2 Chapter 1: The meet

Brinley's POV

People say that there's a man for every man in this world. I don't buy that. I never did, though I almost did. I know things are rough but the only thing that keeps me going is the thought of having to be a man for yourself. Never resting, never giving in.

I never bought the idea of love, though I almost did.

"Oh, you broke up with him?" Tina asked as they laughed all together.

Tina, the most well-behaved of us all. She is family-oriented and would do anything to make her family proud even if it means putting her under pressure every so often. She has this hairstyle and overall look of every cliche grade-conscious-but-not-enough-to-actually-look-nerdy girl. Let me paint you a picture: A ponytail kind of hairstyle with the color of brown, narrow eyes, and long eyelashes which makes you want to just pluck them away and put them in replace of yours, and finally, her perfectly heart-shaped lips, which most of us are jealous of. She's a saint in front of her family, but not at all when she's with us.

"Davis Fuentes is not the man!" Clover, the only guy in the group, yelled.

Yes, you heard that right. Clover's the only guy among the five of us. I don't know, we just vibe. He is neat, fun, and jolly, though his serious side is just a few clutches away. He has these broad shoulders that are just as attractive as his fetching eyes. He has this roman nose too, a divided chin, and to complete the look, he wears a pair of graded eyeglasses. That is mostly because he does read a lot of books, but a little because of technology. Also, we're friends because he's hopelessly in love with my closest friend in our circle...

"Oh, c'mon, Clover. There was never a man for her. Not yet," Zaylee exclaimed in excitement as she uttered the last two words.

Zaylee— the woman Clover is obsessed with. I've known her since we were in middle school. Zaylee has this amour and charm she brings with her everywhere she goes. Her charisma is just overflowing. She has this medium-length hair of gold, cheekbones that could slice through flesh, a smile of a prude, and to top that off, a body of a goddess. No wonder why Clover's head over heels crazy about this girl. Too bad, Zaylee does not have too much interest in a serious relationship. Well, after the long courtship Clover did to have her, Zaylee managed to get Clover on board for a casual relationship with her. A compromise, if you will.

"Who's next in line, girl?" Keana said with twinkling eyes of excitement. I know the look. She's eager.

Have you ever thought of a girl that is as rebellious as the devil but as pretty as an angel? Endearing eyes, has the softest lips ever, shiny and wavy hair, and last but not the least, her sexy and well-built body that seems to attract so much people. Well, that's Keana. The complete opposite of Tina in terms of behaviors. She doesn't care much about her grades, though not enough to label her as dumb, because I tell you, she's brilliant as fuck. She participates in gang fights every now and then. Her rebellion against her parents is caused by the very common no-time-for-family problem. One time, she sneaked out one of her dad's sports cars to join a race, which she actually won, then as she crossed the finish line, she did not stop speeding off until she saw a very big rock on the side of the road and crashed the car there. Of course, she jumped out before it could hit the obstacle.

"I don't really know. Come what may. Should have one, it's kind of boring to have none," I replied in a tone which they have always known. I got excited with my own words.

Of course, me. Brinley McNeil, a very sophisticated kind of person which, in no doubt, I got from my father. People say I've got scary yet great character. Of course, I am not telling you every characteristic I have. Not yet.

Every feature of mine has its own specialty. I have so deep eyes you could just get lost in, a pair of thick brows that make me look even more intimidating and so much hotter, a perfectly shaped nose, and lastly, hair that is in the shade of ash brown that suits everything about me so well.

"You never get enough, huh," Tina said. We laughed as Clover filled each of our shot glasses with wine.

"You always turn someone's feelings upside down," Clover raised his hand a bit for a high five with Zaylee.

It feels good to actually end a relationship, or as what they call it. I laughed at myself. Relationship. How much of a cliche would it be if I say that I am not that type? It would be so much, right? But I am just saying, I am up for more fun.

Love? It tangles you up. It settles you down which is way too opposite of fun.

"Will someone ever stoop with or over you, Brinley?" Zaylee chuckled at her statement. Hmm, what a question.

"Perhaps!" Clover said, I rolled my eyes then smiled. "Or maybe, the guy ain't born yet."

"Dude, she's already turning 20 this month." Zaylee sneered. "Stupid! Brinley would be old enough to be called a tita by that time! Stop with your pedophile fantasies, Clover," Zaylee answered and mocked Clover.

"Why did you freakin' do that?!" Clover complained in disapproval.

"Oh, did I? I'm sorry. But aren't you gonna apologize for being a weeny?"

Okay, here it is. The exasperation between them is beginning.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm just stating my opinion!" Clover burst out.

"Oh, here comes the pikon guy again!" Zaylee started to laugh. Tina and Keana were trying to stop their laughter, while I was just staring at the both of them (Clover and Zaylee), smiling. They could be the perfect war couple one of these days.

"Who's the quick-tempered now?!" Clover raised his voice in embarrassment and anger.

