Chapter-102 Round-2

Jay-jay's POV

I thought Yuri was going to die right there. I thought he wouldn't get up. I thought I—we—were going to lose him.

"Stop crying… Sorry for scaring you," Yuri said, wiping away my tears.

Even though the fight was over, I was still crying. I couldn't help it. I was putting medicine on his wounds, ignoring what he was saying.

"I heard you. Your screams, your pleading, and you calling my name," he said, forcing a smile.

I glanced at him briefly before going back to what I was doing. I'd nearly lost my voice from all the shouting, and my palms hurt from banging on whatever I could just to get his attention.

Thankfully, he managed to dodge his opponent's final kick. He fought back and retaliated quickly, targeting the guy's wound and landing a flurry of punches.

The other guy just gave up. He was so huge, yet he couldn't handle what Yuri did to him.

"Jay… Are you mad at me?" he asked.

I ignored him. I was annoyed, and the fear was still there. I couldn't believe Yuri used to do stuff like this.

"Yuri… Keifer's calling me. It looks like they're looking for us," Drew said.

I could feel his fear and worry. He's going to be in deep trouble with Keifer if he finds out about this.

"I'm done…" I said, packing up the first aid kit Tiger had lent us.

Yuri grabbed my hand, making me pause as I stood up.

"S-sorry…" he said.

I pulled my hand away and walked to the table to put the first aid kit down.

I glanced at Drew, who was facing his phone. A surge of irritation hit me, and before I knew it, I smacked him on the head.

"Ouch! What was that for?!" he said, holding his head.

"The next time you gamble, I'm going to strangle you!" I threatened him.

"Sorry… I couldn't resist, it's so addicting," he reasoned.

His response pissed me off even more, so I gave him another smack.

"Ouch! Why again?!" he complained.

"Because I'm annoyed!" I snapped, about to hit him again, but a hand grabbed me.

When I looked, I wasn't sure if I should be more annoyed or feel sorry. Yuri's eyes were pleading with me again.

"I know you're mad at me," he said.

Good thing you know!

I was startled when he suddenly hugged me. My face ended up pressed against his chest. My body froze again.

"Y-yuri…"

"I'm really sorry… I promise I won't do this again. I won't come back to this place unless I have to," he whispered to me.

My hands moved on their own to hug him back. I'll admit, the fear from the fight hadn't completely faded, but my annoyance and anger were gone.

Then I realized something.

"Y-yuri… M-maybe you can let go now," I said, and he immediately did.

He wasn't wearing a shirt, and I'd been pressed right against him.

"Is there something going on between you two?" Drew suddenly asked, making Yuri blush and me glare at him.

Yuri walked over to grab his clothes and get dressed.

"I still owe you an explanation, by the way," he said.

Yeah, that's true, but I think I already understand. Should I still ask for his explanation? I stayed quiet to let him continue.

Drew stepped out for a bit, saying he was going to the restroom. We were back in Tiger's office. It was just us since Tiger was talking to someone.

"I don't know where to start…" Yuri said, taking a deep breath. "…Maybe when Ella didn't choose me."

He forced a smile at me. I returned it to make him feel more comfortable.

"Keifer and I confessed to Ella around the same time. From the start, I could feel she looked at Keifer differently, but she treated me as more than a friend. I got my hopes up, which I probably shouldn't have…"

"…Keifer's selfish when it comes to girls. He claimed Ella and made sure she'd be his. I didn't give up, hoping maybe I could be the one instead. But she chose Keifer…"

"…I just accepted it. It hurt, but that's how it is. Then I found myself wasted. I think I challenged everyone I came across to a fight…"

He laughed bitterly. "…I don't know how, but my feet just brought me to this place. I got into a fight, and Tiger and his crew saw me outside…"

"…They kept asking questions that—honestly—I didn't know how to answer. I begged to join a fight. They didn't want to let me, saying I was too young, but that's what I wanted. So I fought one of Tiger's underdogs. I won, so he agreed."

