Chapter 6 – Keep Me Under Lock And Key
Lou had just changed into a referee shirt, tied up to show her stomach and cut at the top to show some cleavage. Chesca would be going against Katie in a one-on-one match, herself being the special guest referee. She looked at her English friend, noticing something different about her. And not in a good way.
"Are you alright, Katie?" Katie looked up, fumbling with the knee pads in her hand and letting out a nervous laugh.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"
"Just making sure you're okay, you've been awfully quiet. You're usually the loudest in here."
"Everything is fine, Lou. Don't you have something better to do, like cut your top a little lower?" Chesca rolled her eyes at her friends bickering.
"Shut up, you guys."
"Bennett has done something, I know it. What happened at his house?" Both girls watched Katie snap her head in their direction, one foot firm on the wooden bench lacing up her boots.
"We watched old wrestling tapes. End of." Lou stood up, walking over to her friend; she took hold of her hands and looked her dead in the eye.
"We care, Katie. Don't push us away."
"I'm sorry; I think I just need a good night's rest."
"We all do." Lou looked down to Katie's hands in her own; she lifted them up closer to her eye line, "What's this?" The Londoner glanced at where Lou was looking; faint purple marks were around her wrists. She knew exactly where they had come from.
"Is he hurting you?" Chesca rushed over upon hearing Lou's words, the brunette peered over her shoulder gasping as she saw the marks. Katie tried to pull her hands away, "Katie! Is he hurting you?"
"No, don't be ridiculous. I could kick his arse, and if he hurt me I would kick his arse." Katie pulled her hands from the blonde's grip, "If you'll excuse me, I have to finish preparing myself for this match."
Lou turned to Chesca as Katie turned her back on her. Chesca shook her head is response to Lou's questioning look, they both knew there was nothing they could do to curb Katie's stubborn attitude; they would have to believe her, for now.
"Welcome back to FCW, folks. You join us as we are about to engage in a battle of wills between two NXT Diva rookies and their special guest referee, but first we're awaiting our commentary guest for this matchup, and my former broadcast partner, Wade Barrett." Byron Saxton's voice sounded around the tiny warehouse, only about a hundred or so fans kept away from the ring by black metal railings. As Stu's music hit, Saxton carried on talking to the viewers about the upcoming matchup. The Englishman strutted to the commentary table in the far corner with the familiar smug look on his face; Katie followed behind, climbing the steel steps leisurely and addressing the crowd from the top turnbuckle. "Wade, welcome back to FCW and, indeed, to the FCW commentary team."
"It's nice to be back, Saxton, but this time I'm here for a different purpose." Stu took his seat next to his former broadcast partner and pointed towards the ring where Katie was bouncing off the ropes. "You see that young rookie in that ring right now? I have subjectively taken her under my wing to make her into a better performer."
"Great to know you're finally thinking of someone else for a change, Wade. I'm sure as our viewers know; you don't exactly get along with each other. Didn't she throw cake at you last week on NXT?" Stu pursed his lips, he never thought of a suitable punishment for her debacle during the rookie challenge. That was something that he intended on following up very soon.
"She's not got away with that, let me be the first to tell you. There's a lot that she needs to be disciplined about but if you catch her tricks in the FCW ring and the improvement, you'll realise that she's learning from me." He adjusted his headset as Chesca and Lou walked out respectively, both getting a good pop from the small crowd. "I'm not entirely convinced as to why Liberty is playing the official for this matchup. Personally, I don't think it's fair that she'll be biased towards Titania; I can tell before she's even begun the match. Arabella is at a certain disadvantage here..."
"Oh please Barrett, you want to talk fair? You pick apart the WWE roster with six other guys on a weekly basis so don't you go talking about playing fair."
"You know me well, Saxton. I'm not about playing fair and I'm not here to make friends; a philosophy that I have instilled in my rookie."
"Then perhaps she won't have a problem getting dirty, herself." Stu had a hard time biting his tongue. After the activities that he had participated in with Katie a few short hours ago, the memory of her 'getting dirty' was certainly fresh in his mind. "I was almost certain we weren't going to be seeing you again, Wade, seeing as you're this huge WWE Superstar now."
"There is no question that I am the greatest WWE Superstar to come out of FCW. Why shouldn't I be allowed to visit from time to time?"
"That's...rather debatable, I'm sure." Stu glanced at Bryon and shook his head with disbelief. His jade eyes narrowed to slits as he saw Stephen approaching the commentary table from the entrance of the room and the Irishman didn't look happy to say the least.
