Breaking Promises (B-Boy #1) Page 18

  I nodded my head, still feeling the effects of that morning’s dream weighing heavily on me. “I think you’re right. I don’t think my head’s in the game right now.”

  Bamboo frowned a bit, but nodded. “Okay. Stay close and do not—I repeat—do not piss anybody off.”

  The moment we entered I could feel the collective stares of the people around us. I pursed my lips and kept my head raised. Sure, we did seem a little out of place; like a bunch of workout video instructors thrust into an arena of video game villains. But it didn’t matter. I’d dealt with intimidation of the highest caliber before. One time, our gymnastics team entered into an arena of boos and hisses. I glanced around the venue and smirked. These people had nothing on me.

  “Where should we stand?” Ashley yanked at her tight leggings and grimaced. “They’re all staring at us! Why’d you let me come here dressed like this? I don’t even look prepared to battle.”

  “We’re not here to battle,” Bamboo reminded us. “We’re just here to watch and we can stand over at the wall over there—by the bar.” Under her breath she added, “It’s gonna take alcohol to keep me back from jumping into those cyphers.”

  “Why don’t you go into the cyphers?” I asked, startling her. I guess she didn’t think anybody could hear her.

  “What are you talking about?” she asked, playing dumb.

  “You can go into the cypher. This is your thing. We’ll just sit back and watch and see how it’s done.”

  A look of guilt washed over her face. It was fleeting, but there was no way I could have missed it.

  Frowning, I tugged at her arm. “Bamboo, what’s wrong?”

  She glanced around, making sure the other girls weren’t listening before leaning toward me. “I guess…I guess I’m just worried that I’ll mess up or something. It’s different going in it alone, but if I do and screw up, then it’s onall our heads, not just mine.”

  “Nobody’s perfect.” It was probably the least helpful thing I could have said, but I didn’t know how else to reply. This was definitely a new territory for me and I was just learning as I went.

  “But if I do something and embarrass the Belladonnas before our debut then we’ll never live it down.” Her face crumpled and for the first time I realized how vulnerable our tough b-girl really was.

  I smiled and squeezed her arm. “Bamboo is hard to break, remember? No matter what you do or what you don’t do, I think we’ll be fine.”

  She looked down at me and smiled. “Thanks, Aurora.”

  “No, problem.”

  The crowd began to grow, causing us to squeeze in closer together. Funk blasted by the gigantic speakers by our heads and though our eardrums felt as if they’d blow out at any moment, the music certainly added to the energy of the room. I glanced at the other girls and smiled when I noticed all our initial nerves had long gone. They were feeling the exact draw I did during my first battle. They were definitely feeling the pull of competition.

  Small cyphers began to break out around; all friendly but full of good energy. I glanced at Bamboo, who reminded me of one of those Greek theater masks—comedy and tragedy. I decided not to push her though I could sense she was raring to go.

  Clemence caught my attention. “Are these those ‘conversations’ you were telling me about?”

  “Yeah.” I nodded. “They’re basically just showing off and having fun.”

  She smiled. “I love it. There are definitely positive vibes around. I can feel it.”

  “Good.” I turned and added under my breath, “Hope it stays that way.”

  Of course those positive vibes flew away once Annihilation entered the room. It was like one of those old western movies where tumbleweeds blew in, signaling the arrival of the notorious cowboy gang. The crowd practically parted ways when the similarly dressed crew walked in, looking as intimidating as shit.

  I took a deep breath and puffed my chest. I would not be intimidated.

  Mitch

  “Bahaha!” Craig’s laugh was one of the most annoying things I’d ever heard in my life. “Your girl’s here, Kickwit.”

  He didn’t have to tell me. I could almost feel her once I entered the room. I hadn’t seen her since our little debacle at the club, which the guys still made fun of me for. I’d never made a fool of myself like that before. What was I thinking,trying to one up herin a club? Then again, the whole thing wouldn’t have bothered me so much had I not made her cry…I still feel like shit for that.

  Wait, what was I saying? She was the one who hurt me! Why should I feel bad?

