...
WILL COULD FIT EXACTLY eight marshmallows in his mouth. It was an adorable sight, but not one she had expected from one of the most notorious delinquents in St Joseph, as he sat with his puffed up cheeks in front of their tent. When Alex could only manage six, Will let out a triumphant shout, Levi having rejected to participate altogether.
"Maintaining your reputation, I see?" she told him as she sat down next to him.
They were seated in the opening of the tent, watching Alex throw marshmallows on Will now and Will consequently picking those up to avoid littering. It made for some amusing entertainment. Clarkson had initially given them the task to create a dance to show him in two hours and they had given up immediately. At this point she was certain the man was doing everything just for laughs though, no matter how serious he looked. After all, the thought of Trevor and his group of friends doing a coordinated dance was enough to make her snort, never mind him.
"About the dance, boys," Alex said, before correcting himself as he looked at her," I mean boys and lovely lady. I suggest we pick Ella up, throw her in the air and let one of us catch her. Kind of like a wedding bouquet."
"I swear to God, Alex," she said," if you so much as touch me -" The threats died in her throat then and she quickly swallowed her words. "I will aim right at your face with my feet if you throw me in the air, know that."
"Not the face!" Alex gasped," you know this is my most precious asset."
"I'm not for throwing El in the air," Will said," it could be dangerous."
"What if we throw Alex?" Levi said.
"Let's not throw anyone," she interjected, before it could go on any longer.
Alex jumped to his feet then, his eyes lit with an idea Ella was sure she wouldn't like. "I know another way to pass the time."
"What is it?" she said, her voice hesitant.
"We can spar!" he said," I'll teach you some ways to defend yourself, babe, and me and the boys can get a workout done then."
Oh fuck.
"Uhm," she began, but even Levi, the one she counted on to shoot all plans down, nodded.
"Pick your fighter," Alex grinned," Levi is more of the streetfight, MMA type, Will knows best how to fight with a weapon and -" His smirk morphed into something more wolfish then. "- well, I'm a previous boxing champion."
She did not want to fight with any of them. Hell, how was she supposed to pretend she didn't know how to throw a punch? Will seemed like the safest option at the moment, as she supposed she couldn't show much expertise swinging a bat around. It wasn't often she had needed a weapon after all.
Before she could even name him though, Alex slung an arm across her shoulder. "No need to be shy," he grinned," I can see you want to choose all of us, so that's fine. You can start with me, while Will and Levi spar."
She parted her lips, ready to say something, anything, to get her out of this, but Alex already pulled her along. They stood at the side of the clearing their tent was in, Will and Levi starting to stretch from their position in the middle. Glad that at least their attention was away from her, she turned to Alex, nervosity beginning to seep in.
"So," Alex said," how much do you know about boxing?"
Her brother flashed in front of her face for a second, his face plastered on the welterweight boxing champion posters, the amount of matches she had watched for him - the multiple times she had sparred with him. When Alex took his stance, it even resembled Sebastian's.
"Just that you have to punch something," she said, widening her eyes innocently.
"You're right in that," Alex chuckled," no worries, it'll be fine, I'll teach you the basics."
That wasn't something she was worried about at all. She smiled though, her eyes gleaming with as much fascination as she could muster. "Do show me."
"Okay," he said," watch this, I'll show you how to do a jab."
He stretched out then, before taking his stance back and showing the movement. When she didn't reply he turned to her, a smirk playing on his lips. "What? Don't tell me you are that starstruck to be in front of a boxing champion."
"How did you know?" she said.
"I can read people very easily," he said, a glint in his eyes.
From his conversations with Ava she knew that was a lie. Still, she feigned ignorance as he showed her a few more moves. He hadn't lied when he had said he was good, she could see it in everything he did; his footing, his speed, his precision. The moment he raised his hands to let her punch she knew she was screwed though.
"Go on then," he grinned," hit me with all your power."
If only he knew what he was asking for.
She clenched her fist, holding back as much as she could as she punched him against his hand. Her move had been amateurish, a mere whimsical hit without any energy behind it. As if sensing she was hiding more, he raised an eyebrow.
"What?" he said," don't tell me this is the best you can do, babe."
Slight panic surged through her at the thought he was seeing through her facade, but she acted quickly then, her eyes wide again and her hand clenched around the other.
"I hurt my hand," she said, her bottom lip sticking out.
If her brother saw her now, he would be horrified. She was too, but that didn't keep her from continuing.
Oh well, she had to do something.
"What? Really?" Alex frowned, reaching out to her," let me see."
She quickly placed her hands out of his reach then. Whatever fragile imago she had built until now, them seeing her hands, littered with scars and callouses from her years of fighting, would make it all shatter. So instead she gave him a cheeky smile and shook her hands out to make her earlier movements more casual.
"It's nothing," she said," I was just kidding."
"I thought so," he said, his grin back," you seem like you'd do well in a boxing ring, somehow. So come on, show me those moves."
"You expect too much," she chuckled, though her voice was a bit airy.
A glance at Will and Levi revealed they were still sparring, Will's face as friendly as ever as he dodged one of Levi's blows. She pulled her focus back to Alex, breathing in when she got in position.
"Here I come," she joked.
Even as she did so she felt tense, all the energy and power she was used to feeling like a fire without air at the moment, sizzling when she clenched her hand into a fist again. One step forward and she weakly punched Alex' hand again. In response he raised an eyebrow, urging her to go on, and she did so.
Stay under the radar. Stay under -
"Jesus."
Shit.
She had flowed in her usual routine too easily, the punches morphing into the burning ones she was so used to. So after her first soft jab, the other two had been sharp and hard, even if they hadn't been at full strength. She could see Alex had been pushed a step back, his guard not at all having been up enough to expect anything but amateurish punches.
"What was that?" he said, whistling," I didn't know you had it in you, babe."
"Had what in me?" she said, hoping he would accept it as just a fluke.
"Your last hits," he said," those were actually really nice, as if you've done this before. Not at all at the level of your other punches."
Okay, it was all or nothing.
"Really?" she said surprisedly, watching her hands in wonder," wow." She looked up at him with glittering eyes then. "What if I'm supertalented? This would be a great way to discover it. Tournaments, here I come."
Whatever faint confusion there had been in Alex' eyes, it was gone now. He laughed, shaking his head.
"I'd support you if you joined, babe," he said," after some training you'd be good enough, I think."
"Training?" she said, her eyebrows knitting in a frown," I suppose I have to run then? That makes me a lot less interested."
"Understandable," Alex agreed.
Before he could continue though, someone grabbed her from behind, resting their head on hers. She had been seconds away from turning around and twisting the person's arm, but had restrained herself just in time.
"Is it my turn now, El?" Will beamed.
He let her go when she turned around and she gave him a bright smile. If she had gone on any longer with Alex, she wasn't sure she wouldn't have betrayed herself, so she was glad for the change. She didn't have any experience with weapons and it wasn't like Will had any either here. He himself had said his bat had been confiscated and if they were going to practice with branches or something, she doubted she could show them much power.
"Yeah," she said," I'm all warmed up."
"Okay, great," he grinned, turning around to their tent.
She followed him, wondering what he was searching for when he started throwing some clothes out of his open suitcase. Something to bandage their knuckles, perhaps?
Will turned around then, two metal bats gleaming in his hands.
"It's good I took a spare with me, just in case," he smiled.
"I thought you said Clarkson confiscated your bat?" she said, the earlier panic beginning to come back again.
"Yeah," he said. He rested one on his shoulder, following the silver with his eyes, before looking back and flashing her a wicked smile. "One of them."
Oh this wasn't good.
This wasn't good at all.