Connor and Caden entered the ring at opposite corners. With each of them now clad in boxing uniforms: shorts with undershirts, they readied up for the highlight match of the entire year. Connor's outfit was dark burgundy with flames on it, while Caden's stuck to the aquaberry color scheme of blue and beige. At Connor's sides, Kanashii and Roman stood behind the ropes by the turnbuckle. Kanashii had a water bottle for him while Roman placed a mouthguard into Connor's mouth. The challenger stared over at Caden with Jayshawn and Bryce readying him up, though he suspected the tall blond didn't need their assistance.
Caden grinned and gazed deeply into Connor's eyes. The gaze didn't stop, even by the time it was ready for Connor to depart from his friends and head towards the center. Evan, Orion, and the rest of the preps watched from the sidelines by the ring. Unfortunately, Shay remained outside with Winston, tricked by Jayshawn and locked out of the sealed-up boxing gym.
"Remember what I taught you, Connor," Roman urged, then he heard his friends' voices no more.
Connor's focus was completely on Caden. The closer in proximity they came, the easier it was for Connor to see just how separate their heights were. One of the preps gave a proper announcement for each of the boxers, and he overheard 6'5" for Caden and briefly wondered how they knew he was 5'6", but now he was glued to the match. After what felt like months of waiting around, it was finally time to challenge the boxers' best man.
Caden was back to his dancing around routine. His feet fluttered about the ring with precision. Not a single step was out of place. His piercing gaze with the confident grin remained the same throughout the beginning of round one.
"The hell are you looking at me like that for?" Connor questioned.
"Beat him down, Connor!" Kanashii cheered. "Fuck this scumbag!"
Caden didn't go for a strike right off the bat. Instead, he kept dancing around the ring, laser-locked on Connor. The ruffian felt an urge to charge him like he always did when he'd fought the bullies, preps, or anyone else in his way, but the voice of Roman emerged in his mind.
Manage your nerves. You're used to street brawls, and even for the most confident fighters, if you haven't properly boxed before, you're gonna be out of your element and feeling some fear. Manage it. Don't let it hold you back. Harness it. Caden's gonna have a stacked repertoire so you need to build your own.
Connor imitated Caden's dance, each of the fighters raising their gloved fists. Caden grew impatient, and threw a jab Connor's way. Connor reared back, pretending to toss a fist Caden's way, but withdrew it as he skirted aside. Caden watched him with curiosity, patting his gloves together.
"Yes, Caden!" Chandler cheered. "This rapscallion is nothing but a beggar! Treat him as such!"
Bluff a little bit. Play some mind games. Lead the dance. Caden isn't gonna expect you to do anything but attack him the same way you always have. You need to find an in. The key is in exploiting it, in realizing that Caden's in is something to be exploited; you can't just throw a fist for no reason. Treat this like it is: a glorified game of chess. You're each making moves up there. The fighting you do is all methodical, carefully planned. Kinda like how I carefully planned to bang your mom last night. Got 'em.
The phrase "lead the dance" lingered in Connor's mind, repeating over and over. Caden kept his feet light, dancing around the ring, while Connor followed along. Caden threw out punches, but Connor kept himself defensive. The two flowed around the ring like swimmers creating a wave pool out of a stagnant one.
This back and forth went on for several more minutes until the first round was over.
Relaxing, Caden said, "The tutorial's over, pauper. Round two is when it gets serious."
Connor pounded his fists together as he back stepped towards his turnbuckle. "I'm ready."
"So you think."
Not long later, round two began. As Caden promised, the punishment had only just begun. Connor's eyes widened as Caden came at him fast-quicker than he could have ever expected. It was like the blond was aware of every miniscule movement in his muscles, and was in complete control. A massive pounding of fists came at Connor. The crowd winced and others cheered as Caden fully unleashed himself. Fists came at Connor harder than he could block. His arm-shield was destroyed, and the ruffian's freckled face and his head took a majority of the fists.
Gritting his teeth, Connor realized that Caden had him pushed up against the ropes on his side of the ring now. Leading the dance just wasn't something that was possible right now, for any amount of energy he could've given to escaping had to be given to defending himself from the flurry of jabs coming at him from the champion boxer.
