Red Pointe Shoes

Chapter 22

A/N Two uploads in one night? I'm on a roll! Hehe. 

Chapter Twenty-two

"Impossible!" Loyer scoffs, though I can see the doubt forming in his eyes. My eyes narrow at his words, but I hold my tongue, choosing instead to run straight at him, an arm held out like I'm aiming for his neck. As he raises one arm to block my blow, I bring my arms in close around me and drop under his arm, grabbing it. Deftly, in one motion, I use it as a leverage point to force him over my outstretched leg, bringing him crashing to the ground. The fight's not over yet, Loyer has endured worse than this in the Underground before, and I know that. As soon as his back hits the ground, the boy twists over on his belly, wrenches his arms out of my grip, and circles out a foot in a sweeping kick. I jump back quickly out of reflex, but in the moment that I'm moving, he jumps up and sends a palm strike towards my nose. That's when it fully registers that this is serious.

This will not be a regulated fight in the Undergroud. Both Nat and I have seen his face, witnessed and experienced his assasult on us. He knows that if we get away, he could be arrested. This fight isn't purely for revenge anymore- it's going to be his way of striking fear into us. It will be the kind of fear that causes throats to dry and for lips to clamp shut, for the mind to descend into manic gibberish when the incident is thought of. He wants to cover his tracks. "Tell me, Loyer," I saw deflecting the blow to one side and using his open guard to sink my fist into his solar plexus, "does it really seem that impossible?" 

He doubles over before recovering, glaring. "You were scared and quiet, just like every other dancer in your class. She was the only one who dared to speak out." His hands flew forward in a blurrying array of jabs and strikes, trying to catch me off guard. Sweat forms on the tip of his brow, and his words are becoming less clipped, running into each other. "But then that night when you yelled at me for the poster. She was the one that came out and stopped it. I was so certain." I deign to reply at the moment, instead focussing on stopping his attacks, and retaliating with one of my own. As he reaches forward with both hands to push me off balance, I block them by pushing away his wrists from the inside, and grabs his shoulders, attempting to throw him off balance. Stepping forward, I snake my right leg around the back of his knee and yanks it back, shoving it at the same time. With one support leg gone, and overbalanced, Loyer crashes back again, but not before taking me with him. 

The world tilts and the ground rushes to meet me as he flips us around last minute, and the asphalt hits me with a force that takes my breath away. Loyer has me pinned  again, and he grins in triumph. I force myself to take a deep breath before driving my elbow into the crook of the arms that are supporting him. As he falls I quickly roll to the side and regain my footing. He looks shocked, and I take a moment to feel happy. I've been training too- learning how to compensate for my weaknesses and all that. You'd be surprised- the Internet is an amazing resource. "Nothing," I say grimly, pushing my forearm down across his throat, leaning on it, "is ever certain." I only intend to knock him out through some suffocation, grab Nat and make a dash for it, but at that moment, a bright light shines down on me.

Wide eyed, I flinch as I stare at the police behind the bright beams of torchlight, then past them to Nat, who stands cowering at the wall, her phone in her hand. 

"I still can't believe you called the police."

"I'm sorry! I panicked!" Nat protests in her croaky voice, which has me flinching upon hearing it. To her, it's nothing, but to me, it's a reminder of how my friend got hurt because of my actions.

"Still," I sigh, rubbing a bruise on my arm, "I'm lucky one of the diners had a camera installed around his property." 

It's been three days after the incident. That night, I was questioned by the police, and after reviewing footage from a diner's manager, I was deemed innocent and let go. Loyer is still being held, and his offical court date is two weeks from now. As you can expect, there are many rumours going around school, but none of them involve Nat or I, thankfully. The school launched an investigation into the matter, and they uncovered the Underground. Instead of disbanding it, like most rational people would have done, Principal Richardson decided to legalise it, turning it into an annual thing. Unfortunately, because of that, I can't participate just yet, because real names are now mandatory. Apparently those taking martial arts can gain extra credit by participating in the scheduled fights. It's fine though, there are no rules on the involvement of people from our side. Maybe after everything has died down, I can fight again. But for now, I think I'm done fighting for a while. 

I cleared everything out with Nat as well. It turns out, ever since the Championships ended, she had found these notes slid under our door. Because of our different schedules, she always somehow managed to find them first. Nat thought it was a practical joke, but over time she began to suspect that they were more than just a joke. So as to not draw suspicion, she kept quiet about it, believing them to be wrongly addressed. You can imagine how she felt that night when she found out about my true involvment in the Underground. "Hey, Nat." I nudge her, drawing her attention, "It won't be enough, and it never will be, but for what it's worth, thank you."

She smiles warmly, "Anything for a friend." My eyes water, but I blink them back, realising that the hallway is not the best place to break down in tears. I glance down, away from her amused yet understanding gaze, only for my line of sight to land on the fading purple marks around her neck. It doesn't help, and I press the back of my hand to my mouth. 

"I'm sorry," I apologise, ducking into the nearest toilet to wash my face. The door behind me opens and shuts again, but there is no other movement. 

"You're my best friend, I can't be mad at you for that long-"

"You got hurt!" I exclaim, stalking forward. Turning her to face the mirror, I wave a hand at her reflection, "Look at those bruises and tell me you're fine. You are a friend that trusted me, and I lied to you. I lied to you and you practically got choked by Loyer! It's my fault- stop being so nice!" Her eyes harden for a moment as she scowls and grabs my shoulders, giving me a small shake. 

"But it's my forgiveness," She snaps, "and it's my choice whether I want to stick around your sorry butt or not. Stop throwing a pity party for yourself and accept my friendship." Nat stops and shakes her head with a wry, joking smile, "Such a self centered girl." I snort and splash her with tap water, causing her to sputter indignantly. Her shirt is dripping wet, but it doesn't stop me from hugging her anyway.