The Boxer Series

Chapter 6

"Well, good luck," she said. Harry nodded before walking past her. He heard a faint, "Be careful, Harry," and he turned back to look at her. She smiled softly, looking after him. "Try and come back not too damaged, eh?" Harry smirked.

"I'll be just fine," he answered and walked out of the locker room. Something about the whole, 'be careful' thing made him feel weird. A good weird, he guessed. He just hadn't heard those words in a while. Someone caring just seemed alien to him. Then again, he reminded himself, she probably only thought of him as a damned body guard.

On the way out to the ring, the voice of the announcer filled the halls and bounced of the gray painted bricks Harry was forced to stare at until he was called to the ring. He listened to the details of his opponent. '250 pounds, 6'2, and from Liverpool UK. Kevin Mackin'. Seemed like a sizable opponent to Harry. Next, they called his height and weight, etc. out as he shoved his mouth guard between his lips and jogged out to the ring. The room was jam-packed with hundreds, screaming and cheering but he payed no mind as he slipped the ropes.

A nice applause rang through his ears as he hopped on the balls of his feet, glaring down at his opponent who was slightly shorter than himself. Matt amped him up from behind the ropes, giving him last minute advice and telling him to remember their new training. Harry merely nodded and shook off the dark blue robe with 'STYLES' printed on the back of it. Matt took it and hung it on the post as cameras flashed. This would surely be on tomorrow's front page. Harry didn't fight publicly very often, so, when he did, it was a big deal.

Cryssy watched from not far off, her arms crossed as she watched over Harry's motions. The way he would scan the crown once, then zero in on his match, like a lion hunting prey. Her heart started beating faster when the bell rang for the match to begin. Both men sized each other up and tested each other's weaknesses with quick jabs and punches. She tried hard not to gasp each time he got hit, but it was hard. She felt the worry seep out of her when he finally did get hit. A real hit.

Harry lurched backward by the force of it, quickly bringing his arms up to block himself from being hit again. Then, his body lurched forward and he tried to hit his target, missing by an inch and getting socked in the stomach. What was happening? Cryssy felt herself tensing and inching closer to the ring. Why was he being so careless?

He got hit again, this time right on the side of his face and he was knocked to the floor.

Chapter 7

The bell rang, signaling for the two to stop and Harry's opponent swiveled on his heels and marched back to his corner, paying no mind to the body lying in a heap on the floor. Cryssy thought for sure he'd been hit in the temple, and was now lying dead in the center of the ring. She inched closer to the side of the ring, subconsciously trying to get a closer look. His coach and a few others slipped through the ropes and crowded around him, . The light that reflected off the men around Harry's body showed the sweat that rolled down their temples as they scrambled to turn Harry over and splash water on his face, trying desperately to wake him.

Cryssy watched from the edge of the ring, her eyes wide with fear as they slapped him a few times to try and awaken him. The room around her seemed to go in slow motion. The audience was already silent with shock and watched along with her as she climbed up the side of the ring on instinct. Everyone having their eyes on Harry, it was easy for her to slip past them. The shouts seemed vague and distant as she approached, ducking down and slipping between the legs of one of the crew. Only then did one of them notice her.

"Hey, you can't be up here!" she waved him off. "HEY!" he shouted louder, only to be ignored yet again. The large man gripped her shoulder and Cryssy tore her gaze away from Harry's blank face to glare at him.

"I'm his girlfriend, now let me go," she hissed. The man gave her a strange look, but removed his hand from the fabric of her t-shirt and she turned back to Harry. What drove her to grip his hand and squeeze surprised even her. Cryssy's free hand moved up to Harry's face, cupping it softly, His coach shouted something about more water to the people watching on the sidelines.

"Harry, wake up," she whispered, although she knew he wouldn't hear. She squeezed his hand again and moved closer. "Harry," she pleaded a bit louder now. She didn't know how she'd wake him, yet it felt like it all depended on her to do it. The men around her watched silently. She didn't like Harry, heavens no! She barely even knew him. But, she cared about him. More than she knew up until now.

Although everything around her still seemed fuzzy besides the image of Harry's face, she could distinctly hear one little voice in the back of her head. One little voice that sounded a lot like Louis Tomlinson and was only saying one thing. One thing she wasn't sure would help. One thing she didn't want to do, but did anyway.

Kiss Him.

She took a deep breath and leaned down slowly with hooded eyes. When she was an inch away, her blue eyes met with a pair of emerald ones. Harry didn't move, just stared up at her, lips slightly puckered and eyes half-closed. To him, it looked sexy, but Cryssy felt like a fool. She shot backwards with wide eyes.

Dammit Louis, she mentally cursed, although the spunky brunette was no where in sight.

