"Kai! Wake. The. Fuck. Up!" A large, heavy foot collided with my bare side, sending me flying off the bed, pulling the covers halfway off the mattress in the process.

I let out a loud groan as I rolled around on the floor, clutching the sides of my ribs where I had been kicked, "Lucas! What the actually fuck!?"

"That was just payback for last night," he huffed, moving into a sitting position and leaning against the headboard.

"What?" I shouted, confused. "You weren't complaining," I eyed him up and down, noting that his entire torso was covered in hickeys and mini bite marks.

"Not that, dipshit. You were practically doing a fucking triathlon in your sleep. Your legs were all over the place and your arms kept smacking me in the face!"

"Hmm," I hummed, "all I'm hearing is that I had a good night sleep," I gave Lucas a satisfied smirk.

He threw his head back, scoffing at me, "What about me!?"

"Aww," I cooed, climbing back onto the bed. I made my way so that I was on my hands and knees, hovering over Lucas with my face level to his, "did my poor little Lukie not get enough sleep?" I teased.

His mouth morphed into a flat line and he raised one eyebrow, crossing his arms in the process.

"Fine," I sighed. "My bad, but it's not like I can control it. How can I make it up to you?"

"Let me start fucking you again," he whined. "It's been so long."

"Again, I haven't seen you complaining," I tilted my head to the side. "All you have to do is ask, you can fuck me any time."

"So..." he drew out his words. "Does that mean we can do it right now?" Lucas placed one of his hands on my back and began to rub the bare skin. He brought his other to my chin, pulling it upward and bringing it closer to his face.

Right before our lips were about to connect, I slipped my hand in between our faces, placing my index fingers onto his puckered lips, "Don't you need to get to class?"

His brows furrowed slightly and a look of confusion took over his face, "What time is it?"

I moved my head to the right, craning my neck to see the bedside clock, "9:36."

"Shit!" Lucas threw me off of him, sending me onto the side of the bed. I landed on my back and bounced onto my side, propping my head on my hand as I watched Lucas frantically pull on random articles of clothing.

"You have your Calculus 2 class at 10:00 am, right?"

"Yeah," Lucas replied, running into the bathroom now fully clothed. He pulled his toothbrush out and brushed his teeth, quickly fixing his hair by tousling it around.

I snickered, "Isn't that the professor that only gives you three absences a semester?"

Lucas grunted, "If I'm late one more time he's going to fucking fail me, that prick."

He made his way back unto the bedroom. Lucas was wearing a dark grey corduroy jacket that had a maroon lining and hood. The bottom of his black jeans blended into the tops of his black combat boots. Well, they were actually mine, but somehow after living together for three years our styles have started to overlap and now our wardrobes are wholly mixed.

Lucas rushed into the hall, the shuffling of his feet becoming a distant noise before his footsteps got louder again. He ran back into the room with his backpack slung over one shoulder. Lucas leaned over the bed and pecked me on the lips, "Bye, love you."

"Love you too. See you tonight," I waved as he raced out of the bedroom, through the hall, past the kitchen, and out of our apartment.

I got out of bed and slipped on a pair of black sweatpants and a navy blue sweatshirt. I threw the hood on top of my head, pushing it back ever so slightly so that I could see. I grabbed a pair of long fuzzy socks from the drawer and pulled them over the bottom of my sweats.

I yawned, stretching my arms over my head. My shirt rose up a bit and I felt the cool winter breeze hit my stomach, causing me to double over from the sudden chill.

"Apollo?" I called out.

There was the faint sound of scurrying, paws scuffing against the hardwood floor as a giant polar bear bound toward me. Apollo, our two-year-old Great Pyrenees, jumped onto me, his paws resting on my chest. He was absolutely giant, and he was still growing. I scratched behind his ears, rubbing up and down his sides. The cuddly creature removed his paws from my sweatshirt. I followed him into the kitchen where he placed himself in front of his bowl.

"You must be hungry, hmm," I picked his red bowl off of his mat and poured a hefty amount of kibble in. "Sorry, I slept in again," I grabbed his wet-food, which contained the meat and protein he needed, out of the fridge, and mixed it in with the dried brown grind. I put his food away and then placed his breakfast on the ground next to his still full bowl of water.

