“So, what do you say Little Genius?”

Fuck.

I zoned out.

I wasn’t listening.

Got lost in my memories.

“Say?”

There’s that smile again.

The one that does weird things to my stomach.

“About coming to my game tomorrow night. You said you’ve never been to a hockey game before. Plus, it’s Friday so I could treat you to dinner after, as a, ya know, thank you for the tutoring and stuff.”

OH!

That’s nice of him.

But weird.

Why would he spend his Friday night with his tutor and not his friends?

Or a girlfriend?

Why do I feel upset that he might have a girlfriend?

I shouldn’t think about that.

I’m just his tutor.

I’m frowning now.

“What’s wrong? What’s going through that head right now little genius? Did I go to far again?”

“You want to spend Friday night with your tutor and not your friends or a girlfriend?”

We stop walking.

Well… he stops.

So I stop.

“Iago…”

He’s upset.

He only calls me that when he is upset.

Fuck, I’m the worst.

His fingers are under my chin.

He’s making me look up at him.

Right into his eyes.

This feels different.

Intimate.

My mouth is dry.

I feel like I have to swallow.

And my knees feel funny.

“Iago, you are so much more than just a tutor to me. You’re very important to me.”

“So…we’re friends?”

He’s smiling again.

Good.

That’s better.

“Yeah Little Genius. We’re friends.”

We’re walking again.

Friends.

I like that.

“What time?”

He looks confused by my question.

It takes him a moment to understand my question.

I can see the realization cross over his face when he gets it.

“The game starts at 6. So, you’ll come then? For real?”

I just nod.

I can feel a smile forming.

And my checks are warm again.

We finally make it to the parking lot.

“Are ya gonna to bring Indy with you?”

I shake my head.

That’s not a good idea.

Indy doesn’t like sports.

Indy doesn’t like school events.

Indy doesn’t like Nuka.

“Ya gonna come alone? I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”

He knows I don’t like being alone in crowds.

But I don’t wanna ask Indy.

It’ll just upset him.

Again.

Indy has been different lately.

Pulling away from me.

Sneaking out.

Not talking to me.

He gets mad if I talk about Nuka.

He says he doesn’t trust him.

I don’t know why.

“I have other brothers. Maybe one of them can come.”

Nuka just nods, his dark eyes seem full of thoughts.

It’s Autumn now.

It’s colder.

I like the cold.

Nuka is looking around.

He seems concerned.

I look around.

Fuck.

Where is our car?

WHERE IS OUR CAR?

Where is Indy?

FUCK!

“Iago….?”

What is happening?

Where is Indy?

My eyes are burning.

NO!

No crying.

Not in front of him.

I don’t want him to see me like that.

I wrap my arms around myself.

Trying to hold it all in.

This is too much.

Some one honks a horn.

“Hey, Weirdo!”

Oh no.

Not them.

Why them?

Fuck.

“Do you know those guys, Little genius?”

I follow his gaze to a bright red Dodge Charger and the two identical men walking away from it.

They look like what you would expect college athletes to look like.

Tall, handsome, fit.

And dressed exactly the same right down to their shoes.

Another sigh escapes me.

They are coming over.

Nuka is looking at me for an answer.

So, I nod.

Cause I know them.

Unfortunately.

They are glaring at Nuka as they get close to us.

The same way Indy glares at him.

Like he is doing something wrong.

“This guy bothering you Little Man?”

There’s that word again.

Little.

I’m they same height as them now.

I grew recently.

At least Nuka is taller than me.

When he calls me little, it’s the truth.

Barnaby is looking at me.

Brutus is glaring at Nuka.

Nuka is looking at me.

I’m…. looking at my shoes.

This is uncomfortable.

I don’t like it.

“IAGO!”

I jump.

Barnaby is upset.

Why do I always upset everyone?

What is wrong with me?

“Hey, weirdo, get your head out of your ass and say something.”

Why does Brutus have to call me that?

I don’t like it.

“Hey, don’t talk to him like that. Who the hell are you two anyways?”

Nuka sounds upset too.

It was going so well before.

He was happy.

He said we were friends.

I ruin everything.

“I’m Barnaby, he’s Brutus, we’re Iago’s older brothers. Who the fuck are you? Are you messing with him? Bullying him? Cause you’ll regret it if you are. Trust me, we’re not nearly as protective compared to our other brothers.”

This is bad.

I need to speak before it gets worse.

“Stop it.” My voice is barely above a whisper, like normal but they hear me. “Nuka is my friend.”

The twins don’t look like they believe me.

But they back off.

“Come on Weirdo. Indy texted us to pick you up. Seriously you need a cellphone. Barnaby tell him he needs a cellphone. This is ridiculous.”

The twins go back to their car.

I start to follow them.

Something stops me.

There’s a hand on my wrist.

Nuka’s hand.

Holding my wrist.

Not aggressively.

Gently.

His fingers making circles on the skin on the inside of my wrist.

It feels nice.

I look up to his eyes.

He seems upset.

“I’m sorry Nuka. They were really rude to you.”

“To me? Iago, they were rude to you. Are you going to be ok? I know this has to be upsetting for you.”

I shrug one shoulder.

He’s not wrong.

I don’t like when my routine changes without warning.

I don’t like surprises.

Nuka knows that.

“Look Iago, I have to get to practice but I’m worried about you. This is my number.” He pulls out a scrap of paper and scribbles a number on it. “Please call me tonight. Let me know you are ok. I’m done after 7. I know you don’t like phones and we’ve made it work really well without phones so far but please, just let me know you’re ok tonight. Please?”

I nod, taking the paper.

That seems to calm him down.

He steps a little closer.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, right?”

That is a silly question.

I never miss school.

So, I nod.

At least I get to see that smile again.

“Good. Don’t forget, call me after 7.”

“Ok.” I look over my shoulder, the twins are glaring again. “I have to go now.”

This has been a weird 10 minutes.