14

Sonic

"Are you alright, Guerra?" Tony's voice broke my focus on Amy.

I was watching her wander around the gym, hanging up new flyers on the bulletin boards. She's been acting weird all week. She barely spoke to anyone, and she wasn't entertaining our usual spats. Whenever I tried to fuck with her, she'd ignore me or nudge me out of the way. I respected her silent request for space, but I was worried about her. She's never been so quiet before. What the hell did she and her brother talk about?

Knuckles gently popped me on the head when I didn't respond.

Reluctantly, I tore my eyes away from Amy and glared at him. "I'm fine," I said.

"Then act like it. You've been staring at your girlfriend like she's gonna disappear at any moment."

"She's not my girlfriend," I grumbled.

"I'm just checking to make sure your head is in the right place before your match tonight."

"I'm good, Tony; I swear."

My trainer nodded his head towards Amy. "Why don't you go talk to her? We both know you're not going to be able to concentrate tonight until you do."

I raised an eyebrow. "Is that an order?"

"Yes. Walk your ass over there and go talk to your girlfriend."

I had half a mind to punch him in his throat, but I didn't feel like wrestling with him right now. I shoved my hands into my pockets as I walked over to Amy. "Hey," I said, leaning my shoulder against the bulletin board she was working on.

"Hi," she replied, glancing at me.

"Do you have any plans later?" I asked.

"No; I was gonna head home after your match."

"Well, I was thinking maybe we could get some ice cream or something after the match."

She turned towards me, her brows crinkling together. "Why?"

I shrugged. "I just thought you could use a little bit of cheering up." I grinned at her. "What's more fun than hanging out with me and eating ice cream?"

"Stabbing my eyeballs out with a fork."

I rolled my eyes. "Listen," I whispered, gently grabbing her waist and spinning her back against the wall in front of me. I took a step closer to her, pressing my chest against hers. "I miss hanging out with you."

She stared up at me with wide eyes and darkening cheeks. The quick thumps of her heart drummed against my chest.

Slowly, I raised my hand and tucked a stray curl behind her ear. "Hang out with me later. We'll get ice cream, go someplace quiet, and talk for a while. What do you say?"

"Okay," she said. She gently pushed my shoulders, adding some distance between us. "Now, go away. I need to finish these boards before the crowd gets here."

Smirking, I held up my hands and backed away from her.

I spent the next hours stretching and preparing my body for my math.

My opponent was another kid I knew from school named Shawn. I had a few classes with him before, and he seemed like an okay guy. At the start of the match, we touched gloves as a sign of respect.

We danced around each other's punches and kicks for the first few minutes in the octagon. I couldn't help but smirk at him. "I know your hands can be faster than that, slow poke," I teased.

Shawn grinned. "You won't be saying that when I put you on your ass, Guerra," he replied. As if on cue, he kicked me right in the side of my ribs.

The impact, and surprise, of the strike knocked me to the ground.

In an instant, Shawn was straddling me. His hands, once slow and methodical, were quick and impulsive as they rained down on my face.

I held my arms up, blocking some of his punches. I caught Shawn with a few blows to his stomach, temporarily stopping his punches. With his punches paused, I took the opportunity to turn the tables. Lifting my torso, I wrapped my arms around Shawn and flipped us over.

Shawn's legs trapped me once I was on top, and his arm wrapped around my neck. He pulled my head down with one arm and attacked my ribs with the other.

Gritting my teeth, I grabbed his punching wrist with one hand and used the other to assist in pushing my head out of his hold. Once I was free, I gave him a few punches to his chest and face.

He pressed his feet against my hips and pushed me off of him.

I stood and allowed him to get to his feet.

We danced around the octagon again, exchanging strikes. I noticed Shawn started aiming for the large bruise forming on my rib cage. It hurt like hell, but I refused to let it become a weakness.

He managed to knock me down again, but this time I was ready.

When he leapt on me, I wrapped my legs around his torso and flipped him down onto his side. Despite his punches at my stomach and thighs, I moved my legs up his torso and slid them over his arms. Smirking, I bent my left leg, positioning his neck within the crook of my knee. My right leg wrapped around my ankle, completing the triangle hold. I squeezed tightly, silently refusing to let go until he tapped.

He only lasted a few moments, quickly tapping his hand against my leg.

I let him go and helped him to his feet.

"Damn Guerra," Shawn said, rubbing his sore neck. "You really are as tough as everyone says."

I offered a bloody smirk. "Damn right I am."

We exchanged another amicable handshake before we descended from the octagon.

In the locker room, Silver briefly cleaned and bandaged the wounds on my face. His eyes lingered on the giant purple bruise on my left side. "That doesn't look good, Sonic," he said. "You should probably go to the ER and get it checked out."

