This is the updated chapter. :) i really hope you guys enjoy reading. Please like, comment and share. I would really appreciate it haha thank you :)
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I studied the man before me. He had flowing blond hair and his eyes were piercing blue. He was lean, with perfectly toned muscles that were outlined by his thin black shirt which was covered by a black leather jacket. His face was hidden behind a green mask with golden lines streaking across it, a mask that covered the whole of his face but his eyes.
I frowned behind the safety of my mask.
He looked oddly familiar but I couldn't make out the face behind the mask. I tried to take in his scent, the musk a familiar one yet I could not make out who he was exactly. I could tell from the way his eyes were scanning me, that he too was trying to make out who I was.After all, not many fighters that came to the Ring wore masks.
The design on my mask was made specifically to reflect my soul. White with purple vine like lines that curved from the top left hand corner of the mask to the bottom corner. White to show innocence that was tainted by purple to show menace, hatred and the darkness that coiled within me, waiting to break free.
"Angel,"Gary said, snapping me out form my daze. "Your knuckles are bleeding."
I looked at him confused for a moment before feeling a stinging pain from my hand. Slightly shocked by the sudden feeling of pain, I looked down at my hand and found that my knuckles were indeed bleeding. I just shot him a wary look and shook my hand a little.
"Oh,it's just a scratch," I said dismissively, waving away his concern.
At my reply, the man's eyes twinkled behind his mask and I could picture him smirking. He was leaning lazily against the frame of the door,his arms crossed over his chest. His gaze locked with mine and I felt a strange sensation course through me. I shivered and sent him a glare, telling him without words that he'd better not be staying around too long. The man made me feel strangely uncomfortable, when I rarely felt any reaction towards a man.
Gary cleared his throat clearly sensing the rising tension in the room.
"Angel,this is the guy you'll be fighting against this Saturday."
I looked at him again and just shrugged casually. It wasn't a big deal.Whoever it was, I would smash him down and claim my victory. The man,I noticed, was seemingly upset at my reaction. I watched as his eyes narrowed. He looked at me up and down, his eyes blazing a challenge while he sized me up. And if I knew better, the tension in the room shot up a notch.
My nerves sizzled at the challenge and I glared at him, unhappy that he would behave in such a brash manner when he clearly was a new comer.The darkness within me swirled, rising to meet his challenge. I clenched my hand, the blood making it slick and sticky. It was a tactile reminder that I could not afford to show any weakness to anyone. We continued to stare each other down, neither of us willing to back down, his blue eyes against mine, until Gary gave and exasperated sigh and jerked his thumb towards the ring.
"Settle it there will you?"he ordered, alternating glares between me and the new comer, before storming out of the room with the bunch of kids trailing behind him.
I sighed, upset that I had reacted in such a child like manner towards his obvious provocation and turned around to prepare for the upcoming fight.
....
And that was how I ended up in the ring with Havoc. There weren't many people like there was on Saturday but I didn't mind. I didn't fight for the crowd but I had to contribute to the Ring if I wanted to continue coming without having a guilty conscience. The man had taken to wear a singlet and even I had to admit that he was a beautiful specimen of the male species.
"Let the fight...begin!"
The moment the bell went off, I proceeded to sit cross-legged on the floor. I heard Gary cough and an involuntary smirk found its way to my face. He definitely knew what I was up to.
Havoc was still for a moment, obviously taken aback by the sudden unexpected move. Here in the Ring, it doesn't matter what style you use as long as you win and of course within the legal safety requirements. I felt him circle me, trying to decipher what I was doing. Closing my eyes, I let the air come and go from my body slowly. The intense feelings of pain and anger swirled within me and my muscles coiled for action. The impending storm within me continued to brew and I focused my energy on controlling it, bending it to my will, harnessing its intensity to fuel the burning inferno within me.
I had perfected this technique to control and harness my emotions to prevent myself from going insane. It proved especially useful when I wanted nothing more than to end a fight swiftly with maximum pain.After all, it was unwise to control something that should not be controlled in the first place. The danger of the emotions losing control was high, that was why it had to be released fast.
All of a sudden, I felt a blow coming towards me from my left. In the state I was in, everything around me moved in slow motion. Simply leaning forward, I effectively dodged the attack to my head. The blow flew past me and I felt the after impact of the movement. I was surprised by the speed and power he had but it took a lot more that a simple move to impress me.
