Boys Will Be Boys (Xaier)

Rage, pride, the need for vindication...isn't that the killer of most good decisions?

There was a morbid satisfaction in feeling his fist strike true to its mark---after all, Kevin was looking for anything to grant even an ounce of machismo at this point---and continued right along as planned with his assault. The force of coming around so fast and swinging admittedly took Kevin off of his center of gravity for a moment. He was righting himself, planting his feet to the floor again before loading up that hard, stiff and wicked overhand left he had in mind when Xaier spoke. Kevin didn't show much reaction to the kid's words, and he didn't have much time to after he missed wildly. Xaier's counterattack was swift, precise and punishing...the recipient of that textbook roundhouse only had a brief second or two to mentally note two things. The first was that this kid was incredibly fast. The second?

...I need to work on my catchphrases.

Before Kevin even thought to retract his left arm, he felt the bone in Xaier's foot crash right into the soft tissue under the shoulder with a resounding thud; he yelped in pain, almost instantly reaching to clutch himself right where he had been kicked as he leaned over. The kick hurt like hell and left him with a stinging, debilitating sensation. Such was the pain that Kevin was finding it difficult to raise his left arm when he finally regained some sense of composure. Kevin thought good and long about who he was dealing with...but he still was insulted, made an idiot of by his peers. He couldn't just let that slide...right? Kevin bent his knees slightly, leading with his right foot which was flat to the floor. He balled his fists as tight as he could, palms and knuckles going pale from how hard he was holding it as he raised up the one arm that he could. He looked just as upset as before if he hadn't gotten angry enough already.

Xaier could likely tell he hurt Kevin with that kick alone. Not like it mattered, but Kevin was visibly livid, gritting his teeth. "Rrrrugh...you got jokes but I ain't laughin'!" Kevin took a step forward and aimed a drilling straight right hand just under Xaier's ribs before he followd, his knees bending and his body seeming to coil up like a snake. Shortly after, Kevin threw all his weight forward, keeping his head low for a hard shoulder tackle on his right side. If he even caught anything of it, he wrapped up his enemy's left leg with his right arm and pushed his size into the ex-Apostle, aiming to take him to the floor.

"Suck on this, fuckboy!"

In many cases, growth is achieved when someone reaches a level of capability they never thought possible. In other cases, growth is obtained when someone finds there are levels they have yet to reach. Today would play host to the latter, as Kevin was served a harsh reminder of a well-known phrase in hip hop: there's levels to this shit. Kevin's attempt to throw his weight into Xaier was met with a lot of air, more confusion and still more embarrassment that it happened in front of his peers. The most he was able to catch was Xaier sliding across the floor like he was wearing highwaters and a pair of penny loafers.

The fuck!?

He'd heard of things---whispers and crazy stories about how people could perform extraordinary feats; such instances were becoming more commonplace once schools became more violent, with students finding out how to hone and temper themselves physically and otherwise. However, he couldn't imagine what he just witnessed---was that fire he just saw? Unfortunately, what Kevin couldn't quite see fast enough was Xaier, who lit a fire under Kevin's ass in the most literal way possible. Kevin could barely turn his head in the direction Xaier went before he was suddenly thrust off of his feet. He was airborne for a considerable amount of time; the onlooking students that remained inside the lunchroom shared a collective gasp as they knew what was coming. Kevin rocketed into a wall, saved only by the fact that he struck it at an angle. A few inches would have made the difference between him hitting his upper back and shoulder or possibly crashing into the wall on his head or neck. The momentum still, to a lesser degree, whipped his head against the unforgiving surface before he crumbled on the floor.

Kevin felt a considerable amount of slack in his jeans. Most likely, that was due to the fact that the small explosion caused by Archangel's Halt blasted the back of Kevin's belt to pieces. The seat of his jeans were singed, with a noticeable piece of the back of his shirt completely gone to expose bare and reddened flesh. Kevin found it hard to get air for a few moments...almost everything was foggy. However, as the haze over his senses began to clear and he began to recover, he could hear something---a higher voice, screaming amidst the chatter of the students.

"...didn't say anything! That wasn't the guy that said those things!"

Kevin recognized it was the girl who bumped into him earlier. He blinked a few times, attempting to stop the world from spinning as he took heavy and labored breaths. There was a mix of bewilderment from what he just witnessed combined with the shock of having everything on your body assaulted within the span of a few seconds. Kevin slowly but surely found his feet beneath him, using his right arm to brace himself against the wall as he picked himself off the floor. He almost lost his footing as he rose but planted his back to the wall as hazel eyes scanned the cafeteria. People were either looking at him or looking at Xaier, and it gave him a moment to process everything---he just swung on a guy who, if this girl was to be believed, didn't do anything but mind his own damn business. If that was the case, well...Kevin visibly flushed red with shame. Not only did he act rash, but got his ass kicked for his efforts.

...So why not at least finish what he started? Kevin took a few hard breaths, swallowed his spit, raised up his fists and limped forward. "If I'm wrong...ack!" Kevin gritted his teeth, apparently stepping on one leg the wrong way, "...I ain't goin' down like somebody's bitch..!"

Pride. Stupid, ignorant and foolhardy pride. Kevin continued to close the distance.

There was a narrative here, concerning three parties---Kevin, who felt like something of a jackass right now but couldn't bring himself to back down after he started this. Then there was Xaier, clearly not in the wrong but unwilling to let some hothead just do what he will, which was completely understandable. Then there was everyone else who bore witness to the mismatch in front of them, almost unanimously deciding that Kevin was making a mistake in getting closer. Unfortunately, this was a kid who couldn't deal with the idea of just sucking up his ego and calling it quits. If he was going to lose, he'd take it like a damn man. If karma was serving him one right on the jaw, then who was he to say that he couldn't take anymore?

Just like every other maneuver that Xaier pulled off, Kevin could respond to something he could barely even see. The moment Kevin even thought he was in range to throw a punch, he felt the force of Xaier's lower body strength dig into the lower end of his quadricep. The momentum took his right leg from underneath him with such velocity that his left leg followed suit. His body damn near went parallel to the floor before gravity finally brought him down in terrible fashion. There was obvious agony in Kevin's face as he clutched his leg, but with his mouth agape and his eyes shut tight, no sound came out. He eventually managed a boisterous "FUCK!" before he got on his hands and knees, looking to stand back up...the problem was, he could barely put weight on one leg. And with how he just got kicked, getting up anytime soon was a fantasy...try as he might, it wasn't becoming a reality any time soon. Kevin made several attempts, either stumbling or his leg outright collapsing on him every time he tried to stand. He didn't want to stop, but his body had other ideas. Kevin couldn't fight if he couldn't stand.