Forever And Never

TWELVE || ALEXANDER

The entire room is filled with screams and cheers as I step up towards the ring. The crowd is chanting my name, throwing cash in the air and screaming their bets. My fingers curl and uncurl in anxiousness as my feet shuffle towards the center. My opponent is giving me a smug smile, trying his best to look intimidating. His body is too scrawny and thin, almost like branches that I could snap easily. Avoiding his gaze, I look over the crazy audience.

"Cruz! Cruz! Cruz!"

The referee nudges me forward with my opponent. I stare at the fighter with narrowed eyes while he only gives me a wink.

"I'm gonna beat you so hard until you beg me to stop," he growls to me. "I hope you brought some tissues."

I smile back at him. "Let's hope I did."

We bump knuckles as soon as the bell dings. The crowd begins to surge to the front, their cheers and yells so loud that it almost distracts me.

The fight has begun.

My opponent throws a hook and I duck under it, countering with a jab and cross right on his mouth. He scowls and tries to punch me again, his aim missing me by miles. I slip away from the punch and strike the side of his head. Everyone roars in approval once my opponent backs away for a second.

I let my opponent try to hit me multiple time. This is too easy for me; I've been in fights with bigger and faster guys for less money.

As I begin to throw an uppercut, my opponent suddenly ducks and hits me straight in the jaw. The blow sends me tottering backwards as black stars cloud my vision. The crowd begins to scream and grow antsy, cursing at me. I try to shake the dizziness from my brain just as my opponent edges towards me. His fist connects with mine as he tries to land multiple punches onto my face. I keep my hands up in defense, grunting at every hit I receive.

"Weak piece of shit," he spits at me. His next punch hits me in the gut and I double over, pain exploding all over my torso. I wheeze and gasp, my body curling up in protest. Before my opponent can throw another punch, I swing out into a hook and successfully hit his ribs. He curses out and crouches, giving me the time to throw an uppercut. My knuckles strike his chin and his head flies back. Blood spurts rapidly from his mouth and I grin when I see that his front tooth has broken off. What kind of idiot doesn't wear a mouthguard in a fight?

"Where're your tissues?" I tease him, trying to catch my breath. My energy is already draining dangerously. I think of something that can give me back my energy. Something happy like...Sasha.

My opponent straightens and begins to throw lousy punches. I easily avoid them, coming back with punches to his face and body. He continues to swear every time I land a punch on his already injured mouth.

Oh, if Sasha could see me now, defeating my opponent in this very ring. Would she swoon over me like this? Would she be mad or angry that I got hurt? A smile lingers on my lips when I remember the way she asked me out. In that cute little shy voice, she invited me for dinner just because of my "hard work".

The bell rings out loud, signaling the end of the first round. I make my way to where Vincent is while Don wipes my face with a cold towel. A girl, probably in her twenties, feeds me water from a straw.

"What the fuck are you so happy about?" Vincent asks. I drop my smile and glare at him, pushing the straw out of my mouth.

"I'm winning, dumbass. Where's he even from? Kindergarten?" I wipe my face with my forearm and stand back up. "I'm gonna knock him out in this round."

Vincent holds up a bundle of cash. "Everyone's bettin' on it."

The referee grabs me and pushes me to the center again. I shrug him off in annoyance before getting into position. The bell dings and my opponent steps forward without hesitation. His movement is too fast for me to notice and I end up receiving a punch onto my ribs. A grunt escapes my lips and I strike his temple in return.

"Come on, Cruz!" Someone from the front yells. "Knock this kid out already!"

My opponent hears the comment too, which angers him more. He throws powerful but aimless punches to me. I strike him in the most open areas I can find: his mouth, his eye, and his chin.

Before I can make my final move to break his noise, my opponent suddenly ducks. Then, he butts his head into my gut and slams me to the ground. My legs spur into action and I try to bring my knee up to shove him off. My opponent locks himself onto my torso and begins to pound all his energy onto my face. Screams escape everywhere as I try to block his punches. One of his punches hits my nose and I yell in pain. Blood flows down to my mouth and drips off my chin.

"Give up," my opponent growls to me. "Just give up already!"

I roll from his jab and punch his neck. He chokes on his own breath, gasping. My knee comes up and I slam it into his crotch. This time, he screams out loud and rolls away, his eyes scrunched shut and teeth grit in agony. Everyone's yells thunder the entire room, banging the walls and stomping the ground like madmen. I stand up to my full height and step over to my opponent. His eyes are wide as he stares up at me in fear.

"Next time, don't go around using my name for attention," I say to him. "You'll regret it."

"You dirty little—" he tries to sit up but I throw my hardest punch onto his face. My opponent lies motionless on the ground.

The sound of the bell dinging rapidly fills me ears, followed by the roars of the audience. I turn away and face them, raising my fists in the air. A smile spreads onto my lips. If only my family could see me now...

I won my last fight. My last battle.

+

"I knew you could do it," Vincent tells me after I bandage my nose. He holds up a bundle of hundred dollar bills and slaps it next to me. "All yours."

I count the money, making sure it's all the cash I need. Tucking it into my bag, I push past Vincent and walk towards my car.

"What, no 'thank you'?" Vincent calls. "Not even a hug?"

My only reply is my middle finger sticking out from the car window as I drive away, feeling victorious and relieved.

No more worries. Life is good.

+

getting hit in the face really hard is literally as bad as period cramps. just saying.

what did you think of the fight?

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-e