"Will you come to the ring with me tonight?" Finley asked, fully prepared to convince the other girl to go.
"Okay," she agreed, staring at her instagram feed as she scrolled through.
Finley looked up at Evelyn confused. Was she really agreeing to go? "Wait what?"
"I said I'll go?" she said and tilted her head to the side, "What's that look for?"
"Dammit... I had a whole thing planned out to convince you to go. It was foolproof but you ruined it," she leaned back into the couch she was sat on in their living room and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Save it for next time," she laughed. "Why do you wanna go?"
"So you can see lover boy obviously,"
Evelyn groaned at her friend and leaned back with her arms crossed, copying Finley's actions. "How would you even know if he's gonna be there or not?"
"I texted Michael and asked if he knew who was gonna be fighting tonight, and sure enough Mr. Mysterious has a match," she smirked at her.
"'Mr. Mysterious'? Is that what we're calling him now?" she laughed as she locked her phone and sat up.
"Well I mean he is, so it's fitting,"
"Mhm, okay," she laughed again as she got up off the couch and walked towards her room.
"What time are we gonna leave?" she asked as she arrived in her bedroom, Finley right behind her.
"Nine? I'm not really sure,"
Evelyn looked at the digital clock placed on her bedside table, it was already 7:30. She hummed in agreement. The two girls started going through Evelyn's clothes to find an outfit.
"Fin, you have a closet full of clothes," she pointed out, as the girl held up two different shirts on hangers in the mirror.
"I know," she said, as she put the black shirt down and started taking the navy one off the hanger. Evelyn just rolled her eyes as Finley started changing into her stolen outfit and went into her closet herself and grabbed a floral shirt. She put on a pair of high-waisted black jeans, nothing too special.
The girls fixed their hair and put on shoes, Finley opting for heels and Evelyn choosing sneakers. Finley grabbed a jacket off their coat rack, "You should take a jacket,"
Evelyn shook her head, "It'll ruin my outfit,"
Finley shrugged, "Dont complain to me when you're cold later."
Evelyn smiled sarcastically and opened the door for the two to leave. She locked the door behind them as they walked towards the truck.
The girls climbed into the old truck, Finley putting the keys in and starting the ignition, "Let's go see your lover boy in action,"
"Oh my god," the other girl sighed. Finley snickered at her as she started driving down the street and towards the old warehouse. The drive was short, but the nerves in Evelyn's body made it feel like an hour. Her leg was bouncing anxiously, anticipating what was going to happen tonight.
The truck was parked a few streets over from the warehouse, she didn't want anything to happen to her 'baby'.
The two girls climbed out of the lifted vehicle and slammed the doors closed. There was a cool breeze drifting through the late summer night, a small shiver running through Evelyn. They started their trek towards the old, metal double doors at the entrance of the building.
The creak of the doors was excessively loud, though it was barely audible over the yelling that flooded out from inside. The thick, concrete walls almost proved to be soundproof, the copious amounts of cheers and screams were absorbed by the cement. The girls looked at each other as they walked past the doors and let it slam behind them.
The crowd stretched from each corner of the room, people pushing and shoving towards the middle. Both girls were surprised by the sheer amount of people who took up the floor space. The other times they showed up, there was half the audience there was tonight. An uneasy feeling settled around both girls.
"Come on," Finley said, looking back at the shorter girl. She latched on to Evelyn's wrist and started pushing her way through the masses. The overwhelming smell of weed and sweat was invading the girls' noses, some sweat of those they passed being wiped on them, Evelyn grimaced.
A few pushes and snarls for the people they passed, Finley had surprisingly easily brought them right to the front of the crowd that stood around the raised platform. The makeshift stage wasn't lifted more than three feet off the ground, though the towering height of the fighters atop it made it seem more menacing.
Finley watched the fight happening in front of them in slight awe, while the other girl was trying to focus anywhere but the bloodbath occurring. She took occasional glances, though the few times she watched the punches being thrown, the combination of cracking bones and bleeding faces was enough to turn her away.
While focusing on the crowd around them, she noticed a familiar face lit up by the dim lights, "Hey Fin, look!"
Both girls turned in the direction she was pointing and noticed the raven hair and tattoos.
