I can smell your fear
The only reason that I'm here
Is to wreak havoc
Everybody prayin' that I'll change, yeah
Maybe one day but tomorrow
I'll be back at it
-Wreak Havoc
-Skylar Grey
•••••
"Hey, I also said that!" I exclaimed.
"When?" Dylan asked.
Oh you know, I was just having a conversation with myself. Totally normal.
"I meant, I thought of that."
Dylan shook his head and asked, "So about your enemy..."
"Don't worry Dylan, he's not a threat. It's not a big deal."
Dylan kept quite for an extremely long time keeping his face expressionless.
I chewed on the inside of my cheek to prevent myself from yelling at him to say something.
"He! You made an enemy that's a guy?" Dylan yelled.
"What's the difference if my enemy was a girl?"
Dylan rolled his eyes at my idiocy, "Riley, we don't know who he's got as spies to find you. We don't know if he's found you yet either. If you made an enemy that's a girl there's a less chance of her ever coming in contact with him or being a spy because he never includes girls in his gang. Now a guy on the other hand..."
I pondered over Dylan's theory.
"You've got a point, but then it would mean that any guy could be his spy anywhere, anytime so anyone could be watching me and reporting back to him. Whether my enemy is a guy or girl doesn't make any difference."
"Motive. Your enemy has a motive to tell him all he knows about you, including your location because he hates you just as much if he finds out where you are and your enemy isn't one of his spies." Dylan said coming to a stop outside my apartment.
I kept quiet at the thought of Ryder coming in contact with him.
Would Ryder really tell a stranger anything about me if he asked?
Yes! He despises you and clearly doesn't want you in his life.
"Tell me about your enemy."
"Well, he is a complete jerk and is in two of my classes. I also might be sitting with him tomorrow," I said.
"Are you crazy? Why would you sit with him?" Dylan asked turning to me with a shocked expression on his face.
I quickly explained about how Violet really wanted me to sit with her and her friends and that I agreed because she wouldn't leave me alone.
"Where does this guy fit in then?" Dylan asked.
"He's one of her friends, but he doesn't know I'm going to be sitting with them because no one told him yet!" I exclaimed leaning my head against the dashboard.
"Tell her no! Riley you're just going to make him hate you even more if you're constantly around him." Dylan said it like it was the most simplest thing in the world.
"But Dylan, Violet is going to ditch her friends every single day just to find me and spend time with me! I can't do that to her."
"Then tell her to back off!"
My face fell at the thought of having to be rude to Violet. Dylan noticed.
"Look Riles," he said in a softer tone, "in the end, you're only looking out for everyone.
I sighed, "Dylan, I just want a friend. I know this is risky, but I promise I will not get anyone else hurt! Please Dylan, I won't even look at my enemy. Just please try to understand me. We moved to start anew and forget everything, I can't do that if I'm constantly worrying about isolating myself."
I could see Dylan caving in.
"Besides, we're all the way on the other side of the world! What are the odds of him finding us?"
Dylan took a deep breath, "Alright, but that doesn't mean you can break anymore rules Riley. He's still out there looking for you and won't stop until he finds you, so you still need to keep your guard up."
"Thank you so much Dylan!"
He grinned at me, "I'll pick you up at seven to take you to the ring. Please be ready, my match starts at half past."
I nodded my head and got out of his Jeep. I made my way into the block of flats I stayed in and took the elevator to my apartment. I took out my keys from my pocket and unlocked my apartment door.
I shut the door behind me and took in the emptiness of my surroundings that will forever be my life.
•••••
I expected the ring to be packed, but not this packed!
Everywhere I looked I saw countless people, men and women filling every space. Dylan pushed past everyone while holding a firm grip onto my arm.
We finally made it to the front, standing next to a square platform with a pole on each corner with rope tied to each one to form a barrier.
In the ring stood two men facing each other with their fists in front of their faces, both waiting for the other to throw the first punch.
The man closest to Dylan and me was packed with muscle and towered over the second guy. He had tattoos running all the way from his shoulder to his wrists. He wore a fierce expression, like he was ready to kill someone.
Probably would end up doing it.
