Griff did his best to remove as much glass as he could before Eddy came back with the kit. Gently setting it down beside Lukas, Eddy put on a pair of magnifying glasses. "Alright, let me have a look." Griff let Lukas move his hand. "Oh. Well…i do apologize…but this is probably going to hurt abit." He dug out a pair of tweezers, "Griff, hold his other hand so he can squeeze something." Griff obeyed and took Lukas' good hand into one of his. Then, Eddy began the painful task of plucking out all shards, which did require him to dig around abit.
Lukas tried to just grit his teeth and bear it, but Eddy started to dig around in his flesh, a small hiss escaped his teeth that turned into a growl as he continued to dig. He cried out and squeezed Griff's hand, his head falling back as his eyes squeezed shut, his stomach flipping with the pain
"Shhh," whispered Griff, "It'll be okay" he lightly squeezed back as he watched Lukas. But he couldnt ignore the way Lukas squirmed, it made his brain mush for some reason.
"Thankfully Griff here got most of it. This will be quick sir." Eddy said positively as he continued. Griff reached into his jacket pocket with his free hand to pull out his pen and passed it to Lukas.
Lukas snatched the pen and took a massive hit of it, his body immediately relaxing as the drug courses through his system. He still squeezed Griff's hand though, finding the feeling more comforting than any drug he'd tried. He kept his eyes closed, focusing on his breathing and trying not to think about what was happening to his hand
Eddy finished up a minute or so later and reached into the kit to pull out some bandages, "There. All done. I'll let Griff here bandage you up." As he stood he patted Lukas on the shoulder and cleaned up. Griff grabbed the bandages and the injured hand and began wrapping.
"Well…because of this, you wont be able to use a punching bag for abit." Griff chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.
Lukas sighed, “I figured” he grunted, his heart sinking. What would the coach say when he called him? He really wanted to be in the ring… the blonde watched Griff work, his expression mildly interested as the man, so large and intimidating, took tender care of Lukas’ wounds
"Thankfully this will heal faster than a break." Griff mumbled as he continued to wrap carefully. Quietly, he began humming a random tune as he worked. Griff paused for a moment as a thought went through his head which made his heart sink into his stomach 'If he did this from a small argument…maybe it's best he doesnt come to my next match.' He swallowed as he rememberd who he was going to be going up against in a month or so. forcing himself back to the task at hand, he quickly finished taking care of Lukas.
(awww)
Lukas nodded, "Thank you," he said again, flexing his fingers a bit, "That's much better," The blonde sighed and relaxed back in the chair, looking at Griff, "What's wrong?" he asked, noticing the expression on his gentle features,
(OMG YOU'RE BACK I MISSED YOU!!! but heads up, its super busy at work atm, so i may not be able to reply all that much for the month of January)
Griff laughed slightly as he cleaned up the table, "Well, you're not going to believe this…" Griff walked over to the sink to wash his hands "but uh…i'll be fighting him in a month or so." Griff turned to face Lukas and leaned against the counter as he dried off his hands. "And since you got so worried about little old me, it may be best for you to not come with." Griff hated saying it out loud, something about Lukas being there put him at ease…but he didnt want Lukas to attack another newspaper stand.
(Awww thanks, that means a lot. And, like my name says, I'm not gonna be on for a lot either)
Lukas was silent for a moment, thinking about it, "I'm coming," he decided, walking over to join him, "It wasn't neciassarily him that put me off, just the way he attacked you without reason," the blonde leaned back against the counter, "But in the ring, I know it's about fighting. And I know you'll kick his ass," he smiled, "I wouldn't miss it"
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
