The fight didn't last long but it was bloody, making me cringe when the punches hit and the crowd's cheers and hollers grew louder. When it started, Grayson stood on one side and the mysterious opponent stood on the other. The bell rang and they slowly approached each other, sizing each other up, both had the gloves covering their faces. The guy threw the first punch which Grayson easily dodged but missed the other one which landed hard on his side. He stumbled back but recovered quickly and he's blocking his face again. Grayson starts with a swift kick but his opponent blocks it. While he blocks it, Grayson lands a hard punch on his face and the first spill of blood flows from his mouth, coloring the once-white floor with crimson-red blotches. He doesn't stop there. He brings his other leg and lands a hard kick in the guy's stomach, sending him flying to the side of the ropes. The guy is only able to bring his gloves back up to his face before Grayson starts hitting him.

The crowd goes wild. I'm standing on the edge as I wince every time his glove makes an impact with the guy's face, but I'm also so entranced in watching it go down.

Suddenly, amidst the punches, the guy takes a leap of faith and raises his leg up, managing to hit Grayson in the chin and sending him flying backward. The guy doesn't give him time to stabilize before he lands a hard punch on his chin again, and another, and another. I can see the blood coloring the floor more. It's as if they were using each other's blood to paint a beautiful picture of their fight. Grayson stumbles back until he's pressed against the rope, unable to fight back.

The referee blows his whistle and his opponent backs away with a triumphant smile as the crowd is filled with a mixture of boos and cheers. I watch as Matt and Link are already there, Link cleaning as much blood as he can from Grayson's face as Matt is handing him water to drink.

"Are you glad you came?" Gina asks. I can barely hear her amidst the shouts all around us but I make out what she asks.

"Never been happier to see someone getting beaten up," I lied.

But Gina can see right through me. "You don't mean that."

"No, I don't. He just makes it really hard to root for him sometimes."

She shrugs, "then don't. Just don't root against him either. Don't let your dislike for someone cloud your judgment on who you are."

I look at her in admiration. Gina wasn't the type you imagined to be intelligent just because of how she presented herself, but boy was she. I smile, "I guess the same could be said about liking someone."

She gives me a smile and nods her head. "Just do me a favor, just for tonight." I nod my head, a signal for her to tell me. "Cheer for him tonight. He needs all the cheer and support he can get. Be mean about it too." I raise my eyebrow. "Follow my lead."

Gina stands on the edge and cups around her mouth to make a funnel as she yells, "Grayson get off of your ass and beat him. Don't be a wuss." I can see Grayson from the seat smile at her words as he starts twisting his neck.

I cleared my throat, this was the time I could yell at him and not be sorry about it. "Grayson-" I start, "show him how much of an asshole you are because no one does it better than you. So get up off your lazy ass and stop getting your ass handed to you. Do what you promised me and fight."

Gina looks at me in surprise, "where did you learn that?"

I shrug, "my dad used to watch sports at night and would yell at the tv with select word choices."

"So that's why you're so natural at cursing," Gina says with a laugh and I can't help but smile.

Grayson stands up and wipes away sweat from his mouth as he enters the rink again, the bell rings for the second round. They approach each other, steady, before Grayson throws 3 consecutive punches. As the guy tries to block each one, Grayson kicks him and sends him flying to the ropes again. However, this time he had the advantage and he wasn't losing it. Grayson continues his kicks but as the guy tries to punch, he is able to move and land multiple punches on him. The guy's defenses are down and Grayson, like a predator watching his prey weaken, swoops in for the kill. He turns and lands a hard kick to the guy's face which sends him to the floor. The referee blows his whistle.

"Whooo," Gina yells with raised hands. I am silently clutching my hands tightly, reeling in at Grayson's victory and mentally yelling. He looks up and gives us a cheeky smile.

"Don't get cocky now asshole," I yell and quickly cover my mouth as Gina laughs and I can see Grayson lower his head as he chuckles. The tension in the air about the fight was definitely getting to me.

By the time the fight reached its end, my nails had dug so deep into my skin that I could see the hint of red forming under as I released them. Grayson stood there with a wide grin as the crowd's cheers grew louder with each second passing. The unknown guy lay on the floor, as paramedics checked him. Gina grabbed my hand and guided me to the side of the rink where I can get a view of the hundreds of adoring people, rooting for Grayson. My eyes can't help but wonder where Jace was standing and I can see him with someone else as the guy gives him a wad of cash. My eyes narrow as Jace turns to look at me and gives me a small nod. I turn around but can't shake the feeling that I've seen him before.

"I'd like to give a shout-out to someone in the crowd," Grayson booms throughout the building. The crowd's cheers die down as they all hang onto his every word. "This fan cheered the hardest tonight and I can't believe she gave up a night of studying to come root for me. It warms my heart," he says, placing a hand on his chest. There is a unanimous "aww" that bellows through the building before he continues. "Everybody make some noise for Strawberry."

My heart pounds; and the crowd goes wild.

Grayson pulls me up and I can feel my cheeks start to blush a beetroot color. All eyes were on me and my voice was caught in my throat. I stood there like a deer caught in the headlights, unable to move, unable to make a sound. As the roars keep going, I find my willpower and free myself from his grasp. I ran the other way, passed Gina, passed the crowd, and passed Jace. I'm out the door and catching my breath at how suffocated I felt.

"Are you okay there?" A voice says as they pat my back. I turn ready to run but the guy holds his arms up. "I don't mean any harm. I'm Jace," he says as he sticks a hand out.

"Stay away from me," I told him.

He gives me a smile, "I see my reputation precedes me. I'm a friend of Grayson's, just not as popularly known as the rest."

"Gina warned me about you."

He shrugs, "Gina thinks the worst about me, but I don't let that ruin our friendship."

"Amelia," I hear voices call out.

Jace smiles, "We'll, I'll be seeing you, Amelia." He turned to his right and disappeared into the alley.

"Are you okay? What happened?" She looks at me concerned. "Grayson was just goofing around. We didn't know you had a phobia or something. Amelia, I am so sorry."

"No, it wasn't anyone's fault."

"Strawberry. I'm sorry, I didn't think-"

I cut a fully clothed Grayson's words off, "it was nothing you did. Honest."

"Then why-"

"I just don't like being the center of attention, okay," I snapped. I take a deep breath as I see people around me looking at me and breathe out, "Just- I want to go home."

>>>>>

I keep forgetting to update but I saw Wattpad has a new feature and am excited to use it. I hope everyone liked it, more to come. Trust me, so much more drama upcoming as well. 

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