TITLE: Alluded Distress
AUTHOR NAME: Marlena R. Snape
EMAIL: Bloodflame013@aol.com
CATEGORY: Drama
SUB CATEGORY: Romance
RATING: PG-13 for language and such.
CAST: Marlena Dubois, Ashleigh Morgan, Chris Sabin, A.J Styles, as well as mentions and appearance of others throughout. ( Tons of cameos! )
SUMMARY: Marlena Dubois finally did it. She finally accomplished her life long dream, to become a part of the word of professional wrestling. Just coming out of training school, Marlena is contacted by the NWA:TNA, out of Nashville Tennessee. Without a seconds notice, she drops her secondary life, her home life, and her 9 to 5 job, just to finally live the moments of her future. But what she gets into, is even over her head. A world of fame, a world of fans, a world...of true love.
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DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything, y'heard? I only own Marlena Dubois, as minus the last name and picture base? She IS me. ^_^ Ashleigh is credited to one of my best friends, Candace. Brooklyn Dubois ( the few parts she's in I should say ) is credited to my friend Angel, while Marlena's parents, and her sister Patricia are my real family. Chris Sabin, A.J Styles, and the rest of the NWA:TNA superstars in this story, are to my best rendition of their real selves, but I don't know them, or own them. ( However a girl CAN wish! ) Chris Irvine ( 'Jericho' in the WWE scene ) is not mine either…oh how I wish. He makes a few appearances as well, as do a few other WWE superstars. I own jack shite, okay? So don't sue me for letting my imagination run wild! :-P Enjoy the story.
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Chapter Two: First Day On The Job
WAKE UP YA'LL! Goooooooood Morning Nashville!
The sound echoed through Marlena's bedroom like gunfire, which caused her to sit straight up in her bed. Her alarm clock radio went off, and she groaned.
"God no…" She muttered to herself, tossing the blankets off as she laid back down, looking up at the mirrored ceiling. "Why can't I have 10 more minutes?!" She yelled at her reflection, before sliding out of bed.
She walked over to the bedroom door, walking out to the hallway. She headed to the kitchen, and turned on the hot water faucet, grabbing a mug from the cupboard. She needed something, anything caffinated. After the night she had…staying up until almost 2 AM with Chris and his friends, then the very thought of working that night…it was almost like a bad nightmare and a worse hangover. She had a tension headache from worrying, not from the drinking, and she knew it would kick her ass if she didn't get some major Advil therapy and a cup of coffee in her system. Searching the pantry, she found a jar of Coasta Rican Tres Rios blend coffee, and plenty of sugar. She smiled as she placed it on the counter top, and then walked over to the refrigerator, looking in. She could have sworn she saw - ah, there it was, amaretto cream coffee mate creamer.
After making a cup of coffee, and putting the sugar, coffee, and creamer back in their respective places, Marlena walked into her bedroom. Holding it in both hands, she smiled taking a long drink from the mug. That was exactly what she needed. She placed it down on the vanity, and proceeded to search for something suitable to wear for that day. It was a series of tossing and searching, as she was trying to keep in mind - nothing too formal, nothing too revealing, something casual and classy.
It took about 20 minutes, but she finally decided on the purple and white low cut camos, a white tank top, and a pair of white platform sneakers with purple laces. Marlena had dabbed on a little makeup so she didn't look too pale, after all, she hated tanning - and hated sunlight more. She grabbed her gym bag, where she had already put in her pink and white track pants, and a pink strawberry shortcake tee shirt, she knew she had to get in a workout before any type of wrestling that day…otherwise she'd be completely off her game. As she slung the bag over her shoulder, she grabbed her rose tinted sunglasses, her keys, and her wallet, heading out of her apartment.
Jogging down the stairs, Marlena opened the door of the apartment building, heading out to the lot where her car was parked. Unarming the alarm, she unlocked the back door, tossing the bag into it, and shut the door again. Getting to the drivers side door, she slid into the car, shutting the door with a smirk. She put the key in the ignition, turning on the car, and put it into gear - she was ready now. No second guessing, no negative thoughts, just her, and a date with the TNA Asylum.
