Here’s the next chapter. Less editing here so it may be rougher work. My apologies but hope you enjoy none the less
Chapter 3
“The Old Flame”
It had been exactly three days since Ellie had won her match with Alaina. Three days since The Falcon Club Tournament had started. She had healed up rather well over that time as she hadn’t sustained any serious injury during the fight. The commission money was coming in from the online upload of the video as per the tournament rules, and Ellie was thankful for that, but she knew that she needed another match and soon if she wanted to be one of the female finalists.
She had, as promised, stayed in touch with Alaina, as the two had gotten along quite well after they had finished their little duel. Alaina, Zoey and Ellie had all met for lunch the next day and talked about the fight in depth. Alaina was still a little sore about the loss, and the two girls engaged in catty but playful trash talk concerning an impending rematch, but according to the rules, two challengers couldn’t fight a rematch for at least a week so that everyone had a chance to face multiple people.
So, after her morning exercise, seeing that her soreness, scratches and bruises were mostly gone, Ellie decided as she went out that day to run errands to once again place the silver Falcon pin that marked her as a contender onto the collar of her shirt. She wasn’t going looking for a fight just yet but if one found her then all the better.
The day passed, however, with nothing interesting coming to pass. She hadn’t expected much else as she had only been taking care of mundane business such as grocery shopping and paying bills, but wearing the pin was her way of keeping her need of finding another opponent in mind.
It was however, as she got back into her car at the super market, and flung her purse into the passenger’s seat beside her, that things took a different sort of turn. Her phone and wallet spilled out of the unclasped bag and as she reached for her car keys, the phone dinged. She had three different text messages. Two from when she had been inside shopping and hadn’t bothered pulling the device out just yet, and the one that had just come through as she entered the car. The new message was from Zoey. She opened it first and read what it said.
“Hey girl, I just got to your house. Let myself in and raised the pantry. You need more chips
” Ellie rolled her eyes and laughed. She and Zoey truly did have THAT kind of friendship and she loved her for it. She typed out a hasty reply...
“Way ahead of you, and I’m on my way now.” She sent. Then she proceeded to look at the text log for the other two messages. One was from her sister, Elsie. It simply read “Hey sis, haven’t heard from you in a while. You doing alright?” Ellie sighed and knew she needed to call her sister soon. She hadn’t had a super close relationship with her older siblings, but she was close to them in a loving way, and tried to stay in touch. But of course, lately things had just been busy. She chose not to answer immediately, but vowed to do so a bit later when she had settled in at home.
The third text, however, was the one that gave her a bit of pause. It was from a number with no name attached, but had a ring of familiarity to it as she looked over the digits. She opened it curiously, and saw that it was a longer message than the other two. And as she read it, her mouth opened slightly in surprise, and she felt her cheeks flush red.
“Hey Ellie. I don’t know if you’ve still got my number but this is Zeke. Just wanted to tell you congrats on your fight...I had no idea you were in the Tournament, but I came across the video and couldn’t help but buy it. Anyway, give me a call sometime. We should catch up.” Ellie read the text twice just to be sure she wasn’t imagining things. Zeke of all people had seen that video?! How did her ex boyfriend even know about the tournament at all? Where did he get off texting her about it, and why was he acting so damned...friendly....as if they hadn’t ended on bad terms and hadn’t gone without speaking to each other even once in the last year! He had some damned nerve...
Zeke and Ellie had dated for a little over a year. He had seemed, at the time, like the perfect guy for her. But Ellie had learned the hard way that sometimes things seemed great when they really weren’t. He was charming...but that charm hid a controlling and manipulative personality underneath. It had all come to a head when Zeke had cheated on Ellie with a girl from his workplace. On the day that she had caught him, he didn’t even bother denying it. Even laughed about it. She ended the relationship abruptly after, and the two hadn’t spoken at all since, save for the week or so immediately after the break up that was used to exchange personal belongings.
She huffed and jammed her phone back into her purse before cranking her car and heading back to her apartment in a silent rage. When she arrived, Ellie quickly greeted Zoey who sat on her leather couch, her socked feet kicked up on the coffee table. After a brief hello, Zoey laughed.
