I didn't really include a note at the end of chapter 8, but this is the last chapter of this story. I just want to thank everyone who has been supporting my story and reviewing and favoriting and following it. You guys are all awesome. =)
"Are you sure you want to go through with this Alex?" AJ said, trying to keep up with Alex as she headed to the gorilla for her match against the Miz next.
"I've never been more sure of anything in my life. Well, except for me liking Nutella and asparagus." Alex said, walking at a fast pace.
"Maybe you should think things through. I mean, you already know that Otunga and Torres are gonna be ringside. And you have me and AJ there too, but what if a fourth member of team Miz comes down? You could end up losing." Kaitlyn said, trying to match Alex's walking speed.
"OK you two. I need you both to hear me out. This is something I have to do. Don't worry. I'll beat Mikey and I'll be able to tell the WWE Universe about my scars. I'd rather tell them about them myself than have some other person distort the truth and make it seem like I'm some type of raging psycho who gets off on doing stuff like this." Alex said, reassuringly to her friends.
After slowing their pace for a few brief seconds, AJ and Kaitlyn finally told Alex that they would let her do this. "Thanks you guys. Now let's go down where you two can watch me do what I do best. And that's put the arrogant and conceited in their place." Alex said, running forward and smiling. 'Everything will be fine. If the Universe isn't ready for what they'll see, then they'll just have to suck it up and get over it. These scars are part of who I am and I refuse to let the opinions of others get me down about them anymore.' Alex thought as she made it to the gorilla and was heading out with AJ and Kaitlyn following behind her. She noticed out the corner of her eye that Matt, Jeff, her dad, and all of her brothers and sisters were sitting ringside, surrounded by enthusiastic fans.
"Matt? Jeff? What are all of you guys doing here?" Alex asked after she ran over to where her family was.
"Well, since the shows for this week were gonna be in Raleigh, we wouldn't pass up the chance to see you in action. And against the Miz too. This is gonna be awesome." Matt said smiling.
"Really? Well thanks you guys. Watch me win in no time flat." Alex said, dashing away to get in the ring.
After the Miz made his way down to the ring with Otunga and Eve following behind him, the timekeeper rang the bell, beginning the match. Miz and Alex circled each other before finally locking up with each other in the middle of the ring. Miz tried to get out of the hold by trying to reverse into an armbreaker, but Alex did one of her own before throwing the Miz into the ropes. Once Miz came running back, Alex caught him with a clothesline and tried to go for a pin attempt, only getting a one-count. After Miz got up, he immediately hit Alex with a clothesline of his own which took Alex down. Once she was down on her back, Miz started raining down stomps that Alex was doing her best to block with her arms. Miz soon stopped his barrage and picked Alex up before throwing her into the corner. He ran at Alex preparing to clothesline her in the corner, but before he could make contact with Alex, she ran out of the way and charged at Miz while he was dazed in the corner and hit with a roundhouse kick. She was setting him up for a Twist of Fate when Eve jumped up on the turnbuckle and tried to start yelling at Alex. The referee in the ring yelled at Eve to get off while Otunga tried to slide in the ring and attack Alex from behind, only to be stopped by Kaitlyn throwing him into the ringside barricade. AJ took care of Eve by pulling her off of the ring and keeping her occupied. Alex then did her Twist of Fate, despite the distractions happening around the ring, and she pinned Miz and got the win. AJ and Kaitlyn slid in the ring to celebrate with Alex, along with her family members, who were allowed to hop over the barricade. The whole time they were celebrating, Miz and his partners had walked up the ramp. The crowd in the ring didn't notice they had microphones until they heard Miz start to talk.
"Why? Why the fuck is it that I can never beat you? I was so damn sure I had you this time." Miz said, rubbing the back of his head.
Getting a microphone for herself, Alex said "What can I say Mikey? I train while you just go around trying to start shit with anyone who won't help boost your ego."
"All this talk of egos is making me think of yours. After all, you wouldn't want everyone here and those watching to know your dirty little secret, would you?" Miz said, starting to smirk.
"Whatever are you talking about Mikey? Oh, you mean this secret right here?" Alex said, pointing at her arms.
"Yeah. It would be a dreadful shame if your loyal fans were to find out what you do to-Wait, the hell are you doing, you little creep?" Miz said, confusion etching the faces of him and his cohorts.
"Giving the fans what they want, no, what they need to see. I've been keeping this a secret for so long now that after I spilled to my awesome family and friends, I finally feel ballsy enough to let my fans know about it. AJ, be a lamb and hold the mic for me." Alex said, handing AJ the microphone.
Slowly, Alex took a deep breath and proceeded to remove her left arm warmer first and then her right arm warmer. After finally having both of them off, she took the microphone back and motioned for the cameraman to come forward. "You see, my loyal fans here in Raleigh and around the world, I am a self-harmer. These scars come from years and years of me being way too hard on myself. I am in no way advocating that all of you do this to yourselves because I am aware of the fact that a lot of you guys look up to me like I'm a hero to you guys. Well, rather than have you guys see this in some completely bullshit story or blog post online, I decided I'd let you guys know myself. This is probably the biggest thing I've ever done as far as making an emotional leap in this company. And whatever you guys want to say, I'll take like a man. I mean, after all, I have been raised and taught to just ignore my haters." Alex said, smiling and her eyes glistening with unshed tears. She had already started bracing for chants of 'Cutter' and 'Slashing Freak' to chorus from the WWE Universe, so she was shocked when instead her fans started to applaud her for her admission and started to cheer her. Looking around, she saw nothing but smiles on the faces of her fans and seeing this was something that made Alex immediately start to cry tears of happiness.
After feeling a tap on her shoulder, she turned around to see that AJ and Kaitlyn were both smiling at her. "I guess things went better than we thought they were. I think it's awesome you finally told the fans Alex. That way this won't torture you anymore." AJ said, smiling at Alex.
"Totally. I can't believe for a minute we doubted your decision to do this. We're sorry we had doubts in you, Lexi." Kaitlyn said, smiling and winking at Alex.
"No worries you two. Now that this is out of the way, I won't cut myself anymore and now that the fans know, people will probably see me as the same Alex Hardy I've always been." Alex said, smiling and hugging her new friends.
"Now that all of this is taken care of, isn't there a little matter that we have to take care of with Miz and Company back up the ramp?" Kaitlyn said, grinning evilly and looking up at where Miz, Otunga and Eve were frozen in place, in shock that their plan had failed.
"Oh yeah! Oh MIkey. I hope you three are ready for our little punishment game for you." Alex said, a devilish smile on her face.
Looking at her tormentors' faces immediately get pale, Alex laughed along with AJ, Kaitlyn, and everyone else in the ring with them. 'I guess now I get something resembling a happy ending. My tormentors can't torment me about my scars anymore, I've now got two awesome new friends, and a whole brigade of cheerleaders who will always have my back through thick and thin. I feel like I can do anything now. And by anything, I mean going after my first World Championship.' Alex thought, smiling. 'This could all be the start of something big and great.'
Like I said up above, I just want to thank you guys for supporting this story all the way until the end. It was fun for me to actually write this sorta bio story that helps establish why AJ and Kaitlyn were already so close to Alex. Many thanks to the authors that have been my hugest supporters here: foldintothenight, fuckyeahvodkaandchocolates, and AgentNeonVenom13. These guys are seriously so awesome to talk to and reading their stories is seriously one of the funnest things I do when I read fanfics. Go check their stories out if you don't believe me. You're missing out on pieces of awesomeness. =)