Knockout (Gaslight spin-off)

3| Long live Hayden Walker

The bell rings. Nico spends the next few seconds dancing around Hayden as he'd done on the heavy bag. Hayden swings, a move I'm certain will impact, but Nico is fast. He dodges each hit with the utmost precision, floating like a butterfly. Ali would be proud. 

For a brief moment, I'm impressed. The pair continue to test each other, quick jabs and punches to gauge the other's reaction. Vitali Klitschko once said that boxing is like chess, and he couldn't have been more right.

Nico feints a right hook and switches to a cross, catching Hayden on the cheek. But his next move, a right hook to Hayden's jaw, slashes air as Hayden pulls back. My heart skips a beat. The reckless way Nico fights is somewhat captivating; he lacks any regard for self-preservation, always on offense. And maybe at this moment, that's why I feel drawn to him.

In some ways, he's just like me.

The crowd grows silent as they circle one another. This newbie is brave, reckless, and as he dodges Hayden's uppercut, somebody gasps. For once, the odds aren't in Hayden's favor. For once, this is anyone's fight.

Nico grins like he's got this in the bag. Each move looks graceful as he dances across the ring, his footwork light and fleeting. It's the kind of skill that ordinarily Coach would be impressed by, but right now, he looks tense, his fists clenched by his side as he watches the fight. Hayden's fist flies out again, a move that would usually knock down his opponent, but a slight tilt of Nico's head sends the punch through the air and over Nico's shoulder.

My breath catches. In all my four months at GymCon, I have never seen a spar like this. Silence befalls the crowd as I slowly turn my head, taking in their uneasy expressions. Stretching behind them is the famous mural of Muhammed Ali, and beneath it is one of his quotes. 

The will must be stronger than the skill. 

It's not that Nico is a better fighter or even trying his hardest. There's a fire in his eyes, and it burns so bright that it sets the ring on fire.

Something dangerous flashes in Hayden's eyes. He steps forward, landing a jab that catches Nico's jaw. Nico stumbles, slightly dazed by the blow to his face, but surges forward. He motions to jab in a mean right hook, but last-second shifts to an uppercut, his fist slamming forward before I can blink.

Jab, jab, jab. Hayden flies backward and into the ropes before rubbing his face with his glove. His eyebrow has split, and the blood mixes in with the sheen of sweat lightly coating his face. 

That second is all Nico needs. He pushes forward, landing a cross and then a mean left hook. The wild look in his eyes as Hayden falls back has me clenching my fists. He moves like an animal used to being caged; only now has he been set free. 

The next jabs come quick, catching Hayden's nose and cheeks before scraping his chin. There's no mercy tonight, no moments of respite for his worn-down opponent. Nico came here on a mission to prove something, and as he swerves another hit, he proves it. 

A glance at Coach reveals he doesn't look happy. If I could read his thoughts, he'd be thinking something like how reckless Nico is and how he's not ready to coach. Boxing isn't about winning, he'd say; it's about winning safely, with your values intact. But turning to Nico, who finishes Hayden off with a mean one-two, winning is all he cares about.

Blood sprays the air and splatters the mat. Hayden stumbles back, trying his hardest to keep himself upright but succumbs and falls to his knees. A silence settles over the gym. I hold my breath, able to feel the thump of my heart in my ears. Watching him lose is like watching evil triumph. He is the face of this gym, the person these kids spend their lives looking up to – now they get to watch his defeat.

As Coach blows the whistle, Nico raises his glove to the air, but no one cheers. Instead, there are murmurs as people head to their stations, clearly unsettled. I'm unsettled too.

When it's clear he's not going to get the victory he came for, Nico exits the ring, eyes blazing as he pushes toward the exit. He gets to the archway, then turns and scans the rest of the gym until he finds what he's looking for: me. After a colonel salute, he heads out.

Uneasiness takes over as I head back to my heavy bag. Whoever Nico is, his arrival tonight wasn't a coincidence but a warning. Coach hooks an arm around Hayden's waist and helps Maddie to drag him out of the ring. Hayden doesn't look at anyone as he heads into the office, but I catch a glimpse of the disappointment lined into his bloodied expression. 

By the time the gym closes, the only thing left to clean is the ring. I slide between the ropes until I'm standing in the middle of the canvas. A strange buzz runs through me, the same way it always does when I step into this ring, as though, for once, I don't mind being on show. But then my mother's words find me, chipping away at this newfound confidence until it folds like a dying flower.

I crouch with my mop and clean up the blood-splattered mat. When I'm finished, Coach, Hayden, and Maddie trickle out of the office and look over. I'll admit, as Hayden stands there looking bruised and defeated, panic runs through me. For a while now, this place has felt on the verge of unraveling; tonight, it came undone. 

"Didn't think you'd still be here," Coach says gruffly. "Head home, kid. I'll see you tomorrow."

I nod and get to my feet before looking at Hayden. His eyebrow is cut, his jaw red-raw, and shadowed with bruises. Behind his carefully hardened expression is a feeling every boxer has faced:

Defeat.

A/N

Guys, I have even less self-control than I thought. Comment a heart if you're ready for the next chapter! ❤️