Chapter 16: Adrenaline

I stood by the doorway of my apartment, looking myself over in the mirror. It was 8:33pm and Scott was going to be arriving soon. Catching myself, I couldn't help but laugh at myself for what I was doing. Most days, I didn't put much effort into my appearance lately. Yet here I was, looking myself up and down to make sure everything was perfect. I couldn't remember the last time I actually felt the need to do so.

After the other night, I was a little unsure of what I was doing. My social skills were lacking as of late. Ever since I left Arizona, ever since I left King behind, I'd been stuck inside this mental prison. It kept me from caring too much and that felt like a positive thing. However, I could feel that it also gave me a colder personality. I wasn't interested in anyone or anything, just paying my bills and getting by day to day. It wasn't until Scott stepped in and protected me at the club that I felt myself awaken a bit on the inside.

I don't exactly know why I felt this way, but something made me feel like I could trust his intentions. I mean, he didn't even know who I was. He could've just chosen to ignore what he saw and minded his own business. It would've been my mistake for being so careless. I would have nobody to blame but myself if I did end up getting into trouble. But he didn't. He saw what was happening and stood up for me, knowing it could end up with him putting himself in harm's way. But why? Why would he risk his neck for a total stranger? Was he just a morally upright person or did it have something to do with me?

Overthinking. The bane of my existence. Since I'd kept no contact with my friends, I had nobody but my own thoughts to keep me company. While it made me a stronger person, it also made it so that I feel like maybe I've lost perspective. If the tables were turned and it was him instead of me, would I also have stepped in to stop it? Or would the fear of having to involve myself in another person's life have kept me back? I guess I'd never know. All I did know was that I was feeling things I haven't felt for a long time.

For the first time in two years, I was actually looking forward to seeing another person. After I left my former home, I had to choose to forget everyone I ever cared about. King, Julia, Tiffanie, I had to forget them all and act as if they had died. I was mourning the loss of the living. When you harden yourself in such a way, it's easy to become detached from almost any situation. This proved to be a skill that I now needed to survive. But while it kept me alive, I admit deep down it kept me dead as well. However, I did what I had to do.

Forgetting King was the hardest thing I'd ever had to do before. I loved him, I genuinely loved that man. He gave me purpose, hope, the prospect of a happier tomorrow. I wanted nothing more than to be by his side. I wanted to be his protector, the one to keep him from himself. What I did was foolish, I realize that now. I should've never kissed him and told him how I truly felt. He had warned me time and time again to leave it be. But I just couldn't do that. Seeing him in so much pain made me want to reach out and heal him. I wanted to hold him tight and tell him that everything was going to be okay. He deserved to be loved. But now…

The sound of a car horn snapped me from my thoughts and I turned to see Scott sitting in the parking lot getting out of his car. Taking a deep breath, I opened the door to meet him. Smiling, he wrapped his arms around me and hugged me. A little shocked, it took me a second to hug him back. As I craned my head into his neck, I could smell his cologne surround me. The feeling of his facial hair rubbing against my forehead gave me an unexpected chill down my spine. It'd been so long since someone greeted me this way, I had almost forgotten what it was like. Pulling myself away, I looked up into his eyes and saw him smiling at me.

"Hey you", he said to me. "Hope you don't mind that I showed up a little early".

"No, it's totally fine. It was a nice surprise."

"Are you blushing?" he asked me. Turning away from him, I laughed and shook my head.

"It's dark, how would you even know?" I found myself unable to look him in the eye now, a sense of embarrassment flowing through my body.

"I can feel it" he responded with a wink. "You ready to go?"

Nodding, I headed towards the car only to realize he was once again going to open the door for me.

"Thanks." I managed to say before getting in the car. As soon as he closed the door and made his way around the car, I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down. Normally, my anxiety wasn't all that bad anymore. But there was something about him that made me feel that way. The odd thing was, it wasn't a bad sense of anxiety. It was more like excitement. The kind you feel when you're ascending on a roller coaster getting ready for that first drop. I quickly composed myself when I saw him get into the driver's seat and look over at me. He was dressed in a much simpler way this time around, which I assumed was because he was headed into a fight soon.

"Thanks so much for picking me up, Scott."