"You should not dispute that!" Zaylee arched her right eyebrow.

"I'm not disputing it, it's just that it's not true—" Zaylee cut his sentence off.

"Oh, really? Pikon!" Zaylee teased again. Clover got to his feet. His eyes squinted.

"Who's quick-tempered?" He said slowly but felt.

"Oops," muttered Tina and Keana.

"Clover Montefalcon! Pikon!" Zaylee stood up also to level with Clover. Hays, we can easily guess what's next. Without a doubt.

"Me?! Pikon?!" Clover kept on disagreeing, their posture becoming so sleek.

"Yeah! And you're a coward for refusing to accept that fact!" Zaylee said, probably bruising Clover's ego.

"Damn it! Now, I'm a coward? I'd kiss you right now," Clover threatened.

"If you can!" Zaylee teased in a very loud voice that echoed through our house's basement.

Swiftly, Zaylee ran away from where Clover was standing. Clover took fast steps to tail Zaylee. They circled and circled around the basement having to run several rounds inside, staggering between the steps they take and grazing every thing on the side. No one wanted to surrender nor to stop them.

"Popcorn oh," Tina held her food in front of us, the food she was already munching from for a while now.

"Seems like this is a good show. Zaylee's gonna pay if Clover catches her," Keana said, chuckling. I remained silent but smiling.

Minutes of chasing, finally, Clover caught Zaylee. He cornered her, leaned both of his hands on both sides, caging Zaylee in-between. He lowered his other hand and moved it to Zaylee's chin, he elevated it a bit more, then, boom! Without any second thoughts, he kissed her wildly.

I rolled my eyes. With that beautiful yet dangerous passion between them, they could conquer, yet they don't even have a plan on settling down. They want more fun. Hays, I know that they're on the same pace, but I know, they'd end up settling down. I just know. They don't want commitment, for now, they just want to be free, free of loving someone, free of any pain, just free. Nothing could stop them. That's the beauty of a life without commitment.

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Ashton Van's POV

"Oh, that's pure bullshit!" The man from the other side cried out. I kept my cold expression.

"You're making this battle boring," Damian from my side said. Their voices echoed through the whole vicinity.

Felix, on my other side, exclaimed profanities as his temper boiled.

Who would not get impatient, eh? We've been talking and insulting each other here for like half an hour and there's still no riot happening. We've been so chill for the past minutes, but the other side was grumpy. They were like dormant volcanoes, and we've been waiting for them to explode.

"Oh, c'mon!" Damian from behind me yelled. I released a big sigh.

It is a big letdown for us to settle with a riot with these guys. I mean, seriously, half an hour? I would not even take that long to have a girl come crawling at me. Give us justice for fuck's sake.

Although I deem this the most boring fight we had, it is a great opportunity to expand our turf. Some of our members are just too busy with what they call personal commitments. Damned commitments!

"Let's kindly stop this pure bullshit you call and start the exciting part," I said in a low voice but with my fists clenched.

"You're actually the worst gang we've encountered!" Felix shouted just to push these men to attack us. For now, we don't want to make the first move. We got time to read them and it seems pretty clear that they are procrastinators and afraid.

"Oh, the worst, eh?" Their leader said with arrogance. "Well then, you'll have your worst fight with us with also the worst result," his eyes squinted in anger, "Attack!" And as if on cue, one by one, his members ran towards us.

Okay, here we go. The exciting part. Most of them have their own melee weapons. We did not allow anyone to bring any guns so we could avoid calling some of the community's attention. Though anybody cheating could happen. I know they brought some too, everyone does it for backup.

The majority of us want to fight hand-on-hand, which only means, just a small count of us brought some melee weapons like crowbars, brass knuckles, bats, and chains. Well, I don't really care about the weapons, I fight in the way I want. And, for all you know, I only brought 12 guys in here.

From all the gang groups we've encountered, this one did not give us chills. Oh well, whatever.

As two enemies approached me, I dodged the weapons they tried to hit me with. I lowered myself to reach both of their knees and quickly grabbed them which caused them to stumble. I stepped on both of their faces, they tried to resist. I removed my feet as they stood up again, but without them having to get revenge, I smashed the back of their necks with my hands.

Another batch of enemies approached me, I swayed my body around them and grabbed their hands, I held them tightly, with my other hand. One by one, I gave them a jab, a right hook, and an uppercut. And for the last time, I twisted their arms which made them wince in pain. I let go of them and stretched out my muscles. Every crunching sound sufficed my craving for action. As I roved my sight around for speculation, I felt so satisfied.