  The Belladonnas stood on the opposite end of the club, looking as if they had just walked out of a Pilates class. Noting that Clemence and her friend Katy were members, it wasn’t too far off.

  With a smug look on his face, Craig motioned for us to follow him. I didn’t even need to ask to figure out what was about to happen.

  “Ladies. Fancy meeting you here.” Craig took off his snapback cap and bent over in a mock bow. “To what do we owe the pleasure?”

  I kept my gaze anywhere but on Aurora. I knew the moment I looked at her I’d feel all those emotions I tried so hard to fight.

  Anger.

  Fear.

  Depression.

  Loss.

  I couldn’t risk psyching myself out before this battle…even though I knew Craig would probably take the cake, as usual.

  Bamboo stepped forward. Her lips twisted into a sneer that was honestly quite frightening to see. “Why don’t you shove it, Craig?”

  He lifted his hands in the air. “I’m just welcoming the newest crew on the block. What were you called again? The Bella Pizzas or something?”

  “Belladonnas,” she snapped.

  “Oh, I thought you were named pizza after those zits on your face.”

  Bamboo’s nostrils flared. She looked like a feral bull, ready to charge at any moment. Of course that thick ring in her noise only added to the illusion. “You know what? You’re nothing but a motherfucking—”

  “Bamboo!” Aurora’s voice instantly snapped Bamboo out of her anger-infused daze as well as capturing my attention. “He’s not worth it.”

  I had almost forgotten how sweet Aurora’s voice sounded. It sounded like an old song—innocent and enticing. Then again, Sirens were known for tempting men with their beautiful voices.

  Those men died.

  As hard as I tried to fight it, I couldn’t stand not being able to look at her. When I felt the timing was right, I snuck a peek, only to find her staring right at me.

  Shit.

  So much for keeping focused.

  Her hair was pulled away from her face, showing off her rosy cheeks and enticing eyes. Her thick lips were curled into a half-smirk/half-sneer. At least she wasn’t wearing that purple sports bra I loved so much. Then I’d really be done for.

  Images of what we did the last time she wore it instantly flooded my mind. I coughed a bit, fighting off the blood that began to rush to my dick.

  “Cat got your tongue, Dimwit?” Aurora looked at me proudly, and despite my reservations, I couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at my lips.

  “I’d call you by your b-girl name, but I guess you aren’t fly enough to have one.” I lifted the left corner of my mouth into smug smile.

  Aurora opened her mouth to respond, but Clemence stepped in front of her, glaring at me. “Her name is Aura.”

  “Aura?” Craig snickered. Even Aurora looked a bit surprised. “You sure you aren’t just dumb enough to forget a few syllables of her name?”

  “Her name is Aura,” Clemence insisted firmly. “Because she shines as bright as one. She’s not as filthy as your sorry ass.”

  Aurora looked genuinely surprised and touched. Despite the fact that I was still feeling a bit hurt and, yes, greatly pissed off at her, I couldn’t ignore how beautiful she looked with that bemused smile on her face.

  “Okay, then b-girlAura,” I said, putting emphasis on her alias. “See you out on the floor.”


  “We’re not battling,” one of the girls whom I had never seen before blurted out.

  In unison, the girls stared daggers at the platinum blonde female who shrugged sheepishly.

  “Not battling? Then what are you doing here?” Craig threw his head back and bellowed out with laughter. “I get it. You’re scared. This whole thing is a front. You almost got me there.”

  As expected, Bamboo’s quick temper flared. “I will fucking end you, Craig. Wanna do this? Right now?” She extended her arms and wiggled her neck around. “Let’s go!”

  Craig’s laugh only got harder. “Please. I have bigger fish to fry. If you want to take us on, we’ll see you at Battle of the Crews.”

  Bamboo looked as if she were going to take a running leap and pummel Craig to the ground. I really think she would have had Winter not chosen that precise moment to walk by. It was a bit comical watching the b-girl purposely trying to avoid Anthony. Those two were ridiculous.

  Winter caught her cousin’s eye and smirked. She didn’t say a word until she walked past and muttered, “Traitor,” loud for all of us to hear.

