Chapter 10

We walked down a few more stairs until we arrive on the second floor, the floor was split into 2 sections; double doors stood at one side which has a lot of people coming in and out of it who would stare or glare in my direction, A loud thud could be heard from behind the other set of double doors to my right.

"What was that?!?" I asked Dylan who rubbed the back of his head

"Well, I could show it to you, if you want." He offered and I nodded slowly,

he went to grab the knobs and looked back at me, checking if I'm sure about this, I gave him another nod making him chuckle. When the doors opened I was met by the roar of the crowd, the whole room was big as a football field and by the looks of it, everyone was watching something at the center of the room. I tried to stand up on the tip of my toes to see what they were so intrigued about but failed,

I huffed in annoyance

"Come on you'll see better upfront."

Dylan grabbed my hand as we squeeze through the crowd, after a lot of pushing and shoving we could finally see what everyone was watching. At the center was a little stage where a girl with black hair and have the most mesmerizing blue eyes you have ever seen was fighting a guy, all the lights in the room were all focused on them. Judging from the panting and the dripping of the guy's sweat; their fight must have been some time now, it seems everyone in the crowd was rooting for the girl to win as another round of cheers flooded the room, the person on my left was screaming to finish it already.

The guy on the stage roared a battle cry then charged at the blue-eyed girl; the girl who just stood there making the guy laugh triumphantly when he thought the girl gave up. The girl yawned while tucking her hands in the pocket of her hoodie, when the guy is only a width away she took her stance, and as they were face to face; the girl swung her right leg with power and precision, giving the guy a mean axel kick. The guy was knocked unconscious as his lifeless body fell to the ground, another set of cheers and applause followed the victory of the girl who raised her fist in the air.

"Was that really necessary?!?"

I heard Dylan grumble beside me, the girl turned to look for something until her eyes stopped in our direction

"Well he was asking for it, I just merely did what he challenged me for."

She stated smirking making the crowd silent, She made a 360 turn

"Who here wants to have a go?!?"

She challenged daring the crowd, there was a lot of whispering but no one took the dare. When the crowd didn't do anything; she turned back to us and when she saw me, she was confused for a minute

"Well now, who are you supposed to be?!?"

She asks her tone full of wonder, I bit my lower lip as everyone stared in my direction.

I opened my mouth to answer her question but stopped at the last minute

"what cat got your tongue?"

the crowd laughed amused at her little joke

"Go home kid, this place is not for you." She waved me off,

I could feel my cheeks redden in embarrassment. my nails digging at my palm from being bailed too tightly from trying to contain my anger, hearing laughter behind me just when I was about to lash out, Dylan chuckled beside me

"You know Rachel, I would take it back if I were you."

The girl who Dylan called Rachel raised her eyebrow at him

"And why, may I ask would I ever do that?" She stated as she shrugged "she's a little shrimp."

Dylan laughed while crossing his arms

"Oh my god, you just called the infamous Midnight; a shrimp." He laughed "highlight of the day."

Amused by his reveal; everyone in the room gasped while others snickered. Rachel stared at me having second thoughts before she too burst out laughing, clutching her stomach while steadying herself from doubling over.

"Are you sure about that Dy? That girl doesn't look anything like the real Midnight." She teased through her laughter making me grit my teeth at her

"How about a little challenge?" Dylan called out making Rachel stop while regaining her posture

"What kind of challenge?" She questioned making Dylan smirk "How about a fight, you vs. Midnight?" my eyes widen while everyone in the room was silent

"Hey, wait just a minute. I didn't agree to any of this." I voiced out but was ignored

"Hmmm, if she really is the infamous Midnight." She chuckled "It would be fun crushing her to the ground." The crowd roared back to life, I turned to Dylan furious at what he just unleashed. He looked at me with a sly smile splattered on his face making me growl as I grabbed his collar

"What the hell did you just do?!?" I hollered

"I protected your ego, you should be thankful." He stated, I was about to punch him but someone pushed me towards the stage. I turned back to look at Dylan who in return smiled at me smugly, making a mental note to wipe that stupid smile off him later; stepping up onto the stage the crowd exploded "I'm going to enjoy this."

Rachel stated as she licked her lips

"Dylan, would you do the honors of being the referee of this match?" She called out, Dylan walked up the stage stopping between us

"OK then; the royal clash is a one on one battle where the only way to win is to knock your opponent unconscious or get pushed off the stage." He explained "but no killing though, it's a big hassle on disposing of the body."

He took a couple of steps back, stopping on the edge. From behind him, I could already see people placing bets on the fight. I pressed my lips on a thin line while drawing in a long breath, on the other side of the stage I could see Rachel giving me a sly smile

"Ok then, contenders take your positions," Dylan instructed

"Everyone start the countdown."

"3!"

Rachel took her stance with her hands bailed and her body half bend

"2!"

I took my own stance with my fists bailed in front of me

"1!"

Rachel gave me one last wink and I returned it with a smirk

"Clash!"

Rachel dashed forward; fist raised in the air. She directed her aim on my torso but I evaded it while retaliating my own making her stumble back

"Not bad."

She started taking her stance again daring me to strike first, after a few minutes of not making a move; I got bored and dashed in her direction which was a mistake. getting closer, she grabbed my wrist and pulled me further making me lose my balance. As I staggered she kicked my back, wincing as my body slammed into the pavement and she took this opportunity to twist my arm making me groan in pain.