Below The Belt
Chapter 10: Yellow
Authors Note: Hey Guys! Here's Chapter Ten for you! From here on out the plot thickens and our beloved characters are on crunch time to see progress. I hope you enjoy where this story is going and you leave a review letting me know what you're thinking and wanting to see more of! If I get twenty five reviews on this chapter I'll upload chapter 11 within the an hour of getting those reviews ;) Enjoy.
Third Person Pov:
It had been a week since they'd started his training. Within that week Bellamy had grown impatient and grouchy. Though Clarke could see his obvious improvement and incredible progress, the stubborn brunet refused to acknowledge his accomplishments. Clarke let him sulk, it seemed to motivate him to work harder.
Every day Bellamy got to the gym at seven in the morning and started running five miles, then he did a small but difficult ab workout, finally he stretched as he awaited Clarke's arrival. The girl was determined, that much was obvious. He didn't completely understand why she was so interested in helping him, but he was grateful and didn't pry and demand her unknown reasoning's.
Over the week he'd gotten to know Clarke a little better. He learned she was always punctual, if not five minutes early. He learned that she was patient and encouraging, unlike previous trainers he'd had. In their defense, they were men, and men didn't do patient and supportive, they yelled and pushed until you broke.
He enjoyed Clarke's attention and encouragement. He'd learned that Clarke loved carrots but hated mushrooms. He learned that she couldn't eat a regular hamburger, she insisted on cheese. He learned that she loved to draw, paint, and sketch. He learned that her favorite color was a light purple, but she swore up and down that it wasn't lavender. And he let her guess his favorite color. He remembered how their conversation had gone.
"What's your favorite color?" Clarke had asked from her stationary positon on the floor. She lay sprawled on her back, clad in black Nike shorts and a light blue pullover with a white towel resting under her head.
Just as he opened his mouth to tell her she popped her head up and exclaimed that she wanted to guess. Once she saw his mouth was open and he was going to speak, she covered her ears and closer her eyes and yelled that she wanted to guess three times over.
"Fine, guess." Bellamy had told her with a light chuckle at her childish tactics.
"umm." Clarke stared at Bellamy with a serious and analytical look, a light pout sprouting from her lower lip. Her blue eyes lit up with excitement and she pulled herself off the floor and into a sitting positon.
"Yellow!" She determined with a bright smile and confirmed nod.
A small smirk showed on Bellamy's face, and even though Yellow wasn't his favorite color he nodded his head and watched as the girl squealed because she thought she was right. Staring at her smile and light laughter, he couldn't help but think that yellow was his new favorite color.
He rolled his eyes at the memory from a few days ago. After Clarke showed up, his day went a little bit faster. He worked on physical therapy, and then worked out to regain and create new muscle. They took a break for lunch, which consisted mostly of salad and a lean piece of meat. After lunch they did another round of physical therapy and then finally Clarke assisted him on the bag. She repositioned his stance, held his right hand at bay, and helped correct his punch.
After the first week, he no longer needed any correction on his stance, or his foot work. However he did tend to want to use his right hand, which was normal- instinctual. Though Clarke assured he was making excellent progress, it was obvious he was frustrated and upset. He'd gone from being the best, to a talented amateur in just a few weeks.
At the beginning of the second week Clarke sat and switched between reading for a few minutes to watching Bellamy stretch his wrist. Bellamy broke the silence after a few moments. "What are you reading?" Bellamy muttered under his breath.
"It's a book about the human brain and our unconscious habits. There's a section in here about how our brains react to muscle memorization and I was hoping it would help me understand the process and find the best way to break your cycle and start a new one." Clarke spoke quietly, her words were directed at him but spoken into her book. Her blonde head tilted up and showed him the spine of the large hardcover. 'The Cerebrum and Encephalon.'
"Interesting." Bellamy commented sourly. Clarke rolled her blue eyes at his dismissive comment but didn't voice her opinion.
"What's a cerebrum?" Bellamy asked while his eyes read the title.
