A/N: A special thanks goes to BreakTheWalls, Wicforever and MamaChele81 for the wonderful reviews and amazing support you've shown this story. Another special thanks goes to nrkay for becoming a follower. I also want to thank all you readers. Onto number eighteen, let me know what you think.

**Lyrics in this chapter belongs to me. I wrote them for this story.**

Chapter 18:

BTE?

Kenny

The words were out of my mouth and her face lit up. The blue of her eyes sparkled under the night sky and it only seemed to make her even more beautiful. She had indeed changed her hair. It was no longer the teal color I was used to seeing; but the indigo suited her just as good. There was script tattooed to inside of her left arm. The words were in Spanish and were read as "Be fearless, Be strong, Be you.", which was perfect for her.

"Are you okay?" I asked, hoping that my earlier rudeness hadn't upset her.

"Of course." She answered, leaning back against the railing.

"Why don't you come back inside and join us in conversation?"

"Lead the way."

I opened the front door for her and she stepped inside. Cody was in the living room messing with the stereo again. Adam, Scorpio, Frankie, and Christopher were sitting at the kitchen table playing a game of cards. Brandi, Matt and Nick were talking about new potential signees they had their eyes on.

Nick pulled out his phone and began to film. We had agreed that some of what happened tonight would be put into an episode of 'Being The Elite'. It was nice to have all of them together in one place. It had been far too long since we had a get together like this. I mean, AEW was our brain child and everything we do goes to make it what it is.

"Woah! Did they just mention Celestial on this station?" Cody shouted, alerting everyone in the house to his comment.

That comment directed all eyes onto Karina, who was standing next to me. No one knew of the song that had made it to mainstream radio stations, except for me. I had heard earlier on in the day. "Yeah, they probably did. I heard the new song earlier today." I answered, rubbing her back for a moment.

"Is it on?" Adam asked, coming into the room.

"Should be soon, they mentioned it would be in the line up." Cody retorted, sitting down next to his wife on the couch.

It wasn't long before every single one of us was in the living room, sitting in places on the floor or leaning against the wall. They all were waiting for what I had already heard. It was wonderful to see them treat her with such respect. There was a nervous expression across her face, so I took her hand into mine and gave it a gentle squeeze.

Karina looked up and stared directly at me. She gave me a forced smile. It faded just as quickly as it had formed. The song changed and the song everyone had been waiting for came onto the speakers.

The familiar words were sung and I found myself loving it even more the second time. Cody tapped his fingers to his knee. Everyone else's eyes went wide and despite the volume, I could hear Karina hum the words in her throat. She loved her own music and knew that her fans would love it too.

"Karina...I'm speechless. You have an incredible voice." Christopher Daniels complimented.

"Thank you."

"Would you sing for us now?" Scorpio asked, giving a wide grin smile.

"Yes, please. I'd love to hear your voice live again." Brandi pleaded.

She let go of my hand and took a step forward. "Does anyone have an acoustic guitar? I could give you all a preview of another new song." Karina asked, giving everyone some hope that they'd get to hear her sing right in front of them, in my living room no less.

"Yes! I still have that one from last weeks BTE episode." Cody said, jumping up from the couch.

Brandi laughed at his enthusiasm. He quickly left the room. Nick, Matt and Adam pulled me to the kitchen. Karina was approached by Brandi. I turned to face them, giving them my full attention. "You can't hide it anymore. You care for her. It's so obvious now." Matt accused.

"I'm not hiding anything." I answered, ignoring the second part of his accusation.

"Look, we all like her. Brandi really does, which is weird considering she doesn't like most people. I'm thinking that we make her an official member of The Elite. Think about it, there has never been a female in The Elite before."

"You all agreed on this? Cody too?" I asked.

"It was Cody's idea to begin with. He really wants to make her a star, not that she needs any help with that." Nick answered.

"Alright, we could give it a try."

Cody returned with the guitar in his hands. The four of us returned to the living room to see him hand the instrument to Karina. Her fingers strummed against the strings once, quickly turning it to her liking. Somehow, I felt like she needed this kind of attention. Perhaps it would help her through some of her other problems.

I remembered the day I invited her into the ring. The passion that had filled her eyes then was nothing compared to what I could see now; however, it didn't come without some disconnect. She had anxiety and I assume it had to do with things that happened to her in the past. I'm sure part of it was her biological father's absence and her previous relationship with PAC, whether she actually told me that or not.

"Okay, this song will most likely be the next single released. It's called 'Ignite'."

Karina

My fingers plucked at the strings, moving them in the correct notes. It was weird to see them all giving me their undivided attention. It felt good, warming me straight to the core and if I was honest with myself-I had to thank Kenny for most of this. He was the one person who linked me with all of them.

"You walked into a room

I saw the look on your face

Tell me?

Did you notice that I was nervous?

Today was a new start

A refrain from the past.

