Covert Affairs

Entering Enemy Territory

We pushed through the doors of the P&E stable and were met with the sound of shuffling feet and grunts as students warmed up and stretched their limbs. Jade and Dee went to go fill up our water bottles as Jess and I claimed one of the mats. I threw my gym bag on the bench and began my stretches. The rubbery smell of the mat made me feel grounded as I leaned forward, stretching my muscles until they were warm.

"It's a free session, what do you wanna work on?" Jess asked as she sat in front of me, beginning her warm-up routine.

"Not sure. I wanted to practice some combat moves but everything feels the same. I want something new." I sighed, stretching forward til my face was almost touching the mat in front of me.

"We could do some hand to hand and see if anything new flows out. I'm also feeling a bit rusty." Jess offered, motioning for me to come spot her in a stretch she was doing. I got up and pushed down on her back. "Or you could ask your new friends to teach you a little something." She added nodding over to Tyler and his friend group.

The sounds of their laughter echoed through the stables, as Kylen and Tyler stumbled to the center of the mat. They were smiling maniacally at each other waiting for Jake to announce the start of their match. Once he did, Tyler and Kylen shot towards each other. A mess of thrown punches and landed kicks was a sight to behold. They moved so beautifully around each other, easily dodging moves and evading hits. Their bodies moved with such grace and precision, every move was intentional. It was a real tit for tat the entire match, not knowing who had the upper hand, because neither of them seemed to be winning or losing. Until, Kylen came in with a move I have never seen before and pinned Tyler to the ground, sealing his victory.

"Holy shit. That was..." Jess started before I interrupted her.

"Incredible!" I gasped, pushing down on Jess's back so hard that she let out a yelp. "Sorry."

"Hot. I was going to say hot, but incredible works too." Jess laughed, rolling over on her back to look up at me.

"Yea, I'm with Jess. That was hot." Dee added, as her and Jade made a reappearance.

"I've got to learn that." I mumbled to myself as I helped Jess stretch her legs out.

"Go ask your new besties to teach you their moves." Jade teased and hit with a sudden surge of curiosity. I shot up and started walking over to the boys.

"Ela..." Jade cautioned. "Where are you going?"

"You told me to go ask them." I replied with a smirk, walking backwards so I could still face her.

"I didn't actually mean it!" She gasped before I blew her a kiss and turned to face the direction I was walking in.

The boys had taken over the left side of the P&E stables while the girls claimed the right side. For the weeks that the boys have been here, neither party has stepped over that imaginary line. And now, as I inched closer, both sides were noticing. Eyes latched onto me, boys and girls were stopping their matches to send a quick glance in my direction. I nearly hesitated as I approached the divide. Some part of my brain was telling me to turn back and a different part of my brain was saying this was ridiculous. But either way it felt like I was entering enemy territory.

It's been a little over a month since the boys have arrived and the tension between both sides was still very much there. Even though it's not nearly as hostile as it was in the beginning, the girls don't fully trust the guys. While the guys haven't really shown an interest in wanting to actually work with us. And even if they do work with us, it's clear that they want it to be their way or the highway. So, neither side is particularly in any rush to call a truce.