Sora seated me, telling me to calm down while he got ready for his fight. He was doing all sorts of things like wrapping bandages around his wrists and murmuring stuff under his breath but all I could think about was 'what made me think that it was good idea to follow him somewhere without asking where first?'
I was about to open my mouth to say something when the doors opened as I jumped to my feet. A male, around the same height as Sora, walked in and my stomach gnawed when he looked the same age as us. Sweat patted his dark brunette hair and his blue eyes had been painted with a bruise where his upper lip was cut.
"Relax, I'm not here to assault you," the male chuckled, his voice deep as he opened one of the lockers and took out a towel. "Who is she, Lockhart?"
Sora came to a stand in front of me. "None of your business, Morgan."
The male chuckled as he took out his belongings. "That was my last fight. I'm never coming back to this shithole again."
Sora crosses his arms over his chest, his back muscles flexing. "Why?"
He shrugged. "I got soccer to focus on and my sister...well, we don't talk about that."
Sora nodded. "Well, thanks for the tips."
The male nodded in acknowledgement before swinging his bag over his shoulder. "I'm Reese, by the way. Reese Morgan."
I swallowed, trying to keep my voice steady. "Lucinda."
Reese nodded with a grin, saluting Sora before walking out of the locker room without a look back.
I bit my lip as I begin to wring my hands together and I couldn't help but face Sora nervously who was already punching the air. Little sweat patted his forehead and the moment he glanced at me, he sighed and seated me again.
"I can't go into this fight worried," he explained as he placed a hand on my back and I almost clinched at the foreign feeling. "I'm going to worry if you worry. And, sweetheart, I don't need you to worry about me."
I scoffed at the nickname he had given me. "I'm not worried about you. Actually, I'm pissed at the fact that you didn't tell me where we were going."
Sora chuckled. "You didn't ask."
I raised an eyebrow, crossing my arms over my chest. Oh, he does not want to start. "I did ask and you said you were visiting a friend."
Sora blinked for a moment before rolling his eyes. He opened his mouth, about to say something when the doors busted open and forced me to turn my head around.
"Sora, mate!" a thick Australian accent was the first thing I noticed when a tall male who looked in his late thirties. He was buff, way bigger than Sora and he looked like he could lift a hundred of me in the air.
"My man!" Sora exclaimed in unison as he got to his feet and did that bro-hug with the unknown male.
I felt tiny between the two males.
"Ah, who is this lovely chick?" The male asked with amusement dancing in his eyes.
Sora glanced over to me with a stare. "A school mate."
School mate?
Well, that part was true.
"Sam, Sora's trainer." the male introduced, offering his hand with a polite smile.
"Lucinda," I said in a quiet voice before shaking his head.
Sam turned to Sora who was literally a foot taller than him. "When I heard what happened to you, I booked a one-way trip knowing that you'd find another underground circuit to fight in. So, here I am."
Sora smirked. "Wow, obsessed with me, huh?"
Sam rolled his eyes. "No, and besides, you need the help and a familiar face around here."
Sora nodded slightly. "The circuit in Australia transferred me here, though. I didn't find it."
Sam frowned. "Really? That's interesting."
As if I had been completely forgotten while they were conversing, both males glanced over at me. I raised a brow, already desperate to get out of this shady place. "What?"
"Let's take you home before one of these sketchy individuals take advantage of a preppy school girl," Sam said, offering a hand.
I stared at his hand as if it was a bug waiting to be slapped.
"It's fine, she can wait in here and after I'm done, I'll take her home," Sora said to Sam who shook his head almost immediately, hating the idea.
"It's dangerous to leave her here and besides, I can't take her out there because she's in uniform," Sam pushed, his head shaking slightly as if wanting to slap Sora for not understanding. "You know how they feel about prep girls."
"Just take me home," I said, getting to my feet as I brush my plaid skirt. "You can drop me off at the bus stop and I'll find my way there."
This time, it was Sora who spoke. He was already watching me as he sighed before walking over towards his locker. He threw me an navy blue oversized hoodie. "Wear it. I'm sure it'll cover most of your uniform."
And, it did. The hoodie had covered my entire uniform and reached just below my knees. Wow, I really was short.
Sora seemed to hesitate for a moment before he took a step forward and reached for the hoodie and placed it over my head. "Sam, take her through the back."
