*Hands over an Oreo*

"That's all you got?" I said, panting in process.

I wiped the blood dripping from my nose and wiggled my probably dislocated shoulder before taking a fighting stance again.

My legs were shaking with exhaustion but the fight wasn't over and I can't stop till Diana can still stand on her feet.

I heard her groan from where she was lying on the floor in a similar condition to mine.

So basically, after the whole throwing of challenges part, we mentally swore to win this match.

Almost like, it was long overdue.

I haven't had a match that lasted this long in a while and I haven't felt this kind of adrenaline either.

It hasn't been more than ten minutes since the match started but we have been constantly attacking and trying to stay on our feet.

I could see Diana's body shaking as she struggled to stand on her feet but it would be a lie if I said that I was in a better condition than her.

She finally stood on her feet while I took this chance to catch my breath.

Her left eye was almost closed due to the cut that went across it when I landed a punch there.

We were both in pain and everyone knew that.

I had drawn out the voices of Ryder and Lexi as they were the same.

Shouts of concern.

The last time I could glance at their faces, distress was clear.

"Don't get too cocky, Miles." She spit out blood to the side before glaring at me and taking a stance as well.

She was quick to make a move and advanced towards me before I could register her movements. She landed a kick on my side, and I think I heard something crack.

I held my breath, to help subside the pain and grabbed her ankle before turning my body completely around, taking her with me.

As soon as she lost her footing, I landed a punch into her gut making her splatter blood as she jerked back to hang on her side of the rink rope.

I bent down placing my hand on my knees for support as I tried to breathe with my newly broken ribs.

This is pointless.

We're both not going to stop till the other one gives up and I'm pretty sure none of us are going to do that.

"Finally, a fight worth fighting." I smirked, wiping the blood dripping from my nose.

Diana chuckled, rising from the previous position.

"Glad to hear that." She said, hoarsely and I knew that the punch I landed in her gut did some serious damage to her.

The crowd around us was silent after a while patiently waiting for our next move.

But one voice was constant.

"MILES!" He yelled, just the way he yelled it in the beginning of the match.

I shot him an 'I'll be fine' look before turning back to Diana.

"Just give up already." She panted. "BECAUSE I WON'T!" She yelled before charging towards me with a sudden boost of energy.

I tensed my stance before getting ready to counterattack.

Just as we were both about to collide, a loud sound of a gunshot fired rang through the arena.

Diana and I froze where we are.

There wasn't a commotion in the arena but it grew silent. They're all fighters, they've all experienced a situation like this before.

Except...

I whirled around to look at Ryder only to see him, still looking at me with the same concern in his eyes.

This idiot.

I shook my head as a loud voice follower the sound of the gunshot.

"Now that I finally have the attention of these beautiful ladies, why don't you step out of the rink?" A very familiar looking man, advanced towards the rink as the crowd parted for him.

He was wearing an overcoat and a hat that made him look extra shady.

Realisation hit me when I remembered why he seemed familiar.

He's the lunatic who caused a ruckus on the day I faught Brody. The only person who bet on me and won a fortune.

The one who knew who I was.

I thought and narrowed my eyes at him as I noticed the shiny device in his hand.

To my utter surprise I heard a sigh and footsteps from my side and I turned to see Diana, obediently stepping out of the rink on her shaky feet.

I frowned when I saw the mysterious man, smirk and pat Diana's back, once she reached him.

"That was one hell of a fight. I think you made your point."

"No I didn't." She muttered, looking down in shame. "I couldn't win."

I cocked my head to the side in confusion but the slightest movement made me wince.

I suddenly felt hands on my shoulder, pulling me to a body.

I looked up to see a worried looking Ryder, slowly helping me out of the rink.

The refree stood just as confused as I was in the centre of the rink, looking at the mysterious man.

The guy simply took off his hat and I was surprised to see his face, younger looking than what I expected.

The mystery guy nodded at the refree making his eyes widen as he raised the mic to his mouth with shaky hands.

"The match has been cancelled with undetermined results."

"Are you okay?" Ryder asked lowering his head to align his concerned face with mine.

"I'm fine." I said, absentmindedly as I watched the Diana and the mystery guy talk.

"No you're not." Ryder said, running a hand through his hair as his eyes roamed up and down my body.

I sighed facing him. "Ryder, it's okay. I'm fine." I said, and I raised my hand to grab the towel from Lex but that movement made excruciating pain shoot up my arm and I winced.

A wave of dizziness hit me due to the pain and I would've fallen on the floor if it wasn't for Ryder.

He caught me just in time. "Miles! Oh God! This is- you're still bleeding!"

He settled me on a couch near the rink and crouched in front of me.

"Here." He handed me a bottle of water, while wiping the blood off my face with a wet towel.

I winced as I lowered the bottle. "I think my shoulder is dislocated again."

"We're going to a hospital." Ryder said, but I grabbed his arm before he could get up.

"No."

"Miles this is not the time to be stub-"

"Ryder, I can't." I said, pulling him closer so I can speak with as little strength as possible. "They'll ask about my injuries and it's too dangerous if they suspect us, even if we lie."

