Days for the boxer usually followed a regular pattern after that: wake up at 6:30, go to school, taunt Heracles a little, go to classes, head to Heracles' house, get tutored by Heracles, head home, have dinner, go to fights, head home, go to bed. And Sadik wouldn't have it any other way. The tutoring was helping him a lot, and he could see his marks improving greatly, and then there was Heracles. The Turk could swear that boy was occupying his thoughts more and more daily: Sadik didn't know why, but he felt some sort of attraction towards the Greek.
Of course, this didn't help in the arena at all: while his first four matches were a piece of cake, he accidentally let his thoughts slip to Heracles during the fifth fight and his opponent, a man from Denmark named Mathias, actually managed to nail him in the eye. The audience had gasped, since this was pretty much the first time he had been given a serious hit. Sadik made sure to kick his ass tenfold after that, and when he left the arena, he headed to a concerned Carlos. "Are you alright, Sadik? You seemed distracted." The man asked worriedly, to which Sadik sighed and nodded to indicate he was alright. "It's just a little sleep issue, I'll be fine." After that, the two got into Carlos' car and headed home.
The next morning, Sadik got up right on time, dressed, and headed into the bathroom as per usual. The first thing he noticed when he stepped in and looked in the mirror was his eye: it was bloodshot and the skin around it was a dark purplish colour. "Great, just what I needed. A black frickin' eye." Proceeding with the rest of his morning routine, the Turk headed downstairs to the kitchen, where Carlos was making breakfast. Carlos turned to greet Sadik and practically jumped at the sight of his eye. "Holy-!"
"I know, I know. It's not that bad."
"Bullshit! Quickly, boy, grab a damn ice pack!" Carlos made a move for the freezer when Sadik interrupted him. "Carlos, it's alright, really! It'll fade away. Besides, I bet no one will even notice it." Sadik grinned. Carlos was uncertain, but didn't say anything as breakfast was finished and the two ate. When Sadik was dropped off at school, instead of heading to the field, he headed straight to class. He didn't really feel like pestering Heracles today, no matter how much enjoyment he got out of it.
Classes went by rather well, although his teachers and classmates proved time and time again that no one will not notice it. At the end of the day, when he met up with Heracles, the Greek's eyes widened a little. "What in Mt. Olympus' name happened to you?" The boy asked, tilting his head to the side a little. Sadik replied that it was nothing and, while the other frowned and didn't seem to believe it, he didn't say anything. "Anyways," Heracles resumed talking. "my house won't be available for tutoring today because we're having relatives over, so is it okay if we head over to your place?"
"Sure, but we'll have to wait for my caretaker. My house is too far away to walk, you see." The two waited until Carlos arrived and Heracles' jaw dropped a little. "Your dad's got a Lamborghini Reventón! B-But those things are so expensive!"
"What can I say? The guy gets a ton of cash for what he does." Sadik replied with a small smirk as Carlos walked over to them. "Hey kid." The Cuban greeted Sadik, and spotted Heracles. "Who's your friend?" Heracles gave Carlos a small smile. "I'm Heracles, Heracles Karpusi. I'm your son's-"
"Oh yeah, Sadik told me all about it. I feel sorry for you for having to deal with such an idiot." Heracles covered his mouth to hide a smile and chuckled, while Sadik glared at Carlos. "Thanks, Dad."
"Come now, we can talk more at my place." The three got in Carlos' car and drove off to the Cuban's house.
Carlos, being a very rich man, owned a nice-looking house that seemed to outshine all the other houses in the neighbourhood. As the Reventón was parked in the driveway and the three headed into the house, Heracles absorbed every detail about the exterior of the house and seemed to be a second away from squealing like a little girl at a Justin Bieber concert. Once everyone was inside, Heracles' brain froze and he stared in awe and wonder around the house. "Sadik, what does your dad do for a living!" The Turk looked over at Heracles and smirked. "You like the house, I take it."
"Like it? I fucking love it!" Heracles burst out into a grin and looked around ecstatically. "I'd kill for a house like this!" Carlos let out a laugh. "I'm glad you like it, Hera'. Now, Sadik and I'll be with you in a minute: we need to discuss something. In the meantime, feel free to explore the house." As Sadik and Carlos entered the kitchen, Heracles grinned wider. "Oh, this is going to be so much fun!" The Greek thought, and raced upstairs to look around.
