Chapter 12 - Keeping It Kayfabe
Glancing at her watch for the fourth time, Lou winced. So she was now thirty minutes late; thirty minutes she had spent trying to decide between the purple lace and the black lace. She had bought both in the end. With her Agent Provocateur bag in hand, among others, she rushed into the gym immediately spotting Stephen at the back lifting weights. Her heels clicked on the floor, she still needed to change but she wanted to let Stephen know she was there first. The clicking echoed through the gym, attracting the attention of those she passed.
"Hey," Lou spoke quietly. She knew Stephen had heard her but he continued lifting. Her gaze wandered to his biceps, contacting and relaxing with each rep. "Stephen?"
"Yer late."
"I know but-" Abruptly Stephen stood up, the weights on the machine crashing together as he did. Wiping his brow quickly with the back of his hand, he eventually rested his hands on his hips. He gave her the once over, stopping on her bags then her heels.
"But what? Yer late because yeh needed to shop?"
"No. Well, yes."
"Yeh need to start takin' this seriously."
"I am taking this seriously! I'm working my ass off!" Stephen laughed. She was pretty sure he was laughing at her and it pissed her off.
"Ah'm not in the mood for this Lou. Next time, yeh don't let me down. Yeh can work ou' on yer own today." The Irishman moved around her but she quickly grabbed onto his arm.
"Ste, please don't be mad."
"Ah'm not mad, Ah'm disappointed." Those words hurt. She stood stunned, watching Stephen drag the back of his hand across his brow. "Ah've worked damn hard to get to where Ah am an' Ah expect yeh to do the same."
"You don't think I'm working hard?"
Stephen pointed to the shopping bags in her hands. "Ah don't think yeh are, lass."
Lou scoffed and shook her head before mumbling under her breath. "That's the last time I try and do something nice for you."
"What?" Lou narrowed her eyes and held up the Agent Provocateur bag for Stephen to see. His eyebrows shot up and she didn't miss the small smirk creeping onto his lips.
"Well that's fine; I don't want to work out with you anyway. I'll go workout with Katie if she isn't screwing Bennett." She spun around, eyeing the way she had just walked in from; honestly she didn't want Stephen to be mad at her, but she had started her little tirade and she couldn't quit now.
"Wait." She glanced over her shoulder, her eyes meeting Stephen's. He was joking, of course he was. There was no way he would be so mad over something so trivial. "Don't forget to bend wit' yeh legs when yeh lifting them weights." Lou narrowed her eyes and proceeded to give Stephen the finger before marching out of the gym.
"The casino later is going to be awesome!" Chesca chirped excitedly before blowing on her hot espresso, her fingers clasped around the small cup feeling comfortably warm. She and Katie were sat in the hotel lobby, chatting about most things in their lives, the conversation shifting to their upcoming evening in Las Vegas after the show. Katie took a sip of her caramel Frappuccino and set it back down on the coffee table in front of them.
"I know, but let's just get through this NXT taping first." She smiled at her half-Italian friend, pulling her phone out of her pocket to check the time. "I haven't even got anything decent to wear."
"Maybe we should've gone shopping with Lou. I mean, that's where I'm guessing she's at; either that or she's fucking Ste."
"Nah, I walked past the gym on the way down here; Ste's in the gym all by himself." He seemed completely focused; Katie didn't miss the intensity in his eyes as he bench pressed a heavy set of weights. She figured that was just the way he worked out, until the veins in his neck popped out and his teeth grinded together in strain. "The best bet is that the shopaholic is shopping." They both giggled, aware of their friend's shopping tendencies; she could sniff out a sale like a police dog could crack. The laughter between the pair died down rather quickly as their eyes followed Stu and Drew as they stepped off the elevator, both dressed in their gym clothes. They approached the rookies together, the Englishman immediately catching Katie's cold stare, a smirk settling on his rugged features.
"Ladies..." He greeted, taking the time to adjust the black baseball cap on his head.
