25. All's Fair in Love, War and Wrestling

"Honest question: how often do you sit through an entire TNA show?"

Charlie rolled her eyes at Jon as she settled in beside him on her couch; crossing her legs beneath her and reaching for the bowl of popcorn.

"Honest question: do you make it your life's mission to be an ass as often as you can?"

"Well, that was rude. Going by your response I'm gonna hazard a guess and say never?"

"Shut up, Jon. I watch the shows. Maybe I DVR them and skip through bits here and there but I support Patrick and I love the product he puts out."

Jon gave his usual response of chuckling at her defence, causing her to give him another stern look.

"Jon! I really don't appreciate you trying to get me to admit to insulting TNA. I love wrestling and I try to watch as much of it as possible, even if I don't think the product is perfect."

"Alright, spitfire. I believe you."

"I'm here now, aren't I? It's Thursday night and we're watching Impact live together, ready to cheer on my boyfriend. So you better hold your tongue or else I'm kicking you out of here."

Jon snorted as he looked over at Charlie's 'try me' expression and mimed zipping his lips. She nodded and smiled at him in satisfaction before picking up her phone and sending a quick text message.

"Just thought I'd let Pat know that I'm watching live tonight," she explained. "It sucks that I don't get to do so that often so I'm sure him knowing I'm watching will put some extra pep in his step, right?"

"Naturally," Jon murmured, only half paying attention. Charlie was a good friend of his, no doubt he considered her one of his closest pals at NXT, but whenever she began talking about her boyfriend (which, admittedly, happened quite often) he tended to tune out. He did the same with any of his friends in relationships; Colby in particular had quickly grown used to his eye rolling and sarcastic comments. Jon was no stranger to romance, but he was probably the last person someone could go to for relationship advice. He was committed to a life without strings and attachment and lived that lifestyle unapologetically. Even agreeing to watch TNA at Charlie's so that she could support her man was a stretch for him, but the pout she had put on her face when asking him the day before made it almost impossible to say no.

"Have you ever worked for them before?" He asked, trying to make conversation in the few minutes they had before the show began.

Charlie hesitated for a moment, as if trying to figure out if he was trying to talk her into yet another trap.

"I worked some dark matches and one TV match for them years ago, back when they had that deal with ROH in 2003 or 2004 or something like that. That was way before they even had a women's division so it wasn't anything serious but it was fun. So many of my friends were working those shows back then; at some point I tried really hard to get signed but oh well."

"Were you ever tempted to work there when the whole Knockouts thing kicked off? Especially considering your dude was pretty heavily featured on the roster too."

Charlie shrugged, slightly taken aback by the sudden sincerity of Jon's conversation.

"No, not really," she admitted. "By that time it was too late for me. I was just coming back from my neck injury so I wasn't really interested in jumping straight into one of the big two companies. I was pretty happy with working the independents and touring Japan, the UK, across Europe. I was having way too much fun and doing far too well to even think about chasing after some contract. If I'm being honest with you, the WWE was barely on my radar when they got in touch with me about getting signed. I guess it's kinda the same with you, right? Workers like us who spend so long killing it around the world and just run out of things to accomplish out there."

Jon nodded. "Yeah, pretty much. I definitely had some false starts here and there; there were some times across the years where I thought I was about to get signed by TNA or the WWE. But after a while you just get used to being at the top of your pond and it just becomes so normal and habitual. Being here now, having to work my way back to the top of a brand new mountain? It gets frustrating but I'm glad to be doing it."

"Definitely."

Silence fell over the room again as the opening to TNA Impact began rolling. For some time Charlie and Jon sat in silence as they shared the bowl of popcorn and watched the action unfold. It was strange for both to be in the position of the wrestling fan; the casual viewer as they became invested in the Thursday night action Dixie Carter's promotion had to offer. As such they began sharing jokes over the show and doing the usual actions of cheering on their favourites, as well as the inevitable dissection coming from minds in the wrestling business. "She sold that like a dream!" "I can't believe how good a promo he is!" It was fun for the two of them to be able to step back from the stress of NXT and the WWE and just enjoy wrestling for a change.

It wasn't until sometime into the second hour when Austin Aries' music hit and the reigning X Division champion, with his bad attitude and cocky swagger, made his way to the ring.

"Have you wrestled him before?" Charlie asked as the show went to commercial break.

"Yeah, I slapped him around a little back in the day."

"Good! He totally broke my heart. Charlotte Sometimes gave him the best year and a half of his life and what did she get in return? Him cheating on her with Lacey of all people!"

Jon and Charlie began laughing.

"It's pretty annoying how great a talker he is sometimes," she said. "You would not believe the kind of things he would come out with after our big break-up. It was kind of weird because all of that overlapped with my relationship with Patrick, but we've always been pretty good at keeping the real stuff separate from wrestling. We've never worked as an on-screen couple just to keep the fans out of our business, but with him being on TV and now me being here it's pretty much impossible to do that. He's always been a really private person but the more I have to deal with all the BS some fans come out with, I've become so much more conscious about privacy. It sucks."

"Yeah," Jon replied, stretching out comfortably on the couch. "I can imagine."

Looking over at him, Charlie rolled her eyes again.

"I'm sorry I'm boring you so much."

