"You're going to have to try and hurt me."
I huffed at Niall, squinting my eyes to him from where he stood in front of me, slightly hunched over with his boxing gloves on. His blonde hair ruffled, falling against his forehead while he stood shirtless in black track shorts.
I woke up about two hours ago to Niall knocking on my door. After opening my eyes I realized I had fallen asleep and Harry was no longer in my room, leaving me alone. It had started to get dark outside by that time and Niall told me dinner had been done for a while if I was hungry.
So I went down stairs and got something to eat. I had started to feel better and I wanted to join everyone again, but it was mostly to show Thalia and Harry that I was okay. While we were eating Niall told me about their gym and he said he wants to start training me in self defense so that I'm not "helpless" all of the time.
I would be offended... but honestly how could I be? Conner could have done anything that he wanted to do to me in that alleyway and there was no way that I would have been able to fight him, drugged or not.
So after we ate we came out to the gym.
"I don't want to try and hurt anyone." I said in defeat.
Niall raised his brows at my words, "You sure about that? H told me what you did to Conners face. I say if we get you mad enough you might be like the rest of us."
"The rest of you?" The words barely came out, my confusion evident. Niall reached out and knocked me in the side of my head again. I let out a sigh and pursed my lips, crossing my arms over my chest. "Really?"
I'm wearing a pair of Millies black workout shorts, which luckily for me they are high waisted so they covered up past my belly button. On my top I only wore a black and grey sports bra, even though I had started out in a shirt. But after about thirty minutes in the gym I was sweating too much to keep it on.
My hair was pulled back into a ponytail but had started to fall out at the sides from where Niall had been softly knocking me in the head during our work out.
"Well I'm sorry darlin' but doing a cute little pout like that isn't going to stop Conner or any of his friends from trying to hurt you." Niall stated, standing back up straight from his "fighting stance" in front of me.
I was in the gym with Niall, Harry, Liam, Louis, Millie and Thalia. It seems everyone wanted to come to the gym tonight to see me fail miserably at trying to defend myself.
The girls are both doing crunches and other workouts on the matts together, while Liam and Louis are on the treadmills next to each other. Harry is in the corner of the gym taking all of his aggression out on a punching back, his grey tshirt sticking to him in various places with his hair clinging to his forehead.
When he came into the gym wearing his hoodie I didn't pay much attention as he stalked over to the corner of the room. But once he took off his hoodie I realized it was the first time I've seen him in a regular tshirt. His left side was facing us, his airpods stuck in his ears while he hammered against the black punching bag.
"Try and hit me again." Niall spoke, making me pull my eyes away from Harry.
"This isn't working." I muttered with a slight shake of my head as I raised my hands up in fists in front of me.
I asked if I needed to wear gloves like Niall was wearing but he only laughed at my question. At first I found it a little offensive but as we began our workout I realized there was no need. I haven't come in contact with him once, yet he's knocked me in the side of my head and in my ribs countless times with his gloved hands.
He wasn't hitting me hard, just enough to show he had made contact with me and to tell me to try again.
"This is impossible." I stamped my foot like a child. "You can't just throw me into the ring with you and expect me to know what I'm doing."
Niall raised his brows at me. "Is someone getting angry?"
Angry? No.
Annoyed? Extremely.
"No. But this," I motioned between us, "Is not working. I don't know how to fight."
"Just try again." Niall said as he raised his arms back into the air.
"Doesn't matter how many times we try it–"
"No one's ever good at something when they first start it. You have to practice, Rori. I'm not trying to make you feel like you're not good, I'm trying to train you."
Train me?
I let out a sigh and shook my head. "Fine, but you're a shit trainer."
"It's just the first day, darlin'. You ain't seen nothin' yet." He said with a wink, a smirk appearing on his lips as he got back into position.
I let out a slow breath as I brought my hands up in front of me to try and mirror Nialls stance. I was about to try and strike at him again, but a voice from behind me stopped me in my tracks.
"You're doing it wrong."