"So that's why you started hanging out here?" I asked.

He nodded in confirmation. "The more fights I got into, the more addicted I became. The pain from the physical fights became my way of covering up the pain here…" He pointed to his heart. "…No one could stop me. I joined every kind of fight. But my favorite was the knife fights. One wrong move, and I'd be dead, and all the pain would be gone."

He said his feelings for Ella were gone, but somehow, I could still sense that he was hurting.

And I don't want him to feel that way.

"H-how did you stop?"

He took a deep breath and looked down. "Keifer… He came to find me here."

"Did he talk to you?"

He shook his head. "He fought me… It was just a fistfight, and in less than two minutes, he knocked me down."

I fell silent. Keifer's methods are really something else. Classic snake move.

"…He didn't say anything, but I stopped on my own after that. I went back to school and tried to fix everything."

"How did you and Keifer become okay?"

I probably shouldn't have asked. It felt like I was just fueling the pain he was feeling.

"It just happened… That's how it is with us guys. No need for words, it just works out," he said with a smile.

I couldn't help but smile too. That's just how it is with them—their friendship matters more than any fights they've had.

"So, those scars on your body came from here?" I asked.

"Yeah… They're all just shallow, though. They couldn't take me down," he boasted.

Suddenly, the door swung open. We thought it was Drew, but it was Tiger. His brows were furrowed, and he looked visibly irritated.

"I'm not happy!" he said, pacing in front of us.

Drew came in, clearly confused about what was going on. He looked at us as if asking, 'What's up?' I just shrugged.

"One more fight…" Tiger said, looking at Yuri. "…One more fight, and I'll let you all go."

I immediately grabbed Yuri's arm. I didn't want him to fight again; the last one was enough.

"N-no way… We agreed on just one fight," Yuri replied.

"No… No… No… I want one more fight. I want you to fight again…" He paused to think. "…That's it! Fight Keifer! Finish the fight you had back then!"

He's gone insane!

"Tiger... It's not that simple!" Yuri replied angrily.

"Then we'll just have Keifer fight instead!"

Tiger must've completely lost his mind. He's just spouting nonsense now.

"That's easy! Send Keifer here! Now! Because if you don't!" He said angrily and suddenly pulled out a gun.

My entire body froze. I felt like I was going to die, and he hadn't even pulled the trigger yet. That's probably what it's like when a gun's pointed at your head.

"Keifer! Now!" He shouted.

I couldn't breathe. My hand was shaking as I raised them, like I was surrendering. I was really giving up, I had no match for the gun!

"H-he's not answering!" Drew said.

I could feel his fear too. Why isn't he answering now? That King of Snakes is so useless.

"Then go get him!" Tiger shouted again, pressing the gun harder against my head.

I don't want to die yet!

"W-we'll go get him! Just don't hurt Jay-jay!" Yuri pleaded.

Don't leave me here!

I couldn't scream or protest. Drew and Yuri left, and Tiger finally lowered the gun.

I let out a small breath. I stayed quiet. Scared? Probably.

Having a gun pointed at you is absolutely terrifying.

"Do you want some pizza?"

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Keifer's POV

"You son of a b*tch!" I shouted and immediately punched Drew in the stomach.

"Keifer! Stop it!" They tried to pull me away, but I didn't listen.

I lifted Drew and punched him in the face. I didn't care even though his lip were already bleeding.

"Keifer!" Yuri called out to me.

The anger I was feeling was overwhelming. I turned to Yuri and punched him too.

"You! You know it was a dangerous place for Jay-jay, yet you still brought her there!" I yelled.

"Stop it, Keifer! Let's just go find her!" Ci-N shouted at me.

I ran my fingers through my hair in frustration. That damn girl slipped away from me, and to make things worse, Edrix couldn't find her phone signal because she was at Kingsground.

Fvck!

I looked at Drew and Yuri. "If anything bad happens to Jay-jay… I swear I'll cripple both of you! Remember that!"

I'd never forgive myself if something bad happened to her.