I'm just gonna say...as of now...I think this is the best chapter I've written so far!! Heheheheehh...

P.S Any clothing that I have to explain won't be explained very detailed since I'm really bad at that.

"Oliver, listen to me right now! You will not fight that boy, do you hear me?!" Ms.Sullivan shouts for like the 100th time. Ms. Sullivan is, obviously, furious and doesn't want Oliver to go to the fight. Thankfully, Ruby is at a friend's house tonight sleeping over for this exact reason.

I've been sitting in my room the whole time listening. I tried to blast music in my earbuds but it wasn't enough to block out the yelling.

Suddenly, my door swings open and Oliver steps inside then quickly shuts the door behind him and locks it before Ms.Sullivan could enter. He sighs in relief and leans against the door as Ms. Sullivan pulls on the door handle from the other side.

"Iris, may you please open the door? I know Oliver won't." I hear Ms. Sullivan ask from the other side of the door. I look at Oliver cautiously and slowly stand up. He quickly glares at me, "Don't even think about it." He warns. I quickly sit down on my bed once again, not wanting to anger Oliver any further.

"Don't threaten her!" She pulls on the door knob again then finally stops, "You know what? I need some time to myself right now so keep yourself locked up in Iris's room while I go calm down." Ms. Sullivan announces. We stay silent as we hear Ms. Sullivan storm off and leave the house, getting in her car and driving away.

"Why don't you just listen to her?" I ask finally, moving into a comfortable position on my bed. He shakes his head and sighs, "I can't just back out of the fight..especially against the Reaper." Oliver says, walking over and sitting on the edge of my bed.

"From what I heard, this guy wears a mask. If you don't know who he is under it, why do you care so much about fighting him?" I ask. "You wouldn't understand.." He mumbles, lying down on my bed. I roll my eyes, "Fine but when he beats you, don't come crying to me." I blurt out, slumping back down on my bed.

Why did I say that? Of course Oliver can beat him, the guy can't be that strong...and besides, Oliver is always able to come to me when he has a problem. I look over at Oliver to see him already staring at me. "What?.." I feel my face heat up. "I...I just wanted to know if we could go up to the roof again?..." He asks nervously. Woah, okay, this is happening..Oliver is nervous.

As I study his face more, he looks desperate to go up there. "You really like it up there." I point out, standing up. He smiles, "Yeah," he stands up beside me, "but it's better at night." He walks towards my already open window.

"Are you gonna need my help again?" He asks, looking back at me. I shake my head, "I think I can do it, plus I don't think you'd want to help me anyway." I say, chuckling. He shrugs, "You've got a point there." He replies, chuckling.

Oliver leans part of his body out the window, then pulls himself to the top. The rest of him disappears up and out of the view of the window. I wipe my sweaty hands on my pants, not wanting to risk myself slipping and falling. I cautiously stick my head out the window and look up at the roof, getting a good grip on a piece of the roof before pulling myself up. Well..trying to.

Come on noodle arms! Just a bit further! We've got this! Geez I really need to work on my upper body strength.. Oliver then comes into view and grabs my hands, pulling me onto the roof towards him. With one strong and final pull, Oliver pulls me right next to him. I nearly fall over onto him but I quickly regain myself.

"You know," Oliver chuckles, "You're obviously so eager to rest your head on my lap." He jokes, laughing. I scoff and shake my head, "Yeah right." I reply sarcastically.

"Stop denying it, you love this Sullivan goodness." He teases, smirking and gesturing to himself. "No thanks, you can keep those goods to yourself." I say, going along with his teasing. "Nah, I think people deserve to experience my goods." He replies, smirking at his own comeback.

"Well not everyone is pleased by your 'goods'." I retort, sticking my tongue out at him. He gasps dramatically, "Are you saying my goods need an upgrade?" He asks. "Glad you could catch on." I grin, winking at him. Oliver shakes his head knowing he's been beat at his own game. "Alright, you got me...." He mutters, chuckling a bit.

I laugh a bit, looking up at the sky. He's right, it is better at night. "Iris, do you really think I won't be able to beat the Reaper?" Oliver asks, snapping me out of my thoughts. I look over to see him frowning, he's trying not to but he can't help it. "Well honestly I'm not sure," I pause to see his reaction, he looks curious, "I feel like you have a good chance at beating him. I mean, you're Oliver Sullivan for crying out loud!" He smiles,"You don't give up easily and you're incredibly strong, so don't doubt yourself." I tell him, smiling.

He frowns once again. "Why aren't you trying to stop me?" He asks. "Because you're stubborn," He chuckles, "and you seem serious about this fight. You didn't even listen to your mom before." I answer, shrugging. He nods slowly, understanding what I mean. "It's not that I didn't want to listen to her but this fight is important to me -"

"But you're more important to her than a fight against some kid she doesn't even know." I cut him off, looking him in the eyes. "She just doesn't want you to get hurt." I add, smiling warmly.

