Cold and Charisma (BoyxBoy)

Chapter Twenty-Two

Without even a second thought, I roughly pushed the crowd aside, creating a better view for me to see what was going on. My heart was pounding out of my chest and my mind was hazy – I couldn't think about anything except for the fact that it wasn't even an hour into the party, and Riley had already picked a fight?!

I couldn't even think straight at this point; why was he always off causing trouble? With his annoying tendency to just piss everyone off, and that smirk that could get anyone mad– 

"You think you're tough shit just 'cause you're best buds with Wilson, eh? Someone 'oughtta teach you a lesson here." A voice exclaimed.

"You've been nothin' but a bitch since you came here, Lachkov. Finally, I got you all to myself and no one can stop–" Before another word could be said, I grabbed whoever the voice belonged to by the collar, pulling him far away from Riley.

My fists moved faster than my mind, and without even thinking, I did the last thing anyone would expect me to do–I punched him square in the jaw.

 "Who the fuck–" The guy's eyes widened as soon as he saw who it was.

Wait, holy shit– "Parker?!" I exclaimed, eyes widening as I squinted to get a better look at him in the dark. Suddenly, a wave of familiarity hit me harder than I had hit him – he was my swim teammate.

We'd known each other since freshman year, and were acquainted but never close, but I never thought I'd ever have a reason to hit him. 

God, what did I do?! He was about to hurt Riley, but I had just hurt him! I'd never laid a hand on anyone before, nevertheless my own teammate!

"Archer?!" Parker exclaimed just as loudly as I had, holding his jaw in wincing pain as he stared at me in shock. With this new sudden realization, I stammered, trying to find the right words to say. 

Everyone was just as shocked as we were. Archer Wilson, golden boy of St. Arthur's, had hit someone on his own team.

Fuck–what should I do?! What do I even say? Ever since I met Riley, he's been nothing but a distraction, making me do things I'd never in my entire life even consider doing! "Look, I didn't know it was you, I'm sorry–"

Before I could get another word out, I felt a hard fist meeting my face, then before I knew it, I felt something dripping down from my lip–blood.

 I don't even know what got into me; maybe it was the cold of the night, or the fact that I had already unleashed everything by throwing the first punch, but before I knew it, I leaped onto him.

Fuck, what was I getting myself into?! My mind blocked out any thoughts of regret, as my fist did all the thinking for me. Parker and I were on the ground, tussling and throwing reckless punches. For someone who's so bad at swimming, he sure is good at punching.

"Maybe use your energy on something other than picking on people," I said loudly, my fists still going rampant, my vision blurred by fury, "Like your swimming, which you're fucking horrible at!" My words enraged him even further, and before I knew it, I had him pinned down, throwing punches against his cheek.

I felt someone pulling me back by my shoulders–it was Carter. His voice rang loudly, helping me snap back to my sense, "Bro, what the fuck is wrong with you! Get off him, man! He's not worth it!" Eventually, it took Carter and two other guys from the football team to pull me back.

I had nothing to win anymore, Parker was on the ground, writhing with a bloodied face and knuckles, and I was still trying to get out of their grip because I still felt like it wasn't enough.

 I looked over at the fence, where Riley once was sitting against, only to see an empty spot where he used to be.

"Where's Riley?! Did you guys see him?! Is he okay?" I exclaimed, looking around at the crowd. They whispered amongst themselves, looking at me in astonishment; I overheard a few whispers as Carter dragged me back to the house, "Did Archer seriously just beat that guy up? I've known him since preschool and that guy never even hurt a fly–" one girl said.