Watching from the ropes, Kanashii cringed while Roman watched with a calm disappointment about him.
"Jesus Christ," Kanashii murmured. "I've never seen anyone tenderize Connor like this."
"Caden is set to become a professional boxer within a year," Roman replied. "The WBA wants him. He's sixteen."
Connor sent out a punch or two, only for Caden to veer aside with alarming precision. The punishment continued.
"I told Connor his only hope is to keep hanging on long enough to get Caden's energy low," Roman explained.
"Could that really work?" Kanashii wondered.
"I've never seen anyone make it past round three with Caden. Only Jayshawn and Oliver have ever done that, and they didn't win. If Connor can keep going further than that, then maybe we'll all learn something new about Caden."
Connor finally managed to swing away from the ropes, absorbing more of Caden's jabs before the boxer sent a whale of a fist at him, knocking Connor not only off his feet but fifteen feet across the ring. He tumbled to the mat right beside his faux managers, Kanashii and Roman. The sight of their confident friend used like a ragdoll was jarring to say the least.
"Holy shit, dude," Evan chuckled.
The preps cheered for their champion as Caden strolled away from his bested opponent.
"All too easy," Caden murmured.
"Connor, get up!" Kanashii urged. "Come on, bro, you've got this! Don't let him win!"
"You can do this, bro!" Roman added.
Orion clapped his hands together. "Come on, dawg! Get on your feet, let's go!"
Shaking himself, Connor regained his consciousness, and with astonishment in most of the spectator's eyes, he managed to pull himself back up to his feet. Unfortunately, Caden took notice and planted a fist in his neck. A bell rang, and the ending of round two saved Connor.
After a squirt of water into his mouth, Connor gasped for breath and felt his chest rising up and down at a rapid rate. Across the ring, Caden grinned at him, completely assured in himself and his belief in impending victory.
"Fucker nearly ended this thing then and there," Kanashii gasped.
"He's not," Connor rasped, barely able to speak. The rest of his sentence didn't make it out.
"Be careful, dude," Roman advised.
Ding ding ding!
Round three began, and with it, Connor sluggishly danced back into the ring. Caden cracked his neck and readied up, dancing towards Connor to nail him with more strikes. The carnage just kept coming.
At a certain point, Connor swerved out of the way and grabbed onto Caden's chest, shoving them backward. With a growl, Caden sneered, "No, you don't!" and tossed Connor across the ring. The thud was tremendous, and even as he writhed with pain, he beared through it and got back to his feet.
"You can do this!" Kanashii cried.
Caden came back to pummel him. Sweat began to drip on the boxer's face. Even someone as talented as Caden was beginning to feel the heat, even if the majority of it was spent wailing. His grin seemed to slip a little; this opponent wasn't going down as easy as all the others. Three rounds in and Connor still clung to the battered husk that was his current level of consciousness.
Then something happened that altered the entire trajectory. With Roman's previous words flowing through Connor's battered mind, Connor saw Caden barely trip over one foot. The mistake had been trivial, but in Connor's mind, to someone as perfect at boxing as Caden, he didn't suspect the mistake would go unnoticed. With a mere half second spent focusing on correcting his course, Caden didn't see a rock-hard punch flying aside, nailing him right in the head. The sound of the glove smacking him upside the head was earth-shattering. Caden bucked back and the pretentious cheers of his cronies stopped as he paused. There was genuine shock in the blond's eyes to tap his glove to his head and find a dab of blood on his glove. Connor gasped for breath, and before Caden could re-assert himself, now the offbeat was on the offensive.
Fighting with pure rage propelling his exhausted body, Connor let out roars and growls of vitriol as he slammed harder fists than he'd ever thrown at the boxer. Surprise seeped into Caden, and his grin was gone. Now he was defending himself with arms that hadn't had to do so in ages as Connor pounded him.
Soon after, the bell rang for the round to end, but Connor couldn't stop. More blows came at him before Connor grabbed Caden's chest again and pushed harder than previously, barreling them both to the mat. Kanashii and Roman watched with shock as Connor nailed fists into Caden's face, then the preps intervened, all of them together tugging Connor off the champ.
"Son of a bitch!" Caden snapped, then the preps had to band together to keep their champion off Connor. "Worthless pauper couldn't help but turn this into a street brawl!"
