My alarm went off again. I was awake, but I laid there with my eyes closed. I felt the bed shift meaning Lachelle climbed back into it. The scent of vanilla filled my surroundings.

Today was my birthday. Normally I don't celebrate my birthday but today I will.

I heard Lachelle giggle. "I know you're awake Alex." I opened my eyes to see Lachelle smiling at me. I then noticed a small box in between us. "Go on. Open it." Lachelle urged me.

When I opened the box I got hit with a strong scent of chocolate.

I felt tears stream down my face. Inside were two chocolate on chocolate doughnuts with the words Happy Birthday frosted in vanilla icing, with a lime energy drink.

"I hope you don't mind vanilla." Lachelle spoke softly. I could see that my crying was making her uncomfortable but I didn't care. "Lachelle, you have no idea how much I love vanilla."

I tried to grab a doughnut but Lachelle pulled the box away. "No Alex. You have to wait till after the tournament. We need to eat light and drink water."

"We? Whose we?" I tried to reach for the box, but Lachelle slapped my hand away. 

"Quit it. Besides your mom and Jim are here."

That made me smile. "Why are they here?"

"They came to watch the tournament." Lachelle informed me with a smile. Her smile quickly faded though. "My mother will be here later." Her comment made my stomach sink. 

Lachelle made it clear that I'm not allowed to pick out my own outfit. Something about uniform or something. I changed into a pair of black sweat pants and my green Maindo Shirt.

I walked out into the kitchen. I saw my mom talking to Maindo and Jim. Lachelle was sitting away from everyone on a couch eating some mixed fruit that she had in a bowl. I walked over to her and took some fruit out of her bowl. She looked at me and took in a huge inhale. I can see that she is nervous, I just don't know why?

"So, the Karate tournament is today?" Jim asked. Maindo nodded his head. "And Alex is competing?" Jim further his questioning. By the tone of his voice I can tell that he is not excited.

"I'll be okay." I assured Jim. 

My presence must have surprised my mom because she ran over to me and gave me a hug. "Happy Birthday Alexirae."

"Thanks mom." I pulled away from my mom and took more fruit out of Lachelle's bowl. 

"Alexirae let her eat." My mom hissed. I frowned at my mom. Lachelle stood up and shoved the bowl into my chest as she glared at me. It kind of hurt. Is this not the same girl that was cuddled in my arms a few moments ago? I watched as Lachelle tried to walk outside.

"Ikari." Maindo called causing Lachelle to freeze in her tracks. "Your mother called. She will be here at the start of the tournament. For now try to treat Kioku as a human."

I looked at Lachelle. She looked like she was having an internal battle with herself. "Fine. I'll take Alex." Lachelle said before walking outside.

Maindo walked over and patted me on the back. "Good luck."

I followed Lachelle outside. I could see that she was nervous, but that's not a good reason to not talk to me. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Lachelle hissed. 

"Lachelle." I watched as Lachelle's body grew tensed. 

"Look Alex. Before the tournament the fighters have to go to the arena and get the rules. It's my least favorite thing to do."

I now understand the nerves. "Who is at the other camps?"

"Camp Willie is filled with assholes from our school, including Keith. Cara goes to Camp Freedom now and Camp Pride is the nicest in my opinion." Lachelle explained. "It's where I went before my mom forced me to come here."

So, Lachelle and I walked over to Camp Willie. Lachelle was quiet during most of the walk. As we approached we approached the arena kids of various ages were staring at us and whispering.

"Assholes."

Lachelle had this bad ass look on her face. She walked through the camp without fear. That is until we enter the tournament venue. Lachelle looked as if she seen a ghost as fear filled her face. We were the last camp to arrive and all eyes were on us.

The arena was set with four tradition boxing rings in the center. The boxing ring were black in color with white ropes around them. There were bleachers aligning the walls to the left and right of the arena. All of the campers were sitting on the left sitting towards the center of the bleachers.

We walked by Camp Freedom's fighters first. None of them stood out to me because I saw Cara first. She rolled her eyes at the sight of me, as we walked by. 

"You're in danger."

