The Struggle •Unedited•

Chapter 29

•Elisabeth•

I could feel the movement of his lips spread into what is probably a sexy grin against my ear. A shiver runs down my spine and a giggle escapes my mouth.

"Hey!" A gruff voice booms, "You're not allowed up there!"

Mine and Niall's heads snap to look at the security guard that we always seem to encounter. Our eyes widen and quickly, I feel a hand tighten around my arm.

"Gotta go!" Niall peeps, "See you in the locker room!"

Realizing that it's Niall's grasp, he yanks me back down, not giving me an opportunity to respond to Louis, and we swerve through the crowd that is exiting the arena for either a bathroom break or refreshments.

We reach the locker room to find that it's locked and we realize that Louis and the rest of the guys haven't arrived yet. Standing there in silence as Niall props himself up against the wall, I glance around our environment.

"So what's going between you and Louis?" the father's best friend asks, breaking our quietness.

Facing him, my eyebrows furrow. "What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about,"

"No," I emphasize, completely ignoring what he's talking about, "I don't,"

Really, I absolutely know what he's implying, but to be honest, I don't even know what's going on.

"Do you real-"

"Well, well, who do we have here?" Another voice interrupts.

We turn our heads to see Sam with his crude fighter by his side, dressed in a golden robe. In an instant, I feel highly annoyed and Niall looks like he's already done with these guys.

Taking a quiet gulp, I look over their shoulders for any sign of Harry, but all I see are unrecognizable faces. I bring back my attention to the pair when the fighter seems to step closer towards me.

Not today, asshole. Not today.

Just as a gloved arm was about to reach out and grab me, I back up and feel Niall grab my arm to gently yank me back.

"What the hell are you doing here, Sam?" I hear Harry's voice growl, "Don't you have a fight to get to? Stop messing with my friends and worry about your own competition,"

Sam chuckles deeply and grabs a hold of his fighter, returning him to his side. "He just wanted to talk to the pretty brunette, again. We weren't looking for any trouble,"

"By the looks of it, your fighter can't speak for himself," Louis buds in, "Since you're always here to defend him. Now stop bothering her,"

Taking all of us by surprise, he's face to face with the rivals we've seemed to make over a short period of time.

This time, the fighter that seems to not have a voice of his own, speaks up through gritted teeth. "You have ten seconds to back up before I knock you straight in the face. And I don't care if I get disqualified,"

Louis doesn't back away, but Zayn pulls him away from his stance.

"Get out of here," he spits, "Stop trying to sabotage my fighter,"

"Your fighter is filled with nothing but beginner's luck,"

"Get the fuck out of here," Niall growls.

They leave with nothing but stupid, mischievous grins. I take a deep sigh and look at everyone around me who is fed up with these douche bags who enjoy picking up arguments with the rest of us.