The second man looked more like a boy than a man. He was tall but no match for the skyscraper in front of him. He had close cropped brown hair and boyish features. He couldn't be more than sixteen years old. The boy was incredibly thin and looked like no match for his opponent. Despite the fact that his opponent had the advantage of both strength and height, he wore a calm expression.
The crowd jumped up and down, people bumping and shoving everyone while yelling at the two men to start fighting.
Dylan observed the two fighters with calculating eyes, determining who was going to make the first move and what it would be.
And me?
Well I stood there trying to block out the noise which was bound to give me a headache. Besides the noise, I couldn't ignore the sudden adrenaline that pumped in my veins.
Muscle man made the first move, swinging a punch at the boy who quickly took a step back to avoid being hit.
Some people in the crowd yelled out words like, "coward!", "loser," and "fight like a man!" at the boy.
The boy's face was still expressionless.
"Dylan, how old is he?" I yelled to be heard over the crowd referring to the boy.
"Fifteen."
My eyes widened.
"Fifteen! What about the other guy?"
"Twenty six," he yelled back never taking his eyes off the fight.
My mouth dropped open in shock.
"That's not a fair fight! That guy is bound to get crushed! How can people just watch this? It's nonsense and-"
"I wouldn't judge him too soon Riley. Remember, he chose to fight, so if he had to get killed it would be his fault. No one is liable for any injuries obtained or any deaths." Dylan said.
Muscle man made a move to grab the boy but he saw it coming and speedily moved out of Muscle man's reach and threw a punch to his abdomen.
Muscle man hunched over and the boy took the advantage to knee him in his mouth. Muscle man shot up, blood dripping from his mouth onto the ring floor stained with patches of faded reds and browns.
Muscle man sent a kick to the boy's ribs, the boy fell onto the floor clutching his side.
Muscle man sent one kick to the boy's chest and the other to his abdomen.
But the boy expected the second kick and shot his hand out to capture Muscle man's foot and yanked his leg out from underneath him making him land on the floor.
"Doesn't street fighting have any rules? Or at least age restriction to fighting?" I yelled still in shock.
"There's only one rule which is no fighting with weapons. You can be any age to enter, no one really cares."
"No one cares!" I exclaimed horrified, "Dylan, the boy is fifteen! That shouldn't be allowed! He's still a kid!"
"Riley, no one asked him to fight! He entered his name down and he's allowed to forfeit whenever he wants to! You shouldn't worry so much he's doing fine!"
I clenched my teeth and quickly changed the topic.
"Why hasn't anyone found this place? It seems pretty obvious to me,"
Dylan looked at me like I was an idiot, "Riley, I'm sure the cops have better things to do than look for every single street fighting location. Plus it's an abandoned warehouse, no one uses it and there'd be no reason to check here."
I turned away from him to resume watching the fight. The boy was straddling Muscle man, throwing quick but powerful punches to his face.
Muscle man's hands soon stopped trying to grapple at the boy to try and get him off of his waist and fell limp by his sides.
The announcer entered the ring and hoisted the boy onto his feet, holding one hand up in the air.
It was clear who had won the fight yet the crowd stood there speechless at the turn of events. Dylan was the first to start clapping and soon everyone else followed, hollering at the fifteen year old boy who had just taken down a twenty six year old grown man.
"It's my turn," Dylan said pulling off his hoodie.
He made his way into the ring just as the boy exited it and pushed past everyone to exit the warehouse.
My eyes trailed after him wondering where he'd go now, or if he had a family. Why did he fight? Would he be back tomorrow?
Dylan was confident in his fighting having been a champion fighter for three years in a row. His opponent made his way into the ring and they both took up their fighting stance.
•••••
"If you own a tattoo store, why do you fight? You don't need the money," I asked once we had left the warehouse and were on our way home.
"The money is a bonus, fighting is more of a hobby for me," Dylan answered honestly.
"I can think of many other hobbies that don't involve blood and broken bones," I mumbled.
Then a sudden thought crossed my mind.
"Do you think I'd have a better chance of living if I knew how to fight?" I asked.
Dylan looked at me confused at my sudden change of mood on the topic.