Somehow, both fighters returned to their corners. Kanashii squirted more of the water into Connor's mouth.
"That was a fucking amazing recovery!" Kanashii cheered. "You're amazing!"
"Sure, it's round four," Roman agreed, "but you just pissed him off. If you thought he was brutal before..."
Connor no longer had the energy to respond. At the other side of the ring, Caden's grin was replaced with a glare. The anger burned deep within him, as if the blond couldn't believe the humiliation of being taken off his feet by a pauper.
Meanwhile, in Pete's hospital room, one of the nurses approached where the boy was lying in his bed, watching the swim channel on one of the wall-mounted hospital TVs.
"Hi, Peter. Your friend is here, just like you asked!"
"Thank you, Gabriella."
"Call if you need anything else."
Strangely, as she left, it was Yirmi of the nerd clique that took her place.
"Hey, Yirmi."
"Oh, uhm, hello. Have we ever talked to each other before?"
Pete grunted, shifting himself in his bed to reach for his wallet lying on the closest counter to him. "Can't say we have, but I need a favor."
"Well, the greatest favor I could do for this planet is reviving the dinosaurs. If it's anything but that, I don't really think I'm interested. Besides, you're, uh, a little too cool for the nerd clique. I don't think we should be talking."
Pete reached into his wallet. "I've got money. You sold Connor Henson stink bombs, right?"
With his argument instantly vanished, Yirmi replied, "Yes, I have."
"Great, well, there's something in the same vein of stink bombs I was hoping you could sell me."
If there had been a WBA official in the crowd for Connor and Caden's war against each other, they'd likely both have been signed onto the big leagues within seconds. Rounds kept flying by, as well as spit and blood. Both boxers made a mess of the ring. The majority of their dancing from the earliest rounds was replaced with complete hatred for one another. They pummeled each other with fists that had the crowdgoers entranced by the fight. Caden's blond hair stuck to his face from sweat and blood while Connor looked almost unrecognizable.
Fighting on wobbly legs, Connor flew to the mat yet again, but he was back to his feet in an instant. Nothing could stop these two from coming back, again and again, with a countless number of strikes hitting one another. Even Caden's ability to swerve away from Connor was depleting. In the crowd, Orion wrapped an arm around Evan's shoulder and jumped, crying out with excitement. The preps screamed over each other for support of Caden. Kanashii and Roman were practically hanging over the ropes as they shouted. Caden uppercutted Connor into the ropes with a spurt of blood exploding from the offbeat's lip.
Unbelievably, they kept coming back with each coming round. Connor couldn't be kept down for long, but frustratingly, he couldn't punch Caden off his feet. For every three times Connor was knocked off his feet, Caden could only be bucked several feet back.
Outside the gym, Shay pounded on the glass to the door, but no one would let her inside. She shivered from the cold all around her, while Winston whined and licked her fingers.
"I know, buddy," she murmured.
She heard the distant sound of someone grunting, then she peered into the distance to find someone familiar.
"Pete?"
The tiny boy was dressed with his jacket over his gown, limping towards the gym with a crutch under one of his arms. There was clearly pain in his face, but that didn't stop him from approaching. Winston's tail began to wag and he wiggled and squealed as Pete got to them.
"What are you doing out of bed?" Shay asked.
"Hi, Shay," he groaned. Now Winston licked his fingers. "What's happening in there?"
"Pete, you're not supposed to be here. You need to heal. Who knows how far back being out here could put your recovery? And you're barely dressed for the weather."
"I know, ow, I know, but I couldn't just sit around while Connor fights Caden. That's what's happening now, isn't it?"
She nodded. "Probably, but Jayshawn locked me out of the gym before they could start."
"So, he's probably in there right now getting his ass handed to him. We've got to get in there somehow."
"You need to go back to the hospital. I can handle this by myself."
Pete shook his head. "No, Shay. I'm already all the way out here. Besides, I need to get inside before hospital staff find me anyway. Plus, I brought a little something that might help us out."
"'Help us out'? What do you mean by that?"
"Connor's gonna need an advantage." Struggling to move, he reached into his jacket and added, "So, that's when this comes into play..."
