AUDREY
Eyes trailed me as I walked alongside him, nodding to me as I stalked past.
We reached a set of double doors, drenched with red paint. We pushed them aside, halting the commotion inside. I could feel many gazes land on me as I stood beside Victor, a dwarf when compared to him.
"Everyone, off the ring!" He bellowed, his orders were obeyed immediately.
"Who's this boss?" A buff man questioned, he glistened with sweat (and stunk like used socks), I tried to resist the urge to scrunch up my nose with distaste.
"This is Holly," a fake name I go under, "Holly Collins."
"This is Holly Collins?" He gaped in disbelief, "no way! She's tiny!"
I turned my gaze to Victor, he rolled his eyes. I have an ongoing tally counting the number of times a newcomer has said that. The others keep their mouths shut for the entertainment. He let out a deep sigh, he used to find it funny before, I guess he's grown tired of it.
"Alright Mr Macho, get in the ring." He challenged, folding his arms across his chest.
"What? Why" The man asked, slightly shuffling away from us.
"I said get in the ring. You're gonna fight her," he states, he then turns to me, "go get changed, I have your kit in your locker and yes, I had it dry cleaned." He nudges me towards the doors.
"But she's tiny! And a girl, I don't wanna fight her." The man argued. I didn't hear anything else when those big red doors shut behind me.
When I returned, the same man stood in the middle of the ring, sweating from nervousness instead of exercise, either that or Victor blew up at him. I slipped into the ring, familiar with my surroundings from the many times I fought here.
I set the phone down, Lewis' voice a shrill of happiness upon hearing that I was okay. Victor then beckoned me forward, towards an endless corridor, eventually coming across a set of colossal blood red doors. He pushed them aside, grey floors and brick walls greeting us in return.
"What's this place?"
"It's the training ring, my men and I fight here, training of course, not actual fights."
He guided me towards the red circle on the floor, then he turned to me an looked me up and down.
"Eh, I guess your clothes should be fine." He shrugged. I looked down at my attire, my black leggings were streaked with mud, as was my burgundy knitted sweater.
"Okay, we're going to start with the basics."
He guided me through different manoeuvres and the sensitive parts of the body, where to strike.
By the time we finished, I was soaked with sweat. The silent room was filled with my painting, my heartbeat thrummed in my ears, each thump seemingly louder than the last.
"Not bad kiddo, not bad." He commented, his hand ruffled my hair and he scrunched his nose, "You have to take a shower though, you smell bad."
"And who's fault was that?" I pouted, pulling his hand away.
"I will admit, we did a lot, you were really good for that being your first time in the ring." He complimented, beginning to push me back towards those doors, "now go, you don't wanna go home stinking like a pig do ya now?"
I stood up straight, preventing him from pushing me any further, "thank you, very much. For everything."
"Yeah whatever, save that for later, you need to shower." He avoided, "It's no problem." He muttered at the end, barely audible as I pushed my way through the heavy doors of the changing rooms.
By the time I came out, clean and clothed, I was met with Lewis, slouching on the sofa where I sat half an hour ago. He looked exhausted and drained of life. He lifted his head and stood pin straight in seconds.
"My lady! Are you hurt? What happened? Who?" I felt like this wheelbarrow of questions slapped me in the face, and hard too.
"Lewis I'm fine," I held my hands in front of me,"I'm tired and I want to go home."
He sighed in despair, his shoulders slacking, something I never see Lewis do. He was always perfect. He approached me slowly, his tall form kneeling to meet my height, he placed a hand over his heart and smiled softly.
"As you wish my lady."
I stood in the ring, facing my opponent. The eyes of many, set on us. The tension in this hall increased, like a rope straining to hold itself together on its last string, so close to snapping.
I observed the man before me. He was tall and muscular like most of the other men here. He looked afraid, but not because of me, because he didn't want to hurt me. Every face I meet in this ring has the same look in their eyes.
We got into our stances. Then, he pounced.
SEBASTIAN
I sat in Starbucks, my notes and books lay before me, as did my sanity.
I stared at the pages covered in lines and lines of ink. The letters a blur to me. I feel like I've been staring at these notes for hours, but nothing is sinking in.
"Hey man, I haven't seen you in a while. Not since the plan. Whoah, are you okay, you look like you just got stabbed."
I glanced up, more than happy to look away from those pages of nonsense.
"Sebastian, right? Remember me, Harry Butler?" He pointed to himself, taking the seat in front of me.
"Yes. I do - remember you that is. How long has it been?"
He chuckled, twirling the paper cup in his hands, "Too long, in my opinion, that night was awesome. But seriously, you look like you're in pain. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, no. I've been staring at these pages for," I paused to look at my watch, "ten minutes."
He leaned over glancing at the book, "What course?"
"Law."
"Ooh. That's a tough one." Now he was the one who looked in pain.
"You have no idea." I chuckled, closing the book in defeat, and probably exhaustion too.
He took a sip of his drink, a few of his curly locks falling onto his forehead.
"So how's it going with Audrey? She hasn't been too harsh on you has she?" He joked, reaching up to brush them away.
"I wouldn't know, I haven't really seen her since then." I shrugged, glancing out the window. Night had fallen and stars peaked out through the darkness.
"What? But I thought you and Audrey were a couple. That kiss may have been for the show but there was chemistry there." He claimed, his eyes staring me down.
"No, we're not. She's just really good at acting. I think she's been busy with work and her part of the job. Plus, it's not like I can't live without her. We aren't a couple, no way." I concluded, shaking my head at the last part.
"Oh, you're in that place. I get it, I get it." He holds his hands up in surrender.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I sputtered, furrowing my eyebrows.
He looked me up and down, a strange look on his face, "Look, everyone can see it. It's obvious. Hey, if you wanna deny it then that's okay, but it will always be there whether you like it or not." He shrugged and rose from the seat.
"What's gonna be there? I don't understand." This made him chuckle and tap his nose. Before I knew it, he had already left. I ran my hands through my hair in frustration, groaning quietly. What did he mean?
By the time I reached my apartment, the world had gone quiet. It felt like every noise I made was only amplified in the pit of silence. This is probably the reason I leapt like two metres of the ground with the sudden shrill of a high-pitched ringtone.
I scrambled to answer the phone in time, wanting to put an end to this obnoxious sound.
"Hello?" I ask, trying to calm my erratic heartbeat.
"Hey sweetie, how was your day?" My marathon running heartbeat calmed down at the sound of her voice. The same voice that would sing me lullabies to stop my crying.
"Hey mum, it was fine. How are you?" I replied, chucking my bag on the sofa and jumping onto my bed.
"Just fine?" She wondered, "how disappointing."
"Mum!" I groaned.
"I'm just kidding. Look, honey, I have to do a wedding dress for next month and we were invited to the wedding. She's a lovely girl, Italian too." She rambled.
"I know, I met her during the meeting with Jackson."
"You were there?" She gasped.
"Yeah, I was with Marcus, he has a crush on an employee there. The both of them dragged me along two against one, I'm pretty sure that's against the rules, unfair." I explained, my eyes glued to the spotless white ceiling.
She giggled, her voice was soft, even over the phone, "That's lovely honey. So, do you accept."
She used that tone. You know, that tone. The tone people use when they try to coax you into doing something.
"When is it?" I drawled, sitting up, facing the large windows.
"Next Saturday." She replied, her voice quiet and shy.
I paused, considering my options, "Fine. I'll see you then."