[2009 – October]
After scoring the first two points, Elijah continued to approach him while dribbling, never trying to make a shot from the distance. He challenged him, dared him to take the ball from his hands, and taunted him with his own inability to do so before hammering the ball into the net with one dunk after the other.
The only times that he managed to touch the ball was when he robotically passed it back to Elijah after the latter slammed one shot down the hoop after the other and went back past the three-point line.
Like a tornado, Elijah was unstoppable as he crushed every single defense tactic that he could think of, his movements flowing in an aggressive style as he turned the half-court into his personal domain. Effortlessly, the ball danced between his hands, drawing near-impossible dynamic trajectories with a smoothness that transitioned into illusionary speed.
Flash's mentality was on the verge of collapse as he watched this happen again and again while being powerless to stop it.
Shock turned into despair, sweat running down his temples, his eyes having an almost haunted look in them as he didn't even dare to hope to steal the ball, much less score some points against Elijah.
The only thought left in his mind, the only thing that he still clung to was the faint of hope to interrupt his opponent's movements, to disturb his rhythm even for a single moment.
Flash wanted to matter. He wanted to make an impact in this 'duel', however imperceptible that impact seemed. But like a demon incarnate, Elijah's eyes seemed to see through his very soul, his every action futile as if he had seen it coming without fail.
Elijah didn't tire or miss. His breathing was only slightly hurried but still even, his shredded physique revealing not a single flaw as only the faintest traces of sweat could be seen on his skin and the faintly darkened fabric of his shirt.
Facing a pair of dark-green eyes that contained simply inhuman focus, the intensity of Elijah's gaze crushing down on his shoulders as he dribbled leisurely a few times while getting ready to move in again, Flash finally was at the end of his rope as he just retreated step by step, his gaze lost and dim.
He couldn't hear or see anything besides the bouncing of the ball and the darkness in Elijah's eyes.
From the three-point line to the free-throw line, to under the basket, and further, Flash's back hit the wall of the gym as Elijah stopped dribbling and calmly set the ball on the floor.
"It's mine now.", the dark-haired teen voiced out as he turned and left, and Flash just powerlessly sank to the floor, his head lowered in crushing defeat, his pride gone, stolen.
…
Seeing groups of students moving towards the gym and faintly hearing the commotion in it from the distance, Peter followed behind and arrived to see Flash being quite literally demolished by Elijah.
He himself had humiliated Flash just a few weeks back, breaking the backboard in the process. But that had been a single free-throw-line dunk after some teasing and mocking, nothing like the crushing performance that Elijah was putting on.
Like a god of the half-court, the dark-haired teen forced Flash into direct confrontations each and every time he went for the hoop but the blonde jock couldn't so much as touch the hemp Elijah's clothes, much less the ball.
The aggressive way with which he slammed the ball down the net stayed the same no matter how elaborate the run-up and prelude.
It was a demonstration of pure pride-crushing dominance as if every dunk ripped out chunks of Flash's confidence and fighting spirit.
Still, the more he watched, the more serious Peter's expression became as he could see that things weren't as simple as they seemed.
From the perspective of the normal students, it seemed as if Elijah was simply a much better player, his speed and explosive power several levels above Flash's. But Peter knew that this wasn't necessarily the case, his senses being more accurate than any of his schoolmates.
He could see that it was Elijah's reaction time and reflexes that were truly terrifying, even if his speed seemed a bit faster than Flash's.
Like the most perfect machine, Elijah's every move wasn't simply 'fast' but 'perfect' on the account of precision, Flash's continued interference just an irrelevant variable that had seemingly been calculated beforehand.
There was not a single mistake or flaw in the way Elijah moved and positioned himself. Like programmed from a textbook, he moved with something that seemed to be beyond grace and fluidity.
The necessary focus and reaction time to do something like that, Peter could only describe as simply inhuman.
Eventually, Flash just could not go on anymore, his will to fight thoroughly exhausted, his face pale.
Peter watched silently as Flash stepped back in defeat, looking as if he had lost his soul while the surrounding students just shouted and exclaimed in excitement after the spectacle that they had just witnessed.
More than a few people were standing amongst the crowd with their phones still in the air as they had obviously recorded the whole thing.
Elijah though didn't seem to care about the spectators after he had placed down the ball and said some words that didn't make sense to Peter, though he could infer that they meant something to Flash as the blonde seemed to suffer an invisible blow after hearing them.
On the other hand, the dark-haired teen just moved to the side of the court and up the steps of the tribune, his destination obvious as a red-haired beauty waited for him halfway up, tiptoeing as she kissed him when he arrived before her.
Being embraced by Elijah, Jean's gorgeous smile full of affection could be seen by all who weren't blind while she wiped away the faint traces of sweat on his forehead with her sleeve.
Since their first meeting, Peter's instincts had warned him of the fatal threat that Elijah posed, which was something that even his extraordinary senses could not figure out the reason for.
He had never forgotten this, nor taken it lightly even if he had not found anything concrete.
But as Peter watched with deep eyes as Elijah's presence turned from cold and malevolent into something mild and human, serenity replacing the dangerous and piercing look in his eyes, and he couldn't help but wonder if he was even remotely ready to face the devil behind those shadowed eyes, one way or another.
…
Slipping back into my dark-blue cowl neck hoodie and my black coat, Arya returned to her favorite place beside my neck while I rested my hands on Jean's waist as she pulled up the zipper of the hoodie like I preferred it, a proud and loving smile on her lips.
She was naturally not approving of me humiliating others just for the sake of it but since Flash had intended to hurt Ellie intentionally, she did not speak up for him.
On the other hand, my redhead had even spoken up for Duncan after I had forced him into a mental breakdown in my anger since she had been the only victim of his obsessive behavior.
Jean undoubtedly had a self-sacrificing streak, which was naturally a worry of mine, but she was also incredibly protective of her friends, so Flash had kicked an iron board this time.
To be honest, I hadn't expected him to be thoughtless enough to try and get some revenge after I had almost knocked him out last time and caused him to puke all over himself by rattling his inner ear with a precise blow.
I hadn't been sure if I should be impressed by this misguided courage, considering that Duncan hadn't dared to come anywhere near me after our first meeting, or not.
Either way, since he had dared to target Ellie in such a vicious manner, I had not held back this time and did what I promised and crushed his pride and mentality, even if I had left his body uninjured.
Through my Extrasensory Perception and superhuman mental strength, I had been able to sense it when his mental barriers became unstable and I had not hesitated to forge ahead and crush them.
At this point, I was sure that he would never be able to pick up a basketball without remembering this humiliation and reliving that moment of powerlessness.
As a result, he might very well never be able to regain his confidence and play ball again but that was a comparatively small price to pay considering that he had tried to intentionally harm Ellie right in front of me.
And like I had told him at the beginning, I had taken his pride regardless of his agreement.