CHAPTER 2: ELIMINATING HIM

              Adrian Beckett's Pov

       I never could have imagined that Austin would take the initiative to punch me like that. It was a complete surprise to me and I was shocked! 

   I staggered backward with shock evident on my face and I wiped my mouth only to find out there was blood dripping from the corner of my mouth. 

 " Austin!" His friend, Kelvin shouted and it was obvious he was just as shocked as everyone else that saw us. 

 Austin was always the calm type and he would never fight me head-on in school because everyone knew and respected him unlike me who was known as the vagabond by everyone. 

 I rushed toward him and grabbed his collar "Are you nuts?! How dare you punch me like that?!" I questioned with anger-filled eyes and I was ready to start a big fight right there but he looked to be ready too and I was very sure he wasn't going to hold back like he used to.

    Why? This was the question I wished to ask him but I knew asking such a question would only make me look like a fool because Austin would never answer me!

 " Yes, I'm a nut! I'm crazy right now and I think it'd be better to avenge my father today! It'd be better to kill the murderer who murdered my father today!' He screamed to my face and I was taken aback!

 Was he thinking about his father again? 

 I knew he always lost his mind whenever he was thinking about his father but he never lost it this much before. I tightened my grip on his collar and formed a fist, ready to retaliate. " Good! Let's take it all out then! It will be better if we end it all here today!" I yelled back and threw my fist toward his face but unfortunately, he dodged it and batted my hand away from him.

 I took a few steps away from him and wiped the remaining blood from my mouth. I did my shirt well and readied myself for a fight " You guys, I will like to take him alone but you guys can deal with that one~ " I said pointing at Kelvin, who was standing with confusion written all over his face. 

    "If he decides to interfere," I added, ordering my two friends and they immediately agreed.

   Well... They were always bloodthirsty anyway and this was the best opportunity to break hell and lose!

 Austin Brad also readied himself and his face was void of any emotion as he stared at me like a lion ready to devour his prey. He looked completely fearless and ready for a great battle. 

   His domineering aura made me take a step back and I had to shake my head twice before I could get my composure again. 

   I've always enjoyed riding on Austin's weak point because I knew he would never fight me back but the fact that he wanted to fight me back today worried me a lot and I wished I could know the reason. 

    But... "There is no pride in asking anyway because he will surely respond with a punch to my mouth again," I told myself as I moved closer to him. 

    "You're ready?" His chilly voice entered into my ears and my eyes twitched. 

    We were about to clash into each other when I felt a hand grab my hair from the back and I was yanked away!

      My head buzzed and I gritted my teeth! "How dare you..." I wasn't able to complete my words and it was left hanging in my throat when I saw the person who threw me away... " Mr. Ton..." I called with a low voice as I lowered my head. 

    I was troubled... Heck! I knew I was in trouble!

 Mr. Ton was one of the higher-level lecturers in my department and he had a lot of ways of dealing with stupid students which made many students fear and respect him. He glared at me with gritted teeth before sneering "You! You are always full of trouble! When will you stop troubling Austin Brad?! When will you?!" He hollered angrily as he grabbed my ear and squeezed hard till I had to squeal in pain.

 He released my ear and glared at Austin for a while before walking into his class like he had done nothing to me. 

     It had always been like that with all the staff in the school. They always favored Austin Brad over me and I was already used to it but it still hurt. 

   Whenever did anything happen between Austin and me? I would always be the one to be blamed for it. No one would listen to our explanation because automatically, I was the one at fault for fighting the brilliant, gentle, and kind Austin Brad!

 Oh! It was a very big embarrassment on my part but I wasn't going to take it out on Mr. Ton when a better scapegoat was around me. I turned to face Austin and I smirked: "I will see you in Mark's club tonight." I muttered and walked into the class without waiting for his reply.

 Mark's club was a place we visit most of the time and I knew Austin would surely come there especially when it was I that invited him. 

   We both had that side to us...

 I listened to Mr. Ton's lecture with a troubled mind as I couldn't wait to meet Austin tonight and beat the life out of his handsome face. Ah! Yes! One of the things that made me hate him so much was his innocent handsome... very handsome look while I had the bad boy handsome look which always made most people believe me to be the bad sheep every time we both engaged in a fight... heck! It annoys me!

