StarStruck Coffee

Control and Restraint

Joey's hand was in mid-air. 

And Zach, Zach's hand was curled around Joeys fist.

 Those eyes had gone cold. There was no joy in them anymore. Just unbridled rage. 

They mimicked Joey's own, but Zach's held something else. Zach held far more control and restraint.

There was something Zach had never told anyone about himself. His dad was a bodyguard for hire. From when he could walk, Zach was trained to fight. He had been trained in boxing, kickboxing and Kung-fu. Nobody knew this. Not even Beth. He swore to himself he would never use his skills unless someone else was in danger. Zach knew what he was about to do was stupid. he hadn't trained in God knows how long; but it was worth it to protect this girl.
When she closed her eyes, the lock clicked open. The lock that held his skills in place unlocked. He went into a dark place. Everything else except Joey went blurry.
Zach managed to wrestle enough control over himself to say to the girl, "leave now. He's not worth it."
She looked at him, then at Joey, and fled. She was like a deer caught in headlights till Zach said that. It was like her brain finally started working again and she screamed when she was running "Joey we're over!"
Zach was proud of her.

He knew that it probably wasn't over, but he was proud of her for making that choice.

She turned the corner out of sight and Zach turned his attention back onto Joey. He fell back into that familiar calmness.
"Listen buddy. This is either gonna end with me on the floor or you." Joey mocked, "Realistically it's gonna be you."
Zach didn't say anything he just raised his fists into a basic boxer stance. He unfurled his front had and drew his fingers back. Once. Twice. He was taunting him.
Joey unleashed a roar and charged. He was like a rhino. He had power but no skill. That made him dangerous. Zach kept his guard up.
Duck to the left. Punch.
Duck to the right. Kick.
He wasn't fighting back; he was making the beast tire himself out. The punches and kicks weren't meant to hurt him as much as confuse him.
More evasions.
Back.
Left.
Right.
It wasn't Joey who was getting tired though. It'd been so long since Zach had fought like this he had lost his edge. he assumed his lack of coffee also had something to do with it.

Those fucking girls

That pause cost him his upper hand.

A hook punch to his jaw sent him flying.
He hit the wall behind him with a crack. Dust flew everywhere.
"Get up." Joey was angry. "Get the hell up."
Zach suddenly had the feeling of being lifted off the ground.
Joey had grabbed his collar. Zach was defenceless like this.
Joey sent a punch right to his eye. Zach felt like his face was on fire. That was definitely going to bruise
One to the ribs. He coughed blood. Fucking hell.
This guy was strong. Too strong. He knew he couldn't escape. But he had Beth on speed-dial if he could just reach into his pocket, he could call Beth. She would hear the commotion and call the police to track his phone.

He spat at Joey, "You pig. You lost. I may be the one being beaten up but you're all alone." He slowly reached his hand into his pocket. He had to keep him distracted long enough to get Beth's number up. "I know your face as well. I can ID you to the police." He'd unlocked his phone and started the call. Even if she didn't pick up voicemail would record this. "What're you going to do to your girlfr-" Zach paused. "Well, she' was your girlfriend." The corners of Zach's mouth pulled upwards in a sly grin.
"She's gonna get a hell of a beating after running away like that."
Hello- the voice was barely more than a whisper, but he knew Beth's voice.
"You know phones have tracking now." Zach stated. "If you kill me, they'll find my body and find whose phone was here around my time of death." Hopefully Beth understood to track his phone.
"Oh, I'm not going to kill you. I'm going to hurt you." Joey paused. "And that pretty girl on the phone." Wait- he knew. Zach was fucked. Joey's hand moved up from Zach's collar onto his neck; with his other hand he reached into Zach's pocket. He crushed it with ease. Zach knew he could probably do that to his skull.

He wouldn't though he's smart enough not to do that.

The last thing Zach remembered was Joey's laughing face as he blocked off the air to his lungs. He felt his head hit the floor
Then everything went black.