He sighs softly, lying down on the roof and looking up at the sky. "I guess.." He mutters, closing his eyes due to the brightness of the sun. I frown and lie down next to him, laying my head on his chest.

Then it was silent. But it was a comfortable silence. We lied there for what felt like half an hour until Oliver's phone vibrated.

He sighs, sitting up and checks his phone. "Oh right...I almost completely forgot about the fight. Uh, I'll be back home in an hour or so..." He says, steadily standing up. "Isn't the fight later at night?" I ask, standing up alongside him. "Yeah, I'm just training a bit." Oliver explains. I nod in understanding.

"I'll help you inside the house." He says, offering his hand. I smile, placing my hand in his. "That'd be great." I reply, looking up at him. He smiles and begins leading me to my window, humming the tune to I'll Make a Man Out of You from Mulan.

"Y'know, you don't have to sing or hum Disney songs anymore. I'm not scared to go up here like I was the first time." I tell him, smiling at how he remembered. "I know," He stops walking and looks back at me, "I just loved the mesmerized look on your face that night. Every time I think of a Disney song, I can't help but smile as I picture you that night." He explains, looking away again and continues to walk to my window.

......of course I'm blushing. What kinda question is that?

We get to the window and I carefully make my way inside my room. "Thanks," I say, smiling at Oliver who is still on the roof. "No problem, I'll be back soon." He replies, turning away.

"Be careful." I warn, worried. "Don't worry, I'll be fine." He reassures me before jumping off the roof.

I hurry over to my window that shows the front lawn. Oliver walks across the lawn uninjured and looks up at my window, surprised to see me already there. I sigh in relief and wave at him, smiling. He smiles and waves back before walking to his car.

*************

"Mom, I'm going to the fight!" Oliver shouts. They've been bickering since they both came home. Again.

Once again, my door is slammed open but instead of it being Oliver, it's Ms. Sullivan. "Then at least take Iris with you!" Ms. Sullivan demands, looking at me.

"What?!" Oliver and I shout at the same time.

"Yes, it'll be perfect! Iris will make sure you don't get hurt. She can call me if something happens and I'll feel a lot better if she went." Ms. Sullivan explains. "You have to be joking. It's a bad neighborhood and if they see her," he points at me, "then I don't know what would happen." Oliver argues. "Well that's why you're going to protect her." Ms. Sullivan retorts, knowing she won the argument.

Do I get a say in this?

"But mom-" "No buts, Oliver. That's what I say and that's final!" Ms. Sullivan exclaims and walks out of the room.

"Shit..." Oliver mutters under his breath then turns to look at me. "I guess you're coming with me." He says, sighing. "I guess so..." I reply unsure what else to say. "Be ready in an hour." He states before leaving the room, closing the door behind him.

Ms. Sullivan, what'd you get me into?

*************

Oliver is concentrated on the road so since there's no one to talk to, I stare out the window of the car. Everything looked familiar, nothing looked out of place or sketchy. Suddenly, Oliver makes a sharp right turn into a dark narrow street which kinda reminded me of an alleyway almost?

"Where are we?" I ask. "Don't worry about it.." Oliver mutters. We take another right turn at the end of the narrow street, it leads to a wider street where crowds of people were making their way in the other direction of where we're going.

"It's a full house tonight.." Oliver sighs, shaking his head. He drives straight into another street with less people and it's more dark.

After a few turns, we're in front of a parking garage. "Alright. Iris, you're staying in the car. It's dangerous out there and you're wearing anything they might find suspicious." Oliver explains, finding a parking spot and turning off the engine.

"But your mom wanted me to come, also what's suspicious about a hoodie?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. As you can tell, this is my first time going to something like this. "My mom said you could come, she didn't say you could watch." He says matter a factly, "And your clothes? What girl wears a hoodie to a street fight?" Oliver adds. What if we're cold?...

"I kinda knew this would happen so I kinda came prepared? I wore whatever I thought would be okay for this..event." I shrug before pulling off my hoodie which revealed a crop top that went with my shorts that I was, obviously, already wearing. "Is this less suspicious now?" I ask, gesturing to my clothes.

Oliver smirks, "Just one more thing." He reaches into the back seat and pulls out a leather jacket. "This goes with your outfit." He compliments, "It's also cold outside so.." He adds as I slip on the jacket since it's too big.

Oliver steps out of the car and I do too quickly afterwards. He walks around the front of the car, not taking his eyes off of me. He stares me up and down, smirking as he cups his chin as if examining art. I could feel my face heat up, "Soo..are we going?" I ask, getting his attention. "Mhmm.." He hums yes, staring me up and down a second longer before making his way to the entrance of the parking garage.

"Won't people recognize you walking down the street?" I ask once I caught up with him. "Too dark." He says simply, putting his hood up in case.