Eventually, it came time for the eleventh round, and this one started differently than any other. Connor and Caden came out visibly more sloppy and sluggish than they had in the first few rounds. Quite possibly, this could be the final round. Connor's pace suggested it, as only Caden was throwing punches to start with.
"Come on!" Caden snapped.
Connor dodged the strikes coming at him. It was all he had the energy for. His eyes were swollen and his chin was dripping blood from a wound at the side of his mouth. Still, he kept himself with his fists up, ready to counter. Connor danced around the ring with Caden following along. Caden swung at him, but could only reach him half the time. Caden's energy slowed more and more the longer Connor kept this up. His confidence was drained, replaced instead with hate, lethargy, anger, and humiliation.
Out of nowhere, Connor popped a fist up and nailed Caden in the chin. The boxer hadn't suspected it, and spit flew into the air as he was completely disoriented. Still, Caden did not fall, but Connor made it his mission to take him down with everything he had. Throwing caution to the wind, Connor threw debilitating fists at him. He pounded Caden's abdomen over and over, pushing him into the ropes. He swung back into more punches. Now, Connor was in control, nailing Caden with fist after fist, battering the hell out of the once untouchable.
Kanashii and the rest of his friends cried out cheers and encouragement. Caden was on the ropes, loosely defending himself, but Connor's fists cut through his shield like butter. He unloaded a flurry of hits into his stomach, chest, and his face. Caden could do nothing but take it. He grew woozier and woozier, then stumbled away from the ropes, almost falling flat on his face before escaping his trance.
"You're gonna do it!" Roman yelled.
"He's on his last leg!" Kanashii exclaimed.
With his muscles burning like the sun swallowed him up, every bone in his body screaming for Connor to stop, the offbeat crushed his teeth together and fought harder. Absolutely drenched in sweat with blood on his boxing shirt, Connor punched Caden into the center of the ring, then soared an uppercut into him. This hit knocked Caden into the closest turnbuckle, then he bounced aside and toppled to the mat for the first time in the match.
With his legs shaking from exhaustion, Connor urged his agonized limbs to keep him up while Caden writhed. He gripped the ropes, achingly pulling himself up. Everyone watched with exceeding closeness. Would the champion get back to his feet?
Caden exhaled, and released his grip. He fell face first, and as the seconds passed, it became clear that Connor was the new boxing champion.
"C... C-C... Connor Henson," Bryce peeped. "Connor Henson... wins?"
All at once, Connor's allies cheered, even Evan, the most neutral of the group. Connor fumbled backwards into the ropes, then slumped down to a sitting position. He was lathered in sweat, marked with bruises and his and his enemy's blood, and barely appeared cogent enough to name the number that comes after fourteen. Caden was still conscious, but there was no way he was getting up off his stomach. Kanashii slipped through the ropes to cheer for their victory while Roman did the same and checked on Connor's condition.
"I can't believe this," Dave murmured.
As the aftermath unfolded, the door to the upper portion of the gym slammed open to Oliver. He stood at the top of the staircase, clad in a red robe over his clothes with a glass of wine in one hand, his eyes widened at the sight before him.
"What in the name of all things wealthy is this?" he shouted.
The leader of the preps stormed down the steps to gather around with the rest of his people.
"Henson just beat Caden," Chad explained, struggling to put the words together.
"What?"
"That's right, he's our new champion," Chandler added.
"What a load of bologna!" Oliver approached the ropes to rest a burning glare on his writhing friend. "I'm deeply ashamed of you."
"My liver..." Caden moaned.
Oliver turned to rally the preps. "Friends, let's be reasonable now. Just because this guttersnipe beat up our friend, Caden, does that really mean anything? Do we have to accept this dollar tree-peruser as one of our own on that fact alone?"
"No!" they shouted back.
As Oliver continued his speech, Kanashii, Roman, Evan, and Orion gradually took notice. Meanwhile, Connor did what he could to cling onto consciousness.
"Are we going to sit idly by while these rats invade our gym? Our palace? Gentlemen, this is a place of culture. There's no room for this gang of trash pandas here."
"No!" Jayshawn agreed.
"So, what are we going to do?"
"Beat them back to the ghetto!" the preps erupted.