A past that will always hover

A whisper at the back of my mind."

I could feel all eyes on me and that comforted me in progressing with the song further. A smile tugged at my lips, remembering why I wrote these lyrics in the first place. The reason was standing across the room with his blue eyes ever so watchful of me. There was a past that I would have to face eventually; but I was confident that I would overcome the pain if he was in my life.

"Emotion boiling to the surface

It's so hard to keep it a secret

But the way you look at me

Ignites a fire deep within

Pull me close

Let me hear your heartbeat

Kiss me

Let me feel your feelings

Touch me

Let me know if you feel the same."

The rest of the song just flew by and when it was over, a burning sensation stung the corner of my eyes. Brandi was the first to approach me, kneeling before me and took my hands into her own. There was comfort in her gaze and I appreciated that more than she'd ever know. This wasn't an easy song to bear my soul too, simply because of the meaning behind it. "You are one hell of a singer and one hell of an athlete. We can't wait to show the world exactly what you can do in that ring."

"She's right. There is no limit to what you can achieve with AEW backing you." Cody added, standing up from the couch.

"Or the Elite, which is why we want to formally ask you a question." Matt said, looking around the room.

Nick was filming once again. Were they going to use my performance as part of their new episode? I stood up, pulling Brandi up with me. The group took steps closer towards me. "What question?" I replied, curious as to what they were going to ask me.

"We would like to extend the offer to become the first female member of The Elite."

"Are you serious?" I gasped, opening my eyes wide in surprise.

"Oh yeah, we are serious." Kenny finally said, extending his hand out to me.

A playful smile appeared on his face, which was somewhat hidden from the camera. Lifting my hand from my side, I hesitated for a second. There was a concern that I was being pushed far too quickly; but at the same time, I had something to prove to the world.

I accepted the handshake and knew that everything was going to change from that day forward. Nick quit filming, tucking his phone back into the pocket of his jeans. Matt squeezed in to bring me into a tight hug. "You are perfect for him." He whispered in my ear just before he let go.

Kenny

The group was starting to disperse, leaving for the evening and pretty soon it was just Matt, Nick, Karina and I left in the house. The Bucks were busy editing the video footage from tonight. Karina slipped outside, thinking no one was looking. She had been acting different ever since Matt had hugged her after accepting the offer to join The Elite.

"Are you alright?" I asked, coming out to the porch with her.

"Yeah, just needed a moment alone. A lot happened all at once tonight." She answered.

The night breeze blew through her hair, shifting it around her back. I closed the distance between us, leaning against the railing right next to her. There were so many things going through my mind and most of those things were questions. "I just want to thank you...for everything you've done for me since I met you." She said, expressing gratitude.

"You're welcome."

"You're song was beautiful tonight."

"Thank you, I had some inspiration."

This woman was going to be the death of me. I wanted to kiss her again so badly; but I also didn't want to break her heart. Relationships were not my strong-suit. My mind was screaming for me to not act on my emotions. My heart was pushing me towards her. She turned her head to face me fully. The moonlight captured her beauty perfectly. "Did Matt tell you something? You looked upset when you came out here." I asked, trying to get her to talk to me with the hopes that I would get the urge to kiss her to go away.

"He just welcomed me to The Elite. I just don't want to let you guys down."

"Why would you think that?"

"I haven't had a match yet. You've invested so much time into me and what if I don't succeed like you hoped."

My hand immediate went to cup the side of her face, forcing her to look right into my eyes. She reached up to curl her fingers around my palm, pulling my hand away. Her concern was a legitimate one and one that a lot of athletes had. There was no reason for her to doubt herself and I had to show her that her doubt wasn't necessary.

She moved to walk away towards the front door. I twisted my hand to grab her wrist and pulled her back towards me. "You will be successful and those fans will love you, just like the fans of your music. I have no doubt that they will get behind you all the way, the same way that I believe in you."

"How can you be so sure?"

"You will make them feel something. Whether it be your aerial techniques or your fighting spirit, they will connect. You've already made me connect and feel something."

Her hesitation faded and she relaxed against me. I wrapped my arms around her, kissing the top of her head. It just felt so right to hold her. Looking up, I could see Matt and Nick looking on from the front door. The both had smiles on their faces and most importantly, approval. "So where are you staying tonight?" I asked softly, not wanting to ruin the moment.

"I got a hotel room at the same place Matt and Nick are staying. I also got a plane to catch in the morning. Another studio session is required to work on more new songs." She answered, taking a step back out of my arms.

"Don't be a stranger. You can call me just to talk, you know."

"I know."

Nick and Matt came outside, asking if Karina was ready to head back to the hotel. She nodded and proceeded to follow them down the front steps. All I could do was watch and regret that I hadn't kissed her goodbye this time. The positive to all of this was that she was an official member of The Elite, which meant I would see her more often.