boxer ⋆ luke hemmings ✔️

45. Again.

According to Calum, Sophie's eighteenth birthday party was a success. Kind of.

Okay, not really.

She was late, turning up to the party thirty minutes later than everybody else, accompanied by a dishevelled Luke and an outfit that had a little rip in it— despite Calum's constant nagging to dress 'formally'. He even had to get her a dress to change into before the night could officially start, something that Sophie found tedious, but went along with anyway.

But regardless of the rough start and the sketchy way both his little sister and best friend turned up fashionably late, it was a good time. The guests enjoyed it and Sophie seemed to, too, even though she looked just about ready to crash after the first 'formal dance' with her parents.

Long story short, Calum was pleased with how he did things and had absolutely zero idea that just a couple hours prior, Luke had outdone him in many more ways than one.

Oh, he had zero idea.

It wasn't a surprise that Luke didn't have as much fun at the party as he did with Sophie earlier on. He didn't have the girl all to himself this time, which was understandable, but it also meant that his enjoyment was limited and that he didn't have a lot going on the entire night.

"Dude,"

His eyebrows raised, gaze tearing away from the extravagance of the hall before his eyes finally landed on the owner of the voice behind him.

Much to his surprise, it was Michael.

"Hm?"

"Have you been listening to a word I've been saying?"

With a slight wince, Luke shook his head. He was aware that his best friend had been chatting away in his ear for the past few minutes now, but he just couldn't seem to bring himself to listen.

For all Luke knew, Michael could be confessing his undying love for Ashton and he wouldn't have had any idea.

"Shit, no, mate. I'm sorry,"

"I swear. Sometimes I talk and all you hear is a buzz," Michael sighed. Luke said nothing, instead choosing to give him his full attention this time by facing the right way, "But anyway. I was just saying-"

"Mhm,"

"-How are things at the R?"

For a short while, Luke paused. He'd been having many matches at the R, but all had been in secret and when he wasn't with Sophie. Most of them, his best friends didn't even know about themselves. They hadn't been in the crowds in a very long while.

But Luke had good reason; he just didn't want Sophie tagging along.

Which, due to her stubborn and persistent nature, Luke knew would happen eventually if he ever let her know. She'd ask to come, he'd say 'no, baby', but she'd tag along anyway. And that would then lead to Luke glancing towards the edge of the ring every so often to see whether or not his girl was okay- a distraction he knew for a fact would land him in much deeper shit during the fight with his opponent.

It wasn't her fault. He knew that. It wasn't Sophie's fault that there were men at the R who watched the fights with an intention of picking a pretty lady up on the way home, and it certainly wasn't her fault that most of the time, she was the lady they all had their eyes on. But regardless of that, the boxer had already decided. He just couldn't take the risk.

Protecting her was one thing. He could do that with no problem. But he was her boyfriend now too, and that meant that the overprotective side of him came out much more often that it used to- again, with good reason.