On the way to the Asylum, she stopped at Dunkin Donuts to grab breakfast. Or, something that would be considered breakfast. A dunkachino and a bagel with chive cream cheese. So it wasn't exactly the 'breakfast of champions', but it was something in her system so she could get that workout done. She drove down the street, she was only a few blocks from the Asylum when her cell phone rang. Luckily for her, she was at a stop light, when she grabbed it. Flipping it open, she put it to her ear, not even paying second mind to the caller I.D as she normally would.
"You stab 'em we slab 'em Nashville morgue, how may I help you?"
There was a laugh on the other end, than the distinct voice of Chris. "Well I'm glad to know I'm loved. I'll take one dead hottie, slabbed up and ready for me in an hour?"
"Morning smartass…" Marlena said with a smirk, heading off once more as the light turned green. "What's up?"
"I was actually just calling to see if you were awake, but judging by what I'm hearing you're already on the road."
"Actually, I'm almost to the arena…" She said, giggling quietly as she turned down the radio. "I'm starting to get nervous believe that or not."
"Why? You're gonna knock 'em dead." Chris said, which caused Marlena to smile a bit more. "I've seen what you're capable of, and if they don't see it, I'm talking to Vince."
"Say what?" Marlena asked quickly, her attention snapping from the road to the conversation. She kept the car steady as she continued to talk. "What do you mean?"
"If TNA doesn't respect you, I'm talking to Vince about giving you a try out…"
"Chris…I'm sure everything will be alright." Marlena said surely, as she pulled up to the TNA Asylum. Pulling her car to a stop in the parking lot, she got out, and went to the back door. "Besides, you just have to be confident I can make it y'know? I don't think I'm ready for the WWE. I need some experience first…" She shut the door, flinging the bag over her shoulder. Turning on the car alarm, she started into the asylum.
"Well no kidding hun. But there's a such thing as OVW you know." Chris said, but Marlena was shaking her head a bit as she walked into the building, and looked around.
"Chris, I know your intentions are great, but I want to know the ropes before doing anything of the sort…you understand?"
"I do. And I respect your choice." Chris said softly. He wished she would have accepted…just knowing that he'd barely be able to see her was the last thing he wanted. He knew how seriously she took the business…she would have been perfect for the WWE. She's what they needed.
"Thank you, Chris…that means a lot to me." She said, glancing around a bit as she walked down the corridor. She had no flipping idea where she was supposed to be. "The only problem is, there I know what to do…here I'm just fucking lost…" She grumbled, which caused Chris to snicker a bit.
"Well that offer still stands."
"Babe, you know I can't. I'll figu-" She paused mid-sentence as she came across a girl standing by the catering table. "Chris, I'll give you a call later, I think I found an answer." She said with a smirk. "I'll meet you around 10:30 at your hotel. Make sure Charlie is around would ya?"
"Will do." He said with a laugh. "Good luck tonight hun, we'll all be watching."
"Oh that's reassuring…" Marlena said, chuckling lightly. "Love ya Chris, lates."
Marlena hung up the phone with Chris after hearing his return 'love ya'. She always loved hearing those words from anyone, especially Chris. It made her feel wanted and with Chris, it was just a security blanket of sort. She put her cell phone in the pocket of her pants, smiling softly as she brushed her hair back over her shoulder. The girl standing at catering had light brown hair, about Marlena's height, fit and all in all a lovely girl. She was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a white lace tanktop.
"Excuse me?" Marlena said quietly, which caused the girl to turn, a bottle of Dasani in her hand. She had a bright smile, dazzling blue eyes, and straight pearl white teeth.
"Can I help you?" The girl asked, and Marlena let out a small sigh of relief.
"I hope so. I'm new here…and I'm kind of lost. I don't know where I'm supposed to be." She felt a little foolish, but the girl was really welcoming.