Lou turned around as she saw a figure standing at the entrance, inwardly groaning once she realised it was Stephen. He walked around the ring keeping in character; his eyes burned into her before he shot a glance at Stu. Katie leant against the ropes trying to catch her breath, she and Chesca had been going at it for about 5 minutes She frowned at Lou, clearly they were both confused as to why Stephen was at ringside. Chesca was just getting to her feet after the devastating clothesline Katie had delivered.
"A great move by Arabella there, you teach her that one?"
"I think she's pretty capable of performing a simple manoeuvre like a standard clothesline, Sax-"
"Excuse me for interrupting, Wade," Saxton straightened up, the small corner now miniscule with Stu on one side of him and Stephen taking a seat the other side. "But ladies and gentlemen, we have a surprise spectator in our presence. The Celtic Warrior Sheamus, how are you doing, man?"
"Ah'm a little bit annoyed to be honest wit' yeh, fella." Stephen rolled up his sleeves and pointed at Stu. He was pissed with his bold statement that he was the best out of the ex-FCW bunch. "This guy thinks he's the greatest Superstar to come ou' o' FCW? Yeh didn't even hold the FCW Championship belt like me."
"Yeah, which you lost to Eric Escobar under easy terms. What are you even doing out here? Your rookie isn't actually wrestling so you don't need to be here to encourage her shoddy officiating. That was a near fall just then because of the slow count."
Katie sauntered over to Chesca and pulled her to her feet by her hair. She slapped her hard across the face making her drop to the mat again. She looked up at Stu who was stood up squaring off with Stephen; he hadn't been watching her vicious attack at all. The Londoner gripped Chesca into a headlock, a move that she had been used to pulling off over the past couple of months. Her knuckles bunched underneath the half-Italian's chin, inflicting more pain on her strained face. She managed to gain some strength, shoving Katie over her shoulder and onto her back.
"A great reversal by Titania, there. That has surely slowed down Arabella's pace in this matchup. Guys, do you mind? We're supposed to be doing a job here."
"Ah could knock yeh ou' right here, fella..."
"Saxton's right, I'd like to watch my rookie beat both of these other girls."
Katie moved to stand next to the turnbuckle, her hands gripping onto the top rope waiting for Chesca to get to her feet again. Chesca stood up, her sight catching Katie running full force at her. She side-stepped out of her path; Stu's rookie tried to stop herself as her intended target moved; instead she connected with Lou, spearing her through the middle rope onto the outside. They both hit the floor with a sickening thud, Katie stood up without any problems glancing down at her friend who didn't seem to be moving. She heard Stu shouting at her to get back into the ring and finish what she started.
"Ouch! An unintentional spear takes Liberty right out of the ring."
"Yeah, I can't say I taught her that one either but Arabella looks unscathed. She needs to get back in that ring and finish what she has been ordered to do by me and that is win at any cost."
Lou groaned; her already injured neck was throbbing. She felt a pair of hands on her shoulders; her eyes flicked open expecting to see the beautiful grey orbs of Stephen in front of the bright house lights. Instead she was staring into the deep blue eyes of the FCW Champion, Brett DiBiase.
"Lou?" He spoke close to her ear so the fans couldn't hear, "Are you okay? Do you need help?"
Before she could answer, Brett was hoisted into the air by an angry Irishman. She heard Stephen tell him to back off through the thumping in her head. Her hand gripped onto the back of her neck as she sat up. Stephen crouched down next to her, concern glazing his eyes. He knew how much trouble she'd had with her neck; partly due to his behaviour on NXT. She brushed Stephen's big hand off her shoulder and gripped onto the ring apron to pull herself up. She didn't need anyone's help.
"Sheamus does not seem happy about DiBiase coming to Liberty's aid."
"Neither of them have any business being out here." Stu wanted to get this match over and done with and Stephen being around to take the limelight away was no in his plans. "He just wants the focus completely on him. It's pathetic."
"I wonder where I've heard that before..."
As Brett was being intimidated by Stephen, Katie took the opportunity to grab hold of the shiny FCW championship that had fallen off Brett's shoulder. She looked down at it, simpering and then shooting her stare towards Stu at the announce table.
"Wait, what's this? Arabella's got hold of Brett DiBiase's championship belt! She's going to strike Titania with it whilst Liberty is catching her breath outside the ring!"