Katie glanced at Chesca who rolled her eyes at their untimely interruption. She turned back to Drew and her pro, smiling sweetly. "Get lost." The Scotsman stepped forward, his blue eyes searching Chesca's face for a hint of confirmation that she wanted them to leave.
"Is that the way to treat ye' pro?" He asked, aiming his question at Katie but keeping his stare firmly on his rookie.
"If it's you or Stu then yeah."
Chesca laughed, drinking up the last of her espresso with the shake of the head. "Besides, you guys don't want to hear our conversation."
"Time o' the month?" Drew joked, earning appalled faces from the girls and Stu. Chesca's lips curled into a frown; that subject was never funny, just simply gross.
"Oh my god, no. Do you think that's what all girls talk about?"
"You're disgusting." Katie snarled, a grimace set on her features. The Englishman couldn't help but let a small smile brighten his face; he always found it hilarious when his rookie would chastise his Scottish friend. "If you must know we were talking about Ches' sexy times with Hawkins. So, do you want to hear about that?" Drew licked his lips, backing away from them and pulling Stu with him. He turned back to see the two young women giggling between themselves. Katie shook her head, taking another look at their retreating frames and speaking to no one in particular. "Didn't think so."
The half-Italian glanced their pros' way as they walked towards the exit of the lobby, turning her attention back to Katie and the conversation that they had started. "We have fun, by the way."
"Good, I'm glad. You deserve happiness." She placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it comfortingly; truer words had never been spoken. Her attention was back to the hotel entrance almost straight away, Stu's laughter boomed outside as he spoke to a few other colleagues. Katie shook her head. "Ugh, he's such a pain in the arse."
"Stu?"
"Yeah, who else?"
"Well Drew isn't much better. He keeps pushing for us to be best friends."
"He comes off as proper creepy, Ches." Katie's comment was followed by another snigger, even from the otherwise hard-up half-Italian. "You've got to watch that." For once, she agreed whole-heartedly.
"I know, he really bugs me. Now I understand why you get so annoyed with Bennett."
The Londoner sucked on the straw of her Frappuccino, the gurgling sound of her trying to devour the last of her iced coffee quietly sounded. To be perfectly honest, she had been trying to avoid her pro at all costs this week unless she absolutely had to be around him for training. It had been difficult to say the least. "We're better than we used to be." She admitted, making Chesca scoff.
"I'm sure all the sex makes everything a lot better."
"We're not sleeping together anymore. It's not like that; there's absolutely fuck all there."
"I don't believe you." She laughed, earning a glare from Katie. "I think you guys are both in total denial."
"Don't start..."
The New Yorker widened her eyes as she saw Katie and Chesca sat on the sofas in the hotel lobby; just who she wanted to see. As calmly as she could she stormed over to them, her heels echoing through the lobby. If she didn't want to catch any attention she was doing a pretty lousy job. As she reached the sofa she chucked her bags down, startling both of the girls before she collapsed into a heap and let out an exaggerated sigh. She waited for one of her friends to speak up but they both continued to stare at her.
"Are you not going to ask what's wrong?" Lou sat up, her hands gripping onto the hard foam cushion.
"Okay. Why are you being such a drama queen, you bitch?" Katie smiled and Lou rolled her eyes before pointing her finger at her.
"You. You and your little sex games with Mr. Potato Head."
"What? He doesn't look like a potato!" Chesca snickered earning a glare from Katie, but her attention was soon back on Lou.
"Look Katie, your relationship with Stu is ruining mine with Stephen." She blurted out, blaming the Londoner for her disagreement with Stephen.
"No, you're ruining that relationship. You don't have to worry about me and Stu, who I have to add again, does not look like a potato."
"Whatever. So Ches, who are you fucking these days?" Chesca's eyes were wide at Lou's brash question. "Ugh, I don't care anymore. I need to lie down." She shook her head and picked up her bags before dragging herself up to her room. The remaining friends breathed long sighs as they watched Lou enter the elevator bag-first, smacking people coming off it out of her way. Katie turned back to Chesca, still feeling defensive over the New Yorker's comment about her pro.