"Thanks for offering to come with me. I already know you'll be my good luck charm for tonight." Hearing his words made me feel a bit more relaxed. As the drive began, I tried to imagine what was going on in his head. I wondered if he was at all nervous for his fight. So far, he didn't seem the least bit worried about it. Confidence can go a long way, I suppose. Although it'd been a couple years since I participated in the King of Iron Fist Tournament, I always remember the nervous feeling I'd get before the fight. The controlled breathing, the lights flashing, the cheers from the crowd, how the walk to the fighting arena seemed like an eternity. But then it always felt like time slowed down once the fight started. All I saw was my opponent while I tried to figure out what their next move would be. I missed it.

Scott rolled his window down and lit a cigarette. Maybe he was actually a little nervous then. He seemed a bit more silent this time around, but never in an uncomfortable way. We drove on the dark road occasionally making jokes and listening to music. The thought suddenly struck me to ask about his own music once we reached a red light.

"So do you have any of your albums in here? I'd love to hear them." Scott chuckled at my question after blowing a drag of smoke between his lips out the window.

"I knew you were lying when you said you'd heard of me before. And do you really think I'm that much of a tool that I'd have my own music in my car?" I wasn't sure if I should laugh at his comment or to take him seriously. I guess he could sense my apprehension because he reached over and gently nudged my knee.

"Because I totally do. Look in the glove compartment, it's got my favorite one in there." Seeing him laugh, I couldn't help but do the same. At least he had a good sense of humor. Finding the album he was talking about, I popped it in the radio and waited to hear it begin. Right away, psychedelic sounds flooded my ear drums. The beat was slow and melodic, almost even a touch of dark to it. After a small intro, I then heard someone start to sing. His voice was soft and gentle, yet demanding attention. Looking over at Scott, I nodded in shock, surprised he could actually sing so well. He seemed almost a little embarrassed, but he tried to hide it by continuing to smoke his cigarette.

"Scott, this is actually pretty good." I said, finding myself tapping my foot to it.

"Are you just saying that to be nice?"

"No, I swear. I'm genuinely liking this so far. You've got an amazing voice and this beat is really catchy." Before I could say anything else, I heard a female voice start to sing against his vocals. Right away, I knew this was Magnolia, the girl I had seen in those pictures at his house. Looking over, I could see that the sound of her voice had got him thinking. He seemed to travel off into his own thoughts for a second. As much as I didn't want to admit it, she too had an extremely soothing tone to her voice. I found myself wanting to hear more of it, but decided to turn the radio off.

"Sorry, I kinda forgot about everything for a minute. But you sound great, I'd totally listen to this in my own car." Just then, he leaned over and ejected the disc from the radio and handed it back to me. Confused, I looked at him before taking it.

"It's yours." Surprised, I found myself trying to hand it back to him.

"I can't accept this, it belongs to you, Scott." He laughed at me and pushed my hand away and into my lap.

"Trust me, I have more copies of my own stuff than any artist probably should. I'm glad you like it. Let me know what you think of the rest." Nodding, I put the disc back into its case, making a mental note to take it with me after the fight. Unable to keep my questions to myself anymore, I swiveled in my seat towards him.

"So, do you ever get nervous before these fights?" Finishing his cigarette, he flicked it outside and rolled the window back up.

"I feel like the cool thing to say is, hell no. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't get at least a little nervous before a fight. Once it starts though, I feel like I'm in a whole other world. It's such a rush once it gets going, you don't really have time to think about anything else." I almost responded to him by saying, 'me too', but I caught myself just in time.

"Thing is, I feel so alive during a match. Everything else just fades away. You don't think about your problems, your life really. You just think about how you're going to kick this guy's ass in front of you." I chuckled at how direct he was mostly because I knew exactly what he meant. It was definitely an escape that most people wouldn't experience.

After a few more minutes, we pulled up to what looked to be a club of some kind. Turning off the car, Scott sighed and cracked his knuckles.

"It's been awhile", he said. "Just stick with me, nobody will bother you at all, I promise." I wanted so badly in that moment to tell him I wasn't worried about anyone messing with me. But I couldn't tell him that I knew how to defend myself. He'd end up connecting the dots and finding out who I truly was. I wasn't ready for that just yet. I wanted to enjoy this time with him as myself, not as a former fighter with baggage. Following him inside, I suddenly felt a brief wave of panic.

