"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.
"I'm fine, I'm fine" Lukas insisted, but the pain in his voice told otherwise, "Just got in a fight with a newspaper stand is all" he joked with a tight smile, holding the napkins to his wounds, "Enough about me, the fuck was that guy's problem?" He asked, referring to Lincoln
"Well the stand clearly won. Jesus christ let me see." Griff gently held Lukas' hand and peeled back the napkins gently, doing his best to not cause anymore pain. His brows furrowed with concern as he carefully examined the wounded hand. "Ill have to have Eddy look at it. Theres glass stuck in there and i dont have tweezers on me." Griff did his best to remove some shards, and once he felt iit was sufficient, he quickly tore off a chunk of his shirt and gingerly wrapped it around Lukas' hand. Turning on the car, Griff drove home as quickly as possible, "Just ignore him. Theres bad blood between us. Thats all." Said Griff in response to the question.
Lukas winced as he pulled out some of the glass, though he didn't protest. He laid the hand on his lap, choosing to keep his mouth shut on the matter. His uninjured hand slid into his jacket pocket, fingering the card inside. He'd have to find a payphone or something later
As he drove, Griffs mind kept replaying the scenario. He'd actually hurt Lincoln. Realizing his hands were shaking, he gripped the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles were white. While it did stop his hands, the shaking seemed to crawl up his arms and into his chest. Dear god he actually hurt someone he used to care about! His heart raced as his panic grew and grew, but what would have happened to Lukas if he didnt grab Link? His mind ran and ran and ran, even though he looked mostly calm on the outside, inside he was in the midst of a panic attack. What ifs sped through his mind. What if id seriously injured him. What if i didnt stop. What if i hurt Lukas. Griff did his best to breathe through his nose calmly, but it was still quick and short breaths. He let out a quiet ans shaky one before finally speaking, "Thank you. For pulling him off me." It was quiet, but sincere.
Lukas turned to look at him, a frown forming on his features, "Yeah, no problem" he replied, just as quietly, "Anytime" the blonde gently reached a hand out and laid it on the other man's arm, "You alright?" He murmured, noticing the tension in his voice and actions
Griff practically jumped throught the roof of the car when Lukas touched his arm. "Yeah. I'm fine." He swallowed hard, trying to forced the negative feelings down. "Just…a little shaken thats all." He could physically feel his chest shaking.
Lukas frowned, "Pull over, man," he said, "Seriously, you need a moment" he'd seen shit like this on the street and in bars. This wasn't just shaken up, "Look, pull into that gas station real quick. Take a second to calm down,"
"I'm fine." Griff snapped, "I just need to get you back home." Aaaaand he immediately felt like an ass. Sighing, Griff moved his hand quickly, so Lukas wouldnt see it shake, and turned on the radio to the station that was on earlier. "Sorry." Mumbled Griff, "i didnt mean to sound like a jerk."
"No, it's alright" Lukas said, "I understand. Just don't push yourself" he meant it, leaning back in his seat, glancing at Griff every once and awhile to make sure he was doing alright. His hand had been reduced to a low searing pain, but it still hurt like a bitch, though Lukas kept silent
The drive back was much shorter thanks to Griff speeding, and the second he pulled into the driveway he turned off the car and got out. Quickly moving to Lukas' door he opened it for him. "C'mon, lets get you in." Thankfully, Griff had calmed down mostly, so when he offered a hand for Lukas, it was barely shaking at all.
Lukas accepted the offer, standing with a barely audible groan as his hand throbbed from the shift. He closed the door and followed Griff inside, holding his injured hand to his chest
Griff called out to Eddy, who rushed to the door rather quickly, "Oh my…well come along sir! Sit down at the table while i go get the first aid kit." Eddy rushed off and Griff helped Lukas to the table. Pulling out a chair for him, he too rushed to the sink to get a cool washcloth.
"Ive got a great idea. Next time you wanna pick a fight…" Griff wrung out the cloth and came back over by Lukas' side and chuckled, "make sure its not against something that will fight back."
Lukas chuckled, "I'll keep that in mind" he said, placing his hand on the table, "To be fair, I think the newspaper stand came out worse" he tried to explain jokingly, "I'm pretty sure I broke it" he became sheepish, ducking his head
Griff laughed "Yeah, well it went out with a vengeance." He gently removed the piece of his shirt from Lukas' hand and hissed sympathetically "Yeesh. Eddy is gonna have fun with this." Griff began tenderly wiping the blood away and cleaning the area with the cool, wet cloth. After a few moments, Griff looked up to meet Lukas' eyes, "Really though…I dont know what would have happened if you hadn't stepped in. I really do mean it when i say thank you." His eyes seemed softer and filled with sincerity and gratefulness.
Lukas looked at him, smiling, "Of course, Griff. I wasn't just gonna let him beat your ass, was I?" He smiled, wincing and gasping slightly as Griff wiped away the blood, gritting his teeth. Now that it was pretty much clean, he could see all the tiny shares of glass buried in his flesh and winced just at the sight