riptide || tom holland

chapter one

Vanessa has been screaming in your ear for the past half hour and your nerves were so over the roof due to what you were both witnessing, that you were barely able to hear anything. Just your heartbeat. It felt like it was beating way more than the healthy amount as the two boxers stood on the underground ring, both men pretty much the same in terms of height and weight, both extremely muscly as they beat each other's faces.

Every time one of them got hit, a wave of screams and applauses filled the place, which was packed with at least three hundred spectators, each and every one of them thirsty for blood. The worst part was that you could hear the horrifying sound of bones cracking against flesh, causing shivers to go down your spine. You found yourself hoping that one of them would fall and never get up again, just so this whole thing could finally end.

"(y/n)!" Vanessa, your best friend, yelled as she hugged your body. "You look ready to puke, you really aren't made for this kind of things."

As soon as you take your eyes off those men and make sure they were both breathing when the round is over, you would kill your friend without mercy. And then yourself for agreeing to go there in the first place.

But poor Vanessa had a huge crush and as soon as she found out the man of her dreams was in town taking part in this 'private' and 'very dangerous' underground fight club, she begged for you to go see him with her. It was hard telling Vanessa no. She had always been effusive and insistent, and was now jumping out of pure joy.

"He's up next." She said in between her teeth, and it seemed like she didn't care who had won this last round in the slightest, or if either of them had even survived. Which, by the looks of it, they both did. "Get ready to see a real man, (y/n)."

The small audience stayed quiet and the announcer spoke into his microphone; "ladies and gentlemen, and now, the moment you've all been waiting for, the reason why you all are here today. The fiercest of them all, I present to you —the one and only, Tom 'Riptide' Holland!"

Shivers ran down your spine when the crowd went crazy just by hearing his name —especially the female crowd.

"Tom! I love you, tom!"

"I would pay for you to punch me!"

"Tom! Over here!"

Every single head turned when a hooded figure with a red robe jogged towards the ring. The fighters weren't wearing boxing gloves that night, so you could easily see his fingers flexing as he clenched his fists by either side of his body. You were very surprised, to say the least. You were just now realising your best friend wasn't the only woman in London who had completely lost their mind over this man after all. The sight of a woman wearing a shirt that read 'Tom's #1 bitch' was all the confirmation you needed.

"I dare you to look at him and tell me you wouldn't do anything for that man."

"I wouldn't do anything for that man." You repeated instantly, just for the sake of annoying Vanessa.

"You're not even looking!" She yelled. "Look at him."

She grabbed both sides of your face and turned your head over to his direction, but instead you just started laughing. Vanessa loved men. She loved sleeping with them, stalk them, drool over them. But when she finally got a hold of them, she never seemed to able to hold onto them for more than a few weeks. You, on the other hand, weren't interested in getting involved with anyone. Not when your younger sister, Colleen, had enough men drama for the both of you.

You looked over to the ring and watched the man toss the bright red robe that read the word 'Riptide' on the back to the ground, and the crowd was quick to stand on their feet to praise him while he slowly turned around to acknowledge them all. His face was all of a sudden in front of you, illuminated by all the lights, and all you seemed to do was stand there looking at him like an idiot.