Natalie propped her chin on her hand, trying her best to keep her eyes open and on the whiteboard.
She'd heard that senior year burnout was common, but she didn't think it would affect her. She was used to studying hard. What was one more year for her?
What she hadn't accounted for was meeting a certain bruised boy with a talent for raising her heart rate. And even more, she hadn't imagined her dad would find out about their secret... friendship.
Yes, friendship.
She sat at her desk, barely listening as her teacher droned on about osmosis or something. Her pen sat idle in her hand. She realised days ago that trying to focus during class was futile.
All she could think about was Leon.
She could barely sleep at night because all she could think of was him. They hadn't seen each other in almost a week, but she couldn't stop thinking about that day.
Had he been in her room that night? Had he heard everything her dad said? Everything she said?
She itched to know for sure—to see him and ask him.
The chair beside her scraped against the floor and she blinked hard, looking around the classroom as everyone grabbed their backpacks and piled out of class. She hadn't even heard the bell ring.
She really had to get it together.
"Natalie," a voice said. She looked up to find her teacher, Mr G, smiling at her from his desk at the front. "Can I have a word?"
Her heart dropped into her stomach like a stone. His eyes, his tone of voice—this wasn't going to be the kind of conversation she needed right now.
A chronic people-pleaser, she nodded anyway and quickly tossed her pencil case and books into her bag. Slinging the bag over her shoulder, she made her way to Mr G's desk. She stood there, watching for a moment as he removed his glasses and folded his hands, one over the other.
"Natalie," he began, so slowly. Excruciatingly slowly. Slowly enough that her brain had time to come up with another fifty possibilities for the reason behind this conversation.
"Yes?" Get to the point.
"How have you been lately?" he asked. Natalie pursed her lips. She opened them, then closed them again. What was she supposed to say to that? When she didn't reply immediately, he continued. "You just seem as though you've been distracted lately. Is everything going okay?"
There it is.
Natalie swallowed the growing lump in her throat. Of course, she'd been distracted. If Mr G was a teenage girl and had a hot, mysterious boy to sneak around with, he'd understand it too.
She supposed she had gotten lazy—stopped hiding it as much. Teachers were beginning to notice. Which meant her dad was going to hear about it.
There it was again. Her terrible tendency to worry about what her parents might think—worry what everyone might think.
Did she even care anymore?
Her dad was civil with her, though they didn't really see each other outside of dinner. If she could, she would've taken dinner to her room, but her mum wouldn't like that and getting on her mum's bad side was infinitely scarier than her dad's.
He treated her normally, if not more distant than usual. She figured her mum had said something to him. At least, she didn't seem to be upset with Natalie when the news about Leon had broken.
Whatever. She didn't care anymore.
Her parents could think whatever they wanted. She couldn't change the past, and she wouldn't change her... friendship with Leon.
She just had to get through the rest of the year, do well in her exams, get a good score on her admissions test... Why did that list feel so long to her?
"I'm okay," Natalie said after another too-long pause. She attempted to smile convincingly. "I'm just tired. I've been having trouble sleeping."
"Mhm," Mr G hummed. He tapped his chin for a moment and said, "Have you been practicing for the UCAT?"
She almost groaned. Of course, he had to bring up the UCAT. That admissions test she'd been dreading for the past year. She started studying early in Year 11. Some people started in Year 10. She didn't realise until she was two months into Year 11.
That was probably the start of it all—the beginning of the end. The early signs that she didn't want to do medicine as much as she'd thought. The signs that she liked the idea of it more than what it actually entailed.
Better late than never, she figured, except she was still scoring lower than she wanted a year later. Okay, her scores weren't that bad, but nowhere near what she needed for her preferred schools.
"Good," Natalie lied. "Great even."
Mr G looked doubtful. Natalie shifted on her feet. Was she that transparent?
"I know it can be tiring. A lot of kids burn out around this time. Just make sure you're not falling behind, okay?" Mr G said.
Natalie nodded, wanting to end the conversation as soon as possible.
Mr G stared at her for a moment. She tried to relax her face. He sighed, nodding and waving his fingers, as if shooing her off to her next class. Natalie smiled, tugging her backpack higher and turning, trying not to look like she was sprinting out of his class.
"You've always been a good student Nat," Mr G called after her. "Keep it up! Just a few more months!"
A few more months sounded like too many.
In the hallway, she took a deep breath and walked into her next class, knowing she wouldn't be able to concentrate there either.
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Honestly, it was Leon's fault for showing her the Golden Ring.
It wasn't far. Just a few streets away from her. She could probably walk there. The neighbourhood was pretty safe, and she knew it well.