"Well that's okay. I can help you." She held out her free hand to Marlena. "I'm Ashleigh Morgan…you are?"
"Marlena Dubois." She replied, shaking Ashleigh's hand. "It's nerve racking, getting here and then not having any idea what to do…"
"Oh I know that first hand." Ashleigh said with a pleasant smile. "I remember my first day…if it wasn't for my friend Allen helping me out, I would have been in a really precarious predicament." Marlena smiled softly, giving a respectful nod to Ashleigh's explanation. "If you'd like I can help you out…show you around…and introduce you to some people."
"That would be completely awesome…thanks." She said, and Ashleigh smiled brightly.
"No problem, come on."
Ashleigh lead Marlena down a long corridor, to a set of rooms. Clearly, the locker rooms. She informed Marlena that's where she could just sit her stuff down and they'd be able to go. As Marlena walked into the locker room, only to spot 4 women sitting around, talking, smiling, laughing. A dark haired female looked up as Marlena sat her bag down.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt something." Marlena said with a shy smile, but the girl just shook her head a bit.
"You didn't interrupt anything, hun, you the new girl?"
"Yeah, that's me." Marlena said, and the girl stood up. She walked over to Marlena, her hand extended.
"Hey, I'm Stephanie, but you can call me Steph. You might know me better by Trinity." Marlena and Stephanie shook hands, and Marlena nodded.
"Nice to meet you Steph." She said, looking toward the other girls. Stephanie pointed.
"That's April, Goldylocks, and Traci." Marlena nodded to the various women with a smile.
"Nice to meet you guys. I hate to cut this short, but Ashleigh is sort of showing me around the place, I hope you don't mind the short intro."
"Not at all, we'll catch you around." Stephanie said, patting Marlena's shoulder lightly. "Take it easy, and welcome to TNA."
Marlena gave a quick thank you, before she headed out of the locker room to meet Ashleigh. Ashleigh had picked up talking to a dark haired male, who was dressed in blue jeans and a black "X-Styles" tee-shirt. As Ashleigh saw Marlena, she smiled brightly, motioning for her to come over. As she did, she could hear Ashleigh whisper to the boy 'this girl you have to meet!', which caused Marlena to smile slightly in spite of herself.
"You never told me the chicks here were so cool." Marlena said as she walked up, her arms crossing lightly against her chest as she glanced toward the man. He nodded in respect toward her with a smile, as Ashleigh seemed really excited about the introduction process.
"Marlena, this is Allen. Allen, this is Marlena. She's the new girl, obviously! But she's really nice. Allen is better well known as A.J Styles."
"I've heard of you." Marlena said, extending her hand to him. "From what I know, you're well…phenomenal…as corny as that little intro-phrase sounded." She smirked, but Allen sort of smiled modestly as he shook her hand lightly. "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too." he said, finally letting go of her hand. "And nah, that's cool of you to say…thanks. I can't wait to see you in action tonight…should be somethin' sweet."
"I'm not really anything special…" Marlena said with a small laugh, shaking her head. "Just so average chick with a few good moves…"
"You can't be average to be in wrestling!" Ashleigh said with a giggle, as she glanced from Allen to Marlena. "What do you have planned for the afternoon?" She asked, and Marlena glanced at her watch a moment. There was about 4 hours until showtime.
"I guess I should try to get something to eat, and then get in a quick workout…" She said, and Allen glanced around a bit.
"What do you say we pick up Chris and go to Nick and Rudy's or somethin' Ash?"
"That would be awesome! Marlena's coming too right?" Ashleigh asked, which caused Allen to smirk.
"If she wants, definitely."
"When are you guys heading out?" Marlena asked, and Allen shrugged.
"Whenever she can get Sabin off the ps2..."
"I'll so be right back…I'll bribe him…or something!"
