| Real Chap— Lookism ep. 18 |
Ep. 16   The Manliest Fight
not edited

"Leaving your jacket on?" Tabasco (Still Vasco) asks as he pulls of his leather jacket with one swoop. "You'll regret that"

Your head peaked from behind an unfinished wall, and currently you were squatting at a place where you believed was an abandoned construction site.

'This feels familiar...' You looked around, remembering your middle school days fighting at abandoned places and or parking lots at giant retail chains.

You had followed both Tabasco and Daniel to this location, confused and just plain right nosey but ready to find out what the hell is happening.

Like this was a great way to spend your evening kind of shit.

Yeah that was totally it, it wasn't because you had an overwhelming urge to protect Daniel or nothing. Nah, his mother's visit totally didn't throw you off your emotional gain or anything. This was just one of those times that was for the pure pleasure of being that one nosey neighbor.

"You think this is a joke huh?" Tabasco says as he cracks his knuckles, clearly pissed about something you had no clue about "Today we're going all the way. Come here, let's start"

You took one look at Daniel's petrified and scared face as you exhaled deeply. You combed your hair back (if you have no hair you just fixed up your shirt) with your fingers, 'Let's just take out Tabasco and walk Daniel home. Maybe get him some melona icecream or something.'

You straightened up your back as you stood from your hiding place, a loud noise of broken cinder blocks crushing beneath your sandals. This caught both of Tabasco and Daniel's attention as you walked up to them slowly with one hand in your pocket and another scratching the back of your head.

"Y/N what are you doing here?" Daniel asked worriedly as he started sweating, his hands up as if he was a cheating husband getting caught by his wife (or husband). Tabasco only stared at you with an intense gaze, one that you've only felt a handful of times in your life.

Your yawned before standing in the middle of both of them, turning your back to Daniel and facing Tabasco. You stared at him with a demeaning stare, "Hey, I don't know why you're so pissed off but Daniel doesn't want any trouble. So can we just go?"

"..." Tabasco no longer had that look of that fluttering, blushing mess you had seen on his face before. Instead, he had replaced it with a much more darker and intimidating glare, that idiot facade he had led you to believe had completely vanished.

And from that moment on, you knew (you had fucked up) he was definitely the head hancho of a gang.

"Y-You" Tabasco clenches his teeth as his body went tense, you only looked down on him as he hunched over. "Despite your looks you really are nothing but any other who's willing to go along with anybody with a pretty face, even if he is a monster. It's despicable seeing you protect somebody like that."

"I won't forgive you Daniel" Tabasco spits out as he holds his hands around his head, fists up as he did a funny looking Superman pose, "This is your last chance Y/N, don't let the bad guy take advantage of you like how he does to others. Go home Y/N."

"Um... Vasco, what're you talking about?" Daniel gives him a crooked stare, he felt a bit tense that Vasco would even lie about that in front of you.

You hummed, completely lost as you opened your mouth to say, "I think there's been a miscommunicatio—"

You felt a sharp wind pass right through you as your immediate reaction was to follow it with your eyes, you turned as you saw Tabasco had completely dodged passed you and heading towards Daniel with a powerful left jab.

Daniel dodges it but only by a hair, as you could quite literally hear his heart drumming loudly.

And for a second there, you stood in absolute awe at Vasco's agility. Before snapping out of it of course.

Tabasco stands back, still in a defensive position as he stared down at Daniel.

"Um... What was that for?" Daniel asks as he stood there stunned, "Um, did I do something wrong? I think there's a mistake."

Tabasco clenches his teeth before speaking out "You despicable bastard, don't try to make any excuses!" He lunged forward, his fists ready to swing at Daniel before a sudden force hooked onto his neck to push him backwards.

You had him into a chokehold with your elbow as you twisted your toned body forwards, your feet digging into the ground to keep you strong and steady.

"Stop that you lunatic." Your upper lip pulled up as you sneered angrily at him, eyes sharply glaring at him as Tabasco looks at you. His hands gripping tightly on your arm as he pushed; but for some reason he couldn't pull you off at all.

"What is this? What have I done wrong? What is this even about? I've done nothing wrong so please don't drag Y/N into this!" Daniel yells at Tabasco, he steps forwards, and like a giant wall you held Tabasco back with your immense strength.

'That's what I wanna know.' You think blankly as you just focused on keeping this muscles for brains of a man in submission.

"J-Just give me the money that you got from that lady." Vasco bites his bottom lip before holding out his hand, you noticed he was relaxing his muscles as he spoke wearily "Give it up."

You loosened your hold onto him, as he coughs a bit.

'Money?' You side eyed Daniel as you saw his eyes flicker, 'What fucking money?'

"So that's how it is." Vasco's grins, his eyes flashing a dangerous hue as he manages to get you to pull back your hold, "See Y/N? This guy's is showing his true colors."

