I WAS REALLY SCREWING THIS TIME

CHAPTER FIFTY- TWO

I WAS REALLY SCREWING THIS TIME

“Everyone likes me,” I said as I flipped my hair. I'm the prettiest, richest, most influential girl in Royal Crest high. Everyone likes me.

Or they pretend to do in front of me at least. But I don’t add that last bit.

“I didn’t think you had the guts to come here. Everyone says you’re so high up on your horse. Kieran said you'd look down on everyone and call us hood rats if you saw us here.”

I scoff.

Was he saying I was a stuck-up? Anyway, I didn’t care about his opinion of me. It was of no use and irrelevant. What was more important at the moment was the fact that the guy who badmouthed me, Kieran, was in the ring about to fight someone. I ignored Ryan Crest and turned my attention upwards. Kieran motioned his opponent forward.

A shot goes off for them to start and his opponent lunges at him by throwing a fist. It’s so quick he’s unable to completely dodge it. He blocks the blows with his arm held up to his face as he staggers back and the vague swears. Punch after punch rains down as my throat clogs with uncertainty and fear.

This was where his bruises were coming from. He was fighting i this shady underground fight cage. Kieran was really crazy, partaking in these dangerous activities.

His opponent retracts his fists to land another punch but Kieran uses the opening to push back and land a strong kick to his side. He then dodges a fist swiftly and steps to the side. He’s light on his feet and swift. I can’t imagine that someone so attention-grabbing and captivating could be so agile as a panther. It’s just so scary, raw and something I can’t put my hands on. It was like a bloody battle up there. I wasn't a fan of gore in movies but it was happening right in front of me with no one other than Kieran Castles, my..

My what?

What was he even to me? Why am I worried about him?

“I wish he could see how scared you are for him. It’s cute. Relax, and don’t be so pale. That’s just how Kieran fights.” Ryan Crest says behind me and I glare at him. I thought he’d walked away or something.

This scene feels familiar to when he beat Andrew at basketball. He let him have a go first and completely annihilated him. I have to have more faith in him. It's Kieran. No matter how much I detested him, I couldn't stomach the thought of some thug beating him up for these people's entertainment.

“You're funny, Ryan. I’m not scared for him. I wish he gets his ass whooped so I can enjoy it. ” I say but the words taste bitter on my tongue.

“Yeah, right.” Ryan says sarcastically.

I ignore him and look at the cage which is dangling dangerously from the activity going on.

“What are you still even doing here? Go and disturb someone else.” I asked. I look back up

Now that Kieran is free, he kicks his opponent forward so he falls into the opposite end of the cage and it unbalances dangerously on one side.

I dig my nails in my palm, biting my lower lip in fear and fascination as Kieran walks into him and pounds his face over and over again. Blood splashes and paints the metal fence of the cage, and some drops onto the floor below as the crowd rages in excitement. His opponent has no way of dodging or blocking his fists.

This was the other side of Kieran. The more animalistic side of him. More primitive. He looks like a jungle beast as he goes after the poor guy, not even giving room for a counterattack. He keeps it up for so many minutes. The other guy is no match for him at all. It looks so one-sided at this point. The guy stops moving and I think he killed him but then he might have just passed out. Which is also bad. He just beat someone into unconsciousness. His opponent had a mask similar to his but with that of a dragon spitting fire.

The make-up is all bloody now. Kieran pauses and steps back, beckoning the poor guy to come forward. He really has no mercy. I can't watch any more. His poor opponent lifts his head and my body runs old.

I felt faint all of a sudden. My vision turns fuzzy. A hand grabs my arm and steadies me.

“That’s why I’m here. So you don’t fall and pass out when you finally see how Kieran is going to leave him on the brink of death.”

Andrew Marin.

He’s still alive and fighting Kieran in the ring. Kieran's opponent all this while is Andrew Marin.

“Why didn’t you tell me it was Andrew?” I asked Ryan. He looks at me wierdly

“Well, I thought you knew Andrew was a member of the ring after he and Kieran tried to kill each other in the hallway and all those gangs came and the whole gang fight that happened and one of the gang members proposed they settle the dispute in the ring like the rules… Oh shit." He slaps a palm on his forehead in realization.

"You weren’t in school, so you didn’t know and Kieran threatened everyone to keep their mouths shut, so none told you and you're definitely now finding out.” He says as he sees my mouth open in shock.

Andrew was also part of this underground world called the ring and had clashed with Kieran in school, so they were settling their fight here in this black world.

“He didn’t kill him on that night?” I asked Ryan.

“I accidentally let it slip first, I’m not going to be disclosing anything anymore.” Ryan says with his hands up, denying me information. I wasn't going to get anything again. Was i?

What do I have that I can bribe or blackmail him with?

