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“Teach me how to fight”
Ronan looked up, prepared with a well-practiced scowl to greet whoever the Hell decided to bother him. He didn’t have to look up far, though, because, even sitting on his bed, he was nearly as tall as the five-foot-nothing intruder, Blue Sargent.
“What did you just say?”
“You heard me. Teach. Me. To. Fight”
Ronan chuckled at the emphasis she put into each word, as if it made her any more intimidating than she already wasn’t.
“And why, exactly, would I do that?”
Blue sighed, obviously annoyed at Ronan’s condescending grin. That grin could cut someone like a knife if he wanted it to, she thought.
“Because, I think we all need it. I should have asked you after Whelk attacked Gansey but I didn’t. I’m asking you now. Especially with Greenmantle still out there. You can’t protect us all, Lynch, even Adam.”
Ronan flinched at the mentioned of Adam Parrish, and Blue smirked, knowing that comment alone had won her argument.
“Alright, Maggot, when d'ya wanna start?”
“Now.”
Ronan rolled his eyes and sighed, standing to stretch well over her head. He started walking to the door.
“Let’s get this over with”
“Sure thing, Ro.”
He stopped suddenly, as if he’d run into a wall and whipped around, irritated.
He leered at her, “Don’t call me that. Ever. Okay?”
Blue suddenly felt bad, as if she’d crossed a boundary that was forbidden.
“Sorry.”
“Forget about it. No big deal.”
He opened his door with enough force that Blue was surprised he didn’t rip it off. Though she still felt bad for what had just happened, she was ecstatic that he was teaching her to fight and she couldn’t really mask her joy. So when Ronan stalked down the stairs into the main lobby and down to the first floor, she happily skipped behind him, Which, of course, prompted Gansey to respond in the form of furrowed eyebrows and a shake of his head.
“What are two up to now?” He asked, a little nervous, as if he was afraid to hear the answer.
“We’re going to the park to set fire to boxes of kittens, you can join if you like” Ronan called over his shoulder as he stomped down to the first floor.
“I’m good, thanks” Gansey called, though half of him wanted to join simply out of curiosity. What was Blue doing with Ronan? And why didn’t she tell him? He tried to reason with himself that they were just friends and he had no need to be jealous. Tried, and almost succeeded, until he heard a crash and both Blue’s and Ronan’s laughs from below. He sighed, and carried himself and his emotional issues back to his study to read.
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~
“Again.”
Blue, rubbed her shoulder where Ronan had grabbed her and restrained her, but she was ready for another round. She wanted to be ready. She wanted to be good. And, though she only had eyes for Gansey, she wanted to impress Ronan. She wanted him to think she was just as capable as him. And it was working. He was pleasantly surprised that she had lasted this long, even he was getting a little tired. Over the course of an hour, they had fought dozens of times, and Blue was actually improving well. She was stronger than she looked, and it wasn’t empty strength either. She had managed to hit Ronan more times than he was willing to admit, and his ribcage ached where she had landed a good kick earlier. He didn’t let on that he was hurt, though.
“Are you sure, Blue? I don’t wanna hurt you…?”
Blue laughed out loud, and smiled at the fact that he used her first name. “What, are you scared, Lynch?”
He grinned. “Only that Gansey might be upset that I pummeled his eye-candy.”
He chuckled darkly, seeing her redden, and he knew he struck a nerve. He saw her body tense and straighten as she prepared to fight him again. She kept her wrapped hands open, just like he said, and held them slightly from her, both a defense and threat. Her eyes glinted and she nodded sharply, signaling for him to attack. They circled one another, Ronan thinking about where to strike.
“Are ya gonna hit me, or not, Lynch?”
“Only if you promise to put up a fight after I do.”
“You know I will.”
He lunged forward, ready to make a clean strike to her chest, careful to not be too rough. She neatly danced around him, and he could see her eyes shine as she used his arm and lack of balance to send him flying forward. He went down, but quickly came up again, smiling. She beckoned him with her fingers as a challenge, confidence radiating off of her. He went forward again and she used both hands as a solid platform to hit him in his stomach, fast and hard. His breath left him, but only for a moment before he grabbed her arms and spun her body so that her back was to him and her armed were wrapped tightly over her chest. Ronan was still being gentle, but not because she was a small girl. Not even because she was a girl. Though he’d never admit it, Ronan was growing fond of the annoying little turd. He was interrupted in his thoughts as, suddenly, she pulled her right arm from his grasp, joined her hands and used the force of a bull to pull her left elbow forward and push it back into his gut. While he stepped back and held his stomach, Blue did a simple spin and ducked low to the ground, putting her hands on the ground for support as she shot her left leg out and took Ronan out at the knees. He fell to the ground on his back, gasping and laughing simultaneously. His eyes were bright, and he was glad he finally had a real competitor. Fighting with Declan was never a challenge, they knew all the same movements, the same hits. But Blue? Blue improvised, and, to Ronan, it gave him the same thrill as street racing.
Blue stood over him proudly, arms crossed and smirk on her face. “Had enough yet, Lynch?” She reached an arm down to help him up.
He smiled, a true, genuine smile and said “Not nearly.” He shot his hand up like a snake and pulled her down so she landed, rather graceless, on top of him. In seconds he had straddled and pinned her to the ground. He had an evil look on his face as he looked down at her. He sighed,
“Rule number one, Sargent, never let your guard down. Rule number two, always be creative in the element of surprise. It helps to win. Okay?”
She looked up at him, still out of breath from the take down, and nodded. “Okay.”
As if they just suddenly noticed their positions, they burst out laughing. Ronan let her arms go and collapsed to her side and they continued laughing hysterically. They were interrupted by a cough in the doorway. They looked up and saw Gansey, looking like someone had kicked his puppy, and then like he was the puppy who had been kicked.