'Oh shit. What if somebody else recognizes me in here?' Not wanting to become obvious, I forced the thought to the back of my mind and continued through the neon lit doorway. At first glance, the whole place seemed to be a normal bar. A busy, packed full of people bar. Motioning to the bartender, Scott proceeded to a door marked 'Employees Only'. Once we went through it, I saw an old looking elevator door with a man standing beside it. At first I thought he was waiting for it, but I then realized he was actually guarding it. The man looked at Scott and offered his hand.

"Hey Scott! Everybody's waiting for you down there. Welcome back, man!" The two obviously knew each other and I found myself feeling out of place for a brief second. Looking past Scott, the man locked eyes with me.

"A friend?"

"Yeah, he's my support tonight. He's cool." Scott said, looking to me with a wink. The man smiled at me and offered me his hand as well.

"Any friend of Scott is a friend of us too. It's nice to meet you and I hope you enjoy the show. Right this way." He pushed the button and the elevator doors opened. Taking me by the wrist, Scott pulled me in with him and entered a code in the panel. The doors slowly slid closed and he looked at me.

"That wasn't so bad, right?" I shook my head and shrugged.

"You seem really popular, so you must be good." I replied. Scott started removing his jacket, revealing a plain white tank top underneath to go with his dark blue jeans and black boots. The doors opened and my eyes immediately widened a bit at the sight before me. It was a dimly lit parking garage turned club, red Christmas lights hanging all around giving it an eerie hue. People stood around smoking and drinking, talking to each other. In the center of the area was a ring of sorts. Clearly homemade. It was like a steel cage of some kind, a large white spotlight shining down into it from above.

Immediately, people approached Scott and greeted him from all sides. He really did have a following down here it seemed. Awkwardly standing behind him, I wasn't sure what to do with myself. After a few brief handshakes and small talk, Scott excused himself from everyone and reached back to me.

"Hey it's about to start in a minute. You want a drink?" Normally, I'd say no but feeling overwhelmed, I started walking over to the bar on my own accord. As soon as we reached the bar, Scott put his hand on my shoulder and motioned to the man behind it.

"He's with me, anything he wants." I decided to go with my normal beer of choice.

"I'll take a Heineken, please." Reaching for my wallet, Scott put his hand on mine.

"Don't worry about it. I got you", he said. Trying to protest, I shook my head and moved a step back.

"No, no, I can get it, it's no problem." Before I can make another move, Scott looked back to the man and pointed to me.

"Hey Rick, his money's no good here, okay?" The man gave him a friendly thumbs up and smiled.

"You got it boss", he said before handing me the beer. Looking back to Scott, I tried my best to hide the fact that my cheeks were getting red.

"Thank you, you didn't have to do that." I said. Scott playfully jabbed my arm and gave me another one of those dashing smiles.

"Peter, you are so damn cute. Well, I'm up! Wish me luck okay?" I nodded and watched as he began wrapping his knuckles in white tape.

"Good luck, but I'm sure you won't need it." I managed to say before watching him turn towards the arena before us. Looking for a seat, I was surprised when the man behind the bar had someone guide me over to the front row. I guess people around here really respected Scott a great deal. Although I wasn't used to it, it did feel nice to be getting some kind of special treatment. As soon as I took my seat and thanked the man, I watched as Scott entered the cage and was locked in. Everyone got slightly quieter as a man dressed in black leather stepped in with a microphone.

"Good evening all! How many of you are happy to see this mother fucker again?!" The cheers for Scott were almost deafening as he laughed and raised his fist to the crowd before making eye contact with me.

"We got a real special show for you tonight! For the first time in awhile, we have a new challenger! An army man whose seen plenty of combat at his young age, please give it up for Caleb Kelso!" Just then, a very fit younger man covered in arm tattoos walked into the cage. He looked to be in his early twenties, right around my age. He wore a ripped t-shirt and jeans, dark green fingerless gloves completing his look. He too seemed friendly as he turned to everyone and gave them all a confident look and a brief wave. Right away, I was reminded of my tournament days.

Knowing that Caleb was army trained made me feel worried for Scott, who didn't have a particular fighting style other than brawling. Watching the two men get in front of each other and prepare to fight made my worries increase. I'd never seen Scott fight, I hoped he'd be okay in there. A minute passed and I realized that I had somehow tuned out the announcer altogether. He was now leaving the arena and wishing both Scott and Caleb good luck. As soon as the gate was locked behind him, the announcer turned back to them and picked up his microphone.