I bit my lip and I suddenly felt bad that I was going to leave him alone. I sighed and crossed my arms over my shoulder. "I'm staying. I'll watch you fight and hope you get beaten to death."
I noticed Sora's lips began to quirk and Sam nodded. "Fine, as long as you have that hoodie on and over your head, you're fine."
I was able to blend into a crowd better than a chameleon.
Sam had instructed me to walk out first and to find a seat close to the exit and I had listened. A slight slender male entered the ring, a microphone in his hand, causing the crowd to roar. I flinched when the female beside me stomped on her seat to echo her excitement.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" the announcer spoke into the microphone, a couple of cards in his hands. "We have a special guest tonight who's going to become a regular member. Born and raised in Australia, we have the almighty Sora Lockhart!"
The crowd began to rise from their seats but I was too numb to even move. My ass was glued to the seat as the crowd roared to life again, doing anything they can to exaggerate their echoes like stomping their feet or banging on something loud.
I gulped as Sora walked out, a silk robe with a hood over his head as he tightened the bandages around his wrist. Sam was on his feet, his lips moving rapidly fast.
The announcer spoke again. "Mr. Lockhart here has been a champion back in the down under for three years in a row. Will he make a title for himself here?"
Sora climbed into the ring, taking off his robe as his toned abs was displayed, making a couple girls scream and faint. I swallowed my saliva and silently admitted that if he wasn't such a complete douche, he would've been attractive.
"Now, Lockhart's opponent will be..." the announcer trailed off, flipping his cards before a grin spread onto his lips, leaving the audience to watch in anticipation. "...Carter Higgins!"
The crowd roared to life at the name just as they had done with Sora as a male taller than Sora climbed into the ring. He definitely had more muscles than Sora. I crinkled my nose at the thought of Carter using steroids.
The three rings echoed in the arena and I couldn't help but chew on my lip as the announcer's arm went up, signalling them to begin.
It started off easy. Sora dodged a flew blows and Carter failed to miss one. Mixed feelings gnawed in my stomach when Carter landed a punch in Sora's jaw, forcing him to stumble back as I gasped, hands clasped together.
Carter, in the other hand, was about to take another hit when Sora grabbed him by the waist pushed him to the ground. He easily straddled him and punched Carter's face a few times. I cringed when Carter dodged one of Sora's blows, using it to his advantage as he elbowed Sora's side.
The crowd gasped and watched in anticipation, half of them with their ass on the edge of the seats. My glance averted to Sam who was yelling at Sora, words that I wasn't able to pick up on.
The crowds' cheer roared, forcing my attention back to the ring as I found Carter held in a headlock, forced to the floor as the referee counted to three. Carter slammer his bloody hand on the ground three times before Sora jumped off his body, facing the roaring crowd.
I wanted to vomit.
This was completely different to anything I had ever seen.
Once the crowd began to disperse, I quickly headed back to the change rooms to find Sam fixing Sora up. I gasped when Sora faced me, his eyes bruised and his temples cut. Blood seeped from his knuckles and it had took all my effort to calm my stomach.
"Huh, you stayed," Sora said, his voice rasped as he threw me a smirk. "Would've thought you wouldn't be able to handle it and left."
What was I to do now? Congratulate him? I swallowed my saliva. "Congratulations on your win."
Sora chuckled. "Wow, did you hear that, Sam? At least congratulations is in your vocabulary."
I glared at him, knowing that he was only trying to piss me off. "I'm leaving."
Sora's eyes slightly widened. "Just let Sam finish and I'll walk you out. There's probably a group of gangs hanging around out back."
I turned back to face him, saying every word next dripping with sarcasm. "How considerate of you to consider my safety."
Sam, who I had forgotten who was still in the change rooms, finished the last of his bandages before taking a stand, a grin on his lips. "Wow, you guys sound like you piss each other off all the damn time."
I raised a brow. "We only just met."
Sam offered me a wink. "Don't tear his head off just yet, will you?"
"Don't encourage her," Sora said with a groan as he kicked Sam's leg. "I'll see you tomorrow for training."
Sam saluted Sora and I before leaving the change rooms. I watched Sora lift his duffel bag with a wince before taking a stand, groaning in the process. "Shall we?"
I bit my lip and nodded as Sora kept close to me the whole entire time we walked out. He was like a shield or an armour...I couldn't tell.
Yet, I felt somewhat safe.