"Let go!" My mouth was wide as I spat the two words with the intent that they'd come out harsh and heavy. However, the cheers from the audience were overpowering and drowned me out, replacing the brutality of my command with delicacy and fragility.

I dug my fingernails into the foreign skin that constrained me and did my best to release its tightening hold. It was undoubtedly a juvenile reaction but it stood as my only option for retaliation, though it did nothing as their grip was too strong to pull apart.

"Sofia, what the fuck are you doing here?"

I immediately stopped writhing and stood frozen, the familiar voice causing my body to tense up while simultaneously accelerating my heartbeat. Blood rushed to my head and my breath quickened as I forced my unwilling eyes to trail up the tan hand.

Light shades of blue and purple covered area around the elbow, blatant bruises masking the toned arm. My focus lingered on the scathed skin and followed raised veins that jutted out against the discoloration until I continued upward, confirming my gut-wrenching suspicion of who the harsh voice belonged to.

A pair of brown orbs bored into my own with a fixation of unrestrained malice that closely resembled disgust. The thumping sound in my chest moved up to my ears, muting the world around me as I read his moving lips that repeated the question from mere seconds ago.

"I said, what the fuck are you doing here?"

My breath hitched in my throat and my hand fell limp, a flood of emotions suffocating me as I parted my lips. "Jack?"

Out of everything I felt, a wave of confusion hit me the hardest. Why was Jack here? Who was he here with? Did he know that I would be here? Hell, I didn't even know I would be here. Why did he look so surprised? And so angry? Was I not allowed to be here?

I should've been happy to see a familiar face, even if it was Jack's, because it meant that I was one step closer to being home. Instead, fear filled every bone in my body as the events from the weekend rushed through my mind. I debated on which side of the fight-or-flight response I should take, but my impulsive mouth made my decision before my head could.

"Oh, grazie a Dio siete qui! (Oh, thank God you're here!)" I blurted, my shoulders dropping as I pressed my body into his chest. I finally accepted his taut grip on my wrist, but purposefully kept my arms at my side to avoid giving an awkward hug that I knew wouldn't be reciprocated.

His shirt emitted the acquainted mixture of vanilla and the beach, causing me to draw in a deep breath. The scent filled my nose and I was simultaneously filled with comfort as I was reminded of home. Although it wasn't the aroma of my own home, it still gave me an odd sense of solace.

His chest tensed under my weight and I pulled away, looking up at him to be met with the same grimace that I had left Sunday morning.

"Gilinsky!" A deep voice shouted, finishing my inadvertent sentence from moments earlier.

Jack snapped his head in the direction of the sound and I followed his movement, my eyes landing on the fighter I had seen earlier as he stood at the edge of the ring. His red shorts were now somehow ripped and his entire body was swollen due to the amount of hits he had taken.

I wasn't even sure if it was the same man at first, but then I noticed his unmistakeable missing-tooth grin that stood out against the mask of blood covering his face. All the red that surrounded him made him look demonic, especially with the eerie lighting and pool of crimson liquid that swallowed his feet.

He said nothing, just simply raised his eyebrows while keeping his gaze glued to Jack. My own eyebrows furrowed in confusion as my mouth parted, wanting to break the silent tension that had been built in just a few seconds.

I was about to ask Jack what the hell was going on when the man's bloodshot spheres shifted their attention to me. He stood in the center of the ring and we were right next to the entrance, but his stare pierced through me like he was inches from my face.

I felt my body temperature rise one degree for each agonizing second that dragged on. Against my better judgement, I forced myself to maintain eye contact with this... beast. My focus came from a combination of egotism and terror. Although my hands were physically shaking, tearing my gaze away would silently admit my fear, and there was no way in hell I'd give him that kind of satisfaction.

After what felt like hours, but had to have only been a moment or so, he winked at me. His lopsided smirk raised higher than before and his low eyes sunk deeper in their sockets, intensifying his iniquity.

The trembling in my hand ceased as it was squeezed, draining any feeling I had left in it. My head snapped in Jack's direction and I watched his side profile as his jaw tensed up and the veins in his neck bulged from his tan skin.

"Come here." He growled through clenched teeth, securing his seize as he dragged me toward the exit.

