Chapter 8

"You" We both said at the same time. I narrowed my eyes at Gabriel who in turned glared back at me. He was the friend Daniel had talked about and had run off to yesterday.  

"Wait you two know each other?" Daniel asked beside me.  

"Unfortunately." Gabriel said keeping his eyes on me. At his words I glared harder at him.  

"I wasn't the one being an ass." I bit out.  

"You came onto me."  

"I did not! I was thanking you not trying to sleep with you." I curled my lip at him.  

"It didn't seem like that." Gabriel said taking a step towards me. I had to crane my neck up to look at his face. His face looked a lot better and I couldn't help but wonder if he had some kind of salve for his cuts and bruises. Not replying I took that moment to look at him fully.  

Gone was his hoodie and a black t-shirt hugged his upper body. Muscular arms that I didn't know where under his hoodie were now stretching the arm holes of his shirt. Although he was fit and probably had abs under his shirt, you could practically see them through his shirt, he wasn't over muscular. He didn't look like some of those guys that work out everyday and take steroids just to look cool. I noticed what looked like a tattoo peaking out from under his t-shirt. My eyes traveled lower to his low hung blue jeans. My eyes widened a fraction when I saw he had black converse on as well. My gaze looked up at his face taking in his bruises. His brown hair was styled in a messy but sexy look.  

"Are you done checking me out yet?" I blinked stupidly. "Daniel get your 'friend' to stop staring at me like a freak." He put emphasis on the word friend, almost as if the name was disgusted him.  

"My name is Carmen."  

"I don't care." He shot back at me. "Daniel lets go."  

"No you can't take my friend away." I did the same thing to the word 'friend'.  

"He isn't your friend."  

"Yes he is. He is hanging out with me." I stated folding my arms over my chest.  

"He doesn't even know you, princess." We argued back and forth like a couple of 3 year olds. After every thing Gabriel said he took a step closer to me until we were almost toe to toe. "Unless you want to sleep with him as well." At that I felt my blood boil. Who does he think he is!?  

"Woah guys! I'm not just a piece of meat you can just toss around." Daniel said interrupting us. I know I am very sexy and likable but you have to atleast take me out on a date first." I turned to him biting back a smile, cooling off a little bit.  

Daniel was looking at both of us shaking his head. There was a small smirk on his face and his hazel eyes were sparkling in amusement.  

"Gabriel remember I like to be taken out first before you give me those fuck-me-eyes." I choked back on laughter that was trying to burst free. Gabriel's glared and frowned deepened even more as he stared at his best friend. Daniel didn't even look fazed at Gabriel's look but if it were anybody else they would be shitting themselves.  

Daniel's smirk widened while I grinned at him. He clearly wasn't frightened of Gabriel. I could tell these two have been friends for a while. Even at that comment I knew Gabriel wasn't as pissed off as he seemed. As they continued to stare at one another I felt like I was intruding on a private moment between the two. It was like they were talking in each others minds.  

"Um do you guys want me to leave you alone so you can continue with your private stares? I'm not a huge fan at being a 3rd-wheel." I said. It seemed they didn't hear me or were ignoring me. "Hey love birds!" I snapped my finger between there faces. "Do you want me to leave you alone so you can continue with your secretive looks?"  

That did it. Daniel grinned over at me while Gabriel threw me a scowl. I grinned trying to wiggle my eyebrows but by the look of Daniel's laughter and Gabriel's unimpressed look I wasn't doing a good job.  

"Don't ever do that again." Gabriel said.  

"Why? I think I can do it perfectly, see." I did it again.  

"Daniel come on we have to go."  

"Oh tired of me intruding on your 'private time'? I can just turn around if you'd like." I acted nonchalant.  

"Stop insinuating that Daniel and I are together." Gabriel gritted out.  

"What? Am I not good enough for you?!" Daniel exclaimed sending his friend a hurt look. He put a hand to his heart like he hurt him.  

"We are not going through this again." I couldn't help but burst out laughing. I clenched the side of the table as I laughed.  

"Y-You've been through this before?" I wheezed out. "Daniel I love you."  

"Of course you do." Gabriel muttered. It took me a minute to stop laughing and when I did I had to wipe the tears from my eyes.  

"Sorry. I'm okay now." I smiled over at Daniel who was grinning back at me. Yeah this was going to be a start of a good friendship.  

"Whatever Daniel lets go." He adjusted the strap of his backpack which I didn't even notice that he had on.  

"Where are you guys going?" I asked before I could stop myself.  

