CJ was getting ready in her room, on her own this time. She didn't ask Jules or Michael to come along with her. She wasn't sure why, but she kind of felt like going on her own - as if she was trying to convince herself that maybe the rush she felt came from hanging out with her friends. After she spoke with Luke at the party, she felt guilty about liking it.
She didn't want to like something that made the boy so angry.
The girl wore an all black outfit, figuring that would help her blend in more. Most people there wore black, so maybe if she did too he wouldn't notice her - no one would.
Boy was she wrong.
A knock on her door followed by her door opening caught her attention as she was grabbing her purse. Jules walked in, wearing her oldest set of pyjamas, her eyes widening as she saw her friend all dressed up.
"Woah, where are you going like that?" She chuckled, grabbing her hand and making her twirl. CJ giggled, almost tripping on her own feet.
"I'm going to the boxing club." CJ told her, knowing that her friend was definitely going to ask questions. She knew of the conversation she had with Luke and figured the girl would finally stop going after being confronted like that by a fighter.
"What? You're going back there even after what he said to you?" Jules asked, surprised. She always thought it wasn't so smart of her friend to keep going there. Now, knowing that even the fighter himself thought it was stupid - she felt her feelings were justified. And now she wanted to go alone? It was even worse.
"Yeah? I'm not going to see him, Jules. Plus, I won't be there long- I promise." She smiled at her friend, side hugging her quickly before stepping away. "I'll see you tonight!" She exclaimed, leaving their shared apartment before her friend could respond. CJ knew her friend was right - but she needed to see for herself.
She walked to the underground club in the dark street, her purse clutched to her side as she held it tightly. Soon enough she arrived, walking through the familiar building. The smell, the noise and the environment were all the same as the last time.
Though this time, she didn't feel the adrenaline right away.
Instead, she felt it when she stopped at a certain spot in the crowd, looking around her. She felt it when her eyes caught blue ones from across the room. CJ felt the electricity bubbling in her chest and a tingling in her fingers - confusing the hell out of her. There was no reason for her to feel this way.
Maybe it was because she had just been caught doing the one thing he asked her not to? Yeah, must be.
She looked away, trying to find the lineup for the night. If Luke was here, it most probably meant he was going to fight - so she wanted to know when and against who. The girl didn't find anything as she looked around and was abruptly interrupted by a strong hand grabbing her upper arm, making her turn around to face the tall person.
"L-" She was about to say his name before he cut her off, his jaw set tightly as anger flooded his features.
"Don't say my name." He warned, making her suddenly remember where they were. Right, another rule of the fight club - don't use names. "What the fuck are you doing here?"
Truth was, Luke was extremely stressed out about this fight. He had been put up against a guy he knew he had practically no chance of beating. Even though he knew that was his own doing, it didn't ease his nerves. And now, CJ's in the club by herself - just to make it all better. Even if Luke didn't particularly like the girl, he didn't like to see someone like her being alone in a place like this. It was bound to be a disaster. He obviously would have never approached any other girl that way - but this one knew his friend so he felt like he had a free pass.
"None of your business." CJ felt like her answer was a little childish but how was she supposed to tell him that their conversation made her rethink everything she thought she had figured out about herself? That she needed to come here on her own tonight to prove to herself that she really did like this place?
Luke rolled his eyes, "There's no way you're stupid enough to come here on your own." He muttered under his breath, not sure if he meant for her to hear him or not. But she did.
"Fuck you." She retracted her arm out of his grip, preparing to turn around and walk away from the blond boy. From behind her, he shook his head and grab her arm again.
"Fine, fine. Stay here for all I care." He turned her around so she would face him. The boy leaned down, their faces only a few centimetres away as he whispered loud enough for her to hear, "But don't come crying to me when something happens because you came alone and was too stubborn to listen to me." Luke let go of his grip on her arm and walked away from the girl, never looking back.
She huffed, looking around her. She could feel the eyes of the men nearby burning into her, making a shiver run up her spine - and not the good kind. She bit her lip, shaking her head as she started walking in Luke's direction. She followed behind him silently, figuring he'd lead her to Calum and Ashton.
