Boom.

    That's the sound of my heart exploding when Jax 'Deadbeat' Deneris emerges from the shadows, his robe draped over him, hood covering his head. Lights immediately fall upon him, illuminating his figure but not his face. He keeps his head low, his eyes invisible, as he prowls along the ring.

    Hands reach for him, hands that should be mine, all mine, and I can't keep the jealousy to a slow simmer, it masks my face and wraps around my clenched fists. Braydon looks at me and laughs, then places a hand over my shoulder to keep me from shredding all of those people who dare to touch him.

    "Look at you," she says. "Never thought I would see the day that you'll get possessive over your boyfriend."

    Boyfriend. Damn, Jax is my boyfriend. It's been a month since we've started actually dating and I'm still not used to the fact that he's my all mine.

    But I love it.

    I love how caring he is towards me—only me. I love that I'm the only one that gets to see that side of him, the angelic part of him, the part of him that coexists with his devil side. And as much I adore the fact that he's sweet and amazing with me, I often also crave his devilish part of him, the roughness and intensity that comes along with the man who won't stop until he gets what he wants—and that is his victory.

    "He definitely brings out the worst in you," Braydon jokes.

    "He does," I say, folding my arms across my chest. My eyes never stray from Jax. "But I don't mind."

    "He's changing you, you know," she says. "You're different. Tougher. Stronger."

     I nod. It's true. The past month, Jax has been training my ass off. Now that I've mastered the beautiful art of punching the living shit out of a punching bag, we've moved onto offenses and defenses. I got to admit, I'm pretty damn good at both. I particularly love it when we have to role-play and Jax pretends to be the offender and I get to kick his balls when he tries to attack me.

     Pretty sure I could hold myself well if I ever get attacked now. Behold, Sienna Lane, the testicle killer.

    "I'm not only tougher and stronger, babe," I tell Braydon. "I'm bitchier too."

    "Definitely." Braydon snorts. "Speaking of being a bitch, you haven't talked to your sister in three weeks."

    I groan. Fuck, I hate talking about this. Jax hasn't mentioned it because he knows that talking about my sister upsets me. But I guess that message hasn't gotten to Braydon yet.

     "That's not true. I only talk to her when I need to."

    She frowns. "She told me she's really sad that you guys aren't talking."

    "It's not my fault that we're not talking. She still hates me for dating Jax."

    "Maybe if you talk to her about it, you'll sort things out."

    I roll my eyes. "You sound like my dad."

    "Again, another person you haven't talked to in a long time," Braydon says. "Damn, are you boycotting your whole family?"

    "Basically, yeah." I say. "Look, Bray, I could give two shits about Beth. If she wants to talk to me about it, she will. I don't owe her anything."

    It's true and Jax already told me so. He said that I wasn't in the wrong in this situation and Beth should be the one to be the bigger person and apologize, not me. Why should I? She's the one being petty in this situation.

    Braydon lets out a breath. "You are one stubborn bitch, you know that?"

    "I know," I smile at her, teeth gleaming. God damn, Jax is totally rubbing off on me. I'm even starting to smile like him. "But you still love me anyway."

    "Hell yeah I do." She wraps an arm around mine and leans against my shoulder, the both of us unable to tear our eyes off Jax.

    He travels down the pathway that's parted just for him, his eyes scanning the crowd for someone. Me. He glances over to the area where I told him I would be, the VIP section along with Braydon and Beth, and when his eyes rest on mine, he casts me a cocky grin. A quick tug of his lips upwards and he already has my heart.

    "God, he's so dreamy," Braydon gushes. "You're so goddamned lucky, Sienna."

    I laugh. "You have Trevor. He's a major catch too."

    "Tell him to grow me some chocolate bars on that flabby stomach of his and then we'll see if he's a major catch or not."

    I don't remember if I replied her, but if I did, my voice has been drowned out by the sea of chants pounding in my ears.

    Deadbeat. Deadbeat. Deadbeat. Deadbeat.