She sat on her bed. Or really, on the edge of her bed. For the past hour, she had been inching closer and closer to her bedroom window.
It was a stupid idea.
Idiotic.
She was supposed to be studying. She'd spread out her study notes on her bed hours ago. She'd even made herself a cup of peppermint tea and put on a study playlist.
And yet, she couldn't stop thinking about him.
And worse, she knew exactly where to find him.
She kind of hated herself. She couldn't get him off her mind—a stupid boy. She had exams to think about; assignments, homework, her future. She needed to be sensible. How long had she known Leon? She couldn't throw away her dreams for him.
Except now, when she thought about med school, and the UCAT, and her exams—she wanted to just shrivel up.
And when she thought of Leon—she couldn't even describe the feeling he set alight inside of her. It was like she'd swallowed the sun whole and a fire began in her chest, spreading in warm tingles all throughout her body, but better. Better than words could describe.
She deserved it, really.
How many years had she spent studying nonstop? From the second she decided she wanted to be a doctor; she never took a break. Even during school holidays, she'd dedicate hours every day for studying.
She'd suffered years of her life in an all-girl's school with barely any interaction with boys, and here Leon was, ready to shower her in attention.
She deserved attention. A break.
A little rebellion.
Before she knew what she was doing, a jumper was tugged over her head, and she was half out her window.
Now, staring down at the grass beneath her, she was having second thoughts.
Had her room always been this high from the ground? Last time, Leon caught her when she jumped. Now, she was alone.
She glanced back over her shoulder. She could change her mind. Go back inside, to her shelves of textbooks and reference books—all hiding her Ophelia novels. Romance, always her guilty pleasure. Never her reality.
She paused, glancing back down at the grass.
She could do this.
She couldn't keep fantasising about all the things she wanted to do—she needed to do them. She needed to jump.
Natalie swung her other foot over the windowsill and suddenly, she was dangling. All she had to do was hop onto the roof ledge, then jump, and she'd be free.
Swallowing hard, she hopped the half-metre drop from her window to the roof below. She wobbled, the roof tiles unsteady beneath her feet, but she caught herself before she could slip.
No going back now.
Holding her hands out for balance, she crept across the short roof until she reached the edge. It only took her two steps, and then there was only one thing left to do.
Squeezing her eyes shut and holding in a scream, Natalie jumped from the roof.
She felt like she was in the air for a solid ten seconds before she landed on the grass with a quiet thump.
It was softer than she imagined—easier. Maybe she should do this more often. She almost laughed out loud at the thought. She kind of runs away for the first time and suddenly wants to do this on the regular?
Looking towards the living room window, she was pleased to see that the lights were still off.
Now there was really no going back. Mostly because she wasn't sure how she'd climb back up to her bedroom window.
That was a problem for later.
Adjusting her clothes, she stayed low as she practically sprinted to the street. It wasn't until she was around the corner that she felt comfortable enough to straighten up and stop glancing over her shoulder every second, as if she'd see her dad running towards her with a belt.
Natalie lived in a mostly quiet suburb. The only shops she passed that were still open were mostly-empty kebab shops and 7-Elevens. She'd always vaguely thought it was strange that a bar had opened up here of all places.
Now that she knew the truth, about what was hidden beneath the bar, it started to make sense.
In such a quiet neighbourhood—no one would have suspected it.
She trailed down the dimly lit streets, wrapping her arms around herself. She should've changed out of her shorts; this flimsy jumper was far from enough.
If she wasn't looking for it, she might have missed it.
It was already dark, the bar clear of patrons. The front of the bar in general was dark, with black brick walls and barely any streetlights around.
Natalie paused at the door, hesitating for a moment, but she couldn't turn back now. Not when she was this close. Sucking in a deep breath, she pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Immediately, the bartender looked up and met her stare.
Natalie warmed. It was quiet inside, with soft music playing over the speakers.
"I'm just looking for..." she paused, feeling stupid. "I mean, I wanted to..."
The bartender merely lifted a brow at her. He nodded towards the door that she knew lead downstairs.
"He's down there," the man said.
"Oh." Natalie's face felt hot. Of course, he knew exactly who she was looking for. She took a few steps forward, then paused, turning back to the bartender. "Thanks..."
"Lance," the man said, gesturing to himself. "Nice meeting you, Natalie."
Her heart pounded. She almost froze to the spot at the mention of her name. Had Leon told him? It felt like every week she met someone new that inadvertently knew who Natalie was.
"Lance," Natalie finished. She nodded awkwardly and continued to the door, pushing it open. It must have been soundproofed, because immediately, she was hit with a flurry of noise—music, shouting, chatter. She had to pause to take it all in.
The last time she was here, it was empty, just closed for the night.
