Brutality | Harry Styles

Chapter 2

The entire energy of the arena shifted as Harry was announced. Cheers erupted from the crowd, but he seemed unaffected from his new position, leaned up against a corner of the ring.

"Our second fighter," the announcer continued, squinting in the direction of the hallway that Melody had just come from. He seemed to find what he was looking for. "Mr. Reed Giddens."

A man entered the room, taller and larger than Harry, but younger. Melody felt a wave of dread wash over her as he stalked toward the ring. The rumbling crowd parted around the newcomer until he slipped between the ropes and was at Harry's level. He rolled his naked shoulders and eyed his competition. Harry, however, barely seemed to take notice of the arrival.

Melody began forcing her way through the throngs of people once again, while the two fighters took to opposite corners of the ring. Beer sloshed over the toes of her sneakers as drunk onlookers spilled. Her ears roared with their incessant chatter.

By the time Melody reached her seat again, Cooper was up on his feet, and Harry and Reed were stretching their hands inside of respective pairs of boxing gloves. Harry's—a faded blue and worn to the stitches in some places—were being tied snuggly around his wrists.

"Did you find it all right?" Cooper asked, a bit excitedly. His eyes barely skirted over to Melody's face. They flicked back and forth between the inhabitants of the ring.

"Yeah, I did."

"I bet on Giddens."

"You what?" Melody peeled her gaze from the ring and looked sideways at Cooper.

"Yeah," he replied, staring intently at the man his money was placed on. "They do bets for all of the fights. Styles has only lost twice or so, but I figured his latest streak has lasted for too long, so I bet on Giddens."

Melody's eyebrows drew together as she looked back down to the center of the room. Harry and Reed were now on their feet. The difference in stature was evident, even from the angle at which Melody observed them. Reed had to have at least a full head on Harry.

The announcer slipped out of the ring and then a woman took his place—the same woman from outside who collected the money. She held up a cardboard sign, scribbled in black marker with "Round 1". Then she was back on the ground and a bell rang out, prompting a flurry of excited shouts from the crowd.

"Isn't there supposed to be a referee or something in the ring?" Melody asked anxiously. Cooper nodded distractedly as the first punch was thrown. As Reed ducked out of the way, Harry's fist went wide.

"Yeah, in pro," Cooper agreed. He shouted as Reed delivered a hard hit to Harry's cheek. Melody gasped as the punch sent him stumbling backwards. "At these matches the ref just stands off to the side. Stays out of the way."

"Why?"

"For his own safety, first of all."

Melody could feel her eyes widen as the fight picked up. Harry slammed into Reed's abdomen twice and was rewarded with a sharp cut to his jaw.

"These matches can get really bad sometimes. It's best for the ref to keep a bit of a distance. He usually just calls the ends of rounds and announces the winner. Has to get in and break it up every once in a while, though."

"Jesus." Melody found herself anxiously wringing her hands together, so she shoved them into the pocket of her hoodie. All around her, she could hear shouts of encouragement for whichever opponent bets were on. The lights overhead blared down on the crowd, and Melody could only imagine how searingly hot it had to be for the boxers.