Chapter O4
At first it seemed like a normal pub. When they got inside, Mouth and Elliot greeted the busy man behind the bar while going straight to the back, like they were co owners of the place. Remus followed close behind them as they opened the door to the basement, being inmediately attacked by the screams and chants of what sounded like a full quidditch stadium.
It was an old room with tall ceilings and concrete walls, so large it could probably fit two of Elliot's houses, if it weren't for the massive crowd of sweaty men inside.
On the way there Remus learned that they were heading to a fight club. A bloody fight club. And he thought that maybe Mouth was right about getting hurt burn.
At least it now made sense as to why Elliot never hesitated to throw a mean right hook if he found it necessary. He was certain no prissy motherfucker in Hogwarts had any chance against him. And they didn't.
They got just in time before they closed the doors, so they paid the entrance fee -five pounds each- and a bearded guy asked if any of them were fighting tonight. Mouth and Elliot had said yes. 'Oslo' seemed to know them well since they greeted eachother by name and handed both boys two ribbons to tie on their wrists. Elliot got red and Mouth blue.
The fights seemed to have started earlier than usual since they were already pulling a manic guy on top of another bloody face. They dragged the passed out person away from the man-made circle on the middle of the basement and a bald man raised the winners hand in the air, who offered the chanting crowd a crooked smile as he got handed a red plastic bag filled with money.
This was not how Remus imagined spending his summer.
He couldn't wait to see James and Sirius and tell them everything.
The same man held two empty bags -one red and one blue- in each hand and walked around as everyone streched to get their money in before two different men got in the circle and start wrestling.
Remus kept watching as the bald man handed the two bags to a couple of guys in the stairs. They started couting the contents of each bag and splitted both at the middle, waiting for the results.
"If you win you get half of the money the people against you betted, the other half goes to the winner's crowd" Elliot leaned on a concrete pillar, hands on his pockets in a relaxed way "So if fifty people are against you, you get two hundred and fifty pounds"
"Since the stablished amount is ten pounds each" Mouth added "Only rich assholes come see us getting fucked up. They get off on it or something" Elliot laughed "But last saturday of the month means double bets. That's five hundred, baby"
They watched in silence as they dragged another guy out of the floor. This time Blue won. They repeated the whole thing.
"What will happen if no one is against you?" Remus asked Elliot. Mouth snorted at the question while moving his limbs around, trying to warm up.
"That's not a problem Elliot particulary has" he answered.
"Let's just say I'm easy to hate" A knowing smile crept on his face but Remus didn't dare ask anything else.
Soon after it was Mouth's turn to go in. They wished him good luck and the fight begun. He wasn't either too tall or too short, but his beefy muscles were undeniable, so a lot of people betted on him. His opponent was on the shorter side, but was agile and looked experienced.
At first it was pretty even between the two of them, a lot of dodging and not much contact. Then Mouth got the upper hand with a strong kick right on the chest. Until he got swiped by his left knee and fell down to the floor.
"Fuck. That's his bad knee. Broke it one time and never fully healed" Elliot said, worried for his friend.
At the end nothing too serious happened to Mouth. But he did lose after a punch on the side of his head that nearly knocked him fully out, so they called it quits.
Elliot was next.
"You know the rules, gentleman! No shirts and no weapons!" The bald man exclaimed.
As Elliot started walking Remus was suddenly filled with an inmense sense of dread. What if he got seriously injured? Fuck, what if he died? He should've never let him do this shit.
"Merlin fuck, Elliot" his voice wavered, face as white as a sheet "Please be careful" the boy just turned around without stopping and grinned at him.
Fucking wanker.
He watched as Elliot slipped off his shirt and threw it to the ground while opening his way through the crowd of people, that started shamelessly booing at the sight of the familiar boy.
When Elliot finally arrived to the center of the circle he found Remus worried eyes again, but smiled and looked at him as to saying "See?"
Fucking wanker.
His opponent was a white guy with his torso and neck covered in ugly tattoos. He looked like a rabid dog, saizing up a relaxed looking Elliot with muttered growls.
Almost everyone got their hands inside the blue bag. They fucking loathed him. Remus watched the barely half filled red bag as baldie handed both of them to the crew.
The fight was up. Tattoo guy inmediately launched forward to grab Elliot but he dodged him easily, keeping his fists in front of his face. They walked around in circules, both challenging the other to approach them. Tattoo guy finally gave in and threw a fist at Elliot, who managed to move to the side and sucker punch him square in the jaw, making him back down with a groan of pain.
Elliot was lean but strong, well defined muscles danced around his body thanks to the demanding job at the factory. He could be Michelangelo's fucking David, Remus thought. Although having absolute baby-like features, his permanent poker face made up for any problem he could have from lack of intimidation.The other guy looked more like a junkie psycho chihuahua than a real competition. And that might just be more dangerous.
The younger boy leaped forward and got another hit, this time on the eye. But Tattoo guy trashed his arms around, making it impossible to predict where were they going to end up, so Elliot got hit in the nose and the crowd cheered louder as blood started to pour.
Remus could feel his heart trying to thump out of place and had to close his eyes after a couple minutes. He couldn't see this.
