You're looking at short haircuts for women online, and you find a style that you like. You're not very skilled, but following an online guide you take your time and start cutting.

Rose sits patient as bit by bit you chop away at her luscious locks revealing more of her neck and face to you. You're reminded of when you shaved Z5 bald in the mausoleum.. Oh the screams..

With any luck Rose won't walk away screaming from this..

After what feels like a little less than an hour you have cut Roses hair into a Pixie cut. You hand Rose a mirror and she looks into it.

"Wow, you did a nice job Thorn, it's really cute!"

You sigh,

"I'm really not used to cutting hair, and.. I think there were places I could have done a better-"

Rose kisses you stopping what you were saying.

"Thank you Thorn."

"R-right."

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Rose goes to school for the next week with the sporty new haircut you gave her.. The people in the halls seem to like it, but maybe it's just because even with a bad haircut Rose is still beautiful..

You decide to text Britney and Cabella that the jocks might try something and to watch out. Cabella and Britney both respond something to the effect of they'll keep a lookout just in case.

The week goes by as tensions rise. Normal class periods crawl by like molasses. The entire school is buzzing about it. You saw Z3 out in the halls with a stand taking bets on who will win. It looks like Z1 is favored to win. With 5 to 1 odds.

You threw down 20 bucks on Rose that you had in your pocket. If it all works out, you'll get a cool hundo out of the deal.

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It's just hours before the fight which will be at 8 tonight. School got out at 3 but considering it's a schoolwide event, people are still wandering around. It's currently 6:35 on your watch. Rose is wearing a wrestling singlet with her short pixie haircut. She's hopping around looking fierce.

Amber is there scribbling some things on paper.

"Remember, it's more important to dodge him than it is to hit him. Don't get too cocky. You might be strong enough to tank some hits from some low level grunts in the arena, but this is Z1. If he gets his hands on you, there's no telling what kind of damage he can do."

Rose growls,

"Got it.. Still, I wanna punch that douche in the face so hard it's killing me."

Amber sighs,

"He's got every advantage here.. He's so strong he could probably pick you up and chuck you across the room."

"Got it, gotta stay light on my feet. Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee."

Amber seems worried,

"We're counting on him being slower with all that muscle of his.. But I don't know how hard he's been training. Speed right now is your only edge, and you might only be marginally faster, if at all."

Rose tilts her head side to side cracking her neck,

"Not exactly filling me with confidence here but ok.."

Amber is looking down,

"Look, I know you've been training hard all month, and all you wanna do is punch his lights out right now, but you need to wait. Concentrate, focus, wait for the right time, and strike."

Rose takes a deep breath. Rose seems like she's trying to put on a strong front, but underneath it, you can tell she's nervous. Hell you would be.. There's no way someone like you could stand a chance against Z1.. But maybe Rose? She's always seemed like the invincible type if the odds are even.

"Are you gonna be ok Rose?"

She laughs looking at you,

"Not really. I think my protein shake is about to come back up."

"Oh.."

"Sorry.. I know you were probably expecting me to say something like, 'no worries' or 'I got this'.. But honestly, I'm pretty fucking scared right now. It's starting to feel like maybe I took Z1's offer a little too hastily."

"Rose come on, you can't be thinking like that right now.."

"I know.. I know."

You bring her in and hug her,

"You don't need to second guess yourself. I believe you were right to accept his challenge. If there's a single person in this school who can take down Z1 in a fair fight, it has to be you."

Rose grabs your hand placing it on her chest. You can feel it beating pretty fast.

"Can you feel that?"

"Rose.."

"I want to beat him, with every fiber of my being I want to pound that lug into submission. But when I see how much bigger he is, and how small my body is.."

You bring her in and hold her close.

"Don't worry about that. Please, this isn't the time to get nervous. You have to win, I know you can. But you have to believe it."

Rose takes a deep breath,

"You're right.. Right now, I need to focus on doing what it takes to bring him down. This isn't just about me.. Like you said, you don't want to lose me to him. You don't want me to be his slave. And I don't plan to become his slave. Because I'm going to win."

"That's the spirit Rose. You've got this.. When you're out there, me and all our friends are going to be there, we'll all be cheering you on."

Rose seems touched tearing up. She wipes away her tears.

"Dammit, you always say the sweetest things, and it just makes me cry every time."

You ruffle her short hair.

"It's alright Rose. I love you."

Rose places her hands on your cheeks and kisses you.

"I love you too Thorn.. You'd better cheer loud, I wanna hear you when I'm beating the crap out of him."

You laugh,

"Definitely."
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