 " Adrian! What are we doing before tonight? I'm sure it going to be a big day for us and we might finally be able to get him off our back today or what do you think?" Kun, who was my best friend asked with excitement in his deep voice and I laughed devilishly. 

 " Sure! Let's get him off us today. It will be nice if we eliminate him tonight and everything will be over for good. " I replied with a big smile on my face as I reminisced how his father died in front of me. A killing intent flashed through my eyes right then and my friends noticed it too which really excited them and made them look up to what was going to happen tonight. 

 My friends and I all hated Austin a lot. They hate him so much they wouldn't think twice before pushing a knife through his abdomen if they had to and seeing an opportunity like that was their lifelong dream. 

 " Yes! How about we go to the gym to do some warm-up before then? That will increase our winning point too or what do you guys say?" Knight, my second friend suggested and we all turned to face him.

 " Gym? Won't that tire us? We need strength to fight tonight but if we go to the gym now and our body hurts at night. What do we do then?" Kun replied and rolled his eyes at Knight's silly suggestion but I said nothing as I had a lot to think about.

 Thinking of ways to kill Austin gave me a lot of headaches and I was looking for the best plan that wouldn't give me much problem. The problem was that Austin was so smart that he amazed me the most time and had ruined my perfect plans countless times because he was just too smart and he could most times predict my move but tonight... I was going to end it all.

    I had planned many times for the past few years on how to kill him but he had always escaped one way or the other that I had to question myself if I was the fool or if he was just lucky but I ended up accepting the fact that he was just too smart. 

   Austin was brilliant, handsome, and Smart!

     "These were the reasons I hate him so much! He even... Sh*t!" I mumbled inwardly. 

     I pressed a hand on my chest and calmed myself before turning to my friends.  "Let's go enjoy ourselves till then. It's going to be a long night!" I told my friends and they both cheered as they followed behind me while we left the school premises to enjoy the rest of our day.

 Hours later...

 On a day like this, hours flew like birds and in a blink of an eye, we were already in Mark's bar, waiting for Austin and his two friends.

 " We've been waiting for 30 minutes already. Is he planning to keep us waiting without showing up?" Kun was the first to lament in despair after we'd waited for more than thirty minutes and yet, Austin was yet to show up. We did not even see any sign of him.

 " Don't tell me... did he find out we are planning to get rid of him tonight and decided to run away?!" Knight covered his mouth and looked at me helplessly.

 I sneered and shook my head. Out of the three of us, I was the one who knew Austin the best and one thing I was very sure about was that Austin would never run away or try to escape even after finding out about our plan because he was never scared of me and he would only see that as an opportunity to kill me! As I said earlier, He was the smarter one...

 " I don't think so. Maybe he is carrying out his own plan too. You know we are not the only one who wants to kill. He wants to kill us as much as we want to kill him, even more. He won't run away until he drives his knife through my stomach to take revenge for his father and you know that." I explained to my friends and raised my hand to check my time. " What's taking him so long though?" I mumbled and let out a deep breath. 

 I was just lost in my thought when two figures entered the bar and my eyes lit up ~ Yes! It was Austin's two best friends!

 I immediately stood up from my seat and walked toward them while my two friends followed behind with evil smiles on their faces.

 " Look who's here! Where is your boss? Where is Austin?" I asked the two boys whose attention wasn't on me at all but they immediately turned to me the moment they heard my voice. 

    They both looked relieved and excited at the same time as they checked me from my head to my long legs... "Adrian! Huh! Yes! Austin is waiting for you at the school junction. He said you should meet him there alone if you are bold enough. Do you think you can do that?" Kelvin explained with a provocative smile on his face which truly irked me but I managed to force out a smile as I pocketed my hands.

        "If I'm bold enough? Is he trying to test my confidence? Does he think he can defeat me even if my friends ain't there? He must have dreamt a lot." I replied and cocked my head to the side. "Okay. I will go and meet him alone and take him out!" I declared confidently but maybe I shouldn't have said that. 

   Maybe it was a rash decision as I could see Kelvin's eyes twitch immediately after I said the word, His expression changed, and ... his hands were trembling too!

 Something must have happened! Oh No! I had a bad feeling about it but I already said those words and I had no choice but to go or else... my friends would tease me for the rest of their lives!