The morning had started off with a bang.

The night was going to end with a bang.

Probably even worse than a bang, honestly. More like a major explosion that could be heard across the globe.

She wasn't nervous about the fight. Getting beat up had unfortunately become a part of her weekly routine, so she was ready. The blood, the discolored bruises, the aching pain in her muscles. She was prepared for all of that.

What she wasn't prepared for was the taking down a wanted gang leader with another criminal and the cops. Karmin wasn't naive. Tonight was headed in several different directions, and the most prominent one was dying.

She had thought about death before. More in the terms of where one goes after they pass. Was it the afterlife? Some other type of spiritual realm? Nevertheless, she didn't know, and she deeply wished she wouldn't find out.

She had always believed her death would be by natural causes whether it was old age or the stress of school. She never once thought it might be from being shot in the face.

Universe, if I die today, please do not let it be a bullet to my face. I want to look presentable for my funeral, thank you.

Sure, she was making fun of the notion of dying, but she was indeed terrified. Scared to the very depths of her bones. The idea of leaving her family petrified her, but she chose this. She got here in this very situation because of her need to fix everything. She refused to listen to reason, and now she was paying for it. But there was no one else to blame except for herself.

Who didn't ask for this was Maddox. His lips moved as he yelled over the crowd of the fight club, but she couldn't focus on his words. She took in every inch of his face from his emerald eyes to his hair that stuck up in weird ends. She wanted to make it out of this alive, but more importantly, keep him safe.

"Are you even listening to me?" Maddox shouted.

He stayed with her throughout all of this. All the trouble she put him through, he never hated her for it. No sane person would ever stay in her proximity after all the danger came rushing in.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked with a scrunched nose. "It's weird."

He never left her. Not once.

Without another thought, she placed her hands on either side of his face and brought his lips onto hers. He reacted immediately, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer. She tried her best to translate her words into this kiss, hoping he would understand her.

Karmin pulled away, whispering, "Thank you for being here."

Maddox's face was red from the public display of affection as he shyly scratched the side of his head. He looked down at his shoes, smiling, and quietly muttered, "I would never miss the chance of seeing you get beat up."

"You're such an asshole," she laughed, her mouth pulling up into an automatic smile.

Maddox rolled his eyes, his fingers trailing down her arms to grab her hand. "I'm taking you out for chicken nuggets and French fries after this. Try not to get yourself killed," he remarked casually, but she could sense the trace of fear in his voice.

"I have no intentions of dying," promised Karmin softly.

Their moment was broken when the referee called out her name. It was time.

"Good. Now, go lose like a winner," Maddox hyped up as he let go of her hand begrudgingly.

"What the hell does that even mean?" she exclaimed as she carefully entered the ring.

"No clue. Just go do it!"

She shook her head amusingly, but her entire persona shifted as she faced her opponent. The woman standing in front of her had dark brown skin and a shaved head. There was a swirling tattoo in the corner of her eyes that brought more attention to her abyss-like gaze. She looked several years older than Karmin with a sense of maturity on her face.

In the corner of her eye, Karmin could see Judas watching her intently with a man she recognized from her lovely strolls to the abandoned train station. They were there to make sure she won the fight. Little did they know what was going to happen tonight.

"Karmin and Josette, are you two ready?" asked the referee.

The two of them nodded firmly, and immediately, the bell rang, signifying the fight commencing. They circled one another in the center of the ring, and Karmin debated whether she should be the one to make the first move. All she had to do was land a few punches and kicks to make it look believable.

Without another thought, she swung her fist, her knuckles making harsh contact with Josette's square jaw. The woman stumbled back but caught her balance just in time for Karmin to throw another punch at her abdomen.

Karmin pushed her strands of hair away, waiting for Josette to catch her breath. She would usually never give her opponent a break, but these were special circumstances. Instead, she turned to the crowd, screaming alongside them. She pretended to bathe in the attention, taking a page from her past fights.

I needed them to think I got too comfortable. I needed them to think my over-confidence was the cause of my downfall.