"Oh my god, we have to go over there right now," Finley exclaimed, and once again starting to pulling Evelyn through sweaty bodies. They arrived in front of the boy, Finley waving energetically to get his attention.
"Evelyn, Finley! What are you guys doing here?" he asked once he spotted the frantic waving approaching him.
"Here to see Luke," Finley said and subtly pointed to the girl standing next to her. Evelyn scowled at the side of her face while the other two laughed at her expense.
"Same here. Actually, probably the same for most of these people," Calum said.
"Why do so many people want to see Luke fight tonight?" Evelyn asked, her arms latched on to one of Finley's. The match happening when the two walked in had ended and the men around them started getting more impatient and pushing to get to the front.
"Whoever he's fighting has a lot of talk around his name. Apparently the dude almost beat someone to death here, which rarely ever happens. I'm not sure who it is but I have a feeling this won't be an easy fight for Luke,"
Evelyn swallowed, the pit in her stomach dropping further at the thought of Luke being so beat up he almost died. She hoped she'd never have to witness that.
She shivered and was relieved of her thoughts by Calum speaking again, "Ashton's around here somewhere too. He's with Luke's trainer just to 'be sure he actually helps him'," Calum mimicked the dirty blonde's voice. She smiled and felt some of her nerves vanish with Calum's playful attitude.
The air horn used to signal the beginning of a fight aired, causing Evelyn to jump and immediately the next two men were throwing punches. Both men were extremely buff and Evelyn just hoped that the guy Luke will be against would be smaller than them.
Finley and Calum we're engaged in a conversation about the fists flying while Evelyn desperately tried to look away from the men. Her eyes found Ashton opposite them on the other side of the platform, relaxing her momentarily.
Before she could comprehend it, the crowd's cheers grew significantly louder, Calum included. The last fight has ended with one guy being dragged off and passed them, his face profusely bleeding from more than one wound.
"This is it!" Calum shouted into the girls' ears. The room was buzzing with excitement as the man walked towards the concrete. Evelyn watched as the guy stepped up and into the spotlight lighting the platform.
"Oh fuck,"
She whipped her head towards Calum, his body completely delayed of the joy from moments ago. He had barely sore above a whisper but she heard it loud and clear in her ear, along with the disbelief in his words. The boy's eyes were wide, his mouth agape as he stared at the man set to fight his friend.
The same referee stood in the middle, the microphone he held announcing the next fighters, "On the right we have Blade! His name just as intimidating as his skills in beating the shit out of people!"
Evelyn's eyes widened at the man in front of them. Most of his body was covered in tattoos, a few of them botched by large scars running over them and his body mass clearly larger than Luke's. Blade gave her an awful feeling and she was not looking forward to this at all.
The short man's voice came through the microphone again, "And on the left we have the infamous Luke! He looks scrawny but be warned, he could knock you out in a heartbeat!"
"Calum, what's wrong?" She asked after she snapped herself out of ogling at Luke on the sidelines, him looking at her with his eyes still wide but his mouth now closed.
"You see," he said, rubbing the back of his neck and nervously laughed, "Um, well a few years ago Luke got into selling drugs in a gang and that guy tried to kill him,"
♛
Luke stretched his arms and cracked his neck as he stood by his trainer, Jace, waiting to get this fight over with. The guy nudged Luke to go up as his name was said, pushing Luke out of his thoughts as he finished the wrapping white fabric around his hands and wrists, and putting the plastic mouth guard in over his teeth.
Luke climbed into the makeshift ring and looked up at his opponent. His whole body froze as he laid eyes on the tattoos in front of him. He made eye contact with the menacing eyes, the smirk adorning the man's face even more intimidating.
"So nice to see you again Luke," the man chuckled. He clenched his jaw and glared at him.
For the past week the blonde was training, he had been slightly nervous for this fight, though he would never tell anyone that. He had no idea who he was fighting, but the minute his trainer made him start doing the exercises they only do when something big happens, he was nervous. He'd only ever had a handful of fights he had to train so intensely for before and each time he was wracked with nerves. The knowledge that these fights would gain him a lot of money was enough alone for him to spend a whole week anticipating the fight. The past week was no different and he had started to psych himself out just hours before.