The crowd started booing and Remus inmediately thought the worst, and quickly opened his eyes, expecting to see the beautiful face that belonged to Elliot all fucked up on the floor, getting dragged.
But then he remebered they hated him, so they were booing because of Elliot's red ribbon swaying high in the air around his wrist. He had won. The biggest shit eating grin Remus had ever seen on his crimson lips as he admired the crowd that insulted him.
"We've got the winner, gentleman!" The bald man pushed the red bag close to Elliot's chest as the noise got louder "Hold this tight in your way out, kid" he told him.
So Elliot took off running through the crowd, grabbing Remus by the hand and making him pick up his speed as they ran up the stairs and closed the door. He couldn't risk getting the bag snatched by a pissed off asshole, so he dragged Remus out of the pub all the way back to the basketball court, where Elliot dropped his hand to rest them on his knees, trying to catch a breath. Remus did the same as they looked at eachother.
"Fuck"
"Yeah, fuck" They started laughing.
"I can't believe I just got out of a fight club" said Remus, calming down.
"I can't believe I just got out alive of that fight" retorted Elliot jokingly, indicating Remus to follow him, so they started walking home.
"The bloke was mad" Remus sizzed "I couldn't even watch after he started spinning like an helicopter and hit you in the nose" At the injuries mention, Elliot tried to wipe some of the blood that got on his mouth, but the nose had stopped bleeding "Shit, it's not broken, is it?"
"Nah, it would hurt like a bitch if it was. I'm actually pretty okay. Definitely got worse than this" Elliot said, actually surprised. "Maybe you're my lucky charm" He sent a flirty smile to Remus, who wanted to murder him for it.
"Lucky charm or not, I'm not ever going back to that place" Elliot snorted.
"Fair enough"
It was already fully dark out, the stars shining dimly -nothing like Remus sky back in Wales-. The sandy haired blonde had catched the pubs clock before leaving the place. By his suprise, it was just eight thirty, the whole day had felt so much shorter.
They made it to the front lawn. Elliot's eyes went straight to the driveway, checking for a beated up grey car, but it was empty, as always.
"Fuck. They can't see me like this" he stopped Remus before he could get any further. Elliot pulled off his pants -again- and grabbed the hose -that they never used-, letting water pour as hard as it could without risking getting caught by the noise.
"Merlin. Can you stop getting undressed in public? You can get arrested for nudity, you know?" Elliot laughed as an old lady walked down the street, eyeing Elliot without holding back. Remus rolled his eyes at the boy for waving a hand up to the woman teasingly.
"Why? Jelous, Lupin?" Elliot said, going back to rinsing his chest and face out of any trace for blood. Without it Elliot looked mostly normal, he still had some time before the bruises develope, so he can make up an excuse tomorrow. "Good enough, right?" Remus nodded sheepishly as Elliot slipped the jeans up again, they were dirty but the dark color helped to diguise it a little.
They passed the door and saw Elliot's mom cooking something in the kitchen as they greeted everyone inside. Lupe and Eric where running around in the living room, Dominic was struggling to catch up to them, but happily. Gia was probably studying in her bedroom.
"Hey, guys! Dinner will be ready soon, okay?" She said "Why are you shirtless... and wet?" Elliot looked down to his body as if that was the first time he saw it too. Keeping the red bag of money behind his back.
"We went swimming down the lake. Must have left it there" she looked suspiciously at him but didn't say anything else, going back to the cutting board.
They both took showers -separated- and changed into some clean, sweat-free, clothes. They sat together on Elliot's bed. The window was open, letting a summer breeze refresh them even more, thanks to the thin layer of cold water still on their skin.
Remus watched, almost hipnotized, as Elliot tended to a small cut under his right eye that he was glad Marian hadn't noticed yet and as he spreaded over his face some antinflamatory cream he kept on the dresser.
After Elliot finished he grabbed the red bag and let all the money out on the bed, crumpled up in a high mountain between the two boys.
"Wanna help me count?" Elliot asked, making Remus snap out of his daze and nod quickly.
They counted in silence, scrunching their face in disgust when handling some of the bills that had specks of blood on them.
"Do you do this often?" Remus murmured, without looking up from the task, but could sense Elliot gazing up at him.
"Not anymore. Only for double bets" he shrugged.
"Why?"
"Why do I fight or why I don't do it often anymore?" Elliot snickered, raising a mocking brow to try and alivate the intimate vibe that made him a little too uncomfortable.
"The latter" Remus serious tone made contrast with his friends nochalant attitude.
"I can't afford dying, Rem" he shook his head jokingly, althought it was a sincere explanation. Remus had to stop himself from literally gulping at the nickname.
"Why did you even start fighting, then?"
Elliot sighed exasperated, as to let Remus know that this wasn't a conversation he wanted to have. What he didn't know was that the taller boy had stopped caring enough to keep walking on eggshells around him, and decided that if he wanted to get in, maybe he had to break the door down.
But Elliot didn't let him.
The sardonic grin returned to his face as he raised the neat stack of money in his hand " 'Cause of seven hundred and sixty pounds, baby"
Remus let him have this one.