“Bitch where them chips at??” She said with a grin.
“Oh...yeah. Here.” Ellie said, tossing the bag to Zoey. Her friend didn’t say anything, but arched an eyebrow upward at Ellie’s distracted tone, as if to say “spill it” without having to utter the words. And so, Ellie sighed and told her all about the text message from Zeke.
“Ew.....” Zoey responded after a brief pause. “What a fucking creep.”
“Yeah...I just don’t want to think about it right now.” Ellie said, and with that, the subject was dropped. Zoey shrugged.
“Well, how about a drink at Dave’s? You’re looking for a match and so am I. Pretty easy to come across one there. It’s where you met Alaina and I met that Haley chick after all.” Zoey said, referencing her first match which had won her two tokens of her own.
Ellie smiled. “You know...I think a drink and a fight sounds good right about now.” She said. And so, later that evening, the girls got dressed for a night out, grabbed their gym bags, and placed their silver pins on their shirts. The bar was a short drive away, and the girls walked inside.
Dave’s was pretty popular among the Falcon Tournament’s contenders. The owner, Dave Taylor, had opened the place three years ago, using the money he had won by winning the tournament himself, and as such, was more than willing to let the participants find matches there, provided they did not fight on his property for liability reasons. Each year, he held a single fight night hosted there for contenders to provide some entertainment under strict rules and watchful eyes, but any other day, any patrons who started fights in his bar, tournament or not, were quickly thrown out.
When Ellie and Zoey arrived, they were both already wearing appropriate clothes for competing, further advertising their own willingness to find a match. The bouncer at the door looked them up and down and grunted “Behave ladies.”
Zoey gave him a flirty smile and wiggled her fingers at him. The red polish on them gleamed in the light of the door outside.
“Behave is all we know how to do Robbie. Give us some credit.
The bouncer, Robbie, smiled and waved the girls through. It was a Friday night, and as such, it was quite crowded. Dave stood behind the bar, helping his bartenders catch up on the ever coming customer orders. Ellie and Zoey approached the bar, and Dave caught sight of them. Smiling, he said “One second girls. We’ll be with you in a minute.”
Ellie looked at Zoey, and said “My god its crowded.” She took a long glance around the room, and saw people dancing, talking, flirting, and among them she saw at least a dozen silver pins shining back at her just from her initial sweep of the room. “Shouldn’t be hard to find an opponent tonight.” She added. Zoey grinned and nudged her with an elbow, pointing across the bar at two boys who were clearly setting up a challenge. The two were smirking, almost nose to nose before one of them nodded toward the door and they both headed out.
“They were HOT! I wish I could be a fly on the wall for that one.” Zoey giggles. Ellie punched her playfully in the arm and smiled.
“Don’t be such a pervert.” She said, rolling her eyes. Zoey simply laughed and the girls ordered their drinks, quickly Recieving them from the pretty female bartender. They paid and began to sip them, facing away from the bar into the crowd.
After a minute of taking in the scene, Ellie received a tap on her shoulder and she turned, seeing Dave there with second drink in his hand, which he placed in front of her.
“‘Scuse me miss...” he said with a nod across the room. “That gentleman in the white tee shirt wanted to buy you a drink.” Ellie gaped and turned, not knowing who to expect. Maybe it was Evan...
But no...her mouth dropped for a split second when she saw, in a pair of khaki shorts and a crisp and new v neck T-shirt, smiling and giving her a wink...
Zeke.
“No fucking way.” She said, giving Zoey a nudge and pointing.
“What the actual fu-...” Zoey started but she never finished the statement as Ellie had leaped to her feet and stormed across the room.
“What are you doing here Zeke?” She fumed as she glared at him. The boy just smiled and looked at her with an up and down sweep that made her uncomfortable.
“Well...I imagine the same as you.” He shrugged and angled his body, lifting his left arm slightly. Just under it, about halfway down his shirt seam...gleamed a silver Falcon pin. Placed where he could easily hide or expose it with his arm. “I expected you to be a little happier to see me honestly.” He smirked. “From what I hear, no one’s exactly lining up to get with you.” He smirked
Ellie didn’t answer. She just left the drink he had gotten for her on the edge of the table and stormed off. But as she got about three steps away, he was there, sidestepping in front of her with a smirk.
