Just a pointless little ficlet. I hope you enjoy it nonetheless.
"Please, don't do this to me today…" Bianca begged her vehicle, already smacking her hands to the wheel in defeat. The car refused to start. It was by no means an old car, and she had no idea why it wasn't working.
She just wanted to go home. She just wanted to lay down and go to bed. The day had not been going well for her, she was tired and cranky all day. Having to work with an ex never tended to go well but such was life. Her ex-fiancé had attempted to talk to her all day, even going so far as to follow her around full sail until she'd acknowledged that he was there—it was his best shot of annoying her, she was sure of it. And now that she was finally free of him, her car wouldn't start.
Of course, she had been one of the last people to leave, and now that she's wasted so much time checking her phone, no one was there to help her. Bianca closed her eyes, drawing in a deep breath before exhaling through her mouth. Glancing down at her phone, she decided she was going to call someone. As she attempted to press her home button she realized that her cell phone was dead.
"Dammit." She muttered in frustration. She should have just taken a ride with Ember that day. Something had told her this would happen. It was just her luck.
Getting out of her car, she turned around, seeing one last person exiting the building. One Aleister Black, NXT's Dutch signee, came strolling out. He was in a sleeveless shirt and loose fitting pants. It was hot in Florida. And it never took anyone long to figure out just how muggy it could get. Sitting in her car with the windows down was doing little to keep her cool.
He hadn't seemed to notice her, even when she turned her back and defeatedly hunched against the top of her car.
Aleister walked across the parking lot, muttering the words to his walk out song—hearing it almost every night lead to it being stuck in his head. He unlocked his car, tossing his bag in the back and getting into the driver's seat in record time. He was beyond ready to get home. He started his engine, turning on his car lights when he finally saw her.
He didn't immediately recall her name upon seeing her figure in the dimness of the night. It took him a few moments to realize she was still standing there, visibly upset. He didn't talk to many people save for a handful of men he'd wrestled and travelled with on the independent scene. But like anything, news travelled. And by word-of-mouth, he'd come to know that she was supposedly the next big thing coming out of the NXT women's division.
"What the hell?" He wondered aloud, squinting as she opened her car door and slammed it shut again in frustration. He watched as she leaned her back on the trunk, elbows supporting her weight. He drove in her direction, rolling his window down as he pulled to a stop. "Bianca, yeah?"
"Yuh-huh." She nodded slowly, belatedly pushing to her feet.
"Are you okay? You seem a little flustered." He said, unsure of how to really navigate. He hoped she wasn't embarrassed. The tattooed Dutchman wasn't meaning to overstep.
"Car won't start," Bianca sighed, pointing over her shoulder, "And my phone is dead, so…"
Aleister reached for his cell, taking it from his cup holder and unlocking it. "Here, you can use mine. Call who you need."
Bianca sighed in relief, taking a step forward to reach for his phone. "Thank you." She paused, mouth quirking. If she were honest he didn't seem like the friendly—or at all helpful—type. He hung out with a lot of the guys who came up on the independent scene; Drew McIntyre, Johnny Gargano, Adam Cole, and the Big Ohno—as she called Kassius. She saw them together a lot. And he seemed the most standoffish of the group.
Aleister nodded, driving round to park in the space next to her car. He folded his hands in his lap, examining his tattoos—he really needed to get them retouched—noting that they were beginning to fade the last time he looked at them. Rolling down his windows, he looked to see where she'd gotten to since he'd parked.
Bianca stood there, dialing furiously as it seemed no one was answering. She called a few numbers she was surprised to see he already had saved. However, she wasn't shocked to find that at 11 o'clock, no one was answering.
She turned, finding Aleister standing with his hands braced on the top of his car. "Any luck?"
"Nope." She said, making her way over. "Thank you though." She had no idea what she was going to do. Handing his phone over, she nodded and rounded back to her car. She was about to open the door, when he spoke again.
"You need a ride," he said, clearly not asking but making a statement. He didn't really want to be offering but, he couldn't leave her there—stranded on her own—and then god forbid something happened.
"Oh, no," she shook her head, "you don't have to." She found herself denying the help, even though she didn't have the slightest clue how she'd get home. There was always public transit. But why would she do that when he was offering?
"What, you going to walk home?" He asked, quirking a brow. "You can't sleep out here…" he took note of her outfit, some clingy shorts, and a long sleeve pullover that wouldn't keep her warm if it got cooler overnight. Bianca bit her lip and he would have rolled his eyes, but that wouldn't help.
"Okay." She nodded, "let me grab my bag." She made sure to lock the car again, her purse and bag over her shoulder. She silently cursed her phone for dying. But it wasn't as if it made a difference, no one was answering calls it seemed.
Aleister turned off the radio, knowing she'd have to give him directions or punch in the address to the gps on his phone. Either way, the radio and directions would clash with his choice of music. Besides, Belair didn't seem like the metal-listening type. "Where to?"
Most of the drive was quiet, Bianca massaging her hands in her lap as he drove down the highway. Orlando was an expansive city, most of the roster lived at least a half hour away from work. He was happy she lived in the general direction of his apartment.
She directed him quietly, neither of them much for conversation after a long day. He wondered, if she was uncertain what to think of him.
"Are you always this quiet?" He asked, stopping at a light. Traffic was heavier than it should have even been on a weeknight but, that was neither here nor there.
