The room screamed that he did not belong. He looked around the room, the stairs were falling apart, the ecstatic crowd were standing shoulder to shoulder, the air was filled a mixture of sweat, blood and mold. Voices were jumbled together as they yelled names and numbers back and forth, their arms flailed about, they exchanged money along with gestures to communicate over the noise of the room. They squeezed through the crowd, following close behind his best friend.
"Make sure you keep your cash in your wallet, Ash" Amber called to him, her smile gleaming in the dim light.
"Stay close! It will get even worse once it starts!" Brad yelled over the noise. Amber bragged onto Brad's arm and then turned to grab his as brad started to lead them through the sea of people.
The sharp bleating of a bullhorn cuts through the air. The noise startled him, and he had jumped in reaction, looking around for where it came from. Then he saw a man standing on a folding chair holding a handful of cash in one hand with the bullhorn in his other. He puts the end of the horn at his mouth.
"Welcome to the bloodbath! If you are looking for Reading 101..you are in the wrong fucking place, my friend! If you seek the Circle, here it is! My name is Daniel. I make the rules and I call the fights. So betting ends once the opponents are on the floor. Also no touching the fighter, no assistance, no bet switching, and no encroachment of the ring. If you break any of these rules you will get the piss beat out of you and you will be thrown out on your ass without your money, and that includes you too ladies! So don't use your hoes to scam the system, boys!"
Brad shook his head "Jesus, Daniel!" he yelled to him over the noise, clearly not liking his friend's choice of words.
Ashton's heart pounded in his chest. He had his light blue sweater on with a pair of nice bracelets on his wrists, he began to feel out of place. He had promised Amber that he could handle whatever they stumbled upon, but at the moment he felt the urge to grip her arm with both hands. She would not have put him into any danger, but being in a basement filled with fifty or so drunk college boys intent on seeing bloodshed, he wasn't exactly confident about their chances of leaving the place unharmed.
After Amber had met Brad at Freshman orientation, she began to frequently follow along with him to the secret fights held in different basemeant's of Northern university. Each of the fights were hosted in a different spot each time, and kept a secret till an hour before the fight.
Because he ran in a somewhat tamer crowd of circles, he was surprised to learn of the underground world of Northern; but Brad knew all about it even before he was enrolled. Luke, Brad's roommate and cousin, had entered his first fight seven months before. He heard that Luke as a freshman was the most lethal fighter Daniel had even seen in the four years since creating that circle. Beginning of sophomore year, Luke was unbeatable. Together Luke and Brad paid their rent and bills easily with the winnings.
Dan brought the bullhorn to his mouth again, and that made the yelling and movement in the feverish place escalate.
"Tonight we have a new challenger! Eastern's varsity wrestler, Tommy young!"
The cheering grew louder, and the crowd parted and Tommy entered the room. Once entering a circular space cleared for him to enter, the crowd whistled, booed, and taunted him. He began to jump up and down while moving his neck back and forth, his face severe and focused.
The crowd began to quiet down to a dull roar, and ashton's hands shot to his ears when music began to blare through very large speakers across the room.
"Our next fighter really doesn't need a introduction only because he scares the living shit out of me, I'll give him one, anyway! Shake in your shoes, boys, and drop your panties, Ladies! I give you! Luke 'Killer' Hemmings"
The volume of the room seem to have exploded when Luke stood in an entrance. He walked into the wing slower than Tommy had, he looked around, he was shirtless, relaxed, and seeming unaffected. He strolled into the center of the circle as if it was a routine, like he was showing up for another day at work. Lean muscles stretched under his skin as he gave Tommy a fist pump. Luke leaned forward to whisper into Tommy's ear, and the wrestler struggled to keep his stern expression. Tommy moved to stand toe-to-toe with Luke, they both look directly into each other's eyes. Tommy's expression was murderous looking; Luke look mildly amused.
The men took a few steps back, then Daniel sounded a horn. Tommy took a defensive stance, and Luke attacked. Ashton stood on his tiptoes when he lost his line of sight, leaning from side to side to get a better view. He inched his way up, beginning to slide through the screaming crowd. Elbows began to jab into his sides, and shoulders rammed into him, bouncing him back and forth like a pinball. After all the pushing the tops of the fighters heads came visible to him, so he continued to push his way forward.
When he finally reached the front, tommy grabbed Luke with his big thick arms and then tried to throw Luke to the ground. Then as Tommy leaned down with the motion, Luke rammed his knee into Tommy's face. Before Tommy could shake off the blow, Luke went at him, his fists making contact with tommy's bloodied face over and over.
Five fingers grabbed onto his arm and he jerked back.
"What the hell are you doing. Ash?" Brad said.
"I can't see from back there!" He called to him.
He turned just in time to see Tomy land a solid punch. Luke turned, and for a moment Ashton thought he had dodged another blow, but he made a complete circle, his elbow crashing right into the center of Tommy's nose. Blood sprayed his face, and the front of his sweater. Tommy fell to the floor with a loud thud, then there was a moment of complete silence.
Daniel threw a maroon square of fabric onto Tommy's limp body, and the room roared with yelling. Cash changed hands once again, and the expressions on the faces were some of frustration and some with smug ones. Ashton was pushed around with the movement of people coming and going. Amber was calling his name from somewhere in the back, but he was still enchanted by the trail of red from his chest to his waist.
A pair of heavy grey boots steeped in front of him, diverting his attention to the floor. His eyes then travel upwards; Black jeans with tears and dark wet spots, probably blood from the fight, a set of chiseled abs, a bare chest drenched in sweat, messy blond hair matted to his forehead, and a pair of warm blue eyes. Ashton was shoved behind, and Luke caught him by the arm before he fell forward.
"Hey! Back off him!" Luke frowned, shoving anyone who came near Ashton. His stern expression on his face melted into a smile at the sight of his sweater, and he dabbed at his face with a towel. "Sorry about that, Pidgeon"
Dan patted the back of Luke's head. "C'mon Killer! You have some dough waiting on ya!"
Luke's eyes did not stray away from Ashton's "It's a damn shame about the sweater. It looks good on you" Then in the next few moments he was engulfed by fans, and disappearing the way he came.
"What were you thinking, you idiot" Amber yelled, yanking his arm.
"I came here to see a fight, didn't I?" He said, smiling.
"You aren't even supposed to be here, ash," Brad scolded.
"Neither is Amber," He fired back.
"She doesn't try to jump in the circle!" He frowned "Let's go"
Amber smiled at him, then wiped his face. "You are such a pain in the ass, Ashton. God, I love you" She then hooked her arm his neck, and they made their way up the stairs into the night.
Amber followed him to his dorm and then sneered at his roommate, Will. Ashton immediately peeled off the bloody sweater, throwing it into the laundry basket.
"Gross where have you been?" Will asked from his bed.
He looked over at Amber, who shrugged "Nosebleed. You haven't seen one of AShton's famous nosebleeds?"
Will pushed up his glasses while shaking his head "no"
"Oh. You will" She winked at him then shut the door behind her. Then less than a minute later, his cell phone chimed. Per her usual, amber texting him seconds after they had said goodbye.
I won't be at my dorm, staying with Brad c u 2morow Ring King
Ashton peeked over at Will, who watched him as if his nose would gush at any moment.
"She was kidding" he sia.
Will nodded still indifferent, then looked down to the mess of books on his bedspread.
"I guess I'll get a shower," He said, grabbing a towel and his shower bag.
"I'll alert the media," Will deadpanned, keeping his head down at his books.