Almost immediately following the first attack, I felt a blow coming towards me from the bottom. I pushed myself up with my arms and did a back flip before sitting back down in my original position; relaxed with my legs crossed and my eyes closed.
I heard him growl in frustration and I felt a kick came from my left that I easily dodged, which was quickly followed by a punch to my right. I sighed and caught his fist before it hit me. To fight with anger loosely was not a wise choice because it made your moves really transparent. Having had enough of such a pointless fight, I opened my eyes and brought the force of my gaze to his face. My eyes widened in surprise as I took in the look in his eyes. They were filled with such turbulence that it shook me to the core. The intensity shook me when I had not been shaken by anyone before. Who was this guy?
I tightened my hold on his fists as he tried to jerk it away, trying to tell him without words that I had the upper hand. His eyes lit up in surprise but they never loss the fire within them. Instead, I could smell his blood lust intensifying. Not wanting the fight to drag on any longer, I lifted my mask up a faction and licked the blood off my knuckles, still holding his gaze. I saw his gaze revert to my mouth;his eyes followed the movement of my tongue as it skimmed across my knuckles.
I took full advantage of his distraction, taking him out from bellow,kicking his knees out from under him. He didn't even have time to groan before I drove an uppercut up his face. I heard his grunt but I didn't stop there, I backed him to the edge of the ring with a series of kicks and was just about to punch his face before I felt hands closing around my wrist.
"Angel, enough," Gary said, looking worriedly at me.
I looked down at Havoc, who had his chin held high, waiting for defeat.His gaze locked with mine and everything stopped. They were a pool of deep blue that had me drowning. I gulped and made an effort to reigned in my blood lust. I felt myself shudder from the aftermath of my blood lust that still coursed thickly though my veins, the pain from before intensifying.
I instantly got off form straddling his hips and hugged my hand to my chest. The pain from my skinned knuckles pulsed against my rapidly beating heart, the combination causing the intoxicating rush of adrenaline to abate from my system. It was then that I noticed the cut at the corner of his head where his mask had been chipped off and cut him. I gulped as guilt washed over me.
"Sorry,"I mumbled. "I should have gone easier on you."
Hesitantly,I offered him my non-bloody hand. It was the least I could do for treating him like a punching bag. He looked at me, holding himself father away from me, obviously expecting me to take the opportunity to finish him off. I blushed at him furiously at his obvious rejection to the idea of my help. The feeling of guilt intensified and I scowled at him behind my mask.
"If you don't want it then say so," I growled, pulling my hand back.
But before I could move back and away from him, he grabbed my hand,effectively halting me.
"No.I'm sorry," he said, gripping my hand harder. "Could you please help me up?"
My eyes widened. I didn't expect him to speak. His voice was deep and it vibrated throughout my body, the deep and mellow sound was like music to my ears. His blue eyes captured mine as I hauled him to his feet. I frowned, wary of my strange reaction to him. His grip was very strong and I thought for a moment that without my speed and the fact that he was distracted, he probably could have knocked me out cold.
Havoc swayed on his feet before leaning heavily against me. I glanced at him from the corner of my eye, worried that I had caused him a serious injury on his first day. I watched as he shook his head, the strands of his hair falling across his mask.
"Who apologizes to their opponent anyway?" he asked suddenly, shaking his head in amusement.
I couldn't help but agree with him. I coughed to hide the sudden laughter that bubbled up from inside me and turned my head away,leading him towards the locker room. It really was a silly gesture.
I took a rag from inside my locker and wet it before returning to Havoc who was sprawled on one of the benches, his arm covering his eyes. I paused for a moment, unsure of what to do. I still felt guilty for hurting a newcomer though so I forced my pride aside and sat beside his head and gingerly began to dab on the wound on his forehead. It was probably cause by the chipped mask, I thought as I absent-mindedly dabbed at the wound to clean away the blood. Reaching for the medical kit beside me, I finished off by taping gauze to his wound, ensuring that it was clean and covered up. Satisfied with my work, I dusted my hands on my jeans and heaved myself up.
But before I could take a step, I felt my wrist being trapped in a vice grip. I looked down to see Havoc looking up at me his blue eyes shining.
"Thanks,"he said, our gazes locking together.
I blushed under the intensity of his gaze and tugged at my wrist.
"No problem," I mumbled, trying surreptitiously to tug my hand away from him.
I started to protest as he sat up with a groan but he silenced me by bringing my wounded knuckles to his lips, well the lips of his mask.I froze. He looked at my rigid demeanour and stoked my hair that had fallen around my face from the fight.