"None of you business, stalker." Gabriel snapped at me his eyes flashing at me. I put my hands in front of me and forced myself not to lean away from him.  

"Okay I was just wondering no need to get snappy, gosh." I rolled my eyes at him. "I'll let you go and be with Mr. Grumpy pants." I said to Daniel. I could tell Gabriel wanted to say something back to me but Daniel opened his mouth first.  

"Why don't you come with us? Unless you have class or something." He offered. For a split second I considered it but shut it down immediately. No way could I could and be around Gabriel for more then a few minutes. The guy hated my guts anyways. I glanced up at Gabriel who looked seconds away from blowing up.  

"That's okay I don't want to intrude. Plus my roommate should be here soon." I declined.  

"But you wouldn't be intruding. You would be keeping me company while this one," He pointed to Gabriel. "figh...works out." He caught himself from saying a different word. I picked up on it but decided to let it go. It was their business anyways, not mine.  

"As much as I would love to keep you company I better not. I'm just going to finished up my thing and wait for my friend. But thank you." I stole a glance at Gabriel from the corner of my eye and saw he had unclenched his jaw and fists. Made the right choice apparently.  

"Well next time okay?" I nodded in agreement. Daniel stood up but before he turned to leave with Gabriel he turned back to me. "Can I have your number?" I looked at him funny for a second.  

"Sure." He fished out his phone and handed it to me. It seemed slightly weird to give my number to a guy I literally just met yesterday but I liked Daniel.  

"Here you go." I handed it back to him after I put in my number. "I'll see you later." Surprising me he tugged me into a hug, my face smashing against his hard chest.  

"I'll text you later Carmen. Bye."  

"Glad your face is better." I said to Gabriel before they walked away. I had no idea why I just suddenly said that.  

"Whatever." He muttered before walking away, leaving Daniel to run after him.  

"What a jerk." I mumbled before sitting back down at the table. In my defense I was nice to him. Sighing I turned back to my drawing of Gabriel. I didn't want to finish it but I hated when I didn't finish my art work. Pushing Gabriel's rudeness to the back of my mind I grabbed my pencils to start on drawing his face.  

It took me 20 more minutes to get his face just right but looking at it I couldn't help but compare it to his face in real life. His jaw line didn't look as pronounce in the picture as it did when you were staring straight at him. Even his eyes didn't look the same shade. Seeing that is as good as I will get it I dropped my pencil and rubbed my forehead. I hated that I when it came to drawing it had to be perfect.

Staring down at the picture I couldn't help but think Gabriel was attractive, really attractive even in photo form. He oozed sex appeal but it was his personality that made me think twice about even liking him. Sure he had that bad boy vibe going on as well as the don't-fuck-me look but that is what seemed to draw people in. I wasn't stupid to not know that he probably gets girls by the dozen, and he also probably does the hump and dump with them.  

I wanted to justify the reason behind drawing him but I couldn't. Something about him lured me in and he stuck in my head like a bad song. If it wasn't for how he acted towards me I would be like every other girl, drooling and making a fool of myself in front of him. I don't know what I did wrong for I only just met him two days ago.  

Maybe he just wasn't use to a girl not wanting to sleep with him. I definitely was not the type to just go and be flirty with some random guy to sleep with him. Sure Gabriel may be undeniably hot I wasn't like that. Hell it took almost two years with my first boyfriend to even think about sleeping with him. If Gabriel was mad at me for not immediately wanting to sleep with him than it was his own fault for being rude.  

I let out a loud sigh at my thoughts. Here I was thinking about somebody I really didn't care for. I don't even know why I care so much that he was rude and didn't like me. Why should I even care that he doesn't like me? It wasn't like I was here to impress anyone, well other then Andrew, but still. It shouldn't matter that much to me but for some reason it did. I didn't like knowing Gabriel hated me. He doesn't know me and takes it upon himself to think he does.  

I guess my need to please people and have them liked me applied to Gabriel as well. I did not want him to hate me for an unknown reason and I also didn't want him to be rude to me. I just never thought I would care so much of what someone thought of me. My whole life I have tried not to care of what people said behind my back or what they thought my life was like. I've succeeded to an extent where I would just shrug off their comments but now with Gabriel I couldn't. I just wanted to know why he hated me when he only just met me.  

"Why the loud sigh?" A voice questioned as a big body flopped down on the bench beside me. For the second time in a day I let out a small shriek while clenching my chest. I looked over at the person who just raised an eyebrow at me. "Didn't know I was that frightening."  