I grabbed some cereal, pouring it into a large bowl along with some milk. I grabbed my phone and then sat down at the table.

As I shoveled spoonfuls of food into my mouth, I opened the Mad Dog website.

Lucas got into a pretty decent college just outside of Silveredge studying in some supposedly prestigious business program, or that's what Lucas tells me at least. He wants to open up a boxing gym to teach people how to fight for sport as well as for self-defense. He was already doing that in high school, but he wants more money and would prefer to be his own boss.

Jack decided to go to an ivy league school on the east coast and Zay and Sarah are attending a local community college. Apparently Zay was trying to hit on Sarah at the beginning of their freshman year, just several months ago. But then she got a girlfriend and suddenly he was confessing to me how he never saw Sarah as anything more than a friend. It was a pitiful attempt at trying to cover his ass.

As for me, I still fight at Mad Dog. A lot has changed there, Mad Dog is now the number one league in America is super popular worldwide. Because of the traction it's been getting, a lot of different people from around the globe come to fight and I no longer win every single match. That'd be impossible. But that doesn't mean I'm okay with losing. I'm ranked in the top three on the Mad Dog fighter chart out of thousands of participants.

I could've gone to a community college with my friends, but there was nothing I wanted to study. I make more than enough money fighting, so there's really no need for me to earn a degree when there's nothing I'm interested in learning. Not to mention my individual popularity has landed me a couple of modeling gigs. Let's just say I live more than comfortably.

I spent my entire day lounging around the house after going on a long run with Apollo. We were cuddled up on the couch watching TV when I heard the door unlock.

Lucas shuffled in, rubbing his hands together and puffing out a breath of air, "Why is it so cold this year? I don't remember it being this bad last year."

I chuckled at him, "Your ears and nose are red." It looked cute.

"Grab your stuff. If we don't leave soon we'll be late," Lucas instructed as he threw all of his books onto the counter. He rushed over and gave our polar bear a head rub and a kiss on the nose before wandering into our bedroom. I quickly followed behind him, gathering everything I needed and placing it inside a small bag. I didn't bother changing as we made our way out the door and into my pricey black car.

I slid into the front seat and cranked the heat up to high, both of us tossing our things into the back seat.

I turned my headlights on, the bright lights shining into the dark revealing the light rain that we could feel but was too misty to see. It didn't snow where we lived, but it was so cold at night that it sure as hell felt like it would.

The drive was fast, much quicker than when we lived in Silveredge. When we arrived, I pushed on the handle of the door, the black material opening upward. I grabbed my bag and then ducked out. Lucas and I passed through the door where we were both subjected to thorough body scans and searches before entering the familiar hallway that led to a room where we quickly changed.

I wore an athletic black long sleeve shirt with black sports shorts, crew socks, and running shoes. Lucas was wearing the same thing except his t-shirt was grey and somehow tighter than mine. If that was even possible.

With a small knock on the door, Dan Reynolds was peaking into the fight room, "Ya ready to go?"

"Yep," Lucas said, popping the p as he finished wrapping numerous black and white athletic tape strips along his wrists, forearms, and right shoulder. Lucas shook his arms out at his side and then walked behind Dan as he guided us toward the entrance to the pit. He knew that we were well aware of how to get there, but his assistance was a formality.

Lucas and I stood in the shadows, listening to the cheering crowd. The announcer was already talking into the speaker, our opponents looking pleased and cocky.

"Ready?" I asked Lucas with a smirk.

"As always," he licked his lips in anticipation.

Was fighting at Mad Dog violent? Yes. Is it dangerous and could I get seriously hurt? Also yes. But the adrenaline high is next to none. At first, it was a way for me to protect myself, and it definitely worked. I was told I would grow out of fighting and that it was just my teenage hormones getting in the way. Or that I was only doing it because I needed to get revenge on my dad. I mean, I was. But even after my dad died, I just couldn't quit. Fighting here is addicting, it's a drug and I can't help but want more.

I've never gotten severely injured which was good enough for me to keep going. I have a lot of hobbies, but this is one I would never give up. Fighting is my one true love, besides Lucas that is.

The audience's noise level increased tenfold as Lucas and I entered the arena. It boosted my already inflated ego.