He shut his eyes and sighed. "What do we do then? You're probably in so much pain, I don't know how you're even-"

I cupped his face. "It's okay. This isn't the first time. I've been in worse conditions before and Alec can fix me up in no time. What's the use of having a brother who's studying to be a doctor if he can't fix a few injuries of mine?"

"Miles, this isn't funny." He sighed, and it's then that I noticed that his hands that had enveloped mine were shaking. "That really scared me. It was nothing like the last match I saw you in. You were in pain."

I glanced over at Diana. "You're right. Diana really is an amazing fighter. I've never faught someone like her. She makes me realise that I still have a long way to go."

"Still. This is not what I signed up for." He sighed.

I raised my eyebrows at him before gulping down some water. "So, you wanna back out?"

He looked into my eyes. "I want to protect you."

Sadness washed over me. "Ry-"

"I don't know how I'm supposed to do that, but I won't give up. I will protect you, even if I have to do that with my life." He said with so much determination that, for a moment, I forgot about all my problems, and I felt like a kid again.

I couldn't help the small smile that grew on my face as I raised my hand to hold his but winced in pain.

"Why the fuck do I keep forgetting that I'm beaten up?" I gritted out.

"Is it okay if we leave now?" Lex asked to no one in particular as she looked around. "What about the match?"

"It was a draw."

We turned to see the mystery man, standing there with his hands behind his back and a carefree smile on his face.

"A draw?" I asked, getting up from the couch with Ryder's help. "And who exactly gave you the authority to decide that?"

I saw Diana roll her eyes from where she stood beside the mystery man.

"Right. I'm so sorry, I completely forgot to introduce myself."

He stepped forward and extended his hand in front of me. "Hi! I'm Jacob Knight."

Ryder stepped in front of me, in a protective manner while I got lost in my thoughts.

"Woah okay. I guess you have trust issues but alright, I'm no one to judge." Jacob shrugged, retracting his hand.

I patted Ryder's back, signalling to him that it's okay. He threw a worried glance at me before moving aside.

"So, you're Jacob Knight huh?" I asked, squaring my shoulders in hopes of releasing some tension.

"That's a knowing voice, right there." He sang, turning to Diana who looked bored. "See? I'm famous."

She rolled her eyes.

"Who's Jacob Knight?" Lexi asked, in a low tone.

"He's the leader of the gang black hawks." I said, still facing Jacob's smirking face. "He owns land all over America and has a number of illegal businesses."

"Why is literally every gangleader after you?" Ryder groaned.

"Oh no. Please don't be mistaken." He said shaking his head. "I don't have any intentions of harming you."

"But it seems like you recruited someone with that exact intention and this isn't the first time we're meeting either." I said, tilting my head to the side. "Your words and actions don't match."

"Well, first, recruiting Diana just happened, and I only said that I don't mean to harm you." He said, motioning for us to follow him.

He started walking to one of the back rooms of the arena. Ryder looked at me in alarm while I nodded at him in return.

I held onto Ryder as I noticed Diana limping behind Jacob, clearly in pain.

We entered the room and Ryder settled me on a couch and stood beside me.

"As I was saying..." Jacob said, pulling out a seat for Diana who rolled her eyes and walked towards the corner of the room to a-

My eyes widened.

"I have no intentions of hurting you, I don't have a reason to. But it's also true that I was looking for you since the day you left London." He said, adjusting his cuffs.

"I- is that...?" Lex stuttered staring exactly where I was.

Jacob frowned, before turning to look at Diana holding a little baby that looked just about two years old.

"A baby? Yeah." Diana rolled her eyes, turning to us. "Never seen one before?"

"Is it yours? Ow!" Lexi asked, making me smack her as hard as I could with a fractured rib.

"Shut up." I wheezed out trying to get my breathing under control.

"Yes. But I don't think that's important right now." Diana said, motioning towards Jacob.

We slowly turned to look at Jacob who smiled at us again. "Great. Now that I have your attention, I need you for a mission."

He said pointing at me.

I frowned and noticed Ryder tensing up beside me.

"What mission?" I simply asked.

"A mission to take down a gang." He replied, nonchalantly, as if it's the most normal thing to say.

I crossed my arms over my chest.

"And since you've spent a lot of time tracking me down, you already have a plan." I stated, while Jacob proudly nodded in response. "But why me?"

All amusement vanished from Jacob's face and a smirk took over it. "Because the strongest fighters are the ones with the right motivation."

I scanned his face, looking for any trace of a verbal bluff but I couldn't find any. Under his careless facade, he was a no nonsense gangleader, that's for sure.

"What's in it for me? Why would I join you on a mission, where there is a possibility of getting killed?" I asked, leaning back.

His smirk stayed intact as he said. "Because I have a feeling that you want that gang to be taken down, just as much as I do."

I frowned.

"We're taking down the red serpents."

*****

We helped Miles stumble into the house and made her settle on the couch.

She simply leaned back and shut her eyes.

She is the kind of person who rarely shows it when she's in pain. She always tried to remain strong, sometimes to not make anyone worry and the other times just to not show her weakness.