"Andy don't do that!" I snapped trying to calm my racing heart, but of course it didn't work whenever he was around.  

"I didn't do anything. I thought you would have heard me." He shrugged. "So are you going to tell me what the sigh was for?" Andy leaned his forearms on the table looking my way.  

"It was nothing, just have a lot on my mind." I said as I quickly shut my notebook. I did not want Andy to see the drawing I did of Gabriel, that would not go over well.  

"Well if you need someone to talk to you know I am here." He said seriously. I nodded and sent him a small smile.  

"Thanks."  

"So how has your day been? No classes?"  

"Not today I have two tomorrow though. I've just been sitting here taking pictures and drawing." I answered. "I take it you had class?" I gestured to his backpack he had placed on the table.  

"Yeah had Anthropology with Professor Mclaren at 8 o'clock, then had English 235 a few minutes ago."  

"Oh how were they?"  

"Eh English won't be bad since the teacher is pretty chill, but Anthropology is going to be a bitch. A lot of homework and studying." He let out a shudder at studying.  

"You never know you may end up liking the class."  

"Yeah right Prof. Mclaren is such a hard ass. He doesn't let anything slide and has the most monotone voice ever." Andy groaned. "But lets not talk about that, any plans tonight?"  

"Probably not. I have class early tomorrow morning and I would rather stay at home anyways." I shrugged.  

"Same old Carmen." He sent me a grin which made my insides warm. His stupid perfect smile always got to me, with his straight white teeth and dimples.  

"What's that suppose to mean?" I asked looking at him.  

"Nothing honestly. It's just that you have always been the type of girl who would rather stay at home than go party."  

"You guys never want me to 'go out and party'." I reminded him.  

"It is not a bad thing. It is something that I love about you. Not everyone likes to dress up nicely every time they go out. It's nice to just stay home and relax." At the mention of the word love I wanted to melt into a puddle. Sure he didn't mean it the way I wanted him to but it was still the word LOVE! I continued to stare at him processing everything he said. 

"It is not a bad thing I promise." Andy said again. He thought I was offended. I mean I slightly was but when he said he liked that about me that flew out my mind.  

"Well...good." I got out finally not really knowing what to say.

"I hate when you met some people and they just want to go out to do all these different things, when it is okay to stay home with a bunch of other friends. That is what is so great about you Car you are that friend that is fine doing that. You are like that friend you go to when you don't want to go party." Andy rambled on basically repeating his words in different ways.  

As I registered his words I couldn't help but feel hurt. Hurt that he only saw me as a friend and hurt that he thought I was some boring stay at home person who never does anything fun. He said it multiple ways as if saying it one way wasn't as hurtful as the others.  

I knew I couldn't be hurt that he only saw me as a friend. I knew he didn't feel the same way towards me but that didn't stop my heart from crashing to my feet. For years now I have dealt with knowing that I would only be seen as a friend in his eyes but now hearing that I was, was worse. I guess he has said that to some extent but not so plainly before.  

Even though he said he liked that I was a 'stay at home person' it didn't make me feel better. Sure I liked to stay home most of the time in my pjs eating cookie dough and never partied as much as Mia or Amelia, but that didn't mean I don't know how to have fun and let loose. I could be a fun person if I wanted to be. Plus Cris and Andy never wanted me to go out. Whenever I would they would check up on me every minute, only let me have a sip of alcohol, they were like piranhas to any guy near me. How was I suppose to go have fun when they both breathed down my neck. It couldn't be both ways.  

Andrew continued to ramble about that while I sat there wanting to sink into the ground. I know he didn't mean it in a bad/rude way but it hurt. To have the guy that you have been crushing on since High School basically tell you that you are boring really does nothing to help your self esteem or make you feel any better about yourself. It almost like a punch to the gut.  

"Oh shit." I came back the conversation at that moment. "I am so sorry Car but I have to go. Coach wants to hold a meeting with the team." Andy looked down at his phone before sending me a apologetic look.  

"It's okay. Go I'll be fine." I forced a smile on my face. I hoped it didn't look at forced as it felt.  

"I'm glad I was able to talk to you for a few minutes." Yeah, so am I. I thought sarcastically.  

"Good luck at the meeting and tell Cris I'll text him later."  

"Will do. Be careful going back to your dorm. See ya later Car." With a heart stopping smile he stood and walked away sending me a wave. Once he had turned away I slumped into the bench letting my smile go.  