"Yeah!"
"Yeah!"
Oliver and the preps turned to face their opponents, vitriol and aggression barely being contained within their aquaberry outfits.
"Uh oh," Orion mumbled.
"You take my girlfriend, Henson? Then, dammit," he tossed his wine glass into the nearest wall, shattering it, "you and your friends can take a beating, courtesy of Bullworth's dominant breed. Break their knees," Oliver ordered.
With that, the brief pause of the violence within the gym was broken. The preps charged for the offbeats while Oliver raced back up the staircase. With Evan and Orion as the closest foes in range, the preps targeted them, and the pair had no choice but to defend themselves. Fists started flying while Dave tried to climb the ropes and attack the teens in the ring. Roman punched him to the floor, shaking out his fist as he muttered, "I've always loved punching that guy."
"Connor, bro, you gotta get up," Kanashii urged. "The preps have lost it. We need your help."
He stared down at Connor, gulping at the sight of him. He was in worse condition than a decade-old punching bag. He slumped from his sitting position down to lying on his side. He was breathing and conscious, but utterly exhausted.
Evan pressed a pair of preps' faces together and yelled, "Kiss each other!"
"We're gonna have to do this without him," Roman decided. "What do we do?"
Kanashii glanced up at the top of the staircase. Oliver flipped them off before retreating back into his quarters, shutting the door behind him. "I say we go up. Let's beat up Oliver once and for all!"
"Yeah, whatever," Evan shouted as Kanashii and Roman rushed up the staircase, "grease boy and I are all good on our own here!"
At the top of the staircase, Roman pried open the door to find a wide open space with a bar at its corner. The whole space resembled a country club, fancy and only accessible by rich, older men. There were glass walls to the left, but he couldn't focus on it for long as Oliver sneak attacked. Oliver pounded a fist into his chest that bowled him over with surprising power. Once inside, Kanashii helped Roman up, who writhed from the direct shot.
"Ow, fuck! What the hell was that?"
Grinning, Oliver held out his fist, revealing brass knuckles.
"That's cheating!" Kanashii protested.
"In war, there's no such thing as rules," Oliver replied. He paced towards the two, and each of them progressively backed up as the prep leader skulked after them. "There's no reason why I should do anything but pulverize you annoying thorns in my side. Roman, you betrayed your kind to affiliate with a bunch of losers!" he snapped, tossing a punch out with the brass knuckles. He chipped the counter to the bar, with Kanashii and Roman veering aside just in time. "Henson took my girlfriend from me... You think I have any reason to show mercy to those he cares about?"
"But- b-b-but he broke up with her," Kanashii argued. "They're split!"
"Are they?" Oliver kicked the offbeat into the wall. "It changes nothing! I'm after revenge, and goddammit, I'm going to get it!"
Downstairs on the main level, Orion tossed one of the preps against a wall while Evan traded blows with Jayshawn. In the ring, Caden had passed out, but Connor kept himself awake. He felt the urge to get back to his feet, but he ached like he'd never ached before. For all he knew, he was in just as terrible a condition as Pete ended up in. He reached for the top rope, but then his arm fell limp again.
Upstairs, Oliver chased his enemies around, swinging his knuckle dusters around. Finally, one of his fists connected and he thudded it into Roman's stomach. Kanashii's entire body winced as Roman let out a constricted groan, dropping to his knees. Oliver kicked him into the glass wall. The former prep laid, wheezing as he clutched his stomach. There was no getting up for him.
"What the fuck is wrong wi-" Kanashii rolled aside as Oliver nearly hit him in the head.
Oliver stared at him with a devious grin. "This is my checkmate, motherfucker."
Cowering by the bar counter, Kanashii murmured, "What's that supposed to mean?"
Connor stared up at the ceiling to the gym, then he felt the presence of someone familiar. Slowly glancing to the side, he saw his mother standing above him, peering down at him with disgust. She was a middle-aged woman who looked bedraggled by time, like she'd experienced more than most people do in two lifetimes.
"Mom," Connor rasped.
"Look at you. You're covered in bruises from head to toe. When will it end, Connor? How long are you going to keep this up? And for what?"
"For... for you, Mom. I beat that kid up, the one who called you a skank. I couldn't let him talk about you like that."
