Chapter 3 - Have Your Cake And Eat It
-NXT Week 2-
Chesca sat lacing up her wrestling boots, iPod on blast, ignoring everyone and everything around her. Katie and Lou glanced at each other as Brandi bounced past, her hair in rollers and a tube of pink lip gloss clutched in her hand. Chesca jumped up from the bench she was perched on, bouncing slightly on the balls of her feet to get comfy in her wrestling boots. She smiled widely at Lou and Katie as she noticed them looking on.
"So, how's Stu?" Katie rolled her eyes at Lou's question; the annoyance was evident in her tone. She was still pretty pissed at how he spoke to her, and how he was treating one of her best friends.
"He's the same as always, being an absolute arse at every possible opportunity." A knock on the door echoed through the room.
"Katie!" Katie inwardly groaned as the low English accent rumbled through the locker room.
"Tell him to shove it." Katie wanted to heed Lou's advice, the show hadn't even started and already Stu was breathing down her neck. Her eyes darted around the room, checking everyone was decent before she walked over to the door. Her small hand gripped onto the cool metal handle, quickly pulling the door open so not give him another reason to degrade her. He gripped onto her arm and pulled his mouth close to her ear. "What have I told you about fraternising with the competition?" She looked up at him wearing a smirk but wide eyes, "Er, do it?"
"Do you really want to get into trouble with me?"
"Oh, what are you going to do? Punish me?" The room had stopped all activity and focused in on the pair in the doorway. "Please punish me, Barrett." Katie pouted, the sarcastic tone to her voice made him even angrier. A couple of the girls laughed until Stu sent the whole room a glare, shutting everyone up instantly. He turned his attention back to his rookie.
"Don't tempt me," he breathed, letting go of her arm and pointing to the room. "Get your shit together, we need a pep talk." Katie looked around the room suddenly forgetting where she put her gym bag; his intense stare was making it difficult to function slightly.
"It's important for you to remain focused," the tall man spoke again, Chesca opened her mouth as if she was speaking in his own voice, "Do you want to win this or not?" Katie snorted and kept on staring into his green orbs.
"Since when am I not even allowed to talk to someone who hasn't got a crooked nose, huh?" The Englishwoman snapped at him, the wrestler in the black and yellow shirt rolled his eyes and looked down at her, anger slowly taking over him. Suddenly the brunette rookie saw the girl from San Francisco making her pro's moves, moving her lips to match what he was saying to her, and she couldn't help but let a laugh go between her teeth.
Bennett lifted an eyebrow at the British rookie, and he turned his head: Hunter's rookie was making a fool out of him, wearing silly faces and mocking him for the girls' amusement; the death glare he shot her was enough to send a shiver down Chesca's spine, and to make the young woman use an innocent smile to fight her embarrassment for having been caught.
"Erm...I..." The half Italian girl stuttered, playing around with one of her brown locks as she slowly walked backward, "...Guess I'll go find Trips." Stu shook his head and pointed out at the hallway before he turned to face his own rookie again: so Katie wasn't the only one without any respect at all.
"You'll be travelling with me from now on," Stu told Katie as they walked to his locker room, his rookie lagging behind with her heavy gym bag resting uncomfortably on her shoulder. He looked back at her as she struggled, a smirk plastered on his face. "And when I say travelling, I also mean same hotel room. I have a feeling I'll need to keep my eye on you at all times."
"What do you think that I'll do? Call a hitman and have you taken care of?" To be perfectly honest, she would have no problems with doing that – if only she knew someone, she was sure that things would be a lot different. "Don't tempt me."
"I want you to get your head in the game," He opened up the door for her and pushed her inside his locker room, "Get dressed, we have to be out there soon."
"You better not come in whilst I'm changing."
"I'm a gentleman." Stu answered, his hand resting palm-down flat on his chest. That simple statement caused the woman to scoff as he closed the door and left her to it. He had the least gentlemanly qualities of anyone she had met in the industry and now he wanted her with him during the entire NXT process? She could tell that Stu was waiting outside the door, his back leaning against the wall, arms folded across his broad chest. There was just no hope that the pair would get along; the closer proximity would be tougher to take than anything Katie had already endured.
~#~
Chesca rolled her neck, stood in front of her pro like she was getting ready to box. The pros were about to be seated at the top of the ramp. Stu stood staring at his rookie, arms across his chest and an apathetic expression across his features. Of course the gossip of his possessive hold on his rookie had spread around backstage like wildfire; not only on NXT, but also on RAW.