“Uh, sorry. I just, Uh. Ah- Blue, your mother called, asked if she could see us. All of us. Uh, I’ll just- ah, I’ll go.”
Gansey turned and left, not looking like his diplomatic self. Noah materialized and sat on the floor next to Blue’s head. She sighed.
“How much of that did he see?”
“Just where Ronan had you pinned”
“Ugh, great.”
Blue and Ronan got up, just starting to feel their bruises forming. Blue looked at him, smiling.
“We gonna do this again, Lynch?”
“Only if you say please, maggot.”
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Over the next few weeks, Blue and Ronan trained regularly. For hours at a time, sometimes twice a day, they spent their time exchanging fighting methods and leaving each other bruises. Once, Blue was left with a large bruise in her left forearm, but she wore it with pride. It wasn’t as if she didn’t leave Ronan looking worse. Even Maura didn’t seem to mind the lessons, as long a Blue was learning to protect herself. Once, though, when Adam tried to say that Blue was getting tougher than Ronan, Ronan reconsidered the dangerous little monster he was creating.
“I don’t think she could be tougher than me if we switched bodies.”
“Is that a challenge, Ronan?” She responded, eying him dangerously. Using his first name felt so foreign, but she knew that he would understand that she meant business.
“It’s a challenge if you take it as one” he shot back, grinning menacingly.
It was playful banter, but they would probably beat the bajeezus out of each other over it later, Gansey knew. He had weaned out his jealousy when he discovered that they were learning combat techniques, and he was more than Okay with them spending that time together. But this conflict needed to be resolved.
“Why don’t we just find a civil way to settled this matter? How about you guys try t-”
Blue cut him off suddenly, “Wrestling match, it is!” And before he could protest, she shot out of her chair and launched herself at Ronan, catching all of her raven boys off guard. Noah started cackling at the brawl on the floor, while Gansey and Adam just looked on, bored. This was probably the fifth time they’d fought in the main lobby, and it probably wouldn’t be the last. In a matter of minutes, Blue was sitting on Ronan’s back, holding his arms.
“How many is that for me, Noah?” She asked triumphantly.
“That would be your second win versus Ronan’s three.”
She scowled and let Ronan up, both of them rubbing their aching limbs. Gansey sighed,
“What I meant was a much more mentally challenging contest. Maybe trivia? Historical? What about literature?? After all, having fun’s not hard when you have a library car-”
“Shut the fuck up, Gansey.” Ronan said, still rubbing his shoulder. “Alrighty, Maggot. Let’s settle this with am arm wrestling match. I win, you clean my room and training area for a whole week, deal?”
Blue nodded, “And, if I win”, she thought for a moment, “you have to tea with me and my family. And drive me there and back when I need it. Also for one week.”
Ronan groaned at the thought of seeing Orla everyday for a week. But, hey, it’s not like she would win, right?
“Alright,” he said, “deal.”
They shook hands and Gansey shook his head. He saw the look in Blue’s eyes. She had something up her sleeve, and it terrified him. He and Adam shared a look, both knowing that this would not end well.
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Moments later, they all found themselves on the first floor, crowded around an old furnace that served as their arm rest. Noah was smiling excited, Blue and Ronan were punching each other playfully, and Adam and Gansey were trying to stop this madness. But, the two couldn’t be convinced, and in seconds, they had propped their right elbows on the table and clasped each other’s right hands. Blue’s hands were puny in comparison to Ronan’s, but he knew not to underestimate her, that she was strong.
“Are we ready?” Noah asked excitedly.
“Yeah, we’re ready. But don’t try your Casper the friendly ghost shit to help her. There’s plenty of windows I can throw your smudgy ass out of, got it?”
Noah chuckled and nodded, backing away with his hands up in surrender.
“Okay… go!”
Ronan and Blue started moving their hands forward, each trying to pin the others down for victory. Their arms were shaking at the sheer strength of each other. It was a constant back and forth; first it looked like Ronan would win, them Blue, then Ronan again, and over and over again. Gansey had covered his eyes, and Adam couldn’t Peel his eyes away. At one point, Ronan had finally looked like he was about to win. Blue’s hand was inches from the table. But Gansey didn’t have to be psychic to know she would win. He saw the glimmer in her eyes and knew, something hellish was about to happen. Blue shifted suddenly, keeping her elbow down but standing up more, taller. Ronan looked up questioningly.
“Not giving up already, are you, Maggot?”
She smiled sharply, a grin that was frighteningly similar to Ronan’s and replied “Not nearly.”
She leaned forward, suddenly very close to Ronan’s face, smiling. “What’s rule number two, Lynch?” Not giving him time to answer, she leaned further, still keeping her arm down know the table and kissed his cheek. She pulled back, laughing at Ronan’s surprised gaze and slams his hand down against the table. She let his hand go, got up and said, “I’ll be waiting in the car.”
Ronan sat there stunned, as she sauntered towards the door, closing Gansey’s mouth, which was hanging open. “Always be creative in the elements of surprise, it helps to win!” She threw over her shoulder. Gansey walked over to Ronan, an almost smile on his face.
“I don’t wanna say it, bu-”
“Yes, you do,” Ronan sighed. “Just fucking say it.”
“If you insist: I told you so.”
Ronan grimaced, “I can’t believe her, the little shit. I oughtta-”
Honking broke through his threats, and they heard Blue, “Hurry up, RoRo, it’s tea time!”
He groaned and the boys all cackled as he walked through the door yelling a string of profanity that would have left Gansey tickled pink if he wasn’t laughing so hard. Ronan found Blue leaning against the passenger door. He glared at her as he tore his door open and threw himself into the car. She smiled. This week, she decided, was going to be fun.