She stared down at him incredulously. "Are you insane? People will talk. They always have. I've been called every name in the book. I've been beaten, I've been harassed, I've been to jail, I've been through it all, Connor. That doesn't give you an excuse. Honestly, I am sick and tired of your violent outbursts. Don't think you can use me as your justification."
"But they're never gonna stop. They're never gonna stop if we let them get away with it."
She rested her arms on her knees to look more closely at her son. "Connor, there are things in this world you can't change. Some rich people just don't see some poor people the same way we see most people. You can't beat new opinions into people. You can't change the way people see me by fighting. All you're changing is the trajectory of your life. You are headed nowhere quite quickly, young man."
"I just wanted to protect you."
She shook her head at him. "You can't do that, Connor. One day, I'll be gone, and that's all right; there's nothing you can do about that."
Suddenly, his mother clutched onto Connor's boxing shirt and tugged him up. He blinked to find that it was actually Bryce, rearing back a fist that he soon after thudded into Connor's stomach. Interrupting all of this was the sound of glass shattering. Soon after, Winston charged into the gym with Shay assisting Pete in. The frail teen was armed with a spud gun, almost too large for him.
"The fuck?" Bryce murmured.
Pete pulled the trigger, and out from the gun flew a barrage of eggs. They soared over the ropes and splattered against Bryce. He held his arms out to defend himself, but he soon after slipped on the yolk and fell over the ropes, thudding roughly to the ground below. Meanwhile, the rest of the preps were down with the exception of Jayshawn. Pete fired on him next, then Evan used the distraction to grab the prep by his arm and toss him over his shoulder into the turnbuckle. He flopped over, writhing with the rest of the preps.
"M-Mother," Chandler moaned. "Mother... Come change me, Mother... I'm so sorry..."
Once it was over, Shay, assisting Pete in his walking like an elderly lady, approached Evan and Orion.
"I was not expecting that," Orion chuckled, catching his breath.
"That was some much needed backup," Evan added.
"I can't believe you're here, Pete. Seriously big balls on you, man."
"I don't want any of you to get hurt just because I did," he replied. "I started to worry that Connor couldn't do it, so I wanted to help somehow."
"Where's Kanashii?" Shay asked.
"They went after Oliver-upstairs," Evan responded.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Connor groaned. The group turned to see him pulling himself up to his feet. Decimated from the fight, he still found the strength to stand without touching the rope. "Let's finish it."
Upstairs, Kanashii flew over the bar counter, crashing into several bottles and knocking them to the floor as he went. Oliver stepped towards the counter, then the rest of the offbeat team appeared in the doorway. Pete aimed the egg-filled spud gun at him. He and Connor stood uneasily, as both were filled with pain.
"Where did you cockroaches come from?" Oliver sneered.
"Give this shit a rest, would you?" Evan urged. "Connor just knocked your champ on his ass."
"You can't possibly beat all of us," Orion added.
Oliver gazed at his foes. There were Connor and Pete, each barely even standing, Shay, Winston, who rushed behind the bar counter to go lick Kanashii, and Evan and Orion, not to mention bested Roman. The prep leader shrugged. "Well..."
"Look out!" Shay shouted.
Oliver came flying with the brass knuckles, and the group scattered.
Hugging his dog tight, Kanashii rasped, "Stay here, Winnie. Stay by me, buddy."
Pete and Connor achingly made their way to the side of the room by the glass walls. Oliver swung at Orion who blocked with one arm. Though there was a leather jacket sleeve covering his arm, he still swung it out and exclaimed with pain from the dusters slamming him. Evan grabbed onto him from behind, clutching him as the prep struggled to be free.
"Someone, grab his knuckle dusters!"
"No!" Oliver exclaimed.
The prep leader backed Evan into the bar counter, but he still held on. In the proximity of the bar now, Kanashii had the chance to swipe the knuckles off him.
"Yes!" he cheered.
Oliver put all his strength into thrusting his body downward and knocking Evan into the ground, flinging him similarly to how Evan had taken down Jayshawn. Oliver kicked Orion to the floor before he could get up, then he threw an arm out to block a bottle tossed at him by Shay. Pete fired eggs at him from the spud gun, then Connor speared himself and Oliver onto the bar counter. Winston barked at him with his teeth bared. Oliver shoved Connor aside with ease, only for Kanashii to lunge over the table and leap atop him.