"Stu doesn't look like a potato, does he?"
The half-Italian shrugged her shoulders with a giggle. "Well..." Katie stood up immediately with the intention of heading back to her own hotel room for a bit before they had to head off to the arena; clearly Chesca agreed with Lou, but she just couldn't see it. She scoffed, rolling her eyes.
"You guys are lame."
"Lou! Wait up!" Stephen shouted down the corridor, watching his rookie drag her suitcase behind her.
"What have I done now?" He stood still, his thick muscled arms crossed across his chest. The hint of annoyance in her tone made him smile. He knew it wouldn't last long. As she neared him, her gaze wandered across his body before they shot up to meet his steely gaze.
"Ah'm sorry Ah snapped at yeh earlier. Ah just want yeh to get it in yeh head that no matter what goes on between us, Ah'm still yer pro. Yeh need to listen to me an' do as Ah say. Got it?" Stephen raised an eyebrow, waiting patiently for her response. His stance relaxed once she slowly nodded.
"I got it."
"Good, now go get ready. Ah've got somethin' to do before the show." Stephen took a step closer to her, taking one of her hands in his. He brought it up to his lips, gently pressing a kiss to the back of her hand.
"What do you have to do?" Lou asked, curiosity getting the better of her. Stephen smiled and dropped her hand.
"Nothin' fer yeh to worry over." With that he turned on his heel, briskly walking down the corridor.
Lou let out a sigh. Figuring things with Stephen would be smooth sailing when their interest first sparked; everything was now seeming much harder. Trying to shake those thoughts, she carried on her path towards the locker room.
Stu pushed open the door to the men's locker room only to be greeted by Stephen and Drew, who were immersed in a deep conversation. They both turned to him as they heard him step inside, identical smirks upon their masculine faces. The Scotsman laughed, making it clear that they were talking about him.
"Here comes the hero."
"Hero?" Stu questioned, his brow furrowed. "You know I prefer to play the villain." He chuckled, letting the strap of his gym bag slide off his shoulder so he could place it on the wooden bench in front of the lockers. "What's up?"
Stephen threw his t-shirt on as the Englishman began to go through his stuff. "Nothin'. Ah've been tryin' to sort things ou' wit' Lou practically all week. After we caught yeh wit' Katie she's been actin' weird around me. She reckons Ah knew about the two o' yeh."
"That was a fun morning..." Stu pondered, remembering the exact moment vividly. He wasn't as bothered as Katie was about getting found out, and perhaps that was obvious from his reaction and the conversation he had with her afterwards. For all of her defensiveness, he was almost certain that she would crack soon. "You know, she's a good girl when she wants to be. She may not listen to me during NXT, but get her in a bed or a shower, or whatever, and she'll do what she's told." Drew grinned, enjoying the banter which was unfolding between the three men. He walked up to Stu, placing a hand on his shoulder with a simper.
"Nice, ye tamed her?"
"She never needed taming." He answered, mirroring his friend's smirk. "She fucking wanted it more than I did."
"Was she good?" Stephen had finally piped up after a long moment; he promised himself that he wouldn't try to gather up information about Katie and Stu's dirty little deeds, more so for Lou's sake, but he couldn't help asking. He didn't want his rookie to hate him even more. Plus, he figured they were just beginning to make up after an unfocused week. Stu turned to the Irishman, his cocky demeanour all the more evident. Maybe he was a hero; he could say whatever he wanted and they would probably believe him.
"Oh, now you want to know, huh? Maybe I'm a gentleman; maybe I don't fuck and tell..." Drew slapped him hard between the shoulder blades; 'gentleman' and 'fuck' was such a contradiction.
"Come on!"
"Ah know that yeh'd tell us anyway."
"You guys really want to know? Because I could go into elaborate detail if that's what you really want." His delivery was very tongue-in-cheek.
"Wha' happened tae bein' a gentleman?" Drew asked, earning a quick glance from the Englishman.
