Dedicated to @Euodias3
Hagel's POV
After getting Rosita to agree not to say a word of what she saw or heard or might be thinking to anyone, I returned to my place at the gardens and tried to take a rest.
I couldn't. It was impossible.
My mind wandered back to what just happened a few moments ago.
I'm being careless.
Anybody could have walked in on us and it's a sheer miracle it happened to be Rosita.
I can't fucken think when Hazel's around me.
She drives me nuts. The minute I set my eyes on her, everything I plan goes down the drain and the only thing I can think about is Her, only her.
And my lips on hers, her body flushed against mine.
I know what she said is right. That we shouldn't see each other for a while.
It's better that way at least for a while. For now.
But that's going to be damn difficult, especially after how she looked in my shirt.
Damn.
I sighed, grabbing another pillow and putting it on the other. I lay my head on it.
What now?
The fucken championship match.
Yeah.
I know and I'm soo ready.
Somewhere along the lines of my thoughts, I drift asleep, with her face imprinted on my mind.
***†***
It was 3:05 a.m when I woke up. I took a hot shower and went for my morning run. Then I return home as daybreak.
I walked around the gardens for a while, to put my thoughts in control.
Today is the big day.
Today, I either prove to everyone that that tittle is mine or I embarrass myself again for the third time.
And that's not gonna happen.
I win, and I'll win big.
It starts at 8:00pm.
I can do it
I think I can control my urge to not see Hazel until the match is over.
I package up my stuffs into my gym bag and strolled out.
Everybody is ready at the Rings and they're just finishing up the preparations.
I stood in a corner and watched as José and the guys got busy with Rick shouting instructions here and there.
Anything could go wrong tonight.
The police could pounce on us and all but that's not gonna happen.
Rick and some 'big men' who supports the Rings will make sure of it.
We have friends amongst the FBI and town Sheriff even comes to watch these fights.... it's that big.
My hands are buried deep inside my pockets as I watched Rick approach me with an easy smile.
" Son! How did you sleep last night?" He asked with a wider smile.
" Slept good" I say, smirking.
" Well good, I hope you're ready?"
" Ready as the day you ever first fucked a pussy"
He laughed at my reply and chirped. " oh, I wasn't that ready you know, pretty lady just pounced on me, I was helpless"
" I bet you enjoyed it huh".
" Well can't lie"
We laughed at it.
My laugh faded as I met the eyes of the two men standing at the entrance.
Devil.
And my tittle around his shoulders.
I fist my hands as he and his manager, Mr. Tucker approached us.
" Oh look how big you've become now Cold" Tucker jested with a huge smile.
It's fake, I know it. That man hates my guts.
" And look at you Rick! It's like you're never growing old"
" Can't say same about you" Rick retorted, shaking hands with him.
I don't look away from Devil.
And he holds my gaze firmly.
We're the same height, almost the same size except that he's a little bigger than me.
He has a ripped shirt on and his huge muscles are popping as he flexed them.
His cold smile regarding me slyly.
He doesn't intimidate me one bit.
If anything, I want to punch his stupid face now than wait till later.
" You look softer, lover boy, every goddamn time I see you." he says in his deep voice, a mock in his tone.
My face is blank, except the vein popping on my forehead. And my jaw flexing from how hard I was gnashing on it
I closed the gap between us and stood toe to toe with him.
" I'll show you just how soft I am.... Later" I say back, my tone as cold as possible.
He snickerd lowly, drawing even closer to me as there's barely a space between us.
" You do that , lover boy, you show me" he challenged.
I nodded with a cocky smirk.
" Boys, let's not get out of hands. I bet Cold here can wait long enough for his ass to be whipped" Tucker says, patting the grinning Devil in the back.
" We'll see about that Tucker, we'll see" Rick said , standing beside me.
They laugh lowly and made towards the side, into the dark paths to the opponents room.
Rick turned to me and said " I know you Cold, you're ready, and when it's time, beat the crap out of that shit head"
That's it. And that's what I'm going to do.
I nodded and messed my hair.
" Good, now let's go practice, we need to go over it again"
" Sure" I agreed as I followed him into my training room.
Oh, I'm definitely ready.
***†***
I could hear the loud noise emanating from the arena.
Lots of people are here tonight.
Diaz came in earlier to tell us that almost seven hundred people are here.
That's huge.
Though that's not our Maximum number, it's still huge.
Our highest number has been over a thousand and two hundred.
But it's only 6:50 pm, others would come.
I won't lose again in front of these people.... In front of Hazel.
Rick says Jayden called my phone earlier, said he's coming with Bethany and Hazel.
The air knocked out of me at that.
She never said she'd be here.
I don't want her to see me fail, ever.
So for myself, and for her, I won't lose.
Rick held the pads up for me as I punched them.
Rick is fast, goddam fast and an expert.
He's the very best trainer in the underground fighting and I've learnt a lot from him.
Sweat dripped down my entire body as I paused, grabbed a towel and wiped my face.
" Good, take a rest, thirty minutes. I'm going to check on things outside and I'll be back" Rick says and leave.
I sit, catching my breath as my phone screen lit.
