Ace

Attractive

"Sofia! You're here." Olivia practically jumped into my arms, greeting me with a friendly smile.
"Of course," I smiled, slightly surprised she wasn't angry about the other night.

It was lunch and I hadn't seen her most of the day, so I wasn't expecting a friendly greeting.

"Blake's been looking for you since the first class."Olivia glanced at me, almost as if she was worried for me.
"Why?" I asked her, suspicious that Ace had caused tensions. Well, of course, he caused tension, he punched Blake in the face.
"I'm not sure." She admitted, rubbing the back of her neck stressfully. I had a feeling she knew something but was hesitant to tell me. Ryder was her boyfriend and he definitely would've told her something.

"Oh shit, here they come," Olivia muttered nervously. I saw Ryder and Blake along with the rest of the football team. They owned the school which I hated; Everyone followed and loved the football team.

I saw the guys turn their attention and within moments, Ryder approached me. I noticed Blake within the group, he had a bruise on his face from where Ace had punched him. It was a dim purple colour with patches of blue running through it. I was almost wincing for him.

"Olivia, go wait over there," Ryder growled at her. "No, she's my fri- NOW!" Ryder shouted aggressively, interrupting Olivia. I've witnessed Ryder be very controlling over Olivia before so this wasn't anything new.

People were staring at us in the halls because of the commotion.

"Ryder, what the fuck?" I questioned him angrily. "Your boy toy messed up Blake's face, so now he can't play in the finals next week." Ryder practically spat at me, squaring up to me.
"I'm sorry but that wasn't my fault, Blake was warned and he didn't listen." I slowly backed away from him cautiously.
"Blake tried to stand up for you and your boy toy hit him, how is that not your fault?" Ryder grumbled, backing me against the lockers.
"Ryder, if you don't back up, I'll hurt you," I warned him, not breaking my confidence.

My fight or flight instinct had kicked in and I was choosing to fight. I'm usually always flight around my father or people who remind me of him but I knew that Ryder wasn't trained in fighting and probably wouldn't even know how to throw a proper punch.

"Ryder stop it!" Olivia shrieked at him as the football team watched on.
"Man, you're taking this too far." Blake pulled Ryder back by his shoulder.
"Let her go!" Olivia snarled at Ryder, trying to pull him back from me. Ryder shoved Olivia carelessly, causing her to stumble and fall to the ground before turning his attention to me.
"Fuck you!" I curled my fist into a ball and hit Ryder across his face; No one touches my best friend.

Ryder slowly brought his head back towards me before scowling harshly.
"You're a fucking bitch, hiding behind her boy toy, well guess what Sofia, he's not here now." He snapped swinging at me. I dodged him and slipped under his arm. Within seconds, my fist had collided with his jaw. I knew that I should've chosen flight but there was no backing down now.

Where the fuck are the teachers?

I managed to create some distance between Ryder and I. My brother's always told me that I should always have enough room to move around if necessary; For me to be light and quick on my feet. Use my small size and speed to my advantage.

Ryder threw a hard left swing but missed by inches. My heart was beating through my chest as the students in the halls watched on. None of them dared to call for the teachers in case Ryder would come for them next, and to be honest, I didn't blame them.

Ryder was now desperate to make a connection since I kept dodging his hits. He was becoming sloppy and wasn't watching his footing. I knew I was going to have to do something risky, which meant I was more than likely going be hit but it would be worth it if it ended the fight.

I gripped the rim of his jersey and finally, he managed to make a connection.
"You hit like a girl." I grinned as he realised I still had my grip. I slipped my foot behind his and pushed him backwards causing him to stumble to the ground. Everyone stared at me, their expression were beyond shocked; They were speechless and stunned.

In the heat of the moment, I hadn't realised that Ryder busted my lip. But thankfully I had managed to do more damage to him and his ego than he had done to me. The football players helped Ryder up and were in the process of dragging him to the locker rooms where they'll soothe his bruised ego.

"Sofia, what happened?" Ace said confusedly as he stared at me while I stood in the centre of the circle. Well fuck.

I glanced back to the footballers who were barely managing to make it down the hall with Ryder as he refused to be carried. I had probably given him a concussion because he hit his head off of the ground; Not to mention the punches.

Ace watched Ryder glance back at him, and all the colour in Ryder's face had disappeared. He was as pale as a ghost. Guess what Ryder, my boy toy was here, and even if he hated me, he hates you more.

Ace began to stalk towards him and as soon as Ryder realised, he had begun to limp faster but it was no use. Ace grabbed him and threw him against the wall, pinning him to the wall by his throat.

"You're brave fighting a woman but the minute I approach you, you run off like a little bitch?" Ace scoffed disgustedly, his expression showing only rage. "Would you like to fight me, Ryder?" Ace asked with a smile, already knowing the answer.
"No-" Ryder responded quickly, refusing to make eye contact with him. He released his grip on Ryder's shirt but gripped his face roughly.
"If you ever touch her again, I'll take your fingers as a trophy," Ace threatened him coldly before dropping him and walking back towards me.

"I realised that leaving you here wasn't a good idea because of my actions yesterday, so I came to get you and it's a good thing I did. Come on, we're going home," He muttered, wrapping his hand around my waist as we left the school.

Ace took out a silk handkerchief and stood still for a moment.
"You have blood running down your chin," He informed me, as I also stopped walking. He raised the handkerchief and wiped the blood from my chin.

We continued to walk back in silence.

He had a crease in between his eyebrows from anger as he stared at the blood on his white shirt.
"Are you okay?" Ace questioned me after calming down slightly. I nodded in response because it hurt to talk with a busted lip.

He drove us back to his house. No chauffeur this time, or last time. Not like the first time I'd been in a vehicle with him.
"I'll stitch your lip if you need it and then I'll take you to see your brothers," Ace uttered as he drove, his full concentration on the road.
"Don't you have someone to drive for you?" I questioned, trying to change the conversation but most of it sounded like a blubber.
"Yeah, but I don't like using them," Ace admitted. "Why not?" I asked again.
"It seems ignorant, I have arms and legs, I can do it myself, getting someone else to do it is just being lazy," he rambled but I was more focused on his body at this point. "Besides, it's a useful skill."

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