all that matters.

chapter twenty

*Spencer*
If I don't have a million reasons never to pick up another bottle, this would be it. Hung over. I shifted, and yelped. My shoulder lights up with firey pain, and tears slip out of my eyes. What? My eyes fluttered open, but soon I grabbed my head.

"Ow! Worse than schizophrenia-induced migraines." Still, I forced my eyes open and scanned my surroundings. Bright, white, clean walls and floors surrounded us. The room reeked of cleaning alcohol. Through thick glass bars- like prison cells', except thing glass lay between the bars- I was able to make out two figures. I racked my brain trying to recall the events of last night. Crap.

"Spencer?" A voice I recognized asked.
"J.J? Morgan?" I asked, my heart leaping into my throat.
"Yeah." He called back after coughing.
"This wasn't exactly how I expected our reunion. Are you guys okay?"
"Well, it depends how you define okay..." J.J called back. "Just opposites I guess. He's starving me and giving me all the water I need but-"
"-he's dehydrating me and feeding me food with low water content."

I sighed. I was sick of psychopaths messing with me and my friends. I scowled at the bars just ahead at me.
"He keeps talking about the lady though. Whatever the hell that supposed to mean." I nodded.
"A partnership? Odd, nothing suggests so. Probably a hallucination..."
"The other thing he keeps talking about is the great duel. He says that this is only the start of a great duel."

A silence fell over the group. Nor awkward, nor peaceful. Just as is. And it was calming. I closed my eyes for a moment and nearly fell asleep. That is, until Axen burst into the room.

"How'd you sleep?" He asked casually as if we were friends.
"Remind me how that concerns you?" I spit on him.
"You're my refugee now. And I take deep interest in knowing how my prisoners are doing." He said seductively, sitting down on the cot. He pressed a button on his remote and I knew that the glass was 2 way reflective.

I scooted away and glared at him.
"Excuse me, but what do you think you're doing?" I tried to get up, then realized my hand was cuffed to chain. I was cornered now.
"Have you ever been told your waves are perfect?" He breathed into my ear, and grabbed a lock of my hair rolling it between two fingers.
"No; have you ever been told you're an asshole?" I asked, quickly slapping his hand away, trying to keep my breathing steady. Inside I was terrified.

"Show me those abs. You might pretend like they're not there, but I know they exist." He laughed deeply, and stroked my chest.
"Ha, in your dreams."
"You're right."
Well that back fired. He pulled me toward him by the collar, slammed my head into the wall and everything faded away.

A/N: wow. That chapter was hard/awkward to write. Forgive me!