Swords and Flowers

1-2

The rest of the bouts went smoothly. I thanked God that no one else decided to test the rules of sportsmanship because I don't think I would have handled it correctly.

I thought about this more as I walked out of the main gym towards the bout committee table which sat to the left of the ugly, metal doors to the gym. Mechanically, I handed over the clipboard and turned to walk towards the student commons area.

"Ivie," shouted my friend Crystal.

I turned around and saw a slightly taller dark haired girl walking towards me. She wore a long sleeved, dark green shirt with black slacks.

"Are you going to get lunch?" she questioned.

I nodded, and together, we started walking towards the hospitality room which was just around the corner and up three steps. It was a long room and could comfortably fit sixty people. Along the back off white wall was a row of food, ranging from pasta to pulled pork to salad and a tray of cookies. It was safe to assume that I piled food onto my plate like a pro.

Crystal and I sat at a table in the far corner with Crystal across from me. She asked, "So how did directing go?"

"It was pretty okay." I leaned forward in my seat and leaned over the table. "I have to tell you something," I commented lowly. I didn't really want the other few directors to listen in on our conversation, not like it was anything bad, but it was still not something strangers needed to hear.

"Okay, go," Crystal said leaning closer to me.

"So I had to go and sub in for a guy because Coach called him to the bout committee, and then one of the girls who was finishing a bout got a black card for throwing her mask." I looked around the room, scanning in case anyone else was paying attention, which they weren't. "Between you and me, the director was pretty cute."

Crystal rolled her chocolate eyes jokingly. "Was he Asian?"

"Maybe."

She gave me a look.

"What? I have to keep my Asian bloodlines pure," I responded jokingly.

Crystal just laughed and shook her head. "You are terrible."

We continued on eating our lunch quietly. I was taking in the softer conversations that were happening at various parts of the room. There was a group in the corner opposite from ours who were talking about the latest game that one of them got. Another group of girls sat a table down from us. They talked about dogs and which ones they would love to get and why.

"Ivie, Crystal, what's up, guys?" came a voice. It was Brennan who was now standing in front of me. He had a button up dark red plaid shirt on and khakis.

I looked up at the six foot blonde. "Nothing much. I was just telling Crystal about my directing endeavors," I responded casually.

"Yeah, apparently, some kid got a black card," Crystal added as Brennan sat down next to her.

"That's about the most interesting thing that's happened today," he commented. "So what happened?" He pulled out his homemade sandwich and took a bite out of it.

"Okay, so I guess the girl who got a black card wasn't happy about losing, so she decided to throw her mask at the director."

"The 'cute' director," Crystal added jokingly.

Brennan looked up at me with curiosity. He made a suggestive face as he asked, "Who's the director, huh? Anybody I know?"

I shrugged. "Maybe. His name is Kian Zhou."

The look on his face quickly turned from joking to serious. In my three years of knowing Brennan, he had never, ever made a face more angered in front of me than now. "Kian Zhou? As in the Kian Zhou who constantly annoys the hell out of me? As in the Kian Zhou who acts like he's some kind of fencing god?" Shaking his head, Brennan commented, "No, you cannot like that guy at all. I forbid it."

"You're not my dad, Brennan. You can't tell me what to do," I snapped. "Besides, just because he annoys you, doesn't mean that I can't view him differently."

"Yeah, why are you so upset? It's not like you have to see him if you don't want to. Why do you care so much? You've already got a girlfriend." Crystal questioned Brennan with a pointed look.

"It doesn't matter who I'm dating. I'm just saying that I can tell when a guy is a playboy, and Kian Zhou," he paused, "is a playboy. Anyways, I'm not looking to date Ivie, as cute as she is." He flashed a smirk. "Think of me as her protective older brother." His smile was almost as wide as his face, but even then, it wasn't reaching his blue eyes.

"I never asked for an older brother. I have a perfectly fine older sister, thank you. So it's appreciated, but if you're just going to try and boss me around, then please find someone else to bother." With that, I stood up from the table and threw away my trash. I couldn't stay there anymore. I understood that Brennan only wanted to help, but who was he to tell me who I could and could not date?

Older brother, my ass, I thought to myself. More like pain in the ass. I kept walking around aimlessly until Direct Eliminations started. During that time, I avoided Brennan like the plague. The worst part about that was that I couldn't even talk to my other guy friend. He too was Brennan's best friend, and any situation where I'd have to talk to Brennan was definitely off the table.

I walked for another thirty minutes before Coach called us all back and assigned us strips. I was on strip three. Relieved, I sped off to the strip and get started with DEs.

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A/N: The next chapter is a looonngg one! Be prepare :)

This is unedited, so please do not comment about the grammar/spelling mistakes! Thank you!