Katie glanced at Chesca; Paul was showering her with encouraging words and getting her hyped up for the evening. Lou stood with her back to Stephen, whispering into her ear as he rubbed her shoulders; she'd been cursed with a neck problem all week. Katie couldn't help but feel a pang of jealously run through her body as she watched her best friends get on so well with their pros.
A hand on her shoulder brought Katie out of her daze, her eyes found Stu's; "Don't fuck it up out there." With that he was ushered away from her and out onto the curtains as his music played through the arena. She gritted her teeth as she watched him walk away from her, she was pretty sure she would kill him by the end of the week.
Stephen turned the blonde in his arms around, his hands firmly placed on both of her shoulders. Squeezing lightly he offered her a reassuring smile, "Be careful out there, Ah don't want yeh hurting yeh neck anymore."
All of the rookies were accumulated at the top of the ramp, Matt Striker silencing the audience with his next words, "Ladies, it's time for the challenge." That was obvious; an obstacle course was set up around the ring, "This will test your balance and co-ordination. Arabella, you won the last challenge so you're up first." Katie stepped forward; glancing over her shoulder at Stu perched on his stool, the clipboard in his large hands being gripped hard.
The obstacles looked easy enough to conquer; a small wall to clamber over, rubber tyres to run through, a long balance beam down the right side of the ring and then finishing by reaching the top of the ramp – all the while carrying a huge cake covered in extra frosting. Katie smiled when she picked up the chocolate cake, ready to begin the balancing challenge. She leant forward, smelling the confection – cheap frosting; what a perfect opportunity to embarrass Wade Barrett.
"The timer will begin when you cross the line marked out on the ramp. Whenever you're ready..." Striker's words were always so full of bounce it annoyed the hell out of her; then again everyone was becoming irritating to her after being stuck with Stu. Walking away from her pro, she crossed the line and the timer began ticking. Her movements were surprisingly cautious; her step over the small wall was dainty, making sure that her feet were planted firmly on the other side of it until she moved on. A light jog to the sea of tyres wasn't easy with the cake gripped in both of her hands. Nevertheless she tackled them with minimal effort, moving around the steel steps the stand on the balance beam. Most of the crowd were making encouraging noises to spur the Englishwoman on; they were really getting into the atmosphere, some gasped where the cake began to tilt on the platter she was holding on to. Luckily for Katie, she had been able to manoeuvre her way across it carefully without any disasters. As she attempted to run up the ramp she spotted the usual glare from Madison, the amused faces of Chesca and Lou, and then Stu rising from his stool, placing the clipboard where his backside should have stayed. He stared her down as she reached the top half of the ramp, walking over to her briskly in an effort to hurry her along. All of a sudden, she slipped on the ramp; the cake flew forwards landing on Stu's bare tanned torso. The crowd were going mad, watching the anger unfold on his features. The clock was still ticking but Katie could care less; she stood there having a right old giggle with everyone else at the chocolate mess on his body. Stu gritted his teeth, seething from his rookie's actions. He grabbed onto her arm, dragging her the rest of the way up the ramp and behind the curtain.
"Seeing as Arabella did not cross the finish line with the cake she is disqualified." Striker's words sounded throughout the arena, fading behind the backstage curtain where Stu had pulled Katie aside for the second week in a row.
"You think this is funny?" She smirked when he shouted at her with all the viciousness he could muster; he was really pissed at her. Even though she had planned this whole fiasco to a degree she still couldn't believe that he'd get so upset by it. He was acting hilarious.
"Don't blame me if you got in the way of my cake." Katie breathed impatiently, dragging a slim delicate finger up his abdominals to cover it in chocolate frosting, putting it in her mouth and sucking to get the flavour. She could have sworn he shivered slightly under her touch. He watched her through narrowed eyes when she pulled her finger out of her hot mouth, the chocolate had completely disappeared. She leaned into him, whispering mockingly, "Delicious. Just delicious."
"I'm going to get cleaned up," he spoke lowly; she had embarrassed him that was for sure. "And how about you don't follow me?"
"But I thought you wanted to keep an eye on me at all times?" Her innocent demeanour really got to Stu; she really loved to play around with him. He was beginning to think that he had met his match.
"I don't have time for your stupid games, Katie." He shouted back at her, halfway down the corridor. Katie had half a mind to follow him and get completely under his skin. He'd get what was coming to him though.
"Let's move on," Striker spoke out to the arena, carrying on the challenge, "Madison, you're up next."
