The Royal Rumble pay-per-view was only a matter of hours away. Among the women, the anticipation was particularly great. For the first time, they were going to be involved in a rumble match of their own. Twenty women would be competing for the honour of winning the first ever Women's Royal Rumble, and the chance to call themselves Raw Women's Champion, since Alexa's title had been made the grand prize on offer for the winner.
Most exciting of all was the fact that none of the competitors yet knew who the winner was going to be. Vince, Hunter and the creative team were keeping that particular piece of information close to their chests, only to be revealed just before the show went on air. The outcome had understandably been the subject of much discussion in the women's locker room. There were only two certainties known to Lucy and Alexa, namely that neither of them would get the win. Their eliminations were to play a critical part in the official formation of the Twisted Thorne tag team.
In catering, the two members of that upcoming team had been enjoying a chat over a cup of coffee, while they had a further discussion of their own about the rumble match. Alexa had pointed out that twenty spots in the match was too many for the number of active women on the Raw and Smackdown rosters combined. Surprises were guaranteed, but much like the ending of the match, nothing had been said to the competitors about what was planned. Lucy and Alexa had spent some time trying to guess who the mystery entrants might be, until Lucy went to get them a second cup of coffee.
While she was fetching the drinks, Lucy's memory had jogged, reminding her of something she had meant to tell her friend several times over the last few days, only to forget every time. "There's something else I've been meaning to tell you about tonight," she announced when she returned to the table, handing over Alexa's black coffee.
"Thanks. What have you wanted to tell me?"
Lucy sat back down and took a sip of her piping hot drink. "It slipped my mind a few times, even though I've been looking forward to it. Seth and I hooked our next door neighbours up with tickets for tonight."
"Oh, that's nice," Alexa said, even though Lucy hadn't finished.
"Yeah. The main reason is, they're bringing their daughter with them. She absolutely loves wrestling, so she could hardly believe it when Seth and I moved in next door to them a few months ago. I swear for a start she didn't really think it was us."
Alexa giggled. "How old is she?"
"She's ten. It's weird; I never expected myself to like a kid. They've always irritated me, especially babies, but Clementine is really cool. I think it's because she's mature for her age, you know? Anyway, she has a backstage pass for tonight. I'm going to show her around the place. Maybe you can come with me and meet her?"
"Sure, I'd love to meet her," Alexa agreed easily. "Clementine is a really nice name, and she sounds like a great kid from what you've said. Why are you showing her round, though? You could have just got passes for her parents, too."
"Really? I didn't think of that," Lucy said dryly. Sarcasm was often her form of wit, a fact that Alexa was already getting used to. "Her parents aren't really interested in wrestling; they're just bringing Clem to the show. I didn't see the point dragging them around back here, so I said I'd take her on a tour, and promised her that she would get to meet some of the other wrestlers. Actually, Clem's been a big fan of yours for a while, even before we were a team. She's got the Alexa shirt, the gloves, and she's got a women's title belt. I've seen her doing that signature pose of yours with it. That's why I asked you to come meet her."
"Aww, that's the sweetest," Alexa said, feeling her heart melt as she took a drink from her cup. "It sounds like you and Seth are quite close to this family?"
"I don't know about that, but they're good neighbours. We've been to barbeques and poker nights at their place before, and we've had them over to ours a few times. Just the usual neighbourly stuff, really. But like I said before, Clem's fun to be around. She asks a lot of questions about wrestling, but she manages not to be annoying with it."
"Questions are totally understandable from a ten year old. I can't even imagine how excited I would have been to have two of the biggest WWE stars living next to me when I was a kid. They would never have been able to get me out of their house," Alexa chuckled.
"Thankfully it's not that bad," Lucy grinned. "It will be fun to give her the tour."
"You asked me to come with you to meet her," Alexa remembered. "Is Seth not going?"
"No. I asked him if he minded if you and I went, since Clem's such a fan of yours. I knew she would enjoy it more if you came with us, and that's what it's about tonight."