Well that wasn't painful at all. I thought playing everything he said back to me. He was oblivious to how hurtful his words were. I wanted to play them off but I couldn't and how could I when he said that. He obviously believes that I am boring. That is what every girl wants to hear about themselves. Maybe if it was someone else other than Andy it wouldn't be that big of a deal, I would have shrugged it off, but it wasn't. It was my crush saying it.  

I could feel tears pricking at the back of my eyes but I forced them back by digging my nails into my hand. Not wanting to be here anymore I packed all my stuff up before heading back to the dorm. Mia should be done with class by now anyways.  

The entire walk back to my dorm my mood kept dropping. I replayed Andy's words in my head a thousand times. It wasn't like I prided myself on my adventurous life but I wasn't boring. I tried to convince myself that but it wasn't working. When I got to my door and unlocked it I was right thinking Mia's class was over. She stood in the kitchen rummaging through the cabinets.  

"Hey." I said softly as I set my stuff on the counter.  

"Hey where have you been?" Mia turned to look at me.  

"Oh just around campus taking photos and stuff. How was class?" I asked grabbing a glass for some water.  

"It was okay kind of boring but it was only the first day." She said shrugging. I nodded at her but stared at my water. "So...are you going to tell me why you look like someone kicked your puppy or not?" My head snapped up to her.  

"I-I do not." I stumbled out.  

"Car I have known you my entire life and you wear your heart on your sleeve. So spill." Mia took a seat at the bar, setting her elbows on the counter and leaning towards me. Instantly I told her everything Andy had said and even seeing Gabriel and Daniel. I couldn't keep anything from my best friend and she was always great at listening to me.  

"Maybe he didn't mean it like that." She offered once I was finished.  

"I know he didn't mean it that way. He would never intentionally hurt me but he did. He thinks I'm some boring ass person and that I am a great friend. I don't want to be just a 'friend' Mia!" I threw my hands up.  

"Carmen how is he suppose to know that saying that would hurt you when he doesn't know how you feel? To him you are his friend and he thinks you think the same thing."  

"Mi-"  

"I know you aren't going to tell him your true feelings." She put her hand up. "But at least he thinks of you as a friend, that is better than nothing. You can't let his words hurt you because we all know you aren't boring, even Andy knows you're not. Hell he even said that is what he likes about you. Don't go taking it so personally okay?"  

"Of course you are right. I'm just reading too much into it. After everything with Gabriel I was just round up that's all.  

"Of course I am right. I'm always right." Mia went to flip her hair over her shoulder but since she cut it shorter her hand only flipped air. I rolled my eyes at her.  

Mia was definitely right. I just thought too much about it and let it get to me. Maybe dealing with Gabriel's rudeness made me on edge or my emotions out of whack. All I needed was Mia to pull me back into perspective which I was grateful for. I'm glad she has always done that for me and glad she won't ever stop.  

"Thank you." I sent her a smile.  

"No problem I will always be here to help. So what should we do for the rest of the day? It is only 2 o'clock."  

"We could go to the gym?" I suggested. We both shared a look before bending over laughing.  

"How about something funner?" Mia said wiping a tear away from her eyes.  


"Like what though? It is the middle of the day on a Tuesday, nothing is really going on."  

"Lets call Amy and see if she knows of anything. If anybody knows it would be Amy." I nodded at her. I wasn't too sure if Amy would even answer. After last Saturday we haven't heard anything from her which was weird.  

"If she answers." I quietly stood there sipping my water as Mia waited for Amy to answer. On the last ring must have answered for Mia perked up and started talking. Only being able to hear one side of the conversation I didn't even try to understand what they were saying. While I waited I scrolled through my social media.  

"I'll text you when we are about to leave." Mia's voice brought me back to their conversation.  

"Where are we going?" I asked after she hung up.  

"Apparently Amy was invited to go to some thing a few miles away from here and she said we could come along."  

"She doesn't even know what is it?" I asked raising an eyebrow.  

"Well she didn't say exactly but that a lot of people are going. We should go!"  

"But we don't even know what it is. Plus three girls there alone probably isn't the best idea." The idea of going somewhere I don't really know wasn't a thrilling thought. Plus us three there alone surrounded by who knows what or who.  

"Car you just said that you were afraid you were boring, doing this would be a step in a different direction for you." Mia said.  

"But I have-"  

"We won't be out late and will be back in time to get plenty of sleep for classes tomorrow. Come on Carmen." She pleaded sending me puppy dog eyes. I could feel myself caving. I did kind of want go out and do something other then sit around.  