"He got left at the locker room door."
"So, how was she?"
"Yeah, she was good." Stu nodded slightly with emphasis on the 'good' and a small smile, turning his attention back to his bag as Stephen and Drew exchanged a look, not quite sure why their friend had been so vague about his sexcapades with his rookie.
"Jus' good? Ah know yeh, fella. Yeh wouldn't carry on wit' the lass if she was jus' good." Stu took a seat on the bench next to his gym bag, rubbing a hand over his face.
"Look, mate-"
"Oh, Ah get it!" The Scotsman interrupted, a lilt to his voice and a brazen laugh escaping him. "The lass was easy!"
Immediately, and without any regard or consideration for his friend's welfare, Stu jumped up from the bench and all but lunged at Drew. He pushed him hard in the chest, shoving him across the room with so much force that his back smacked into the wall. Stu breathed harshly, shocked by his own outburst. He rubbed a hand over his face, trying to calm himself down. If anything, that gave it all away, but he still couldn't stop himself from reprimanding him for his jest comment.
"Don't talk about her like that, alright?" Drew braced himself on the wall behind him, the burning anger in Stu's eyes enough to shut him up completely; he knew better than to tease his friend when he was already seeing red. Stephen turned away from the pair; a small smirk graced his features as he firmly tied his wrist tape. This was exactly what was needed. Whether the Englishman liked it or not, he had made his true feelings for Katie loud and clear. It was only a matter of time before he gave in.
"Rookies," Matt Striker began as he addressed the remaining competitors stood in a line in the middle of the ring. "Tonight, you will compete in both a match where in order to win you must execute your pro's finisher, and right now, show us your charisma skills in a trash talk challenge. You will each have forty-five seconds to state your case as to why you should stay in this competition and the WWE Universe will judge the winner. Liberty, you have been selected to go first; please take a microphone."
The New Yorker glanced up the ramp, spotting Stephen who nodded in encouragement. She smirked, picking up the microphone, ready to address the WWE Universe. "Ladies and gentlemen, you are looking at your next NXT winner." Lou pointed at herself, hearing the crowd boo in response. She walked to the rope facing the titantron, eyeing up the pro's lined up on the stage. "And as soon as I've done that, I will take the diva's championship from Natalya." The crowd booed again, showing their love for their current Diva's champion. Lou turned around abruptly, taking a quick glance at the girls stood in a line across the ring. "I will destroy each and every one of you to get what I want." As Lou finished her little speech, Katie stepped forward and snatched the microphone from Lou's grip.
"Well wasn't that thoroughly entertaining..." She laughed bitterly, her sarcastic comment earning her a groan from the New Yorker. Katie glanced back at her with a smirk on her face; it almost mirrored Stu's when his persona was in full-swing. "I guess you've made it easier for me now that half the audience at home has tuned out having listened to your complete rubbish." The Londoner smacked her lips together in thought; she never claimed to be amazing on the microphone but hanging around with Stu had certainly increased her confidence. "Alright, here's the thing. My pro is the first winner of NXT; you might know him as Wade Barrett?" Her question was addressed to the WWE Universe. A chorus of boos sounded throughout the arena as the camera zoned in on Stu sat stern-faced on his stool, tapping a pen against his clipboard. Katie couldn't stop the laugh escaping her; no matter how much he didn't look fazed, she knew it caused him some grief. She watched him impatiently sigh, his thin lips pursed as he continued to listen, somewhat shocked as to what she had to say. "Yeah, well, he's bestowed a lot of knowledge to help me out, I mean, not that I necessarily need the help. Now, we may not get along but even he knows that I'm the most talented, most eloquent, most must-see competitor in this whole thing. I'm a winner and when I win NXT, it's not just the Divas that need to watch their backs."
