"What's with that face!? Why are you looking at me like that?!" Tyrone exclaimed, looking visibly outraged as he received that stare from Jonathan.
Holding that expression for one last second, Jonathan let it go, shifting his gaze to the backs of the three girls in front of him, while letting out a slight sigh. "It's nothing, my friend."
'Great, nothing great about feeling like a female protagonist written by a 14-year-old girl for Wattpad' — Jonathan thought silently in that moment.
It wasn't the first time Elizabeth, or some girl in general, acted protectively toward him. However, all these events only reinforced the feeling that he really was some kind of stereotypical female character.
Not that he was complaining either. After all, the feeling of being protected and cared for was nice. But it didn't change the fact that it was still strange for him, with his mindset. There was simply no way he could accept being the one protected. In the end, he was still the man.
Just when the tense atmosphere between the two sides was escalating, about to finally burst into a physical confrontation, Charles interrupted. "Wait! You're not fighting here! If you want to fight, do it outside. I won't let you destroy my house!" he shouted, stepping between the two groups and pointing toward the exit.
Elizabeth and the two with her visibly relaxed, apparently intending to let it go. But, upon looking at the other group and seeing that they were still willing to fight, they tensed up again.
And they weren't the only ones who noticed. Charles also caught on to his ex-girlfriend's and her friends' behavior. "You're not fighting here, Jessie. Don't you dare start a fight inside my house!" he said in an authoritative tone.
But the way he spoke was like throwing oil on the fire.
With the angry expression returning to her face, Jessie locked eyes with Charles's frown. "Fuck you!" she screamed before charging at Elizabeth.
Charles fortunately reacted quickly, startled as he jumped out of her way.
And Elizabeth, Brenda, and Melissa didn't waste time either—upon seeing her move, they rushed in as well.
The crowd around them reacted with loud, excited shouts, while some were already pulling out their phones to start recording.
Jonathan let out a tired sigh, crossing his arms as he watched them actually start fighting. Tyrone, at his side, seemed overly excited.
"This is just like in those movies! Go Liz, beat that bitch!" Tyrone shouted, raising his arm in cheer.
Then, immediately after, he grabbed Megan's arm, trying to push her forward. "Go help them!"
"What? Why? This has nothing to do with me." she remained still, surprised and confused.
"It has nothing to do with you, but it has to do with me. Jonathan is my friend, and I want you to fight for him in my name. Now go!" Tyrone exclaimed, still trying to push her.
"That doesn't make any sense…" she replied, looking at him like he was crazy.
"That doesn't matter! I want you to go. So go! Are you a woman or not?"
His words caused a slight reaction, especially that last sentence, making Megan frown.
Seeing that, Tyrone changed tactics, realizing how he might have sounded. "If you go, I'll…" he leaned in, whispering something in her ear.
She raised her eyebrows in surprise, but soon her expression turned serious. Without hesitation, she ran straight toward the fight.
Tyrone watched, satisfied, as she approached and landed a punch on a girl, knocking her to the ground before jumping into the fray.
"What did you tell her?" Jonathan asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Secret~" Tyrone replied, putting his finger to his lips with an innocent expression.
Meanwhile, Jonathan turned his attention back to the chaos. People were cheering, Charles was yelling from the corner trying to stop them, and the four girls were exchanging blows clumsily with each other. Well… most of them, anyway.
With Elizabeth and Jessie it was a bit more organized. Elizabeth kept a simple guard, advancing with quick, short strikes, while Jessie responded in kind, adopting a similar stance. It was like watching two amateur boxers trading punches.
Surprisingly, the one standing out the most was Melissa. As far as Jonathan knew, she wasn't supposed to know how to fight. But it looked like she had taken a few classes or, at the very least, had some basic training, judging by the way she reacted.
The girl in front of her was flailing her arms without technique, trying to hit her however she could. Melissa, calm, blocked with her guard and struck back whenever she had the chance.
Jonathan then understood why she seemed so confident earlier when she implied she could beat Elizabeth, though she was mistaken if she thought that alone would be enough.
As for Brenda… that was a different story. She and the girl in front of her weren't exactly fighting: it was more like two street thugs trying to cause as much damage as possible to each other, swinging their arms mindlessly. It looked like a drunk brawl.
Megan and her opponent were more balanced. Megan was particularly motivated, whatever it was Tyrone had told her. She didn't even flinch when she took a punch to the nose and immediately answered with a kick to the chest.
Jonathan's gaze then returned to Elizabeth, expecting her to finish this soon. Considering she had training — training he himself had given her — the fight shouldn't take long.
But, to his surprise, Jessie proved to be much tougher. Not that she was winning, but her endurance was greater than expected, which wasn't odd given her stature and build.
Just when Jonathan was thinking of stepping in, he heard Tyrone exclaim beside him:
"Oh no, babe!"
Looking over, he saw the cause: Megan was being restrained, her head trapped under her opponent's arm, who was still landing quick punches to her stomach.
