Griff pursed his lip as he looked toward the ground, thinking of how to respond. "Well, uh…it wasnt like he didn't have a reason." his cheeks turned a light pink as embarrassment settled into the pit of his stomach. "He used to be a…friend." pulling out his pen, he took a quick hit. "Stopped talking to him since he joined. He was probably just pissed that i now brought you around." Griff looked to Lukas "It would be nice to have my little cheer-leader around for when i fight him though." Griff winked at him playfully before laughing out loud.
Lukas laughed as well, "I'll have to order my costume" he said, pushing off of the wall, "Do you have a phone I could borrow?"
Griff laughed at Lukas' remark, "Yeah, it's at the end of the counter over there." Griff pointed to a cordless phone tucked away, "Use it for whatever you like. I'm going to go relax a little bit. If you need to run to your place to grab all your belongings, let me know." Griff also moved away from the counters and started walking down the hallway that had the gym and garage "You're also welcome to snoop around. just dont go into my sisters room. she'll kill you."
(Don't forget he don't have a place)
Lukas watched him leave, then walked over and grabbed the phone, walking outside and dialing the number on the card, holding the phone to his ear.
(yeah! didnt know if he had some personal stuff hiding away somewhere)
Thankfully, Griff had already walked away towards his practice room, so he hadnt heard his coaches voice on the other end. "This is Nicholas. I am not available, but feel free to leave me your number and the reason why you're calling. Maybe i'll reach back out." The beep signified for Lukas to leave his message.
(Not really. Just the clothes on his back and the alcohol he buys XD)
"Hey, Nicholas. It's Lukas. The guy from the match today? Anyways, I was reaching out to you to talk about starting in the ring. Uh, call back, I guess. This is Griff's home phone though so… just say you're someone else? I don't know. I'm rambling. Sorry. Er, have a nice day," he hung up and let out a breath
Griff walked over to a safe that was beside a fairly large piano and knelt down in front of it. Punching in the code, he opened the safe and carefully removed an older violin case. His fingertips lightly grazed the smooth leather of the case as he set it down the the top on the piano. The smile on his face was a mix of tender and heart-wrenching as the memories of his mom and dad rushed to the front of his mind. Gingerly opening the case, he removed the beautiful cherry oak violin that rested within. The room was sound proofed, and thanks to this, he hadnt heard the phone ring just after Lukas had hung up.
Lukas set the phone down, then halted as the phone rang again. He picked it up, hesitating a moment before pressing 'answer', putting it to his ear, "Hello? This is Lukas speaking,"
"Oh I'm glad i got you!" It was Nicholas, and you could faintly hear dogs barking in the background and the old man pulling the phone away to shush them. "I apologize for not answering right away, you got me just as i was trying to get into my house." He laughed lightly, "I'll take it you are actually interested in fighting?"
Lukas smiled, "Yeah, I am. I really am," he said sincerely, "I didn't even realize it until Griff let me use one of his bags, but I really think I want to try it"
"Good good! Well then…" Once again he had to quiet down his dogs "when would you like to meet up? i have another gym on the other side of town. East Bourbon street, still called Iron Works. We can meet there sometime so i can see what you're made of."
(When your character says something and all of a sudden more of his backstory is revealed.)
"That sounds great. Um, I can probably get out tomorrow morning. Around 08:00?" he asked, leaning against the counter. As he shifted, his dogtags clinked together under his shirt, a reminder to him of the service he paid to his country, and what they did in return to him. Why he was where he was now.
(OOOOO! i love unexpected reveals! c: )
"Perfect! Feel free to wander in and do what you like. I wont be in till about nine." Nicholas hadn't seemed to notice Lukas' military verbiage. "I'd recommend contacting me via cell next time. Don't want to run the risk of Griff finding out. You'll have to give me your contact number when i arrive." The dogs began barking again and Nicholas had shouted something about feeding them in a moment. "I'll see you then kid."
"Alright. Thank you, Nicholas" he hung up and placed the phone on the rack. He wondered for a brief moment if his condition would hinder him, but quickly pushed it away. This was how he was going to make money, so he had to do this, no matter the cost.