Fiona: bby🥺.
I ignored it. A second later the screen lit again.
Fiona: bby I'm sorry, can I come watch? Plssss. I'm coming alone I promise. Don't be so hard on me Hagel, pls🙏😫.
I switch my phone off and picked up the skipping rope to skip a little.
A few minutes into it, the door opened and Jayden stepped in.
I stilled, watching him silently.
" We're here already, this place is huge. You should see the crowd chanting your name outside, it's incredible" he says with a smile.
" I bet huh" I say, smiling back.
" Well I guess it'll start in a few minutes, gotta take our seats, good luck Cold, from us all."
" I appreciate" I bump fists with him and then he strolled out.
Call me crazy but something is not right. Jayden looked too....relaxed .
He's the wild type and I get that he's changed but these type of things excite him.
What is he planning??.
***†***
I hear the announcer,Ruffo, ring my name through the loud speakers and made my way up the ring with Rick and José behind me.
A loud cheer and claps accompanied me up the stage.
" Cold!! cold !cold cold!!!..... "
The crowd chanted on.
I climbed in the ring with Rick and José as I stood at my corner, nodding my head vigorously as Rick advised and motivated me.
I ripped my coat off as José took it and made my way to the center of the ring, waving at them with my fist clenched and my knuckles banded in a white cotton fabric.
I scanned the crowd and the air knocked out of me as my eyes connected with hers...
Hazel.
She's truly here.
Her hair is feist and let lose just the way I like it.
It's like everything stopped in that second.
They're sitting in the third row with Bethany between her and Jaden.
She smiled a huge smile at me and it's all the motivation I need.
Her face is happy, lively.
Bethany holds up a card that reads... We're With You Cold.
I nodded at her and the clapping Jayden.
I moved to my corner as the announcer called Devil's name.
He walked arrogantly down the aisle with Tucker and some other men behind.
The crowd cheered and clapped as they did me....maybe more.
I kept my eyes on him as he mounted the stage .
He flexed his muscles as the crowd went crazy, chanting his name loudly.
I glanced over at Hazel and I can see a little fear in her face.
She fears for me.
Maybe she cares for me, more than I know...?
Focus Hagel!.
Yeah yeah. I am focused.
" Ladiessss and gentlemen! Tonight, the much awaited championship match kicks off!!! Take your seats and cheer on!! May the best man win!" Ruffo says as the crowd cheered on
He leaves the stage and one of the ladies in panties and bra takes the center, holding up Round 1 on a board.
The referee motions for Devil and I as we came closer, bumped fists and stepped back a feet with the referee between us.
Devil smirkee at me and I smirked back.
He's big and all. Strong as well but his agility is not very impressive. And he has a problem with his right knee and always attacks with the left first, which is incredibly strong.
That left knee kick he gave me to my ribs and chin had made him won the match on our second time.
This time I've mastered it, I know how to get to his right knee, that's his ultimate weakness and then the spot just below his chin.
I need to be quick and smart.
I can't lose and I won't lose.
The rules here are pretty simple.
No hitting of private parts,No biting, fight till one person falls flat to the ground or tap out. You win when you opponent forfeits or you win with the highest points at the end of the third round.
It's only three rounds.
" Fight!" The referee says and stepped back.
I'm quick to dodge a blow he aimed at my face straight.
I docked away, hopping on my toes as I moved quickly to the right, dodging another knee kick.
I land a punch to his ribs and block his heavy blow as he tried to hit me in the stomach.
He grunts in pain as I moved swiftly, distracting him with my fist and then , kicking his right knee.
The crowd cheered loudly as Devil stumbled back.
I don't relax, I lurch forward and aim for his face but he blocks it, sending a gut wretching blow to my ribs.
I try to recover quick and defend but he corners my efforts, punching my chests and stomach in fast moves.
I try to block as many as I could, focusing on that spot just under his chin but before I could hit, his left knee hit me in rib.
The pain is excruciating as I stumbled back, momentarily leaving my face uncovered. He sends a deadly blow to my face, hitting my jaw painfully.
Almost everyone in the crowd gasped, a dead silence taking over.
Luckily, I'm quick to not lose my balance as I nearly fell flat, docking to my left as I regained balance.
I don't attack immediately, I pause a second, reading his moves as he beastly lurched for me, I moved away quickly, sending a blow to that particular spot I'd been targeting.
Bingo!.
He didn't see it coming, he throws a weak punch that I blocked easily, kicking his ribs hard. I aim for his right knee but he caught my leg in the nick of time, flipping me roughly as I lost my balance, landing on my left knee in pain.
I didn't fall flat and before I could get to my feet, he delivered that killing left knee kick to my chin, sending me falling flat as my blood sprayed out.
For a second, everything was dark.
I heard the crowd cheering, some booing. And then, Rick's voice reached my ears from a distance.
I lifted myself up, shaking off Rick's help as I made for my corner.
First round is over....and I lost.
I barely feel any pain as Rick and José worked on my face and arms. José massages my shoulders as Rick placed a new tooth protector in my mouth, applying something on my swollen face.
The throb in my chin subsided.
I met and held gazes with Devil as he smirked at me,licking his bloody lips.