Madison smirked at the crowd, knowing that it would be easier to win the challenge with her rival out of the picture; disqualified and in trouble with her pro. Her own pro, Maryse, was sat on her stool one leg crossed over the other. She clearly wasn't moving from the spot she was in; everyone knew she wouldn't risk getting her Gucci dress covered in the confection the rookies were carrying around. The woman tackled every obstacle with grit; she wanted to win this challenge to get another victory on her score sheet after last week's impressive match against Brandi. She crossed the line having completed the challenge in a fast time of 38 seconds.
Lou stood rearing and ready to go; the cake perched in the centre of her hand. Years of waitressing in bars to work towards her dream were now paying off. She set off down the ramp, knowing the time was passing by quickly. She hopped over the small wall, hitting the ground a little too awkwardly as the cake almost slid off her hand. She recovered quickly stepping through each of the tyres with ease as the cake was grasped in both hands. She glanced up at the titantron, checking the time. Carefully she placed a foot on the balance beam; this was where she was bound to fail. Though a little slower than she hoped; she made it across the balance beam, cake still intact. She eyed the ramp, sprinting up as quickly as she could. She let out a breath, glad that she'd made it back alive. Immediately she was greeted by Stephen who picked her up and hugged her after she had put down the cake. She was in the lead with a speedy time of 33 seconds.
Brandi was up next, the blonde stood jumping on the spot and cheering at the crowd. The cake didn't look steady; Lou and Chesca eyed each other knowing this wasn't going to end pretty for Brandi. She ran down the ramp on her toes, her sense of balance nonexistent with those air bags for boobs. She jumped over the small wall; the almost athletic jump was followed by a loud screech and the cake flying through the air. The titantron captured the moment Brandi followed the cake, her face a picture just before it hit the chocolate frosting. She eventually climbed up using the barrier, wiping frosting from her face. She ran back up the ramp, crying with embarrassment; much to the amusement of the other rookies and their pros who were hastily writing down notes on their clipboards. Striker attempted to hide his laughter also, trying to speak into the microphone to let everyone know that Brandi was, of course, disqualified. A clear was in operation as they went for a commercial break, so as not to hinder the next competitor's chances of victory; it was also fortunate that they had spare cakes.
Chesca was told she was the next to take on the obstacle course. She glanced at her pro who offered her a thumbs up before gesturing for her to take hold of the cake and get going. The timer began as soon as she crossed the line. The half Italian tackled each of the obstacles admirably but unfortunately wasn't quick enough to beat her New Yorker friend.
"Ooh, 35 seconds. Not good enough to beat Liberty this time around, Titiana."
She moseyed back up to the top of to be greeted by a hug from Paul. She couldn't help but feel that even though she hadn't won the challenge, she had won praise from Triple H anyway.
"Finally, Angelina step forwards, please. The time to beat is 33 seconds, whenever you're ready..."
Angelina smirked as she picked up the cake, wobbling on the platter indecisively. She wanted to get this over and quickly at that. It was pretty close once she had reached the balance beam, roughly equal on time with Lou whilst she concentrated on walking in a straight line with a huge cake balanced in her hands. If she dropped it, she wouldn't have been able to forgive herself; what happened to Brandi seemed totally humiliating. Hilarious for onlookers; but humiliating for the rookie. Angelina tried her hardest to make it up the ramp hastily in order to become the winner of the stupid challenge but it was ultimately too slow. She had finished in a time of 37 seconds.
"And the winner of the Obstacle Course Challenge is Liberty with a time of 33 seconds!" Lou didn't care that she was jumping up and down like a fool. It was a ridiculous thing to win but it was win nonetheless. Stephen patted her on the shoulder, staring down at her with a huge, dazzling grin on his face. He was chuffed that she had began to make an impact already, racking up two wins on the trot.
~#~
The three friends stood on the apron, staring at their prey at the opposite side of the ring; easy prey at that. The trio were going to take them down; quick and simple. All six of the pros were situated on the mats that surrounded the squared circle, prepping their respective rookies about the main event six-woman tag match that was about to commence on the show. They conspired at the corner they were stood at, deciding who should be first to perform. Angelina stepped between the second and bottom rope, wiggling her backside as she did so. The referee motioned for the other team to hurry up and pick who would start; Lou volunteering to beat down the Cleveland native. She stole a glance at her Irish pro before stepping through the yellow ropes to face her opponent; the quick nod he offered her in return was enough to boost her confidence. Words of encouragement from Chesca and Katie blended into the heated atmosphere as the referee signalled for the start of the match.