The blonde began to wander a bit, admiring the small house with his hands in his pockets. He'd need to get a phone somehow…
After warming up with a few chords and practice lines, Griff walked over to the small electric keyboard that sat on the other side of the piano and worked out some beats and other music. Setting it up to auto play and repeat as necessary, he brought the violin up to is shoulder. Taking a deep breath, he placed the bow on the strings and began playing. Since he was hoping to calm down, he settled on playing a slower song. After a few chords, it became obvious that it was Perfect by Ed Sheeran, but it wasnt just regular playing, he swayed to the music to the point he was practically dancing and put emotion into the notes. While Griff couldnt really hear outside noises, the faint sound of his notes seeped through the walls and into the hallway.
Lukas paused as the notes filtered through the house. He walked slowly towards them, recognizing the tune. He began to hum quietly, pushing open the door to see Griff. He was surprised, but didn't make a sound. Instead, he slid inside the room, closing the door quietly behind him. He began to sing quietly, his voice moving up and down with the gentle whine of the violin. His eyes fixated on the man moving around the room. He began to see him in a different light. Not the fierce fighter, but the gentle caregiver.
His mind was focused on the music and his eyes were closed as he let the notes carry away his troubles. He hadn't heard Lukas enter, or even singing for that matter, all he heart was his own heartbeat and all he could feel was the small vibrations of the strings. As the song came to an end, he lowered his violin and went back to the keyboard to turn off the music. As he pressed STOP, his fingers paused on the keys as he was tempted to play another, but he ultimately decided against it.
Lukas smiled as he saw Griff visibly relaxed, "I didn't know you could play" he said quietly, smiling softly
"JESUS CHRISTMAS!" Griff shouted in surprise and spun around to look at Lukas. Realizing it was him, Griff placed his free hand over his heart as he tried to steady his breathing. "You scared the hell out of me! Probably took a good ten years off my life. When did you walk in here?"
Lukas laughed, "Sorry! Sorry sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I walked in around halfway through the song. You didn't hear me singing?" he asked, not realizing how close they were
"No. But it's not uncommon. The rest of the world disappears when i play." Griff placed the violin in its case and closed it. A deep red covered his cheeks as he became embarrassed, "You're uh…only the third person to know that i play that instrument." He quickly took the case from the top of the piano and placed it back into the safe.
Lukas smiled, "It was beautiful," he said truthfully. He watched Griff replace the violin, then walked over to the piano, sitting down and laying his fingers over the keys, feeling the years of lessons flow into his fingers. He began to play, soft at first, then louder as the tune grew more intense. He played it once, then began to sing, "Oh won't you, Stay with me" he sang, ""Cuz you're all I need." he felt himself get lost in his headspace, memories of his childhood flowing into his mind. He closed his eyes as he reached the final notes, tears pricking in the corners of his eyes as images of his mother's death pushed itself forward
Griff was thoroughly impressed as he watched Lukas play. The way Lukas' fingers stroked the keys made his stomach flip and heart skip (for some odd reason). He hadnt realized that he was slowly walking toward the bench, and in a moment he was standing right beside him. It was then that he realized how much emotion he was putting into those notes, his hand itched to reach out and comfort, but it remained still. At least, until the song ended and he caught a glimpse of the unshed tears. Before he could even register his own movements, Griff had knelt down beside Lukas and wrapped his arms around him to comfort his friend. "Whatever it is you've gone through, I'm sorry…"
Lukas, at first, felt the urge to shove him away, but soon relaxed and wrapped his arms around Griff as well, laying his head on the man's shoulder, squeezing his eyes shut. He tried to hold back his tears, not wanting to appear weak in front of this man who seemed so strong. But he couldn't, and tears began to silently fall down his face.
His heart broke for Lukas. What could have possibly happened to cause a tough guy like Lukas to break down? Whatever it was, Griff felt for him. He could feel his shirt become wet with Lukas' tears, so with one hand he gently rubbed his back to soothe him. He didnt know what to say to help, all he ever did with his own emotions is shove them into a jar and bury it as deep as possible in alcohol and drugs. So, not wanting to make the situation any worse, Griff stayed quiet while still doing his best to make Lukas feel better.