    The crowd screams his name and my heart pounds in sync to every syllable they utter. They're doing his war cry—beating their chests and thrusting their elbows downwards—and they repeat, again and again and again until he descends upon the ring.

    I used to think that the war cry was ridiculous.

    And now, I'm doing it alongside with everyone else.

    The chants grow even louder as Jax slips the robe off of him with one sweeping move and lift his fists up in the air, greeting his fans. I scream as loud as I can when he casts a twisted smile to his crowd. The announcer yells something about his opponent, Quentin 'The Executioner' West, but at this point I don't really care who's going to emerge out of that other side of the ring because I know Jax will fuck with this guy so badly he'll never see the sun again.

    He's been training so hard this entire month with Julian, working out the weak spots of The Executioner. But Julian says he's no more than a pesky fly that can be rid of easily. Looking at him now as Jax's opponent climbs into the ring, a crooked smile falling upon his lips as he sizes Jax up. He's probably about eighty pounds larger than Jax, but it doesn't matter because Jax has stealth and speed on his side.

    The bell rings and the both of them attack.

    West lunges for Jax, but he quickly dodges it and lands a deadly punch on his ribs. West reels back and slams his leg unto Jax's face and he stumbles back a little, but his expression unfazed, as if he expected it to happen but had let it happen anyway.

    I've seen him do all this too many times already—Jax likes to make his opponent think that they could win him, and when they start believing that they can, he goes in and crushes those hopes.

    And he does. He ducks when West swings his fist for another sloppy punch and with a roar, quickly tackle him to the ground. With Jax looming on top of West, He lands hit after hit after hit on West's face, chest, ribs. When West tries to get Jax off of him, Jax quickly recovers and kicks out, his foot meeting with West's jaw, emitting a sickening crunch.

    Ooooh! The crowd shares West's pain as he doubles over in pain.

    Jax doesn't stop there. He gets up and gives his opponent another deadly blow to the ribs. No doubt they're broken right now. West cries out in pain and with the last of his effort, he taps out.

    The crowd rejoices.

    "AAAAAND THE WINNER IS THE ONE, THE ONLY, THE ONCE AGAIN UNDEFEATED... JAX 'DEADBEAT' DENERISSSSS!" The announce cries out and the warehouse explodes. He raises Jax's arm, signaling his victory. Jax grins and hollers as well, lifting both arms in the air.

    "Oh my god!" Braydon jumps up and down. "He's going to the finals!"

    "I know!" I share her joy and squeal as well. "I heard that the other finalists can't even compare to Jax. He's going to win the championship without breaking a damn sweat."

    "Yes!" She cries. "That means I can bet all my college savings on him!"

    I laugh and Braydon hugs me, wrapping her arms and embracing me close. I watch as Jax stands on one of the boulders of the ring and pumps his fist up in the air, the happiness pouring out of him. His eyes glaze over the crowd quickly and rest on mine. I smile back and give him two thumbs up.

He grins back and mouths get over here!

    "Did he just ask you to..?" Braydon asks and I nod.

    "I'll meet you later for dinner?"

    "Okay!" She nods. "Now go and get your man, Sienna!"

    I laugh and climb out of the area, then weave my way through the crowd. It takes a couple of minutes for me to get to the foot of the ring. Jax hops off the boulder and gives me a hand, helping me up. When I'm in, he lifts me with his huge arms and twirls me around, chuckling. I squeal and beg him to stop.

    When he sets me down, his arms never leave my waist. Instead, he tightens his grip on them. I press my hands on his face to steady him.

    "Congrats," I murmur to him. "Knew you had it in you."

    "Thanks, princess." His thumb slides across my cheek. "Did the fight turn you on?"

    I snort. "God, no."

    "Why the fuck not?"

    "Your face is caked with blood and you almost made a man unconscious."

    "Okay fine," he says. "But...how about this?"

    And then he leans down and crushes his lips with mine.

    I almost combust in his arms as his tongue sweeps across my bottom lip, opening me up to him. The kiss is rough, passionate, intense—just like him. Just like how I wanted it to be. Tongues entwining, I moan his name as he captures my lips ravenously, like he's been dying of thirst and I'm the only one who can bring him back to life.

