Unmistakably

Damon's [POV]

The foyer of the cinema is filled with people after the movie. "Where did all these people come from?"

"There's a private school nearby," Dani answers. "Their classes probably just ended." We walk through the crowd holding hands, and I tease her for not paying attention to the movie.

"Like you paid a lot of attention," she counters.

I freeze in my steps, my jaw hardening. Dani follows my gaze and then gasps. Gabe is at the entrance of the cinema, propped against a wall, inspecting the crowd.

"What is he doing here?" she asks.

"I don't know. He doesn't live anywhere nearby." Gabe's not the type to go watch movies on his own. He shows no interest in the posters or the various small screens running trailers. He's here for something else. I zero in on the way he looks at people as if trying to weigh them, to decide... what? There's something off about him. His eyes glaze funnily, and...

"Hey, does Gabe do drugs?" Dani asks.

"Crap." I pull her closer to me. "Yeah. He sells them, too. Mostly weed. Do you think he's come here to look for customers?"

"That's exactly what I think. Rich suburb, rich kids. That's not gonna happen."

"Dani." My warning tone stops her in her tracks. "Don't get involved in this."

At that precise moment, Gabe notices us and comes our way immediately.

"Well, well, well," he grunts out.

"What do you want, Gabe?" I bark, attracting several ugly glances from those around us.

"Play nice, Damon. This is no way to treat a friend."

"You're not my friend. Outside the ring, I don't give a damn about you."

A vein pulses in Gabe's temple. "Then get the fuck out of here."

"Why, so you can sell your crap to kids?" Dani's voice is a whisper, but several more people turn toward us. Behind Gabe, the guy selling popcorn and drinks jerks upright, staring at Gabe. Damn it, I don't want her to get on Gabe's bad side. That's a surefire way to get hurt.

"Your girl here hasn't learned not to mess in other's people affairs. That's just too bad, isn't it?"

I step in front of her, shielding her with my body. "If you have a problem, we'll deal with it in the ring. You can schedule a fight any time."

"My problem is with both of you. Why bother with the ring? This is much more fun. Your girl will see you taking the beating of your life, and you will learn that when you come to a new place, you show respect."

"Fuck off, Gabe. I'll see you in the ring when you aren't high."

Gabe doesn't back off. He just shakes his head, grinning.

"Boys," the popcorn guy exclaims, "whatever brawl you have, take it out of here."

"I don't think we will," Gabe says. The guy's eyebrows furrow, eyeing the phone in front of him nervously. He must have called the police already.

"Dani, go home," I tell her.

"What are you doing?" She steps between me and Gabe, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Listen to me, Dani. It won't go down well. This idiot is high. Go home. I'll call you once I'm out of here."

"I'm not going anywhere," she says.

I want to argue some more but never get the chance because Gabe pushes her out of the way with a shove. I reach out, but miss her by a fraction of an inch. She stumbles back, right into a group. One of the guys catches her.

What happens next goes on so fast, that no one has time to stop us. Gabe and I start fighting.

"Someone break them apart, please!" Dani screams. No one does. Out of the corner of my eyes, I see her get out her smartphone and press it to her ear. There are some big guys in the crowd, and I'm sure they could efficiently break up a high school brawl, but Gabe and I are pros. This is worse than in the ring. We hit with the same ferocity and determination, only this time the determination is a dangerous thing. In the ring, it's about winning, but now it's about hurting him so he can't hurt her. The crowd has formed a large circle around us. I don't know for how long Gabe and I throw punches at each other. Then a guy gets between us, forcing us apart and receiving a punch in the jaw from Gabe. When I see Dani run to the guy, I realize it must be her brother James.

The police arrive a few minutes later, taking both Gabe and me into custody.

"Check his pockets," I say, spitting blood, and I know it's game over for Gabe. He knows it, too, by the look of hatred in his eyes.

The police interrogation lasts for hours. As soon as I spill the beans on Gabe having drugs on him, all Hell breaks loose. He starts talking about the fights, and then the police question us about everything. In the midst of it all, Dani's brother whisks her away, and I'm grateful for it. I don't want her to witness this. She deserves someone who doesn't put her through crap like this. At nine o'clock, I'm dismissed. George is called to take me to his house and the police take Gabe with them.

We stop at a gas station, but George doesn't fill up his car's tank with gas. He goes inside the shop, returning with a pack of ice. He hands it to me, and I give him a silent nod of thank you and then put it on my split lip. My eye hurts like a motherfucker, so I bet it'll be black tomorrow.

When we arrive home, I intend to disappear to my room as fast as possible, wondering if it's too late to call Dani, but George stops me.

"Damon, wait. We need to talk."

I lean back against the door of my room, staring at him. This better not be some father-son bonding bullshit on his part. All right, it was decent of him to show up so quickly when the police called him and to buy me the ice pack, but I'm in no mood for a sermon. He's been backing off for the few past weeks, and stopped pestering me to stay away from Dani, so I suppose he's accepting it.

"You've crossed the line," he says.

"I'm not in the mood for this."

"Neither am I. It's late, and I'm tired. I'll make it short. It's obvious I'm not good at this father thing."

"Obviously."

"That's why I'm sending you to boarding school."

"What?" His words hit me like a ton of bricks.

"Isn't that what you wanted? To get away from here?"

I unhitch myself from the door, suddenly alert. "Not at a fucking boarding school. Maybe I don't want to leave anymore."

"Because of Dani."

"That's none of your business."

"It is. I have no control over you. You've done

Nothing but get into trouble and hurt yourself since you came here."

"She's been helping me," I say, more to myself than to him.

"And this is how you pay her back, by getting her into trouble, as well? You will hurt that girl. You're starting at the new school on Monday."

"But it's Thursday. How did you arrange my transfer so quickly?" I ask. He avoids looking at me. I narrow my eyes, forcing myself to take deep breaths and keep my fists behind my back, so I don't punch him. "You've been planning this for some time, haven't you?"

"Yes, a few weeks now. The principal of the new school is a friend of Dani's father. He sped up the process."

"I bet he has," I say through gritted teeth.

"You'll do nothing but hurt that girl, and you know it." The sad thing is, I do know it, but I won't admit it to him, not in a million years.

"The school is in Canada."

"Fuck you, George."

"You will show me respect, damn you. And you will call me Father."

"As you wish. Fuck you, Father."

"I bought you a plane ticket for Sunday. Don't bother going to school tomorrow. I explained to them today that you'll no longer attend there when they called to tell me you and Dani ran off."

"You can't do this."

"I'm your father. I can do this, and I will."

"How about your promise to Mom?"

"I promised your mother I would take care of you. I'm not good at it, so I'll hand you over to people who can."

"You're washing your hands off me. Don't kid yourself that you're doing the right thing."

And here I was, thinking the lack of conflict in the past weeks meant he was warming up to me. Instead, he was just plotting to send me away.

"Damon." He drops his voice to a calmer note, but it annoys me more. "I'll still pay for your school and whatever else you need. If you decide to go to college afterward, you'll have my full support."

"That's supposed to make me feel better?"

"It won't now, I'm sure, but it will later. Start packing."