Luke knew she was behind him, a smirk pulling on his lips as he figured he won the argument. So he lead the way back to his room where Ashton and Calum were already waiting for him. Neither of them knew of their conversation at the party, Luke refused to tell them about it. He walked in the room with CJ following closely behind him, her head hung low.
"CJ!" Ashton exclaimed happily, walking over to greet her with a hug. CJ greeted him back, a smile appearing on her lips as she greeted Calum with a wave. Calum returned the greeting before glancing back at his phone from his seat on the couch. Ashton brought her over to the couch so she could sit with them while they waited for Luke's fight. "How come you're alone?"
"'Cause she's stupid." Luke muttered from the other side of the room, bent down to grab a bottle of water from the mini fridge. Ashton glared at him shortly before returning his attention to the girl.
"Kind of felt like it." She answered, a light blush colouring her cheeks. In retrospect, it was stupid to come here alone. But she wasn't about to let Luke know he was right. He was a dick who didn't deserve to get his ego boosted more than it already was.
"Well, you're welcome to come and sit with us anytime you want. We're always here." Ashton told her with a smile on his face while Luke rolled his eyes, pacing around the room.
"She won't be coming here anymore, right CJ?" Luke said and CJ couldn't help but play the way he said her name over and over in her head. Okay, sure it was laced with malice and practically spat out, but it also rolled off his tongue so easily.
"Shut up, Luke. She can do whatever she wants." Ashton defended the girl, earning a grateful smile from her. Her eyes followed the blond boy as he paced around the room, not paying attention to any of them anymore. "That's his pre-fight ritual."
"Pacing around the room?" She questioned, eyebrows furrowed.
"Yeah. He says it helps him concentrate but I'm pretty sure he does it to calm his nerves." Ashton told her. She nodded, observing Luke as subtly as she could. Ashton and Calum were watching a video on Calum's phone, laughing and joking around.
Luke walked all around the room, flexing his fingers every few seconds as he seemed to concentrate all of his energy on his breathing. CJ watched him do all of it, a slight pinch in her chest as she, too, believed it to be out of nervousness. At first glance, she thought Luke was this cocky, confident and arrogant fighter but now, she believed he might only be confident with a pinch of arrogance.
Eventually it was time for him to fight, so she followed them out of the room after Luke finished getting dressed - or undressed - for his fight. Luke walked in front of them, his head held high as the confidence practically oozed out of him. CJ wondered after what she saw if it was just for show or not.
Especially once she saw the man he was about to fight.
The other guy was huge and she was almost convinced Luke would have a very hard time beating him. And by the look on Ashton and Calum's face - they thought the same.
Ashton grabbed Luke's arm harshly, stepping up to him. "What the fuck Luke?" He hissed.
Luke's eyes caught CJ's shortly, before he glanced back at Ashton and pulled his arm out of his grip. His blue eyes found CJ's once again, "Should I ask around to see who's gonna enjoy it?"
His words left the girl speechless, her jaw on the floor. He didn't look twice before stepping inside the ring. Both boys stood by CJ's side, acting as if they didn't hear what their friend just said. They figured it was something between the two of them and didn't want the girl to be uncomfortable.
So they watched the fight and CJ regretted ever coming.
"He's not even trying!" Ashton yelled over all the noise, "Come on, Luke!" He clapped, obviously stressed out for his friend.
Luke was far from wining this fight. To everyone, it seemed like he wasn't even trying to win. There was blood coming out of his nose and his mouth along with a few cuts scattered all over his face, chest and fists - from the few punches he threw. Every time the man's fists connected with Luke's body, CJ hissed or looked away.
It never really bothered her before. She didn't particularly like seeing people get hurt but she figured it was their choice to do so. Due to this, she didn't feel as bad when they got hurt. But with Luke, he gave off (and had practically admitted to her) the feeling that he didn't want to fight - that he didn't enjoy it. So seeing him getting hurt wasn't a good sight.