Ashleigh had exclaimed her last comment, giggling as she walked down the hallway. She always loved to be the one to get her tag team partner, and onscreen boyfriend - Chris Sabin - right when he was in the middle of a game. He normally spent his time before shows playing Smackdown or some other wrestling game with guys like Christopher Daniels, James Storm, Chris Harris, and a few of the other guys. Marlena leaned against the wall as she was waiting for Ashleigh to get back around after but a minute of her being gone, and Allen looked at her from the side.
"You nervous?" he asked, and her attention shifted from her shoes toward Allen again.
"Me? Nervous? Not really…" She said, lies…they're all lies! she was scolding herself, before smirking. "Just a little…the whole being in front of a live audience on pay-per-view freaks me out a bit. Especially when I'm facing 'Trinity' tonight…she's really good…"
"I'm sure you'll be able to hold your own…" Allen said with a reassuring smile, which in turn caused Marlena to smile.
"Thanks…that's really nice of you to say."
From down the hall, you could hear the sound of a guy yelling, then a girl laughing and carrying on. A man dressed in a pair of tan corduroy pants and a black tee-shirt walked up with Ashleigh slung over his shoulder.
"Allen dude, how many times do I HAVE to say…keep the girl on a harness?! She just cost me a ladder match against the biggest hillbilly this side of the Mississippi!" Chris Sabin exclaimed.
"Which one?" Allen asked, he was trying to stifle a laugh as they were watching Ashleigh squirming to get out of Chris' grasp.
"Jarrett! I was just about to get the title belt, man, when this ball of unchecked energy popped into my lap! Jeff so took advantage. Knocked my ass off the ladder, and he grabbed the fucking title. How cheap is that?!"
"Sure that ain't the only thing that popped…" Allen snuck the comment in quickly with a cough, which caused Chris to look minorly appalled, Marlena on the other hand, was trying to keep her laughing down.
"H-" He went to say something, but stopped noticing the blonde girl on the other side of Allen. "Hello nurse…? Who might you be?"
"Out of your league dude…" Allen interjected, but Marlena raised an eyebrow.
"I have a voice, danke." She said sarcastically, glancing toward Chris. "I'm Marlena…you must be Chris."
"Too right." He said, placing Ashleigh down on her own two feet. She adjusted her shirt with a grumble, as she kicked Chris' shin lightly.
"You're an ASSHOLE!" She shouted, "That wasn't fair!"
"Life's not fair, baby." Chris said with a grin, which caused Ashleigh to cringe a bit with a smirk.
"Go to hell, Chris." Ashleigh said, walking over to where Marlena stood. Marlena was chuckling quietly, as Chris shrugged.
"I live in hell, thank you. It's quite nice this time of year…I'll have you know."
"So old, man. So old. I used that in 3rd grade." Allen said, shaking his head. "You need some new material. You should really take some lessons from me…"
"WAS there some kind of plan, that cause her to bother my little 'preparation' time?" Chris asked, changing the subject. Allen nodded with a smug smirk.
"You wanna go get somethin' to eat with us before the show?" Allen asked, and Chris gestured between the two girls as well.
"They coming too?"
"Nah man, I'm inviting' you out because I have a thing for you. Of COURSE they're comin'…" Allen said sarcastically. Chris open and shut his mouth, as if a disgusting taste had penetrated it, and his face had crinkled into a face of pure disgust.
"Dude, don't even joke like that. It's not funny."
"Let's just go…okay?" Ashleigh said with a smile, she was now trying to contain her laughter. Oh how she wanted to laugh…just seeing Allen put Chris back in his place where he belonged!
Everyone gave that notable nod, and were ready to go out. Chris told his 'game mates', that he had a date with two of TNA's hottest divas. Despite the fact, it wasn't true, Chris Harris, Christopher Daniels, and James Storm had to come out and check for themselves. What they saw were a light brown haired girl and a blonde girl, one they already knew, and then the new girl.
"Damn…you're one lucky bastard, Sabin." Chris Harris commented, which caused Marlena and Ashleigh to look from each other, to Chris, who was boasting a smug smile, nodding.
