Decided to dedicate this chapter to an author I absolutely adore! Her writing skill is simply out of this world @Chippedcup - I heavily recommend to anyone to check out her books, they're divine and I am incredibly envious of her literary talent -^_^-

***

The next night, Scarlett had gone to the fighting Arena again.

Scar knew if she could keep up her winning streak she'd win the title of 'Victor' — her mother had achieved the title at 17.

Scarlett sat down beside the bar, near the cage — by this time she had fought three experienced killers.

"NOW, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" the announcer boomed "I WELCOME OUR NEXT FIGHTER, THE BEAST OF A MAN! SHADOW!"

The crowd around her screamed louder as he came into view — Scarlett nearly dropped the drink in her hand.

Her eyes widened in shock.

...Mark

He was Shadow.

As the battle commenced he moved fast — his arms and legs cooperated with each other finely, his technique was refined as each and every one of his muscles tensed with perfection.

She watched as his jaw clenched with anger while his eyes held a sturdy glare that surely rattled anyone to their very core.

Scarlett kept watching him in utter amazement — he was no longer the nerd that had left with his father — he was a man that had been through things she couldn't decipher.

Her eyes couldn't keep away from everything he did, now she knew why they called him Shadow — he moved fluently with purpose with so much darkness it engulfed whoever faced him.

When his third match ended Mark stepped off the ring and looked in her direction.

Scarlett quickly averted her gaze and briskly made her way out of the Arena.

No

She had been hurt by too many people. She wasn't going to let herself get hurt again.

* * *

Mark watched her walk away from him and couldn't help but follow after her — he didn't know why, but, maybe it was because he still cared about her? The thought alone made him flinch.

Mark saw her fight earlier.

Scar fought with so much conviction it made his mind go haywire.

The fire in her eyes ignited something in his heart — for the second time that night, he found himself wanting to take her and run but he knew she would never like him, never see him as something other than a mere opponent.

She was still beautiful though — he remembered every single curve of her body, in all honesty she hadn't changed much in all the time he was away.

Mark's footsteps halted as she entered a simple Hotel.

"Son,"

He turned around swiftly to face the familiar voice "...how did you find me?"

"I decided to go to one of your matches, just this once - I followed you when you left the Arena." Ricky spoke "You don't have to walk - I can just drive the both of us back home"

He hoped in the car along with his father "Why did you follow me?"

"You're 19" his father said strongly "You're still my boy - I'll follow you to the ends of the earth if it meant you'd be safe"

Mark clenched his jaw "You know I'm a fighter - why bother?"

"You know, I introduced you to fighting so that you could learn self defence"

He shook his head "I just need to get some anger out"

"You've been getting your anger out for a year and a half." Ricky sighed roughly "Don't you think its time to stop?"

Mark closed his eyes for a moment "When I stop having the nightmares - I'll stop."

"...I'm sorry." His father said solemnly — Ricky blamed himself for what happened the night Chrissy was murdered.

Their car came to a stop "Stop saying that - words won't bring her back...or me...It's not your fault" With that he got out of the car.

"Mark, wait" Ricky called — he stopped walking and shut the door behind them "It's about Scarlett."

That one name made him halt and turn around to face his father "What about her?"

"She's missing," Ricky sighed sadly "The Walkers contacted me and said if you see her, you need to tell them — they just want her back safe."

Mark narrowed his eyes in confusion.

Scar was in their town — she fought every night, how could no-one notice her? Then it dawned on him, she must've travelled to several places in order to make them lose track "I haven't seen her, I'll tell you if I do."

"Thank you-wait. Where are you going?"

He was already half way out the door "out." His father only nodded his head slightly before letting Mark walk out of the house.

Ricky wasn't exactly a saint as a teenager but it still made him wince every time his son would leave late at night and come back in the early hours of the morning. At the same time he didn't have it in him to tell Mark to stop, he had no right to control Mark's life after that night. At least that's what he thought. 

* * *

The sound of knocking brought Scarlett our of her slumber "Who the hell..." she muttered as she saw the time — 4:16AM — the knocking only got louder as she neared.

"WHAT!" She yelled, grabbing the door knob and pulling it forcefully.

Mark stood in front of her — his eyes were red with tiredness and his hair was ruffled in all directions.

She narrowed her eyes "What the hell are you doing at my door."

"I miss you," he whimpered, Mark's eyes never strayed away from her own.

She rolled her eyes "You're drunk, you idiot."

"Scarlett!" he yelled as she slammed the door in his face, her body turned away, only to freeze when she heard him yelling; "SCARLETT WALKER ! SCARLETT WALKER!"

Her eyes widened.

He was going to get her found if he kept yelling — she quickly opened the door and dragged him inside, slamming it behind her "Shut up, you imbecile!"

"Did you know, I really, really missed you?" he questioned as he fell onto her bed, his words slurring slightly

Scar narrowed her eyes — he was definitely drunk "How did you find where I was staying?"

"I followed you," Mark stated simply, as if it was the most natural thing to say.

She sat next to him and tried to push him off her bed but damn was he heavy "Stalker..." after a while of trying she gave up and decided to sleep on the floor.

"Sleep here," he mumbled.

She put a pillow on the ground and laid down "No."

"Sleep on the bed." he hissed angrily

For a second she was surprised by his tone. The Mark she knew would never use such an angry tone — then again, he wasn't the same and she wasn't either "Leave the bed."

"Okay then," he sighed — getting up and laying down next to her

One of his arms held her firmly against his chest while the other reached under her so she could lay her head on it with her back facing him "What are you doing?"

"Sleeping," he replied lazily

Scarlett tried to escape his vice like grip "Mark-"

"If you want a completely innocent night, I suggest you stop saying my name and moving around." He breathed.

She froze like a statue in his arms "You're the worst, showing up at my apartment drunk and forcing me to sleep on the floor..."

"I don't recall saying I was drunk" he muttered against her cheek, sounding completely sober.

Scarlett's eyes widened "You tricked me, you little-"

"Go to sleep." He whispered against her ear, she couldn't fight the way his arms made her feel safe, couldn't fight the way it felt right to be against his chest — she missed this more than anything.

It was too early in the morning and she was deathly tired, Scarlett blamed her drowsiness on the fact that she'd rather sleep on the hard floor with him than on a perfectly good bed alone.

She let her eyes shut "Leave." Her voice came out small and weak, making her curse herself for sounding that way.

"Never," he whispered once more as her soft breaths became shallow, signalling him that she had fallen asleep, even after her attempt to stay awake "...Not again at least."

His eyes continued to watch her — after the night his sister died, he drowned himself into a life he had never imagined himself to be in. 

Scarlett never left his mind, never walked completely out of his life — every day he thought to himself, what would he do if he were to see her again? Talk to her again?

It wasn't until he saw her, did he finally realise what he wanted.

Mark wanted to hold her in his arms and never let go — he wanted to see her smile, even if it was a small one.

He may be a monster but as he saw her fighting he saw the same Scarlett he did the first time they met but demons such as himself never get angels like her.

His arm tightened around her waist as if he was afraid she was going to disappear but as she snuggled deeper against him, Mark let out a small smile.

Somewhere deep inside of her she felt something for him — maybe it wasn't as strong as what he felt for her but it was there, and for now, it was enough.

For the first time in a while, he actually fell into a world of slumber and instead of dreaming about the blood and the screams, and the police sirens.

He dreamt about Scarlett — her face, her smile, her voice and he couldn't help but feel like she was the missing piece he had been looking for all this time.

Unknowingly Scarlett had made one of the most feared fighters drop to his knees.

Mark the Shadow Coulting.