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Punching the bag in front of me, all the frustration is flowing from my stance and each hit allows me to breathe a little deeper. I have yet another fight tonight and I need to win in order to pay our bills next week, this is probably the most crucial fight I've had in a while. Jack and Levi are here as well, they want me to go out to drink afterward. Everything on them apparently, but I don't want to drink anyway. There is a need in me to get a little distraction and they can give me that. 

"Do you know how murderous your eyes are when you're in the ring?" Jack jokes, trying to impersonate me with his own face. "No one messes with anyone if they have such a deathly glare, just saying."

Levi nods, "He has gotten better at it since he got to know you, Jack. Says quite a lot, don't you think?"

"Are you always such a pain in the ass?" Jack reciprocates. The two of them are constantly fighting, but all of us know there is no hatred between them. "Wait, don't answer that. You fucking are."

"I've gotten used to your need to joke about everything, Jack. Let's hope you can get past my need to be an asshole."

"Well I can't."

"Too bad, then leave."

"You leave."

"No, Elijah wants me here."

Jack scoffs, "Sure, because you were the first one he invited."

Levi looks to me and raises an eyebrow, "Who did you invite first?"

"You two are insufferable, I invited both of you at the same time. Will you shut up now?" They quiet down immediately and I focus on my training again. There is something on the line tonight and that alone is enough to motivate me, hopefully, I can control myself in the ring. 

Levi and Jack keep their fighting to a minimum and I shut them out completely, it's only a matter of seconds before I'm called inside and nothing should distract me from winning. Not this time. Looking into the mirror, my black boxing shorts are matching my equally black bandage on my hands. Running a rough hand through my sweaty hair, the nagging feeling in the back of my mind returns. Lately I've had this weird fucking feeling and I don't know why. 

The door opens from the hallway and a girl pops her head in, "Bullet, the time is up."

Nodding at her, I grab my water bottle and start the walk to the ring. Levi and Jack follow along, little to no words are spoken and I appreciate them for shutting up just this once. No nerves are detected and it weirds me out, this fight is important and I should be nervous if only a little. Right now the only feeling running through my gut, is to get up there and beat the shit out of my opponent. 

We barely make it to the door, before the referee yells "Bullet" through the speakers. Opening the double doors, I walk down the illuminated stairs with my friends next to me, they're silent and allow me to get into my zone of destruction. It's a crucial win, I think to myself as I step into the ring. My opponent is already here and smirking at me, his frame is slightly broader than mine and I have more of an advantage due to my height. This won't be an easy win. 

"In this corner we have..." I block out Simon, the referee, those numbers are only a distraction to me. No need to know the advantage he has in weight. My focus is on him and his disgusting smirk, there is a specific tint of sinister in his stare and that is enough to confuse me. My thoughts will be the ruin of me. 

Simon blows the whistle and I block out my mind, the only thing I focus on is his way of scanning my movements. How his right fist clenches, telling me he will throw his punch. Not a second later he steps forward with his left foot, his right hand flying in my direction. Blocking his hand with my left arm, I punch his gut with my right hand. The force by the blow forcing him to double over, seeing this as an opportunity, I slam my elbow down onto his neck and he falls onto the floor. 

The fight keeps going, there is no honor in any of this, no glory. There is only an urge to win. We have no code of respect, no knowledge of when enough is enough. People in here are animals and want to see a show, a show that I refuse to give them. These movements of destruction have been going on for a while, my arms feel numb by a specific blow to my shoulder. Even though I'm sore, my opponent screams exhaustion from every sloppy attempt at a punch and how he isn't trying to cover his next move. 

He charges at me and I punch his face with every ounce of power, he falls to the floor in a sweaty mess. This is the last round and he is knocked out, Simon calls it and praises me for my victory. Not wasting another second, I leave the ring and walk up the stairs again with Levi and Jack. The excitement is written on their faces, but they're doing a great job of hiding it. Leading them down the dark hallways, we step into my assigned room and I close the door behind us.

"He didn't have a fucking chance!" Jack yells and pumps his fist into the air. 

I sit down on a chair in the corner, slumping from pure exhaustion. My body aches after every fight, but this one was an important win and I'm fucking ecstatic that I actually won. Now I get to pay our bills and maybe even have enough to give Tilly a pair of shoes she has drooled over for a couple of months. 

"Are you good, dude?" Levi asks as he stands in front of me.

Nodding, "Yeah, I just need to catch my breath for a minute. Before we leave for the bar, I need to have a long shower."

Jack smiles at me, "Does that mean you want to go out and get smashed tonight?"

I shrug my shoulders and wipe the sweat off my forehead with a towel, "Both of you want to, so why the hell not?"

"Yes! That's the spirit!" He yells and starts texting on his phone.