"Yeah, yeah I am lucky aren't I?"
"WhatEVER two shoe of lies he gave you, it's just that. Lies!" Ashleigh exclaimed in defense, as Chris looked hurt.
"Why would I lie?"
"To save face with the boys perhaps?" Marlena intercepted, and Ashleigh nodded in agreement, crossing her arms.
"Neither of us would date you. EVER! I wouldn't even if it wasn't part of the storyline! So there!"
Ashleigh turned her back on Chris, as her and Marlena started toward the door heading toward the parking lot. The guys were all "oohing" in Chris' direction, who had a shocked expression on his face.
"Dude, that actually HURT!" Chris exclaimed as Christopher Daniels patted his shoulder with a smirk.
"Maybe you should just let a real man handle such a task as taming these ladies?"
"That real man wouldn't be you, Daniels. That would be me." Allen said with a cocky smile, as he started off behind the girls. "They know somethin' really phenomenal when they see it…and it's the type of thing you just can't resist…"
Chris rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he followed off behind Allen. Christopher Daniels, Chris Harris, and James Storm were all snickering in their wake, before heading back to the locker room to finish their game of blackjack. In that parking lot, Marlena and Ashleigh were laughing their way all the way to Marlena's car.
"Oh, that was priceless. Did you see the look on poor Chris' face? I felt for him!" Marlena said, before pausing. "Then again, he so had that coming."
Marlena unarmed her car, laughing with Ashleigh who was proud of humiliating Chris. After all, she did have the right. She unlocked the doors, and let Ashleigh into the passenger side of the car, and got into the drivers side. Allen and Chris were coming out of the Asylum, and Marlena had hit the car into drive, smiling vindictively, almost threatening to leave them. Chris flagged them down, and both got into the backseat. Chris grumbled.
"This is so backwards."
"You think we should be in the back?" Marlena asked, her eyebrow raised. "Look honey. My car, my rules, and little boys belong in the backseat in their booster seat, you got it?"
It was pretty quiet all the way to Nick and Rudy's Steakhouse. Besides the evident low snicker from Allen directed at Chris, who had a grim yet content smile on his face. At the restaurant, everyone was pretty under dressed for the occasion, or at least Marlena felt anything but formal enough for a place like that. Allen was really social with the greeter, who quickly sat them. Slipping the greeter a couple bills of green, Allen gave a nod with a smile, and pulled out the chair for Marlena to sit, much like Chris did for Ashleigh.
"What's with the formality, Sabin?" Ashleigh hissed lightly, smirking a bit, as Chris shrugged modestly.
"I decided, even though you were a complete and utter bitch at the arena, I'm bigger than that. I can be nice."
He cracked a thousand watt smile, which caused Ashleigh to roll her eyes with a soft smile. Marlena smiled a bit as she sat down, thanking Allen quietly. He sat down next to her, and the waiter came up to take their orders.
"Firstly, how 'bout a nice bottle of Krug?" Allen asked, and Marlena glanced at Ashleigh mouthing 'does he always do this?' Ashleigh shook her head, putting her hand over her mouth, doing her best to suppress a giggle. The waiter was quick to tend to Allen's beckoning for Krug, with a nice bottle of Krug 1988 Vintage Brut champagne. The champagne flutes were filled and Allen glanced toward the girls. "What are ya'll having for dinner? Should we say…early dinner…?"
"I'll have the grilled free range chicken breast please." Marlena said with a sweet smile, and the waiter gave a nod, returning her smile as he wrote down her order.
"Um…" Ashleigh was looking through a menu, she had glanced over many times before. She always had a problem ordering just one thing at Nick and Ruby's. "Classic Caesar Salad sounds great."
"For me, I'll take a man's dinner…" Chris said, folding the menu closed as the waiter smirked at him. "Grilled 16 ounce New York strip steak for me."
"Where in the hell are you putting it all?" Allen asked, his eyebrow poised as he shook his head. "Surf and turf for me, 8 oz tenderloin nothin' more…I'll be stuffed watching this fool scoff down his steak y'know?" Allen grinned at Chris, who had all he could do to resist giving Allen the finger with a smile.
