Some Unholy War // Tom Holland

seventeen

Tom left his house two hours before the fight started, his nerves through the roof. This was Tom's first fight without Y/N since he met her, to say he wasn't confident was an understatement. On top of it all, everything made him think of Y/N, and whenever he thought of he, he would feel more angry and depressed than he had been before.

Chris tried to calm him down before the fight while he wrapped Tom's already bruised knuckles.

"You're gonna do great out there, man. Flemming won't know what hit him." Chris patted Tom's back when he finished wrapping his hands, slipping the thin gloves on Tom's fists.

Tom didn't say anything to Chris or Harrison that day, he didn't want to say anything to anyone other than Y/N, but he knew that wasn't going to happen.

They began to play his entrance music as Tom walked into the arena with Chris by his side, the crowd cheering, rooting for the underdog. The problem with being the underdog in this sport, is that the underdog rarely—if ever—wins. Tom knew that going in, but he was never one to step away from a challenge.

His opponent smiled at him hatefully through his mouth guard when Tom faced him, shaking out his limbs.

"Let's dance, motherfucker." Tom spat, his words muffled by the bell as it rang for the first round to begin. Tom had trouble at first, trying to adjust to the way a lightweight champion fights, this particular fighter was light on his feet and his punches were accurate, almost always making contact. This stunned Tom at the beginning of the fight, a few of Adrian's jabs hitting Tom in the jaw.

When the round came to an end, Tom knew it went to his opponent, there's no way anyone could argue that. Chris wiped the blood off of Tom's mouth and poured water into it, having him spit into the tin bucket next to him. Tom still didn't speak, looking out at the crowd, hoping that maybe she'd be sitting there. She wasn't.

The next two rounds went a similar way, but Tom was started to punch back more often. He had become accustomed to blocking the assault coming from his opponent, using his combinations to Tom's advantage. Tom tried throwing in a few kicks to the head as they fought, but none of them made contact, although his form was perfect, Adrian was a professional at blocking those.

By the fourth round, Tom was exhausted. His chest was heaving as he sat on his stool, taking his short break. He was letting his emotions get to him again, he was distracting himself from the fight. Chris patted him on the back again and said something along the lines of "you've got this." Tom wasn't paying attention.

Within a minute of the round's start, Tom was on the ground. Flemming kept punching him in the head as Y/N's words rang through his head, "it's okay to submit. Your dad will always be proud of you no matter if you win or not."

Never in the history of his fighting career did Tom ever submit to his opponent. He either won or lost by knockout, but this time he knew Adrian was trying to kill him as he punched the side of his face harder. Tom closed his eyes and took a deep breath, mentally telling his dad that he was sorry for giving up.

As the referee pulled Adrian off of Tom, he looked at the crowd, his face pressed against the bloody mat. Y/N stood next to Harrison, her arms crossed and a tear in her eye, but she nodded at him, and mouthed the words, "good job." Tom smiled at her, weakly, to which she returned before turning and leaving the arena, never looking back at him.