American Sweethearts

16

"Owen!" I yell, taking a step closer to him.

He stumbles backwards, covering his cheek. He takes a second to recover, but then, he hits back. Tyler flinches but doesn't bother caring for his new bruise. Instead, he leaps forward, tackling Owen to the ground.

I jump away from them, bumping into someone in the crowd.

"Hey, watch it!" the girl scolds, but when she sees what's going on on the floor, her anger fades. "Holy shit! Is that Thompson and Benali?"

The boys roll over the floor, fighting for dominance. Tyler lands on top. He takes a hit, but Owen lifts his knee, hitting Tyler in his groin.

"Stop it!" I call, but they don't listen. Owen throws a punch against Tyler's face. He turns to the side, allowing him to get another one in. But Tyler doesn't wait any longer. He takes hold of Owens' arm, tugging him down again.

"You son of a birch!" Tyler calls, grabbing Owen by his collar.

"Fuck you!" Owen responds, reaching for Tyler's throat.

A crowd has begun to form around them. Mark tried to interfere, but he received an elbow to the face. People call out to them, some encouraging, and others trying to get them to stop. My heart is racing. They're going to kill each other.

"Stop!" I yell, my voice breaking.

Tyler hits Owen once more, causing blood to shoot out of his nose. I look away, trying to stop the nausea, but they still don't stop.

My body begins to shake, bile rising in my throat. I can just tell this is going to end badly. I can feel it in my stomach.

"You need to stop!" I take a step towards them, leaning down to interfere. But just as I do, Tyler lifts his fist up, causing his elbow to slam into my stomach.

The wind is knocked out of me. I stumble backwards, losing focus for a few seconds. I clutch my stomach, feeling the world spin.

"Shit!" Tyler calls, jumping to his feet.

"What the duck happened?" Owen asks.

"I'm so fucking sorry!" Tyler marches my way. He throws his arm over my shoulder, but I push him away.

The whole room is watching me, and I.... I need to vomit.

I run out of the room, pushing people aside to make it to the bathroom. I shove the door, run into the first stall that's free, and spew out all the chicken nuggets I just ate.

I cling onto the toilet seat, collapsing onto the floor. The tiles are cold on my bare legs, but my body is boiling. I'm sweating like crazy, the tears in my eyes are blurring my vision, and my mouth tastes like stomach acid and alcohol.

I feel like complete shit.

"Sarah?" I hear Owen call, banging on the door.

"Just go in there!" Tyler grumbles.

"It's the fucking girl's room, bro! I can't just barge in!"

"Someone has to!"

"Then why the fuck don't you?"

"Because she fucking hates me! You do it!"

"Sarah!" Owen repeats. "I'm coming in!"

"No!" I yell.

"No? Are you okay?"

"I need... I need time."

I take a deep breath, checking to see if there's anything else that wants to come out of my body. When nothing does, I push my hand against my stomach. It's sore where Tyler hit me. It's definitely going to turn into a bruise.