,” Steve said, handing over the note.
The moment Mano read it, something dark flickered across his face.
“You know what this means, right?” Steve said. “He’s putting up with all of this to protect you.”
“Just like you’re doing for him,” Chris added.
“Let’s go knock them out,” Steve said, already stepping forward.
Mano grabbed his arm, stopping him. “No. We need to do this right. They have to see we’re not alone, that we have numbers and strength.
Only then will they stop.” He paused, already thinking ahead.
“I’ll go now. Tonight they’ll probably try to find him.
They’ll follow him, figure out where he lives, maybe lure him outside. ”
Steve and Chris exchanged a glance.
Mano’s voice hardened. “I’ll be outside his building as soon as it gets dark. If they grab him, I’ll follow them and see where they take him. You two get your guys ready. We can’t leave him alone with them for long.”
“We’ll be quick. Go now,” Steve urged.
Mano turned to run, but Steve called after him. “Mano! Look after my best friend. I trust you with him.”
He nodded once and bolted out of the building.
Silence followed. Ody stared at him, still trying to process everything he had just heard.
“Bro, are you okay?” Steve asked, jogging up to them, breathless.
“Guys, I can’t believe you set all this up for me…” Ody said, still overwhelmed.
“If you’d spoken up sooner, maybe we wouldn’t have to.” Steve nudged his shoulder before turning to Mano. “Thanks, man. Guess you’re not completely unbearable after all.” Their eyes met for a brief moment before Steve moved off to check on Chris.
“That was his way of accepting you,” Ody said with a grin.
They both chuckled.
“Are you hurt?” Mano asked, his eyes locked on Ody’s.
“No,” he said after a shaky breath. “So that’s why you told me to be patient and not be afraid.”
“It was risky, but we planned it out. I don’t think he’ll dare look at you now,” Mano said, glancing at Kash’s unconscious body on the ground.
“Guys, we should go before someone sees us,” Steve called out.
Some of the boys had taken a few hits, but nothing compared to the ones groaning on the floor. Others lay as motionless as Kash.
“Ody, come on,” Steve called as they headed toward the gate.
“How are you getting back?” Ody asked Mano.
“On my bike.”
“Will you be okay?” Worry was clear in his voice.
“Yeah. Go with your friends,” Mano said.
“You’re my friend too.” Ody held his gaze.
Mano didn’t react, but the words hit him hard.
“Ody!” someone called from the gate.
“I’m coming!” Ody shouted back, then turned to Mano again. “I don’t know how to thank you.”
“You don’t have to.”
“No one’s ever stood up for me like that. You’re the bravest person I know.”
He said it with such sincerity that Mano had to look away for a second. Then, he gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Go.”
They climbed the gate and headed for their vehicles. Mano swung his leg over his bike and grabbed his helmet.
“See you around,” Ody said.
“See you,” Mano replied with a small nod before taking off into the night.
Ody got into the car with Chris, Steve, Pierce and Elias.
“If you’d told us sooner, I’d have smashed their faces into the basketball hoop myself,” Chris said, earning a burst of laughter from all of them.
“Guys… seriously. Thank you. You’re family.”
They dropped him off and waited until he was inside before leaving. Ody collapsed onto his couch, his mind spinning.
His thoughts went straight to Mano. If he hadn’t spoken up to his friends, those guys would have beaten Ody into the ground. Gratitude washed through him, and all the suspicions he had ever had about Mano melted away.
He shot up, grabbed his keys and phone, and rushed out.
Mano had just gotten home. He was heating food, stomach tight from the adrenaline of the night, but relieved that everything had worked out. He knew Kash wouldn’t dare go near Ody again after tonight.
The intercom buzzed, snapping him out of his thoughts. “Yeah?”
“Uh… Mano? It’s me, Ody. Can I come up?”
Mano blinked at the unexpected visit, then buzzed him in. He opened the apartment door just as the elevator arrived. Ody stepped out, breath unsteady.
“What are you doing here? You should be home resting,” Mano said, concern slipping into his voice.
“I’m fine. I just… wanted to talk. I didn’t get to say everything earlier.”
Mano stepped aside and closed the door behind him. “Take a seat.”
Ody sat on the couch, his body tense and restless. He fidgeted with his hands, staring at them until Mano spoke. “What did you want to tell me?”
“I feel like I didn’t thank you properly.” He lifted his eyes. “You don’t know what it means to me. What you did.”
“Don’t mention it. It was nothing,” Mano said, sitting at a comfortable distance.
“You might think that, but for me, it’s different.” Ody met his gaze again. “Do you know how many times I wished they’d stop? Even before I met you. I know I pretended it wasn’t a big thing, but… it hurt.”
“I know what it’s like,” Mano said.
Ody’s expression shifted. “I’m sorry I told you that you shouldn’t have gotten involved,” he said, regret softening his voice. “Things got worse after that, but if you hadn’t stepped in the first time, they would still be after me today.”
“Don’t think about that. What matters is making sure they leave you alone.”
“Not just me. They need to leave you alone too.”
“It’s not the first time something like this has happened to me.”
“And? Does it hurt any less the more it happens?”
Mano had no answer. He knew Ody was right. Pain never got easier.
“I can throw a punch or two if they try anything again at uni,” he said.
“You’re not alone anymore,” Ody said, holding his gaze. “All the guys who helped me tonight… they’d do the same for you. Because they’re my friends, and now you are too.”
Mano kept his expression steady, but inside, the words hit him like nothing ever had.
“You’ll never have to be alone like before again. I promise you.”
Something in Mano’s chest eased for the first time in years. He didn’t trust his voice, so he said nothing. He just nodded, accepting the promise.