Behind the Walls. NOVEL By Claire Darcy.

61. r o u n d ~ t w o : Nameless.

ACE.

I heard Sebastian groan behind me. He was going out in sympathy for Dallas. He was on the floor.

"Come on, Dallas!" I yelled through the wire fence, trying to encourage him to stand. He pushed herself up for a moment, then collapsed. The fight was over. I sighed as they cleared the floor for the next fighters. Josh was beside me, covered in sweat and dirt. His knuckles were bloody and he was as white as a ghost. He'd been in the rink before Dallas and was still recovering. I hadn't been in yet, but I was told I would have two fights in the evening.

"I'm so glad I don't have to do this," Sebastian said from behind me, rubbing his arms.

"You're lucky," Josh croaked. We watched as Dallas was taken to the side room to get cleaned up. He'd come to... eventually.

"I met that guy yesterday," I said, pointing through the fence at Dallas' competitor. It was the boy with the wolf teeth and hazel eyes. He'd managed to keep his beanie on the whole fight. "He seemed nice," I added on afterwards. Sebastian peered through the fence at the celebrating winner. Then he leant back in shock.

"Donovan Thatcher, wow. I haven't seen him in forever," Sebastian said. "He, Rowan and I used to be best friends."

I smirked. "Sounds like you guys must have been the cool kids."

"Oh Ace, you have no idea. We OWNED this Academy," Sebastian reminisced.

"What happened?" Josh asked quietly.

Sebastian shrugged as the light in his eyes grew dim. "I started rising in the ranks, Rowan started getting involved in the Council, and Donovan just got left in the dust."

"But now you're free..." I said, "Why not try and reconnect with your best friends?"

Sebastian sighed, "A broken bone can heal, Ace, but it's never quite the same."

That certainly dampened my mood. Moments later, I found Tyler in the side room, jumping up and down on the spot. Frankie sat in the corner, looking downtrodden. Upon noticing me, Frankie's eyes lit up. But not with happiness.

"What are you doing here, Ace?" she demanded. She really hated me.

"I asked her to come," Tyler cut in, giving his sister a warning look, "I can decide these things by myself, you know?"

Frankie looked insulted for only a split second before she reverted back to her resting face.

"All is not well in Twintopia..." I said sarcastically.

Tyler gave me a small smile. "We're fine, Frankie's just teasing," he said. I didn't know who he was trying to convince.

"Do you know who you're fighting?" I asked.

"I think the same guy as Dallas fought. The one with the tongue piercing, who won," Tyler said. He looked nervously at Frankie. I wondered why.

"Donovan," I said, "I never noticed a tongue piercing but he seems good. Very fast, and good aim. But not very strong at all."

"Do you analyse the people in every fight?" Tyler asked incredulously.

"Do you get this nervous before every fight?" I asked, noticing the sweat gathering on his forehead. His gold hair looked damp. Tyler glanced back at Frankie again.

"You've probably never seen it," he explained, "But Frankie and I fight together- always. We have our own style and rhythm that just works perfectly together. And now... Going into this alone... I don't know how well I'm going to do."

"You'll be fine, Tyler," Frankie insisted, "You've fought stronger guys in your sleep."

"That is not even slightly true," Tyler moped, "But I appreciate the support."