A muscular guy with a club in his hand was staring sharply at me. He literally thinks that he can threaten me with his simple glare which he actually thinks is a deadly one. Jerk, that does not work on me. I stood still, dodging the attacks from the surroundings, I gave back the sharp look he gave me a while ago. Finally, he ran towards me, he seems so big but it did not bother me. As he got closer to me, his club met my face which made me move backward. Shit, he got the first damage. My eyes openings narrowed as I felt the impact on my face. He has this long hair and that's where I grabbed it. As he got close to me, I attacked him with my knee and punched him on the face which made his nose bleed. His muscles seem so hard but nah, that doesn't mean it would make mine soft. I distance myself a little bit to gather ample strength to create a greater impact on him. After the impact, I approached him with a swirling kick which made contact with his face. He fell down on the ground. I spitted on his face.

"That club hit the wrong person," I whispered to myself.

I roam my sight around, almost everyone is down, mostly from the opponents' side.

"Hey dude— I mean, bastard! Get off her!" Felix shouted at their leader.

"Hey, you! The guy with a leather jacket!" The leader of their group yelled, and he was pertaining to me. Yes, I am wearing a leather jacket. Bad and hot, right?

As I looked at him, he grasps the girl inches away from him.

Okay, this is how it goes. We have already plotted this, we planned this well. This gang only agreed to give us this riot because we said that we want the girl they have, which is technically the girl I have a relationship with. Of course, not a serious one. Just a fling. That's not really the thing in here. That was just a cover-up reason. All we want here is excitement, and I don't give a damn about this girl. She's just one of my girls anyway.

So here's the scenario: This guy, the leader, is pointing a gun at Karina's head. Maybe, he might think that I do care for that girl and will surrender myself to him. Well, nope. But I'll still get that girl.

I snapped my finger. A shot echoed through the whole abandoned factory. The leader was sent to the floor, bleeding.

The remaining opponents ran their way outside the building.

Almost everyone's mouth fell open and kept asking themselves how was that done so flawlessly. I rolled my eyes, they looked up around where they only spotted a guy holding a sniper. The guy winked at us and saluted. I arched my left eyebrow.

"Let's go," I said and led the way but—

"How 'bout the girl, boss?" A member asked.

"You decide whatever you do with her," I said and slipped my hands inside my pockets.

"Ashton! Hell," Karina complained from behind. I did not look back.

"Shut it. Let's just make this easier and have our separate ways, Karina," I said which she disagreed more with.

"It's Kendra! Not Karina!" She said, my eyes were full of aggravation. It's Kendra and yet I kept calling her Karina? So who's Kendra? "It only means you've been playing around with so many girls, you asshole!" She yelled at me, yet it did not matter what she said. I continued walking away. "Shit."

"Don't act like we've been having a serious relationship in here, Karina—" She cut my sentence off.

"It's Kendra!" She corrected.

"Whatever. You wouldn't last with whatever role you play in my life anyway," I said, meters away from her. "Boys, let's go! We still have a fight to catch on," I said at last.

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Brinley's POV

I left them in our house's basement so that they could enjoy more of our wines. I already gave them my permission as dad gave it to me, too. Being this girl kind of makes him agree to everything I say. I am his only girl since mom left us and I don't care where she went. I don't even know if she even cared when she stepped a foot out of this house. Me, as the only girl left in the family, he has always wanted me to behave well, but things did not go his way. I made my life this way. My brother has always wanted me that way too but I resisted. I wanted to live this life longer, but I promised them, by the time I'm ready, I'll be good. Just not now.

I did not know where to go. I just strolled around every corner of the city, until I reached the school's gate. Ah, well, might not be a bad idea to fetch some of my requirements. I kept on making my car's horn make noise. While waiting for the guards to open the gate, I laid my head on my seat first, turning my head sideways— only to find out a group of guys walking straight toward my way. I mean, not my way. Just passing by. I concluded that they came from a fight. I can see it through their faces, minimally bruised. A guy was on the lead, he was wearing a leather jacket, I think. It's 6 pm and they're still quite far away from me, I couldn't see him clearly.

My attention was diverted as I heard the gate sounded open. I rolled my eyes, what took them so long? I lifted the car's window down.

"What took you so long?" I asked the guard, it's kind of unusual.

"The atmosphere's inside is not in shape. Till now, it still hasn't ended yet," the guard explained, I nodded and drove my car, and parked it inside.

I got out of my car seeing some gangsters and students making a scene. A big one.

"How did they fucking get inside here? Are they outsiders?" I asked myself.

"Yes," a guy from my side answered. Wait, this guy is familiar.

"And I'm pretty sure that you're an outsider too," I said. This guy is familiar though. I think I have seen him from a while ago— I looked at his outfit, he's wearing a leather jacket... Oh, he was fast to get inside in here, huh?

"Yes. Do you know that guy?" He asked looking at someone, looking at the mess. I looked at where he was looking— Davis Fuentes.

"Yes," I sparingly answered.

"What? How?" He was puzzled based on the tone he used.

"My former victim— I mean, ex-boyfriend." I almost laughed at myself. "I'll end this mess. This aggravates me when I'm not in the mood," I said. He did not respond.

I started walking towards the people in the middle of their rumble.

"Fuck off, everyone!" I commanded which caught all their attention.