As we walk down the streets, we hear some older boys whistle as I walk by. I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. Then someone's fingers intertwine with mine. I look down at our hands then up at them, it's Oliver. "Ignore them. Just keep walking." He tells me.

After a ten minute walk, Oliver and I make it to the fight's location which isn't anything special. Literally. It's just a bunch of people crowding in one area around the only like six working street lights on this street. That's pretty pathetic.

"Well, I usually have to go meet up with my 'boss' before the fight so I should go now." Oliver says, pulling his hand away from mine. I frown as he pulls away but force myself to smile. Oliver turns towards me again, "Also maybe don't stick around for too long, maybe leave when the fights about to start? I don't want to risk anymore guys hitting on you when I can't protect you." He adds, smirking and then turns to leave.

"Wait, Oliver!" I call out before he could walk away. "Yeah-" As he turns to face me, I jump into his arms, giving him a tight hug. "Good luck." I whisper in his ear. "Thanks," He smiles and I pull away. I watch him walk away, a big smile on both of our faces.

••••Oliver's POV••••

"Oliver, I'm gonna be honest, not much money is on you tonight." My boss says, counting the money in his hand which looked less than $100. "I know I wasn't expecting any more when fighting against The Reaper." I told him. He nodded, "Good luck out there kid, y'know I can't help it if he tries to kill you." He stated, pattting me on the back on his way out.

Well then..thanks for NOTHING! Cause that totally makes me feel so much better.

Soon enough the fight was about to begin, I stepped out under the street light to hear people cheering for me. Then we saw him. The Reaper walks out towards me but also stops under the other street light as people cheered for him.

I take one glance at the crowd, seeing Iris smiling at me. I smile back, feeling a bit of hope for myself. In the corner of my eye, I see The Reaper follow my gaze into the crowd, staring at Iris. I just couldn't tell his facial expression when he saw Iris, if he was grinning? Confused? I wasn't sure.

My boss looks at The Reaper who nods and then at me, I nodded. He flashes a sympathetic smile in my direction before shouting, "Begin!"

The Reaper was first to make a move, he quickly came charging at me as he threw a punch at me. I dodged it, stepping to the side and taking a step back. I go to kick him but he grabs my foot causing me to lose balance and fall. Shit!

He's about to kick me while I'm down but I roll out of the way and he stomps a few centimeters from me. As he's going to try kicking me again, I kick his other leg out from under him which he then falls onto his knees. I push him onto his back next.

That's when I punched his mask to see if it will somehow affect him. He seemed phased for a moment, then got back to fighting by wrapping his hands around my neck and crushing down on my windpipe.

Glancing through the crowd, Iris isn't there anymore since she probably went back to the car like I told her to, but I still remember how she hugged me and whispered in my ear "good luck".

Engaging back into the fight, I punch more of his mask and a few times his ribs. I realize punching his mask wouldn't work at all so...I repeatedly smashed his side of the mask onto the sidewalk. I can feel myself losing consciousness since he still hasn't let go of my neck, and he has a strong hold around it.

"Reaper! Reaper! Reaper!" The crowd chants. Gee thanks.. I put all my strength into smashing his mask onto the sidewalk and punching his ribs. My surroundings start to fade as I smash his head even harder onto the sidewalk.

The hands around my neck loosen and I gasp for air as they leave my neck completely. I continue to take deep breaths as I look to see what I did.

I broke half of the Reaper's mask, revealing part of his face. Oh my god...

•••••Iris's POV•••••

It's been at least an hour, I've been waiting in the car since then. Is this really how long these fights take? I would've stayed longer but Oliver told me to leave so that's what I did. Hopefully, he's okay right now.

The drivers door opens and before I could scream, I see that it's Oliver. He has a few bruises and scratches but he looks anxious or disappointed? I can't tell.

"Hey, how was the fight?" I ask, staring at him. "Short..." He mumbles, starting the engine. "Huh? What do you mean 'short'? It's been an hour." I point out.

Oliver stays silent as he begins backing out of the spot. "So, what happened?" I ask. Oliver sighs, "The Reaper was disqualified for running away so I won." Oliver explains, surprisingly depressed about it.

"Shouldn't you be happy?" I ask, confused. "I broke part of his mask during the fight and I guess he ran, not wanting people to know his identity. The reason I came back later was because I had a long talk with my boss about it. I'm just not happy because I didn't really win, I only won because he got disqualified." He explains, beginning to drive home.

"Well, did you see who was under the mask? Was he really our age or was he older? Have you seen him before?" I interrogate. Oliver glances at me, "No, too dark." He answers.

....he's lying, isn't he? What isn't he telling me? And why doesn't he want to tell me?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Heyo!!! I really hope everyone likes this little mystery in the story! I think it's really cool because now you can all try to guess who The Reaper is. But I'd never reveal until the time is right....unless I just never tell you guys. Pfft, just kidding.

I think.

But anyway, if you enjoyed please like, comment, and leave feedback! Thanks, bye bye💖

~FT