A/N: I’ve never studied martial arts or even taken a self-defense class so the positions and moves in this chapter are probably not that accurate!

*****

Alex POV

“You should get some rest,” Tyson commented once more.

“Why?” I queried although I knew his reasons; I was sounding breathless even as I spoke. “I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not! You’ve done nothing but practice for the last three hours.”

“Not true,” I protested, throwing hits at an imaginary target. “I stopped to drink some water.”

And I need to drink some more, I added in my mind. I’m sweating like a pig and my throat is as dry as the Sahara desert.

“Don’t be a wise ass with me, Alex,” he took a hold of my hands just as I was about to punch where I pictured Stefan’s jaw to be. “You can’t win if you are too tired to fight.”

I looked into his eyes and I could tell he was concerned about me. But with the fight less than a day away I needed to be in shape.

“You said it yourself, Ty: if I don’t practice, I’ll lose.”

“Yeah, and if you don’t stop now, you won’t be able to walk tomorrow left alone wrestle. Just have a time out and we’ll continue later… I promise,” he added when I narrowed my eyes at him.

“Fine,” I agreed reluctantly, sighing and slumping on the ground where my couch used to be. “Ouch!” I cried out; I’d forgotten we had moved my furniture to make more space to work out. “Not funny,” I muttered as Ty started to laugh at me.

“It’s been a few days since we relocated your couch and you still can’t get used to it! Besides, the face you made was kind of funny,” he winked.

As mad as I had been for him making fun of me I could not help but get over it; Tyson Williams winking while smiling at you had that effect.

“You might want to call Tara and Danny, they’ve been asking about you,” the boy stated as he sat down next to me.

“And Angel?”

“He too but I took care of him.”

“You didn’t tell him the truth, did you?” I queried, alarmed that I’d get a positive reply.

“Of course not. He wouldn’t have freaked out like Tara and Danny would’ve, but he would’ve been worried. He’d probably try to convince you to reconsider, to give up on this whole thing.”

I nodded. I was sure Angel would’ve done just as his best friend said.

“So what did you tell him, Ty?”

“The same thing you told Tara and Danny: that you’re sick thus skipping school.”

“And you?”

“I’m in the habit of ditching so it’s no big deal I missed a few classes.”

I nodded again. I hated lying to our friends but I knew it was better to keep them in the dark about my deal with Stefan.

“Thanks for that, Ty! Helping me out and even going as far as to lie for me, I mean. But you didn’t have to miss school; you could’ve come after classes.”

“Don’t worry about it!” He smiled once more and I couldn’t help replying with the same. His next words made me blush. “You are much more important than a couple of classes, Alex.”

For a moment I thought he was going to kiss me. He leaned forward but then quickly straightened up and went into the kitchen.

“How about you grab a shower while I make us something to eat?” The boy suggested.

“Sure,” I agreed, attempting to hide my disappointment at him getting away from me. I heard him opening drawers and getting the cutlery out. I headed for the bathroom, knowing the he’d find his way around my kitchen.

Tyson had been sleeping over at my place every night since I made the deal with Stefan. He claimed that his reason for doing that was to help me work out but I had a suspicion that he also wanted to keep an eye on me in case my ex came over. We’d shared my bed but we didn’t do anything sexual; no making out, not even kissing.

I guess he really was serious about not wanting to distract me in any way, I mused, getting under the shower.

I can feel his support though, I thought, relaxed as the warm water fell over my exhausted body.

He’s much more gentle and even opened up enough to share some things from his past. And he’s always around me, making sure I neither slack off, nor overwork myself. If only… If he would…

I sighed.

Why doesn’t he want to get in bed with me? I wondered, tensing up again.

I know I attract him; what’s with his stupid “don’t distract Alex rule”? What if I lose? I promised to go back to Bulgaria if that happens. So if I lose Tyson and I will never…

I shook my head, trying to chase away such thoughts. I had to concentrate on getting ready for tomorrow.

*****

“Did you enjoy the meal?”

“Yeah,” I replied, putting the dishes into the sink to wash later; I was in no mood to deal with them now.

“You’ve been awfully quiet, Alex.”

“Yep.”