Suddenly, seemingly out of completely nowhere, Lou lashed out at Katie from behind; maybe the Londoner should have watched her own back. The crowd roared as the two women started going at it, scrapping with each other in the middle of the ring. Chesca looked on, shocked that her best friends were so into the kayfabe storylines. Madison pushed the half-Italian over, her face smacking against the canvas in the process causing a dull ache in her mouth; the Raleigh native was still incredibly bitter over her loss against Chesca at FCW the previous week. There seemed to be some sort of alliance going on between Madison and Angelina, as they, in turn, began administering hard shots to Chesca's mid-section. The camera shot to all the pros, watching on as a full-blown brawl erupted between all the rookies.
Stu and Stephen dropped their clipboards down on their stools and set off to the ring at a slow jog. Lou was on top of Katie, getting in a fair amount of punches to the Londoner's head and upper body. She grit her teeth, wrapping her legs around Lou's waist in order to roll her over on the canvas and onto the mats below outside the ring. Her hands clasped around her neck, choking her and smacking her head against the floor in an unruly kayfabe attack; the crowd were on their feet bearing witness to the entire episode. Katie released her, only to place a hard slap on her cheek, the sound echoing throughout the arena; they had to make the fight seem realistic after all. The next thing Katie felt was a pair of strong arms around her waist, hoisting her upwards and away from the New Yorker. She didn't even have to turn around to know it was her pro. "Come on, calm down."
Lou managed to pull her hair as she was being dragged backwards by Stephen, angering her even more. Katie turned around in Stu's arms, her hands pushing him hard in his chest, backing him into the barricade. "And you can get off me as well!" The Irishman placed his big hands on Lou's shoulders, rubbing his thumbs over her skin in an attempt to calm her down; he leaned forwards, trying to talk some sense into her for the benefit of the rolling cameras.
"Yeh wanna beat her then beat her in the ring."
"Yeah, you're right." She breathed, running a hand through her blonde locks. Katie narrowed her eyes at her friend; they were setting up this match considerably well for an impromptu arrangement. Lou pointed a long finger in her face, her words laced with venom. "We'll see whose better."
"Looking forward to it." She spat in response, watching Stephen and his rookie retreat to the backstage area. Stu pulled her halfway up the ramp, the tips of his fingers a bruising grip on her arm. He was mad, but this was all supposed to happen for the sake of television. It was good to mix it up.
"You know, it was a good speech before the fists started flying." He smirked, attempting to lighten the mood but, of course, to no avail; that brawl had put her right in the zone. Katie sighed heavily before shoving him in the chest again.
"Leave me alone. I'm starting to hate you more than Drew..."
"Ye doun' need me tae tell ye how to perform my finisher," Drew said into Chesca's ear as he stood behind her in the ring. "Right?" The young rookie smirked as her eyes were set on Madison and Angelina as they made their way down the ramp.
A two-on-one handicap match had been decided to settle things between the three girls; at first, the half-Italian had reluctantly accepted the challenge. Since no other tag team partner was available, and since she wanted to shut their mouths all at once after the fight they had been having with her moments ago, she finally realised how she'd have only been having fun. Her self confidence had kicked in at the right moment; she had outwrestled Madison in FCW already, not to mention all the times she had given a beat down to the ash-blonde bimbo that was Angelina.
"I just need to decide which of these two is going down," she replied, slightly tilting her head to the side. "Then I'm all about the fun in Vegas." Drew rolled his eyes. He kind of imagined what her definition of 'fun in Vegas' would have been; he bit his tongue and approached the ropes as his rookie's opponents stepped into the ring.
Drew had to admit to himself that, maybe, he was a tad bit worried about the upcoming match. Handicap matches, especially against people who totally weren't the best wrestlers in the world, could be very dangerous. As he looked up at Chesca, he wished for her mind not to wander on the shenanigans she had already planned, so she would focus all of her being on Madison and Angelina. He breathed a sigh of relief as he saw that familiar concentration climb onto her face, and she cracked her knuckles on the other palm.
The bell rang, and the wrestler from Raleigh almost forced her partner to be the first one in; the blonde snorted, and with a flip of her hair she brought her fists up to cover her face, starting to walk around the ring. Layla, at ringside, sighed but still kept on trying to encourage her.
