BLACK ROSE

Pre-show

Alex.  

Francis holds Ray back, his hand firmly gripping his shoulder. Instinctively I hold Ace back, pushing him back and into Parker. River stares at the boys ahead of us, flashing me a questioning look every once in a while.

It's an intensive stare down, testosterones and egos fighting a silent war.

"They beat you up?" Parker whispers.

I shake my head. "Their friends, I suppose."

"Wasn't this supposed to be over now?"

"This shit never ends," Ace answers for me.

The sky above us turns a shade darker, a big grey cloud covering the tiny part of the moon we can see. Two things can happen now. We turn around, leaving them angry and drinking our own anger away, or we approach them and settle it once and for all.

And though I really wish to go through with option number two, I know it'd be foolish. I've already dug a deep grave for myself, I don't need to make it unnecessarily deeper. River's look tells me enough to understand he'll kick my ass if I allow Ace or Ray to make just one step forward. We have a show tomorrow, his eyes tell me.

Our first show. It had almost slipped my mind.

Ray suggests we show them we aren't easy targets, but River and Francis shop him before he can make the first step. Francis struggles holding Ray by himself, and River's look is one stern eye contact.

"Don't even think about it," he says. "Let's go."

River slowly pushes Ray backwards. Pushing Ray requires a lot of physical strength. One is pushing a lot of muscle mass and no fat, attempting to move it around like air. River's physical proportions aren't similar to Ray's, but he's hiding a surprising amount of lean muscle mass.

"They'll come back," he argues. "Did you see those arrogant faces of theirs?"

"I did, yes. But we have a show to play tomorrow, and I don't want those two," he points at Ace and me, "to get into any more unnecessary trouble. Then they'll be saving their own asses."

Parker holds Ace back, who snaps something at one of the boys. They're slowly approaching us, arrogantly grinning. Their faces require some corrections. I believe we can provide them, and even for free.

"Oh, I'm not going anywhere." With two long steps, Ace's almost face to face with a tall red haired guy. He looks like a textbook definition of an old-fashioned Irish man. It's hard to guess his age – his eyes are still relatively youthful, but his body and especially beard are giving him at least ten unwanted years. "Those mother..."

"Ace!" River yells after him, but it's no use. It's too late. The Irish guy has decided to take matters into his own hands. Parker, who's the only smart of us besides River, records the beginning of the fight on his phone. Solid evidence if anything happens in the future.

Within the next second, fists are thrown. The red haired guy's fist flies in the air, but Ace surprises him with a much faster right hook, followed by a knee straight to his nose. Even at a distance like this I can hear the bone break.

Ray deciphers it as a signal to act like an unleashed dog and rushes over to Ace's side. He's a man of actions, and soon enough the red haired guy's friend is laying on the ground. One strong punch from Ray makes a skinny boy like that fall to the ground instantly.

I hesitate only for a moment, and when I see another man throwing himself at Ace, I'm by his side instantly. I wonder why AJ's brother is so determined to see me all bruised and wounded. Did I really hurt his ego that much?