After slipping back into the ring, she crouched slightly waiting for the right moment to attack. She sprung off the mat as Ches turned around, the title tight in her grip as the cold gold connected with the side of Chesca's head. She fell back to the mat upon impact as Katie threw the belt over the top rope just as Lou was shoving Stephen away from her and attempting to get back into the ring.
"That is one sneaky move, Saxton. And that, that is just one thing that I have taught her in this game. She is ruthless and driven because of me."
She dropped to her knees and crawled to the lifeless half-Italian, laying over her and grabbing hold of her leg. Katie stared at Stu, locking her eyes with his. She couldn't explain it but she wanted her reward. Stu stared back just as intense, a smirk tugging on his thin lips. He was impressed to say the least; she had listened to his motto of cheat to win. The count was slow as Lou made it to the centre of the ring, but eventually the mat was hit for the third time. She signalled for the bell to be rung and clambered to her feet.
"Well she may have cheated technically, but Arabella got the job done."
Once Katie was up Lou grabbed onto her wrist and held her arm up in victory; she winced, the bruising on her taped up wrists becoming more apparent to her. Did she regret getting rough? Hell no. Lou left her to celebrate and went to check on Chesca who used the ropes as a support for her limp body, her head pounding.
"You okay, sweetie?"
"Felt like I've just been hit by a truck, but I'm okay." Lou helped Chesca to her feet quickly. She gave her an apologetic smile, not really entirely sure as to why she felt so sorry for her. Her centre of attention had never been on the matchup with Katie anyway; something had happened with Drew and it had split her focus, causing her to be unresponsive. Lou pressed a hand to Chesca's back, gently guiding her behind the black curtain whilst Saxton thanked Stu for his less-than-insightful commentary.
After the match, Lou knocked on the one of the locker room doors knowing Stephen was in there, she waited for a response. It swung open after a moment revealed a shirtless Stephen. "Hi."
"How can Ah help yeh?" His hand reached up to the side of the door, gripping it and leaning his weight on the door frame.
"Can we talk?" Lou stared at his face, trying her hardest not to let her gaze wander down his defined chest and sculpted abs.
"Ah'm about to leave."
"Oh, erm, okay." She turned on her heel; obviously he didn't want to be bothered. She felt his warm hand wrap around her arm, stopping her from walking out any further. He tugged her backwards gently.
"But Ah guess Ah have a few minutes fer me rookie, what's up?" Lou stood still suddenly not knowing what to say, she had lost all train of thought, and she could feel her cheeks burning as the seconds passed. "Lou lass, yeh feelin' alright?" Stephen pressed his hand against her forehead whilst the other wrapped around the back of her neck keeping her head still.
"Screw being professional." Lou practically jumped on Stephen, taking him by surprise as her lips locked with his. He kicked the door shut as he captured her in his big arms, her body crushed against his. After trying to resist he kissed her back, gently nibbling on her bottom lip before swiping his tongue across hers.
"Make yeh mind up now." Stephen mumbled against her wet plump lips, "Ah ain't going back and forth wit' yeh."
"I want you." Lou purred back, her fingers running across the defined muscles in his back. Stephen smirked back at his rookie, that was what he wanted to hear. Just as his lips were about to meet hers the locker door swung open.
"Drew! Can yeh learn to knock, fella?" Stephen peeled Lou off his body, giving her an apologetic look.
"Sorry, I need t' talk t' ye, Ste." Drew looked serious, his hands now shoved into the pockets of his jeans.
"Alright, though Ah am staying wit' yeh for a few days. Yeh can't tell me later?"
"No, it's urgent." Stephen nodded before turning to Lou.
"Ah'll give yeh a call and yeh can meet me in the car park?"
"Oh, I'm going for something to eat with Brett." Stephen raised his eyebrows, his tongue running across him bottom lip. He didn't have any control over the woman outside of the ring, so if they were friends he would have to deal with it.
"Alright then."
"Maybe you want to do something tomorrow? Seeing as you're staying in Tampa?" Lou glanced at Drew, very aware that he was watching them.
"Sounds like a plan, see yeh later." Lou sensed something was up but daren't push her luck.
"Have you seen Chesca?" Lou asked Drew before she left the locker room.
"Me? Why? Why would I av' seen her?" Lou frowned at his defensive tone.
"Okay, don't get your panties in a twist. I was only asking. Bye." Lou shook her head, quickly leaving the two boys to have their chat.