“He didn’t kill him that night because Andrew managed to escape after wounding Kieran. He dared to show his face at school and Kieran was like a minute away from killing him when a whole gang war started and one guy said they should settle it at the ring on today’s date. Rumor has it that they are both gang members from different gangs.” A male voice from behind volunteers all this information.

I turned around to see another masked face but I recognized the voice. Only one guy had this playful tone.

“Tyler Myers.”

“Damn, I thought my disguise was good enough. Just say Ryan tattled, OK? I want to see him and Kieran kill each other so I can end this trio bromance. I’m not polygamous, you see? The winner gets to be my homie for life. We'd host a befitting burial for the other. I'll even spare you a front seat for the fight, Waters.”

“He is going to kill you.” Ryan groans like he is tired of Tyler’s antics.

“I'll put in a good word for you with Chloe.” I said to Tyler, Kieran’s other friend or more like frenemy. They always annoy each other whilst Ryan is the mediator.

"I knew I made the best decision." Tyler says

“Thank you for all this information, Ryan. For the record. I never saw Tyler here.” I said to Ryan.

So Andrew was able to escape that night, but then, upon returning to school, Kieran was not ready to let the issue go, so a fight broke out and their respective gangs had come to intervene and decided to settle the dispute with a scheduled fight here at the ring. The school was ruled by the Hierarchy and not the actual authorities. I'm sure they got away with all that violent behavior too. Kieran had warned everyone to keep their mouths shut about the whole thing. Andrew had stopped coming to school for a while, probably to get ready for this fight or to avoid Kieran. With how unhinged Kieran was, I’m not too sure he would have heeded his gang’s solution and waited for the fight.

Everything and everyone was just crazy.

“So are you part of this too? This gangs?” I ask them.

“No, most of us are here to watch.” Tyler replies whilst Ryan scowls at him. He was still not happy that Tyler was helping me understand what was going on. So much had happened when I was sick in bed. It feels like the world moved on from me.

“Most of us?” I asked, confused.

“Yeah most of the school is here. Don't be so surprised, Waters. They set the fight date and location in front of everyone and almost everyone’s last name can get them in here if they want to and everyone wants to watch this fight.”

“So there are people from school here?” I asked. Currently aware of how I’m dressed. If Ryan and Tyler were able to identify me this easily, who else would also identify me? I'm more worried about my identity now than ever. The conspiracy theories that would arise if the Queen of Royal Crest Academy was seen here dressed like a whore would be insane.

“See..” Tyler grabs my shoulders and turns me towards the crowd.

“Look really well. That is Caleb Gwanhe in the black faceless mask, Sheila Foothay in the tinkerbell mask, Nadia Ahmed in the moon fairy mask, Kaya Sidmond, Tiffany Prowers, Glenda Valentine..” he goes on and on, revealing people’s identity. People i knew and who knew me enough to recognize me were here.

A referee blows a whistle and I look back up at the now bloody cage.

Andrew remains out of consciousness on the stage. His disguise make-up is completely off and all that remains is his bloody face for all to see. I looked up at his assailant but froze in place as Kieran’s eyes were so dark, and they were staring right back straight at me!

RUN! I screamed to myself, but I couldn’t. It’s like I’m a deer caught in a headlight. I just can’t. I want to but I can't move under his piercing eyes.

RUN. I want to but I can’t move.

RUN ALIYAH.

The announcer’s voice pronounces the winner as Zero, Kieran. The crowd erupts in deafening noise but I’m transfixed in another world where Kieran is holding me captive.

“Oh fuck shit” Tyler groans behind me, breaking and lifting my trance as his hands lifted off my shoulders.

That milisecond of distraction is all I need as I high tail it out of there. I sprinted back where I came from, not daring to look back at the pot of wrath steaming behind me.

I climbed up the stairs and saw Niki coming down.

“Hey Aaliyah… You seem a bit pale. Is everything okay?” She asks with concern.

“Move”. I shoved her off my path as I rushed out.

Sorry Niki, you’ve been nice to me, but not now. It’s just not the time right now.

I’ve been played for a fool. Everyone knew about the ring and this fight, yet I found nothing out. That’s how much Kieran had the whole school in his palm. People were here as guests whilst I had to be dressed like a whore and now everything I've done feels silly and unreasonable. What was I going to expose? His underground activity that everyone but me knew?

I wipe an unwanted tear aggressively. I felt so unimportant and weak and useless and stupid. Kieran didn’t kill Andrew. He wasn’t a murderer. I feel relieved by that fact, but now I’ve discovered that I, the queen, do not hold as much power as I thought.

I got out into the hallway and ran back, heading to the changing rooms.

I was going to change, head back, steal Kieran’s money at his house, get my brother and fly out of the country before he returned.

I was really screwed this time.

A hand reaches out from a side room and grabs me by the throat, dragging me in and shutting the door, so I’m left in the dark.

My scream rings out and echoes in the empty room.