Maybe I should do the dishes after all. Perhaps then Ty will get the hint and leave me on my own for a while.

“You nervous about tomorrow?”

“Kind of.”

“Kind of?” I heard a chair scrape the floor and figured Tyson had gotten up. That assumption was verified when a hand grabbed me and swirled me around just as I was about to turn on the water. The boy’s eyes were dark and his face was all business as he spoke:

“I don’t want you to freak out about tomorrow, but don’t you think you should be at least a little bit concerned? That guy is up to something, Alex. Why would he give you time to prepare?”

“He wants to shown me that even if I prepared myself, he’d still win. But I’ve got a surprise for him: I’ll be the one kicking his fine ass. Don’t frown, Ty; yours is better,” I stated with a wink.

“Can you get serious about this, Alexandra? If you lose, then… Then you are going home. Ever thought of that?”

“I try not to.”

 “Alex, do you realize that you’re going away for good if that happens?”

“Do you realize that, Ty?” I queried, getting angry and startling him by my sudden outburst. “Do you? Because you say you like me but when there’s a possibility that I might have to leave, instead of making the most of our time together, you turn away from me.”

“W-what do you mean? I’m here every day after school; sometimes even before school ends. I wanted to ditch all classes; you said I shouldn’t,” he snarled the last part, getting pissed off as well.

“But when you are here all we do is wrestles. Yes, I realize I need to practice,” I went on, seeing as he was about to interrupt me. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t do other things as well.”

“Like what?”

“Why don’t you want to sleep with me? It wouldn’t be that much of a distraction!”

“You’re right, it wouldn’t,” he stated coolly.

I stared at him dumbly.

What was he talking about?

I thought that was his excuse for us not being together – that he wanted me to concentrate on kicking Stefan’s ass.

Had he reconsidered?

Had he realized he didn’t like me?

He bit his lip.

“Look, Alex… I thought that,” the boy made a pause, thinking over his words. “I thought that it would be easier this way, okay? If Stefan wins the fight and you go back to Bulgaria, the thing that you’d leave behind… us… we would be something that barely started. No, wait! That’s not clear. What I mean is… How am I to explain this to you…”

“You didn’t want to sleep with me because that would bring our relationship to a different level and it would be harder for the both of us to get over it if I leave.”

“You understood me?” He asked wide-eyed.

“Yeah, although that was a crappy explanation,” I commented and we both smiled.

“I just really don’t want you to leave,” he admitted quietly, squeezing my hand in his.

“I won’t,” I stated, intertwining our fingers.

“How can you be sure? And even if you win, how do we know that Stefan is going to keep his word and let you go? How do we know that he won’t use his gun and…”

“He won’t use it on me,” I claimed firmly.

“But he’d love to use it on me,” the black-haired boy muttered. “What? Did you think I’d let you go alone, Alex?” He asked, seeing my surprised face.

“But the deal was…”

“It didn’t mention not bringing me along, right?”

“Well, no but… Just promise me you won’t do anything stupid like try to step in and save me, right? Stefan is my problem, Ty; I’ll deal with him!”

“Sure,” he nodded although I could see he wasn’t happy with that arrangement. “Now let’s get back to practicing!”

*****

“Why here?” Tyson queried as we parked the car in front of the storage room; we noticed another vehicle nearby, obviously a rental, so I figured Stefan had already arrived.

“I’m not sure,” I replied, nearing the building; the reason for this setting was the last thing on my mind right now. “He’d heard from some guys connected to the Ring that the premise was empty so he deemed it suitable.”

“I know this place,” my companion went on, frowning. “I’ve been here before with Kent. You don’t wanna know,” he stated when I raised my eyebrow in a silent “who?” question.

We found the door unlocked and walked in. The place was filthy and damp, with a few inches of dust covering the cement floor. A recent set of footsteps had made a path in the dirt.

“You brought yourself a cheerleader I see,” Stefan’s draw came from the center of the storage.

“Who the fuck are you calling…” Tyson started, balling his fists and springing into the blond’s direction; I got a hold of him before he took even three steps.

“My fight, remember?” I muttered at the same time my countryman started laughing. Tyson kept glaring at him but didn’t attempt to free himself from my grasp.