My attention was pulled towards Camp Willie. I noticed one kid in particular. I'm not sure how tall he is, but he's for sure taller than me. He was wearing this golden Gi with a white belt tied around his waist. His Gi had the sleeves cut off, exposing his muscles. His eyes were raging with anger directed towards Lachelle.

His presences caused me to stop walking.

Now all eyes were on me. "Are you Keith?" I asked. I watched as he smiled. Oh shit. It wasn't a friendly smile. It was wicked in a way, some would argue murderous.

"Look La-Bitch is still with the weird kid!" I heard someone yell I looked over and saw three familiar faces. A blond hair girl, a redhead girl and our school's boxing champion. Three of the four people Lachelle fought on our last day of school. They were all wearing the same Karate Gi as Keith.

"Kill him."  The voice in my head was angry. 

When I turned to say something Lachelle pulled my hand to keep me moving. I felt Lachelle squeeze my hand as we walked away. I heard the kids from Camp Willie laughing at us.

When we approached Camp Pride we were immediately stopped by a very pretty girl. She was around Lachelle's height and had black hair and green eyes. She also seems familiar but I don't know why? I closed my eyes expecting the worse. Then I felt this cold object on my face. "Still has memory issues?"

I opened my eyes to see that the girl was holding a bottle of water against my face. Her eyes were on Lachelle though, who now had her own bottle of water. 

"Those just don't go away Chloe." Lachelle snapped. I saw Lachelle smiling at the girl. Like a comfortable smile.

Chloe?

Chloe glared at Lachelle. "We can talk later. Hopefully I won't have to fight you Chelle."

Lachelle rolled her eyes. "For your sake right." Lachelle's comment cause her and Chloe to laugh. 

Chloe flipped the water bottle and softly hit me in the head. "Actually drink this one." Chloe ordered. I grabbed the bottle of water. 

"Thank you." I mumbled out.

Chloe gave me a weak smile. "You don't remember me do you Alex?" I shook my head no. It's clear to me now that this girl knows me. "I'm sure we will talk later too." Chloe said.

"Bye girl." Lachelle said as we walked away.

As we took our seats this scary man walked in. Scary is actually an understatement. He wore this golden muscle shirt exposing his muscles that were practically built for war. It looked like his arms were covered in scars and bruises. He was bald. I have nothing against bald people but he had a scar that started at the top of his head and ran through his left eye.

"Good day mates." The man spoke. "I'm Will, the coordinator for the tournament this year." I watched as Will eyed me. "I see that Maindo found another reject."

All of the kids from Camp Freedom and Camp Willie started laughing. I looked over at Lachelle who was glaring at him. 

"Which one of your kids is this reject kicking in the face first? Sir." You know I figured I should ask.

The room fell in silence when Will glared at me. Honestly I can't say that I care. He called me a reject so I'm going to kick one of his assholes in the face.

"You can face Buster first." Will advised. "Buster please stand." I looked over at Camp Willie and of course the boxer from our school stands up. "Unless you want to use one of your passes on him." Will mocked.

"I'll kick him in the face." I reassured Will. That and I'm not sure what he meant by passes. I felt Lachelle grab my arm. I know I'm not helping her nerves.

"I will provide each of you with the tournament tree. A pass will go to Pride and Freedom." Will informed. "I have placed the two Maindo girls on the opposite side of the tournament tree so they will not have to face each other. Buster will make sure of it." Will glared at us. "For the rest of you there is a chance that you will face a fellow camp member. However you will not in the first round. Any questions."

We all shock our heads no.

After Lachelle grabbed the schedule she quickly grabbed my arm to leave. "What are you trying to prove?" She hissed at me.

I faintly remember when Buster tried to hit Lachelle in front of me the last day of school. I don't know Keith but I don't like how he's been glaring at Lachelle.

"Shit." I heard Lachelle whisper. She was reading the tournament tree as she walked. I saw that she was in the same bracket as Keith. "You might have to fight Cara." Lachelle informed me.

"Looking forward to it." It's true. I was.

It didn't take long for us to return back to the camp. After I showered Lachelle let Jim and I set up camp in her room. I only had two hours before the tournament and I wanted to play Infinity Quest. So, split screen it is.