She smiled at the groups of people, even winking at Maddox, who rolled his eyes at her performance. She tried not to look back at Josette, hoping she would come in for an attack.

Come on, girl. Just hit me already.

And it was as if Josette heard her thoughts when a firm kick landed on Karmin's spine. She lurched forward, gripping onto the ropes as a loud crack was audible from her back. No need to go to a chiropractor now, I guess.

Karmin stopped right in front of Maddox, who reached out for her in concern, but she shook her head at him. "I'm okay," she reassured.

"To your right!" he yelled with his eyes wide.

She turned around to see Josette swinging her fist at her. She saw the opportunity to catch the punch, but she let it happen. Karmin's head jolted to the side from the power as she lifted her hand to rub her jaw.

Ow, that hurt.

Josette came in for another round, but Karmin blocked it with her forearms, driving her elbow into her nose. Blood poured out, dripping into the woman's teeth.

The crowd cheered from the sight of blood and from her peripheral vision, Judas and his associate smiled to themselves.

Time to turn this around.

She tackled the woman in the corners of the ring. Josette's back hit the metal rod as she let out a groan. Karmin threw a series of punches, but she held back. Her opposition tried to elbow her back to get her off of her, but she stayed grudgingly.

"Punch me," hissed Karmin.

"What?" asked Josette in shock. Her voice was hoarse from her energy levels depleting as she attempted to get Karmin off of her.

"I said, punch me," she seethed, lifting her head to give Josette a clear aim.

A flash of surprise passed her face, but as quickly as it came, the faster it disappeared because the next thing Karmin knew, she was falling back from the force of Josette's punch. Pain and soreness raged throughout her nerves as she stumbled back to her feet.

Her balance wasn't entirely back when Karmin kicked her leg forward, hoping Josette would catch it.

And that's exactly what she did.

Karmin pretended to widen her eyes in shock as she tried to remove her foot from Josette's grip. Honestly, she wasn't trying too hard.

Josette stared at her triumphantly, twisting her foot, and with all the force she could muster, she flipped Karmin around until she landed on the mat on her stomach.

Perfect.

"My ankle!" screamed out Karmin as if she was in pain when her foot was absolutely fine. She purposely attempted to bring her leg to her chest to make a show of it.

She caught a confused look from Josette, but she shook it off when she swung her leg back to drive a harsh kick in Karmin's stomach.

She was left breathless, clutching her stomach. Karmin clawed at the woman's feet, but she pushed them away, landing a kick to her face.

Okay, that one really hurt.

Karmin stayed in her spot, breathing heavily. She wanted to get up as her survival instincts kicked in, but she forced herself to stay down. The fight was almost done. She could feel it.

She heard Josette walk around her as she harshly gripped Karmin's hair. She didn't know what was happening, but the next thing she knew, her throat was closing up from being in a chokehold.

Her breathing became shallow as she tried to scratch and pull at Josette. She had done her fair share of chokeholds, but it was a lot less fun being on this side of things.

Her vision began to scatter, and she knew this was it. This was the perfect time.

So, Karmin lifted her hand and let it drop. She tapped the mat viciously, signifying her forfeit.

Josette let go instantly, jumping to her feet in success. She left Karmin on the floor as she rolled to her side, looking out at the screeching crowd for those green eyes.

And she found them with his hands in his hair in distress, and his lips pulled into a concerned frown.

Karmin stretched out her hand for him even though he was several feet away from her.

"I'm okay," she whispered.

I'm okay.

But she knew she wasn't going to be okay for long when she saw Judas and the large man walking up to her, fuming and completely furious.

Buckle in and grab your popcorn. The shit show was beginning, and boy, was it going to be interesting.

***

Author's Note:

Hello!

I edited this chapter during my class, and do I regret it? Absolutely not lol.

BL is slowly coming to an end and I am working hard to get these chapters finished and uploaded. Just bear with me for a few more weeks

Until next time – m.k.t