"We can see if Andy and Cris want to go." For a split second I considered it before I realized they wouldn't even let me go or they would be stuck by my side the entire time.  

"Lets go. It will be fun to go and do something." I replied.  

"Really!?" She asked surprised I said yes without more pleading.  

"Yeah it will be fun. But lets not invite Cris or Andy because they will just ruin it for us."  

"Good idea. This is going to be so much fun." She clapped her hands smiling at me.  

"What time is it at? They couldn't have anything going on around 2 in the afternoon right?" I asked.  

"Amy said it starts around 4 so we have a little bit before we have to get ready to leave. We'll just let Amy drive since she knows where it is at." I nodded trying to ignore the pit in my stomach.  

An hour and a half later us three girls were piling into Amelia's car ready to go to whatever this thing was. I have yet to find out what it was but a part of me didn't want to know for I would probably chicken out. The ride to where the thing was being held didn't take too long for it was only 7 miles away from campus. The entire time I tried to calm my nerves. I didn't even know why I was so nervous anyways. It wasn't like I've never gone out to do something with Amy or Mia before. It must just be the nerves of doing something for the first time as a college student, plus I didn't even know what we were heading in to. We did ask Amy why she didn't answer our calls or texts and all we got was that she was busy and stressed about classes. To which Mia and I shared a look not really believing her but let it slide.  

"This must be it." Amy said making me look out the window. We were in front of a worn down building. Since it was light out you could see the brick was faded and whatever paint it had on was worn off. Cars were parked all long the road and the parking lot in the back. As we searched for a parking spot I noticed people walking into the building, most of the girls were dressed in short skirts or even dresses. It was only 4 o'clock and they were dressed for a night out. Where the hell are we?  

It was just our luck to find a parking stop near the entrance of the building. Stepping out of the car I tugged on my shorts trying to get them to go down. Somehow I had let Mia dress me to come here which resulted in me wearing really short denim shorts, that made me feel like my ass was hanging out, a white tank top that had Los Angles on the front with a denim long sleeve shirt tied around my waist. When she tried to get me to wear heels I refused and went for a pair of white vans instead.  

Amy had gone for a little more 'dressy' outfit than me, if that is what you wanted to call it. Amy wore a short black leather skirt that showcase her long tan legs and a crop top that showed her belly button ring. Mia had kind of what I had on. A pair of black shorts and a tight strapless shirt along with tall heels making her slightly taller than me.  

As we headed inside I couldn't help but feel under dressed. All the girls we passed were wearing either really tight, short dresses or something similar to Amy. My denim shorts stood out against everyone else's.  

When we got more inside the building I noticed it was a lot nicer inside than it was on the outside. Probably to keep people away from it. The deeper we got inside the louder it became. Peoples yelling reached my ears as we descended a staircase. Nervousness pricked my skin as we continued on with the crowd of people trying to get inside. I clenched my bag tighter against my body and patted my pocket to make sure my phone was still with me.  

Finally we made it out of the small hallway and into a huge room that was filled with people. What surprised me the most was the huge boxing ring right in the middle of the room that was raised up higher so everyone could see it. Inside the ring were two people exchanging punches while people watched and yelled. My eyes widened as I took everything in. We were at an underground fighting match. 

"What the hell?" I breathed out my eyes moving around the room. Amy had been asked to come to a place to watch people hit each other for fun and thought we should come along. Now I regretted coming along. I wasn't the biggest fan of violence unless it was necessary. My eyes stayed frozen on the two big men in the ring throwing punches and making the other person bleed. All around me people yelled and clapped for who they wanted.  

"Mia this is..." I trailed off.  

"So cool!" Mia finished my sentence for me.  

"Yeah, wait no!" I yelled. "Mia we are at a fight club!"  

"Oh come on Car live a little!" Amy yelled over at me as her blue eyes went from one guy to another. "There are tons of hot guys here to keep your attention." She practically purred.  

"This isn't a good idea you guys!" I yelled over the cheering of the crowd.  

"Just give it a chance please Car? If you don't want to be here in an hour we can leave I promise." Mia turned to me giving me a pleading look. Of course she knew that would work on me.  

"Fine but you promise we can leave if I want to right?"  

"Of course." I closed my eyes before nodding.  

"Okay. Okay." She sent me a grin before grabbing my hand and tugging me through the crowd. Amy was ahead of us and every guy she passed gave her a double glance.  

"Lets see if they have any alcohol here!" I barely heard Amy shout over her shoulder at me. It wasn't even a second later that Mia lost her hold on my arm. With her still in my sights I tried to push past people slowly getting tired of not getting anywhere.  