With everyone working together like this, Oliver slowly lost energy, but his fury kept him going. He let out a roar of ferocity and tossed Kanashii over into where Roman still couldn't get back up. Pete winced as they nearly toppled over him. Shay tossed another bottle at him, then Winston leaped over the table to latch his teeth to Oliver's pant leg.
"Damned mutt!"
Evan grabbed the scruff of Oliver's aquaberry vest and tugged him aside to punch him in his stomach and grunt, "Sucks, doesn't it?"
Evan slammed him again, then Orion reentered the fight, tossing out punches as well. Thanks to being covered in eggs, Oliver slipped and fell, failing to counteract Evan and Orion's attacks. Taking advantage, Kanashii flew in and held his legs down. Evan planted his knees on one of his arms while Orion stood atop the other. Connor heaved himself over to the scene to punch Oliver several times while he was down. Rearing back another fatigued fist, Connor halted when he cried, "Wait! Stop! Stop! That's... that's enough! That's enough, dammit!"
With that, Kanashii, Evan, and Orion released him. Weakly, Pete and Roman approached the scene, as did Shay with Winston rubbing his head against her fishnets.
"You give in?" Connor slurred, his lips bloodied from Caden.
"Yes..."
"Louder."
"Yes."
"Louder! Who's the boss, Oliver?"
"Yes! You are! You are... damn it all..."
Connor stumbled back to his feet, and Oliver got to his, limping over to one of the bar seats. Everyone in attendance caught their breath for a moment, while everyone but Oliver soaked in their victory.
"Dude, you could've given me internal bleeding," Roman complained. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
"He is," Oliver pointed at Connor. "You came along and you ruined everything. You take my little rabbit, then you embarrass my lads, usurp our gym and Caden's championship status. You're a monster."
"Listen to me, rich boy," Connor started. "All of this started in the first place because of people like Chandler and Bryce trying to get me to fight when all I wanted was to be left alone."
"Well, it sure escalated from there, didn't it?" Oliver retorted, full of venom.
"You think this is my fault? Really?"
"It doesn't matter whose fault it is, what matters is that people like you and I were always meant to hate each other. It's the way of the world. I was born to people who matter, who are beneficial to the community or the planet, and your parents probably couldn't even afford the condoms your existence should've been limited to."
"Youch," Kanashii commented.
"My mom once told me I can't change people's minds just by beating them up," Connor mentioned. "I was wrong about a lot of things, including getting with your cousin."
"All better, huh?" Oliver jeered. "Yes, I feel much better. Thank you very much, Henson."
"I don't give a fuck what you think. You're unstable, and now, you and your little band of rejects are gonna be docile, you got it? No more of your stunts, no more bullshit, and no more harassing me or the people I care about. Understood?"
Oliver hesitated. There was a deep hatred in his eyes. He glanced away and muttered, "Yes."
"What?"
"Yes! Understood! Need it spelled out as well?"
"No. What I need are answers, or else we might have to use the brass knuckles, too."
"What the hell could you possibly want to know?"
"Tell me everything about your involvement with Benji."
He sighed. "He told me we'd rule the school together if I would just do a few things for him. I figured as the head of the Bullworth preppies, I was already close enough to that goal that the little budge Benji provided would take me the rest of the way to the top."
"Like?" Pete asked.
"We were to hassle you people, particularly Henson. There was a reason for it. Benji told me he'd given it great thought. As you may know, him," he pointed at Orion this time, "and the rest of the greasers have been feuding with the preps since the school year started. Our cliques are sworn enemies. Naturally, Benji told me that in order to take over the school, our clique would have to be seen as dominant to the greasers. He figured the best avenue to accomplish that would be to rile Connor Henson up, then, well, kick your ass."
Dripping blood from his chin with parts of his face purple, Connor replied, "How'd that work out for you?"
"He figured when everyone knew he couldn't beat the preps, they'd know we're not to be fucked with. After all, Connor took down big bad Evan," Oliver added mockingly.
"Up yours," Evan flipped him off.
