"You're up next, into the ring, Styles!"
Harry nods as he grabs his gloves. There's a loud cheering behind him in the gym and he sighs.
"Payno!"
They're only two, but they're so loud, and Harry notices that 'Payno' guy is a new member. The brunette is literally hopping on his back dragging him down in a sitting position -Payno lost his balance because the other one pushed him from his front as well- and the dark-haired guy sat on his lap.
"What are you two doing here? Catching flies?"
The brunette scoffs, "Can't we hang around our bestie?" Payno rolls his eyes at the wording and the dark-haired guy tries to hold his laughter. "Besides, we're pretty tough, and the gym is our second home" The dark-haired guy nods and his eyes roam around the place.
Harry wouldn't have looked if they weren't loud in the first place, and it's not like they're not attracting other people's attention. But they are, and it took one glance to be hooked. While Payno has obviously the muscles, the two seems not the type at all, having a lean body, and showing no interest in working out.
The dark-haired guy surely has his attention with his big light-brown eyes, and even from a distance, Harry could see his long lashes. Probably make up, because the way his eye is shaped shows a thin line of black around his eyes.
"Well, whatever, do what you please, but leave me be" Payno says, clearly annoyed by their presence, and Harry doesn't blame him.
The dark-haired guy turns in his lap and gasps, in a way Harry could tell it's so fake, but he can't see his eyes widening from this angle, but he can only guess his already big eyes getting bigger, similar to a deer. He stands up grabbing the brunette arms and pulls him towards himself, "Come on, Tommo. We're too good for him anyway" They enter the boxing area and immediately rush to one punching bag, grabbing two pairs of gloves. They look like the irritating type. The 'having fun pissing others' type, but they have the looks that make people watch while they do whatever, and definitely the voice to alarm people of their presence.
Harry shakes his head when his name is called again and turns to get inside the ring. His trainer is standing outside, while his opponent, a fellow boxer, gets in as well. He wins the first round, then the second and the third, watching as his trainer sends him an approving nod and calling for another opponent. Someone shouts, saying that he's Harry's next opponent and Harry turns to find 'Payno' is the one.
The other two is soon by his side with amusing grins on their faces that Harry wonders if they're mocking him or Payno.
"Boxing? You're going to be disqualified by your first move" The brunette, or Tommo as he was called earlier, calls after him as he and the other guy lean on the ring.
Payno rolls his eyes, "I know the rules" he counters as he steps in through the ropes and gets in a starting position.
Harry focuses on his opponent instead of the two standing by the ring. Payno doesn't break any rules, and he's clearly done this before, judging by how he throws his punches and evades Harry's own. But something seems off, he curses sometimes when his eyes dark, like he wants to do an illegal move, but doesn't. And Harry wins the first round.
Payno groans as he hears two familiar voices of laughter near the ring but focuses on Harry again. Harry wins the second and the third round too. Normally, it's just training for Harry, and he doesn't do the full twelve rounds, just follows the amateur rules, but Payno seems pissed and he calls for another round. Harry shrugs and goes for it. He wins again.
Payno curses under his breath again as he leaves the ring, and Harry does as well. They haven't at least shaken hands, and he doesn't want to seem rude. Besides, the Payno guy seems to have something holding him back from using his full strength.
"Aw ... It's alright, buddy" the dark-haired guy approaches him, but he sounds anything but genuine. It's a sarcastic tone, as Tommo still keeps his grin.
"You're new. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get better" Harry offers a smile and extends his hand, "I'm Harry" That gets all three to look at him. Payno doesn't accept his hand so he drops it to his side. Payno is glaring at him, while the other two look between him and Harry in silence.
"Sorry, he's a dick sometimes" The dark-haired guy turns to him.
"All the time" Tommo corrects for him and they both share a look with smug smiles.
"Sorry" the dark-haired guy repeats with a much softer tone, "I'm Zayn. This one here is Louis" he points towards Tommo, "and this big guy here is our lovely Liam" he grins at Liam then turns back to Harry and whispers, "He's at that time of the month-" but he doesn't get to complete his sentence before a hand covers his mouth and he's dragged back by Liam.
"It's true!" Louis shouts from behind him and Liam turns to glare at him as well as Zayn slips away. He joins Louis and pushes Liam outside.
"See Ya!" Zayn shouts as they continue to push a grumpy Liam outside.
If they planned to make a scene, they surely succeeded at that.
=====
"There's this tournament coming. It would be a bang! Think about the amount of money you'd win from it!"
"I'm heading for it" Harry nods as he opens the door to the restaurant.
