ABCF...Any Body Can Fight

"You bloody asshole", Aashi yelled and moved forward to punch the moron standing in front of her, smirking as if he were making some sort of an entertaining joke. The smile was wiped off his face as her fist collided with his large nose. A crack sound reverberated through the hall and heads whipped towards the rivals who had started their physical brawl yet again.

Well, it had started with that sick jerk—Rehaan— goading her by blocking her way each time she attempted to get to her classroom. Knowing that this was just a dirty trick to rile her up, she had ignored his words and tried pushing past him.

And then…he began talking ill about Sam. About how Sam was always acting sweet and clingy "like a girl". She had scoffed at Rehaanl and his clearly sexist thought process. His pathetic attempts at insulting her boyfriend did not affect her in the least; well not until Rehaan became meaner than his hideous ass could manage and insulted his family; as well as calling him worthless.

And so, the fight began. Rehaan had regained his composure, but not before she had sidestepped his blow and kicked him on the back of his head. It did help that she was still dressed in gym clothes, and it gave her free movement.

One of his punches hit her on the back of her head and she tried gaining momentum by kicking him in the stomach. However, her somersault was not as perfect as she would have liked and neither did she remain steady, and she too hit her back on the railing, falling onto the floor like a graceless heap.

"What the hell is going on he—Aashna! Rehaan! You both have begun fighting again haven't you?" asked the headmistress, as if her bruised knuckles matching the injury on his face, and their disheveled clothes weren't proof enough.

"Up, both of you get up right now!" the old hag screamed and dragged them both to the principal's office. Aashi stumbled a little, the injury on her spine stinging, but she got equal satisfaction seeing Will clutching his stomach painfully.

One look and the principal pursed her lips, irritated. This was the fourth time this term that they had ended up bloodying each other. The Principal was slightly more understanding than the headmistress though, and knowing that it was probably Rehaan who had initiated the fight. Yet, she gave them both a good scolding, and let them off the hook with detention for two consecutive days and additionally barred Aashi from attending football practice for the next 2 days. Aashi rolled her eyes in exasperation; the sexism would never end.

As she emerged out of the principal's office, Aahhi noticed, for the first time, the crowd that had gathered in the main hall. Letting out an exasperated sigh, she staggered forward, only to catch her feet on the open shoelace and go tumbling onto the ground.

"Ugh," she groaned lightly, trying not to emit a sound and give the stupid audience a show. Was this some sort of circus where they had gathered to watch a performance? What were they even doing in the first place?

"All right, back to your classes everyone. If I see a single person in the corridor once I return for rounds, I will have you serving a month's detention," with this announcement, the headmistress swept her way past Aashi, turning back to throw a dirty glare at her.

Rehaan shrugged and let his cronies carry him to the medical room. Look at him dramatizing the whole situation, her brain sassed. Aashi began pulling herself up when a hand settled onto her lower back and the other intertwined with hers.

She jerked a little, nearly elbowing Sam. "Are you okay?" he inquired, and her body relaxed slightly. Her eyes went up to his face, and she sighed in exasperation at the worry that shone in his eyes. "I'm fine, it's just a small bruise," she replied. However, limping 2 steps forward, she lost her balance again, this time because of the strain in her lower back.

"Ow," a moan left her mouth before she could silence herself. Sam, who had already realized that she was merely putting up an act of being all right, caught hold of her arm and put it across her shoulder. 

"Ouch shit what the fuck Sam? Let me down this instant," she ordered, slightly flustered. He meanwhile dared to wink at her as he carried her into the nearby chemistry lab.

Settling her onto one of the tables, he swiftly retrieved an icepack from one of the coolers but left the lights off. The last thing they both wanted was for a random teacher to catch them bunking classes. Besides, the windows were open and a good amount of light filtered into the room, outlining their figures.

Sam pulled a chair in front of her and sat down, taking her hands into his. She watched him trace the bruises and sigh. His eyes softened a little as she hissed in pain, and Aashi controlled the urge to take his face into her palms and kiss him.

Unresolved tension hung in the air as he began pressing the icepack gently onto her hand. While she fell in love with him a little more every second. A small smile made its way onto her face as she watched him nurse her. She cussed a little again as pain shot up her hand again. He watched her eyes clenched shut for a second and then opened to watch him observing her. He gave her a comforting smile and brought his hand up to kiss her knuckles.

She grinned at him, and he released her, sitting back on the chair. The next moment though, his expression morphed into one of annoyance and Aashi too stopped smiling, knowing what was coming. "Okay, so tell me, why did you hit him again?" he asked directly. She opted to turn towards the window instead of answering his question, finding the patterns created on the floor much more interesting.

From her peripheral vision, she noticed how he huffed in irritation and his shoulders slumped a little. Trying not to be too mean, she pushed herself off the table, barely able to hold the whimper she left as her back stung. Goddamnit.

"He was being a jerk," she replied simply as if that would answer all the questions. He raised one of his eyebrows—how do people do that? She wondered for the hundredth time—and asked, "How so?"

"He was insulting you, and your family and being mean." She elaborated, sounding whinier by the second. Why couldn't he just say thank you and leave her be? She could manage a little pain, there was scarcely any need to hype it up.

"So what love? You know he does that to get a rise out of you? And anyway, it isn't like I care, so you should just drop it too." he said, trying to reason with her. He appreciated it when she stood up for him and spoke in his favor.

Hell, he was stunned at how uncaring about her reputation she was when it came to him, and half of him always reminded him that he probably didn't deserve someone as beautiful and strong as her. And yet he was disgruntled and concerned and frightened out of his wits each time she got hurt for him.

"Listen up, you." She said, reading what was going on through his brain. She put a finger on his chin and made him look up at her from his sitting position. "You are worth it, do you get me? I will fight 100 such assholes every day but they do not get to insult my choice this way. You are the best guy anyone can have as a partner and you are mine. So get this into your thick head. I love you."

She ended her short monologue, leaving him stunned. Okay, he needed a second to gather his thoughts as she moved back, smirking at his bafflement. She absolutely adored how rattled he got when she went full bad bitch mode on him.

Eventually, he sighed—the number of times they had sighed in the entire day, Lord—and stood up. Abruptly, his arms encircled her waist and he brought her into a crushing embrace, face burying into her neck. She hugged him back, this time ignoring the pain that hit her spine. She could wait for a little, she told herself as she enjoyed his warmth.

"Thank you, I love you." He replied against her skin, sending pleasant chills down her spine. Her spinal cord, however, couldn't take this much and she felt her knees give out.

"Ah," she exclaimed in discomfort. Sam stepped back, panicking slightly as he watched her clutch her back. "What happened, my love? What hurts?" he asked stupidly. She couldn't really blame him though but pointed towards her back anyways.

He relaxed, but only slightly. He was such a fool sometimes and had forgotten completely about other injuries. An idea, however, struck his brain and without preamble, he had her in his arms.

"What say we bunk school today? I found a new way out of this place," he whispered theatrically. She chuckled a little, both at the mischievous glint in his eyes and the strain being taken from her body at his caring gesture.

Pretending to think for a moment, she sighed and replied, "Well, only if you promise to stop paying so much attention to this injury."

 

His smile broadened as he said, "I'll give you a massage when we reach home. Or two. Or maybe more," he winked at her, and she cuffed behind his head, drawing out a hurt shriek. She laughed at his betrayed expression.

How much she loved this idiot.