    He presses himself against me and I can feel exactly how hard I've made him. Maybe it's the adrenaline from the fighting, or me, or both. Whichever is the case, I can't wait to help him with it when we get back home tonight.

    The crowd erupts at our kiss. I laugh and pull away from him, but he doesn't let me stray far from him. He cages me with his arm and I rest my head against his shoulder. And as the both of us stare at the infinite sea of people worshipping and cheering at us, and I start to think that Jax is absolutely right—that the world is exactly ours to take.

    And take it we shall.

* * *

"RAISE YOUR BEERS, EVERYONE! TO JAX MOTHERFUCKING DENERIS FOR WINNING THE GODDAMNED CHAMPIONSHIP! MAY EVERYONE TREMBLE WITH FEAR EVERYTIME THEY HEAR THE NAME DEADBEAT!" Adam, one of Jax's cronies, yells to the huge crowd in the bar. Everyone hollers and clink their glasses together, patting Jax on the back and screaming congratulations to him.

"I haven't even won yet, fucker!" Jax clinks his glass against Adam's, chuckling.

"But we know you will!" He yells back. "Two time-winning champion, bro! I heard the other men who made it to the finals can't even compare to you!"

"Damn right they don't!" Another one of his friends tackle Jax from behind, slapping his shoulder. "Fucker right here's going to unleash hell on all of them, am I right?"

"Hell yeah I am," Jax grins wickedly and high-fives his so called friends.

About half a dozen of them stand together by the bar, taking their turns congratulating him and knocking their glasses with his. I watch from one of the bar tables afar with Braydon as my boyfriend laughs and shares jokes with them. Although he is the centre of attention, he seems like he's a million miles away.

His eyes are lost, but he doesn't show that emotion much—not with them. Never with them. Sometimes with me, but not that much either.

I recognize that emotion all too well; it's been carved deep into my bones since high school.

"You look miserable," Braydon says as she takes her seat beside me. She pushes the glass of beer towards me. "You need alcohol."

"How the hell did you get beer?" I ask her.

She smiles to one of the guys in the far off distance. "One of them bought it for me," she says. "Come on, Si. Drink a little."

"I think I'll pass." I shake my head, then turn my attention back to Jax.

"You should hang out with them." She nods to Jax and his friends.

"I'm not going to leave you here alone."

"I don't mind if you do. I was actually thinking about unleashing my horrible dance moves on the dance floor." She grins a little, thrusting her chest upwards and giving it a jiggle. "Bring all them boys to the yard with my milkshakes."

I can't help but snort. "T's not going to be happy."

"Come on, you know I'm just joking." She mock punches me on the shoulder. "And don't change the subject. Go talk to them. It's about time you make friends with Jax's friends. You guys have been together for more than a month now. That's a month more than that fuckboy is used to."

"Nah, I think I'll pass. His friends aren't exactly my type of people."

It's true. I've meet them a handful of times in the past couple of weeks—sometimes when they come to visit UF gym, others on late nights out at this bar that Jax loves.

They cast me friendly smiles but don't make much effort to get to know me that well. Maybe it's because they think I'm just one of Jax's girls—that I'll be gone by the end of the week. But hah, I've definitely proven them wrong. I'm staying—and staying for good.

It's them that won't be around for much longer, especially not when I know that they're just sticking around Jax because he's the damn legend of the underground circuit.

"What do you mean 'not your type of people'?" Braydon asks, frowning. "They must be alright if Jax is friends with them."

"Alright?" I scoff. "Fuck me, Bray. They're so... boring. All they talk about is booze, getting laid, and fighting. That's it."

"No offense, Sienna, but you're not the most interesting person on the planet either," she says, snorting. "Trust me, I know."

"Oh, shut it you." I roll my eyes. "I've tried to hold conversations with them, Bray. I really tried. But they always fall flat. And you know how much I hate awkward silences," I tell her, frowning. "And besides, it's not like Jax makes much of an effort to get to know you guys either."

