Breathe||l.h fan fiction

Luke

Day 3.

My huge hands tied the black vans up, my eyes flashed up when my door creaked open.

"You alright mate?" The thick Australian accent made it clear to me that it was Ashton but I looked up anyway, just to check.

He smiled at me as he took a seat on the wooden chair. "Michaels working on my heater so is it okay if I hang in here for a bit?" He asked, I continued to get ready.

"Um sure, you know where everything is right?" I pulled my hood up to cover my hair again. "I'm off so i'll see you later?" He nodded as I grabbed a pair of headphones from my basket;which was filled with numerous different designs, then I wondered out of the door.

The music once again filled my head with the different emotions.

~I could see you there with the city lights, fourteenth floor, pale blue eyes~

I stopped in my path, my heart fluttered through my rib cage; as I remembered the previous images of her eyes giggling after I knocked her over. I remember the way she glanced at me when we first arrived, my eyes returning the same gesture just moments later.

My body twisted and I opened my door again. Ashton looked up at me.

"What was that girls name?" I asked shyly.

He smiled at me. "Annabelle." I nodded at him, I knew exactly what he thought but I didn't want to be late for my training so I left without saying another word.

***

I took my keys from the car and jumped out, I grabbed my water bottle before I locked the polished black vehicle.

The building was old and broken in places. I kicked away some of the stones that fell in my path. The dusty windows looked out across the field, I nodded at James as I walked in, a bell was sounded when the door closed. My sports bag was thrown into my locker and I took off my jacket before I went to warm up.

"You alright." James' glove was positioned on my shoulder when I joined him at the front corner.

I nodded, my hands grabbing the two red gloves that lay on the floor. James and I were training partners, we'd both help each other out; he's been a member here for longer than me and training with him was defiantly an honour.

I began to take strong swings for the bag, my music was still playing through my headphones; it encouraged me to hit the object harder. That's why I liked alternative bands, something they do helps me when I need to be strong.

A loud bell rung when 30 minutes were up, I pulled the pieces from my ears as I tried to catch my breathe back. The gloves fell off my hands and I took the opportunity to grab a drink; the water cooled me. I picked the bottle up again and tipped it over my sweating body. The water trickled down my jaw line and traveled under my vest that stuck to my hot chest, I shook my hair.

James and I took our positions in the small ring, I turned my head to see a few people watching us. The pressure built up. We both started circling in the limited space. James took the first swing, hitting me hard in the cheek; that will leave a mark, I thought. My head swung round. I almost lost my balance but I stayed leaning against the ropes. It took me a few seconds to retain my position and start fighting again, I had to wait for the fuzzy vision to stop before I stood back up.

We both shared a friendly smile before we carried on; James and I both circled again. We took our turns in hitting and dodging each other, Me first then James after, however the match ended with James winning, but we both left the ring with blood trickling down out faces.

After the fight we went to get cleaned up, the medic applied the appropriate stitching to both of our faces. I stayed in my boxing kit.

"Good match today." James' dark voice echoed in the empty changing rooms.

"Yeah, I can feel a bruise already though, that first throw was powerful." I laughed as I felt across my right eye where the stitches were.

"Have you ever thought about playing professional?" I asked from outside the small room.

The door opened and he walked out wearing jeans and a plain black top.

"Not really, I've got too much going on to think about that, and you weren't too bad yourself, my mouth still feels swollen from a few hits you took." He nudged my arm as he passed.

We both payed our fee and left together. "You're coming wednesday right?" I nodded at him. "Good." He called before hopping into his jeep. I waved as he drove past.

When I got back to the care home Ashton had left my room. I ate some of the pizza that remained from the previous night before deciding to have a shower. My towel draped over my shoulder whiles I walked down to the bathroom. My eyes looked up at the girl walking towards me; her hair was long and damp, a towel was folded in her arms, she wore small pyjama shorts and a tee with neatly decorated ankle socks.

"Hey Luke." She stopped in my path, yet again. I smiled at her, her clear blue eyes staring into mine.

"Hi Annabelle." I pulled at my lip ring not knowing what else to do.

She looked surprised.

"How do you know my name?" Her lips curved. I could feel my cheeks redden.

"I asked Ashton." Shit. I thought. I didn't plan to be that honest.

The silence between us fell awkward.

"Anyway I'm going for a shower, see you at lunch?" She nodded at me and with that we both went our separate ways.

I didn't know what to think about Annabelle, I hadn't spoke to her much and yet I've spent the majority of my day thinking about her.

I'm a genius in hiding it though, or so I though.

My last relationship wasn't the best, no one should ever be left that hurt.

Annabelle. I wondered if she liked being called anything else? Anne, Annie, Belle, Bella? I wondered what her favourite colour was? What she liked doing when she was alone. Did she like to read, if so what was her favourite book? I wanted to ask her these questions but I felt like I couldn't, I'm not a people person and I didn't want her to feel pressured into listening to me. What if she's scared of me because of what my father did? I didn't know if I could even tell her things like that, could I trust her?

I shook my head. I needed to forget about all those things, I thought. She'll probably be leaving this dump in a few days so there wasn't much chance of anything happening.

I draped the towel over the door as I locked it and took a shower, my music was playing out loud; which I failed to ignore and eventually I found myself singing along to the familiar lyrics.