"The cerebrum is the scientific term for brain. And encephalon is the three parts of the brain; Prosencephalon, Mesencephalon, and the Rhombencephalon. The Prosencephalon is the fore brain, the Mesencephalon is the mid brain, and the Rhombencephalon is the hind brain." Clarke elaborated without missing a beat.
"Did you learn all that from that giant book?" Bellamy questioned in awe at her knowledge.
"No silly, I learned all that in medical school and anatomy." Clarke told him like it was no big deal.
The brunet eyed Clarke with a small smirk. Clarke was reading again and didn't seem to notice that his gaze was on her. To Bellamy it seemed like Clarke dismissed her intelligence. A part of him wondered if she was just that humble, while another part of him knew that wasn't the answer, he wished it was, but a part of him knew that it was because she was self-conscious and didn't see how amazing she truly was.
Bellamy stood, finally finished with all of the stretches his physical therapy demanded of him. Clarke's eyes glanced from the book to his form, his sudden actions catching her attention. Bellamy's hand moved from his side to her sitting form, it stuck out a few inches in front of her shoulder. The blonde woman eagerly took it and allowed him to pull her to her feet. She nodded a thanks and bent to pick up her book.
"Okay, so you've been doing the same routine for a week now. Let's change some things up." Clarke stated and then motioned for Bellamy to follow her.
"What do you have instore for me today Doc?" Bellamy teased and stretched out his shoulders as they walked towards the boxing studio.
"I'm going to stand behind the bag and move it, while you circle it, like it's a normal opponent. Your stance was perfected yesterday, so let's not lose that today. Hit with your left, let's see how much power we can get into a hook, and then a direct, and finally an uppercut." Clarke commented in a professional voice.
"Good, I like a bit of a challenge." Bellamy smirked and held the door open for Clarke to go into the training room.
The room was loud, music was blaring from the speakers hanging in the corners of the large room. Clarke scanned the room quickly, from the door way she was standing at she saw the four large boxing rings in the very center of the room. To the left, nearly by the wall there were six bags hanging, all the way down was three speed backs hanging.
Directly in front of her and across the room was five small stools and in front of the seats were dumbbells all ranging from ten to one hundred and fifty pounds. To the right of her was a small jump roping space, and beside that was a foam rolling and stretching are. All the way in the right corner was a lot of equipment hanging.
"Here's your motivation." Clarke leaned in and looked up to Bellamy to heard. She saw Bellamy nod and look at her with a smug smirk. "If you show me quality punches and solid improvement in your defense, you'll get a practice spar." She told the brunet beside her.
"Now that's an offer I can't resist." Bellamy commented and jogged over to the equipment. He grabbed wrap for his hands, and then his red gloves. He sat on a nearby stool and began wrapping his left wrist. Once it was secure, he turned towards Clarke who was observing the open gym.
"Mind helping me?" He asked to gain Clarke's attention. She snapped out of her stare and quickly set her book down. She squatted and placed all her weight on her one knee on the ground.
Slowly she wrapped his wrist, she wrapped it tight, and then placed a lay of padding around his wrist and wrapped it once more. Once it was to perfection she helped Bellamy fit his hand into his boxing glove. She tightened both gloves and then got off the ground.
"Thanks." Bellamy murmured and tested his wrist by hitting his left hand against his right, once he was satisfied that he wasn't going to injure himself he padded over to the bags.
"Okay, before we begin, tell me the number one boxing rule." Clarke asked with a pointed look in her eye.
"Clarke." Bellamy groaned, but with her fierce glare he held his hands up in surrender and retreated. "Mi proteggere in ogni momento." Bellamy muttered and pulled his right hand in and up by his jaw for emphasis.
"Bellamy! I don't speak Italian!" Clarke glared at the stubborn and now smirking male that stood in front of her. "I said; protect myself at all times." Bellamy stated, traces of the arrogant smirk still lingered on his handsome face.
"Good, now hold your hand there." Clarke stated and grabbed some wrap. She began wrapping his glove and then circled him and pulled the wrap around his neck, she did this about fifteen times before she stopped and taped the wrap to the middle of his boxing glove. "Give it a tug." Clarke insisted, Bellamy did as he was told and tugged on the tight wrap, it didn't budge.