“Hey! I just wanted to see if you wanted to catch up, but if you want to be a bitch, then whatev-“
“Ellie?” Came the question, interrupting Zeke’s words. It was Zoey, who walked up with someone in tow. It was Dallas, one of the bar’s bouncers who stood, staring at Zeke seriously “Everything alright over here?” He asked as he looked back and forth between Ellie and her ex boyfriend.
“Yeah...yeah. Everything’s good. Just wanted to talk to an old friend is all. But I can see she’s definitely not worth my time. I’ll show myself out.” He said putting up his hands in a placating manner. With that, he turned and began to walk toward the door, chuckling to himself.
Ellie didn’t know what it was, but she felt her fury rise up at everything Zeke had done. All of the old problems rose up in her and she felt her face redden. As Zeke got to the door, and Dallas turned and walked away, pleased that the situation had resolved itself, she stormed after him.
“Ellie NO!” She heard Zoey shout as she came after her. The two girls marched out into the night air and Zoey wasn’t quite able to catch her before she stopped him, grabbing his arm and spinning him around quickly. Zeke turned looking bewildered and said “Look, if you want to make a scene go ahead. You’re just proving to me you aren’t good enough anyway. Go find yourself another chick to roll around with. I’ll pay for the video. Especially if you end up topless again. You always did like to show off. That’s about all that fight was worth anyway.” He winked
“Ellie....” Zoey said quietly in a warning tone. “Walk away.” She added.
“Zeke...” Ellie growled, her eyes brimming with furious tears. “I’ve had enough of you. I want this over with. I don’t want to deal with you anymore. Stay away from me.”
Zeke shrugged. “I mean...you’ll come crawling back soon enough. Who cares?” He said and scoffed before starting to turn away.
And then, as if she was possessed...as if someone else was speaking on her behalf, she found herself saying something she never thought she’d say...
“I’m challenging you, you son of a bitch...” she growled. That stopped Zeke dead in his tracks.
“I’m sorry....what??” He said with an infuriating chuckle.
“You’re a Falcon, I’m a Falcon...I’m challenging you.” Ellie said again through clenched teeth.
“Ellie NO! He is NOT worth it!” Zoey said, now tugging at Ellie’s arm, trying to drag her away, but Ellie stood firm, jerking her arm away from Zoey now.
Zeke faced Ellie and stared at her, seemingly amused for a minute. Ellie knew this was more than likely a mistake, but she wanted nothing more than to hurt the arrogant boy and humble him at the same time. A Falcon Club match that would be seen by everyone was a great way to make that happen. He was of a thinner build as most guys she was into were, and she knew that if she played her cards right...if she played to her advantages, then she did stand a chance of winning. He was athletic but so was she. She COULD do this if she worked the match in the right way. And so, before he could reply, Ellie spat out her next words quickly.
“A wrestling match. Submission. Best two out of three rounds.” She said. She knew that Zeke wasn’t as flexible as she was, and that he at least used to be a smoker. So a two out of three wrestling match served her best if he accepted. She already felt like she had let him under her skin far too much...but she had made a choice and backing out would mean looking weak now.
Zeke seemed to consider the possibility. “So...I get to roll around with you, make some money, AND put you in your place?” He smirked. Zoey looked mutinous, and spoke up.
“No...no, I am not letting you do this creep. Come ON Ellie, we’re leaving.” She said. Ellie spun on Zoey and snapped
“NO Zoey! I made the challenge, and I’m sticking with it. Stay OUT of it.” She growled. Zoey subsided but stayed close, the blonde girl staring daggers at Ellie’s ex. Zeke grinned wide then.