I was sitting on Lachelle's bed leaning up against the wall next to Jim. Lachelle was sitting in between my legs leaning her back against my chest. I had my arms wrapped around her so my controller was in front of her. Don't know why but that's where she wanted to sit.

She was currently playing on her phone. Honestly she looked more like she was struggling to stay awake. I felt her breathing slow. It's only a matter of time before she falls asleep in my arms.

"Focus Alex." Jim hissed. I looked up to see that the game has already loaded up. Jim's character always makes me laugh because he is this magical green goblin who wears a traditional wizard's outfit. All of three feet tall. It does make him a tough target to kill. "If we set enough traps maybe our stone will stay protected till after your tournament." Jim went on.

I can't say that I was paying attention to Jim. Especially when I felt Lachelle cuddle into my arms. When I look down at her she was fast asleep.

"We are going to die at this rate Alex." Jim whined.

I looked up and saw that our base was surrounded. A bunch of try-hards. Still, my attention was elsewhere, on Lachelle.

"So the conversion didn't work?"

"This I not a conversion camp."

My attention was grabbed. Someone was out there with Maindo. "Focus Alex." Jim hissed.

"No." I told Jim. Infinity Quest can wait. I tried to shake Lachelle awake. I may not know that voice but it belongs to a woman. The only woman we were expecting was Lachelle's mom. "Lachelle please." I begged. I'm scared.

"Where is she?" I heard the woman yell.

For once I didn't close my eyes in fear. I wanted to but I didn't. I looked towards the door and saw this beautiful woman standing in the door way. She was wearing business attire. A more sophisticated version of Lachelle. With all the anger. "Get up! We're going home!" The woman demanded.

"No I'm not." I watched as Lachelle sat up. "I have the tournament."

I saw my mom and Maindo standing behind the woman. I couldn't see the expression on their faces.

"Go get changed. I laid your outfit on your bed." Lachelle whispered to me.

I nodded as I stood from the bed. The woman's eyes never left me. I was too scared to move. Her glare was worse than Keith's. This woman can and will kill me.

"Koi Kioku." Maindo spoke. "Ikari will go over the tournament with you."

"What exactly is your job Maindo?" The woman asked. "I sent Lachelle here to fix her little problem."

"Her anger?" I asked. I felt everyone look at me. "It's because she's worried. She doesn't want to be alone anymore." All eyes were still on me. 

Awkward

I quickly walked passed everyone to exit the room to get to mine. When I entered the room I saw my Karate Gi on the bed. It was dark green with a black belt. I quickly put it on. Lachelle's mom is scary, and I wanted to feel stronger.

I heard my door open. I turned to see Lachelle. Her eyes were red like she just finished crying. She was changed into her Karate Gi.

I quickly hugged her as she cried softly against me. "Why did you call me out like that?" Lachelle asked. "In front of my mom"

"I thought you were sent to Maindo Camp because of your anger." I explained. 

"I was." Lachelle explain. "Alex you do know that same sex couples isn't status quo."

"I'm everything but status quo Lachelle, you know this." I joked as I tried to remember exactly when we became a couple. Lachelle just frowned "Alex, this is serious. My mom-"

"Scares the shit out of me." I interrupted. "And that's okay. You taught me how to be brave."

"No I didn't." Lachelle pulled away from me and turned to leave the room. 

"Lachelle wait." I pleaded.

"I need you to give up on me." Lachelle said as she stood in the door way. 

"What?" I don't understand. Lachelle turned to face me. Her expression was blank I couldn't read her, but her words were filled with pain. 

"Would you give up on me? Like everybody else. Please."

I froze up. I watched as Lachelle left the room closing the door behind her. Something was said about me, and now when she needed me most I was unable to speak again. Why?

"You're not good enough for her Alex.'  The voice mocked. "And once this is all over, and you're separated from her, you will forget all about her. Like you forget about everyone else."

No I won't.

"You have forgotten her before, or did you forget?"

Who is this? I felt myself losing my grip on reality for a second. I felt the room spin around me. I want to run I want to leave. 

"Run away."

No. I kicked the door off the hinges. I heard my name being called in the distance but I didn't care. I'm not even sure who's calling me, but I'm done running.

I don't need an alarm to tell me where to go. It's time for the tournament. It's time to prove myself.