The Boxer

Chapter 7

     The bell rang, signaling for the two to stop and Harry's opponent swiveled on his heels and marched back to his corner, paying no mind to the body lying in a heap on the floor. Cryssy thought for sure he'd been hit in the temple, and was now lying dead in the center of the ring. She inched closer to the side of the ring, subconsciously trying to get a closer look.  His coach and a few others slipped through the ropes and crowded around him, . The light that reflected off the men around Harry's body showed the sweat that rolled down their temples as they scrambled to turn Harry over and splash water on his face, trying desperately to wake him.

     Cryssy watched from the edge of the ring, her eyes wide with fear as they slapped him a few times to try and awaken him. The room around her seemed to go in slow motion. The audience was already silent with shock and watched along with her as she climbed up the side of the ring on instinct. Everyone having their eyes on Harry, it was easy for her to slip past them. The shouts seemed vague and distant as she approached, ducking down and slipping between the legs of one of the crew. Only then did one of them notice her. 

     "Hey, you can't be up here!" she waved him off. "HEY!" he shouted louder, only to be ignored yet again. The large man gripped her shoulder and Cryssy tore her gaze away from Harry's blank face to glare at him. 

     "I'm his girlfriend, now let me go," she hissed. The man gave her a strange look, but removed his hand from the fabric of her t-shirt and she turned back to Harry. What drove her to grip his hand and squeeze surprised even her. Cryssy's free hand moved up to Harry's face, cupping it softly, His coach shouted something about more water to the people watching on the sidelines. 

     "Harry, wake up," she whispered, although she knew he wouldn't hear. She squeezed his hand again and moved closer. "Harry," she pleaded a bit louder now. She didn't know how she'd wake him, yet it felt like it all depended on her to do it. The men around her watched silently. She didn't like Harry, heavens no! She barely even knew him. But, she cared about him. More than she knew up until now. 

     Although everything around her still seemed fuzzy besides the image of Harry's face, she could distinctly hear one little voice in the back of her head. One little voice that sounded a lot like Louis Tomlinson and was only saying one thing. One thing she wasn't sure would help. One thing she didn't want to do, but did anyway. 

     Kiss Him. 

     She took a deep breath and leaned down slowly with hooded eyes. When she was an inch away, her blue eyes met with a pair of emerald ones. Harry didn't move, just stared up at her, lips slightly puckered and eyes half-closed. To him, it looked sexy, but Cryssy felt like a fool. She shot backwards with wide eyes. 

     Dammit Louis, she mentally cursed, although the spunky brunette was no where in sight.

     She gulped down any fear she had and spoke. "Are you alright?" he nodded, still staring at her. She realized then that she still had his hand cupped in hers and let go quickly as the men around them helped Harry up. He collapsed back into a chair one of the crew brought and drank the water his coach shoved in his face. 

     Harry was vaguely aware of what went on around him. He'd barely heard any voices surrounding him until now, and right now it felt like everyone was practically screaming at him all at once. The fans were on their feet, shouting his name, as Harry waved off the urgent hands trying to examine him. Matt crouched down in front of him, waving a hand before his eyes to get his attention. Harry zeroed in on his voice and listened. 

     "You took a hard blow to the head Harry. It'd be best if you forfeit." Harrys face crumpled. 

     "To hell with that," he said, he'd never thrown a fight, and he wasn't about to start. He looked past Matt and around the ring, seeing his opponent laughing at the other side and felt his anger grow before Cryssy stood in his line of sight. She whispered something to Matt, and he shuffled away begrudgingly, having his men follow. She kneeled down in front of Harry to match his height and took his face between her hands. Harry wasn't exactly sure what she was doing at first, but went along with it as she tilted his head slightly and opened his eyes a little to check his pupils. 

     "How do you feel?" she asked. 

     "Dizzy," he said. Cryssy nodded. 

     "You shouldn't fight," Harry was about to speak when she carried on. "But, I know you're going to anyway, so do me a favor. Whenever you feel like you're going to pass out, do what you did in your last fight; duck down then sucker punch upwards. The shift in elevation will help the blood flow into your brain, alright?" Harry nodded and Cryssy began to stand up again,

     "Why are you helping me?" he asked. 

     "Because I care." Harry stared, confused. Was his hearing that fucked up?