Beware The Water

Closed Doors

Shorter's crew loved to party and Lux knew that. She was never one for going out herself but after Shorter practically begged for her to join him tonight she had finally given in. After all, it was to celebrate one of his guys getting out of juvie after serving six months.

The party was taking place at a sketchy side of the neighborhood that Lux would never dream about visiting in her free time. The streets were dark, the people looked scary, and Lux felt like she had to clutch onto her purse whenever someone passed her by.

Shorter's friends were incredibly loud and wild, and Lux had lost track of Shorter in the crowded house in midst of the chaos. She kept running into his friends, who were introducing themselves and offering drinks and joints. The girls at the party were also quite intimidating with their tattoos and piercings, giving Lux the feeling that they were prepared to jump her at any time.

Lux pressed herself against a wall to keep out of the way and hoped that Shorter would eventually find her. She had looked up from her phone to see a group of people filing outside to the back yard all cheering and chanting. Lux was going to stay put until she heard someone yell, "Kick his ass, Shorter!"

She pushed herself through the crowd of people and finally made it to the backyard where there was a group circling around Shorter and another guy from his gang. They were both shirtless and punching each other to see who would drop first. "What's going on?" Lux asked in a panic, wondering why nobody was stopping the two boys.

"Chill." One of the guys said, "It's a test of strength thing."

"A what?"

"You should go back inside."A girl around Lux's age said. She shot her a grimace, wondering why an uppity girl like Lux was at a party like this. "These things can get bloody. I don't think a prissy chick like you could handle it."

"Oh shit!" Another person yelled as Shorter tackled his friend to the ground and repeatedly punched him. The crowd began to cheer for the other guy, named Hook, to stand up and keep fighting. He succeeded in kicking Shorter off and quickly stood back up, keeping his fists raised to prepare another strike. Both of them were injured, with Shorter bleeding from a cut under his right eye and Hook having a busted lip with blood running down his chin.

"C'mon Boss. You can give up now." The boy smirked.

"I'm just getting started."

Lux didn't like the sight of seeing Shorter hurt even if he was unbothered by his own blood. But part of her found this dog fight type of thing to be somewhat exhilarating. She knew Shorter was strong and there was something so hot about seeing him in action and holding his own against another guy. "C'mon Shorter!" Lux cheered along with the rest of the crowd.

Lux's voice grabbed his attention, and he saw her at the front of the crowd. He gave her a quick wink before returning to his fight. Some of the girls noticed and crossed their arms, shooting glares in Lux's direction. They couldn't comprehend why Shorter had brought a girl like her into their circle. She was ignorant of their realities and had never experienced the need to fight for her life. They assumed Lux had likely been privileged and wondered what about her could appeal to Shorter, who understood struggle in a way she clearly couldn't relate to.

The crowd shouted for a victor and soon enough, one last upper cut sent Hook flying to the dirt. The guys and girls cheered as Shorter paraded around, flexing his muscles to show his strength. Lux clapped and cheered his name. Never did she think someone could look so hot covered in sweat, dirt and blood but Shorter definitely made it work.

Shorter went over and picked his friend up from the ground and hugged him as he accepted defeat to his Boss. Within seconds the girls crowded Shorter, latching onto him despite acting fake concerned about his blood and bruises. One of them, a blonde with a white, practically see through tank top wiped the blood from Shorter's face with her thumb and kissed his wound "better". Shorter laughed telling the girls he was fine and that there was nothing to worry about but they continued to fawn over him like he was a wounded kitten.