sunshine | l.r.h

eight

chapter eight:

deja vu

Delilah wakes in bed. A slight headache echoes in her mind as she glances around the room. There's no sight of the blonde she spent her night with anywhere. A slight scoff leaves her lips as she realizes what happened. Deja vu racks her brain, adding to the mix of regret and slight anger. Then, she curses herself for feeling angry. This was a hook-up, you knew that going into it. She shouldn't be surprised he left but part of her is. They've always gotten along so well every time they've hung out.

For the rest of the day, she's left trying to push away the mental memory and hide the physical memory of him. Her classes go by slowly, leaving her exhausted by the time they're done. 

"So, he left again?" Natalia questions, sipping her smoothie. Delilah nods, spinning the straw in her smoothie. Natalia looks at the girl in front of her with something new. Delilah's never been one to jump into a relationship like this. While Natalia didn't expect it to go like this, she knows there was something deeper. "And this is just about him leaving?"

"I don't know," Delilah admits honestly. "I mean, would you show your hookups the sunrise? I just thought there was something. My gut was right when I told you he wasn't the settling down type."

Natalia's bottom lip pokes out. "You have a crush, Lilah, that's okay."

"I just wish he would've told me he was leaving," she sighs. Natalia takes Delilah's hand. 

"Maybe he's just an asshole," Natalia shrugs, trying to make her friend feel better. Delilah feels like that could be a possibility. Something wasn't making sense. She couldn't see how he could be so nice and do this. Maybe that was the idea. Be nice until he got what he wanted and then he'd leave. Delilah's head spins at the thoughts in it. 

"Maybe you're right," Delilah nods. Natalia squeezes her hand. 

"If you're up for it, there's a party tomorrow night," Natalia begins.

"Who's throwing it?" Delilah inquires with a grin.

"A guy on the football team," she answers. Delilah tosses the idea around in her head. It wouldn't hurt to go and let loose again.

"I'll think about it," Delilah smiles as she digs into her purse.

"That's not a no," Natalia sings.

"Not a yes either," she mimics Natalia's tone. Delilah tosses down the money for her mean before standing. She kisses Natalia's hair gently. "I'll see you later, Talia."

"See you!" She calls as Delilah exits the cafe. The walk to the studio is quick. When she's in, she's back in her headspace for the next few hours until the sun sets.

Luke loves fighting. He loves the adrenaline, the rush, and the attention. Every piece of it has him addicted.

He bounces lightly on the balls of his feet. His opponent stands across from him. Elliott Cross. A rookie fighter whose ego is through the roof. As the announcer steps into the ring, Luke puts his mouth guard in.

"Alright, boys, this will be a clean fight. No dirty moves, no brass knuckles, no under-the-table bets, understand?" The two nod. The first rule was obeyed mostly. If someone disobeys the second rule, they're banned. The third rule was looser. The bets wouldn't be between the fighters directly but between the manager and a fighter. Luke never did them no matter the offer. If he's gonna lose, it's because the other fighter is simply better. Not many are.

The bell dings, signaling the beginning of the fight. Luke keeps light to his feet, not daring to make the first hit. He never did. The Rookie grins wickedly before swinging. Luke dodges it swiftly, using the Rookie's momentum to knock him down. Luke uses his moment of daze to strike. It's a direct hit to the jaw. Elliott stumbles again.

Adrenaline's coursing through Luke's veins, giving him a high. He hits again and again. He dodges Elliott's attempts easily. Luke's thoughts slip for just a second. It's enough for Elliott to get a hard hit in. The hit knocks Luke's head back and his thoughts back into line. 

Within minutes, the fight's over and the announcer is raising Luke's hand above his head. The crowd screams for Luke and he loves it. Ashton and Calum clap from the other side of the ring. 

Luke slips through the crowd, earning several congratulations and pats on the back as he goes. The second he gets into his dressing room, he shuts the door. He takes a breath in the silence. While he does love the cheers, sometimes they got to be too much. He goes over to the counter, resting his hands on either side. Luke examines his face, seeing the cut on his lip isn't as bad as he thought. A knock on the door grabs his attention.

"Come in," he calls, not bothering to turn around. Calum and Ashton walk in.

"Good fight," Calum comments, patting Luke on the shoulder. Ashton doesn't say much. He just stares at Luke through the mirror. Luke huffs before turning to them, leaning against the counter.

"What?" He questions, crossing his arms.

"Why'd you stumble?" Ashton questions.

"What are you talking about?" Luke questions, furrowing his brows.

"You didn't keep your mind in the ring, Luke," Ashton continues. 

"I won, Ash, why the hell does it matter?" Luke scoffs. Calum stays quiet.

"It was her, wasn't it?" Ashton asks lowly as if anyone can hear him. Another fight was starting outside. Luke doubts anyone gave a shit what was going on in the room. He hits the nail on the head. Luke didn't know why, but he thought of Delilah for that second during the fight.

"I can't get her out of my fucking head," he mumbles, unsure of how Ashton's going to react. Luke has been trying everything to not think about her.

"You said she was a hook-up," Ash sighs.

"Well, apparently she's not," Luke scoffs. He doesn't want to think about her. She plays in his head like a broken record and he has no clue why.

"Find someone else to get her off your mind," Ashton suggests. Luke wishes it were that easy.

"She's different."

"How?" Ashton fires. Luke shakes his head, wanting the conversation to end.

"I don't fucking know." Ashton hates fighting with Luke but he doesn't seem to get it. Ashton also doesn't get where Luke's coming from. Or maybe he gets it more than Luke realizes.

"Figure it out," Ashton instructs, turning to leave.

"Why don't you figure your shit out and stop taking it out on me?" Luke bites back before he thinks. Ashton's hand flexes into a fist. Calum prepares for him to swing. Taking a breath, Ashton releases the fist before grabbing the door handle and leaving the room. Luke puts his head in his hands, realizing how badly he crossed a line. Calum sighs before leaning next to the boy.

"You know he just wants to protect you, right?" He asks gently. Luke's throat burns with regret as he nods. 

"I can't get her out of my head, Cal," Luke whispers. "If I could, I wouldn't have frozen today."

"You still won," Calum shrugs, trying to lift the blonde's mood.

"He's a rookie," Luke mumbles. "If he were a more skilled fighter, he would've had me."

"You can't think about the what-ifs, Luke," he comforts. That's all Luke has been thinking about. What if he didn't leave this morning? What if he'd never walked up to Delilah? What if he let it happen? Every space of his brain was occupied by what-ifs and a certain brunette he couldn't shake. "Talk to Ash, please. I can't have you two fighting tonight."

"When the hell did you become the mediator?" Luke questions with a slight grin.

"It's very tiring," Calum jokes. "When Mike returns he can have this role back."

Luke shakes his head as he pushes off the counter. He throws on a tank top before he and Calum leave the room.