"And on our left, we have Mad Dog's reigning Double's champions, Lucas Beck and Kai Yoon!!! The pair have been undefeated in every match they have fought together in for the past two years. I am sure everyone is excited to see if they can turn that into three!!" The announcer bellowed as his voice echoed from speaker to speaker. "This is Kai and Lucas' first appearance in this year's Double's tournament as they received a two-round bye. If they want to win it all, not only will they need to win this match, but they will need to sweep their next five matches as well!"

I turned my head toward Lucas, not moving my gaze from the opposing team, "There are so many rounds this year," I grumbled.

"I know. Our first year there were only four or five rounds, last year there were six, and now there's eight? They should start doing some sort of screening instead of just letting everyone in."

"They did start doing that. They don't accept minors anymore."

"I guess you were lucky then. No one will ever be able to break your record of the youngest person to ever win Triple O and Doubles."

I coked my head at the thought, "Good point. I like your thinking," I gave him a flirtatious smile that had him throwing his head back in laughter.

Some may think we are too laid back, after all, it's our first Doubles match of the year, and the pair we're facing is already on a two-match win streak. But it's not like we've been doing nothing during the off-season. Lucas trains year-round, it's literally his job. And I fight at Mad Dog all year, even without Lucas. Triple O, Doubles, mini-tournaments, and sparing. I do it all, and if I didn't improve even with all that effort, then I might as well have quit. But no, I've gotten better, a lot better. My agility, stamina, strength, the whole shebang.

"THREE," the announcer began his countdown to the fight. "TWO, ONE, FIGHT!!"

The crowd roared, the sheer sound making it nearly impossible to hear talking in the pit.

Lucas and I moved away from the wall, as did our opponents. We circled each other slightly, Lucas and I splitting off, taking on one person each.

"Well fucking hell. Look what we have here," my opponent taunted. He was around the same height as me, around 6'3. But that was where the similarities stopped, he had a wide, protruding nose and thick, round lips surrounded by a six o'clock shadow. His bald head looked oiled, it reflected the blinding lights that illuminated the pit. He wasn't skinny nor fat, he was tall yet also appeared rather stocky.

"I've seen you on the news. You're the fucking f*gs, aren't you?" He spits out.

I clicked my jaw, my fists clenching so tight my nails were digging into my skin. Ah, yes. The worst part of being gay. The homophobes.

Due to the rowdy audience, he had to practically scream the words at me so I could hear him. But that quickly backfired. His voice was much louder than he gave himself credit for and his declaration echoed throughout the suddenly silent stadium.

I was pissed. My face was twitching in anger and I felt my eyes become cold. A sinister smile was plastered on my face which had my opponent flinching.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that Lucas was removing himself from an unconscious body that laid on the ground. He wiped his hand on his dark shorts and sauntered towards me as a pair of paramedics shot out of the entrance and quickly took the defeated fighter away.

"The fuck did you call us?" Lucas cracked his neck, followed by his now bloody knuckles.

This was how I knew that these guys were new. After we got outed on the news, we were confronted by countless homophobes and bigots, fans and fighters alike. But the people who had any prejudice or bias against our sexuality quickly learned to keep their mouths shut because every time someone opened their trap... well, let's just say those people didn't walk out of the pit.

I took one step toward the bald man. He took one back in response. Lucas stood back and watched. I took another slow step forward, the look in my eyes comparable to a psychopath. He raised his arms into a defensive position when I backed him into the cold, concrete wall. He raised his fist, getting ready to throw the first punch, but his not so subtle glance toward the left side of my face gave away his move. I barely had to shift my head to avoid his weak punch.

"I asked, what. Did. You. Just. Call. Us." I ground my teeth.

"I called you a f-f*g! What of it you disgusting-" I cut him off.

I raised my left arm in the air, cocking my shoulder, "You're so fucking dead," I laughed as my intense glare made him cower. One punch was all it took. With knocked-out teeth, a dislocated jaw, and a nasty bruise covering half of his face, the man laid unconscious on the floor.

I'm not the same person I used to be. After everything I've been through to get where I am, there's no way in hell I'd let someone walk all over me or the people I care about. And anyone that dares to will have to face the consequences.

Because I'm not just fighting for myself anymore.

The End.