Toxic ignored Ghoul and marched towards me. She looked really angry. People were watching us now. I was so embarrassed and wanted to leave immediately. But it looked like I wasn't getting out without a fight. A crowd surrounded us both. Ghoul tried to make his way through the people to the both of us but wasn't successful. Toxic took a swing at me and missed. I didn't want to fight, but I knew I might have to defend myself. I remembered how Ghoul taught me to make a fist, and curled my hand up at my side.

"What, you're going to just stand there?" She yelled at me.

I just stared at her awkwardly. She looked like an idiot if I had to be honest. Toxic was making herself look bad. She was picking a fight with one of her guests. This would make good gossip for the rest of the party goers.

"Fight, Phoenix!" Someone yelled at me.

Toxic took another swing. I tried to duck but she clipped my cheek. When she lunged at me again, I moved out of the way and tried to observe her moves. I needed to find an opening. I hoped I could just get a good shot to her gut and make a run for it. It was too risky to go for her face and leave the rest of my body open. I protected myself and dodged her next punch. At that moment she left her stomach open. I jabbed quickly and hard, making her leap back. Angry, she hit me in the cheek again. It left her an opportunity to hit me again. But with that I swiftly blocked her punch to my chest and hit her in the stomach again. My hit made her stumble back. I wished I was a karate master so I could just kick her ass and get it over with. The crowd around us booed because the fight was getting boring. When Toxic turned her head towards them, I took the risk of breaking my hand and punched her hard. My hand connected with her cheekbone. She cried out. My hand throbbed with pain. I'm not sure how I did it, but I punched her one more time when she turned her head towards me. My fist hit the bottom of her nose, pushing it up into her face. Blood poured out of her nose. She decided to swing her hands at me, her fingers like claws. Her fingernails slashed at my face, scratching me. Toxic was screaming now. I was fucked because she wouldn't back down. She got in a punch before Ghoul was there separating us both. The crowd was breaking up now as Toxic screamed at me for 'fighting like a little bitch'. She also yelled about how she wanted to kill me. My face burned from embarrassment and I tried not to cry. I hadn't had a panic attack in a long time but I could feel the panic building inside of me. My cheek was throbbing from where she had hit me and scratched me. Ghoul and I went to the car where he drove away from home and towards a diner where we could go eat.

"I'm so sorry." He whispered to me over and over. "It's okay." I reassured him. "I'm okay."

At the diner I realized how hungry I was. I got a burger with everything on it (tomatoes, lettuce, onions) and some french fries. I also ordered a milkshake and downed everything. My cheek was hurting worse than before but my hunger was stronger.

"I have to admit, you did kick ass back there." Ghoul said, watching me eat.

The waitress brought him a beer. He popped off the cap and took a sip. I nodded.

"I guess I did." I responded, taking a bite of my burger.

"You broke her nose and part of her face! Did you not hear it?" Ghoul exclaimed.

I shook my head. "I just wanted to get out of there. She was feisty."

I finished my burger and then made him explain why she slapped him. He explained that she thought that they were together and that he had cheated on her. I was so confused. They were never together. Why would she think that? Things had become even more of a puzzle than before.

I wanted to just get home and put some ice on my face. I wasn't going to allow myself to think things over and over again until I got myself worked up. I wiped my face with a napkin and Ghoul paid the bill. We jumped back into the Trans Am and Ghoul explained to me the shaky relationship he had with Toxic.

She had worked with Ghoul when he was merely just a mechanic. She was a tough chick. She was Ghoul's only friend in the beginning. Ghoul never meant for things to go the way they had. She liked him as more than a friend but he saw her as just a good friend. Drunken nights took them farther and he always woke up feeling guilty in the morning because he knew he didn't love her. She told everyone that they were together but he declared them just as friends. Toxic didn't understand why Ghoul wanted to stay friends after all of the nights they spent together.

I tried to understand his side of the story. There were things missing in his explanation. I trusted him but I didn't want to choose a side yet. Both sides were flawed to me. Toxic shouldn't have assumed that her and Ghoul were together but at the same time Ghoul should have been more careful with his actions. Toxic couldn't see what he saw or feel what he felt. At the same time, I felt hurt and embarrassed. I should have walked away from the fight. I didn't know both sides of the story until I had really thought about it. I was in the heat of the moment. The fighting flashed back in my head.

"Dude I heard about what happened? Are you okay?" Jet asked as I entered our hideout.

I didn't respond and went immediately to the icebox to pull out an old bag of Happy Harry's Frozen Peas (an official BLI brand by the way). I put the bag to my aching face, happy for relief. Speaking of relief, I also had to use the bathroom. I pranced my way down the hall with the bag of peas in hand. After using the bathroom, I was greeted by Kobra outside of my door.

"A fight? Really?" He asked me.

"Seriously leave me alone." I told him.

He circled around me, not letting me leave.

"Fuck off!" I yelled and pushed him.

My bag of peas fell on the floor. I groaned and leaned over to pick them up before running down the hall to find Ghoul. I didn't want to talk to anyone about the incident.

"You trying to fight me, Phoenix?" Kobra called after me and laughed.