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You remember the blood. It was horrible. Everyone was screaming, not just the Fringies. Some cringed, some yelled, and others yet looked on in blood lust. Some people cheered for a team, some for a participant. Some cheered because they knew the fighters, but few Fringies could afford to come to the Arena. Some just cheered, it didn't matter who was fighting. They weren't people; they were Fringies.

You went once before, with your father, as part of a work bonus. He had mixed feelings about the Arena himself, so he understood. He had said that your feelings about it will make you a great Leader. Even among the horrible place, your father had made it one of your most proud memories. It was the first, and only, time he told you you would be a Leader.

You hated the place, hated it with everything in your heart. Most of them didn't even want to fight in the Arena, and those that did only wanted to because they were that desperate. When you were young you had nightmares about it, about your family being the fighters. You never saw the beginning of the matches, but you always saw the end, when  at last your family would fall. tBut they had only made you more dedicated to changing it all.

And Lisa was there...

"I'll go." You said, simply.

"Alright, man! Want me to come pick you up?" John only lived a block away.

"Uh... Yeah, sure."

"Okay, give me five minutes."

You quickly change, somehow managing to brush your teeth and comb your hair within five minutes. John honks the horn; he was always very impatient. It did make him good at school though, never put things off. You grab your wallet and spray yourself with some scent your father left around. You rush out the door, almost forgetting to lock it, but you take out the key from your wallet as you get in John's old car, and push the button just as you round the corner. Too close.

"So we'll meet them there?" You ask, settling into the seat, buckling up.

"We have to pick up Melissa and Lisa, but the rest are already there." Melissa was John's girlfriend. Except she didn't know. He's been trying to get a date for a few months now. Somehow, she seems oblivious to his advances. John hit the pilot, and got into a more comfortable position. It steered for him mostly, with positioning system telling it where the lights and other cars were, but he still had to control the speed.

We raced towards Melissa's apartment, and John broke the silence. "I'm just gonna stop this dancing and ask her out point blank. If she's just going to lead me on like this I might as well find someone else." Finally. John normally wasn't this patient, and the end had to come. You couldn't help but wonder if Melissa was aware of him, but liked the attention.

"Good. I don't know how you managed to wait this long." He slowed down as we approached the apartment, and finally stopped.

"Do me a favour though? We'll talk in the back. Take the wheel?" You slide over to take it and he moved out and around back. Melissa came out in a tiny t shirt and a skirt, running as fast as possible in those huge high heels she wore. John opened the door to the back and they both got in.

John slid pushed the partition button on and the black covering enveloped the two. He forgot to turn off the sound from that side though, and there was no way to do it from here, and you couldn't tell him because your sound was off. You sighed, and drove on.

"Hi John!" Melissa's high voice sounded.

"Hey Melissa... Listen, I've been trying to ask you for a while, but you want to go to dinner sometime... Just the two of us?... Like a date?"

"Finally! You sure waited a long time." You don't know what you were expecting, but that wasn't it. It seemed to take John by surprise too, but he mumbled something and shut off the sound. Probably by accident.

You arrived at Lisa's house, and she came out and got in the front, seeing the seat empty. "Hey Marcus. Where's.."

"In the back. Talking with Melissa."

"So he's finally going to ask her out? She's been waiting, you know. She likes an up front guy. I'm surprised he's waited this long, you know, being John and everything."

"Really... So what do you think about the Arena?" Lisa pauses at this question, carefully thinking of her answer.

"Well, to be honest:

*[[Town: It's horrible, forcing those people to fight]]
*[[Town: I love the place, it's so fun]]

[[Category: The Town]]