the boxer // lrh au

two ; distracted

"there's no way," i mutter, shoving popcorn into my mouth.

"are you fucking kidding me? luke always wins, i swear it," calum replies. his eyes were trained on luke who was in the corner, getting ready by drinking water and bouncing on his toes. 

my eyes focus on the girl walking across the ring with a sign that says round one. surprisingly, it seemed like no one was paying attention to her. everyone's eyes were on either boys on opposite ends of the ring.

when the bell rings to announce the beginning of the fight, i intently watch. i came in with a minimal interest in the fight, but i was a lot more invested now. luke was too pretty to get beat up. however, though i initially thought he would lose, luke was confident in his strides while grey seemed scared, almost nervous.

"holy shit." the words leave my mouth as i use my hands to cover my shocked face. the round had begun and there was no stalling in beginning the fight. the first punch was thrown by luke. luke was in an upright stance and threw a jab at the crouching grey. 

luke was good— scarily good. deflecting each punch, strategically throwing uppercuts, crosses, hooks, you name it. for each time grey attempted to hit him, luke hit him back two times more and ten times harder. there was no way grey was going to last three full rounds of this, he could barely last two minutes of the first one.

"break!" i hear the announcer shout. i didn't realize i was holding my breath for the majority of the first round.

"told you." calum winks in my direction as i roll my eyes. "luke is legendary, i'm telling you."

"why have i never seen him around?" i finally ask. the question had been wandering in my mind for quite some time now. if tyler and calum were such good friends with him, why am i seeing him just now?

"well, tyler barely even went today considering he didn't want you being in this environment. same reason why hunter, amir, and nico all suddenly stopped talking to you. you know that story, right?" calum asks, glancing at me. 

"yeah, michael told me about it. he told me that tyler passive-aggressively told them to stay away. don't you think that's kind of— i don't know— possessive?" i question, looking around to make sure tyler's nowhere in the vicinity. i watch him, holding popcorn in one hand and shamelessly flirting with a girl who seemed to be decently interested. 

"i mean, yeah, but at the same time, i get where he's coming from. he wants to keep his little sister safe. not to mention, hunter's in jail now, amir is in a gang, and nico," calum trails off, "holy shit when was the last time i saw nico?"

i laugh at the boy standing next to me and slightly bump into him, reassuring him that i understood what he was trying to say. 

"so tyler has good intuition. what's his guess with luke?"

"luke doesn't have the best reputation. he's a lot like ashton— oh my god— remember when you had a crush on ashton?" calum begins to laugh, getting off topic. this time i push him harder than i did before. i feel a blush slowly appear on my cheeks and i turn away. 

"anyways, even if luke was a good guy, that won't stop tyler from being ultra-strict. think about it, how many guys do you hang out with besides me, your brother, and michael?" calum asks, his eyebrows raised as he proves a point. 

i ponder the thought and realize that i never really had many guys around me. luke must be no exception.

before i can reply back to calum, the bell rings for the start of round two. my nervous jitters were nonexistent this time and i was sure that luke was going to win.

the girl in the mini skirt walks across the stage again, yet we were all anticipating the gruesome fight ahead of us.

thanks to calum and tyler being friends with luke, we were front row on luke's side and everything was clear. every hit, every punch, every drop of blood or sweat coming from either boys— all of it was able to be seen. 

by my side, tyler was screeching in my ear while calum was clapping. without missing a beat, luke looks over to the two boys and smirks. i cheer along slide them, not missing a beat. luke's eyes graze over to me and we make eye contact. before i could think anything of it, luke gets pummeled by grey.

the crowd goes silent, the three of us along with them.

"the concludes the end of round two! luke: one, grey: one." the announcer exits the ring while leaving the two men inside of it. luke's movements were wobbly. grey obviously got in a good punch while he was distracted- a dick move if you ask me.

when luke sits down in the chair facing away from us to get ready for round three, tyler loses it.

"what was that?" tyler's popcorn was now on the floor instead of where it was just minutes before.

"i have never seen luke hemmings get distracted. never. we've been at every match and he looks at us every time." calum stood alongside tyler in disbelief.

"maybe he's having an off day?" i suggest.

calum and tyler stare at me incredulously like the idea i had just suggested was impossible.

"like luke hemmings ever has an off day." tyler scoffs.

i don't question the two boys for it would probably end up with me making fun of them because they sounded like two obsessed fangirls, so, instead, i get lost in my thoughts until round three.

i could not deny it, luke hemmings was easily one of the most attractive men i have ever laid my eyes on. no doubt he had a girlfriend who was a million times more attractive than me. but at the same time, it's not like i was looking for a relationship. i never really am looking for a relationship- i haven't even had my first kiss yet. no guy wants an inexperienced girl, especially not someone who looks like luke.