"Well..." she says, hesitating. "You're kind of right. It's usually me that does all the talking whenever we're together. Trevor just shuts up. That little shit—always throwing me under the bus."

"Come on, Jax is not that bad."

"I know, babe. But it's just that we have absolutely nothing to talk about. There's only so many damn times I can ask about the weather."

A laugh bubbles out of me. Braydon snorts out a giggle as well. When the laughter dies down, my smile disappears.

It's then I realize how weird it is that I can't get my boyfriend and my best friend to get along.

That shouldn't be right at all.

"Hey," she says, noticing my apprehension. "I know it sucks that yours and his friends don't run in the same circles. It must feel like you guys are from two different worlds."

Funnily enough, Bray's right. Even though Jax and I are both cut from the same cloth, our worlds are not one and the same.

"It doesn't matter anyway," I say, resting my head on my hand. "I'll get over it."

"No, you won't. But you know what will really help you to forget?"

"What?"

She shoves the beer at my face. "Alcohol. You need it."

"Alcohol makes me sick."

"Then, why the hell are you at a pub if you're not going to drink?"

My gaze falls on Jax. "He likes it here. I just follow."

"The Sienna I know doesn't just... follow."

"Whatever."

"You're such a lovesick puppy," Braydon teases.

I cast her a warning glare. "Don't call me that."

"Come on! It's cute!"

"I don't want to be a lovesick puppy!" I say, groaning.

"But you can't help it, can you?" She says. "Jax has got you wrapped around his little finger."

Urgh. I hate that she's right. But I can't help it. I'm falling for him—hard. Fast. Too fast, maybe, and I should be worried but I'm not.

I'm free-falling, plummeting head first into this relationship with a man that makes my heart quicken and my body sing and I'm actually okay with that. More than okay.

I love his strength and his ferocity and the fire that burns in his eyes. I love the way he moves, glides every time he hits, like it's second nature to him. I love the way he took me into his arms and told me to hold two middle fingers up in the air and told the world to go fuck itself, that I don't owe it anything, that I control my own life and destiny and nobody can tell me otherwise—not my sister, my friends or my parents.

"I owe him everything," I merely say.

"I hope you can tell apart love from gratitude," she says. "Because they're not the same thing."

I roll my eyes. "I'm pretty sure I know that. I'm not an idiot."

"Hey," Jax's voice sounds in my ears. Two hands wrap around my waist and a chin rests on my shoulder. Jax plants a quick kiss on my cheek. "What are you girls talking about?"

"You." Braydon winks.

"Really?" Jax releases his hold on me and slides into the seat opposite from mine. The curiosity in his eyes glimmer. "I hope it's about how ridiculously hot I was in that ring tonight. Because I packed in a lot more muscle just for you, princess." He winks at me.

"Really? I couldn't see any difference," I say. "Oh wait, I have. Are you sure it's muscle? Or is it fat? Because I'm pretty sure your stomach got a bit bulgy after the endless amount of tacos you've been eating lately..."

Jax merely smirks. "You live to tease me, do you, princess?"

"Hell yeah," I say, grinning. "Admit it, you love it."

"What can I say? I just love a girl who spews insults at me on a daily basis. Does wonders to my ego."

"Your ego is in serious need of deflation. I'm just helping with that."

"I don't think you're doing much, princess. I'm still as arrogant and cocky as ever."

"I guess I still got a lot of work to do, then."

"I hope you're not going to start tonight," he says, getting up from his seat and walking towards me. "Because I really want to dance with you and I don't want you to turn me down."

I turn to look at Braydon. She grins and gives me the two thumbs up.

Jax extends his hand, grinning toothily. "Come on, Sienna. What do you say?"

"They're not playing a slow song."

"I'll make them play a slow song," he murmurs. "Please?"

"Fine. But you better let me lead."

"Of course, princess. I don't expect anything less."

A grin forms on my lips and I take Jax's hand.