I looked to my right to see Harry standing slightly behind me, his body nearly pressed against mine from how close he was to me.
I swallowed with my nerves rising. "W-what?" I choked out sounding like an idiot.
"Curl your fingers so that the tip of each finger touches its base where your fingers start on your palm." Harry instructed while grabbing hold of my hand to fold my fingers into the correct place. "Curl your hand and clench the tips of your fingers tightly into your palm. If you punch with your fingers wrapped over your thumb, you're gonna break a bone." He continued, squeezing his hand over mine tightly to close it into a proper a fist. "Keep your hand squeezed tight like this so you don't hurt your hand with your punch. Trust me, you don't want a broken hand. Especially not in the middle of a fight. Loosen your grip between punches, but never fully relax it."
He sounded as if he were reciting a script. How does he know so much about proper punching etiquette?
I've seen him hit Conner but it happened so fast. How did he have time to think about all of the before his fist connected with Conner?
It seems impossible to me.
Nonetheless I muttered, "Okay." With my eyes locked on his hand squeezing over mine.
His finger were bare of his rings, I'm assuming because he had been using the punching bag. But it allowed my to fully see the tattoos that littered across his hand and the ones that were on his fingers. Each line delicately drawn in black ink against his light skin.
He was standing halfway behind me, reaching around me to close his large hand over my smaller fist. His hoodie was back on his body now to cover his arms, those tattoos being blocked from my sight.
I wish I could see those tattoos up close like I was seeing the ones on his hand.
Shut up, Rori.
"Keep your wrist straight and don't bend it when you hit something. Line your wrist up to keep it straight with your forearm." He kept his hand over mine, moving it around forward and backwards in a manner of showing what to not let my wrist do. "If your wrist is weak you're going to hurt yourself, you'll most likely sprain it but it could be worse."
"Stand up straight and place your feet shoulder at width apart." Niall added from in front of me while taking off his gloves and placing them on the floor. "Put one of your feet slightly in front of each other with your dominant foot far enough ahead of your back foot that you can shift your weight when throwing a punch but still close enough to keep your balance centered."
That's the most helpful thing he's told me the entire time that we've been in this gym, yet it still didn't make sense.
All of this is completely going over my head.
"Bend your knees slightly to stabilize yourself, but also so that you can also produce power with your punch. Every punch you throw will start with a lower body movement." Harry placed his hands on my hips, adjusting them slightly, causing my breath to hitch in shock as his left had grazed over my left hipbone where my scar is. His fingers trailed up and rested just above the scar, a sigh of relief falling from my lips.
"If your legs and hips aren't stable, you won't be punching with enough power. Bend your knees a bit so that they're flexible, that way it will be easier to create power and transfer it quickly from your legs to your upper body." Harrys low voice sounded, still speaking from behind me as his breath fanned across my exposed neck.
"Bent knees also make it harder to get knocked over if someone is punching back or pushing you." Niall spoke while he took a few step towards us. "If you stand straight up it's hard to balance yourself if you get hit."
Without warning Niall reached up and pushed on my shoulders causing me to stumble back into Harry a bit. I looked over my shoulder as I fell into him with wide eyes. I swallowed and straightened myself up as quickly as I could to try and get my body away from his.
"If he hadn't been there you would have fallen." Niall stated as if I didn't know.
Thanks, Captain Obvious.
"But if your knees are bent a little it helps stabilizes you." Harry kicked my feet apart a bit with his shoes, causing me to look down and notice he was wearing a pair of Nikes and not those stupid boots.
Obviously he's not going to wear Chelsea boots while working out, dumb ass.
Imagine if he did though, that'd be funny to see.
"Bend your knees." Harry instructed.
I nodded and bent my knees a bit, keeping my hips in the position Harry had put them in. I kept my eyes down on the mat, the feeling of Harrys body still burning against my back.
I felt Nialls hands push my shoulders again catching me completely off guard as I stared down. However, even caught off guard I didn't stumble back. This time I was able to keep my balance and go right back into the position I had been in before.
"Good." Niall praised with a wide smile.