Chesca allowed herself a couple of seconds to think of the strategy she would have used in order not to lose. Actually, it was pretty simple; she should have ended it very quickly, never letting Angelina the time to run to the corner, and tag in the definitely more talented Madison. While she was at it, she should have also remembered to pin her using Drew's finisher, the Future Shock DDT, because that was the whole purpose of the match.
The two women locked up in the middle of the ring, the half-Italian managing to trap Angelina's head with her arm not too long after. As the normal routine of the sequence, the blonde brought both of them against the ropes, freeing herself from her opponent's grip and pushing her on the other side. Chesca bounced on the ropes and went running back towards Layla's rookie, who was supposed to leap frog over her head; yet, this time, Angelina didn't jump on time and high enough, and Chesca found herself being pushed on the mat with the idiotic blonde's crotch on her face.
Layla couldn't actually believe her eyes; she had her hands in her hair, and was shouting out in pain, all while Maryse couldn't stop laughing. Drew, instead, rubbed a hand on his face. He knew far too well that things like this made Chesca lose her temper, almost completely. For a moment, he actually feared for Angelina as he watched how his rookie had now stood up and, grabbing her opponent's leg, had dragged her back to the centre of the ring.
'Think of the load of alcohol you're going to swallow not too long after this, and just calm down,' the half-Italian thought; as her foot stomped on Angelina's abdominals, the now-dominant rookie brushed her hands through her hair, a long movement that was set not to make her flip out completely. She was too serious about wrestling not to get angry because of stupid mistakes.
Chesca leaned down so she could take Angelina's arms under hers and end everything with McIntyre's finisher; the match had just started, yet she already had enough and wanted to put an end to all of it. Still, she felt Madison's scream behind her before she would hit her on her back and cause her to lose her grip on the blonde. Chesca bent over in pain, as the North Carolina native tagged herself in by slapping her partner's hand, and subsequently pushing her away, causing her to roll off the apron.
Just like Chesca, Madison wanted everything to be over as soon as possible. She quickly threw her right arm around the back of Chesca's neck, ready to perform Maryse's Snap DDT, the French Kiss. The half-Italian however, after gaining focus once again, used her shoulders to push the other rookie right into the turnbuckle, earning a groan of pain from her. Drew had lifted his eyes right on time to see his protégé deliver a series of hard kicks to her opponent's chest, in a style that was more driven by rage than a pure and simple wish for victory.
Chesca charged her in a suplex, so she would end up having Madison lying on her back in the middle of the ring; she lifted her hand up, the crowd, cheering for her. As he saw her position herself in order to execute her own finishing manoeuvre, the Scotsman smirked. She could have ended up everything using the Future Shock already, yet she wanted to perform the Alcatraz in order to settle the score with Madison, to make her understand that she was the best one out there.
After her standing corkscrew moonsault, she took a breather and flipped her dark hair over her shoulder; it was clearly to mock Maryse, who was now jumping on the spot as frustration kicked in. As she had loaded Madison's almost lifeless body for the DDT, she looked at Drew while running her tongue on her bottom lip, and finally performed the Future Shock.
One, two, three; the pinfall had been scored perfectly.
"The winner of this match, Titania!" Justin Roberts announced, right as the referee had lifted the half-Italian's hand in victory; Drew, with a satisfied smile on his lips, kept on applauding her. Her resilience had helped her to win the match, completely overcoming even Madison's illegal tag. She had imposed herself and, as a pro, he couldn't help but be proud of her. He just wished he'd have been the one with whom she would be celebrating with that night.
Lou eyed up Katie, glancing down at Stu stood braced against the apron before turning her attention back to her opponent. The Londoner did the same, jumping on the spot a few times before the referee signalled for the bell to ring. The brawl that had taken place earlier in the night had pumped them both up. They wanted to put on a good show, but most of all, they both wanted to win.