In London, when I first met her, I knew she's a closed off person who doesn't like to interact with anyone but me being me, I stubbornly tried to break her walls.

What I finally found was a normal girl who loves and cares about everyone a little too much. A girl who would literally put her life on the line for someone she cares about.

"Quick. Go get Alec." Ryder said, sitting beside Miles.

I nodded before rushing upstairs and reached Alec's room.

I entered without and saw him sitting on the couch, playing a video game. "What the-?"

"Alec..." I panted, making him frown. "Emily."

That's all it took for him to understand what I was trying to say and throw his headphone off of his head and rush downstairs.

I rushed after him.

I've always been an admirer of the relationship that Alec and Emily have and it's so beautiful to watch them play such major roles in each other's life.

"Oh my God, Em!" Alec yelled, when he saw Emily sprawled on the couch. "Have you literally sworn to go against everything I say, in this life?"

Emily let out a weak chuckle. "Even I feel like I'm losing my touch, aren't I?"

Alec shook his head before getting to work and apply antiseptic on her wounds.

I tried my best to not stare at Alec because everytime I did, I felt my heart get a little heavier.

It took Alec about 20 minutes to treat all her wounds and it turns out that Emily's shoulder wasn't dislocated but had a ligament tear in there.

"Now, who's telling me what happened?" Alec said throwing away the bloody cotton.

"I had a fight." Em simply said.

"Em, how long is this gonna go?" Alec asked.

"Just a few more and then I'll be done." She said, surprising me because I've never heard her talk about quitting streetfighting.

Alec looked equally surprised. "For good?"

She nodded. "For good." She glanced at Ryder, before looking back at Alec as if the answer was for the both of them.

"Wow, you must be in some deep shit right now, to think about quitting." Alec said, which was a very spot-on thought.

Getting involved with gangs is as bad as it can get.

"And what are you doing here?" Alec asked, looking at Ryder.

Emily sighed. "Alec, not now."

"I just don't see why he's meddling in our family matters." Alec shrugged, glaring at Ryder.

Emily narrowed her eyes at Alec. "Lexi's here."

"She's family." Alec responded almost instantly, making my eyes widen. "Almost." He added.

"Well, then Ryder's almost family to me too." Emily said, leaning back and shutting her eyes.

"Fine. Whatever, I still don't trust him." Alec said, starting to walk out of the living room. "If you don't wanna suffer a fever, make sure you take your pills, loser."

Alec walked upstairs, leaving us in an awkward silence.

What do I do?

"You're staying over right?" Miles asked looking at me, while I shrugged. "Help me then?"

I moved to help her up when Ryder grabbed her instead. "I can do that Lex, don't worry."

"You're not going home?" Em asked wide-eyed.

Ryder rolled his eyes. "Do you even know me? Lex you can head home if you want."

I scoffed waving my hand dismissively. "I have a room here, I'll stay over. I'm too tired to drive home anyway. Just don't do anything I wouldn't do."

I said walking up the stairs.

"That's not much of a restriction, you know?" Em said, making me show her the finger.

I was walking in the hall, when a hand suddenly latched onto my wrist and pulled me into a room.

I was met with the face of a very worried Alec scanning me from head to toe.

"Are you okay?" He asked, closing the door and locking it just to be safe.

"I'm fine. I didn't have a fight today." I said, grabbing his hands to help him calm down.

He let out a deep breath before his arms latched around my waist and pulled me to his chest. And just like every other time, as soon as I inhaled his scent, my body relaxed and I melted in his arms.

"I hate this." He said, into my hair. "I hate that I can't touch you out there. I hate that I can't claim you as mine."

I stay quiet as I have nothing to say because I know he's right and I feel the same way.

But I also can't help but feel like we're betraying Emily by doing this. There's always an option to tell her the truth, but honestly, we don't know how that would go, so we haven't even tried it yet.

"Hey, daydreamer." Alec said, looking into my eyes. "What are you thinking about?"

His eyes are the most beautiful hazel I've ever seen in my life and that's why I feel like Alec and Emily literally won life, genetically.

"Us." I said, placing my chin on his chest.

I bit my lip as I noticed pieces of his messy hair lying on his forehead. I moved them slightly.

I was suddenly pulled in with a jerk and suddenly his lips connected with mine.

I felt sparks in my body just as strong as the ones I felt when we first kissed.

Our lips moved in sync as we desperately latched onto each other.

We parted as I felt the absence of oxygen while he continued his assault down my neck with no problem in breathing.

But just like every other time, I had this empty feeling deep inside me when we kissed.

"This is a bad idea." I gasped as I felt him suck the skin where my neck and shoulder meet but made no attempts to move away.

"You say that, everytime." He said, placing open-mouthed kissed under my jaw.

I, so desperately wanted to tell him how much he means to me. And how I imagine a future with him. How I want everyone to know that he's mine and I'm his.

But most of all I want to tell him how much I love him.

But given the situation we are in, I don't think my confession would do us any good.

So, I keep it inside me and we get in bed while he held me tight against his chest and I fall asleep hearing the slow rhythm of his heartbeat.

*Author's note*