"So where are we headed again?" Bella enquired as she rode in the back of Emely's car with Natasha in the front, the boys in Liam's car.
"Punch fest, it's pretty cool, you'll see" it was all Emily said, at that, Natasha couldn't help but smirk at the thought of Bella possibly squirming at the sight of the amount of violence she would be forced to witness, thinking Bella nothing but fragile and sensitive.
It was about twenty minute later that they pulled up into a shady parking lot, that had only a few cars around. Well this isn't shady at all. She thought to herself as she looked around the place that looked more deserted than not. Walking through a heavily steeled door and past a very intimidating bouncer, they walked through a corridor only to be exposed to a rowdy arena filled to the brim. Bella could only follow the gang to their usual spots that were near the front of the ring, and she could only try to not gag at the smell of alcohol, cigarette smoke and sweat that permeates the air, she found the scents to be icky and bothersome.
"You good?" Liam was the one to ask Bella who was in the seat next to him with her nose scrunched up and barely breathing, and Liam resisted the urge to actually laugh.
"Yea, besides the fact that I can't breathe" she responded with her index finger and thumb pinching her nose, and right then, Liam couldn't help the laughter that escaped him when she sounded like she had a nasal block and how silly she looked. Bella only smiled then, shaking her head removing her fingers from her nose. Some part of her satisfied she could make him laugh for some reason, perhaps because she liked the notion of being the reason behind someone else's laughter, it gave her a sort of warm feeling.
Their attention was drawn to the stage when the announcer announced the first fight for the night and Bella studied each and every fighter and their moves with each fight that took place, she thought some to be impressive and some in need of some real coaching.No less oblivious to the eyes that watched her. Kent watched her and how she just watched without a single flinch, and he didn't know whether to suspect the worse and to think maybe the angel they thought her to be, was not as angelic after all.
Natasha and Emily were slightly surprised at the fact as well but barely showed it, and Sam with Jeffrey could only think her full of surprises. Bella didn't miss that it was the announcement of the last fight that caught every one of the gang's attention, and she wondered why.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the time has arrived, welcome TURNER THE GREAT AND HIS OPPONENT THEE LEGENDARY STONE COLD KILLER!!!!" and the audience's reaction sounded most amplified to Bella and she could only think that they must have been a big deal around there
"No way" Sam said in disbelief
"Is he crazy!" Natasha exclaimed in horror as Jeffrey and Kent sat shocked and Liam let out a sigh with a shake of his head. He should have known that He would be the opponent, for they had been rivals since forever.
As much as he believed in his own best friend's fighting ability, he also knew that Turner had sneakier moves up his sleeves than he could count, for the man was nothing but a cheating coward who relied on sleazy tricks to get him through. He had become the number one best fighter since his best friend had stopped fighting, and now he realised that it was more a sabbatical than not, and it seemed like he was back to reclaim his place.
With Liam's clenched jaw, Bella could only assume he must know one of the fighters, but decided it no time to prod. The fight started steady, Stone was slightly ahead with hits, but Bella was neither too quick to undermine Turner either. As both fighters stood their ground through round after round, turner sneaked in an illegal hit, and she was surprised when it wasn't called out and Sam was one to shout
"Come on!".
Throughout the fight Bella didn't fail to notice Turner's tendencies of being sneaky and she couldn't help but be highly annoyed at the unfair fight that went on, to the point a part of her became restless with utter frustration
At that point, it was no question that the Stone guy seemed out of practice when he failed to evade and block another illegal hit and a blow to the jaw, to that, Turner added one final hit to the face taking the opportunity Stone's disoriented state, and down he Stone went, she thought to herself then, this guy invented cheap shots didn't' he.
"Damn" Sam breathed out for some reason when Turner passed by where they sat, he looked at them and laughed, a laughter that nearly made Bella hurl, but she also wondered what the exchange was about. At some point she muttered
"Fucking cheat skate" but somehow the gang and Turner with his crew heard her. I said that out real loud didn't I? Bella thought with an internal cringe, wishing the ground could swallow her whole, as Liam and his friends stared at her in nothing but shock and Turner with his crew seemed highly offended
"What did you just say Bitch?" Turner snarled in Bella's direction. He did not just call me the B word, she thought highly appalled, not officially irate she said
"I think you heard just what I said, could you be any more of a coward that you can't fight a fair fight without those sneaky hits you pulled, even a toddler has more self-respect than that" Bella's response barely shocked her, for the daring part of her always had the tendency of showing up unceremoniously so. She was trouble like that
"Bella, I don't think it was a good idea to say that" Liam said in warning toward Bella, in his mind he though the young woman to be without an idea of who she was dealing with. A chuckle interrupted their encounter. Now realising how everyone was suddenly quiet and looking their way
"Of course a girl would have more guts than you, man" Mark said toward his best friend, a part of him surprised to see the young woman with them, and wondered how she ended up to be, his words were said with a teasing tone as he smirked, knowing very well that it would bother Liam, none of them ever liked being undermined, especially if it was in front of a crowd, it was how his family was.