"Let's fuck shit up!"

A bell sounded and Scott put his fists up and bounced slightly on the balls of his feet, circling Caleb. After a couple initial fake outs, Scott charged at the man before him with a surprising amount of speed. Launching his right fist forward, Scott aimed for the man's face. Almost as if he had seen it coming, Caleb was already out of the way of the oncoming attack. Grabbing Scott behind his shoulder, Caleb thrust his knee right into his stomach. I found myself gasping as Scott jumped back, seemingly unharmed. He laughed to himself and shrugged it off, resuming his stance. Caleb was the first to move this time as he threw a series of punches and jabs aimed at Scott's face and midsection. Ducking and weaving out of the way, Scott retaliated with a firm punch to the man's jaw. Caleb spun around, saliva flying from his mouth before he found himself being punched in the stomach and then kicked in the chest. Everyone around me roared in excitement.

My eyebrows raised at Scott's attack. I found myself surprised by it. Scott's kick sent the soldier falling backwards to the ground. Almost as quickly as he landed, Caleb rolled back up to his feet and shook himself off before raising his fists again. The two began to circle each other again, never breaking eye contact. That's when Caleb ran at Scott in a tackle formation and wrapped his arms around his waist, forcing him back violently into the cage wall. Before I had the chance to react, Scott slammed his elbow down into the back of Caleb's head, breaking the hold. Moving back, Caleb caught the kick that was meant for his face and tripped Scott.

Hitting the floor with a loud thud, Scott attempted to get up as quickly as he could. My hand involuntarily covered my mouth once Caleb delivered a firm kick to his ribs, sending Scott rolling across the ground.

"Holy shit", I whispered to myself. Coughing and spitting on the ground, Scott stood back up and motioned for Caleb to come at him again. Taking the invitation, the man charged forward and spun around with a kick aimed for Scott's face. At the last possible second, he lowered his head underneath the kick, which caused Caleb to lose his balance. Bringing his fists together, Scott slammed them both down into the man's back. Caleb screamed a horrible yell but quickly clenched his right fist and swung it around. The spinning back fist connected with Scott's face, sending him to the ground. I watched in horror as Caleb mounted himself on top of Scott and threw punch after punch into his face. I didn't know what to do. I was left feeling powerless as I watched him get beaten.

To everyone's shock, we watched as Scott brought his legs up and crossed his feet over Caleb's throat. Using this newfound momentum, Scott forced his legs back against his opponent, bringing him down to his back on the ground. Wasting no time at all, Scott hopped on top of him and proceeded to throw his own series of punches. I watched as Scott angrily punched Caleb repeatedly, blood dripping from his nose. Seeing him so angry made me see him in a different light. Behind his usual playful demeanor, it seemed he too had demons to motivate him. After another two hard punches, Scott slowly stumbled off of Caleb and moved away from him. Caleb leaned to the side and coughed up some blood before attempting to stand back up.

Before he could rise any further, Scott swiftly kicked him across the face, sending droplets of Caleb's blood across the floor. Breathing hard, Scott waited for his opponent to move again but he didn't. The bell sounded and everyone erupted in applause and cheers. I could see people around me exchanging money. Some looked thrilled, some looked upset with the outcome. Looking back to Scott, I watched as he slouched back against the cage wall and looked over at me. Almost like a switch had been activated, his face changed back to its normal playful appearance. He smiled tiredly and gave me another wink.

"He's done it again folks! Scott Firestone is on a lucky streak!" yelled the announcer. Standing up, I rushed over to the door once Scott came out.

"Are you okay?!" Try as I might to sound casual, I could hear my tone sounded more worrisome than I had intended. Putting his hand on my shoulder, he chuckled and nodded.

"I had you worried. I'm sorry."

"Shut up, I wasn't worried. You're my ride home." I found myself trying to match his humor to cheer him up. It seemed to work. He coughed before laughing loudly at my comment. Sitting him down on a nearby step, I wrapped my arm around him to help him. Looking at the beer in my hand, I chortled to myself and handed it over to him.

"I think you're gonna need this more than me." Trying to calm his breathing, he accepted it from me and started to chug it before looking back to me.