I'm so damn confusion.

"No... Never!" Daniel gives a basic boxing pose as you noticed something similar in that pose... Hm... It looked like... Dwayne the Rock— I meant Zack's boxing posture  "No one will steal from me!" He says with a trembling yet determined voice.

"You won't give something that isn't yours? Selfish bastard. Guys like you are all trash!" Tabasco yells.

You took a glance at Daniel's defensive form, everything was perfect, it was as if he fought side by side with Zack for years on end. You nodded before taking a step back as you leaned and sat on a unfinished wall, shoving your hands in your pockets.

'Whatever, I don't even know what this is about so I'll just—.' You thought as you leaned back on the unfinished wall, wishing you had popcorn or some shit to watch.

"Okay." Tabasco says as he returned back to his own unique fighting posture, "Come here."

Daniel lunges forwards, pushing his body towards Vasco as he propels his fist towards his nose, giving a perfect straight punch. However, Vasco tries countering with his own punch.

***

"..."
"..." Vasco's entire gang stood as they looked down, utterly speechless at the sight.

"What- What happened?" One of The Burned Knuckles crew stutters out, his words filled with tense revelation.

Burn Knuckles...

"Vasco?" One of the guys says as they look at Vasco's body, his hair over his eyes as his body sprawled out ontop of the dirt. They looked at his head, bandages perfectly wrapped around his forehead.

Were done now!
.
.
.
.
.

Daniel stood in his his original form before buttoning up his convenience store uniform with a dazed look on his face, a blush tinting his cheeks, 'I got the money and everything, I won the fight too... But why did I have to do that?!' He thinks as he covers his face embarrassingly.

***
Back to Vasco

"Vasco! Do you hear me?!" Jace yells worriedly as he lifts Vasco to sit upright, Vasco stayed silent as he thinks back just a few minutes ago.

'The timing was perfect' Vasco thinks 'But before I could've landed my blow.... he just turned around and delivered a back spin elbow. That guy was definitely not an out boxer or anything, but how could he... And not to mention Y/N's iron grip and reflexes could've surpassed mine, if she would've finished me... I don't want to know what'll happen.'

'I was wrong, I could've never beaten those two.'

Vasco lifts his hand to his forehead, touching his bandages gingerly as he sighs.

Flashback
Vasco, with as much consciousness as he could muster, watches you squat down and wrap bandages around his injury. Vasco looks at your pretty face as he tries to speak.

"Why?" He spoke breathlessly.

You stayed silent, not muttering a single word because the only reason you could give was— 'Because if I called emergency services, we'd all go to jail dumbass.'

But despite your quietness, you were wrapping his head injury with such care and gentleness. (Because you didn't want to touch his bloodied bruise like that's gaudy)

He felt a sudden squeeze in his heart, a tightness that wrapped around it as he could hear his heart running a mile a minute. His face turned red as his stomach fluttered.

As you tied up Vasco's bandages, you nodded at the finished product and tried standing up from your squat.

Instead of standing up fully you could feel something holding you back, looking at Vasco as he had held your hand with a tight squeeze.

"Y-You're not a bad guy... are you?" Vasco stutters out too. His face as red as a tomato.

"..."

"Sure."

As this all happened Daniel watched this from afar, he saw Vasco holding your hand as he felt something in the pits of his stomach sinking.

He lets out a shaky breath as he could only clench his fist into a tight ball.

Daniel's head only repeating one thing over and over again 'Don't touch her. Don't touch her. Don't touch her.'

You gave Vasco one last final nod, and to Vasco's dismay you shook off his hand.

You turned on your heel before calmly walked towards Daniel, hands in your pockets and finger in the air spinning around a roll of bandages.

When you were close to him his hand suddenly snacks his way around your wrist, you dropped the bandages as he tries to weave both of your hands together in a tight hold.

You gave him a weird look.

"The fuck is this?"

As you tried shaking off his grip, Daniel only looks back at Vasco, who laid on the ground, unconscious. Daniel glares at his body as you finally shaken off Daniel's hand with a slap to the knuckles.

"What the actually shit, fucking hell" You cursed as you held onto your reddening wrist as you could even see his hand imprint on your skin.

Daniel snaps to it before realizing what he had done, he turns at you worryingly as he waves his hands around frantically and examining your wrist, "I-I-I'm so sorry Y/N, I don't know why I did I was jus–"

You held up your other hand, quickly silencing him, your headache growing, "Let's just go before his gang gets here"

***

"Jace" Vasco mutters out with a bit of dismay in his voice, "I... lost"

Big ears looks down at Vasco, his fist curling up as he shakes his head

No, Burn Knuckles—

never loses.

*Vasco's name was 'Tabasco' for a while because you really did forget his name for a while, until suddenly it hit you.

*The only reason Vasco didn't hit you was because you were a girl >:-(

*You're getting fed up lol.