Our fight was halted by the campus guards and the admin staff. I gathered my strength to push myself up before Nick and I were being ushered into the building like convicts. As we reached the entrance, the pain from the bawl seeped in slowly though my sore muscles as I tasted blood in my mouth.

We were taken to a room at inside Business School office for a short counseling before deciding our next fate. We both settled down in our respective chairs while waiting for the counselor from legal unit to arrive. I took a glimpse at Nick's resting bitch face and felt a sudden urge to triumph after seeing some cuts and bruises on his cheekbones and lips. But when he pulled up one of the right sleeves of his trench coat up, I gasped a little.

I witnessed another set of disturbing tattoos on his right arm; an image of a somewhat 4-inch fishhook with a jagged edge, piercing into the skin. Just like the other arm, the effects were so detailed to its shading and gradient, it looked real and revolting.

Dorris Walter, the campus counselor from the legal unit walked into the room approximately 10 minutes later with Yanni, the campus guard. They introduced themselves before they began.

"I believe you are aware of Regulation 16, the student code of conduct for this university? Are you aware of its consequences if you breach it?" Dorris asked in her crisp tone before she turns to me. "Zahida, you were briefed on this during the Fresher's Week, weren't you?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"We are against promoting violence in this campus and we take this matter seriously. We will take actions against you if you are convicted," Doris continued.

Nick scoffed. "Well, one does not act upon it if non provoked."

"Pholadi!" Yanni chastised.

"Can you all agree with me on this?" Nick went on. "I acted upon self-defense. If it doesn't invade my privacy, jab its finger on me, rile me up, I wouldn't pick a fight with it."

"You could've just address me as 'that person' if you're all confuse about my sex," I said heatedly, sensing that he hadn't had enough.

"Oh, I thought you had none." Nick jeered.

"Knock it off!" Dorris ordered. "Or I'll have both of your degrees revoked without a trial."

"Watch it! Or you know where this would lead you, Ms. Walter." Nick warned.

"Don't mess with me, sir." Dorris snapped. "I don't care how much endowment you pumped in, this institution handles allegations with proper procedures. Your records aren't clean either. You just don't know what I am capable of. I could take you places you can't even pronounce."

"Well, try me," Nick countered. Suddenly, tension rises and silence fills the air as Dorris and Nick exchange penetrating stares from each end of the table.

"I'm sorry. We're not here to talk about my numbers, we're here because that person just attacked me." Nick motioned at me.

                                                                       ☘️🌸🌺💋⭐☘️🌸🌺💋⭐

"You don't need to take him down for me," Abs' frustration emitted from the other line. "I never asked any of this."

"And you're okay that he could walk away with it?" I demanded, squeezing my phone tightly to my ear.

"Which retarded world did you just came out from, ZJ?" Abs retorted. "You just created beef with Nick, you're in deep shit. You're in his hit list now."

Unfortunately, he was right. It was a simple equation. You mess with the alpha you get the pack to feed on you.

I leaned back on my chair, tossed my head back and looked up at the ceiling, reflecting on the consequences of my actions while my anger towards Nick still raging.

But then, I asked myself, why was I furious with Nick? Was it for Abs? Was it for his retribution? Was it to prove my worth for Abs?

"The university wouldn't take me for a trial, though." I continued. "It's tedious to accommodate my case since brawls are common within campus, especially at student's union buildings on weekend nights. Instead, I was being asked to participate as a volunteer in a community program of my choice for four months."

"Okay," Abs responded with a blasé tone in his voice. "What about him?"

"The Head of Campus let him off. He didn't initiate the fight."

"Yeah, I would have guessed it." he sighed. "Anyways, cheers mate. Let me know if you need any help."

I highly doubted he would. Abs was never there to solve my issues unless there's something in for him.