Niall walked over and grabbed the gloves from where he had placed them in the floor while Harrys body disappeared from behind me causing my back to go cold. I turned my head to see Harry walking to the edge of the ring we were in.
I watched silently as he reached down at the edge and grabbed the gloves he had been wearing while he was doing his own work out with the punching bag.
Harry and Niall now both stood at opposite ends of the ring, putting on their gloves.
I was confused for a moment until I saw them turn and look at each other, each of them giving the other a nod before walking to the middle of the ring. With wide eyes I realized what was about to happen so I quickly moved to one of the open edges as the guys started to walk towards each other.
There was no way I was going to let myself get caught in the middle of whatever was about to happen between them.
"Don't hold back." Harry said, placing his hands up in front of him, positioning his hips and legs the way he had put mine earlier.
"From getting the chance to punch you in the face?" Niall let out a scoffing laugh, matching Harrys posture with a sadistic grin forming on his lips. "I'd never."
"Don't make me break this shit up again." Thalia warned, my eyes moving to see her and Millie still working out together on a set of mats.
"Forget that," Millie waved her hand dismissively as she watched Niall and Harry. "I say let 'em go at it. Its been a while since they've had a good fight."
Thalia pursed her lips, her eyes watching the guys. "I don't feel like cleaning blood off of the ring mat again."
That's the only reason she didn't want them to fight? She was worried about blood getting on the mat?
These people are crazy.
"It's been building up for weeks. Hell, I thought they were going to go at it before they even went to New York, can't believe they've managed to make it this long." Millie shrugged.
They were talking as of no one else could hear them. Maybe no one else was paying attention?
"Keep your dominant hand near your chin and keep your free hand up as a defense. Keep your elbows bent with your knuckles pointing up and your elbow against your ribs." Niall said, my eyes flicking between Niall and Harry again.
Finally my eyes rested on Nialls hands as I noticed that Nialls dominant hand was his left, causing him and Harrys posture to be identically mirrored to each other.
I know Nialls instructing me right now, but him and Harry never broke eye contact as he spoke. Both of them staying frozen in their positions.
This is... intimidating.
"Lift your nondominant hand in front of you so that it's the same height as your other. If you are throwing a punch keep your nondominant hand up to shield yourself. If you aren't throwing a punch keep it there as a guard and be ready to try and deflect anything that is thrown towards you." Niall spoke smoothly before striking a blow towards Harry.
I gasped at how fast he moved. They had both been standing still, then, faster than I could blink Niall had thrown a punch towards Harry. What was even more impressive was Harrys reaction time to knock Nialls hand away with his left hand.
"In a fight, your non-dominant hand is pretty much your only defense when it comes to blocking an incoming punch." Harry said as they both went back into their previous positions.
"Between strikes you can slightly relax your fist to reduce pressure but be sure to squeeze your fist tight again before your next punch." Niall said with a slight grunt as he dodged a throw from Harry.
Instead of going back to position they started to both throw punches towards each other. This time neither of them talked, both of them too focused to try and explain what they were doing in further detail.
Even when a punch landed heavy into one of their cheeks they continued on, using their bodies to project their punches with more power like they had told me earlier.
It's like the pain from the punches was fueling a fire inside of them. With each punch that landed
I could see them moving faster, maybe it was adrenaline.
"Get angry." Harry said in a huff as him and Niall broke apart for a few moments. "Use your aggression to your advantage, but don't let it overpower you."
"You have to stay level headed, but you also have to be determined to win." Niall added. "Anger will boost your determination as well as increase your endurance to pain."
Niall threw a punch towards Harry, but Harry knocked it away with his left hand, quickly coming up with his right to connect with Nialls cheek. Nialls faltered back a bit but I noticed how his bent knees helped to stabilize him during the hit like they had shown me.
Niall didn't even think before reacting with a straight forward punch, landing right on Harry bottom lip where it was already busted. Blood trickled from his injured lip dripping down to just above his chin almost instantly.