I waved him off. "I'll be fine. It doesn't hurt that bad."

Silver shook his head. "You say that about everything. Go to the doctor. I mean it."

"Alright, alright. I'll go tomorrow. I have plans after this so I won't get there tonight."

Silver raised an eyebrow. "Who do you have plans with? You found a new fuck buddy already?"

"Nah. I'm hanging out with Amy. We're gonna get ice cream."

My friend smirked. "Oh I see. You're sparking that old flame again?"

I rolled his eyes. "It was never like that. We've always been just friends."

"Mhmm. You don't have to lie to me."

I glared at him. "Shut the fuck up."

Silver held up his hands. "I'm just saying, man. The two of you may be blind, but the rest of us sure as hell aren't." He patted his shoulder. "Go to the hospital tomorrow and let me know what they say. If it's bad, you should take it easy for a little while."

"Alright, alright. I'll let you know. Have fun with your girlfriend. Make sure you use a condom."

Silver smirked. "Make sure you use a condom."

I threw a glove at his retreating figure. Groaning, I rose to my feet and cautiously stretched my body. My ribs roared in pain from the movement. I needed some strong pain medicine if I was going to get any sleep tonight.

By the time I got back out to the general area of the gym, the place was nearly empty. Only a few people lingered around near the gym doors. Amy was standing near one of the bulletin boards. Her green eyes were fixed on the ground, and her teeth were nibbling on her bottom lip.

I slowly walked up to her.

She looked up when she noticed my presence. Her eyes held mine for a brief moment before going down to my wounded side. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine."

"You don't look fine."

I rolled his eyes. "Can we just go? We have to stop at the pharmacy to get some meds. I'm not going through the whole night like this."

"Or we can just go home. We can ask Manic to take you to the hospital. He's home tonight, isn't he?"

"I'll go to the hospital tomorrow. Right now, I just want some pain meds."

Frowning, she crossed her arms. "Sonic," she said sternly.

I narrowed my eyes. "Don't make me fuck you up, short stack. Let's go." I grabbed her hand and tugged her out the door.

The warm heat of the gym was quickly replaced by the harsh whip of the winter wind. We hurried down the street. There was a pharmacy two blocks away, and an ice cream parlor was only a few feet away from it. Thankfully, we wouldn't have to be out here for too long.

As we crossed the street, I noticed a group of boys standing near the corner on the other end of the block. My eyes fell to the blue bandanas wrapped around each of their belt loops.

My hand tightened around Amy's. I pulled her close and lowered my lips to her ear. "Put your head down, and stay close to me," I whispered.

Her brows crinkled in confusion for a moment. She followed my stare at the group of Crips standing on the sidewalk. At the sight of her ex-boyfriend amongst the crowd, she pressed herself against me. Looking down, she hid her face with her curls.

I wrapped my arm around her waist, squeezing her hip gently.

We walked quickly, both of us silently praying that we wouldn't be bothered. God must not have heard our prayers. As soon as we began to pass, Jet's voice echoed through the wind.

"Well, well, well, look who it is," he said, moving the small crowd's attention to us. He grinned at Amy. "I'm still waiting on that blowjob, baby."

"Fuck off," I spat.

"No one was talking to you, asshole," Jet snapped. He walked towards me. The other boys followed him. "Your girl owes me."

"She doesn't owe you shit." I tried to keep walking, but he moved in front of me. I shifted Amy behind me. "Get the fuck out of my way."

"Nah. Not until your girl gives me what I worked hard for. You can watch if you want. I know you've been waiting for a piece of that ass too."

My hands balled into fists. This motherfucked was just asking for an ass whooping. "Move before I break your fucking face."

"Do it," he challenged. "Hit me, so I can show your girl how much of a pussy you actually are."

My arm jerked, ready to punch him in his damn mouth. Only the touch of Amy's soft palms around my fist stopped me.

"Sonic," she whispered, fear trickling from her voice. Her hands lightly shook against mine. "Walk away. Please…just walk away."

I took a deep breath, pushing down the impulse to slam his head into the sidewalk. Grabbing Amy's hands, I shoved past Jet.

"That's what I thought," he gloated. "You're nothing but a punk-ass bitch."

Amy's hands squeezed mine. "Ignore him," she said. "Nothing good is going to come out of you hitting him right now."

She was right. Jet was only acting like this because he was surrounded by his crew. They'd jump on me before my punch could land. Adding more damage to my already bruised torso wasn't a smart idea. I'd have to catch Jet's punk ass another time. He was crazy if he thought I was going to let him disrespect Amy like that and get away with it. His ass-whooping was coming - he just wouldn't know when to expect it.