A short while later the show returned from commercial break to Austin Aries stood in the centre of the ring. In his usual fashion, his championship belt was draped over his shoulder as he strolled around the ring, bigging himself up and talking Alex Shelley down. Their feud thus far had been the classic story of the good guy chasing the bad guy's title. Alex Shelley had made a strong comeback following a brief absence due to his former partner Chris Sabin's injury. Shelley had come back with a vengeance, interrupting Aries as he stood in the ring insulting the X Division and his lack of competition. He had returned to give him just that, and for months the two had been going back and forth over the title. The two quick-witted and sharp tongued men would collide frequently, competing in almost as many battles on the microphone as they did in the ring.

The crowd popped big when Alex Shelley's theme song hit and he came down to the ring to yet again do battle with his rival. Crowd participation remained high as the two exchanged quick insults, which quickly escalated into threats. Alex Shelley wanted the X Division title, and he wanted another shot at it at Bound For Glory. The crowd hushed as they waited in anticipation to see whether or not Aries would accept the challenge. He smirked and took advantage of the spotlight now being fully on him, pacing around the ring as if he was trying to make up his mind. He then approached Alex, a serious look plastered across his face as he stared him down.

"I get it, Alex," he began. "I get what your issue is. See, this isn't about the title. It never has been, no matter how much you come out here and tell these people it is. How many matches have we had together over the years, Alex? How many times have I bested you? How many times have you bested me? This thing between us goes way deeper than championships and wins and losses. This is personal, and you know damn well it is. You know how I know that? I know because every time I look you in the eye, I see something in you that nobody else sees. I see past the bravado and the stupid haircut and your wannabe Peter Pan shtick. I know what I've always known and that is that you, Alex Shelley, are jealous of me. You're jealous of me and you've always been threatened by me."

An 'oooh!" echoed throughout the audience as Alex put a hand on his hip, laughing Austin's suggestions off.

"You see? That is exactly what I'm talking about. You're insecure, Alex. And let me tell you all why. See, me and Alex Shelley here have quite a bit in common. We've both travelled the world together. We've conquered countless wrestling promotions. We've seen it all. But it goes so much deeper than that, right Alex? Because the one thing we've shared that Alex wakes up every day and wishes we didn't is a woman. Not just any woman, but the woman Alex goes home to every night. Every time he gets into bed with his girlfriend, every time he wakes up next to her, he knows that Austin Aries did it first. He knows that Austin Aries has seen every inch of that tight little body and knows all the tricks she tries to teach poor little Alex here."

On the other side of the screen, Charlie's jaw dropped.

"Alex Shelley has to live every day knowing in his heart of hearts that he simply isn't good enough. He's not good enough to take this title from me and he damn sure isn't good enough to please that woman of his as much as I once did. He knows that the only reason she's still with him to this day is out of pity. Pity because Alex Shelley is the weakest, most pathetic excuse for a man I've ever met in my life. What exactly do you have to offer a woman like Charlie? And trust me, Alex, she's a hell of a woman. Just take it from me. Or hell, take it from any of the other wrestlers who have had a go at it while you've been away jumping off of things and refusing to grow up. How does it feel knowing you satisfy her so little that she has to go and seek that satisfaction elsewhere?

"So tell me, Pat. How do I taste? How does half of the Ring of Honor locker room taste? How does half of Tampa taste? When are you going to grow up, huh? When are you going to start acting like a man? Because trust me, until that happens, you have no chance at this championship. You want your match at Bound For Glory so bad? You've got it. And once I beat you again, I'm gonna leave with this title and give your girl another chance to experience a real man. And once I'm done, I'll be sure to send you pictures of her on her knees before of a real champion right where she should be. She always was pretty good at that; but I'm sure the boys in a certain other company have already got that figured out too..."

Without any warning, Alex Shelley's cool demeanour disappeared and he launched at Austin Aries. Punches began flying and Alex hit harder than he had ever hit before. Austin tried on multiple occasions to escape from the ring but Alex wouldn't let up. It took the interference of TNA officials and wrestlers from the locker room to run down to the ring and separate the two. Blood trickled out of Aries' nose and Alex shook with fury. Their feud had began with the title but in minutes Aries had made it as personal as it could possibly get.

Back in Tampa, Jon sat frozen in silence. He looked straight at the TV, not knowing how he could possibly look Charlie in the eye at a time like this. Like Alex Shelley on TV, she was shaking in anger. For several minutes she remained where she sat, staring blankly ahead. Then all of a sudden, she stood and in the process flipped the bowl of popcorn so that its contents flew across the room. She grabbed the television remote and jabbed at it so that the screen turned black. Jon stood, placing a comforting hand on her back in an attempt to calm her down. In her fury she slapped it away.

"Go home, Jon. Please."

Without another word he grabbed his jacket and left the apartment. As soon as the door clicked shut Charlie burst into tears. She was furious and hurt. Her boyfriend had allowed his company to violate their privacy and drag her name into a storyline. He had deemed it okay for Austin to speak about her on live television in the most vulgar of manners and use their relationship as ammo and for what? For ratings? For a cheap plug? For publicity? Wrestling was known for being unpredictable and often controversial, but this time it had been taken too far. She had never experienced the feeling of being violated and used as she did now, and the worst part was that Patrick was still away in Europe, touring the world without a care while she was left alone in Tampa to deal with the consequences of his actions.