"I'm not going to hurt you," he said taking bandage and antiseptic from the medical kit, still retaining possession of my hand.
I couldn't get words out of my mouth, still stunned from the gesture.I sat down mutely in front of him as he started to apply the antiseptic to my wound and bandaging it with the utmost care.
"There,"he said, tucking the bandage to keep it secure. "All finished."
I didn't answer him, just sat that and stared at him. His thumb was rubbing circles on the underside of my hand. My brain told me to cut all physical contact with this stranger but the foreign action felt soothing and...nice.
"I didn't expect to lose to a girl," he commented, rubbing his jaw.
I heard him take in a sharp breath and I quickly pulled his hand away from his jaw. I leaned forward and turned his face, this way and that, trying to inspect for any damage. I had enough respect to not ask him to remove his mask. Maybe he had the same reasons that I did to hide his identity. If so, the more I shouldn't ask.
I kept my touch soft in case there really was an injury. Relieved that there was no broken jaw, just a bruise which I applied ailment to sooth the pain. I smiled to myself, glad that I didn't hurt him too badly. When I looked up, I caught him staring at me and both of us quickly averted our gazes away from each other.
"Bad luck I guess," I mumbled and stood up to wash my hands feeling awkward.
I heard him clear his throat and an awkward silence filled the room. I dried my hands with a cloth, careful not to jar my injury.
"Angel."
Gary's voice startled me and I turned to face him. He looked at me for a moment before striding into the room and enveloping me in a bear hug.
"Gary?"
He pulled away and ruffled my hair. His eyes were twinkling with something I hadn't seen before.
"It's three. You better get moving," he said.
I nodded and packed up my things, stuffing them into my knapsack. I was about to remove my mask before realising that Havoc was still in the room. He was looking at me expectantly, no doubt waiting for me to remove my mask. I scowled at him behind the safety of my mask.
"Um...see ya," I said, throwing a wave over my shoulder as I walked out.
"Wait,"he called out, capturing my hand within his. "Will I see you again?"
I frowned, confused as to why he would ask such a strange question. Why would he care?I looked into his eyes and felt his hand squeezing mine gently, a silent reprimand for taking so long to answer. My heart stuttered.
"Um...yes," I answered slowly.
I watched as his eyes softened at my hesitant answer. I gently tugged my hand from his, scared of the strange heat that was coursing through my veins from his touch. I stepped back, cradling my hand to my chest. I looked into his eyes and felt a strange feeling flow over me. I felt like I was drowning in his eyes. His sapphire eyes that burned its way into my soul.
A sudden clang broke the comfortable haze that had settled in between us. Clearing my throat, I reached out slowly to touch his gauze lightly.
"Take care," I whispered.
With that, I strode out of the Ring, saying my good byes on the way out.An unexpected smile made its way to my lips as the night air hit me.That was unexpectedly fun. The thought made me laugh lightly.
As I ran home, I took off my mask and stuffed it into my bag. In a way,I was glad to have met the mysterious Havoc. I felt that I had finally met someone who who actually stand a fighting chance to take me down. With a little training, I bet he could become great.
The next day, I woke up early as usual to fix breakfast for everyone. The twins were still in bed and Fiona was no exception. I hummed to myself as I heated up the frying pan to cook the pancakes. Setting plates and cutleries on the table, I turned to make a pot of coffee that no doubt all three would be scrambling after when they woke up.
"Hey."
Startled,I whirled around to find Mike standing groggily at the threshold of the kitchen. He was rubbing his eyes and his hair was all tousled up.His shirt was off and I could see the subtle presence of muscle beneath all that pale skin. He could be described as those typical bartenders with a nose that was slightly sharp and eyes that were grey, lips that were perfectly cut and a certain swagger when he walked.
"Wattayadoing so early in the morning?"
He seated himself on one of the kitchen chairs, his head propped up by his hand as he continued to look at me. His eyes were now bright and focused, looking at me from head to toe.
"Preparing breakfast," I replied flippantly, although I was keeping my guard up. I didn't know him so well. He seemed like a shady character,after all, he was acquainted with Fiona.
"Hmm..."was all he said before standing up and making his way slowly towards me.
I steeled myself. His hands were skimming the tabled top, his gaze fastened to mine. I did not show him fear but instead, I tried staring him down, my gaze cold and relentless. He paused for a moment, his eyes scanning my face.
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