That's the third time in a week that his lip has been busted open in the same spot. At this rate it's never going to heal properly.
But Harry didn't even seem to notice. He didn't reach up to wipe away the blood or even make a face to show a sign of the pain that I knew was there.
Busted lips hurt and I'd imagine its more painful if they've been rebusted open multiple times like his had. Yet, he continued on as if it never happened.
Harry took a step forward, propelling himself towards Niall with a hard swing. Niall raised his right arm up to stop Harry from hitting his face, but wasn't prepared to block the blow coming towards his ribs from Harrys left hand.
The glove connected with Nialls skin in a heavy thud, visibly knocking the breath from him a bit. "You know better than that." Harry scolded Niall.
"Bitch." Niall panted out while holding his rib as they pulled away from each other. "Thought we were just going for faces as an example. Didn't know everything was fair play."
"Told you not to hold back." Harry shrugged.
"Alright, let's go then." Niall raised his arms again, his eyes slightly narrowing as he watched Harry.
My eyes flashed to Harry, a devilish smirk rising to his bloodied lips as he nodded to Niall. Something told me to get out of the ring so I quickly stepped to the side and ducked under the rope.
I don't think I'm going to want to be near them when this breaks out. It seems like it's going to be less of a lesson for me and more of them taking out their aggression on each other.
I looked over to see Thalia paying half attention to the boys in the ring as she sat on the leg press, her muscular legs pressing back the machine before she slowly let it come forward.
My legs could never.
The sound of gloves connecting with skin caught my attention and I whipped my head back around to see Niall and Harry going at it again. This time, no instructions being thrown my way as they skillfully fought against each other.
Harry took a sharp hit to his cheek and I knew that the bruise already there was only going to get worse. I'm not sure why he keeps getting in fights when his face hasn't even had time to heal yet.
It's only been a week since his fight with Conner and counting the fight at the party this will make the third fight. I'm sure his lip is going to get permanently messed up if he's not careful.
Niall lunged at Harry, getting behind him and wrapping his arm around his neck in a hold, but Harry quickly brought his elbow back in a hard hit right into the spot on Nialls ribs that he had hit earlier.
Pain flashed on Nialls face but he was quick to cover it. Harry took the moment of opportunity to free himself from Nialls hold and shoved him away roughly.
"Okay, guys!" I heard Thalia scold from the machine she still sat at. "That's enough. Either train Rori or choose a different work out. I'm not cleaning blood from that fucking mat again because of you two."
From their separated positions, they both relaxed almost instantly as Thalia spoke. Her authority showing from Niall's now docile posture. Harry however, still looked on edge. He was more relaxed than he had been but he still looked like he could attack at any moment.
Niall rolled his eyes while taking off his gloves as he headed towards the edge of the mat where I was. "You're up darlin'." He nodded his head towards Harry to show I was going to be working with him now.
Fear coursed through me at the thought of getting into the ring with Harry. I couldn't even land a single hit on Niall earlier, yet I just watched them kick each others asses. There's absolutely no way I'm going to go in there with Harry.
"No way." I protested, holding my hands up in surrender. "If he hurt you, there's no way in hell I'm going to go a round with him."
"He's not gonna hurt ya." Niall said while applying a hand to his ribs.
The skin looked red and irritated from where the glove and Harrys elbow had connected with him. I'm sure within the next few minutes it will be bruised.
I looked back up and saw Harry motioning with his head for me to come to the middle of the ring. "Come on."
I gulped back my fear and slid between the ropes again so that I was standing back inside of the ring.
"Don't forget you can use the heel of your hand– or your elbows." Niall said with slight hostility as I placed myself in front of Harry. "Your hands are going to get tired and your knuckles will hurt, especially if you're putting your all into a fight."
Harrys eyes met mine as I positioned myself to match him. "It's never going to be a fair fight." He warned. "You have to remember Niall and I won't always be around. We travel a lot so there will be times that the guys and I won't be around. This is necessary for you to learn."