"Hey sweetie." A voice said near my ear making me jump back. An unfamiliar guy stepped in front of me with a creepy grin. He looked quite a bit older than me. He was dressed in a tank top showing up big arms and a big ugly tattoo on his upper arm along with a pair of blue jeans. The guy had dark blonde hair and had kind of a nice looking face.  

"Uh hi." I said trying to look over his shoulder to find Mia and Amy.  

"What is a pretty little thing like yourself doing here all alone?" He asked.  

"I'm sorry I better go find my friend." I tried to move around him but he followed me.  

"Why so soon we only just getting to know one another." He flashed me a smile that he thought would be sexy, it definitely wasn't.  

"Sorry but no." Once more I tried to go around him but the same thing happened. "Can you move please."  

"Come on sweetie lets go somewhere else to talk." He went to grab my arm but I took a step back feeling beyond disgusted.  

"I said no." I said firmly.  

"Sweetie-" The guy started to say and I could tell he was getting annoyed by me saying no.  

"She said no." A new voice said right next to me. My eyes snapped to a familiar figure. Daniel.  

"Leave us alone Forbes, she is with me." The guy bit out at Daniel taking a step towards me. When he did that I took a step in Daniel direction.  

"Back off Mathew she is with me." Daniel said in a deep voice. I looked at him from the corner of my eye never have heard before. "Don't think about ever touching her again." He growled. With that he grabbed my wrist before pulling me after him. I stumbled behind him glad he got me away from that guy. He was creepy as hell and who knows what would have happened if Daniel hadn't come by.  

"Daniel! What are you doing here?" I asked. The crowd has settled down but only because the current fight was over.  

"What are you doing here Carmen? This isn't really the place for you to be by yourself."  

"I'm not alone I came with my friends but kind of lost them." I continued on being tugged after him.  

"You should have ignored Mathew he isn't a nice guy." Daniel said over his shoulder at me.  

"I did. I tried to get away but he kept blocking me."  

"Carmen with guys like him you have to be forceful."  

"I was!" I defended myself.  

"I'm glad I found you." He muttered. We were now on the other side of the room and heading towards a door.  

"But Daniel why are you here?" He didn't answer me just kept pulling me to wherever we were going. "Please tell me you aren't fighting." I said really hoping he wasn't. I just couldn't see Daniel as a fighter and I couldn't take watching him get hit.

"I'm not fighting." He finally answered as we slowed down. Instantly I felt relieved. One less thing to worry about. "Lets just get this over with." I heard him mutter before he grabbed the door knob and entered.  

Hesitantly I went in after him almost expecting to be lead into a dudgeon or something. Instead I was met with a clean room that had music playing. Off to one side of the room was a large couch, a tv, a few chairs, and a door that probably lead to the bathroom. But my eyes skipped over them to come to a stop on a bare muscular back.  

"Where did you go?" The guy asked turning around. I almost gasped like in the fictional books I read. I really should have known this was coming but I didn't. In front of me was none other than Gabriel. At first he didn't seem to notice me and just looked at Daniel. Silently I prayed he wouldn't start yelling when he noticed me. Almost as if I said that out loud his gaze snapped right towards me. His brown eyes narrowed and I watched as he wrapped hand curled into fists.  

"What the hell is she doing here?" He practically bellowed out looking at Daniel. Daniel rubbed the back of his neck trying to waste a few minutes. "Daniel." Gabriel growled out.  

"I found her out on the floor. Mathew was all over her so I brought her back with me." He finally answered.  

"I don't give a fuck if Mathew was all over her. I don't want her here." He once again glared over at me. I shrunk under his gaze pressing against the closed door.  

"Gabriel come on it's not a big deal. Do you want her to get hurt."  

"I don't care if she gets hurt. She shouldn't have come here like a stalker."  

"I'm not a stalker! I didn't follow you here." I spoke up for the first time. "I came here with my friends for your information." I glared back at him.  

"You have friends? That is surprising. You are probably screwing all of them aren't you." He sneered at me. At that I snapped.  

"You jackass." I lunged towards him. Daniel suddenly wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me back away from Gabriel, who was just staring at me with a bored expression. "I'm not a slut like all the other girls you sleep with." I snapped at him. "My friends are GIRLS not guys dumbass."  

"Does it matter?"  

"Ugh I just want to punch your stupid face!" I yelled lunging for him again but Daniel's arm was firm on my waist. "How Daniel can be friends with you I don't know."  