"If you're lucky enough, you might attract some sponsors, and your name will hit the top!"
Harry is about to reply when he hears familiar loud voices filling his ears. His friend, Mike, looking confused and annoyed at the same time.
"Honestly, this restaurant is close to the campus. Can't they consider that there might be people who come here for peace? We can't even hold a proper conversation without being distracted"
Harry turns his head to look at them. Zayn and Louis are sitting in the corner, with six others around the table, all loud like them two. They appear to be having fun, annoying everyone else, like they intend to. But they're not kicked out, and Harry wonders why.
"Harry!" A shout from Louis once he noticed him causes him to freeze, as Louis stumbles on the table instead of passing like normal people and he approaches him with a wide grin. Mike raises his eyebrows at him and Harry mouths 'gym' to him. He told him about the three, and he nods slowly, turning his gaze to land on Louis once he's at their table, sliding on an empty space.
Harry smiles, politely, instead of groaning and asking Louis to quieten down and allow people to enjoy their time at the little restaurant. Or pretend that he doesn't acknowledge his existence at all, but he isn't rude, so he nods at Louis once.
"Haven't seen you here before, mate!" Louis' voice is still loud and annoying, but quieter than before. Might be his nature, Harry doesn't care.
"Would say the same about you" Harry would have noticed. He can't not to.
Louis shrugs and turns his head towards his table, Zayn catches his eyes and gets up, the same way Louis did, but with much ease, landing on the floor after a jump and sliding next to Louis with a smile similar to Louis. Harry can't tell if it's plastered or if it's genuine, and he'd judge normally from the person's eyes, but from a close distance, he can see Zayn's eyes clearly, and he stares. He's not wearing make-up, his eye shape is just pretty natural surrounded by heavy lashes. And the color seems to turn to amber as the sunrays land on them, almost golden yellow. Harry never thought someone's eyes might actually sparkle, but Zayn's do.
"Hey" Zayn says in a quiet voice as he greets both Harry and Mike. Well, at least one of them can be quiet. Mike nods at his direction and opens the menu instead of the awkward silence.
"Well, we normally don't mingle with the bookworms" Louis says making Zayn narrow his eyes at his direction. "This place is often crowded by disgusting fraternity students" he pauses. "You're not one of them, are you?"
"No ... But-" Harry replies but Louis cuts him off.
"Good" he smiles widely again turning to Mike who shakes his head and looks up from the menu. Harry is actually applying with Mike this year, they're majoring in different subjects, but at the same university. He's actually annoyed at Louis' behavior.
"You don't seem to be that old" Mike speaks up, they're a few years behind themselves, and he may have regretted it, since not all people can afford going to a collage, but the two sitting with them are annoying as hell, and if he can get them to leave, he will.
"We're too good for this shit" Louis says with a wave of his hand and Zayn turns to him with an amused expression. "Anyway!" he says louder, "It was a pleasure seeing you here!" he turns to Harry.
"Same" Even if he doesn't mean it, Harry still says it.
Louis smiles widely again and gets up with Zayn. Mike sighs as they leave, but soon groans when he finds Zayn walking backwards until he reaches them again. He doesn't sit, just places a hand on Harry's shoulder and leans in.
"There's a party with our friends tonight, if you wanna come" he says quietly. "Liam has been an ass, but he's normally not. And since you're going to be gym buddies, I suggest that you get to know him better?" Zayn's close, and Harry would count his lashes if there weren't too many of them together, his eyes taking a chocolate brown color away from the light and Harry can't not stare. He's too caught up to come with a reply and he's glad when Zayn continues, "And since we're his friends, you'd see us along too, so we can all get to know each other" he leans back, straightening up and waiting for a reply.
"Sure" Harry agrees quickly before he says anything about Zayn's cheekbones or probably sing a whole song about Zayn's eyes alone. Zayn smiles widely pulling a pen out of his pocket and writing an address on a napkin.
"I'll wait for you then" he winks as he walks away, and Harry doesn't miss on how he chose to replace 'we' with 'I'. Zayn was flirting.
"What. Was that. About?" Mike raises an eyebrow at him but Harry shrugs him off.
=====
"Dude, The hell is this place?" Mike frowns as they come across a building near a deserted area. It's the right address, but it feels wrong. Harry continues to move forward until they reach the said building. There's a man outside, a bodyguard obviously, and they both wonder if this is some sort of an underground club.
"Your names?" The man requires.
"Harry styles, and this is Mi-"
"Get in" the man says after Harry introduces himself and they both exchange a glance before walking inside.
