We were fully drowned in each other, his hands trailing down my back while my fingers roaming through his oh-so-awesome hair. He sucked my lower lip between his teeth and bit slightly, a deep, throaty moan left my lips which urged him to bite harder.

It was escalating quickly but a loud cough caused us to jerk apart. Both of our heads whipped towards the source of voice, Mr. Brown.

My jaw dropped to the ground with fear and my knees started to wobble. If looks could kill, we both would have been dead by now.

"Care to explain what was going on?" Mr. Brown asked further, his gaze shifting between Adam and me.

"We.. We-"

"Nothing illegal, that's a guarantee." Adam cut me in between.

"Adam!" Mr. Brown yelled at him, his jaw was clenched tightly and his pupil was dilated. "That's no way to act in a school. You can be suspended because of your little rendezvous."

My head started spinning at the mention of suspension.

"Then go ahead sir. Suspend me for all I care." Adam matched his glare, his voice blank and emotionless, all the previous playfulness had left.

"Adam!" he gritted once again.

Before Adam could retort back, I pulled his hands in mine and after apologizing to Mr. Brown, took him out of the closet.

"What was that Adam?" I asked once we were away from the damn place.

"I don't want to talk about it Alicia." he grunted and then after running fingers through his hair and heaving an aggravated sigh, left for his next class.

...

I was perched on the counter of the kitchen, thinking about Adam's behaviour with Mr. Brown while the rice cooked. The coldness of the counter was freezing my bum but I couldn't care less.

I was sure about one thing though, there was something going on between them and judging by Adam's words, Mr. Brown had done something bad to him in the past. And the fact that Mr. Brown had not suspended him yet showed that he was himself ashamed of what he did to him.

"Alicia?" Someone called me but I was too lost in my thoughts to hear the person.

"Alicia?" I heard again and breaking the chain of thoughts, looked towards Dad who was now pulling the rice out of the pan into two plates. "What were you thinking?"

"Um.. Nothing." I looked around and jumped on the floor. Pulling the grilled fish out of the oven, I served them on the plates and added some portion of stirred vegetables on the side.

We sat down at the dining table and started eating the dinner. The fish tasted nice but I was too absorbed in my thoughts to enjoy the food. Even Dad had noticed it so while I cleaned the dishes, he made coffee for both of us and asked me to join him in the living room.

"Is something going on with you Ali?" Dad asked, passing me the cup as I sat down on the couch.

"Nothing." I trailed off.

"Ali! I am your father. You can share your problems with me." Dad said.

Can I?

"Dad?" I whispered. "Growing up is hard."

He chuckled before wrapping his arm around my shoulders. "I think you are doing a pretty good job at growing up." he answered back.

"Am I?" I asked, pouting.

"Yes, you are. In fact, you grew up right after your mother died. It is you who has kept me together for all these years. If it wasn't for you, I would have broken down a long time ago." he said, a proud smile on his face.

"Dad." I sighed, tears pricked my eyes. "I love you." I said and hugged him, hiding my face in his chest.

"I love you too, sweetheart." he muttered under his breath and hugged me back.

After our hugging session, Dad left to meet someone while I lay down on the couch. Checking through my messages, I contemplated whether to text Adam or not. I wanted to talk to him but the thought of having an argument with him scared me.

My eyes once again moved to my watch and I got restless when I realized I had a long night in front of me. It was just 8pm.

Finally making up my mind, I stood on my feet and assessed my appearance through mobile camera. Making sure I didn't look like a hobo, I made my way to Adam's house.

After knocking at the door, I waited for someone to come out and when Tiffany did, I asked her if I could meet Adam.

"But sweetie, he isn't at home." she told me and invited me in but I passed. "He said he is going to study over a friend's house."

Friend's house?

After she closed the door behind her, I turned around, thinking about her statement. Somehow, I doubted that Adam had went to a friend's house to study because let's be honest, he didn't have any friends beside me.

Then where was he?

I was still lost in the thoughts when the answer to my queries flashed in my mind and I stopped in my tracks.

Oh my God!

He is participating again in those street fights.

When it happened last time, he had multiple bruises and injuries. He won't do it again. Would he?

I returned to my house with unfocused mind and collapsed on the couch, thinking about all the possible scenarios in my mind. I was scared of him because the possibility of him getting brutally hurt was not easy to digest.

What if he injure any of his vital organs?

What if he get punched in his eyes and lose his eyesight for good?

What if he hit his head with a heavy thing and go into coma?

I have watched such mishaps happen in movies and I couldn't help but feel like I won't be able to forgive myself if something happened to him.

Pondering over the situation for a good hour, I finally picked up my car keys and made my way towards the car, sitting in and revving the engine.

I remembered the area where I had seen him one time and although it was dangerous for me to go there, I was willing to risk it for him. The streets got narrower with every passing turn and the number of street lights decreased.

I drove my car past few shady groups, men covered in tattoos and wearing dark leather clothes. All the time, I kept on praying to God to keep me safe but still, my heart was racing against my chest wall and small beads of droplets were appeared on my forehead.

When I took another turn and reached another darkened street, something shifted in the atmosphere. The number of shady men had increased and from a far place, I could hear dimmed voices of cheering, very dim, barely audible.

Stopping the car in front of a very narrow alley through which only a pedestrian could pass, I pulled the zip of my hoodie upto my neck, tied my hair in a bun and wore my beanie which was kept in the drawer along with many other accessories.

Locking the car, I followed a guy who was probably going to watch the fight, judging by his attire and the piercings on his skin. I watched as he turned around the corner and reached another alley where a huge man was standing, asking him for his name and some money. He asked him some questions too, probably making sure he wasn't a cop.

"What's your name?" he asked me, checking me from head to toe, his eyes lingering on my chest a little longer.

Great! He must have figured out I'm a girl.

"Jessica." I said in straight voice, even though my insides were quivering.

"100 bucks." he demanded and I searched my pocket for some money. Thankfully, I had two notes of 100 dollars in my pocket. I gave one to him and he gave me access to inside without asking any more questions.

I passed through a bunch of people, noise of cheering was loud enough to tear apart my eardrums. There were some teenagers inside, some were quite old. But nobody cast a second glance towards me which was a good sign.

Passing through the sweaty bodies, I descended the stairs and reached what looked like a full stadium where a fighting ring was situated in the middle and hundreds of people were gathereda around the ring, chanting few names again and again.

But one was particularly familiar.

"Adam!"

I stood on a wooden block to have a clearer view of the ring. He was standing in the middle of the ring, his face stoic and his eyes murderous. The other person was slouched to the ground, his breaths shallow and his face all bloody and sweaty.

Oh God!

My knees turned to jelly as I observed the scene with widened eyes. Scared, even petrified, I jumped from the wooden block and watched as another huge guy patted his back and declared him the winner.

His eyes sifted through the crowd, a deadly expression plastered on his face. He stopped when his grey orbs landed on me and a wave of surprise washed down his face, followed by what could only be interpreted by pure rage.

Oh shoot!

_________________________