"Benji didn't care about helping the preps," Pete claimed, "and he didn't care about sending a message to the greasers either. It was just smoke and mirrors, a way to use your people to get at us..."
"He was an asshole," Oliver responded. "I see that now. He knew just how to rile me up, ironically. Going into great detail about the sex you and Harper were having..."
"Dude," Connor slurred, "Harper and I haven't had sex."
Oliver flashed him a puzzled look. "Is that so..."
"Yet another piece of manipulation," Shay murmured.
"How would he even be able to know that?" Kanashii wondered.
"So, what's Benji's next move?" Connor urged.
"I don't know," Oliver grumbled. "I figure now that we've lost, I won't be hearing from him again. I don't know what he's gonna do next. You ask me, if you wanna run around saying the preps are subservient to you, I'd say you should be more worried about the greasers than Benji."
"Great. Another angry band of stereotypical misfits."
"Bullworth Academy..." Pete grunted.
"Shouldn't they thank me for putting you in your place?"
"No, no, no," Oliver argued. "Because you're going to need to keep us under close surveillance to ensure our loyalty, otherwise, perhaps we'll revolt. It's like they say; keep your friends close..."
"You fucking dick."
Oliver smirked through the pain of his beating.
"What now?" Shay asked.
"Now, I wipe that smile clean off of incest boy's face." Connor gestured for Oliver to follow. "Get up. We're gonna go have a nice chat with Headmaster Slug about what happened to Pete."
"Like hell we are."
"Oh, yes, we are. Get the hell up, or I'm gonna have to ask impolitely."
A bit later, Oliver obliged, getting to his feet to follow the offbeats out.
Connor, Pete, Kanashii, Winston, Shay, Orion, Evan, Roman, and Oliver emerged from the Glass Jaw Boxing Club gym together. Once outside, Shay let out a gasp and smiled. For the first time all school year, snowflakes were falling around Bullworth town. They fluttered through the air peacefully, and with them, some of the offbeats felt their own feelings of peace in finally concluding their rivalry with the preps. A thin layer of snow now covered the ground as far as the group could see.
"It's so pretty!" Shay gushed.
Winston sniffed the snow, highly intrigued by it.
"Well, that's about all the time I need to spend over here," Evan decided. He waved to the group, said, "See you," then headed off.
"Thanks for the help," Connor replied, then he patted Roman's shoulder. "And thank you, Roman. I don't think I'd have been able to take Caden if it weren't for your mentorship."
"Don't sweat it. Maybe you can teach me some of your moves sometime. You know, when we're not each looking like domestic abuse victims." Roman waved to the group and started to head off. "Take it easy, everybody."
"Orion. Is there any way you can talk to your leader and tell him we don't want any trouble?"
"Dawg, I can barely get Xander off my back. There's nothing I can do."
"Shit."
"But if you think of something I can do to help, I'll be around. Later."
With the departure of Evan, Roman, and Orion, the remaining five and Winston stood underneath the snowfall for a while longer, Oliver crossing his arms and frowning over his defeat.
"I'm fucking glad all that's over," Kanashii mentioned.
"You and I both," Connor responded.
"I can't wait to go to bed," Pete groaned.
"You shouldn't have left your bed in the first place," Shay pointed out.
"I do appreciate the help, Pete, even if I agree with Shay," Connor added. "You've really proved your value to this team, man."
Pete couldn't hold back the huge smile the praise brought forth. "You mean it?"
Connor clutched his arm and curtly nodded. "Yes, bro. Now, you need to go back to the hospital and heal up. I'll be taking this bastard," he gestured to Oliver, "to go pay for what he did to you."
"Bite me," Oliver muttered.
"Thank you, Connor," Pete replied. "You make me proud to be your friend."
With exchanged smiles between the two of them, Kanashii and Shay said their goodbyes to Pete before he left, with Winston making sure to lick each individual finger on Pete's hands prior.
With his friends following alongside him, Connor escorted the bested leader of the preps on his way for much needed justice. Shay continued to marvel at the snowflakes falling around them while Winston went jumping and skidding around in the snow. The group left the Glass Jaw Boxing Club gym behind them, and with it, they closed a nagging, pompous chapter of their lives at Bullworth.