Clearly, that wasn't the case tonight.
She made her way down the staircase slowly, feeling slightly like an impostor. As she neared the bottom of the stairs, she began to see the crowd.
It was packed.
People filled the room, watching the ring in the centre. Instinctively, Natalie's eyes flicked up to fighters, hoping not to spot Leon's black hair and bronze eyes, but she couldn't see the fighters' faces—not from here, not above the heads of everyone.
Shaking her head, she knew the only way to find Leon was to search through the crowds.
She took a step forward, ready to start looking, when a man stepped in her way. He wore all black and an earpiece, and Natalie instantly recognised him as a security guard.
Natalie was seventeen.
A lump formed in her throat.
She was going to be kicked out.
"ID?" the man asked. He looked her over, a frown deepening as he took in her flimsy outfit—practically pyjamas.
"Umm," Natalie stammered stupidly. She felt hot, all the way to her ears. She couldn't believe she was here. "I'm here with Leon."
She paused. Was she supposed to say his full name? Or was Leon Hughes too much? Was it stupid to be pulling out a name in general? She blinked up at the security guard, trying to figure out what he was thinking.
The man stared down at her, his face stern, and eyes hard. He scrutinised her for an extra second before a smile split across his face.
"Hold on," he said, his voice so deep it cut through the rest of the noise without even trying. "Are you Natalie? Natalie Chen?"
"Um. Yes?"
"Oh, my God! I'm Jeff. Not sure if Leon's mentioned me. I've known the kid since he was, like, ten." The man smiled so widely at her, she felt like she needed to smile back. She tried. He laughed. "Alright, alright. Leon's just inside. Should be near the bar if he's not fighting."
Natalie nodded and muttered an awkward thank you before stumbling into the room. It felt more crowded now that she was inside the room, surrounded by the noise and the sweaty bodies.
She slipped into the throngs of people. It smelled strongly of alcohol and cologne, drowning out the smell of sweat. People cheered around her, entirely invested in the fight that was happening. In the corner, a man stood on a table, passionately commentating on the fight through a microphone—though his voice was so loud, he didn't really need it.
From here, she could see the fighters better. The boxing ring was elevated above the crowd, and when she looked up, she could see a flash of black hair.
Her stomach dropped.
There was no way—did Leon have a fight today? They moved so quick, she could barely catch a glimpse of his face, especially with elbows and heads blocking her view. She tried to listen to the commentary, but it was impossible for her to understand his words—it felt like a whole other language to her.
She needed to get to the front.
She turned, trying to make herself smaller as she squeezed through gaps of people. By the time she reached the front, she felt puffed and sweaty.
It didn't matter. Now she could see.
She turned, about to look up, when someone blocked her view. A man stepped in front of her. He looked older than her, with thick stubble lining his jaw. He also looked strong, like he was a fighter here.
He smiled at her, tilting a glass of amber liquid towards her.
"Hello," he said simply. Natalie blinked. When she didn't reply, he continued.
"What's your name?" he asked. "Are you here alone?"
Her mouth felt dry. She shook her head.
"No?" the man said. He looked around her, then smiled incredulously. "Really? Who are you here with?"
"My friend," she squeaked.
"Friend, huh? And where is this friend?"
Without meaning to, her eyes flicked to the boxing ring.
And now she was close enough. Now she could see.
She could see his beautiful face, surrounded by a thick red headgear and strands of black hair, stuck to his forehead with beads of sweat.
She could see when those golden-brown eyes flickered her way. When they landed on her and grew big. When they landed on the man beside her and grew dark.
Her mouth opened; words caught in her throat. She watched in horror as a fist flew towards him and she almost screamed in warning, but Leon was faster.
He swiped the hand away, ducking to the side without a second thought, and pummelling his own fist at the other man's head—hard. The man staggered, ready to return a blow, but Leon was faster. He followed with a flurry of punches—jabs, Natalie remembered.
If she wasn't so horrified, she'd be impressed. The way Leon fought—it was clear he was trained. And more than that, it was clear he loved it.
And just as his opponent tried to find an opening, Leon hit him, and the man went down.
He hit the floor of the ring and cheers erupted. The man next to Natalie was saying something, but she couldn't pay attention. All she could see was Leon's opponent on the floor, the referee next to him. The commentator was shouting something, and she could hear numbers being called out—a countdown, she thought.
But Leon—he was looking straight at her.
Before the commentator could even reach the number ten, Leon had ripped off his headgear and was ducking under the ropes, heading towards her.
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AUTHOR'S NOTE
Hellooo!! I hope you liked this chapter! I think this one and the next are two of my favourites in this story! Let me know your thoughts and predictions as always and thank you for reading <33