“You don’t seem to have trained him well, Alex,” Stefan went on in a derisive inflection. “And you’ll be saying goodbye to your pet soon.”

Tyson started shaking with rage but kept his position and I was grateful for it; the last thing I needed now was to try and stop a fight between these two.

“You might want to say goodbye to her,” the blond went on, hoping to get a rise out of the other boy. “After this fight Alex is coming home with me. That’s where she belongs: with me.”

“Not true,” I shook my head without a hesitation.

“Don’t lie, Alex; I know you’ve missed me.”

I snorted.

“And why would you think that, Stefan?”

“Because there are only two items you always wear on you: the locket and…” he grinned deviously, “the earring I gave you. See,” he turned his head sideways so that Tyson could look his ear. “I have the same. Everyone in my gang does. And whoever is in my gang, belongs to me. So why didn’t you throw yours away, Alex?”

A pair of mismatched eyes captured my gaze and silently repeated the question. I looked away from them and stared at another pair – pale green and sneering, before delivering my answer.

“Because I wanted something to remind me of the life I no longer desire to have.” My response washed away the smirk from Stefan’s face and the frown that appeared in its place made me smile.

“Take your position!” He barked and I stepped towards him.

A hand gripped mine tightly and I turned to look at Tyson. His jaw was clenched tight and no words left his lips but I knew what he wanted to say; I could read the emotions in his eyes.

“Don’t worry, I got this!” I reassured him and he reluctantly let me go.

Stefan and I each took a stance in front of each other, both of us turned slightly to the side and with our knees bent a little.

“Ready,” Stefan’s calm voice drawled. “GO!”

The sudden pain to the side of my jaw surprised me. Back in Bulgaria, we’d always avoided hitting the face ‘cause then we had some explaining to do. Keeping that in mind, I thought my opponent would’ve aimed at my torso; Stefan had taken advantage of that and targeted my head instead.

“Tc-tc! A bit slow, aren’t we, Alex?” The boy teased, leisurely taking a few steps back. Giving me time to get a hold of myself was no chivalry on his part; the blow he had delivered was just for show and the real tussle was yet to begin.

Okay, Alex, I started a pep talk in my mind. This boy is gonna play dirty. Obviously the “don’t leave visible marks” rule is out of the way so don’t be afraid to spoil that pretty face of his! Remember what’s at stake here and don’t back down! You HAVE to win this!

I took my initial stance again, ignoring the remnant of the pain he’d already caused. I knew it was nothing compared to what I was about to experience.

“Let’s take it from the top, shall we?” The blond boy sneered, aiming another punch at the same spot.

I blocked it with my left hand and jabbed him bellow the ribs with my other one. He cried out, bending in two. Not wanting to miss such an opportunity, I delivered a blow to the right of his head then stepped back to enjoy my handiwork.

“What the hell are you doing?” Tyson shouted angrily. “Hit that bastard again!”

Stefan lifted his gaze up and without moving it from me, he replied to the other boy:

“She won’t do that just yet; we’re still warming up.”

I heard Ty let out a string of colorful cusses and smirked.

The vocabulary this boy had!

“Ready to get serious about this?” My opponent inquired, straightening himself while still rubbing the spot where I hit him.

“You sure are in a hurry to get your ass kicked!” I replied in a cocky tone. I was feeling a lot more optimistic now that I’d managed to injure him.

He just smiled before lurching at me and throwing several consecutive punches. I blocked them all and tried to hit him myself but the boy was quick and put me in a headlock. I swiftly moved my arm and did the same to him. We struggled for a while, our heads under each other’s armpit; I knew I had to get away as it was getting difficult to catch my breath. I maneuvered out of this position, backing away and attempting a round kick. I missed but Stefan didn’t and his shin connected with my ribcage. Ignoring the newest surge of pain, I kicked the boy behind his knees then jumped on top of him, pinning him to the ground.

This is it, Alex! I cheered in my head, exalted as I was sure to be victorious. You’ve got this, you don’t have to go back, you are winning…

And then Stefan switched our positions, making me dizzy when my head collided painfully with the cold floor beneath me.

“This isn’t going to end well!” I muttered as nausea came over me.