I started a fight aged 13 by accident
Reading this before posting I thought how tame and childish it sounds, I guess thats the point, when you are young little things make a big difference. A casual remark starts a fight... No funnies but a happy ending.

Picture yourself a young lad, in a a past time, growing up and reaching that age when admitting you liked girls was becoming allowed and admitting you played with Star Wars toys was becoming frowned upon.

Now let me detail the main people involved in the story.

Me - Usually in the top five in exam scores, also usually in the last five to be picked for sports. Glad to have been better at the exams.

Chris - New guy to my school, clever, funny and worked hard to let it be thought that he was a had case.

Liam - a guy who was I was friendly with when younger and went to a Chris's old school.

Now to the telling of the tale, in school one day Chris mentioned an upcoming football game against his old school, he told the class that he knew all the players and who were the ones to watch out for. Chris said that our mutual (so I thought) friend Liam was a great player, I said he was not that good as I could score against him. This earned me a look of daggers from Chris. I have gone over what happened from there a lot in the years since, I'm not sure how it happened but it lead to many years of problems for me.

Chris took exception to me questioning the football skills of Liam and told him what I said, Liam told Chris I was a dead man (a strange threat from a guy who used to borrow your space hopper).

Now at this time I was a notch over five foot and weighed about the same as a supermodels handbag so a physical confrontation was not something I would aim for. I thought I'd ride out the threats and intimidation and go back to being the guy in the corner.

Instead what happened was Liam, Chris and four other guys waited outside school for me one day. I still remember walking along with them about ten paces behind, knowing they were there and that something was going to happen, feeling my heart beat so hard. I remember wanting them to just get on with it as the waiting was torture. Liam caught up with me and shouted how I said he was crap at football and he was going to sort me out (christ it seems so stupid now), I tried to say sorry , this was mocked and then I ran... I didn't get far. In the end I got a kicking and the result was one mild scar on my face and some deep scars in my mind.

I had been beaten in the street in front of friends and by people I thought were friends. For a few years I would be laughed at in school and in the street, I never talked about it.

I hated myself for a long time, seeing Chris in school and hearing the comments, avoiding going out so I would not meet them. About three years later I saw Liam in the street and had a moment of panic and had to run and hide in a field. Even into my early twenties going home would bring on a bit of worry. To sum up it fucked me over for years.

Until one afternoon about ten years after it happened I was walking down the street and it hit me that the familiar guy walking towards me was Liam, for a heartbeat I went back in time and felt the fear. Then I thought, well things have changed, I'm bigger and in all honesty I could pick him up and thrown him around like a doll if I wanted. He didn't recognise me & I laughed. I had no desire to hit him, talk to him or have any involvement with him.

I watched him walk away while thinking that years after the bruises had healed I had allowed the beating to continue hurting me. I did not feel angry anymore, I was grateful (and still am) for that kicking. In the long run it thought me a lot.

I learned that somethings hurt in the moment but the worst pain comes from what you allow to stay with you.

Its a fight that will never be finished because I'm still learning from it.
(cname, Wed 30 Jun 2010, 1:35, 4 replies)

This gets my click
If that were me in your position after bumping into this Liam, I would probably want to set about him and kick him about the street. But I would like to think that I would react exactly like you did.

Then that would make me the better man like you are.
(Helmut McBucket invites you to pull his finger on, Wed 30 Jun 2010, 2:01, closed)

I agree
but I simply wouldn't have been able to resist twatting him.
( Not Pineapple anymore, Wed 30 Jun 2010, 10:54, closed)

Nice story
it is very strange how serious fights start at that age.
( whenanimalsattackhumans clad in global hypercolour, Wed 30 Jun 2010, 8:24, closed)

This should have ended with a Honda Accord of JUSTICE.
*click*
( idonthaveafunnynickname Drink-Aware? Sure. I'm aware I want another drink., Wed 30 Jun 2010, 9:49, closed)