Disclaimer: I don't own Divergent.
When I step into the training room, I instantly put my eyes onto the blackboard, searching for my name and ignoring everybody else's. I was fighting Connor. I relieved sigh escaped out of my mouth, I had been worrying that it might have been Mai.
I skimmed down the list again, Tobias was fighting Shantelle - an easy fight for him, there was no way he could lose, Shantelle was rubbish at fighting. I had watched her for a bit yesterday, he only advantage was that she was smaller, quicker perhaps. And Mai, Mai was against Andrew. I instantly felt dread well up in the pit of my stomach. What if Andrew hurt Mai too much? Sure she could fight decently, but Andrew had all the advantages, tall, heavier, faster, better aim.
I tried to take my mind off Mai, I could worry about her later, for now I had to focus on my own opponent. I studied Conner. He had blonde curly hair and bronze skin. I couldn't make out his eye colour from where I was standing, not that it mattered. He was about as tall as I was, six foot, maybe an inch or two taller at most. He was scrawny though, where as I had some muscle on me, no matter how small. I could easily take him, I hoped, it looks like I'm stronger from here at least.
Amar entered the room. "Sorry guys, got a little held up. Won't happen again, I promise." Amar gave an easy grin. "Today, as you all know, we are going to fight each other! I'm sure that most of you have read the board by now and figured out who your competition is." There was a murmur of agreement. "Wonderful, okay, first group up are... Tobias and Shantelle. Into the ring you two."
I watch as the fight starts, it doesn't last long, not even five minutes. As I said before Shantelle isn't much of a fighter, one hit to the face and she was unconscious on the floor.
"Okay," Amar clapped, putting a circle around Tobias' name. "Well done. Next up: Ella and Xavier." I watched as the two danced around the ring and tried to hit each other. Both got a good few hits, but no-one was really getting anywhere, until eventually, after ten long minutes, Ella managed to knock Xavier to the ground and pin him there.
"Can we stop now? Because I don't think it's going to get any better than this." Ella panted, keeping her weight on Xavier, her head turned to Amar.
"I suppose so, but you really have to work harder guys." Amar complained. "It really isn't good enough." But he put a circle around Ella's name regardless. They walked out of the ring wordlessly.
"Next up, Marie and Theresa. Come on girls, prove to me that you are better than those two messers over there." Amar laughed. "And start."
Five minutes later Theresa had been kicked to the ground.
"Well done Marie, you all right Theresa? Go down and get some ice for her Ella, down the hall to the your left." Amar commanded. "Now we have Shane and Percy."
I was bored at this stage and just drifted off into own little world.
"Winner is Shane!" Amar announced. "Now we have Eric and Conner." My head snapped up at the sound of my name.
I walked into the ring, Conner following suit. He seemed confident but he was reeking of nerves. Perhaps I was too.
We stand across from each other and we put our hands up, to protect our faces, we shuffle around in a rough circle. I attack first and get a good solid punch in, square in Conner's face. He unexpectedly crashes to the ground. I stand there frozen as Conner is knocked out cold.
"More ice Ella!" Amar sighed. "Another one knocked out." He puts a big ring around my name, and I join Tobias.
"Well done." He pats me on the back. "I won't say that we had good fights though, it's not like we fought to the death."
"True." I agreed. "We both knocked our opponent out in less than two minutes. I wasn't expecting mine though, Connor seemed pretty good to me yesterday."
"Probably just nerves." Tobias said, going silent.
"Okay, Sean and Nicholas." Once again I didn't watch the fight, nothing interesting happened anyway. Sean won.
"Mai and Andrew." As we heard their names being called, Tobias and I froze. I was hidden under a mask of pure and utter terror for Mai's safety, but she seemed confident enough... if you didn't look at her hands.
As they prepared themselves, I felt my heart in my throat, I wanted to desperately stop the fights, to proclaim that it wasn't fair. But I couldn't, as much as it pained me to sit there, quiet and obedient beside Tobias.
"And start!" Amar roared.
Mai got the first punch in. And the second, and the third. She was a right vicious animal. Then again, I had seen her last night in the training room, and she had hardly been small and fragile there.
I took in a deep, shaky breath, trying to calm myself, even if I wasn't the one in the ring.
Andrew looked a little taken aback at Mai ferocity, but soon got over his surprise. He danced for a while, looking for an opportunity to hit Mai, and he soon got one. He managed to get a kick in her shin, knocking her off balance, and throwing her to the ground.
For a moment I was sure that she wasn't going to get up, but then she was on her feet again and bouncing around. Her ponytail flopping around everywhere, a look of anger on her face. She used this to her advantage though, as she whipped around, as quick as lightning, and slapped him in the face with her hair. New technique. I spared a glance at Amar, who seemed to be laughing silently. I couldn't blame him though, how many times do you see a girl whip her ponytail at someone as a fighting technique?
My eyes returned to the match, where Andrew had just finished blinking the watery tears out of his eyes from the strands of hair. Mai was back again though and she kicked him in the... place that should never be kicked... Andrew fell to the ground in pain.
"Okay! Okay! I forfeit! I forfeit!" He cried in agony.
"I don't blame you man," Amar said sympathetically as he circled Mai's name. "Well done though Mai, interesting techniques you used." Mai just gave him a tired smile. "And Ella, if you don't mind, more ice - and lots of it. This poor fellow is not feeling the love right now." Amar grinned.
Mai walked over to Andrew and Tobias followed suit. "Are you okay man?" Tobias chuckled. Andrew just groaned.
"Sorry Andrew," Mai gave an apologetic smile. "I got a little... caught up." Andrew just gave her a thumbs up.
. . .
"Can I talk to you?" I asked Mai, as we walked down the hallway.
"No." She answered.
"Come on, I don't even know what you are so angry about!" I protested.
"Maybe it's because I like you a lot, and I thought you liked me too." Mai fumed. "And then I walk into you and that girl," she spat the words 'the girl' as if they were poison. "and you making out, like you hadn't just met five minutes beforehand." She fumed. Then she covered her mouth, realising what she had just confessed.
"I do like you!" I snapped. "I thought you didn't like me, and I was trying to respect your personal space bubble." I frowned. "That's why I didn't kiss you after the zip lining and why I didn't kiss you when you were so close in the piercing shop. Because I respect and care about you."
"Well you clearly didn't respect or care about the piercing lady!" Mai cried.
"That's because I don't!" I defended. "She kissed me, not the other way around. And if you had hung around a little longer, you would have seen that I pushed her off and went after you. I spent the whole evening looking for you, because when Isabelle..." Mai cut me off.
"So her name is Isabelle is it? Great. Eric and Isabelle sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G." Mai muttered bitterly.
"Will you shut-up and listen to me for a minute!" I yelled. "When I was kissing Isabelle, all I could think was how I wish that her lips were yours and then I pushed her off!" I screamed frustrated.
Mai stopped dead in her tracks."Really?" She asked. "Did you really think that, or are you just making this up by the second?"
"Or course I really thought that," I scoffed. And then I was standing so close to her that I could feel her breath on my shoulder.
And then I had pushed her onto the wall and I kissed her.