Chapter 16

Adam pushed the door open for me and the second I stepped foot into the place, yells, cheers and shouts engulfed me.

I tugged at the hoodie’s sleeves and shrunk back into its warmth, trying to seek comfort as adrenaline rushed through me at my familiar surroundings.

I love this place but the fact that I’m not alone as I stroll through the place is bothering me.

There’s a reason why I use a nickname in this place and do not associate with the people inside the building when I meet them anywhere but here.

I stuck to Adam’s side, trying to blend in for once as we walked through the crowd. Adam was having a hard time finding his cousin and I was beyond anxious while Jake, Dom and Monic trailed behind us.

I didn’t like her coming with but she finally wormed her way into a loop hole and got her pass. This place is anything but safe and I wouldn’t forgive myself if anything happens to my baby sister. She’s just a kid and she isn’t supposed to be exposed to these types of dangers.

She can go to jail, get beat up, die and all that shit. She deserves none of it and although I know she’s capable of defending herself but I’m still not comfortable with her being around buff guys that seem like they can break a brick with a flick of their hands.

My train of thoughts was interrupted by a rough calloused hand clasping my wrist and gripping it tight.

Looking back, I saw a stranger, a bulky one at that. I looked around for Adam and the others but it seemed that I lost them halfway through the crowd.

I have got to stop being out of it in random places.

“What do you want?” I snapped at the stranger after a failed attempt in trying to locate a certain brown mob of hair.

In what I’ve observed so far, his steps were slightly off balance, his posture was slumped and he was slurring incoherent words but I was able to make out a few words which I think was supposed to be, “Let’s ditch and have fun, sexy.”

I scrunched my face up in disgust and wrenched my hand away swiftly. I decided that I wanted to quote a TV Show instead of retorting stupidly .

“You repel me,” I whispered it in the stranger’s ear before pushing him lightly backwards, causing him to stumble a bit and fall onto his butt. I pivoted my heels and continued my search for Adam and found him talking with a guy that was somehow familiar and yet has a few features that reminds me of Adam. I guess he found his cousin. Though I still can’t shake the feeling of having met him somewhere, I shrugged it off and approached the two.

When I was a foot away from them, Adam finally saw me and waved me over.

“Hey, I lost you there for a minute.”

Boy, you have no idea.

“Did I miss something?”

Yes, you ass-butt. “Nope, you didn’t miss anything.”

He hummed, looking at me suspiciously but I managed to ignore his stare and he finally decided to introduce me.

“Zac, this is Cassandra. Nerd, this is my cousin, Zachariah.”

I offered a small smile and prayed that the hoodie hid half of my face enough that he won’t recognize me from somewhere and ask me questions.

His brows furrowed and I could’ve sworn my heart skipped a beat. I know him.

Shit.

I know him.

Shit.

My mind finally decided to work and put two and two together, throwing me back to the time I fought here a week ago.

Shit.

He stretched out a hand and I meekly took it before quickly pulling my hand back after a decent amount of time of gripping it and shuffled on my foot, discreetly taking a few steps back and listened to the two talking.

“Yeah dude, it’s a pity you didn’t visit this place earlier. She was amazing, her moves were unpredictable and I bet you 50 bucks you wouldn’t be able to beat her!” Zac seemed to be really animated when he’s telling a story since he was flailing his hands around, trying to create some effect or something.

“Bro, just because she kicked your ass doesn’t mean she’ll be able to kick mine.”

I watched them bicker and wondered if my suspicion was correct and that they were talking about me but I didn’t want to pry and attract any more attention more than what’s necessary by joining into the conversation so I kept my mouth shut and let the question circle my head instead.

I watched on the fight that’s happening then. The fight was between two girls which was rare since there wasn’t much of us in this place. One was a blonde but I could tell that she was experienced by how she seemed to calculate every move. Her strikes were amazingly accurate and she hit every spot that would injure the other female fatally.

The other had jet black hair which was tied in a ponytail. She wasn’t an easy opponent either. She blocked the hits swiftly and stole every opportunity she got to land a few blows on blondie there.

“It’s a tough fight.” I mused silently. The dark haired girl there had blood running from her nose and blondie was bruised pretty badly.

Finally, blondie landed the final blow and her opponent went hurtling to the ground. The bell rang and the crowd went wild like always. My ears rang because of the noises but I didn’t bother cringing.

They both got down after shaking hands and the next people were called. The people signing up here tend to not use their personal names because of the obvious reasons. It’s stupid to give personal information to people who can sneak into your house and kill you in your sleep.

So when someone called “Darth Vader” was called, I thought nothing of it until I felt someone tap me on the shoulder.

I turned to Adam, “Wish me luck!” I heard him shout over the music and he winked. He stepped up to the ‘stage’ and got ready. I stood there, mouth agape, did he...? He did not- he did.