The Beautiful Monster

"What do you want, Scott?" Elias asked. His voice sounded snappy and sharp. His fingers curled into tight fists as he kept his eyes level on Scott.

He wasn't about to back down. He knew that this was a challenge from Scott. Why else would he approach them?

"I'm just a middle man, Elias. You know what you should be doing. Yet, you're not doing it," Scott sneered before eyeing Alyssa. "And she's still lingering around."

Elias stepped forward, moving to stand between Scott and Alyssa.

"Drop it.. We're not doing this here," he nearly growled the words.

Alyssa's eyes narrowed as she tried to peer over Elias' shoulder at Scott. She hated how they were speaking so cryptically. They were obviously keeping her in the fake, despite her being part of this argument for some reason.

What did Scott mean by her lingering around? Something about his tone and Elias' reaction made her stomach twist.

Scott chuckled as he shook his head at Elias.

"I knew you'd be the one to crack. You were always too emotional, too ignorant of the rules. We have them for a reason," Scott scoffed. "I wish they'd see you for how weak you truly are."

Elias clenched his jaw as he stared Scott down. He took a moment to draw a few deep breaths through his nose, attempting to calm himself down as much as he possibly could.

However, Scott kept poking and prodding. He could only take so much before he snapped.

Alyssa wished she knew what they were talking about. She wanted to know about the rules and why Scott thought Elias was so weak.

A part of her wanted to ignore all of the drama and stay far away from it, but another part of her wanted to know all about what was going on and what was being said since she was involved. She thought that she deserved that at least.

"Shut up, Scott! I'm not the only who rolls over to every command barked at me! That's weak," Elias spat at his cousin. He took a step closer to Scott. "I suggest you leave us alone."

Scott stepped forward too, matching Elias' threatening move.

"Oh really? What are you going to do, lover boy?" Scott sneered, plainly challenging Elias.

Alyssa didn't want them to fight in the middle of campus. She didn't want them to fight like this at all!

She couldn't believe they were still at such odds after so many years, but she had no idea what had gone on with his family during that time. She reached out and grabbed Elias' hand.

"We should go," she said quietly, hoping to stop the argument from escalating even more.

The tension was so high between them, and she didn't see that getting any better the longer they all stood there.

Scott approached them to get a reaction from Elias, and Elias was giving him exactly what he wanted.

Elias nodded, starting to slowly back away until Scott spoke again.

"They'll make sure it's over with. Permanently," Scott said.

Elias narrowed his eyes as he stopped moving.

"What did you just say?" he asked, sounding even more pissed off than before.

Scott shrugged.

"You know what I'm talking about. You think they'll let you have the chance to make this mistake again? You must not know your own family," Scott replied.

A feeling of dread steadily filled Alyssa as she listened to them talk. She still didn't understand what they were talking about, but it sounded like consequences were now coming into play.

And they sounded grave. She was worried for Elias, who looked more angry than nervous. He looked like he wanted to rip Scott's head off.

"Stay out of my business, or there's going to be a problem," Elias warned Scott. "I promise I'll make you regret it."

Scott laughed as he shook his head.

"What you'll regret is not heeding their warning. I'm sure they'll be delighted to hear about your little sunset stroll," he replied as he looked over at Alyssa.

Alyssa felt the air get trapped in her lungs. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't properly breathe with him looking at her like that.

She turned to Elias to tell him to come on, but a gasp of shock broke from her instead when Elias rushed forward and punched Scott in the face.

************

Alyssa stumbled back when Elias and Scott engaged in a ruthless fight. They swung at each other and grappled, trying to outdo the other.

Her heart raced as she watched, feeling helpless as she just stood there. She wanted to help or stop the fight, but she didn't want to get caught in it and get hurt also.

She just managed to remove her brace the other day.

"Guys, stop!" she shouted, but her words fell on deaf ears.

Scott wrapped his arms around Elias' torso, trying to take him down to the ground.

Elias dug his feet into the ground and wrapped his arms around Scott instead. With what looked like little difficulty, he flung Scott over his head, slamming him down to the ground.

A grunt left him from the exertion as he looked down at Scott with narrowed eyes.

Alyssa stared at Elias in shock. She couldn't believe how easily Elias threw Scott, like he weighed nothing.

She knew that Elias was strong, but that was a whole other level of strong that she hadn't expected from him.

Scott pushed himself to his feet, driving his fist against Elias' stomach to make him buckle. He raised his knee, slamming it against Elias' face to make him fall to the ground.

"Elias!" Alyssa cried out as fear rushed through her. Elias had been doing fine until now. She found what courage she had left and rushed over to Scott, attempting to shove him, but it felt like trying to shove a brick wall.

Scott looked at her with a smirk before gently pushing her.

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