Long Live. // Luke Hemmings 5SOS (Vampire)

Chapter 14 - Pastime

Luke knew Victor well enough to know that he was an egotistical bastard who wanted the world to bow at his feet... the problem was that he would never come close, and he knew that.
The closest he could get was performing at The Vault. So many creatures of the night attended those shows, entranced by Helenas hypnotic drum beats and Victors supposed charm, as well as the entire bands talents.

Those crowds listened to him - they sang along when he said to, jumped when he demanded it, screamed when he willed it. It was a taste of power... But even as the frontman of the band, he didn't have the importance that he craved... because Luke was there.

Luke had been around for longer. He was stronger. He was smarter, and he was quick to stop Victor in his tracks when he got ahead of himself - in Victors mind, he was an obstacle on his path to power. And Luke didn't even have to try. He had the respect of people in and around that club who had been around for decades; people either knew him or knew of him, and those who didn't would quickly learn of him. He was quiet and reserved for the most part, but everyone knew he could shut down the whole club if he really wanted to. Victor knew.

Over time, Victor brought more strangers in, turned them, and tried to build a community of his own that would respect him the way that Luke was respected in that club... deep down, he hoped to replace Luke and his authority. Be feared and admired all at once, calling the shots and having people hang on to every word he said. What he didn't understand, however, was that Luke didn't have to say a word - he didn't have to command respect... Victor was too desperate, and Luke - as well as anyone else in their right mind - found it pathetic.

He'd never be a threat to Lukes authority. He'd started to realise that himself - Luke kept letting him back in, kept performing with him, kept letting things slide because he was not, at all, threatened. Victor could bring in all the people he wanted, turn them, hope for their loyalty, and those people would still do no more than stand and watch as Luke beat him down. In front of everybody.

It was a reminder to Victor that even those who he saw as lesser would always see him as less than Luke. The only power he could have was over humans, strangers who he and Steph brought in with hopes to control them and turn them...

Then he met Rosemary.

She didn't just see him as less than Luke. She saw him as less than herself. Rosemary saw through his try-hard persona and passively mocked him to his own face. Usually, he would have the reassurance that he could at least compel someone into acting the way that he wanted, but that little trick of his fell flat and his true colours showed.

He gave into his anger when he realised he wouldn't get his way otherwise, acting on his impulses which told him to cause her harm for embarrassing him - to what extent he'd harm her, he didn't know yet. He hadn't thought that far ahead - and of course, he didn't get the chance to, thanks to Luke. So he'd been embarrassed that night... twice. And it was the last straw for him.

The thought of Victor possibly going on a killing spree because of that night was unsettling to Luke. The thought of him coming after Rosemary because of it was nauseating.

The thought of Luke worrying about this would bring Victor some joy.
However, he wouldn't have pictured him sitting at home playing Mortal Kombat with Michael.

"So you're still going to go on your date with Rosemary?" Michael asked as he hit the buttons on his controller, perched on the edge of his bed with his eyes glued on the screen where he played as Mileena against Lukes Kano.

"For sure." Luke nodded, chewing on a lollipop stick as he played - Michael had a large collection of Chupa Chups that he was happy to share.