Every time Heracles entered a room, he felt a little inferior and much like a tourist as he looked around and snooped through some of the valuables. "What they don't know won't hurt them." Heracles always thought when he started feeling guilty about his actions. Finally, after going through every other room on the floor, the Greek entered what looked like Sadik's room. It was surprisingly neat for a teenager, with an Al Baryak wallpaper and wooden floor. The room was, of course, rather large, with it's own private bathroom, a vanity, a huge bed, and dressers plus a closet. However, three things stood out from everything else in the room: a golden picture frame and a black box on the vanity, sitting side by side, and a picture of a man with tan skin and a white mask similar to the Phantom of the Opera. Heracles immediately recognized the man as Sadik Adnan, a professional 'boxing prodigy', as the press called him. Heracles had to admit he had a thing for strong guys, so when a 16 year-old boxer introduced himself to the world, Heracles watched all of his matches and grew attached to the man. "But why would Sadik have a picture of him on the wall? He doesn't seem to like wrestling. . or dislike it, really." Heracles thought, turning to the vanity. He stepped close to it, inspecting the picture in the golden frame he noticed earlier. Inside, he saw a tall, tan man with a muscular structure and a woman who looked 6 months pregnant with beautiful amber eyes like Sadik's and long, dark brown hair, both of whom were smiling for the camera. Heracles found himself smiling as well and admiring the photo. Then, he turned to the box: it was black and rectangular, with no labels or any form of identification. So the Greek opened the box, and his jaw dropped at what was inside. Sitting inside on top of the velvet lining was the exact mask of Sadik Adnan.
It took a few minutes for Heracles to process just what was in front of him, but as soon as he did, he carefully picked up the mask and examined it. He remembered the boxer has said in an interview that the mask had been made of steel and had a white coating, and it amazed Heracles to see that the mask was indeed made of what seemed to be pure steel. "I don't believe it. Sadik Adnan, the Sadik Adnan, is attending my school, is in my class, and is currently under my tuition. . .oh my Zeus!" Heracles quickly put the mask back in it's case and rushed back downstairs and headed into the kitchen, literally bumping into Sadik along the way. "Oh, hey Heracles." The Turk greeted. "You ready to start-" Heracles didn't let him finish as he grabbed Sadik's hand and rushed up to his bedroom, the other shouting out inquiries of what the hell he was doing and whether he would slow down.
When both men were in the room, the Greek shut the door and turned to the Turk with a small glare. "What in Hades is this!" He asked, gesturing to the box, and Sadik's eyes widened, getting nervous. "The box? Oh, it's, uh, nothing important."
"Oh really? Then what is the deal with the mask?" Heracles took out the mask and showed it to the other man, whom sighed and looked away guiltily. "You really are Sadik Adnan, aren't you?" Sadik nodded, and sat down on the bed, while Heracles processed the information. "Oh my Zeus. . .th-then why the secrecy? Why have you hid who you are for so long? Can you not trust me with your-?"Sadik silenced him with a hand. "First of all, I've hid who I am from most people for a long time, there's no need to make a big deal of it, Heracles." Heracles raised his eyebrows in surprise and felt himself blush. "He said my name, he said my name!"
"I didn't tell anyone because I figured they'd report it to the press, and then I'd never have a moment's peace, even at school!" The boxer chuckled. "I suppose I could tell you my story, if you like-" Heracles nodded ecstatically at this. "-but you have to promise not to tell anyone, alright?"
"O-Of course." Sadik gave Heracles a small smile which made his heart flutter like monarch butterflies heading to Mexico and patted a spot on the bed beside him, where Heracles sat down eagerly. Sadik took a breath, and began the story of his life.
Yeah, cliffhanger's a bitch, isn't it? XD Anyways, I send thanks to all of the people who've reviewed, favourited and subscribed to this story: it truly makes my heart swell knowing people enjoy my stories! Anyways, read and review please: I love getting feedback~!