Jack pushed past parking lot guy, who I forgotten had been standing there the entire time. Both his eyes and mouth were wide as he held up his hands defensively. "My bad, I didn't know she was yours. S-sorry, Gilinsky."

I turned around to object, but we were already too far apart. A string of curse words threatened to slip through my lips when the bright lights finally faded and the clicking of my heels against the concrete parking lot replaced the sound of screams and shouts.

My steps quickly followed behind Jack's, doing my best not to trip over my own two feet as we made it to what I remembered was his Jeep. He slammed me against the brick wall of the building, his car confining the narrow space we stood in.

"Tell me what you're doing here." His face was so close to mine, I could practically feel the rush of mint that enveloped his breathy words.

"I don't know." I abruptly pulled my wrist back, but my elbow ended up colliding with the side of the building behind me. "I don't even know where here is."

"How did you get here then? Did Sam bring you? I knew that fucker was setting me up. Where is he? He's hiding, isn't he?"

He suddenly quieted down then rounded the corner as if he expected someone to be two feet away. Craning his neck, he attentively surveyed the parking lot as his hands clenched into fists and his veins protruded further than what I thought was even possible.

"What are you talking about?" I duplicated his strides and grabbed his shoulder, turning him around to face me. "Sam isn't here, I came by myself."

"Then how exactly did you get here, Sofia?" He spoke slowly as he looked down at me. "And don't try to sell me one of your bullshit lies — I want the truth."

"I don't have to tell you anything." My eyes narrowed in slits and I walked past him, desperate to spare myself from explaining the humiliating answer to his question.

Jack quickly moved in front of me, stepping forward so his chest pressed against mine. Before I knew it, we were back in the shadows between his car and the wall. "I'll act like you didn't try to walk away if you answer me. Now."

Lifting my hands, I forcefully pushed him away but he merely took a single step back — willingly so. He was so irritating. I wish I had never run into him in the first place.

I rubbed my collarbone absentmindedly, staring at my reflection in the car window behind him. From the mirrored glass, I could see him staring at me. I didn't even need the glass, though, I could feel his eyes burning holes into my body as we stood in silence.

"Oh my God, fine. Sam took me out and he tried to do... stuff with me, but I told him that I didn't want to so he kicked me out of his car while we were on the freeway. I got out and started walking, then I found this street that I thought was the one to my house but I ended up here instead."

My lips felt like they were moving a mile a minute as I told the abridged version of my night. I was desperate to get all the information out in one breath so I wouldn't have to relive my embarrassment for too long.

However, my words hung in the air as Jack kept quiet. When I didn't want him to talk, my ears would bleed from his constant chatter. Then when I wanted him to talk, he transformed into a mime before my very eyes. He knew exactly how to push my buttons.

I bit my lip expectantly, waiting for him to say something, anything, to break the awkward silence. His dour expression changed into something unreadable as his eyes scanned my face. I duplicated his action, but there was absolutely no way to interpret his visage.

"Okay, it's your turn to answer me. What are you doing here? What is this place? Who was that guy in the ring? And what did you mean when you said that Sam was setting you up? Why would Sam know about this place?" I shifted my weight onto my left side and waited for an answer.

Carelessly breaking our eye contact, he took a step back. My first thought was that he was going to go back inside the building, but he turned around to reach for the car door instead. The engine roared to life and his window rolled down once he made it inside. Without looking over to me, he strapped on his seatbelt and shifted gears so the Jeep lurched forward.

"Get in."

"No. Answer me." My whiney words came out blatantly less threatening than Jack's. The fact that they were also accompanied by a toddler-like foot stomp didn't give me the best leverage for intimidation either.

"The Arena." His knuckles became white as his grip on the steering wheel tightened. "This is the Arena."

— —

(a/n: when sofia collapsed into his chest throwback to in front of jack's house with car man ayyyyyy this ship is now sailing thank you for choosing the pizza boy as your method of transportation

& how do y'all feel about the new cover art?? it's simple i know but i think it's better than the basic pizza box there was before smh

sorry for the wait on this chapter!! i just finished midterm week at my school so it's been hectic and i've been breaking out :((
pero i've been slowly accumulating this chap over time and now it's finally done so yay for progress!! thank you guys so much for reading pls remember to vote and comment!!! )