"What's up wit' yeh?"
"I slept wit' Chesca." Drew ran his hands through his long hair, "Why didn't ye stop me when I 'ad come into ye' room!" He smacked Stephen in the chest clearly annoyed with his actions, "She ran into me and Taryn, I 'ad t' introduce them t' each other."
"It's not me fault yeh can't handle yeh drink, or yeh self control."
"What do I do now?"
"What can yeh do? What's done is done." Stephen usually wouldn't be so blasé about cheating, but he knew things between Drew and Taryn weren't as smooth as they once were.
"What if Chesca tells her?"
"Why would she tell her? Drew, yeh made a mistake, alright? Ah ain't telling anyone so stop worrying yehself." Stephen walked over to his bag and grabbed a long sleeved black shirt; he pulled it on and turned back to Drew who still looked like a nervous wreck, "Don't worry."
Stu strutted down the hallways in search of his rookie. The Englishman was impressed with how she had listened to him before the match; his technique to get her to do things his way was pretty unorthodox but he figured it was working by the way she had shown off for him. He walked down an empty hallway, unsure as to why he had decided to look for Katie down there when it was clearly unoccupied by anyone. As he turned to go back, a closet door opened, a hand reaching out from the darkness and pulling him with force into the tiny room. She pushed him against the wall, the back of his head slamming into the shelf above, knocking off various cleaning products in the process.
"Ow." He groaned, rubbing the back of his head. "Fuck, that hurt."
Katie kept a straight face, trying her hardest not to laugh. "I'm not sorry."
"What are you doing in here?"
"I want my reward." She stared at him, running the tips of her tongue over the seam of her lips. Stu grinned before screwing up his face; his rewards were given out on his terms, not hers.
"What?"
"Yeah, and I'm hiding out because you told me this was supposed to be a secret. No one will ever think to find us in here."
"You want a reward?" He scoffed in her direction causing her to frown. "A reward for what?"
"Why the fuck are you playing dumb with me, Bennett?" She answered louder than expected, breathing harshly. Sighing to calm herself down, she spoke lowly so as not to be heard by anyone else. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. I did great out there tonight."
"Fine, you did well. You got the job done like I told you to. What do you want me to do about it? I thought you didn't want praise..."
"I don't want praise; I don't need praise. I know that I'm the best competitor in this thing. And what, do you have a subjective memory or something? Do I need to spell it out for you?"
"Tell me what you want me to do." It was Katie's turn to scoff; she quickly undid the tape from around her bruised wrists, displaying them in front of his face.
"You were rough with me earlier. See?"
"Woah, shit." He didn't expect her to bruise so easily; he must have been really rough with her to get through such tough skin as hers.
"Yeah, the girls saw the marks before I managed to get the tape on, they asked me what happened."
"What did you tell them?"
"Nothing, I didn't need to." Stu breathed a small sigh of relief; he couldn't have this whole secret agreement getting out to anyone; then it wouldn't be a secret at all. Katie continued on as if what she was telling him wasn't important. "They just think you're hurting me now." His eyes widened, his stare now focused completely on her, intense and overriding.
"Did you set them straight?"
"Yes. I didn't tell them the real reason I had the marks either."
"Good." Stu said bluntly, his fingers gripping onto her chin as he spoke his words. "Wouldn't want them finding out about our little secret now, would we?"
"Listen to me right now, give me what I want or I'm leaving you in here alone." She smirked, leaning close to his ear. "And I won't come back for you."
"Oh yeah? You and what army?" Stu licked his lips, feeling victorious; there was no way that she would ever get to him like this, she wasn't strong enough to hold him back. His smirk fell when he caught sight of the shiny glint belonging to the handcuffs that Katie held in between her fingers. She giggled, tracing her digits over the metal, undoing the lock and holding them out to him. He straightened up, his back flat against the wall. "You wouldn't dare."