“Alright. I’m all for it. What’s on the line?” He asked. Ellie hardly noticed Zoey behind her at this point. She was speaking into her phone quietly, and she thought she heard her say “Alaina you need to hurry.” But didn’t pay it any attention. Ellie looked at her ex and squared her shoulders. She hadn’t thought quite this far ahead and was unsure how to proceed. Zeke looked about ready to speak again when someone sidestepped between Ellie and her ex boyfriend. Two people actually. The short cropped blonde hair of the boy standing in front of her gave her a shock. It was Evan! The boy who she’d only spoken to on one brief occasion. The other one was Alaina.
“We were just getting to the bar when Zoey called.” She said quietly to Ellie. “Sounded like you were in some trouble.” With that, Alaina gently nudged Ellie back away from Zeke and Evan. “From what she said this guy is real trouble.”
Ellie was shocked, furious, nervous and above all embarrassed at the same time. Here was Evan, the boy she’d not even gotten to know yet, standing in front of her and staring daggers at her ex boyfriend. Alaina must have brought him along.
“What exactly is going on?” He asked in a level tone. Not unreasonable, but as if he were asking an honest question. But the look on his face made it clear that he wasn’t allowing this to go any further. Zeke cocked an eyebrow.
“Boyfriend I take it? Ellie and I were just about to head to my place for a fun little wrestling match. I don’t guess she bothered telling you. She’s good at that.”
Ellie exploded. “THAT IS NOT WHAT HAPPENED YOU SLIMY-“ she started but was silenced. Alaina her arm around Ellie’s waist from the back and pressed in hard, both cutting off Ellie’s air and her sentence mid stream. “Let Evan handle this Ellie. He’s got it.” She whispered. Evan turned for a second and looked at Ellie over his shoulder with a reassuring smile and a shake of his head. Turning back to Zeke, he shrugged.
“Hey I think we’re all a little on edge. It’s been a long night and these tournaments get everyone riled up. Let’s all just forget this happened alright?” He smiled and held out his hand to Zeke as if to shake, and hope it all blew over.
It did not happen that way.
Zeke slapped Evan’s hand away and shoved him, hard. Evan stumbled a couple of steps back but righted himself quickly and started to step forward.
“If you don’t want me wrapped up with Ellie later, why don’t you fight me then lover boy? Come on!” Zeke said getting close to Evan now, attracting the eye of a few onlookers. “Ellie can watch. Hell everyone can come along if they want.”
Evan, to his credit, stayed quiet but stared daggers back at Zeke. Ellie was fuming and still being practically held back by Alaina at this point from launching herself at her ex boyfriend and clawing his eyes out. This was mortifying. Evan, one of the cutest guys she’d ever laid eyes on was here between her and her ex...no way she could even bother trying to get to know him now. She was never going to live this down. Right now however she only wanted to get back at Zeke.
“Alright...fine.” Came Evan’s reply after what seemed like an eternity, much to everyone’s surprise. “But just me and you. You can leave Ellie and everyone else out of this.” He said calmly.
Zeke just smirked. “I have a better idea.” He said snidely, looking over Evan’s shoulder at Ellie. “You remember Zandria right Ellie?” Ellie froze, confused. Zandria was of course, Zeke’s sister, and had never been Ellie’s biggest fan. She just raised an eyebrow.
He continued. “Since you’re so eager to go at it with someone, why don’t lover boy and I here have a match, and I’ll call up Zandria for you. She’d LOVE to see you again.” He winked. Ellie stared, stunned.
“She’s in the tournament?” Ellie asked. Zeke simply nodded.
“Unless you don’t think you can handle her.” He shrugged. Alaina tightened her grip on Ellie’s arm, and Evan looked back with a small shake of his head, warning her against it.
Ellie was tired of everyone trying to defend her now. She was tired of Zeke and his family and all they’d done to make her life a living hell in the past. Zandria specifically had spread some hard to break rumors about her after her breakup with Zeke. Her blood boiled now even more fiercely than ever.
“Fine. Call her.” Ellie said as Alaina and Zoey groaned audibly behind her.
Zeke grinned widely. “I’ll bring the cameras....”
“Elsworth Park...one hour.” He finished. With that, Evan came back to stand beside Ellie and much to her shock put a supporting and firm hand on her shoulder.
“See you there.” He said simply before gently guiding Ellie back toward the door of Dave’s Bar.