"Well ... I don't feel easy about this" Mike mumbles as they hear loud noises coming from a specific door and they enter it.
Inside, it looks like an underground fighting arena. Two people are inside the ring, surrounded by a cage.
"See! I told you!" Mike shouts at him over the crowd's loud voice.
Harry spots Zayn, or Zayn spots him first, because he runs towards him with a big smile on his face. "You came!"
Harry's brows are knitted together and Zayn rolls his eyes, reaching to grab Harry's arm to lead him away from the arena and into a quieter room while Mike is following behind.
"Not what you expected, yeah?" Zayn turns to him with an amused grin. "I assure you you'd still have a good time. There's normally a celebration after the fights are over" he walks closer to Harry, breaking any private space boundary, "And the lights are down" he whispers. His eyes trail from Harry's lips to land on his eyes again, and Harry could swear Zayn's eyes are changing colors. The dim lights are making his eyes turn whisky-colored, and he notices a small brown freckle in one of his eyes as well.
Harry doesn't react though, doesn't let his hands roam or even his body shift. He stands still watching Zayn's actions when he steps back and turns his head towards the door.
"If it isn't the famous Harry Styles!" Harry turns as well to find Liam approaching him. "Let's get straight to the subject. I demand a re-match ... My rules this time" he says in a deep voice once he is stood in front of him and Harry should say no, go home, and never interact with these people again. "Or are you terrified?" Liam leans back with a smirk, "Afraid that people would call you a chicken if you walked away now?"
Harry huffs a laugh, "I'm not afraid of you" Liam cocks an eyebrows. "Fine. You're on"
Mike's eyes widen, "Are you crazy?" Liam smirks and walks away while Mike approaches him, "This is illegal! And you don't even have to accept that!"
"Do you want me to accompany you to your seat?" Zayn offers from his place next to Harry.
Mike glares at him and turns back to Harry, "Harry. Don't"
"It's not a disadvantage. If you win you can gather a good amount of money" Mike turns to glare at Zayn again when he speaks up. He's sure they got all of this planned. Very well. "Stay or leave, your choice" Zayn directs his words towards Mike and then turns to Harry, "Let's go, champ"
"Lead the way" Harry doesn't let Zayn touch him this time and the latter doesn't seem to be bothered by it as he simply walks outside the room, "So this was your intention all along? Getting me back for Liam's sake?"
Zayn stops and turns to him with a smirk. There's something dangerous in the way he walks back to Harry as his eyes flashes with another thing that Harry doesn't like.
"You want to know my intentions?" he whispers as a finger comes up to Harry's chin. It's a light touch, he's not pressing, merely brushing the skin, then actually touches as he trails it down to Harry's shirt. "Let's just say it's yours as well" his eyes snap back to Harry's.
Harry raises an eyebrow, "Oh, please. Don't act innocent" Zayn continues, still in a quiet voice, not a whisper, but a bit louder, "You win, you get the money, and your prize"
"Forever?"
Zayn blinks, "For a night" he drags slowly.
Harry takes a step forward, "Not enough"
Zayn takes a step backward, and inside the small hallway, he's coming close to the wall. "That's all you get from me. And you will fight for it"
"I'm fighting for myself. You're just a bonus"
Zayn pauses for a second, looking up at Harry through his lashes. "Cocky" he mutters making Harry smirk. In the next second he's fisting his hand in Harry's shirt and his lips slam into Harry's, and Harry would lie if he said he didn't like it. And he's had enough of holding back, if Zayn is willing to give, he'd take. One of his thighs goes between Zayn's legs and he backs him against the wall, kissing back just as hard, with both hands gripping at Zayn's sides.
Zayn pushes him back and slips away quickly, smirking and licking his lips slowly, "Well ... You get your bonus after you win" he starts walking backwards towards the arena, "But that if you win" Harry straightens up licking his own lips, enjoying the taste of what they just had. He decides he wants more, even if it's a one-time thing, but Zayn is fit and beautiful, and he won't say no. "Which you won't" Zayn's words get him out of his fantasies and he blinks. "You'll lose" his smirk grows and he continues walking towards the cage, where Liam is waiting for him.
Zayn might think that he's only good at boxing, and that won't be enough for a proper fight. But he'll prove to him that he's dead wrong.
Once he approaches the cage he takes his shirt off along with his shoes. Zayn takes them but Mike quickly snatches them away from him. He rolls his shoulders and cracks his neck. Might as well put on a show for what Zayn would have after he wins. Zayn rolls his eyes at him and walks away with Louis until they're far enough from the cage, but still close to watch.