Jonathan didn't have time to react. Tyrone rushed in and quickly grabbed the girl's hair, yanking it back hard.
"Get away from her!"
"Tyrone! What the hell are you doing?!" Chad exclaimed, speechless, while Jonathan beside him just watched in disbelief.
The scene was ridiculous: Tyrone yanking the girl's hair while she groaned in pain, and when she turned angrily to hit him, he had already anticipated it and ran to hide behind Jonathan, sticking his tongue out at her afterward.
She didn't have time to chase him, because Megan took advantage of the moment, knocking her down and mounting her, landing punches.
The sound of a table breaking caught Jonathan's attention, and he saw Melissa and another girl rolling on the floor. Soon after, another noise: Brenda crashing into the wall and knocking down a picture frame.
And then the worst: Jessie grabbing a porcelain pitcher, preparing to hurl it at Elizabeth.
People backed away, opening more space. What Charles feared most was happening: the furniture was starting to get destroyed.
Jonathan, with no choice, decided to end it before someone got seriously hurt — and mainly to avoid involving the police.
He rushed toward the girl fighting Melissa. She barely had time to turn her head before Jonathan's fist connected with her cheek.
With the impact, she collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
Melissa smiled in amusement, unsurprised, and wasting no time, Jonathan moved toward the girl facing Brenda. With a quick understanding through a brief exchange of looks, he struck her ribs with a kick while Brenda finished with a punch to the face, knocking her out.
Soon after, he moved toward Jessie. Elizabeth was already backing off, seeing what he had done.
Jonathan charged forward, coming face-to-face with Jessie. She reacted with a kick, easy for him to dodge. Jonathan stepped aside, spun, and got behind her, locking her in a chokehold.
Since she was taller, he jumped onto her back, locking his legs around her waist, using his own weight. The two fell to the ground, drawing screams from the crowd.
Jessie struggled, trying to pry off the arm choking her. At any other moment, she would've loved having a hot guy wrapped around her like that, suffocating her, but this choke was anything but pleasurable. No matter how much she resisted, soon her strength faded, unable to break free. Her mind gave in to unconsciousness, leaving her body limp.
Seeing that she had passed out, Jonathan released her, pushing her to the side and calmly standing up. While brushing off his clothes, he lifted his head, raising an eyebrow as he was met with everyone's silent stares.
Without saying a word, he simply raised his arm — and then came the cheers and shouts, as if he had just won some MMA championship belt.
Seeing that everyone was joining in the fun, he walked over to Elizabeth, who smiled at him while shaking her head.
"Are you okay?" he asked, stopping near her.
"Just a little sore." she nodded.
And just as Tyrone, along with Chad, Megan, Brenda, and the other girls, cheerfully approached them, Charles ruined the excited mood.
"Why are you guys screaming and celebrating!? My house is a mess! Go away, the party's over!" he said, completely cutting off the cheerful atmosphere.
There was a brief silence until people started leaving the house quietly, letting go of the fight that had just happened, as if it was something that had occurred a long time ago.
They left gossiping among themselves about the fight they had just witnessed. And in the middle of that crowd, Jonathan and his group also left the house.
"You know this is going to turn into a huge gossip tomorrow, right?" walking beside him, Tyrone commented with a big smile on his face.
Jonathan kept walking without looking at him. "I know, but it's not like there aren't already a bunch of things being said about me. So this isn't really bad, it's just that now they're going to add that I'm good at fighting."
"Hahaha, yeah, you're right." Tyrone chuckled lightly at that.
Then, once they were outside, Melissa, who had been quietly walking behind, spoke at that moment, drawing everyone's attention.
"Well, guys, that was fun. I'll see you at school, see you later. And Jonathan, good night." she said goodbye to him with a soft smile and then, winking, added, "Dream of angels, or in this case, of me."
Without waiting for an answer, she turned and headed toward a car parked further away.
"Wow, that girl is really full of herself, isn't she?" with his hands on his waist, Tyrone shook his head, throwing a judgmental look at Melissa's back. He then excitedly grabbed Megan's arm beside him. "Good thing you're not like that, right, baby?"
Megan, who was looking at the cut on her lip, only cast an empty look in response, something he answered with an innocent smile.
"Shit." at that moment, letting out a brief groan of pain, Brenda grabbed her side, frowning.
"What is it?" Elizabeth, beside her, asked.
"It's nothing, I just think my rib's broken. Or something like that. Damn, that bitch really hit me hard." Brenda answered, slowly rotating her arm.
"If you think your rib's broken, I think you'd better go to the hospital." it was Jonathan who replied.
"Nah, no need, I'm fine." Brenda answered, casually shaking her head.
"Are you sure? I think we should at least stop by for a quick check-up." Elizabeth insisted.
"What? And spend 200 bucks for a simple check-up? No, thanks. I'd rather just go home and take some painkillers. Besides, I don't think it's anything serious."
Elizabeth gave her a dry look upon hearing the complaint about money. "Why are you even complaining, when you can easily afford it? You've got more money than all of us put together. Come on, let's go."