"That's really sweet of you," Alexa said genuinely, seeing another side of Lucy for the first time. If someone had asked her even half an hour earlier what the prospects were of Lucy willingly giving a tour of the backstage areas to a ten year old girl, she would have said slim to none, yet here they were discussing it, and Lucy was obviously excited by the prospect.
"Don't tell anyone, will you?" Lucy said with a conspiratorial smile.
"The secret is safe with me," Alexa promised. "And I'll definitely come with you. I'm looking forward to it."
An hour later, Lucy and Alexa were waiting a short distance away from the door where the fans with backstage passes would soon be admitted. They would be getting their tour with Bayley and Jason Jordan, who had been assigned the task for this particular night. Lucy had already told Bayley about the special guest she was expecting. The response had predictably been enthusiastic, with Bayley promising to come over and pose for a picture with her.
"Here they come," Alexa said after a member of the security staff opened the door. Fans began to file through, delighted especially at being greeted by Bayley, who immediately started issuing hugs to adults and children alike.
"She really loves this stuff, doesn't she?" Lucy said.
"Yeah," Alexa agreed, smiling.
"Come on, I want to be there when Clem comes in," Lucy said, leading the way over to the door. Just as they approached, she saw her special guest walk in. "There she is. I knew it; she's got your merch on."
Alexa saw the girl in question. Dark skinned, with long black hair and a look of uncertainty on her face as she looked around, trying to locate Lucy in the crowded area. She was a sweet looking kid, there was no doubt about that, especially in the Twisted Bliss shirt.
Clementine finally looked over in their direction, seeing Lucy and immediately running. "Lucy!" she called out. One of the security team took a step closer, but Lucy stopped him with a small hand gesture.
"Clem! How are you?" Lucy asked with the exuberance used to talk to excited kids. Crouching down, she offered a hug, which was enthusiastically accepted.
"This is awesome!" Clementine said, looking over Lucy's shoulder at Alexa. "I saw Bayley! And there's Alexa!"
Lucy separated herself from Clementine and stood up, looking through the open door for Clem's parents. As they didn't have backstage passes, they would not be allowed through the door by security, but they would have waited in line with their daughter, of course. Sure enough, they were looking through, wanting to make sure that Lucy had been there to meet her as agreed. She provided that confirmation with a little wave, which was returned in kind by both parents.
"Are your mom and dad okay, Clem?" Lucy asked. She might as well have saved her breath. The excited ten year old was already receiving a hug from her favourite wrestler, Alexa Bliss.
"It's great to meet you, Clementine," Alexa was saying. "Lucy was telling me all about you earlier. I love your shirt!"
"This one is my favourite," Clementine announced proudly. Holding up her hands, she added, "I have your gloves, too."
"So I see," Alexa said, making like she was very impressed. It was a good setup for the little surprise she had decided to bring with her. "I wasn't sure if you would, so I brought some for you." She pulled another pair of the fingerless leather gloves she wore to the ring out of her pocket. These were limited edition ones with gold skeleton fingers on the back, as opposed to the usual white. "These are special ones. I want you to have them."
"Oh wow! Thank you," Clementine said, taking the gloves and admiring them. "These are much cooler than mine. And I can tell my friends I actually got them from you!"
"They're much cooler than mine, too," Lucy said. She wasn't wearing her ring attire, but when she did she wore plain black leather gloves, more in keeping with The Shield's style.
"Your outfit is boring," Clementine said simply, meaning no offense by it.
"Thanks, Clem," Lucy chuckled.
Clementine had now put on her new gloves. She offered the old ones to Lucy. "You can have these."
"I don't think they'll fit my hands, sweetheart," Lucy said. She tried to put one of the gloves on, and sure enough it was too small.
"Okay," Clementine said, sounding disappointed.
Lucy immediately wondered if she should have just accepted the gift. Luckily, Bayley chose that moment to come over. "Hi. Are you Clementine?" she asked with a broad smile.