"It's been a long day." She sighed, glancing at him, eyes sweeping over his heavily tattooed body. She stopped on his glistening lip piercing, the silver contrasting the pinkness of his bottom lip. His facial hair was unruly, but it added to his overall aesthetic. She stopped herself from staring at him further, "You usually double as an Uber?"
"What's Uber?" He asked, kidding of course, but she paused nonetheless. Her eyes widened as she looked at him, before realizing that she'd nearly missed the joke. He laughed, and soon after, she joined. He shook his head, "No, I just couldn't let NXTs next best thing spend the night in the parking lot."
"Oh my god, I'd die of embarrassment." She said, shaking her head. "I really don't know what happened, stupid ford. Never buy a ford." She said.
"Noted." He said, merging into the right lane. She'd told him the exit and luckily he'd remembered or they'd both miss it while talking.
"How long have you been wrestling?" She asked, more comfortable with conversation now that he'd broken the ice.
"15 years," He answered casually, focused on the road. He'd been traveling in the states for years really, and still wasn't used to how annoying drivers could be.
"Holy hell." She muttered, making him snort.
"What?" He asked, glancing at her. She looked at him as if she were in awe.
"I've only been wrestling for a year and a half." She said, "Started late, huh."
"you're a natural I hear." He shrugs, "It just takes time. If you love it, it makes it easier."
"I do. I love it. It's so different from any sport I'd ever played in school…I mean, track, and wrestling. Totally different." She really had fallen in love with professional wrestling and couldn't see herself doing anything else anymore. She'd had a pretty good run on the CrossFit scene but she didn't want to do that forever. "You've seen me wrestle?" She asked, taken aback really. She felt a little shy suddenly, like he'd had a lot to critique about her.
"No," he said honestly, he wasn't around the performance center a whole lot, doing the NXT tours and also filming tapings for the network. He was however slowing slightly, WWE using him more on the shows at full sail. "But now I might."
Bianca allowed herself a small smile and shy nod, still ringing her hands. She forced herself to stop when he noted it.
She reminded him where he'd exit the freeway and adjusted the way she was sat in her seat. They settled in silence again, neither sure of what to say. It wasn't every day that he had women he didn't really know in his car—coworker or not. He found that making new friends was long and arduous when in the wrestling business. It took a lot of time and commitment, hard to have a life with that in play. And Bianca was generally a closed off person and pretty unwilling to divulge her whole life to anyone.
"Well," Bianca sighed, unhooking her seatbelt, "Thanks, Aleister. I really appreciate it." She smiled at him brightly, her teeth awfully white.
"It wasn't a problem." He assured her with an easily-going expression on his bearded face. He was generally an amiable person, but he didn't go out of his way to cater to people. He was just in the right place at the right time—as fate would be on Bianca's side. He cracked a deeper smile at his thought. She quirked a brow.
"What?" She asked with a confused tone. Something just happened and she had not a clue as to what.
"Nothing," he cleared his throat. He actually didn't live too far away from where he was currently parked. He'd realized as he found recognizable buildings and streets he often passed. "Well, if this is your stop…"
"Right, sorry, I'm lingering." She shook her head awkwardly, "I'll get out of your hair—Let you get home." She suddenly felt very out of place. And before she could stop herself, her mind was running a mile a minute. She assumed he probably would never spare her another glance. He'd done his good deed and expected she forget about it.
He opened his mouth to speak, but let the silence hang between them instead. They were total strangers. There was no need for pleasantries and empty promises to speak outside of this situation. Though, he didn't mean to put her off. He just… didn't know how to deal with speaking to her. She had an air about her that just oozed commandment and control. She sort of put him on his back foot and didn't even know it.
"Right," he nodded with finality and she closed the door and leaned forward to catch eyes with him in the opened window. "I'll see you around I guess. I hope the car situation works out."
"Thanks again," She said, shoulder her bag as she fished her keys out of her purse without looking.
Aleister watched her walk toward the entrance of the apartment building when a thought hit him—she'd probably have no way of getting to work tomorrow. He honked, wincing as his brain caught up to the action. Bianca turned, frown evident under the car lights. She held her hand up to shield her eyes and she made her way back to the car. She stopped on his side. "What?" She asked, standing between the parking spaces.
"Uh," he sucked his lips ring into his mouth, stalling and wondering if he was being too forward in assuming morning would come and she'd still need help. "Do you have a way of getting to work tomorrow?"
She was slightly taken aback, not expecting he'd be asking—implication being he was concerned. "Actually," she realized the answer was no. Of course she needed to call and have her car towed from the lot. "I don't." She could call Ember and ask her to swing by, but her short friend was not a morning person and would likely not answer her phone; on top of that, she lived a bit away. Bianca was out of the way to the performance center from Ember's place. And as strange as it would seem, she didn't really want to ask a friend for help. It was inconvenient for them.
"I've been meeting to crash a couple classes at the PC." Aleister supplied, making Bianca look down momentarily and scratch the back of her neck. He found himself smiling. "Why not make it tomorrow. And if you don't figure it out, I can just bring you back?"
"Sure. That would be great. One less thing to worry about." She agreed, unsure if she should be a little more concerned about his willingness to help her. But she had more to worry about, his intentions were the least worrisome.
D"Well, I'll see you in the morning then."