Turning to look at Stephen, Lou found herself being shoved into the corner as Katie took the advantage. She pummelled her with punches until the referee started the five count. He pushed her off Lou, pointing a finger in her face with a stern warning; Katie held up her hands as if she wouldn't touch her opponent again, feigning innocence which everyone had obviously cottoned onto. She went to grab Lou from the corner, only to get struck by a sneaky thumb to the eye. Stu began his protests from outside the ring, shouting abuse to both the referee and Katie's opponent; if he wasn't careful, he would be told to clear off backstage. The New Yorker pushed herself to sit on the top turnbuckle with the help of her hands on the ropes, jumping off with an axe-handle manoeuvre to keep Katie on the canvas. She went for the cover, sticking an elbow right into her face; the count got as far as two before her opponent kicked out with a groan.
Immediately, Lou stood up, pulling Katie with her by her hair. She whipped her into the ropes with force, sending her bouncing back into an impressive spinning side slam. Stephen clapped his hands outside the ring, astounded by her choice of manoeuvre at this point in the match. Lou grabbed Katie's legs, attempting to contort them into a clover submission hold, but she was fought all the way. Katie kicked Lou in the back as she tried to turn, pushing her to the second rope. She clutched a hold of the New Yorker's neck, choking her out and using the rope as a pain resource; she dug her knee into the back of her neck and pulled the rope up so it tightened around her throat. The referee began another five count as Katie taunted Lou with trash talk, much to the amusement of Stu, who watched his rookie from the other side of the ring with his arms folded over his chest. She was forced to break the hold, and reluctantly did so, administering a painful spinebuster in the middle of the ring.
The crowd weren't necessarily getting behind either competitor; both had their shares of cheers and boos, but it seemed as though they were enjoying the action. Katie pulled Lou into a pin, gaining two slams to the mat by the referee before Lou kicked out, pushing her arm in the air to raise her shoulder from the canvas. The Londoner came off the ropes to roll over her opponent, snapping her neck forward to daze her momentarily. She let out a laugh, kicking Lou playfully in her sides as she lay rigid, her breathing laboured. Katie pulled her to a sitting position, feeling the need to impress Stu some more as he looked on. She dug her knee into the New Yorker's lower back, grabbing her arms and stretching them backwards. Lou grit her teeth, the pain in her arms and torso becoming unbearable. With encouragement from her pro, she eventually countered the move, kicking Katie in her mid-section and setting her up for a swinging neckbreaker.
Lou crouched down next to the turnbuckle, getting ready to execute the brogue kick. She could hear Stephen behind her, banging his fists against the apron to try and spur her on. The energy in the arena made her skin tingle; the feeling running through her body gave her the edge that she needed. Just as Katie turned around, Lou ran at her only to be met by a fierce clothesline. Her back hit the mat with a thud before she was swiftly lifted up and hoisted across Katie's shoulders. The Londoner let out a shuddering cry, as a mimic to her pro, and slammed Lou to the mat. The crowd were electric, having witnessed an impressive match. Katie dropped to her knees, stretching the New Yorker's arm out as she leaned over to get the three count.
As her hand was raised in victory by the referee and Justin Roberts announced her as the victor, Stu climbed into the ring and placed a hand on her shoulder. She couldn't explain it, but using Stu's finishing move had really empowered her; her eyes were ablaze with anger as she stared down at Lou, who had rolled away from her and retreated into Stephen's arms. The Irishman helped her out of the ring, lifting her off the apron and supporting her up the ramp as she clutched her waist with a grimace.
"Good job." Stu breathed in Katie's ear, stepping away from her briefly to raise her hand. "Good finisher, where'd you learn that, eh?" Perhaps for the first time ever caught on camera, the pair genuinely smiled at each other and revelled in her victory.
A/N – Thank you moxxie23, wades wife, DeansTrueGirl, ThatGirl54, Jojo Barrett, wwemagpie, hotlilmofo, xFindTheEnigmaWithinx and SavageWords for the awesome reviews. Stay tuned to a drama filled night out in Vegas with the rookies and pros. Katie, Chesca and Lou x