"I'm gonna go to the bathroom." CJ leaned into Ashton so speak in his ear to make sure he would actually hear her. He nodded, knowing it wasn't exactly safe but he told himself he'd keep an eye on her.
And he did. So he instantly noticed when an older man followed behind her, watching around him like he was trying to see if anyone could tell. Ashton told Calum he'd be back, not wasting a single second before rushing over to where CJ was. All he could remember was when Luke had to push a man off of her at the bar because they weren't watching over her correctly. He wouldn't make the same mistake twice.
He stopped behind the guy right as he reached forward to grab onto CJ's arm. Before he could, Ashton grabbed him forcefully and pushed his back to the wall besides them.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Ashton's voice startled the girl, making her turn around and let out a gasp at the sight before her. She had no clue what happened when her back was turned.
The man tried to push Ashton off as he glared at him. When he figured he would be unsuccessful and that Ashton wouldn't let him go, he swung at him. The first hit was right on Ashton's ribs and the second on his nose.
"Hey! Stop!" CJ yelled, rushing towards them to try and help Ashton - she wasn't about to let him take a beating for her without doing anything.
Before she could reach them, Ashton swung back at the man just to push him off. Though it didn't quite work in his favour because the older man just swung back at Ashton relentlessly. Eventually, someone came and grabbed the man, pulling him away from Ashton. CJ, without even looking at the man, rushed over to Ashton. She helped him up and wrapped her arms around his waist while one of his went around her neck. They went straight to Luke's room, where CJ knew she'd find the necessary supplies to clean him up.
"I'm so so sorry Ashton." She spoke, her voice low. Ashton noticed she could barely looked into his eyes as he sat on the couch, watching as she looked around the room.
"It's not your fault, CJ." He told her honestly, pointing at a cabinet in the corner of the small room. "Supplies are in there." He smiled at the girl, only to groan in pain.
"I'm sorry." She pouted, truly feeling bad for him as she walked over to the cabinet and pulled out everything she needed.
"Don't apologize, just come here with the stuff please." He politely asked her and she listened, offering him a small smile. She helped tend to his injuries, cleaning him up and doing everything like she knew how to. Ashton let her, figuring this must be her way to say she was sorry. He didn't need her to - but he felt like maybe she needed to for herself.
Shortly after, Calum walked inside the room followed by a bloody and very injured Luke - who was limping. As soon as the other guy was declared winner, Luke was laying on the ground silently cursing himself for even thinking he could do this. Trying to push the thoughts away, he had looked to where his friends usually stood - noticing neither of them were there. He was taken by a slight panic, standing up too fast. He lost his balance and would've fell face first if a random person hadn't caught him and helped him stand up straight. Calum appeared seemingly out of nowhere and brought him to his room - where he saw Ashton sitting on the couch, injured with CJ helping him.
His blood was boiling at the sight, knowing very well that she was the reason why his friend was hurt - why else would he be?
Luke rushed over to the girl and pulled her up. The tight grip he had on her wrists made her drop the products she was holding to clean Ashton's cuts. They fell to the ground as everyone in the room watched the blond with wide eyes. A light gasp escaped CJ's lips, the fear in her eyes apparent as she looked at him. It made his stomach drop, but he ignored it.
"What the fuck did you do, uh?" He yelled in her face, noticing that she flinched slightly but he didn't let it get to him. "Do you fucking get it now?"
She swallowed harshly, stepping back hoping he'd let go of her but instead he just walked with her, following her steps.
"I fucking told you not to come here and to stay the hell away. And what do you do? You come here and get your fucking stupid self in danger." He spat, his tone harsh and tight. His jaw set as he stared down at her, watching as tears welled up her eyes. Luke was so enraged he didn't even hear Ashton calling him name. "You're nothing but trouble." The last part was spoken in a lower tone, sending chills down her back. A tear slipped from her eyes and the girl turned, trying to hide it from him. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that his words hurt.
Luke eventually let go of her arm, watching as the girl muttered a small sorry directed to Ashton before she ran out of the room - swearing to herself that she'd never come back.
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he's a jerk lol
pleaaaaaase,
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