It didn't take long for Lou's skills to take hold on Angelina who had very little wrestling experience. She was the type of 'wrestler' who was actually just a model; the New Yorker couldn't stand that as well as most of the other true professionals. Determined to send her back to the Indies where she belonged, Lou floored her with a brutal clothesline and tagged in the raring Katie, who was extremely feisty this evening having had another intense conversation with her pro.
Lou looked down at Stephen who was stood by the apron next to her, his large hands planted firmly on the mat. She followed his stare to Paul who was giving advice to Chesca. She heard Stephen scoff and push himself away from the ring; she was utterly unprepared for his next words directed at Paul.
"Ah don't think yeh little words will help this tart." Lou smirked at Ches trying to keep in character but clearly bemused as to what was going on around her. She knew they had an unsettled feud, but she didn't know how much the tension had built since Paul's untimely departure.
Chesca jumped down from the apron as Paul started to move towards where Stephen was mouthing off at him. She placed a friendly hand on his bicep, a simple gesture to try and stop the situation from escalating. He shook her off, not once breaking eye contact with the cocky Irishman staring him down. Lou was torn between the action in the ring and the drama outside of the ring, Katie was clearly dominating even though Stu was pounding her with an array of words from the apron. Her head snapped back to the drama unfolding close to her as she heard her ring name being used.
The Englishwoman's in-ring character of Arabella was sadistic and ruthless, at least now she understood partly why she had been paired with Stu. Madison now stood in the ring, locked up in a grapple with her enemy. Stu remained outside the ring with the other pros, and now Lou and Chesca who had been attempting to defuse a situation beginning to appear between their adamant pros. He turned his attention to the action of his rookie, nodding slightly as she took down Madison in a classic, textbook wrestling manoeuvre. Katie whipped her into the corner, planting her with a running knee to her face; she glanced over momentarily at the chatter happening down on the mats and then to Stu who began banging down with a firm hand on the apron to hurry her along. He pointed a finger to his temple a couple of times, instigating that she should think of her next move quickly before Madison could get her breath back. For goodness sake, the woman wasn't stupid. She managed to lift her personal old-time enemy on top of the turnbuckle, climbing on afterwards with minimal effort to perch behind her. Wrapping her legs around hers was no mean feat; the amount of baby oil this bitch used was ridiculous. Never the less Katie locked her arms around Madison's waist and flipped her to the floor in a very advanced spider suplex manoeuvre. Stu shouting at her to cover was something she had become accustomed to, and she decided to actually obey him this time but only getting to a count of two. She had a right mind to argue with the referee for that decision, Stu was certainly voicing his opinion and it was in favour of his rookie for once.
It was becoming a challenge to focus on what was going on during the matchup due to the amount of hostility building between the Celtic Warrior and the Cerebral Assassin outside the ring. Stephen ran his tongue along his bottom lip before a smirk spread across his features.
"Yeh don' need to play the fool, fella," Stephen began taking a step closer to Paul who had now taken the decision to shield Chesca behind him. "The entire universe knows what's been goin' on between the two o' yeh." The half Italian had never been so offended. How dare he accuse her of being a homewrecker? There was absolutely nothing going on between her and her pro; their relationship was strictly professional. Lou jumped down from the apron and squeezed in the gap between Stephen and Paul, deciding it was best for her to intervene. She placed a hand on his chest in an attempt to push the wall of muscle away from the veteran. Stephen reached around her, pointing and throwing insults causing Paul to become even more irate than before. His nostrils flared and his brow furrowed as he stared down the Irishman; he refused to listen to his feeble attempts at pointing out his flaws. It was only when he carried on insulting his rookie that he couldn't stand for it anymore.
There was no going back from the chaos that was about to break out before the WWE Universe. Stephen gripped on to Lou's arm, his fingers digging into the skin on her bicep painfully as the incessant stare down continued between the two men. They had been waiting to get at each other for months and even though the timing was terrible a brawl was about to ensue. In his anger, Stephen forcefully shoved Lou out of the way causing her to crash straight into the steel steps that led to the ring. Her body fell heavily onto the metal with an almighty thud, dead weight now lying on the mat by the barricade. Even through his blind rage, Stephen turned his attention to his rookie, who seemed to be knocked out by the fall and rubbed a hand over his face to try and hide his horror.