The bastard!.
I can see the mark I've left on his face and just under his chin.
I tear my gaze from him to the crowd, Hazel looks so frightened as she held my gaze. That warm feeling flows through me, she cares, she really does. She offered me a charming smile and I tried my possible best to not do anything silly. Fuck.
Even Bethany had almost the same face as Hazel. But Jayden.... His face was blank.
I couldn't pounder on it further as another lady takes the center, holding up Round 2 high.
The crowd cheered our names.
A fighter can win by attaining the highest points.
And I can see the points projected up high to the left.
You gain little points by how much you hit or corner your opponent.
Devil: 10
Cold: 6.
We approached the referee for the second round.
The son of a bitch grins at me before stepping back.
"Fight!"
I attack with speed, catching Devil off guard. I attacked speed punches all over his hard body, especially his face and ribs. He fails miserably as he tries to shield his face.
I corner him, never stopping for a second as I put all the training Rick has given me into action.
Devil tries to push me away but I don't budge, kicking my knee into his ribs.
I captured his neck, sending a hard kick to his face.
He pushes me roughly with much power
I stagger back a feet but don't back down I focus on his face and ribs.
He punched me in the rib continuously but I could barely feel his punches.
I corner him again. But the referee comes to separate us.
I'm breathing hard as I backed away a foot or two, holding my stance firmly.
The guy is like a mountain of solid rock, it'll take everything to put him down. And I can see he's protecting his right knee more now.
We continue to fight and I gave my best, dodging his punches and delivering deadly blows at him.
But I couldn't get him to fall flat.
So at the end of the second round, nobody has been put down.
The scores however,gave me more morale.
Devil: 16
Cold : 21.
We moved to our corners to be tended to by our managers.
Rick says I did good.
I don't relax yet cause I know it's not over.
He can easily close the gap and win with the highest point but I won't let it happen.
I need to keep leading the points, maintain the highest point till it's over, then I win.
Round 3.
Final round.
I can hear the loud cheer from Hazel and I'm beyond myself feeling excited.
She's cheering for me, my Angel is cheering for me.
I smile inwardly, keeping a straight face as we approached the referee.
I'm satisfied at how distorted Devil's face looked. He's frustrated. Good.
Mine is at least better.
It can easily change to worse in this last round.
" Fight!".
A straight blow to my face from Devil sent be stumbling back two good foots. My nose cracked and a sharp pain shot through my head as my head is cracked back, I tasted blood. Copper filled my mouth with a metallic taste.
Another to my guts and another and another.
I docked his next blow, buying myself a little time to recover as he attempted a kick to my thighs.
I'm fast to dodge his knee, delivering a kick to his back.
I try that trick Rick thought me... a firm middle finger knuckle to his neck veins.
It worked as Devil's eyes widen at the pain. I do the same to his throat and he chocked, his eyes turning dead red as tried to grab me.
We're sweating profusely and there's blood everywhere.
I moved fast but before I could deliver a blow to his face, he kicked my ribs.
" Ahhhhh!!!" He yells in anger and frustration, grabbing me as he lifts me up above his head, then threw me across the ring.
Miraculously, I landed on the ropes. My whole body in pain at the impact.
He chargef forward, running towards me in rage that could send anyone running for their lives... Not me though.
In that brief second,in a slow motion, I lifted my gaze towards Hazel, her hands clasped over her mouth, eyes wide.
Bethany has her hair gripped and then Jayden....he was smiling.
He is fucken smiling if not laughing.
I can't lose. For Hazel, I can't.
So in that millisecond before the monster Devil could send me flying on my ass, I slide down between his legs, on my knees, my heart racing as I slid from under his legs, shooting to my feet quickly to deliver a stamp to the back of his left knee.
A bone cracked as he screamed in pain, his knees giving out,I wasn't done.
I sent my knees into the back of his neck as he fell down with a thud.
Everything stilled.
I breathed hard as I watched him fall flat on his stupid face.
Then all of a sudden, the crowd boomed with cheers as they chanted my name over and over.
It's over....
It's over and I won.
I won!
I felt a lot of people bear hug me and lift me up high.
Rick, José, Diaz, Mario and all the rest at the Rings.
Everyone was chanting my name.
But none mattered much as I desperately scanned the crowd for Hazel. I saw her running towards me from the crowd.
They put me down, my heart racing as I waited, waited as she drew closer.
My baby....my woman, my Angel.
I anticipated the feel of her in my arms as she drew closer and closer.
But before she could get to me, another body crashed into my open arms....
Fiona.
I could barely register what's happening as she crashed her lips on mine.
I didn't even see or notice when or how she got here.
But she was here, kissing me as some people clapped and cheered.
This is wrong.
It should be Hazel not her.
I tear her away from me but then even before I could confirm it, I knew Hazel had left.
I caught a glimpse of her red hair as she mixed with the crowd, running for the exit.
I shouldn't.
I should stay and accept my tittle, stay and receive all the congratulations from these people for my hard work, I should stay and mock Devil because he lost.
But I don't.I don't.
Instead, I run after her.
After my Angel.
Tiana ♥️.