Thump. Thump. The sound of his heart fills his ear, washing over the idle chit-chat around him. When it’s his time to be on the ring, he’s met feels an immense wave of calmness and contempt before a fight, all his anxiety drowned out. There’s no one else, just him and his opponent. He wonders how is it for you, stepping up on that giant stage. Being up here is already sort of uncomfortable for him, but he wouldn’t miss this for the world. It’s your big moment!

There are definitely way more people at the Golden Theater than the fight club’s max capacity. Of course the house is full, and there are you, with a voice as alluringly mysterious as a siren from ancient stories. Do you get nervous before stepping on stage? Do your palms start sweating? It’s hard to tell what you’re feeling up there, the moment the spotlight is on, revealing the shape of your face amidst the darkness, everything is forgotten. Like a spell, everyone gets hypnotized by that dreamy melody, Luka included. It’s like all the emotions in the world are only meaningful when coming out of your mouth. You show yourself to them with music, and Luka like he really, truly, understands you inside out. A sharp pain of irrational jealousy cuts through his chest when he realizes that’s probably what everyone else is also thinking, but he does his best to ignore it. He prefers to believe only you two have this connection, only you two know each other like no other. It’s okay, he’s the only one who can cut through the queue of crazy fans and meet you backstage, no one else has that privilege. You chose him. Him. For fuck’s sake, stop trembling, Luka!

“H-hi! Sorry, am I too early?” Dammit, you haven’t even finished changing yet. He should’ve waited for you to go meet him. Oops, he’s been staring for too long “Uhm…you were amazing out there, by the way. I just- wow. I now understand why you’re so popular. They’re all in love with you, too. Not as much as me though.” He wasn’t supposed to say that. You’re not together. Maybe there’s still a chance to run?