He smiles and cupping his hand in mine, he leads me to the dance floor. The people part for him as if they know who he is. We take the centre spot and he leaves me there for a couple of seconds to tell the DJ what song to play.

When Ed Sheeran's Give Me Love starts playing, Jax finds his way back to me and immediately scoops me into his arms. I wound my arms around his neck and press my chest against his, wanting to be as close to him than I can ever get with clothes on.

"So are you having fun?" I murmur.

"With you? Always."

"No, I mean with your friends." I nod to the far corner where his friends are hanging out. Some of them are watching us warily. "They seem to worship you."

"Well, a lot of people do. But they only see what they want to see. Back when I was just starting out, I was nobody to them," he says, almost sadly. "And now that I'm somebody, they're busting each other's balls just to be my friend. It's fucking pathetic, really."

"Then why are you friends with them?"

He grins. "A leader always needs followers. I can be as feared and powerful as I want, but if I have no one to stand with me, I'll be nothing."

"I'll stand with you. Always."

"I know you will, baby," he pulls me closer and my cheek rests against his broad chest. "I know you will."

I smile against his chest and let the rest of the slow song do it's work, lulling us slowly. I feel safe in his arms—secure. He's the biggest baddest monster there is out there in the ring, but when he's with me, I'll never have to worry about him hurting me.

But he's still rough around the edges. There's still darkness swelling inside of him that I want to get rid of. I intend to save him just like how he saved me. There's still a lot of layers of him that I have to peel off, but I'm certain once I've reached the last one, he'll be good as new.

When the slow song is over and the DJ starts an upbeat one, Jax presses a light kiss on the square of my lips. "Thank you for dancing with me."

"You're welcome." I give his hand a squeeze.

"I'll get rid of my friends and then I'll bring you and Braydon straight home," he says, pulling away from me.

"Okay."

When he's gone, I debate on going back to the table where Braydon's currently hold up at, but I realize she isn't there. Instead, I find her on the dance floor, swirling and moving her hips to the steady beat of the song. She seems to be having a good time by herself so I figured I'd just let her be.

Instead, I head to the washroom to freshen up. I turn the corner and walk straight down the hallway. It's horribly lit, but so is the entire pub. As I head towards the sink—

A pair of rough hands grab me and drag me to the side. I thrash and scream as loud as I can but his hand clamps on my mouth to muffle my sound. Fear crawls inside of me when the man's lips breathe hot ear beside my ear.

"Hello, Sienna," Damien Wellington sneers. "Told you I'll be back."

* * *

A/N: Ooooh. I wonder what's gonna happen next? If you forgot who Damien is, it's the guy who Sienna provoked in Chapter one (:

SO WILL WE SEE SOME ASS KICKING IN THE NEXT CHAPTER? PROBABLY. HEHEHE. I guess ya'll have to find out soon!

ANYWAYSSSSS!

I promised that I'll be announcing my Christmas gift to you guys after this chapter and so here it is!

Remember last year I did a Perfect Christmas short story with DALEX, KAYNA, CIMON and BREVANS for the Mistletoe & Mischief anthology? Yeah, well, THIS YEAR:

I'M GONNA BE WRITING A PERFECT CHRISTMAS STORY (2016 EDITION/2.0)!!!!

Unlike last year, it's not going to consist of only one chapter. In fact, it's going to be about ten chapters - a chapter from multiple POVs from the Perfect series cast! PLUS, WE HAVE A NEW COUPLE THAT'S GONNA BE JOINING THE SQUAD THIS YEAR - it's JAX AND BLAIRE!

I won't tell you guys the blurb yet, nor will I disclose anymore details regarding this ten-chapter story now. Cover reveal of the story will be out on the Dia-Hards Facebook page sometime this weekend! And the summary will be out on the 2ND DECEMBER, along with the new Perfect Ruin update! Make sure you add the book to your libraries so you'll be able to receive updates!

So make sure you stay tuned! It's gonna be AMAZEBALLS, I promise you guys this.

Love ya, bitches.

Claudia.