Kisses after midnight (WICKED #0) | ✓

2

MATEO LOVED THE THRILL of a fight. There was something about that adrenaline rush, that spike of energy; he could only describe it as amazing. It hadn't taken long for him to rise to the top on the streets, his name spreading further and further each time he won again. And every time he returned home, climbed across the tree and knocked on her window. He really had no place he'd rather be than there, sitting cross-legged on her soft carpet as she scoldingly tended to his wounds.

St Joseph was another place he really loved though. In other schools the slightest problem got him sent out of the classroom or even the school, but here he could wreak as much havoc as he wanted. They couldn't sent him away - St Joseph was the place kids got sent away to, not from. In this place, his word had funnily enough become law even as people gave him gaudy titles like king. He didn't care much for it, but playing king was a fun enough game when he had time to kill.

Today was one of those days.

He leant lazily against the wall as the new kids squared up in front of him. It was a group of eight, four of them surprisingly scrawny, the others obviously fighters. His gaze wandered across them as he assessed whether this situation would be any fun at all. He doubted it.

Each year the new batch of delinquents who arrived here thought they were the next best thing and each year he proved them wrong. In the beginning he had still liked the excitement of it all, but without any real challenges now even this had gotten boring. One look at these guys told him he could take them down easily, as always.

Was he really missing time he could have spent with Gabriela for this?

"Come on then," one of the guys said," show us what St Joseph's king is made of."

Chase and his guys were standing in front of him, Chase's eyes immediately blazing as he looked at Mateo for permission. All he did was yawn though, slow and confident in his moves as he pushed himself off the wall and started walking forward.

The guy who spoke up looked more nervous as he neared, Mateo not stopping until he stood right in front of him. He was towering above him easily and he tilted his head to the right, assessing the whole situation with faint amusement.

"What are you waiting for?" he said.

That was enough for everyone to shoot into action, all the guys rushing at him. It felt like everything was going in slow-motion for a second as he saw all of them making the most intense faces and his lips curled up in a smile.

And then everything went really fast.

He punched down the first guy, spinning on his heel as he kicked down the second, before jumping up and kneeing the third in the face. When Gabriela fought it always looked like she was dancing, graceful even when she broke bones, but he moved like a storm, thunder striking with each hit.

Someone managed to punch him in the face, but his smile remained as the familiar taste of blood tingled on his tongue. There was no fun in an one-sided fight. He turned his face back and whatever the guy saw on it made his eyes widen in fear, before Mateo slammed his head against his. The guy stumbled backwards, gripping his forehead in pain, but Mateo just continued on, an uppercut to the jaw followed closely by a right hook. When everyone was on the ground that was when he stopped, standing in the middle of his own empire, yet again crowned victorious.

He spat the blood out of his mouth, before wiping it off as he looked around.

"Welcome to St Joseph," he drawled.

Chase was grinning from ear to ear as he turned around, when his smile suddenly disappeared. Mateo followed his line of sight, turning back, only to face two new people.

Was there more? He glanced at Chase's puzzled expression, before looking back. In front of him were a guy and a girl, the two of them looking utterly confused as they stared at the sight in front of them. Mateo would have thought they were lost, were it not for the fact that the guy was the perfect St Joseph type.

He had midnight hair and two AM eyes, glittering in the sunlight like stars. His eyebrows were pulled down in a seemingly permanent frown, his underlying anger clearly visible, from his scraped knuckles to the way his jaw was set. Underneath the short sleeves of his Gucci shirt tattoos were inked on every visible part of his skin, the swirls and drawings neat.

The girl beside him was the complete opposite, all bubbly smiles and clumsy hands, heart-shaped band-aids on four of her fingers. She was dressed in a colorful, expensive looking dress, her bell sleeves wide as she tucked a lock of caramel hair behind her ear. The move made the diamonds on her ears glitter, every inch the sheltered little rich girl.

"I think so," Chase said then," what else would they be doing here? St Joseph is guarded like a prison."

He was right though. The gates only opened to those permitted to enter, so who else could they be than students?

"Okay then," Mateo said, before gesturing at the guy with a jerk of his head," let's fight. I haven't got all day."

The guy blinked, before his eyes blazed as he stepped forward. His woman, at least that was what Mateo assumed her to be, grabbed his arm and he hesitated for a second.

"Don't worry," Mateo said then," no one here will lay a finger on her when you lose, I'll make sure of that."

"When I lose?" the guy said slowly.

"You heard me," Mateo said.

The guy jerked his arm free then, walking towards him as he cracked his knuckles. When they were facing each other, Mateo smiled, hoping that whatever this new kid was, it would at least be a challenge.

"You sure you want your precious shirt to be damaged?" Chase called out," you'll have to empty your pockets to buy a new one after this."

The guy cast a bored glance at Chase, before he grabbed his sleeve.

And then without blinking he ripped it.

"There," he said," now it's damaged already."

"Jay!" the girl called out scoldingly.

"What does it matter?" Jay said and one look in his eyes was enough to tell Mateo he meant it.

A slow grin spread across Mateo's face then as he nodded approvingly. Whoever this new kid was, he had started to like him already.

"You're called Jay?" Mateo said.

When he didn't answer, Chase called out.

"He asked you a question, new kid!"

"And I chose not to reply," Jay snapped.

Mateo's grin widened, each response only making him like the kid more. Perhaps this would finally be the challenge he had been hoping for.

"Let's go then, Jay," he said," don't disappoint me."

Fire blazed across Jay's face at the words and Mateo blinked at the fierce reply. Before he could think more of it though, Jay punched him in the face.

His grin was already in place as he looked back, adrenaline coursing through his veins already.

"That's more like it."