Without wasting time, she called her toward the car, but Jonathan interrupted. "You take her to the hospital. I'm going home."
"What? You're going alone?"
Without answering immediately, Jonathan looked at Tyrone.
"Megan's car doesn't have space. It was already hard enough for all of us to go there. Poor Chad had to squeeze into the back seat with the other three." Tyrone replied, pointing to the guy beside them, who gave an awkward smile.
With that, Jonathan simply shrugged. "If that's the case, then I'll just go alone."
"Okay, no way. Mom will skin me alive if she finds out about this." Elizabeth flat-out refused.
"She won't find out, because nothing's going to happen. You don't have to worry about that, you already know I'm not defenseless."
"Regardless, as you know, being strong and knowing how to fight doesn't make you invincible," she retorted, crossing her arms.
But Jonathan didn't care. He just wanted to go home already. "Relax. It's not that late, it's just a little past nine. There are still people on the street. Worst case, I'll just follow some group."
Instead of saying anything, she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She knew very well how stubborn Jonathan was — once he set his mind on something, it was hard to make him change it.
"Alright, alright, you can go. But you'd better keep your phone constantly on. I'll call you in a few minutes."
Jonathan raised his eyebrows. "But it's only like twenty minutes walking home, no need for that."
— "Doesn't matter. It's either that or you come with me to the hospital with Brenda." Elizabeth replied with finality.
Jonathan raised his arms in surrender. "Okay, okay. You're the boss." He smiled lightly at the end, not really caring about the demand.
"Great, let's go." Elizabeth said, gesturing to Brenda. She then turned to the rest. "Bye, guys, have a good night."
They replied, saying their goodbyes in the same way.
With Jonathan, he said goodbye to Chad with a fist bump. "Thanks, man. I'll talk to you later."
Chad responded with a weak smile. "Alright. Bye and good night."
Reaching Tyrone, Jonathan prepared to do the same, but Tyrone reacted in his own way, trying to hug him.
Jonathan quickly moved his hand and held his face, stopping him from getting close. "Alright, bye Tyrone, good night." Then, he looked at Megan. "Bye, Megan. Good night." He waved lightly.
"Bye, Jonathan. Have a good night too." she replied, with a weak smile.
He then removed his hand from Tyrone's face, who glared sourly at him, rubbing his face. Right after, he went to Megan's side, grabbing her arm. "Bye, Jonathan. Good night, be careful on your way."
"Alright. You too." Jonathan waved one last time and finally turned to leave.
He still said goodbye to the girls from the soccer team as he walked away.
Soon, with silent steps, he walked down the sidewalk, getting further and further from the huge house. Looking over his shoulder, he saw the others getting into their respective cars.
Seeing that, he turned back to the front, continuing his path.
The walk grew quieter and quieter as he moved away from the house, the only sound being the faint remnants in the distance, like the occasional bark of a dog.
Overall, it was almost completely silent, to the point where he could even hear the faint sound of his own breathing as he walked.
Looking around, with the streetlights, the street was lit. But even so, it didn't take away the almost oppressive feeling of being completely empty.
Passing under a tree that cast a shadow, Jonathan couldn't help but think that it looked like the perfect scene for a murder. A faint smile appeared on his face at the thought.
'Will some masked killer jump out from the corner or something like that?' he thought, amused, seeing more trees ahead and wondering if someone suspicious would pop out from there.
But the amusement quickly faded as the memory of a recent event came back to mind — that day, when he was going home, he had clearly felt the sensation of being watched.
The smile vanished instantly. He stopped, looking around warily. 'Just to be safe, I'd better pick up the pace.'
Not being the type to joke around with these things, considering his background, Jonathan didn't hesitate, he immediately started running.
Inexplicably, his heart sped up. Anxiety slowly wrapped around him, making him frown. 'What the hell is this? Why is my body reacting like this?'
Headlights appeared ahead, from a car turning the corner.
Jonathan didn't react, thinking it was just a passing car. However, he stayed alert, running on the sidewalk while the vehicle drew closer and closer on the other side of the street.
The feeling that something was wrong only grew stronger. Until the car, which had been coming at a moderate speed, suddenly accelerated, rushing straight toward him.
With his heart almost leaping out of his throat, Jonathan let out a weak curse and immediately jumped forward, hitting the ground. The car knocked down the "Stop" sign right in front of him, missing him completely.
Rolling on the ground to soften the fall, Jonathan looked in shock and surprise at the car that had stopped. 'What the fuck is this? Drunk driver? Is that son of a bitch trying to kill me or what?'
He got up, stepping back a few paces, while looking at the vehicle's door. Finally, it opened. From the passenger side, a gigantic, muscular woman stepped out.
She met his eyes and broke into a wide smile. — "Didn't think you'd dodge. You've got good reflexes, huh." she said, with a deceptively cheerful voice, placing her hands on her waist.
Stopping his retreat, Jonathan stared at the woman with an expressionless look. 'What the fuck is going on here...?' he wondered internally, not understanding a thing.