Fists and Knives (A Harry Styles Fanfiction)

Chapter 14

Crowds.  I actually hate crowds.  I can handle being surrounded by boiling liquids and fires and sharp knives… but not humans.  At least not like this, anyways.  When Louis suggested we leave early to get to the fight, I didn’t understand why, but once we arrived at the arena and saw the loads of people already waiting for Harry’s fight outside, it was understandable.  We had saved seats, courtesy of Arnold, but our early arrival allowed us to get in without having to push through a mob.  Having only been to one other fight in my life, the one with Harry, I was expecting a relatively small arena like The Cave.  This arena was NOT small. 

I slunk down in my chair in the front row as more and more guys and girls flooded in from the top of the arena down the stairs and into the stands.  It appeared to be more of a first-come-first-serve system as the silver seats filled in closer to the front and gradually filled up to the top.  I wondered if all boxing arenas were shaped like a bowl.  I guess it made sense, so everyone could see the fight, but I almost hated sitting right in the front.  I felt like my view was being cut off by the way the floor of the ring was directly at my nose, but the audience members walking down the stairs eyed Louis, Maria, and myself with quite a bit of jealousy, so I assumed we had the best seats. 

As it came close to 9 o’clock, Arnold finally arrived and plopped down in the seat beside me.  He breathed heavily like he had rushed to get there and typed down an email to someone rapidly on his Blackberry.  I chuckled.  Who even has a Blackberry anymore?  Louis was facing the crowd and waving and talking to people who kept calling his name, people who knew him, I suppose.  Wouldn't it be fun to have a famous best friend like that?  When I glanced at Maria on the other side of Louis, she looked completely out of place and almost disgusted with the dirty floors and grungy people around her.  She was wearing a pink, floral summer dress and stood out more than blood on snow.  At least I could dress like I MIGHT have belonged there.  I chose to keep my red bandana around my head with my brown waves up, threw on some black jeans and a tee with a very contemporary tiger design on it.  Louis insisted that I wear all-black Vans to match him. 

Niall came flying down the steps to us, skipping three stairs at a time.  His leather jacket, jeans, and white tee combination was plain, but he looked good.  He leaned down and pecked me on the cheek before asking us to scoot down.

“We saved a seat for you on the other side of Maria,” Louis told him, motioning toward the seat with his thumb and smirking.

Niall’s eyes widened. “Oh, hell no.  Scoot.”

Maria grumbled as Louis forced her over a seat and Niall squeezed his way between myself and Arnold.

Before the announcer came up into the ring with one of the scantily clad ring girls, I connected eyes with Zayn across the stands.  He was sitting by himself, but looked perfectly content doing so.  He waved at me and grinned.  I returned the gesture. 

“Are you ready to see some blooooood????” The announcer’s voice asked from the ceiling.  The stands erupted with enthusiastic cheers and everyone leapt up, including Niall and Louis.  Maria and I both groaned and stood slowly.  I chuckled in my head.  Maybe in another life, she and I would be friends… or not.

“Making his way up the ranks since he was 19 years old, give it up for Sammie Suasso!!!”

A short guy bounced up into the ring, tossing off his black silk robe and tossing into the corner of the ring.  He brought his blue gloves together in front of his body and flexed his small biceps for the crowd.  People cheered.  His blonde hair was secured back out of his face by small braids all around his head.  Louis and Harry’s words from the other day popped into my head:

You know he hates fighting you.

Because he always loses.

Now looking at small-framed Sammie, he had a good reason to be scared.