The 1D Games

Chapter 11

"C'mon Aria, punch harder!" Finn nearly shouted.

I glanced up at him and then back at my hands which were balled up into little fists and held in something resembling a fighting stance.

Reluctantly I aimed at the target he was holding and punched again, a little harder this time.

Finn face palmed sarcastically and grabbed my hands.

"Look," he said, "you hold them like this." He moved my fists up and tucked my elbows in and then stood back to look at his work.

"There you go, that's better," he laughed, "but don't forget to untuck your thumbs. The last thing you want in the middle of a death match is to break them."

I quickly untucked my thumbs and he smiled.

"Like that?" I asked.

Finn nodded and adjusted his position. "Yep. Now punch the target as hard as you can. Maybe think of someone you hate and picture their face on it."

I stood there trying to think of someone I disliked enough to want to punch.

There turned out to be more than one face that appeared in my mind, and while it was slightly unexpected to me, it kind of made sense.

With the faces of 5 One Direction members in mind I stepped forward and took a big swing at the target. Finn swayed a bit and grinned.

"That was good! Again!"

I punched again and this time Finn was forced to take a step back.

A little part of me in the back of my mind stopped to appreciate the irony of the fact that I was punching the imaginary boy band members I was supposed to be fighting for, but the rest of me kept on fighting.

Besides, if they didn't exist I wouldn't even be in this dilemma

After a few more punches it started to feel different, more natural and easier. Finns smile had grown with every punch I threw and he said "I think you're getting the hang of this."

I smiled back at him. "Yeah. It feels better."

Finn nodded and put the target down. "We should probably work on some blocks now. It's not much use only knowing how to attack if your enemy can just hit you back harder."

He reached for my hands again and maneuvered them into a simple block position. "The trick is," he said as he tested to see how hard he had to push before my arm moved, "Is to always keep your hands up. That way you can go from fighting stance to a block in an instance."

He demonstrated and I copied him carefully. He made me practice a few more times until I got the hang of it.

Then he smiled. "You know Aria, i think you have a chance at winning this. All you have to do is outlast 13 of them."

I nodded uncertainly.

"Actually," Finn asked, "what did they say on the phone? The lady on tv said you'd get a call explaining what would happen."

"Ah," I said, "That. Well, they said that tomorrow... They said tomorrow they're coming to take me to London."

Finn stared at me in surprise and his mouth formed a little 'o'. "What?" He whispered, "No that can't be right... I still need to train you, I need to protect you I promised!"

I shook my head sadly. "Finn... If I don't go... Look, this might be my last day here. Let's just make it count."

He stared at me and I bit my lip, not knowing what to say.

Finn flicked his hair out of his eyes and looked down.

"Aria..." He said quietly, "I'm... I'm not gay. Well, I was but now..." He let out a sob and I noticed he was crying. "What I'm trying to say is I really, really like you Aria. And I need you to win. For me."

I just stood there numbly. What was happening did Finn just... Un-come out? For me?

"Aria?" Finn pleaded.

I just stood there frozen.

"Aria?"

I slowly looked up at Finn.

"Why? Why now?" I whispered.

"Because you're you." He answered and took a step forwards. "Because your beautiful in all the things that you do. The way you tuck your hair behind your ear when your thinking, the way you look in any item of clothing, including my hoodie which i know you've stolen by the way," he paused long enough for me to let out a half laugh-half sob. "You're not perfect, but you don't care. And that makes you the closest thing to perfect I have ever seen."

"Oh my god," I said and then I ran.