"She's just a girl looking for trouble where she shouldn't" Liam simply said to his best friend that he considered to be more like a brother than a friend, his face turning toward Bella with a slight glare and Bella could only look blankly at him, a cocked eyebrow
"I'm not looking for trouble" she denied, "I'm merely stating facts" she gritted out then walked away, for Mark's eyes that she didn't miss were intently on her were starting to really unnerve her. Mark only stood smirking, impressed by the girl's guts to voice out her thought the way she did, remembering how she had caught his brother's attention, she couldn't help but think now that he really didn't know what he was getting into with the young woman, for now he knew there was more to her than an innocent face with pretty pink hair.
He also thought it true, that she was stating facts, and he knew that he himself was seriously out of shape, hence his loss against Turner, he hated that but somehow a small part of him was satisfied that the girl had called him out like she did. Considering her small built, most girls would have cowered yet she didn't. A rematch is due and he'd make it happen. Bella hadn't realised that the gang followed her outside until Emily spoke up
"What the hell was that?" she questioned
"Nothing" Bella simply shrugged heading towards Emely's car
"Any day I would have thought that was rad, but this is Turner we're talking about, bad idea baby girl" Sam said as he strolled toward her with a serious face. Somehow she found herself admiring how handsome he actually was, no wonder pretty boy faces always get the girl she thought to herself. Shaking her head as if to rid the thought, she bit her inner cheek to keep herself from smiling
"This must be amusing to you huh" Kent joined in, not missing the twitch of her lip
"And nothing gets past you does it?" she shot back with her own question, and Kent merely gave a nonchalant shrug.
"I guess angel isn't an angel at all, you swore in there, and here I thought you were too adorable for swear words" Jeffery couldn't help but tease
"I don't get what the big deal is, and frankly I'm beat and grouchy, so can you take me to the dorms please" Bella responded exasperated.
"Well Emily's sleeping at mines today, and the boys don't go past the dorms when they head to their apartment" Natasha said in a bored tone, and Bella couldn't help but wonder why Emely had failed to mention this before she dragged her along, and she couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed.
"Don't worry Bells, I can drop you off" it was Deacon that spoke up, when he had seen he, he had marched their way only to investigate why and how she was there, yet when he saw who was around her, he had his answer. Neither of the gang seemed surprise to see him there, besides Bella who questioned
"Deacon, what are you doing here?" her brows furrowed in confusion, and the gang could tell that pretty boy had not told her about this after all
"I had business to take care of" Deacon gave the short reply
"Business?" she said the word under her breath
"Yes Business Bells, now should I take you home or not" the change of attitude threw Bella off a bit, and she couldn't help but feel hurt at him snapping at her.
For he rarely ever let this side show where she was concerned, she could make up a lot of excuses in her mind as to why her friend was being so shot with her then, however, when she saw Mark walk toward his bike, she couldn't help but loudly announce
"Never mind, Liam's friend can drive me" to this, the gang looked at her in question
"Who?" Liam asked, brows up in question. She raised her hand and pointed a finger at Mark, who unconsciously looked their way then only to see the youngwoman pointing at him, with his helmet in hand, his own brows furrowed in confusion
"Mark!?" Natasha all but almost screeched out the question, and Bella only hummed in agreement with a nod of her head. Before leaving them all behind and marched toward the yet to drive away Mark. Trying to not think about his ice blues, she steeled herself and asked when she stood before him.
"You are heading back to campus right?' she mentally crossed her fingers for him to agree, and it seemed the lucky stars to be on her side when Mark said
"Well, I don't really leave on campus, but my apartment is that way" to which she smiled and said
"Good, then you can give me a ride" more a statement than a question, and Mark stumped, could only hand her his helmet and throw a leg over the bike to mount it.
Although she wasn't as tall as him, she gracefully climbed onto the back of his bike, hands around his abdomen, she held on when they tore off and rode the infinite asphalt home. Behind she left a stunned gang, wondering what in the blazing pits had just happened, and Deacon could only be mad at himself for his attitude toward the young woman.
For he hadn't meant to be so cold toward her, it was just that he was already annoyed by his own business, and further more by the fact that she had been hanging with those part of a rival gang, and that seemed to most annoy him. And it seemed his attitude wasn't a help either. He knew he would have to apologise.
Bella on the other hand could only wonder of the said business her friend had claimed he had had, being that the place of the underground fighting club wasn't necessarily in a neighbourhood that had anything to desire, it all but seemed more shady than not, and if he had business there, then it couldn't possibly be anything good, even though she really didn't want to be the stereotypical kind to judge a place by its looks, but she had been around the underworld long enough to come to conclusions that were actually accurate.
Knowing to always trust her gut, she couldn't help but think that perhaps Deacon hasn't been entirely honest with her. Then again with the own secrets, she found that it would be unfair to hold it against him.,