"Bayley!" Clementine squealed, rushing over into a hug.
"I see you're one of the Blissfits," Bayley said warmly while they held each other.
"I am, but I'm still a hugger," Clementine said cautiously, obviously not wanting to offend.
"I can tell. You're actually a very good hugger." Lucy glanced at Alexa and they exchanged smiles. Bayley was a real natural with kids. "Why don't we get a picture before I carry on with the tour?" she suggested next.
"Can we?" Clementine asked, looking to Lucy for approval.
"Sure." Lucy took out her phone to get the picture, while Bayley crouched down next to Clementine. They both posed with Bayley's signature thumbs up gesture. "Got it," Lucy said after taking the picture.
"It was lovely to meet you, Clementine," Bayley said, needing to make a quick exit to get back to the rest of the group.
"It was lovely to meet you too," Clementine said politely.
"Okay, this girl is killing me," Alexa whispered to Lucy. "She's so sweet."
"I know," Lucy said quietly. Then she had to focus her attention back on Clementine as Bayley walked away. "Do you want a picture with Alexa, Clem?"
"Yes, please!"
Alexa crouched down beside Clementine and Lucy took another picture. When she put her phone back in her pocket, she said, "Now, how about we have a walk around, and we'll see who else we can find?"
"Let's go!" Clementine said enthusiastically.
"Okay, but you need to hold my hand. It's very busy back here, and I don't want you getting lost."
Clementine took Lucy's hand, but looked at Alexa. "Are you coming with us?"
"I think Alexa's got other things to do," Lucy said gently, not wanting her friend to have to trail round with them for the next half hour.
"I'll come with you until we get back to locker rooms, how about that?" Alexa offered.
"Awesome," Clementine replied happily.
Lucy had already planned out where she would take her special guest for the evening ahead of time. The first stop was the place where backstage interviews were conducted, in front of the background board with the Raw branding. "Do you recognise where we are?" she asked as they approached it.
"Cool! This is where the interviews happen," Clementine said. "Is Renee Young here?"
Thankfully not, Alexa thought, given the parking lot altercation earlier in the week. "I can get a picture of you with Lucy if you like?" she suggested.
"Yes, please," Clementine said. Alexa noted how good her manners were; another reason Lucy probably liked her. It would likely have been another story entirely if the kid was a spoiled brat.
Lucy handed her phone to Alexa then crouched down, ready for the picture to be taken. "Give me a big clenched fist, Clem," she instructed. "And your best mean face." Giggling, Clementine posed with her fist clenched, while Lucy did the same.
"You can't laugh. You've got to look serious," Alexa said, enjoying herself just as much as the other two.
"Sorry." Clementine composed herself and did her best to copy Lucy's serious game face.
"That's a couple of mean looking girls right there," Alexa said with approval as she took the shot. She handed the phone back to Lucy.
"Where are we going next?" Clementine asked excitedly, taking Lucy's hand once more.
"Let's go and see if there are some other people we can find," Lucy said, knowing exactly where she was going to go. They walked along the hallway, seeing several wrestlers hurrying around in both directions as they did so. She could tell that it all seemed a bit surreal to Clementine. Then they reached the door to their destination. "Here we go," she said, giving the door a knock.
"Whose room is this?" Clementine asked.
"Let's go in and see." Lucy opened the door and ushered her inside.
Clementine walked into the room, then stopped in her tracks when she saw who was in the office they had entered: Triple H, Stephanie, and even Vince McMahon himself.
"Hello," Stephanie said with a kind smile. "Who do we have here?" She already knew the answer, Lucy having spoken to her earlier.
"Introduce yourself," Lucy encouraged gently.
"Hello, I'm Clementine," she said politely.
Stephanie offered her hand. "Clementine. It's nice to meet you." They shook hands, with some apprehension on Clem's part. By then, Hunter and Vince had stepped forward. "This is Hunter, and Vince."