"Whatever. I go on in 5 minutes right?" He asked Daniel who I guess nodded although I couldn't see his face.  

"Wait you are fighting?" I asked dumbly. Daniel let his arm drop but stood behind me waiting if I lunged for Gabriel again.

 "Wow you are not smart are you? Yes I am fighting." He gestured to his wrapped up hands. I narrowed my eyes at him but didn't bother to reply to his smart ass remark.  

"But why? You could get seriously hurt." I don't even know why I cared but I did.  

"I don't get hurt princess." He replied smugly.  

"Don't call me princess."  

"Fine...stalker." Gabriel smirked at me.  

"I am not a stalker! Daniel tell him I'm not a stalker." I turned to him who just rolled his eyes at us.  

"I like princess better." I muttered under my breath. "But seriously you shouldn't fight Gabriel, you could get really hurt."  

"Uh Carmen he has to fight. He is the main fight of the night." Daniel said leaning against the wall by Gabriel who was patting his wrapped hands to make sure they were okay. Suddenly it all clicked into place.  

"That is where you got your bruises from! You fought the other night didn't you?" I asked. His bruises were fading and only had a slight tinge of yellow to them.  

"I don't see why it is any of your business."  

"I patched you up dingus if you don't remember." I replied walking over to the couch and sitting down on it. "I thought you didn't get hurt." I used my fingers to quote him.  

"He got in a few lucky punches." Gabriel shrugged at that but I could tell he wasn't telling the whole truth. Beside him Daniel just stared at his friend. Gabriel looked to Daniel to talk to him so I let my blue eyes drift across his body. He was shirtless and wearing only a pair of low rung shorts. My eyes greedily took in his wonderfully sculpted abs and pecks. His 6-pack was prominent as well as the v-line leading underneath of his shorts. The dude definitely worked out.  

On his upper left arm and around his bicep was a series of tattoos. I couldn't really see what they were but one looked like a red rose. For some odd reason I really wanted to seem them all up close and learn what they mean, if they did mean anything. As I continued to stare at them I liked them more and more. They definitely fit him for some reason. It seemed to make sense that he and tattoos, definitely matched his 'bad boy' and now 'fighter' persona. 

"Princess eyes up here." His voice jerked me out of my thoughts.  

"Please like I was staring at you." I grunted but felt a blush rising on my cheeks. Of course he noticed that I was checking him out. It was impossible not to when he was just standing there in all of his shirtless glory. What is a girl to do?  

"Anyways the guy is a pretty tough one but just do what you have been practicing. He's never seen you fight before so he doesn't know how good you are, to him he thinks you are an amateur. I've heard he has a killer right hook so stay clear of that okay?" Daniel talked quickly with Gabriel. Gabriel just nodded and listened intently. This must be the guy he is fighting. I thought. "You'll do fine." He sent his friend an encouraging smile.  

Gabriel started to bouncing on his toes while moving his neck back and forth, loosening his muscles. There was a few minutes of silence before some guy peaked his head in and told Gabriel it was time. He took a swig of water and grabbed what I think was a mouth piece before following after the guy. I quickly stood up and trailed behind Daniel.  

I just had to watch Gabriel fight. I had to make sure he didn't get hurt too bad. A voice inside my head kept yelling at me asking why I cared or why I wanted to see this but I ignored it. I couldn't answer that right now. For a guy I met two days ago I really felt something towards him. Well something other than hatred and annoyance.  

Because I was behind Daniel and Gabriel they lead a path straight to the front of the crowd and ring. Ever since Gabriel stepped foot outside of the door the yells and cheers rang even louder than before. People clapped and those who could touch Gabriel slapped his shoulders and arms. My ears were starting to hurt at the noise but it didn't seem to matter at the moment.  

I quickly glanced around trying to see if I could find Mia or Amy but in the sea of people I couldn't. I stood a little behind Daniel as him and Gabriel talked quietly and quickly. I couldn't hear a word they said but I did see Gabriel quickly look at me before turning back to Daniel. He nodded at whatever Gabriel said before Gabriel took a step back and started up the steps inside the ring.  

"Lets go stand over here." With a hand on my elbow I was steered a little bit over so we were right in the front and looking straight at the middle of the ring. I forced myself to look away from Gabriel to look at his opponent.  

His opponent looked like he had a good 100 pounds on Gabriel. The guy looked to be in his late twenties and was roped with muscle. He looked exactly like those guys who used some sort of steroid to make them look big but really couldn't lift more than 20 pounds. While Gabriel's opponent glared at him and bounced on his feet, Gabriel stood there calmly just staring at him. He even had the guts to look bored.  

