The stranger glanced to Lukas before looking back at Griff, "Voronin." a small sneer appeared on his lips.
"Move." Griffs accent seemed to sound a little heavier thanks to the venom in his tone. His glare was unwavering as the other man clenched his jaw in anger, then the man calmly leaned forward towards Griff to whisper something into his ear. It was too quiet for anyone to hear, but the glare the stranger shot at Lukas made it obvious that he was talking about him. After he finished whispering to Griff, he stepped to the side to let them pass. Griff reached behind him to grab Lukas' arm and pulled him along. "Let's keep walking. We need to get to my coach."
Lukas followed without protest, shooting a meaningful glare at the man who confronted Griff. The blonde jogged so he was walking side by side with the darker male, "What was that about?" He hissed, green eyes curious yet guarded
Griff didnt reply at first as he thought of a way to answer without spilling all the details. His face was set in stone as he headed towards an elderly gentleman who was standing beside the ring, "Like i said, strangers aren't trusted here. " Not a complete lie, but definitely not the whole truth. "That was Lincoln Collins. Goes by 'Hero' in the ring. I'd avoid him if i were you."
Lukas nodded. Inwardly, he thought, I'd love to get in the ring with him. have a few rounds the blonde rolled his shoulders, suddenly in the mood for a brawl. He kept following Griff, slightly more suspicious as he looked around
The fight finished just as the two finally got to the older gentleman, "Nicholas, I'm up next right?"
The elder man smiled underneath his thick gray mustache, "Yes! You're going up against 'Speed'. So I'm not terribly worried for you. I've seen him work out." The older man laughed as Griff scoffed. Before Griff could reply, a short middle aged man entered the arena, his muscled were massive and an angry look was plastered on his face.
Griff smirked and turned to Lukas, "This will be quick." he turned back to the ring and popped in his mouth guard as he entered.
Lukas stood near the ring, a half smile on his face as he folded his arms over his chest. (Random details i may or may not be putting in for the Coach to notice:) Lukas' shirt was tight, showing off the muscles in his abdomen and arms. The expression on his face was passive, yet calculating, watching every move of the fighters in the ring, storing them, analyzing them, learning from them
Nicholas nudged Lukas slightly with his elbow, "So, you are a friend of Griff's?" He never looked away from the fight as he spoke. "How would you feel in joining our system? If you're anything like the last friend he brought, I'm sure you'd do great" He laughed slightly when Griff made a nice connection with his opponents jaw.
Lukas looked over, his eyebrows raised, "Really?" He asked, "That would be awesome!" He paused, "But I have no idea what the rules are or techniques or anything. I just have, well, the muscle" he chuckled and winced as Speed got a nice blow into Griff's temple
"Oh ho ho! No need to worry about the rules or technique. Those can be taught with ease." A content smile spread across his face as Griff landed a knockout uppercut to Speeds' jaw. "But, you will be going to a different gym and going against different fighters. Griff here would be livid if he found out." Nicholas looked over to Lincoln, who was standing against the opposite wall. "And i refuse to destroy another friendship." Griff smiled wide as the crowd cheered for his victory.
Lukas frowned, looking at the Coach, "He doesn't like his friends getting into fighting?" He asked curiously, slightly confused
"He cant stand the thought of hurting a friend. And he knows that its inevitable for him to fight them at one point or another. But he has a lot of pride, the only fighter he's ever forfeited against was Goliath, and he intends to keep it that way." Nicholas shook his head "I know the poor lad is going to be an emotional wreck after the match. But enough of this…" Nicholas discreetly handed him a card with his number on it, "…Griff is coming back. Call me when you are able."
Lukas nodded his thanks to the coach, tucking the card in his pocket as Griff approached. He'd have to find a phone somewhere… Lukas shoved the thoughts out of his mind and smiled as Griff grew near, "What was that?! Hell yeah, Griff!" He grinned, "He got his ass handed to him!"
Griff laughed out loud as he approached "I told you that it would be quick!" He started taking off his gloves, "He looks intimidating, but it's all show. He's juicing, so he's not actually strong." Even though it was quick and easy, there was still some sweat on his brow "But that one hit he got in really stung, so i went a little overboard with the final blow as payback haha!"