"Hello, Clementine," Vince said, about as close as his booming voice ever came to being soft.
"Hello," she said nervously.
"Are you looking forward to the women's rumble match?" Hunter asked, wanting to make her feel a bit more at ease.
"Yes."
"And who's going to win? Lucy?"
Clementine looked at Lucy, seeming embarrassed by the answer she had in mind. "No. Alexa will win."
From over by the door, Alexa beamed. "You tell him, Clem."
"I thought you didn't come to the show anymore?" Clementine asked next, directing the question to both Hunter and Stephanie.
"We don't, honey," Stephanie said, taking it easily in her stride. "But the Royal Rumble is a special event, so we decided to come and watch, just like you did."
That explanation seemed to satisfy Clementine. "Lucy is giving me a tour. It's so much fun!"
"Well, thank you for stopping by to see us," Stephanie said, in a clever way to get back to work without seeming to dismiss their young visitor. "It was very good to see you."
"Enjoy the show," Hunter said with a smile.
Lucy took Clementine's hand and said, "Come on, let's see who else we can find."
"Bye!" Clementine said cheerfully as they made their way to the door. She had no idea how many hearts she was winning backstage.
The next stop was The Shield's locker room, where Clem got to pose for a picture with the entire team, joining in with the traditional fist bump pose. Then it was on to the women's locker room, where all of the ladies enjoyed chatting to Lucy's guest. More pictures were taken, then Sasha Banks surprised Lucy by handing over a pair of her signature glasses, helping Clementine to rest them properly above her forehead.
"Thank you!" Clementine said, delighted by the experience she was having, and now with her second gift of the night as well.
Lucy knew that, as much fun as they were having, they were running a bit late if they were going to have time to tour the ringside area before the crew closed it off in preparation for the show. "Clem, would you like to go and see the ring?" she asked.
"Can I go in it?" Clementine asked hopefully.
"I can't promise that, sweet pea, but we'll see what we can do. Say bye to everyone."
Alexa actually felt sad to be saying goodbye. She could definitely tell why Lucy had agreed to take Clementine on a tour; she was an absolute angel. "Thanks for coming to see us," she said when it was her turn, offering a hug.
"I still can't believe I met you," Clementine said while they embraced. "This is the best day ever."
"Aww, thank you," Alexa said, feeling her heart melting for the second time in the night.
They parted, and Clementine took Lucy's hand once more. Before they left, she had one more thing to say to Alexa. "Make sure you win tonight."
"I'll do my best," Alexa promised, smiling. With that, Lucy and Clementine walked away, hand in hand. She could hear Clem chattering away as they departed, already looking forward to the next part of her big adventure.
"Such a sweet kid," Sasha said, standing beside her.
"I know," Alexa agreed. "And Lucy is so good with her. I would never have expected that, from her of all people. She just doesn't seem the type."
"Right," Sasha agreed with a chuckle, watching the unlikely child/adult pairing now interacting with the enormous Braun Strowman at the end of the hallway.
"It's actually a shame now that I'm not going to win the rumble," Alexa said. "It's going to upset her when I get thrown out."
"Don't worry. She'll be okay Monday night when she sees the Twisted Thorne thing get started properly. I think I know which merch she'll be asking her parents for next, let's put it that way."
"Yeah, but it would still have been cool if I was going to be the one who won tonight."
Sasha grunted a laugh. "It would be nice if they even told us who's going to win."
A/N: Special thanks to everyone who left a review on the previous chapter.
I hope you all enjoyed the different feel of this chapter. What did you think of Clementine? Were you as surprised as Alexa and Sasha at how Lucy was with her?
The next chapter will be the rumble match. As I'm sure you can appreciate, it will take me some time to write, so the next update might be a while in coming.
This is the last chance to get your predictions in for surprise entrants and the winner. I've already decided who will get the win, so anyone who predicts correctly in a review will get a shout out at the end of the next chapter.