  That got Craig rolling even more.

  “See you around, Belladonnas.” He grabbed onto his crotch and shook it around. “Hope you like what you see.”

  The girls pressed their lips together and tried to keep their cool. Aurora glanced back at me and shot me an expression I couldn’t place. Eyebrows furrowed, lips in a slight pout—it was an expression that was bound to haunt me for the rest of my life.

  Aurora

  “Why the hell did you tell them we weren’t battling?” Bamboo hissed at Ashley, who merely shrugged.

  “Well, we’re not,” she replied in a small voice.

  “They didn’t need to know that!”

  Bianca rolled her eyes and flicked her hand in dramatic fashion. “I think they’d notice eventually. Lay off Ashley, why don’t you?”

  Bamboo’s eyes widened frighteningly. “You didn’t have to tell them now! They would have been too busy to have figured it out until we left. Now we’re nothing but a joke to them.”

  I shook my head in exasperation. “Just cool it, you guys. We all know why we’re here. Let’s just focus and forget everything else, okay?” I straightened my shoulders. “Besides, it makes things a bit more fun when people underestimate you, doesn’t it? We’ll be cool.”

  Bamboo shifted uncomfortably and shot a hurt look in her cousin’s direction. Though I knew Winter noticed, she turned away, ignoring us. Bamboo sighed and nodded. “Yeah. Let’s see what we’re up against and roast the hell out of them.”

  Mitch

  Round after round, it all blended together.

  I was moving up in the ranks, and as usual, Craig was too. For some reason, it felt more personal this time around. In fact, during one battle, he even elbowed me in the ribs, as if to taunt me.

  “What’s your problem?” I squatted down and took a swig of water from my bottle, never once lifting my gaze from the current battle.

  “Surprised you were able to stay away from Aura this long,” he coughed out. “I guess you can thank me for that.”

  “What are you talking about?” I asked, peering up at him, though I really didn’t care what he had to say.

  “I was able to help you with that. You didn’t need any distractions. Not when we have Nocturnal and his crew to beat.”

  Okay, that got my attention.

  I turned slowly and brought my eyebrows together in confusion. “You’re not making any sense—not that you ever do. What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Who do you think told Karlie to swing by the cafeteria where I knew both you and Aurora would be? I needed to nip that shit in the bud before it ruined the crew. That video was just an afterthought.”

  I saw red.

  “You sent her to fuck things up with me and Aurora?” I growled.

  “Isn’t that what I just said?” He shrugged nonchalantly, a proud smile stretching across his face. “You’ll thank me later.”

  “Thank you!” I jumped up and shoved him, knocking him into a few people. A bouncer immediately jumped forward, but Craig waved him off. The bouncer paused, his hand hovering mid-air inmydirection, but as usual, Craig’s pull won out.

  “Cool it, Kickwit.” Craig glared at me, remaining eerily calm. “Like I said, you’ll thank me one day. I know you probably hate me now, but you’ll see why I had to do it.”

  “Thank you? For what? Butting into my personal life and ruining it?”

  His eyes narrowed. “Word on the street was that Nocturnal was trying to recruit you again and Aurora was telling you to go along with it. With how things were going, I’m not too sure you would have stuck with your crew.”

  “I would never leave Annihilation!”

  Despite being toward the back of the club near the exits, I noticed a few people begin to tear their attention away from the b-boy battle and begin listening to my own personal battle. As luck would have it, Nocturnal was one of them.

  “You don’t think the crew hasn’t seen how shitty your attitude’s been lately?”

  “I was busy with Aurora. My bad for not hanging out as much. Damn, when didyou get all clingy, Cruel?”

  His mouth twitched angrily. “Shut the fuck up, Kickwit. You don’t think the whole crew hasn’t noticed that you’ve had one foot out the door? This isn’t all about me, this is about you!”

  “You seem to have forgotten that Annihilation was my creation! Why don’t you step off and stop turning all dictator on us.” I gritted my teeth, trying my hardest not to beat the shit out of him. It wasn’t the time. I’d get him where it hurt.

