The room was packed so tightly that I was squished between the side of the ring and Shane, but he didn't seem to mind. He just seemed excited for the fight to begin. The loud chatter that filled the room died down suddenly as the lights dimmed around us, focusing on only the ring.
A man hopped onto the ring then and everyone started cheering at his presence, a deafening sound that echoed off of the walls and bounced back at us. He waved his hands for silence and the uproar immediately died down as he spoke, "We welcome to the ring our two fighters for the night..." He trailed off as more cheering ensued and the first fighter I had interviewed appeared in the ring.
"In this corner, weighing in at one hundred and fifty-two pounds, Luke Bender!" The room was filled once again with cheering, and also jeering I noticed. He grinned at the crowd, waving his arms in the air in an attempt to further rally up the crowd. It seemed to work fairly well, I noticed, as the volume increased.
In the meantime I saw Liam hop onto the opposite side of the ring. "And in this corner, weighing in at one hundred sixty-four pounds, Liam Payne!" the announcer yelled. The noise increased even further, if possible, as Liam waved to the crowd.
Comparing the two, Liam was much more muscular. They were about the same height, but I could already tell who was about to win this fight, and I knew it wasn't going to be pretty. I felt a pang of sympathy for Luke as a whistle blew and the fight began.
Liam was the first to swing, his fist coming forward forcefully, only to hit nothing but air as Luke ducked down and sidestepped. There was a collective gasp from everyone watching, and it seemed to infuriate Liam, his eyes darkening marginally as he rounded on Luke once more.
This time though he anticipated Luke's move. Liam swung again and as Luke ducked and sidestepped, Liam brought his other hand up and his fist collided with Luke's jaw. Luke fell to the floor, clutching his mouth in pain. There was another uproar from the crowd, and I spotted the rest of Liam's... friends standing across the ring from me, shouting words of praise at him.
My eyes connected with a pair of familiar green ones, and as much as I wanted to tear away from his cold gaze, I couldn't. He seemed to notice this, and the corner of his mouth turned up in a half-smile. Before I could fully register what had just happened I heard several shouts of anger mingled with the praise and my focus shifted to the fact that Liam was now hovering over Luke on the floor, punching him repeatedly in the face.
Again, I wanted to look away, but I just couldn't. Blood poured from Luke's face, yet Liam showed no mercy as he continued to take hits at his nose and mouth, and then his torso. It was sickening to see, and suddenly I felt someone's stare burning into the side of my head. Immediately I looked over to find those same green eyes looking at me again. They held just as much darkness as before, but it was a different kind of darkness. It was fearful almost.
The whistle blew again, pulling my attention back to the fight that was now finished. The announcer held up one of Liam's hands, declaring him the winner. Luke still lay on the floor in the position he was before, his face bloody and bruised. He slowly began to sit up and I noticed the two other members of the gang he belonged to standing on the other side of the ring behind him, their faces hard and angry, and looking pointedly at the gang Liam belonged to.
They all seemed to be having an intense stare-off, though it went unnoticed by all of the surrounding gangs who were still talking loudly about the fight that just taken place.
"Alright, I think we've seen enough," Shane muttered from behind me as he tentatively grabbed my hand and began tugging me toward the exit. I remained drilled to the spot though, my eyes wide as I watched the two gangs, their eyes dark and unblinking as they stared at one another.