The distraction served as opportunity for The Game. He delivered an axe handle right between Stephen's shoulder blades, eliciting a grunt from the Irishman as he dropped to his knees from the sheer force. Chesca could only look on as her pro began punching Lou's pro repeatedly, alternating between his head and midsection to wear the man down quicker. Stephen grabbed fistfuls of Paul's shirt and drove his body into the exposed turnbuckle, allowing him room to breathe. Getting to his feet, the man wiped over his mouth, his lip had been completely split open from the punches he had suffered. As Paul fell to the floor, he reached underneath the ring to retrieve his prized weapon of choice: the sledgehammer. Holding it firmly in his taped up hands, he waited for Stephen to turn again before he attacked him with frustrated blows to his already battered midsection. The Irishman would have been lucky not to have cracked or broken a rib from the force of the weapon to his body. Chesca had moved well away from the situation as various referees and officials sprinted to the ring in an effort to pry the sledgehammer off a frenzied Cerebral Assassin. His eyes had glazed over like he was in a trance of some kind; when he was like this, it was a challenge to get him to willingly disappear backstage.
Meanwhile in the ring, Katie had just gotten another near-fall, trying her damned hardest to ignore the activity going on in front of her. Stu kept yelling at her to remain focused, surprised that he wasn't part of a beat down for once. Madison didn't have a chance throughout to tag in Brandi or Angelina, she was stuck in a battle with Katie and she knew that she was fast losing. An extraordinary occasion for the Brit, she would be able to showcase her finishing manoeuvre for the first time on international television. She whipped her opponent into the ropes and kicked her in the stomach in order to make her keel over, clutching her middle. Then once she had gained her composure, Katie stood so Madison's head was between her legs and swiftly lifted her in the air, slamming her to the canvas in similar fashion to the infamous Batista Bomb. Stu pushed himself off of the apron and crossed his arms over his broad chest, watching his rookie pick up a very impressive win over her rival. He grabbed hold on the top rope, pulled himself up onto the apron and stepped into the ring. His stare was intense, Katie expected him to be like this – to not bat an eyelid for her showcase. The next thing he did completely shocked her, however. The Englishman reached for her right wrist, raising it high in the air to celebrate the victory. Katie looked at him like he had grown two heads; this man that she hated was giving her recognition for a win? What the hell had gotten into him?
Matt Striker's voice had decided to make itself known, interrupting the Katie's glory. "Ladies and gentleman that is all we have time for tonight. Make sure you tune in next week for our first elimination; which of our Diva rookies will be going home?"
~#~
Lou sat with an icepack held to her neck, the throbbing not subsiding even with the painkillers. She glanced around the white medical room, the smell of antiseptic turning her stomach slightly. Tim the medic had left her a few minutes ago to deal with Brandi who was complaining of a sprained ankle; Lou only hoped that much was true. Her head shot to the door as she heard the handle turn. Her expression didn't falter as Stephen poked his head around; he looked remorseful to say the least. Trying to judge her reaction he stilled for a moment, before bowing his head slightly and walking into the room. Sheepishly he shuffled over to her, his hands dug into the pockets of his sweatpants. His usual milky skin was stained red on his chest; her eyes travelled upwards towards his busted lip. She couldn't help but think he got what he deserved.
"Lou, Ah'm really sorry –" She held her hand up stopping him from furthering his apology.
"I don't want to hear it right now." Her head was still spinning; all she wanted was to get a shower and rest.
"Please?" Her eyes caught his, she was a goner. She sighed and nodded for him to continue. "Ah let me anger get the better o' me." He stopped for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts. He ran a hand over his face, forgetting about his busted lip for a second. He hissed in pain and grimaced, he knew he had messed up.
"You're an idiot." Stephen rubbed the back of his neck nervously; he desperately needed to make it up to his rookie, "I think you might have to beg for forgiveness. On your knees, king."
Lou wanted to laugh at his shocked expression, but she needed to keep face, "Yer being serious?"
"Deadly." She pointed to the ground, not once breaking her determined stare. She watched on as Stephen dropped a heavy knee to the hard lino covered floor. He glanced up at her pleadingly; his puppy eyes weren't working on her this time.
"Ah'm sorry, love." He rested one of his big hands just above her knee and squeezed reassuringly. It was a risk placing a hand on the blonde, but she hadn't kicked him in the face so far, "Ah'll make it up to yeh."
"You can buy me room service tonight." Lou's demands came quick and fast, "And I might have a concussion so you can stay awake with me. Katie and the girls are going out."
"Anything yeh want." Lou grinned; she might just take him up on that offer.
A/N – Thank you miamitravel, hOtlilmofo, xFindTheEnigmaWithinx, Mew of Fire, LA Williams, Konoshy, Chelsea, kimcooperx and alyssaanne for the fantastic reviews. Sorry for the very long delay in updating, hope we didn't disappoint!