Tyson POV

There was something seriously weird about this chick. And I don’t mean the fact that she looked like she just got off the set of an action movie, although her clothes were definitely strange. No. What nagged me was the fact that she still wasn’t afraid of me. I had a certain reputation in this town and even if a foreigner like her didn’t know about it, she should have figured it out by now. But instead, when I caught her hand after she lashed out on me, all she did was look surprised. And now that I had countered her next few moves that look had turned into one of annoyance instead of what she should have felt: fear. But if she still didn’t get it, then it was time to stop being a gentleman. With that thought in mind I took a swing at her face and it was my turn to be taken aback as she swiftly dodged it and her fist collided with my stomach.

Okay, now I was really angry!

*****

Alex POV

The boy I was fighting with was really, really good. And that means a lot coming from someone with my experience. How I got into this mess you ask?

Well, it all began with me moving into this shitty small town to start anew. To make a long story short, I got into some trouble back at home so my parents exiled me here. Which had its good sides considering who I left behind. But that’s a whole different story.

The weather outside was warm tonight with a nice cool breeze, so I’d decided to take a walk. I’d put on my combat boots, long black leather pants, strapless short black top that only covered my breast area, fingerless leather gloves and a knee length light black coat that I kept unbuttoned. Yes, you’ve guessed it, black was my favorite color. I didn’t have any jewelry on apart from the two things I always wore - the thick, engraved silver earring on the lowest hole of my right ear and my silver locket. Tonight it was hooked to a thick long chain and it reached my naked stomach.

I got outside of my apartment and not knowing the town that well yet, I headed for nowhere in particular. I was just turning round a corner when a street cat jumped in front of me. Startled to see me there, it froze. We stared at each other for a while before I nodded at it to move first. As if the cat understood me, it did. But before it disappeared from my vision it turned its head back and meowed.

“You’re welcome!” I shouted after it. I didn’t know why I did that; it wasn’t like the animal could understand me word by word.

I heard someone’s throaty laugh coming from behind me and turned to see who it was. After a few seconds of searching I found the source of the noise: a boy, who was leaning casually against one of the near-by buildings. He kept himself in the shadows so I had to squint my eyes slightly in an attempt to see him more clearly. He was medium height, seemingly about my age and had long dark hair that was tied in a low ponytail.

“Did you just speak to an animal?” His voice was musical even with the mocking inflection it held.

“And what if I did?” I asked jutting my chin up stubbornly.

“Then you’re even weirder than I thought.” He answered pushing himself off the wall and coming closer to me. He was only a step away from me when he finally stopped walking.

Now that he was standing under the streetlight, I looked at him again.

“Well built with practical casual clothing; right handed, definitely strong, probably fast too…” I silently listed in my mind. Then I sighed, realizing I was assessing whether he was a threat or not if we were to get into a strife. I guess old habits die hard!

I noticed he was checking me out, a sneering expression on his otherwise handsome face. That made me want to punch him straight in the jaw but luckily for him, I’d recently promised myself to try not to start fights.

Without taking his eyes off of me he reached into the back pocket of his dark blue jeans getting out a packet of cigarettes, taking one out and lighting it before returning the rest of his smokes to their original place. Being a habitual non-smoker, the cig's reek assaulted my nose and it automatically wrinkled.

He smirked at my reaction. Seriously? He dared to smirk at me? This boy really must have a death wish!

“Does this bother you?” He said, now rolling his smoke between his fingers.

“Yes! And I’m going to make sure you’re bothered too, if you don’t get it away from my face,” I growled at him.

His arm froze in the air just as he was about to place the cig between his shapely lips again. The boy’s eyes widened slightly and he looked at me with an unbelieving expression. Perhaps he wasn’t used to people talking back at him or maybe he was just stunned that a girl of five feet was threatening him. I’ve often been depreciated because of my size, but let me tell you this: underestimate me and I’ll make you pay for that dearly.

The boy’s astonishment lasted only a moment. From surprised and unbelieving, his face quickly turned into amused and sneering again, and he barked another loud laugh. He then took one long drag from his cig before leaning down and slowly exhaling in my face.

That was it! That was the last straw!

I looked the boy dead in the eye and took a swing at his face.

*****

Tyson POV

We must have been fighting for almost ten minutes now. It usually took me a lot less to knock somebody down especially in a one on one but this chick was fucking fast! And experienced. Very experienced.

Her aim was good, she knew the right spots to hit or kick and she twisted around as if she didn’t have a single bone in her body. Somehow I finally manage to kick her behind the knees, landing her on the ground. I quickly jumped on top of her, but before I could pin her down completely, she reversed our positions so that she was now above me. It was a basic move and I couldn’t believe I actually fell for it. I was momentarily taken aback, but a second later I rolled us over so that I straddling her and attempted to pin her hands with mine. She glared furiously at me and started thrashing around, trying to get free.

As if I was going to let her!

We both froze when we heard them. The shrill sound of the police cars’ sirens was getting louder and louder. I didn’t know if someone had called to report our fight or was it just a coincidence, but either way, they were getting closer.

Taking one last look at the girl below me, I got up and ran away. If she was smart, she’d be doing the same.

*****

I got to my house at about four in the morning. I was tired from the fight and the running after we got interrupted by the sirens. I craved some rest but was covered in dirt from our not so little scuffle, so I went to take a shower first. Plus, I had some bruises to take care of. I’m pretty sure I left a few marks on her body as well.

I felt a pang of guilt at that thought; I’ve never hit a girl before. Never even imagined that one day I would.

I stood under the shower, hoping that the lukewarm water would help me clear my mind. But tonight’s events stubbornly refused to leave my head.

Why did I start a fight with this chick? Technically, it was she who threw the first punch (or at least tried to), but perhaps I acted a bit as a jerk to her… Okay, I acted like a complete asshole, no perhaps about it.

First I laughed at her, then I called her weird… And why did I blow cigarette smoke in her face again?

It wasn’t like me to act this way. My motto was “leave people alone, so you’ll be left alone” and it suited me just fine. I didn’t need or want anybody meddling in my private life and I could definitely take care of myself, so why bother making new acquaintances?

Getting out of the shower, I absentmindedly took care of my wounds. Since I often got into fights, I had everything needed stored on the rickety bathroom stand. I was on my way out when I glanced at the cracked mirror above the sink and stopped dead in my tracks.

I remembered the girl slapping my face at some point and me feeling a stinging sensation but I was so pissed off at that moment that I just ignored it. Anger boiled through me now. There, on my left cheek, stood four fresh nail marks. I didn’t even realize I had them!

I’m going to murder that little bitch!