The annoying ref was still on the stage talking as Luke tried to ignore the look being given by fucking Blade and the regretful feeling in the pit of his stomach. He was angry—extremely angry—but that feeling in his gut was making it hard to focus on the rage he felt. His eyes scanned around the front of the crowd looking for his raven hair friend. He hoped seeing at least one other person beside Ashton who knew their history and the possible worry he felt would help calm the erratic beating of his heart. He desperately needed it to slow a little before they were allowed to throw punches.
He spotted the raven hair to his right, the boy's eyes were wide as he stared at his friend who was stood before an actual murderer. It didn't take long for Luke to notice the two girls stood next to Calum, more specifically the shorter brunette. The two made eye contact, and Luke could feel the heart rate in his blood that had just started calming, speeding up again. Her eyes were wide when he first spotted her but soon went down to a normal size, the sides crinkling as she smiled shyly to him.
Luke could see the ref moving the microphone from his face, signaling he was done speaking. Luke glared with squinted eyes at Blade, confidence seeping into his body. He straightened his posture and pulled his hands in front of his face. He couldn't help the way a simple smile from a certain girl gave him the push he needed to believe this would end well.
The air horn sounded and Luke immediately blocked everything out as he focused his anger and confidence into planning his attacks.
One thing Luke learned through his many years of boxing was that being small was better.
He didn't mean being short, because clearly he had quite some height, he meant muscle. It wasn't like he had no muscle—he certainly did—but the bigger your muscles became, the harder it got to dodge quickly. He was light on his feet, his weight always on the balls of them, ready to move.
He had fought plenty of guys who might have had a strong punch, if they had managed to land one, but their ability to dodge was lessened by the large amount of muscle mass they had.
Luke easily dodged the first punch thrown his way, it was predictable. Too many times they swung with their dominant hand first towards the face. As he moved around the punch, he took the chance to land a punch on Blade's cheek which only made him stumble slightly. The man growled and shook his head, a deadly smile forming on his lips.
A few more punches were thrown with only Luke's landing, until a punch was thrown directed to his jaw. He almost fell from the force behind the punch but caught himself and ignored the pain spreading through his mouth and focused all of his anger flying through the punches he was throwing, overpowering any other feeling in his body.
A hard punch to his mouth and cheek later, one more was landed on his collarbone and Luke put the rest of his strength into a punch at Blade's chest, successfully knocking the air out of his lungs. As he stumbled to catch his breath Luke took the moment of weakness and threw one final punch with full force at the side of his face.
Finally lying on the ground, a whistle blew and Luke's body loosened. There were a few moments of doubt throughout the fight, but only scolded himself for thinking he would've lost. Blade was being picked up off the floor, three separate men needed to restrain him as he stood up. He was yelling at Luke as he was being dragged off the platform.
"I'll fucking kill you! I will fucking kill you!"
Luke just side-eyed him and smirked, trying desperately to ignore the shiver that ran down his spine at the threat. His bloodied arm was held up as 'Jeff the Ref' started announcing Luke's win.
His breathing heavy, his chest heaving as his eyes glided across the sweaty men around him. His eyes drifted to the front and was met with the sight of Evelyn smiling widely at him and cheering with the rest of the bodies in the room. A small smile started making its way on his face, though quickly diminished as Jeff told him to come get his winnings.
Luke walked back off the ring and towards his trainer and Ashton.
"Fuck yeah dude! You kicked his ass!" Ashton yelled as he ran up and hugged the sweaty blonde. Luke grimaced as Ashton's arm rammed into his collarbone, the adrenaline was wearing off and he was finally becoming aware of the ache in different parts of his body.
"Yeah, yeah, thanks. I'm gonna go get my money, I'll see you in my room," he squirmed out of Ashton's bone crushing hug. Luke walked away toward the room in the corner that held his money.
♛ ♛ ♛
*HOT GIF ALERT* i wanna die that man is so attractive
this was 4000 words but i'm lazy so i made it two chapters lmao
fun fact: i looked up some stuff about bare knuckle boxing to see how i could make this more realistic and BOY do i wish i didn't. ITS SO GROSS like i really don't know what i was expecting but now i get why the mc is always grossed out-
anyway hope you guys are staying safe and healthy!
thanks for reading!