"Thanks, handsome."

After the medics came over and treated both men, various people came up to congratulate Scott. Taking a step back, I watched as everyone happily talked with him and took pictures. Taking a brief moment to step away from everyone, Scott approached Caleb who was holding an ice pack to his face. I couldn't hear him over everyone but he patted him on the back and shook his hand. It was such a small but kind gesture, I couldn't help but feel impressed by it. Having dealt with my fair share of fighters, it wasn't often that they kept a good sense of sportsmanship. The last person I saw to do that after a fight was King. Not letting myself fall back into his memory, I pushed him out of my mind as fast as he'd entered it. After a few more minutes, Scott approached me and grabbed his jacket.

"Ready to get outta here, Peter?" He carefully slid his jacket back on and somehow acted as if he wasn't in any kind of pain.

"You want me to drive? That way you can rest a bit on the way?" I offered.

"No, I'm fine. But thanks for thinking of me." After saying his goodbyes, I followed Scott back to the elevator and once the doors closed, I looked at him.

"Are you hurt?" The question seemed stupid hearing it out loud.

"I'll be fine. I have a high pain tolerance. So, what'd you think?" he asked, leading me out of the elevator and back towards the exit.

"I wouldn't want to mess with you." I found myself saying through a laugh. He squeezed my shoulder, heading over to the car to open the door again.

"It was such a rush. I'll be feeling it in the morning but it was so worth it." As we headed back out onto the road, I found that I felt so much more comfortable with him. We talked like we'd known each other forever and honestly, it felt great. As hesitant as I initially was, I felt legitimately happy being here in this moment with him. We talked about the details of the fight, how I couldn't believe he took on a soldier and won, the people in the club, what it's like to have all that attention. The car ride seemed to fly by as fast as we started it. Before I really knew where we were, I looked up to see that we were pulling back up to my apartment. Once he put the car in park, he looked over at me and smiled.

"Thanks for coming with me. It really meant a lot." I felt touched by his words, a warmth lingering inside my body that by now had become almost foreign. I made a point to grab the CD he gave me before taking off my seatbelt, so that he knew I didn't forget about it.

"I'm glad I came with you. You're a badass, Scott. And I will totally listen to this and tell you my favorite song on it. Thanks for giving it to me." Once again there was a moment of pause, the feeling of not wanting to leave. After a small silence, Scott went to light another cigarette.

"So, do you wanna get together again soon?" His question sent a thrill to my brain and I did my best to hide my excitement.

"I'd be honored Scott. Maybe next time we can try something a little less violent?" I said with a chuckle.

"Oh yeah? What'd you have in mind?" Looking into his brown eyes, I found it hard to look away.

"Do you like mini-golf?" As soon as I said it, I laughed at how lame I sounded.

"I'm not gonna lie, I secretly LOVE mini-golf, so that's a yes for sure buddy. How about I call you tomorrow sometime and we can set a date?" Those words hit me like a train but I'd never felt this happy for a long time.

"That'd be great! I'll talk to you tomorrow and please text me that you got home safe, okay?"

"I knew you were worried about me," he responded with a smirk. After a small moment of hesitation, I leaned over and gently kissed his cheek. He closed his eyes and let out a faintly audible peaceful sigh. As I pulled away from his slowly, our lips hovered in front of each other for a couple of seconds. I wanted to kiss him badly but was afraid of feeling what I did the other night. I could feel his breath warmly caressing my lips. Before anything else could happen, I saw him break out into a slow smile again.

"You should probably go before I ask to come inside." Snapping out of the moment, I nodded and laughed quietly before pulling away from him. Opening the door, I stepped out and looked back in before closing it.

"Good night, Scott."

"Good night, cutie", he responded with a wink. After I safely got into my apartment I waved him goodbye and closed the door. As soon as I closed the door, I exhaled to myself and could barely contain my smile. I walked into the kitchen and began to pour a glass of water when suddenly, I heard a knock at the door. My heart jumped into my chest.

"I can't believe he came back," I muttered to myself, approaching the door. Containing my smile, I opened the door to see Scott standing there. Only it wasn't Scott. My eyes widened in shock and my mouth fell open. This couldn't be happening. This ghost from the past couldn't possibly have found me. Surprise taking over my mind, I said the only words I could think of.

"Holy shit…"