BOXER

five

Brielle was currently staring at herself in the mirror as she observed the fifth outfit she had tried on that night. It was basic; a pair of light blue jeans with a few small rips spread out on the fabric, a plain white tank top, topped off with a cream colored cardigan.

And the longer she stared at it, the more she hated it. She was having one of those moments where she felt like she had absolutely no decent clothes, despite having a closet overflowing with them.

She groaned as she flung her body onto her bed, deciding that if she stared at herself any longer she was going to change and at this point there was no time for that. Brie arched her back off the bed for a quick second to pull out her phone, checking the time.

9:15 P.M.

The match started in exactly forty five minutes. The club was about a 15 minute drive from her apartment, and Luke had told her to get there early. It seemed that the logical thing to do at the moment was to leave in order to get there in time, although Brielle couldn't find the strength to lift herself off the bed.

She was nervous. She couldn't tell if she was nervous about seeing Luke again, or if it was the fact that she was revisiting the place where she experienced the worst date of her life. It seemed to be a mixture of both.

It was weird. She wasn't nervous all day. In fact, she actually woke up looking forward to tonight. But the severe closeness of the match was now beginning to fray her nerves.

Though at this point, there was no way she couldn't go. She had already made the effort to shower and put actual clothes on, and that was a big step for her.

Brielle rested her hands on her face, making sure to not ruin the eyeliner she had spent more time than she should've on. She stayed like this for a few seconds before letting a long, husky sigh escape from her lips. It was so deep that you wouldn't have expected it to come from such a small person.

She decided that lying on her bed was not doing her any good, and finally pushed herself off of it at a painfully slow pace. She then slipped on the pair of flip flops that were lying on the floor in the middle of the room, surrounded by various articles of clothing.

Brielle gave herself one last look in the mirror, smoothing the wrinkles that had formed in her clothes when she laid down. She caught herself staring for too long again and made sure to stop before she made any drastic changes to her outfit.

She picked the keys up from the kitchen counter as she made her way to the front door. Before opening it, she looked back at her beloved apartment and sighed at the thought of what she was actually about to go do.

Brie patted her back pocket, making sure she wasn't forgetting her most prized possession before quickly making an exit.

---

"Does watching yourself swing at the mirror really do anything for you? Just curious."

Luke groaned as halted his motions and turned to Michael who was currently sitting on the couch with a piece of pizza in hand. "Fucking hell, Mike. Can you shut the fuck up for once?"

Michael furrowed his eyebrows, taken back by Luke's angry tone. "Jesus. I was just kidding, calm down. Why the the hell are you so tense tonight?"

"I'm not tense," Luke remarked, joining Michael on the couch. "What time is it?"

"Uhhh," Michael drew out his "uh" as he reached for his phone on the table in front of him. "9:26."

The only thing that had been on Luke's mind all day was Brielle. He was so nervous about whether or not she was going to show up that he forgot that he actually had to fight tonight.