  “And you seem to have forgotten that we wouldn’t be where we are right now if it weren’t for me.” He took one step forward as well, our foreheads nearly pressed against each other. “You should be thanking me for reminding you where your loyalties lie. It’s definitely not with Knight Crawlerz or those prima donnas.”

  “You know, I should have beaten your ass once you posted that video.” My fist clenched instinctively.

  Craig’s lips curled almost evilly. His moniker really did suit him. “But you didn’t. And why is that?”

  I really wish I knew how to answer that.

  He snorted. “Because you were too scared…as usual.”

  I shoved him again and this time the bouncer stepped up and pulled us apart. “Take it to the floor, boys. Don’t do it here.”

  Craig cracked his neck and nodded. “Oh, he’ll get his on the floor.”

  I smacked my mouth angrily. “Get ready for a beat down.”

  Aurora

  The battle raged on.

  The room was becoming stifling hot and the girls’ excitement seemed to grow.

  We were definitely ready.

  Mitch won each of his rounds…unfortunately, so did Craig. Now it was time for the finals and I wanted nothing more than for Mitch to wipe Craig’s sorry face against the floor.

  Mitch

  Despite the loud music and the crowd’s cheers, all I could hear were my breaths.

  Heavy.

  Slow.

  Determined.

  The house lights shined above our heads, casting shadows on Craig’s face. He looked like a monster—one I needed to defeat.

  Julian walked around the circle, addressing the crowd. I could hardly make out a word he was saying. It all sounded like mumbles to me or that teacher in those Peanut cartoons.

  “Annihilation.”

  “Once again…”

  “Cruel and Kickwit.”

  “Who’ll take it!”

  BOOM!

  The bass exploded and Craig ran to the center of the circle, swinging around his feet quickly. Though I tried to keep my expression as cold as possible, I couldn’t help but feel my lip quiver. He was doing new moves! He must have been practicing somewhere else because I had never seen him pull out this arsenal of power moves before. How the hell was I going to top that? After his run, he turned and s
hot me a cocky expression.

  It didn’t matter how I was going to top him. I just was.

  I jumped out onto the floor and turned up the voltage.

  Air Baby, Swipe, Windmills, Back Spin, Hand hops.

  “Kill it, Kickwit!” Her voice seemed to ring louder than all the cheers and music combined. It was all I could focus on during my run. Somehow between my moves I was able to catch her eye. Aurora still looked hella pissed off at me, but the way she looked at Craig was murder. All I could guess was that I was the lesser of two evils, but for now that was okay. After the battle I needed to speak with her and let her know everything that had happened.

  I needed to apologize for being a jerk.

  Her eyes bored into mine and I knew right then I never wanted to fuck things up between us again. Craig was right. Aurora did change me.

  For the better.

  The music grew louder as I was catapulted back into the real world—real time. Craig had once again taken to the floor and this time the crowd roared when he did a particularly difficult freeze. He somehow twisted his leg around and held his body up with one hand. It was another new move I’d never seen before. He was definitely trying to make a statement.

  It didn’t matter—I could do better.

  Four rounds down and one to go. We both pulled out our best moves, but I knew for the final round things were going to be insane.

  I nodded my head in time with the beat. The D.J. was killing it and I knew he chose an especially gritty track on purpose. There was no way he didn’t know the war brewing between me and my teammate. I watched Craig run through some familiar moves and once he did his wind up, I knew he was going to rely on his old standby—air flare to 90s. It was his bread and butter—his usual winner.

  Not this time.

  “One. Two. Three. Four,” I counted under my breath. As expected, he did four 90s, which caused the crowd to go crazy. I needed to step it up. I couldn’t lose. Not this time.

  He wasn’t the only one with new moves to show off.

  What Craig didn’t know was that while Aurora and I were training privately, I was practicing some new runs myself. I’d always had a fascination with a move called a corkscrew, and as a gymnast, Aurora knew it well. Every morning after we worked on her moves, she’d then train me on the exact body positioning needed to wind up into a perfect corkscrew.