I nodded to show him I understood, but on the inside the thought of all of the guys being gone scared me. I'm sure that Thalia and Millie are complete bad asses and can defend themselves in a fight, but having the four guys around adds an additional feeling of protection.
"You need to know how to defend yourself because your attacker isn't going to care that you're a girl." Harry continued to me. "Remember how Conner hit you in that alley back in New York?"
I faltered a bit, my hands falling from my defensive pose. Why would he bring that up?
In a flash Harry's right hand came barreling towards me. I sucked in a sharp breath and squeezed my eyes shut in fear. I waited for the pain to engulf me, but the contact never came. I felt the gush of air, then nothing.
I peaked open one eye to see that Harry had stopped just inches before connecting with my cheek. "Don't lose your concentration."
He said that to purposely mess with me. He got the exact reaction that he wanted.
I silently scolded myself and tried to hide my disappointment while I nodded my head to him. I repositioned myself into the stance they had taught me and met his eyes again. "Okay."
"Keep an escape route in sight. Real fights are nothing like the movies." Niall spoke from a few feet away. They're messy and a lot of the times they're over before you know it." There were a few moments of pause before he continued, "But the really dangerous fights are the ones that don't end quickly because they exhaust you. Physically and mentally. You're small so if you can tire someone out, you can increase your chances of getting away safely by making sure you've got a clear shot at an exit and getting out of it as quickly as possible."
"Go for the soft spots." Harry said from in front of me, his green eyes still staring intently into mine. "Hit them in the gut, the throat, even their eyes. Eyes are sensitive and can cause them to falter for a moment. And sometimes a moment is all you need to escape."
"Kick them in the dick if you have to." Niall chimed in. "It's effective and will render them useless for a bit. It'll definitely give you enough time to get away if you kick hard enough."
Harrys hand came flying towards me again as we stared at each other. However, this time I was ready and was able to knock it away with my left hand.
I'm sure he went a lot slower with me than he had with Niall but the fact that I was able to knock his hand away still felt like a huge accomplishment to me.
"Nice!" Niall praised.
Harry and I went back to our places, his light eyes meeting my dark ones. The smirk forming on his lips caused my stomach to knot as I kept his gaze.
He was planning something.
Usually by now I'd be looking at anything other than him, the intensity of his eyes too much for me to handle. But I know if I try to look away one of them will scold me and accuse me of not paying attention.
So, as much as I didn't want to I forced myself to keep the eye contact with him.
Harrys hand came launching towards me again and I repeated my action from earlier, knocking it away with my left hand. What I didn't expect though was when my right arm flew forwards and connected with his ribs.
"Oh my god!" I clasped my hands to my mouth in shock of myself, "I'm so sorry, I don't know why I did that! I didn't—"
My sentence cut off as Harry took hold of my shoulder and flipped me around, my hair in the pony tail whipping around as he spun me. His right arm was pressed under my neck, while his left held my arms pinned down to my side. He didn't press his arm against my neck hard, he just added enough pressure so that I couldn't move.
My back was completely flattened against him, allowing me to feel the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed.
"You can't be afraid to hurt someone." His lips brushing against the skin of my ear with each word. "You can't hesitate. It could be a matter of life and death."
I let out a shaky breath I hadn't realized I was holding, his body heat radiating onto me from the position he held me in. I felt his body relax as he let go of his hold on me, my body falling away from him as soon as I was free.
I turned towards him ready to go back to our previous setting positions, but he was already launching towards me. In reaction I leaped away from him, bringing my hands up from beside me to cover my face.
He spun quickly to face where I was now standing, his eyes narrowing at me as he threw a punch in my direction. I pushed it away and brought my hand back up to my face feeling a sense of accomplishment in myself for being able to knock away his hand again.
"Oh, and another thing..." Niall spoke catching my attention. "Watch their feet."
As the words left his lips Harrys foot darted out knocking into my feet. I gasped as my feet flew out from under me forcing me to crumble to the mat. I hit with a heavy thud, winding myself slightly as I connected with the ground.
