Jack started circling clockwise around me, leading me to go in the opposite direction, if someone looked at us from above it would look like we were making a giant circle. I knew that he was going to strike first, he was far bigger than me, making it so that it would take more energy for him to attack, my goal was to draw out the fight until I saw an opportunity to strike, something that he couldn't afford to have happen. He shifted his weight to his front leg, meaning that he was ready to lunge, so I shifted my weight to my back leg and readied myself. He lunged and swung his blade towards my neck, I jumped to the side avoiding it and readied my blade. Jack swung again, I instinctively raised my blades in an 'X' pattern, blocking the strike, and pushed them skyward, giving him less control of his blade, I kicked him at the hips, causing him to drop his blade and stagger a bit, giving me the opportunity I needed. I flipped one of my knives and hit him in the jaw with the butt of my knife, making him fall back and clutch at his jaw, writing in pain.
"Game over, Pal," I said with my blade a millimeter from his Adam's apple, before he kicked out his leg, tripping me and giving himself an opportunity to get his scimitar.
"You always were too bold," He said and assumed a different position, knowing I would beat him if he went for the same strategy, so he decided to play more defensive. I got up and grabbed my knives before we started the circle pattern all over again. I saw that he was trying to one-up me, so I decided to go in for the attack first, I knew he wouldn't but I would need to use speed in order to be successful in overpowering his defense. I shifted my weight and sprinted at him, noticing the weight shift to his back leg, I slid on my knees under him and hit him in the back hard enough to knock him off balance, giving me an opening. He stumbled a bit before kicking his leg behind him and hitting me in the chest, it hurt like hell but that was the least of my worries, I soon realized. I hit me in the chest with the butt of his blade, knocking the wind out of me, before placing his blade close to my throat, and standing in a different manner than I had. I tried to move but he placed his foot on my chest to stop me, bad move on his part. I stabbed him in the leg, making him stumble and giving me the golden opening to tackle him, throw his blade far enough for him not to reach it, and choke him.
"Well played, Jakey, well played," he said, choking on his words, so I stood up and helped him up, this was something we would do every once in a while, but I always took pride when I beat him. We walked back inside to see everyone either working, napping, or shooting, and I didn't know what I wanted to do, so I went with the second option and lied down on the couch closest to me. Using my hoodie as a blanket, of sorts, and the pillow next to my head to relax. Jack was at the kitchen making food, and bandaging his leg, while Jade and Nicki were cuddling on the couch, and Ashley was walking with Miguel towards the garage. I fell asleep shortly after, and found myself back in hell, in my bed, with Jameson sleeping next to it. I got up, careful not to wake the hellhound, and walked over to the pit, the rapist from the camp we had raided was climbing out of the pit, and almost made it out, if it weren't for a bullet in the back. He fell back and I shot a bolt of fire into the pit, igniting the thermite, releasing wales and screams of pain and torture, this was one of my best ideas yet. I turned around and walked back into my room, grabbing a soda I heard Jack walk in and over to the pit, admiring the charred bodies of those that committed inhumane atrocities, giving us the right to make them suffer in a way only an archdemon could design.
"How's it hangin' down there? Seems a bit warm!" Jack yelled at my ex, who had been here the longest, and threw a pile of thermite down, igniting on top of him.
"FUCK YOU! WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE, YOU'RE DEAD, AND YOUR LITTLE TOY IS GONNA SUFFER WORSE!" He was referring to me, I had no clue why. Jack and I weren't dating, we were basically the same person, but I guess he didn't know that. Either way, what he said gave me flashbacks to before I met Jack, and he must've realized it, he tossed a charge into the pit and walked over to where I was standing.
"You alright? You know he ain't gettin' outta there, right?" He said, I nodded my head slowly and sat back down on the bed, trying to steady my breathing. Shit like this was difficult to overcome, so when Jack was there it helped with everything. We always had fun together, from street fighting, to drinking and bombing, to more street fights. After a bit, I was able to calm down enough for us to wake up and go to Derek.
"Hey, Der!" Derek turned his head and greeted us with a smile "We know you're proposing to JJ soon, you need any help?"
"Jake already knows the only thing I need y' all to do so-"
"No, I mean other than that, if you need any help."
"Nah, I got everything else covered, but I need your input over whether my idea is good or not." He said and started explaining his plan to propose to Johnny in six days, he was going to go to his first date with him, his favorite date with him, where they first "Made love", where they went to celebrate Johnny's first birthday together, and where they first met. By the end of it, I was using every muscle I had in my eyes and every ounce of willpower I had, to not let tears out, it was adorable and beautiful and it made me believe that maybe romance isn't dead. I took a second to wipe the stupid smile off my face, gave Jack a minute to calm himself, then told Derek what I thought.
"If he don't say yes then you did something wrong in the execution of this plan, that's awesome," I said, Jack had some more...shall I say, refined ways of saying it.
"That's fuckin' amazin' dude, I hope it goes bloody amazing for you, cuz y' all both deserve it." 'Yeah...refined...right' I thought as we both wished Derek good luck and walked over to where Jade was consoling Nicki, who was bawling her eyes out.
"D-did you hear his plan??" She said, we nodded and she continued crying, and I couldn't blame her, it was a great plan "That's so beautiful!"
"Yeah, if I ever get married I want to get proposed to that way," I mumbled and laughed at myself, 'Marriage? Ha! That's a joke' I thought, I knew I was way too insecure to propose to someone, and who'd propose to me. I smirked and laughed it off, then walked towards the garage, I was gonna go take a break from this lovey-dovey bull shit. Miguel and Ashley were working on the truck, and they were pretty much in sync with one another when Miguel went to the right side of the truck to work on the bolting of the gun, Ashley went to the hood of the truck to work on the engine when Ashley went to the back to work on the shielding for the gun, Miguel would go to work on the tires, it was almost like a ballet in the sense that everything was so well-timed and coordinated, I was almost jealous. I got in my truck and turned on the radio, which was playing Metallica's "Master of Puppets", and floored the gas through the open garage door. 'Alamo, Dave, and Busters, or ...Dave and Busters' I thought and set the GPS to the Dave and Busters I used to go to as a kid.