They conversed over the champagne until their dinner was served. It had been a while since Marlena had been out like this, after all, it was normally during family outings when they went to Vancouver Island in British Columbia she went out like this to White Spot during visits to her grandmother's. Nothing with just friends or co-workers. It was a decent change that she really enjoyed, as they just talked about the show that night.
"So we're starting things off, Ash. That's just because of me you know…" Chris said with a smirk, which caused Ashleigh to roll her eyes, taking a bite of her salad.
"Oh come on, Chris. Give the girl some credit would you?" Marlena said, shaking her head. "You know, it's guys like you that piss me off sometimes. Thinking their so high and mighty." Her tone was serious, but her facial expression showed a hint of a smile, that blew her entire cover. Chris noticed it, and mocked offended.
"Well I'll have you know, Allen is worse than I am when it comes to being self absorbed and high on himself. Yet you have no problem with him?"
"Dude, keep me out of this okay? I'm just sittin' here by my lonesome enjoying my dinner…" Allen said with a half smile, taking a drink from his glass of champagne.
About an hour and a half after they had arrived at Nick and Ruby's, Allen was paying for their meals. Marlena took a deep breath as she ran a hand through her hair, glancing at her watch. It was almost 6. She needed to get a work in yet, and it looked like her typical 2 hour would have to be cut down to an hour and a half. She didn't care, though, seeing as how the time that was spent at the restaurant was a good one. They all got into her car again, and were headed back to the TNA Asylum to get ready for the show that was now coming up on 2 hours away.
Back at the arena, Marlena quickly changed into her pink and white track pants, and a pink strawberry shortcake tee shirt, and grabbed a bottle of water. She went to the gym with Stephanie, aka Trinity, so they could come up with some sort of strategy for that night. Ashleigh and Traci joined them as well.
"So you can take all the hits and such right?" Stephanie asked, as Marlena laughed softly, jogging on one of the treadmills.
"I take 'em like a man, Steph, only look better doing it."
"Just like me!" Ashleigh said with a bright smile from her placement on one of the stair steppers, "Only, I take them really lady like, but I still look good doing it!"
"Yeah, listen to you over there elf, shut up over there would ya?" Stephanie said in a playful tone, which caused the 4 girls all to laugh a little.
"So what are you thinking for tonight Steph? I know who wins and all…because I'm cool that way…" Marlena said with a smile, as Stephanie just shrugged a bit, lifting her weights.
"We go back and forth, I go for my finisher, boom. The rest is history."
"Sounds easy to me…let's just see if we can stick it." Marlena said, stepping off the treadmill after a few minutes.
It went to the weights routine, and the aerobics to get her heart pumping, and to get herself riled up for the night. She always had to be super pumped up when facing a crowd of any size, as she still had some issues with fear of screwing up huge in the ring. Despite Stephanie, Traci, and Ashleigh telling her she'd be fine, Marlena still worried. About an hour and twenty minutes had passed, when Marlena threw in the towel on the workout. She didn't want to get too winded before the match itself.
Marlena prepared in the ladies locker room, changing from her strawberry shortcake tee-shirt to a black and silver glittered haulter top that cut off above her belly button, showing her tribal sun tattoo that circled her belly button. It also was high cut enough to show the rose tattoo on her lower back, and the butterfly tattoo on her right shoulder. The pants were the same style, only were low cut, and tight from the waist to mid-thigh, where they belled out from the knee down, in a simple yet effectively stylish way. Her black heeled wrestling boots were laced up, and she was ready to go. Standing in front of the mirror, she took a heavy breath, and with a quick brush back of her hair, she headed out of the locker room, heading toward the lounge where the superstars waited for their time to come.
….TNA was on the air…..
[[There's chapter 2. The TNA pay-per-views are going to be separate chapters, so I'll have that up as soon as possible!]]
