A Lot Can Happen In A Year // parkner

1

Chapter 1

Harley stared at his sister as she quietly did the questions that were easier than the ones she had gotten for homework. At that moment, he was helping her with something she was stuck on and he knew she was suffering just with the fact that she feels so much dread for not being able to do such a simple thing. The sadness that had planted onto her face, which was free from any ageing imperfections as it seemed. Abby didn't seem to struggle with the question he had given him, and he hoped his teaching would be good enough for her to excel in anything she wants to excel in. He was so in the clouds that he had forgotten Abby had put her pen down and instantly, as he had turned towards her, just felt a sort of relief. The happiness on her face as she had rambled about how she thought it was too hard but it was actually pretty easy. It made him feel happy that she was free from the suffering that she was in before, reminding himself of the promise he had made based on his new bubbling desire, to keep his family happy. 

His phone rang. No, he didn't expect that. Not at all, but on seeing his Boss' number on his screen as it rang with impatience and uncertainty, he answered it. 

"Hello, Boss," Harley stated in such calmness that had surprised even himself. His Boss only called when he was needed, he knew this and he was afraid that he could have been getting fired right in front of his sister. 

"Hi, Harley. So, basically, the guy dropped out. You need to be the one in the fight instead, just come now and you can train a bit," the voice of a man, who had a breathy yet deep voice, sighed with the words just echoing in the background of the words he said of, "I don't care, just come right now." 

Abby looked disappointed, she didn't want him to leave, not yet, not ever. She would be struggling on her homework with no one to ask and no one who would care, expect him. Now, he was having to go away because some guy had made him cover for the guy. She was upset, but she understood and let him go. She understood that without Harley's job, they could all come crumbling down. He wasn't abandoning her, he never would, he was just leaving for his job that stabled their life back into place. She was happy that they finally had a foundation to lay upon, happy that Harley was able to provide for them all. 

Harley was almost out the door when he was still overthinking about the possibility that the dread of not knowing something would be too much for his sister then his sister would stop trying at his homework. He felt so drawn to just helping her do her homework that he almost forgot that he was the foundation to their living at that moment. What if his sister thought this was a plot to abandon them? He wouldn't want his sister to think that, he feared that Abby and mom would think that he was abandoning them, by pretending he had to cover for someone and then just leaving forever. He doesn't ever want to leave his family and leaving his family only had ever led to him thinking and thinking and crying and panicking. 

But so, he still left, thinking as he dragged his feet across the dirty cement. He was thinking and overthinking about the possibility that now his family could abandon him, considering the fact that they could have thought this was a plan for him to abandon them. 

He shook his head before it seemed as though he just applied his "I closed the door to my soul" eyes and walked in with a stride of confidence and pride. He straightened his back and held up his chin in a proud manner. He looked confident, cold and distant yet there. That was the exterior he wanted. No vulnerability, no soul to his eyes, no weakness, just the coldness of his personality once he stepped outside. 

The inside of this strange looking illegal fight club was just dark, to hide itself from the unsuspecting citizens of the town. Lights were turned on but dimmed down to the maximum it probably could go. It was strange, but Rose Hill police didn't care about any shit that would go on. Unless it was the time when he was twelve and Tony Stark crash-landed into Rose Hill. 

"Harley!! I knew I could count on you! Get your ass here and fight bitch," his Boss snarled with annoyance at the end of his sentence, the words that were sent Harley's way didn't make his stride stop or his confident posture hunch. It didn't, but instead just made his walk more confident and cold, distancing himself from the hunched postures of everyone else in the room. 

Harley couldn't trust his words. He nodded with a smirk that he just knew he would win. 

After repeatedly being hit in the face and ribs and legs, it really didn't hurt until you sat down or moved but gave you some adrenaline instead.

"You're a tad late not gonna lie, ya missed some time to train, but ya know ya always win anyway," Boss chanted with an overly exaggerated southern accent. It was obvious he was drunk as the Boss stumbled over his feet and made it sure on his eyes and in his body language that Harley had to win today, if he didn't, he wouldn't be standing again. 

He was striding again and again before finally reaching the arena area, the biggest part of this big ass house. The audience would've been nauseating if he wasn't already nauseated just by thinking that he had to knock another man out. Of course, he didn't want to knock this man out cold. He had to. 

No one really knew who threw the first punch, but it was just "punch" and "recover" and "punch". 

The audience never had seemed to shut up, always changing and chanting and "woo"ing as blood was splattered onto the already red surface. The fist of face contact, the foot and rib contact. It was all nauseating, or maybe that was because he had been hit in the face and ribs a number of times. 

He had felt warm, clammy hands wrap around his skinny neck, engulfing his airways into their hands. His airways were now in their control, but not for long as he turned his body sideways, kicking out his leg which made the man fall sideways and let go of his neck in a way to try and stabilise himself. 

The man didn't stabilise himself as the crowd and Harley watched him fall to the ground. Immediately, the man tried to recover and stand back up but not before Harley had kicked him back down. He hovered above the man and as he saw the black spots in his vision, he also saw his family's stability after the fight he would run. One thousand and five hundred dollars was a deal, it was a solid thing to take. 

He threw his fist down onto the man's rib cage, hearing a small crack as the contact. Harley held the man down with his left arm and he straddled the man as he pushed all his weight into the left elbows that was digging into the man's skin. Immediately, he threw his right fist to the man's face too many times to count, before the man's eyes had rolled backwards. 

Harley stood up. He wasn't proud, he wasn't happy, but he didn't deflate, he couldn't, not in public like this. He stood with fake pride and happiness on his face, making everyone in the crowd cheer and woo for him as they thought he enjoyed beating men to the point they have to be unconscious. 

The host stood up with a cheap looking microphone. "Give it up for Keener!!! He has won the prize of one thousand and five hundred dollars! Whoop! Whoop!" 

Harley stumbled off the arena after announcements were down as he carried the unconscious man in a bridal lift. 

The man was taken from his arms and immediately settled into his Boss' medical care "professionals" but at that point, no one could care less if they were professionals, they just wanted him to be cleaned up. 

As he cleaned himself up, his Boss came over to him with a big smile on his face that obviously didn't reach his eyes but it was whatever at that moment. 

"Well done. I have something to say," his Boss called out to him. Harley had raised his eyebrows in confusion. He wasn't sure how to think of that. 

"Um, go ahead."

"You have to go to NYC. Alone. Since, you're so good at fighting you'll have to go to NYC for better fights...and more money. You have to go. It's a demand, unless you want to get fired, but you won't get a better offer than this." 

What?