Battling the Invisible

~**A note from Bombshell**~
Phantom's computer got exploded :). Hence the wait. We're back though!
***
“So, like I was saying about your animal spirit guide, it’s there to help you in your everyday life.”
“Ok, I’m really confused now. How does that work?” Axi stretched out on his stomach. His back was still sore from the tattoos they had gotten a few days earlier.
“Like I have the wolf. My guide shows me how to balance my life between family and self. It’s also a sign of someone who is a spiritual guide and helps others to learn about spiritual stuff.”
Jackson knocked on the door. “Dude you ready to go?”
“Yea, just a second.” The raven haired boy turned to his desk and wrote something on a piece of paper. “Here. Look it up,” Drake handed the yellow slip to his roommate and followed his friend out of the room.
“So, do you think this is really going to work?” the short blonde asked as he dodged a trash can that had been tossed outside of someone’s room.
Glancing at his watch, Drake shook his head, “It can’t hurt. Can it?”
The two boys walked across campus to find Jackson’s car. The eighteen year old was a motorhead so he had a pretty nice car. The problem was he lacked the funds to pay for the parts he wanted to fix up his 1964 Ford Mustang. The interior needed to be redone because all of the old leather seats were torn up. Jackson sat down and started up the engine.
“Let’s go man, we’re gonna be late.”
Ever since Drake had started working out with Axi, he had decided that it wasn’t enough. So, he convinced Jackson to take up a martial arts class with him. They had been in it for a couple of months and advanced fairly quickly. The younger boy had always prided himself on the fact that he was a quick learner.
As they entered into the facilities Drake noticed that there was someone new standing at the far edge of the sparring mat. She was stretching out and talking to another girl who was slightly shorter than her. Her friend must have noticed that he was starring at the two of them because she turned the blonde’s attention to him. As the girl turned around he realized that it was Jen, the blonde that he had spent the entire night talking to at the bar. “Drake?” She ran up to him and gave the brunette a hug. “How are you?”
“Great. You?” He’d give her one thing she wasn’t easily discouraged by the fact that he hadn’t ever called her.
Jackson cleared his throat and jabbed Drake in the ribs with his elbow. “Aren’t you going to introduce me?” He whispered loudly out of the corner of his mouth.
Shocked that he had forgotten that his friend was standing right next to him, the seventeen year old sputtered, “Oh… Oh yeah, this is Jackson. He lives next door to me and this is Jen. I met her at Onyx one night. She’s a sophomore at Blueloch.”
Jen smiled but as she began to speak their instructor walked into the room and told everyone to begin warm-ups. “I’ll catch you guys later.” She walked back across the room to her friend.
***
It had been a long day and the only thing Drake wanted to do was go lay down in his bed. Axi had dragged him out of bed at five that morning to go running and eat a good breakfast, because everyday should start with a healthy breakfast. The seventeen year old rolled his eyes at the thought. Then after that he had calculus and ancient Egyptian history until noon. His roommate would then pull him by the ear to go eat lunch and lift weights for about an hour before he had to go to computer aided drafting for the rest of the afternoon. Needless to say he was beat, but as he got closer to his room he noticed that Jackson was standing in front of his door waving something in his hand.
“Dude! Check it out! You had a note left on your door.” The short one jumped up and down in excitement.
Drake rolled his eyes and laughed, “If I had a note on my door then why do you have it in your hand?”
“Cuz I saw my name on it.” Jackson grinned. “Here.”

Drake,
I just wanted to let you know that me and couple friends
are throwing a halloween party this Saturday. You should
come and bring a few of your friends. It’s in the private room
at the onyx. My brother is letting me use it for the night.
Don’t forget to dress up and tell Jackson for me.
-Jen

“You’re going, right?” The older boy was practically begging.
“Only if you can get Axi to agree to go.” Drake smiled to himself. He thought this would be a brilliant way to get out of going to the party without seeming like a jerk, but his bubble was burst.
“Sweet! I totally already got him to say yes!” Jackson laughed. “Ok, gotta go to class. Professor Jones will flip shit if I’m late for his class again.”
Waving goodbye to his next door neighbor, Drake opened the door to his own room only to find Axi passed out in his own bed. Quietly shutting the door behind him, the seventeen year old snuck over to his own bed and tried to climb in as quietly as possible. He didn’t want to wake his roommate up for fear that the older boy might insist on more training.
***
“So, you’re entering in the tournament?” Jen sat down next Drake.
“Uhh… yeah.” The brunette settled back against his chair. Jackson was nowhere to be found, he had disappeared as soon as they had gotten to the Onyx. His two friends had convinced him to dress up as a fireman. Jackson went as a police officer and Axi was a rock star. According to the short blonde they’d be the hottest men at the party.
“Wow, you’re pretty brave.” Jen was dressed in what looked like a gypsy’s outfit. It reminded Drake of that girl from The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Shifting in his seat, “What do you mean? It’s no big deal.”
“No big deal?” She laughed. “I forgot that you’re just a freshman and know nothing about Blueloch’s infamous tournament.” The blonde gypsy leaned in closer. “Well besides the grueling competition that you have to beat to get to the top, there’s the fact that the first place winners from the past four years have disappeared.”
“Huh?” Drake choked on his drink. “How hard could it be to get into tournament and what do you mean disappeared?”
“Well, in order to even make it into the tournament you have to compete in a series of events. The thirty-two boys who score the highest in each grade get to move on to the tournament. The brackets go by grades and the winners of each of those get one year of schooling paid for and the chance to go to the semi-finals. The winner of that gets a free college ride. The problem is that tournament winner has just vanished the last four years. They disappear within a month after the games and no one hears from the again.”
“You’re joking, right?” Drake glances at a couple of people who stopped to listen in on the conversation. “You’re just sayin’ this to mess with me.”
“I wish I was. It’s even starting to happen with the girls’ tournament. Kylie McMahon, last year’s winner went missing too.”
Jackson, stumbled over to where the two were sitting. “Why are you two not dancing? It’s a party!” He grabbed both of their hands and shoved them out onto the floor.
Flashing Drake the sexiest smile she could muster, “I’ve always wanted to dance with a hot fireman.”