Lukas laughed, "Yeah that looked like it hurt," he grinned, putting his hands in his pockets, feeling his fingers brush the number card slightly, "Oh, by the way, do you have clothes I can borrow for tonight?" he asked, a bit sheepishly
Griff placed a hand on Lukas' shoulder, "Of course! otherwise we can swing by somewhere and get you that cheer-leading outfit!" A goofy smile spread across his face as he started leading Lukas out of the room and back towards the stairs.
Lukas laughed, "I'll take a rain-check on that one," he said. Part of him wanted to share his good news. The money earned from his fights would make him get on his feet easier and faster! But remembering what the coach said, he kept his mouth shut and paused outside of the dressing room, still chuckling as he imagined himself in a cheerleading outfit
As Griff changed, Lincoln walked out from the door leading downstairs and headed to the locker rooms where Lukas was standing outside of. His face still was mostly stone, but had hints of anger.
Lukas looked up and met Lincoln's gaze steadily, his hand automatically sliding in his pocket to rest on his gun, but then sliding out. If this dude had a problem, they'd just swing. It'd be no problem.
Not wanting to be the instigator, Lukas simply gave the man a cordial nod as he approached
Lincoln had ignored him entirely, walking right past him and into the locker room. It shocked Griff, but once he realized who it was, he stood ramrod stiff. "What are you doing in here." Griff kept his voice low since the room echoed somewhat.
"We need to talk." While Lincolns voice wasnt as deep as Griffs, it had an authorative tone as he spoke.
Lukas frowned as he walked inside. His whole body ached to follow, but he resisted, creeping closer to the door until he could hear what was said inside. His face was grimm as he listened, ready to jump in at any moment
"There is nothing to talk about Link." Griff continued dressing.
"Like hell there isn't." Lincoln walked closer to Griff until he was in arms reach. "You ended things because i joined. And now youre making an exception!? After all the bullshit we've gone through?" He quickly closed the gap as he forced Griffs back against the lockers and slammed his hands against against the lockers, trapping Griff.
Lukas furrowed his brow. "Ended things?" He muttered to himself. Hearing slams, the man didn't hesitate and ran inside, pulling Lincoln off of Griff and shoving him back, "Hey, back off, douchebag! The fuck is wrong with you?"
Griff was shocked when Lukas came to the rescue. "Mind your own damn buisness!" Shouted Link As he swung at Lukas. In an instant, Griff lunged at Link and in one fluid motion, grabbed him by the throat and pinned him to the ground. His eyes were dark with fury as he stared down a Link, "Go wait in the car Lukas." He practically groweled the words while his gaze never left Link.
Lukas hesitated, flexing his fingers. He wanted nothing more than to take a swing at Lincoln, but resisted, just barely, and readjusted his jacket, working his jaw silently. He hesitated for a moment longer before walking out, fuming. He made his way blindly to the car and began to pace back and forth beside it, letting his anger build. Anger at his life, anger due to withdrawal, and anger at Lincoln for possibly hurting Griff. Finally, it built up too much and he released it, swinging his fist as hard as he could at a newspaper stand with a roar, shattering the glass. He cried out in pain and held his fist, which was bleeding and full of tiny glass shards. He looked around, making sure no one saw before ducking into the car, digging through the glove compartments until he found napkins, wrapping them around his bleeding hands, growling and squeezing his eyes shut as his pressure applied to the wound drove the glass shares in further.
It did take a few minutes, but eventually Griff came walking out the door. The scar that ran across his lips was slightly split, and he was rubbing at his neck, but other than that he seemed okay. As he walked closer to the car, he opened one of the back doors and threw his bag into the backseat before moving to the drivers side. Opening the door, Griff plopped down and slammed the door shut. He sat there for a moment, staring straight ahead before finally turning to Lukas. Upon seeing the blood, sheer panic washed over him. "Shit! What the fuck happened!?" Griff scrambled to grab more napkins.