"I wouldn't?" She raised her eyebrows, holding the cuffs open wider to accommodate for his large wrists. "You don't know me at all, Bennett." He fixed his eyes on her through the dimness of the room, still able to make out the sparkle of mystery in her brown orbs; they glinted with seductive cheek, she was being absolutely serious. Katie took a step forward to the man in front of her; he was clearly enjoying this enough not to move from the spot. She reached out with the handcuffs, ready to bind his own wrists, but instead tapped the metal gently against his clothed hip and hooked one cuff through his belt loop, securing it with a sharp snip sound. He looked down at her, slightly confused; she was having her fun, teasing him until she got exactly what she wanted. Her nimble fingers swiftly took hold of the other end of the cuffs, locking it to the radiator behind him. His hands were free but he was now unable to lunge at her if he wanted to get away. She kissed him hard, forcing his lips to part with her defiant tongue. Stu groaned as her hands ran down his chest and to the waistband of his pants, stroking lower over his confined manhood. Before he had a chance to respond, Katie pulled away, waving the key to unlock the handcuffs in front of his face. She glanced down at his pants; a tent well and truly pitched much to his distain. "Looks like you just lost the control."
"Give me the key right now." His tone was bordering on playful yet there will still a hint of demand. Katie smirked wickedly, placing the small key in her waistband so it was half-showing. She daren't shuffle closer to him in case he reached out to grab it, and she knew exactly how nimble his thick fingers were.
"You don't want to give me my rewards? Then I'll take them." Without another word, she backed further away from him and left the janitor closet. Stu attempted to break the handcuffs apart with his strength but for some reason it was no match, his hands were turning red from forcing the chain apart. It clanged against the cold radiator, the ringing resonating in his ears. He was completely outraged that she had one-upped him by teasing him and then making herself scarce; he couldn't ask for help, that would be way too humiliating, how would he even explain the situation?
Stu pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialled Katie's number; he needed to get her to come back and unlock the handcuffs. She was in so much trouble. He waited patiently for her to pick up, the call instead going to her voicemail to piss him off even more. Katie had managed to frustrate him to no end and what was worse; he was completely turned on when he really shouldn't have been. The beep alerted him to begin his unwilling plea for her to return with the key.
"Katie, I don't know what your fucking game is but you better get your arse back to this closet right now." His voice was hushed but firm. "Seriously, I'm not fucking playing about."
Lou and Chesca kept to themselves as they walked down the hallway towards the fire exit. Their intention was the make it out into the car park to search for Katie who had disappeared after the match. The New Yorker stopped in her tracks, digging her heels into the floor and pulling Chesca back with her.
"Hold up, Ches." She halted her movements and scanned the length of the hallway. "Did you hear that?"
They could both hear the low murmur behind a wall. "Yeah, where's it coming from?"
"Sounds like Stu."
Chesca retraced her steps, pressing her ear to the first door she came to. Her eyes widened as she listened to the seemingly one-sided conversation; he sounded really angry as he spoke. She pointed to the door, her ear still up against the grain of the wood, opening her mouth to signal to Lou. "He's in the janitor's closet, what the hell?"
Stu's words were getting louder as they both listened in to the conversation. "You're dead, Katie."
"Katie's in there with him, oh my god." Lou's mouth formed a perfect 'O'; Stu had obviously pulled her into a place no one would find them so he could hit her. "He's going to hurt her again; I was right all along."
"We can't just let this go on, Lou." Chesca pulled them both away from the door before busting it open dramatically with her foot. She stepped inside all guns blazing, her New Yorker buddy not far behind. "Hey, get off our frie-" She stopped upon realising he was alone...and handcuffed to the radiator. "...Wow." Stu stared at them like a deer caught in headlights before he closed his eyes and breathed deeply.
"Go and get your friend." He ordered to the two women. "I need to have a word with her."
Chesca was trying not to laugh, her hand covering her mouth, eyes creased. It was so good to find the guy who was torturing their friend in such a compromising position. Lou grinned, taking a step forward.
"Alright, we'll go and get her. Let me just do one thing first." She pulled out her phone, holding it up in front of Stu. His face illuminated with a bright white light for a second before he was blinded by a flash. He strained, lunging forwards in anger, the veins in his neck popping like crazy; they were clearly all in on this according to him. The girls stepped back into the doorway, giggling uncontrollably. "C'mon Ches, we should go and find Katie. I've got to show her this picture." They legged it out of the tiny room and make their way back to the locker room where Katie was surely getting changed, ready to leave.
Stu growled, his rookie was in so much trouble. "Chester! Get back here! Both of you delete that picture." He shouted, his voice cracking he was that pissed off. "You're all dead."
A/N – Thank you wades wife, alyssaanne, hOtlilmofo, ThatGirl54, xFindTheEnigmaWithinx, nefertina-shanf, wwemagpie, crazylilbitch and DeansTrueGirl for the awesome reviews. We appreciate them so much! :) Lou, Katie and Chesca x