"Perfect, now we can start." Clarke told the eager man.
Clarke took her positon behind the bag and began pushing it back and forth between her hands as she spoke. "Your opponent will always be moving. Backwards, forwards, and sideways, you got to predict their move based on their core. Your eyes should never leave right here." Clarke pointed to the middle and up of the bag. Bellamy nodded.
"They'll be leading with their right arm, so you won't be boxing glove to boxing glove with them like usual, which will be strange, but good. They won't be used to it, and they won't notice your right defense. However, your left shoulder to jaw is more vulnerable, which means you have to move fast. You have to strike and cover. You have to be quick on your feet, and dodge." Clarke told him with an analytical voice he'd gotten used to.
Clarke began spinning the bag a bit and then gripped the tight leather and began walking with the bag. Bellamy took that as a clear 'Begin.' He sent a quick strike into the middle of the bag. The bag continued moving, Bellamy adjusted and started hopping on the balls of his feet. Clarke's words echoing in his mind; 'You have to be quick on your feet.' He punched out again, following his momentum forward and punch a little higher up where a man's jaw would be. He recovered quickly and continued to bounce.
"Good." Clarke praised. "I'm going to start going a little faster." Clarke commented and peaked out to see him nod.
She walked with the bag in a circle, which he in turn followed himself. He fired punch after punch, some were fast and strategic, while others were straight power shots.
"When you're practicing dodging, go to the left, follow the momentum of your body. So your dodge would be around their fist. In essence, you'll be dunking under their outstretched hit and stepping to their side, the best shot would be a lower rib." Clarke commented loudly from behind the bag. She didn't see the Blake's nod, but he did the motion she'd described as she moved the bag forwards and backwards.
"Good, Good! How about you try a light MOCK combo." Clarke stated and emphasized the word mock. Bellamy understood what she meant.
He sent his left hand forward with his right food stepping into the punch, and they shifted his bound right shoulder forward and unleashed his left hand into the bag a total of three times before he bounced back. He did this combination multiple times before Clarke shifted the bag to the right, and out of his left reach.
Before he knew what happened the bag pushed into him and caused him to stubble back. He growled at the dirty move by the innocent girl giggling behind the bag. "Oh don't give me that look Blake! Your opponents will be far from stationary, and they'll move a hell lot more than these small sways." Clarke lectured him and he growled a small agreement.
This girl would be the death of him was Bellamy's only thought as they took it from the beginning once more.
After forty minutes of working the bag Clarke called for a break. Bellamy agreed, his bouncing stopping. He sat on the matted floor with a huff.
Clarke retreated their water bottles and a towel for the sweat drenched boxer.
"From what I can see, you just need practice. However I don't know where you stand until you spar. A bag is good for building up your muscle memory, but you need to truly box someone." Clarke commented with a nervous look on her face.
"Then let's get a spar set up." Bellamy said and looked at some of the men in the room training. He saw a few guys that looked familiar, but he doubted they would be good enough boxers for Clarke to be able to rate his improvement and figure out what he needed to work on. He needed someone that was competitive, even if it meant he would lose, at least he would know what to do to get back to the top.
"Okay, you can spar after." Clarke began with a taunting smile. "After you tell me how boxing works. How do you get points, and win?" Clarke stated more than asked. Bellamy nodded and thought to himself for a minute.
How could he explain this to her. She'd obviously done her research, he was sure that not everything made complete sense to her. However her mischievous smile made Bellamy question what angle she was working from, and just how much she truly knew. She was a complete mystery to him. A mystery he was determined to figure out.
Authors Note: HEY! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! SO I want to know what you're thinking?! What did you think about their training moments? What about Clarke's ideas for his recovery and training? What do you want to see next? Where's Kane? What's next? A SPAR! Who will our favorite (second favorite?) Blake be sparing!? Until next time my loves. Don't forget to Review, I love love love to hear what you guys think, and you're always so kind and positive, it just brightens my day! (25 Review= New chapter sooner!)