"It would help if you had to get into a situation that requires fighting, but it's not necessary because nothing can harm you now."
I knew basic martial arts but the thought of finally being able to fight back against him if he ever had to find me won over my repulsion for the sport.
"Teach me how to fight," I demanded.
Dylan stopped the car in the middle of the road, thankfully there were no cars behind us.
"No! Absolutely not!"
"Why not?"
"Do you want to get yourself killed? You saw how unpredictable those fighters are!"
"That's why I'll have a three time champion to train me. Think about it, I wouldn't need to worry about getting hurt if I had to be found I'd be able to fight back. This way I could protect Violet and her friends."
Dylan kept quiet, weighing out the pros and cons of the situation.
"Dylan, at the rate that I'm going I'm just a sitting duck waiting for something to happen. I need to know how to fight back, I need to stop running."
He sighed, "Fine, I'll teach you how to fight but I swear this is the last time I give in to you."
"And I can fight?" I pushed.
He clenched his jaw but gave a little nod.
I smiled and thanked Dylan.
For the first time since I moved I finally had hope that I would finally fight back instead of running.
•••••
"Don't worry I'm sure he'll like you!" Violet grinned dragging me through the cafeteria doors.
I internally groaned very well knowing that he is definitely not going to like me.
Violet basically attached herself to me after my history class, following me all the way to my locker and then latching onto my arm to proceed to drag me to sit with her friends.
"Guess who finally decided to sit with us?" Violet asked cheerfully.
I was met with three grinning faces except for one. Ryder looked like he was about to punch someone. A vein pulsed in his neck and he clenched his jaw.
Oh no
Violet made me sit next to her and Kyle, directly opposite Ryder.
"What is she doing here?" Ryder asked through clenched teeth.
Violet looked at him with a confused expression, "Ryder this is Riley, and she'll be sitting with us from now on."
"She can't sit here."
"And why is that?" Violet asked.
"She doesn't belong here Violet," he said, "Leave Riley."
"Now wait just a second-"
"It's okay Violet. Ryder's right, I should go," I said getting up.
Violet grabbed my hand stopping me from leaving.
"Riley, please stay. It's been way too long since I've felt like I can relate to someone other than these four. Don't let Ryder get to you, we all want you here. He'll warm up to you eventually."
I looked at Ryder but his expression gave away nothing. I cautiously began to sit down again waiting for any sign that Ryder would pounce.
Once I was seated conversation started up again. Everyone did they're best to try and include me and I found that I could be myself with them.
Ryder glared at me throughout the whole lunch period. I tried my best to ignore him, but it was hard to ignore someone wishing for your death when they were right in front of you.
Once the bell rung Violet and Cameron left to go to their French class, while Noah and Kyle left to go to their art class and I walked to my English class with Ryder trailing behind me.
I took my seat and turned to Ryder once he sat down in his.
"Why do you hate me so much?" I asked.
"I don't hate you," he muttered.
"But you don't like me either?" I asked.
My breath hitched once he turned to meet my gaze for once without a frown on his face or hatred in his eyes.
"There's something off about you Riley. I can sense that there's something you're trying to hide. I may not know what it is now, but I know that it's definitely not good."
"You can't just make that assumption about me," I said defensively.
"It's not an assumption. It's like you're a bit too cautious. No, not cautious...paranoid! Yes, that's the word."
My mouth fell open.
How did he figure this out in two days?
"And you're too observant," I mumbled.
He rolled his eyes.
"Riley, I always get my way. I'm going to find out what it is you're hiding."
"I hope you know you're going to turn up empty handed," I said calmly.
On the inside my nerves were going crazy.
"I wouldn't bet on that."
"What's your problem anyways Ryder? It's not like you don't have secrets."
He narrowed his eyes, "You're right I do."
I turned away from him.
"But the question is, to what extent of danger could my secrets go compared to yours Riley?" he asked.
I open and closed my mouth, speechless.
Stupid observant Ryder.
•••••
I currently have a really bad foot cramp and I feel like I am going to fall over if I stand up...
Thanks for reading my chapter! : )
-Grayx