A man opens the cage for them to enter and explain to him that he's allowed to do whatever he wants, it's only one round, and whoever goes limp or surrenders first is declared the loser. Death isn't an option, but injuries are normal. Harry could still hear Mike's shouting for him to drop it but he feels excited.
The cage close and the fight begins.
They move around each other at first, observing what the other might do, until Liam breaks it and goes for a quick punch. If Harry's allowed to do whatever, he's ready to test his abilities. He ducks and goes for a kick that stumbles Liam backwards, just in time to evade it. But Harry's quick, and he doesn't waste time as he lands a strong punch towards Liam's face. Another and another punch knocks Liam against the cage until Liam kicks him in his stomach.
Liam spits blood, sporting an obvious broken nose, as he jumps on Harry again. But again, Harry is quick, and he takes a step backward. Liam's eyes are dark and predatory and they probably match Harry's, but Harry could feel the adrenaline rushing through his body. It's something new, all those people that starting to cheer him instead of Liam as they go on, which makes Liam angrier by the second. And really, it's another advantage for Harry, if Liam can't control his emotions, he's done for.
Harry manages to hold Liam on the ground as the latter seems already out of it and he leans in with a smirk, "Who's a weak chicken now?" Liam quickly goes for Harry's face but the latter leans away, holding Liam's hands and pushing him down again. Liam's eyes dart outside the cage and he smirks once he turns back to Harry.
Harry isn't biting the bait, and he continues his assault on Liam until he passes out or begs for surrender. Liam's body go limp under him and he stops, leaning back. He finally allows his gaze to go up and away from Liam, into the crowd cheering for him, and there's a man ready to announce him a winner when his eyes stop at a familiar figure.
Zayn. But he's not alone, he's sitting on Louis' lap, with his head tilted back, and Louis' face in his neck, hands in his pants as Zayn arches his body forward. He is sure he's moaning, but he doesn't hear it, and soon, Louis is flipping him on the bench and taking his pants off. Harry doesn't have to see the rest to know they're having sex, but he also doesn't get to see it as Liam hits him with a surprise punch that startles him backwards.
Liam pushes him off and punches hard at everywhere he desires, making Harry wonder if there are places that shouldn't be allowed to hit, because fuck, Liam is strong, and he caught him unguarded. It's his fault for being distracted so easily, but Zayn is distracting him and he's glad he didn't look up since the fight started because he's sure he'd be long gone by now.
He manages to gather his strength back and pushes Liam off him with a few punches and kicks of his own. They both pant heavily, with blood covering their faces and bruises spread over their bodies. There's a moment when they stare at each other and the crows goes still in anticipation. Far away, there's a tiny voice that makes him dart his eyes for merely a second, but that all what it takes for Liam to launch forward, knocking him down and manages to strangle him, which again, Harry doesn't think is legal.
There's another moment when he can't breathe and he shuts his eyes leaning his head back. And his body is not in a condition to get up anymore.
Another moment of silence then he hears it.
"Ladies and gentlemen! The winner is Payne!"
Fuck. He lost.
He slowly brings an arm up to cover his face until he manages to get up and walk outside the cage. Mike is there with an angry look on his face, but also a sympathetic and a worried one. He grabs his shirt and Mike helps him with his shoes. One thing he's glad of, is that not many people are looking at him, and he makes his way to the exit when Zayn shows up, adjusting his hair back, obviously they're done now.
"Well, Champ. Guess you'd have your bonus next time"
Next time.
Zayn's face softens when he approaches him, both hands behind his back, "Sorry" it sounds like the first time they met. Zayn looking up at him with a soft face muttering a quiet apology, and he curses himself for not being able to glare down at those beautiful big eyes.
Harry is an idiot. He realizes that much when he allows Zayn to move even closer to him, shutting all those noises around him as he brings his lips softly to Harry's, and Harry closes his eyes.
He is an idiot.
Because the next thing he knows, Zayn is jumping away and laughing so hard at him as something sticky falls on his head.
"Tommo!" Zayn shouts when he's done laughing, "Take me home!" he lets his weight shift back on Louis as the latter wraps his arms around his waist with a smirk of his own. Zayn doesn't break the eye contact until he's out of the door.
Zayn knew, that Harry would look and lose. He told him that much. They planned this from the very first moment those three got inside the gym.
They're just catching flies.
=====
A/N
Did I say I won't start another fic? Shit.
Well, to justify myself, Mistaken is only missing an epilogue that would be posted soon, so it's not like anything has changed, just replacing one with another ... ehm.
I hope you like this one!