Blaise Cameron vs. Nathan Weed - For Amy's Sake

Blaise straightens his back again as Nathan fires his retort. He could expect a response like that. What else would he say? Thank you? But Blaise opts to keep things rolling and maintain the pressure on Nathan, that fear of underperforming egging him on.

The teen takes off to the left, leaving Nathan where he was. Pivoting, he bears his back into the ropes and slingshots himself back at his opponent. As he surges close, he grabs for Nathan's head and springs into the air, relying on the momentum to twist his prey over and ultimately slam him back down onto the mat back and neck-first in a running, swinging neckbreaker!

Naturally, this would end with Blaise landing square on his back as well.

Nearly there. He had one foot flat on the ground when he suddenly felt himself pulled off balance. In the next instant, he was blinded by the arena lights before being slammed right back down into the ground. "Argh!" Nathan clutched the back of his head while his body spasmed on the mat. But his goal hadn't changed; after taking a moment to cradle his aching head, he started to pull himself up again, this time using the ropes for leverage.

Blaise's back hits the mat, and he takes only a moment to center himself before curling back onto his shoulders and kipping up to his feet! The teen spins on the ball of his right foot and pumps a fist into the air for the audience, bright smile brightening his face.

Finally, he's able to smile, and not in a sardonic way. Something about wrestling just makes him happy. But that doesn't take away from the gravity of the situation. He turns to face Nathan again and puts his game face on again. That moment of playing to the crowd has kept their cheers firmly on his side, but given his foe enough time to nearly get up to his full height.

Standing a few paces away from him, Blaise spreads his legs a little to widen his stance and lifts his hands to shoulder-height, fingers spread at the ready to receive whatever Nathan decides to come at him with. "It was a rotten thing to do, Nate ol' boy, and we're just getting started. Was it worth it?"

Nathan felt a little shaky on his feet, but it was nice to have them at the bottom of his body, where they belonged. He watched as Blaise played to the crowd, heard them roar with support, and sequentially Nathan's downfall. It wasn't a good feeling.

So when Blaise turned back around to train his eyes on him again, he was already in something of a foul mood, not helped either by the beating he'd been taking. Then Blaise had to open his mouth again, and Nathan grit his teeth. He pushed himself up off of the ropes, his aggravation compensating for the balance that the slams had taken from him. "Enough already!" He took a great step forward and threw a wild overhand punch aimed right between Blaise's eyes. "You think you’re playing the good guy here. You’re wrong."

Blaise had convinced himself he was ready for whatever Nathan came at him with. And yet, a wide arching punch slips right through the net. Knuckles drive against his beloved third eye, and Blaise is rocked back several feet. Eyes squeeze shut in a daze, his left hand raised to set against his brow. His right hand gropes back to grab the ropes to steady himself as much as tell him where he was.

"Nnh..." The hand lowers, and his eyes open to focus again on Nathan. "...If what you did was your idea of playin' the goodguy, I'm happy to be the villain!"

He presses his back against the ropes, stretching the elasticity before launching himself forward again. The teen rushes him, right arm extended and crooked at the elbow to catch Nathan at the neck in a clothesline! "You can't cloud up right and wrong!"

Rather than dodge, Nathan stepped forward into the clothesline, his fist cocked at his side. Nathan twisted his body, using its torque rather than any sort of wind up to build up his potential energy. When Blaise's attack was right at his neck, he launched his own stiff fist at short range into Blaise's quickly approaching abdominals. He didn't get to see the effect of his hit, though, as the impending arm crashed heavily across his throat, and Nathan found himself yet again with his back to the mat. His hands were at his throat, but he forced his words out the best he could. "You..." Coughing into bitter chuckles. "Right and wrong... It's so easy for you, isn't it? Out here with everyone else who wasn't in that ring with those crazy women?" Nathan rolled over and tried to get up again. It was irritating how often he was on his hands and knees in this fight. "I did the right thing, took the best possible move in an impossible situation. There was no obvious "good guy" option. Not that you'd understand."

"Oomf!"

Blaise's toned abs cave with the hit, his full momentum adding force to Nathan's punch. The teen doesn't stagger back, but he's nearly dropped to a knee. He braces himself with one hand on the mat, the other arm folded over his midsection protectively. He can only huff a few breaths to try to ease the pain while Nathan talks, but doesn't take long to recover. He lifts to his full height again and shoots Nathan a dirty look.

"Can it, Gallahad! You took the opportunity for all it was worth! Any way you try to paint it..." The teen throws a wild kick towards Nathan's torso - no form or finesse to it, just force. From the angle, the kick is pretending to be a mid-height roundhouse. "...you can't deny you enjoyed it!"

Crack.

Something in Nathan's mind gave and fell ever-so-slightly out of alignment. A wildness crept into Nathan's eyes, and, while Blaise's kick felt like a Louisville Slugger had been broken against his ribs, he was able to use its lift to catch the rope and return to his feet in a hurry. He stepped menacingly toward Blaise. "Yes, I enjoyed it. Mako did it for me. Hell, Mako still does it for me." Nathan spat. The words felt dirty on his tongue, and they flew out burning like tiny bursts of lava, but they felt good to get off of his chest. "That doesn't make my decision the wrong one! Arrgh!"

Nathan punctuated his sentence by putting down his head and charging, attempting to shoulder tackle Blaise into a ringpost.

The confession seems to fuel Blaise's fire. Makoto "does" it for him? She-

-wait.

Bright blue eyes widen and Nathan's shoulder embeds itself into his torso. The teen is taken off his feet, body folding over him right up until the point of impact against the turnbuckle. "Ungf!" His limbs and head whip back, successfully crushed into the corner. His arms drape over the top rope, and were it not for them, he'd have fallen to the mat. His legs hang weakly under him, having to take a moment to try to find his footing and work breath back into his lungs. He can't retort yet. It was a solid hit.

The corner is not a place that you want to get stuck in with a boxer, even with your arms in commission. With his arms draped over the ropes, his body was wide open and ripe for the taking, and Blaise was in some serious trouble.

Or he would have been. But Nathan wasn't a boxer just then; that training had been well and thoroughly suppressed. So, while he was throwing power punches, they were coming in wide and relatively slow, big arcing hooks meant to hurt rather than to really incapacitate. "That was some fancy editing work," Nathan hissed as he worked Blaise's body. "I liked how you left out the part where I was kissing Mako to save Amy. Does that matter to anyone? Do any of you vultures even care?!" He pulled back a fist, taking his time with it, and it was clear to everyone that Nathan was going for a knockout punch. He let fly his fist, and it hurtled straight for Blaise's chin.