"Are you fucking kidding me?!" I half yelled, half wheezed in anger. "This is too much! You guys have been doing this for years, this is my first day! You can't expect me to know and remember everything right now, let alone be able to fight one of you."
I looked between Niall and Harry from where I sat on the floor. Anger bubbling inside of me and even though I felt bad for having an outburst the way I did, I was fed up.
I have been trying my best but they seem to forget that I'm new to this. It's literally my first day. I can't do what they do. I don't know everything that they know and I can't remember every single detail after only being told how to do it once.
"She's right, that's enough for today." Niall said before looking back to me and praising me, "You did great though."
I looked over as Harry reached down with a no longer gloved hand to help me up. I extended my hand forward to take it as he said, "Yeah, she did great if her opponent was a teddy bear."
Anger flooded through me at his words, the smug look he had on his face only fueling me further. I don't know what came over me but as he was about to pull me up, I kicked my foot out roughly without thinking.
My foot jetting out and kicking him right in his... soft spot.
"Fuck!" He shouted, his eyes squeezed shut in pain.
As he grunted out the curse he dropped my hand which caused me to fall backwards onto the mat. I knew he was going to be pissed so before he could react any further, I rolled myself sideways, slipping out from under the ropes of the ring. I looked back up watching as Harry fell down to his knees, holding his hands over himself his furrowed eyebrows and a pained expression on his face.
"Holy shit!" Niall bellowed from beside me, throwing his head back in a loud laugh. "That's the best thing I've ever fuckin' seen!"
I heard a few more snickering laughs and looked up to see Thalia, Millie, Liam and Louis had all stopped their work outs and were now watching us each with an amused look on their faces.
"He's had that coming for years." Thalia spoke up, a smile on her face as she turned back to continue the exercise she was doing previously.
I looked back over to Niall who was still doubled over in a laughing fit as Harry stayed frozen in place on the mat. Part of me felt bad for causing him that amount of pain but the other part of me praised myself for finally not putting up with his shit anymore.
"We're done for the day." Niall said after calming himself down from all his laughter. "You really did do good though, regardless of what that shithead says." He stuck his thumb out to point towards Harry.
"Thanks..." I trailed off. "I don't feel like I did though. You guys were kicking my ass."
"You did way better than you think. I mean, think about it this way. You used your anger and thought in the spur of the moment. You caught H completely off guard. And like you said, we've been doing this for years." Niall raised his eyebrows. "If you can take him down on your first day, I can't imagine what you'll be like after training with us for a while."
I nodded to him giving him a smile. "Thank you, Niall. Your faith in me is quite inspirational." I slightly joked as I reached down and grabbed my shirt from the floor, pulling it over my head. "I'm gonna go take a shower. I feel disgusting."
"Alright." Niall answered as he reached for his white tank top that had been laying on the floor next to my shirt, his arm moving to expose his freshly bruised rib.
I know that hurts.
I turned to see Harry standing on his feet now. His body was still hunched over and his hands were resting on his knees while his head hung to face the floor.
"Sorry, teddy bear." I mocked as I walked passed him towards the door leading into the backyard.
His head lifted up to look towards me and I gave him a smirk before turning my head back to face in front of me as I headed outside.
As I stepped through the door the thought of running as fast as I could out of the back yard, down the driveway and towards the main road coursed through my mind.
Getting away from here and going back home to New York is something that consumes my thoughts several times a day. Especially in moments like these where I'm left alone, no one else around to stop me.
Though just like every time before I push the thought away and remind myself that I still don't have my phone or my wallet. I'm not even sure what town I'm in to be truthful. Plus, I don't have the passcode for the gate.
If I had my phone I could contact Chloe and tell her what's going on. I could tell her that I didn't abandon her. I could send her my location and get the hell out of here at the earliest chance I got.
But, again, I know that I can't. I can't risk the potential danger that I could be putting her in by doing that.
I just need to try and stick it out a little longer...
//
an:
made a smoothie & edited this in like an hour.
i hope that all of the proper fighting technique parts made sense lol i tried !!!
next chapter is a ride... see you guys soon <3