She gulped down any fear she had and spoke. "Are you alright?" he nodded, still staring at her. She realized then that she still had his hand cupped in hers and let go quickly as the men around them helped Harry up. He collapsed back into a chair one of the crew brought and drank the water his coach shoved in his face.

Harry was vaguely aware of what went on around him. He'd barely heard any voices surrounding him until now, and right now it felt like everyone was practically screaming at him all at once. The fans were on their feet, shouting his name, as Harry waved off the urgent hands trying to examine him. Matt crouched down in front of him, waving a hand before his eyes to get his attention. Harry zeroed in on his voice and listened.

"You took a hard blow to the head Harry. It'd be best if you forfeit." Harrys face crumpled.

"To hell with that," he said, he'd never thrown a fight, and he wasn't about to start. He looked past Matt and around the ring, seeing his opponent laughing at the other side and felt his anger grow before Cryssy stood in his line of sight. She whispered something to Matt, and he shuffled away begrudgingly, having his men follow. She kneeled down in front of Harry to match his height and took his face between her hands. Harry wasn't exactly sure what she was doing at first, but went along with it as she tilted his head slightly and opened his eyes a little to check his pupils.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

"Dizzy," he said. Cryssy nodded.

"You shouldn't fight," Harry was about to speak when she carried on. "But, I know you're going to anyway, so do me a favor. Whenever you feel like you're going to pass out, do what you did in your last fight; duck down then sucker punch upwards. The shift in elevation will help the blood flow into your brain, alright?" Harry nodded and Cryssy began to stand up again,

"Why are you helping me?" he asked.

"Because I care." Harry stared, confused. Was his hearing that f****d up?

"Why?" he asked again. She shrugged.

"I don't know, but please just be careful," she murmured.

There they were again. Those words. . . 'be careful'. Harry nodded slowly, his emerald eyes watching as Matt pulled the ropes open and Cryssy ducked under them. He tried to pay no mind to the eyeful Matt was getting from his current position. It didn't work too well, but to hell with it, he thought. He'd get Matt later. Right now, he had a fight to win. So, after a few deep breaths, Harry stood from his seat, putting his mouth guard back in place and shaking out his curls one last time before pushing them back. The bell rang and, already, he felt weak.

His body slumped forward in a sort of defensive stance with his arms up and blocking his face. His opponent smirked, knowing he'd already won the match. No way would Harry be able to defend himself now. Everyone could see it. He was swaying when he stood and could barely keep balanced when he hopped on the balls of his feet.

Harry glanced around, watching the crowd as sweat rolled along the side of his jaw and down his neck. His hair was clinging to his skin in a mess of curls, all disheveled and wet. His skin was paler than usual, making him look like a ghost under the lights above his head.

Cryssy watched as the fight began again. Kevin Mackin stood just slightly shorter in front of Harry, delivering blow after blow while Cryssy watched painfully from the sidelines. She wondered how he could just . . . take it. Like it was nothing. Harry merely stumbled with each blow now. When just a few minutes ago, he was on the floor.

Harry clenched his eyes shut, digging his heels downward and using his hands to block another blow. He felt himself becoming dizzy again and opened his eyes. He tried desperately to breathe deeply and regain his focus. But, as he got hit again, he grunted loudly and swung. He missed and Kevin Mackin took the opportunity to pop him in the jaw again. The pain in Harry's face made even Matt flinch backwards. Kevin threw another punch and smacked Harry right in the nose, his head flying backwards from force. A trail of red dripped down from his nose before Harry lamely attempted to wipe it away.

The dizziness was worse now, and Harry felt like he'd be out of it soon enough. So he took Cryssy's advice. Waiting for the right moment, he continued to take hits until Kevin was close enough and he ducked down like he'd fallen and sucker-punched his opponent. Kevin flew backwards. Hitting the ropes and landing face first on the matts. Harry shocked himself with the force; he thought he was too weak to pull it off. But, he did it.

The corners of Harry's lips kinked upward on one side as he watched people scurry around him trying to wake him up, but he didn't budge. Matt immediately brought Harry a chair as the bell rang signaling it was over. If Kevin didn't get up, it'd automatically be Harry's win, so they all watched and waited. Harry was handed water and a towel as five minutes rolled by. The judges called forfeit, and Harry grinned from his chair, slowly standing and raising his hands in the air. The crowd went wild.

Harry spotted Cryssy amongst the crowd and pointed to her, thankful. She gave a smile and waved. Harry looked confused as she began to leave. To him, it felt like what happened with Levy all over again, and he wasn't about to get left behind again. Even if he wasn't sure why he didn't want her too leave, he still wouldn't let it happen.