By the sound of the crowd they liked Gage more than the other guy which made me hope he was as good as he said. But if he was that good he wouldn't have gotten bruises and cuts the last time. My gaze was riveted on the two as guy came to the middle of the ring holding a microphone.  

"Welcome everyone to the main event tonight. In this corner we have Marco "Give Them Hell" Santos! Has only lost 5 fights in his whole career." The guy announced him. The crowd cheered for him but not as loud as I know they can be.  

"And this corner we have 'The Beast'! The Beast is undefeated and has had 30 knockouts in his career." My eyes widened at that. He has knocked out 30 knockouts?! That is insane and he is undefeated. Okay maybe he is as good as he says. After the guy finished announcing Gabriel the crowd roar almost shaking the ground. He was definitely the favorite of the pair and everyone seemed to know him for he must come here a lot.  

While the guy talked about the rules I worried by bottom lip with my teeth and played with the bottom of my tank top.  

"Carmen he will be just fine." Daniel beside me said sending me a small smile. "He has done this plenty of times before."  

"Then why does he still have bruises." I shot back at him.  

"He shouldn't have them." He murmured. "He clearly let the guy land those punches before he knocked him out cold." Daniel didn't say anything else and I was grateful. I was trying to process it and when the sound of a bell chimed I snapped out of it.  

My entire body tensed up as I watched Gabriel's opponent stalk towards him like a man on a mission. Gabriel slowly talked towards him rolling his shoulders while clenching his hands. With baited breath I waited for the first punch. Somehow I knew it wouldn't be from Gabriel. He was too collected to take the first swing.  

When the swing did come it was like it happened in slow motion. Time seemed to stop as the guy threw his right fist fast towards Gabriel's face. Just before it hit Gabriel time sped up and Gabriel was ducking and moving under the guy Marco. Marco whirled around to find Gabriel behind him. It only took a second for the guys fists to come swinging at Gabriel once more.  

For the next 5 minutes Gabriel teased and avoided everything Marco sent his way. When he tried to wrap his arms around Gabriel's neck he somehow got out of it. Gabriel only threw about 3 punches the entire 5 minutes and each one packed heat. From where I stood I could practically hear the sound of Gabriel's punch hitting the man's sides. Each time his fists made connect with Marco's body I winced. But whenever Marco almost hit Gabriel I would flinch. In my head I was screaming at Gabriel to move his ass away from the big man.  

The people around me screamed what I wanted to say. They all seemed to be cheering for Gabriel and each time he never knocked the guy out people would yell at him to do so.  

I was glad Daniel was beside me for each time I got shoved he would make sure I didn't fall. He stood close enough that our arms were pressed against one another and his stance was almost a defensive one. From the corner of my eye I could see him glancing at me every few minutes.  

After another 5 or so minutes I was fed up with Gabriel teasing the guy. He should just end it instead of just moving fast like a cat around the large man. But as time went on I realized why he was doing it. He was wearing Marco out while conserving his own strength. When the time is right he will finish guy in no time.  

I found myself clenching onto Daniel's arm as I stared at the fight. I didn't even know what I was doing when I opened my mouth and yelled at Gabriel.  

"Come on knock him out!" I yelled. I doubt he could have heard me but Daniel did. He sent me a shocked look and raised an eyebrow at me.  

"What? It is tiring seeing nothing happen."  

"Gabriel come on!" I yelled again. It seemed Gabriel did hear me for his head snapped in our direction. "Watch out!" I screamed waving my arm behind him. He whirled around just in time to duck from a punch Marco had thrown.  

"Here he goes." Daniel said to me his eyes never leaving Gabriel. Just as he said that a switched seemed to turn on in Gabriel. His arms flew lightning fast and struck Marco's body. My hand squeezed Daniel's arm harder as I watched wide eyed.  

"Yes, yes." I chanted softly under my breath. It was like I was under a trance as I watched Gabriel fight.  

In no time Marco fell to the floor in a heap, blood running off his face. The crowd scream bloody murder as he fell making Gabriel the winner, again. I opened my mouth to scream or do something but nothing came out. A few guys rushed into the ring to assist the guy while Gabriel backed away. He didn't even seem fazed by the sight or of the crowds yells. The only thing he did was turn and stare right at me. His mouth slowly lifted into a smirk as he stared at me. I couldn't help but start to smile back at him.