I'm Losing My Flame
-June 24, 2014; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-
Tessa held her head high as she walked through the Consol Energy Center. The argument of the night before was still fresh on her mind but it didn't take much to pretend that she was unaffected. People noticed, though, that she was walking into the arena with Rami nowhere to be seen. How could they not when it was the first time since April that they hadn't travelled together?
It had been discussed the week prior that she would put Cameron over on Main Event after some outside interference from Alicia Fox. Nothing about that bothered her in the slightest, she hadn't had a 'no lose' stipulation written into her contract, but the idea of losing just made her feel worse than she already did. There would be no match for her on Raw just accompanying Sami Zayn to the ring like normal. Only it wouldn't be normal because they hadn't spoken in nearly 24 hours.
"There you are!" Cameron chimed when Tessa walked into the locker room. "I saw Rami nearly half an hour ago, you're just getting here?"
"Yeah, I had some things to do this morning."
They spent the next few minutes talking over some key points of their match – they had six minutes for their match resulting in enough time for a few spots, some crowd pandering and for Alicia to get involved, grabbing Tia's ankle as she ran at the ropes resulting in her face planting and Cameron getting the win off the distraction.
Going their separate ways after their talk, Tessa found herself wandering towards Gorilla, interested in checking out the ring before the night started. There was something therapeutic about sitting in the middle of an empty ring in an empty arena.
"Tessa!" The loud voice broke through the silence and caused her to look up to the ramp. She furrowed her brow when she saw John Cena walking towards her. "You got a minute to talk?"
"I'm not doing much else," she said warily. She and John had had a few conversations but none had ever started so seriously. "Everything okay?"
"I'm not exactly sure," he sighed as he sat down beside her. "It's about last night."
"Last night?" She asked, pretending she didn't know what he was talking about. The look on his face told her that he knew she was lying. "What about last night?" He paused and tried to work out how he wanted to word his next sentence.
"They caught it on camera," he revealed, hating that her face crumbled.
"Me, Rami and Colby? On camera?" John nodded. Tessa closed her eyes and swallowed the lump in her throat. Her stomach had dropped.
"The Total Divas' cameramen were hanging around and they're drawn to arguments."
"And something's going to happen, right? Or you wouldn't be telling me about this?"
"I don't know what's going to happen but they're talking about a few things."
Tessa drew in a deep breath and smiled weakly, "Thank you for warning me." John leant forward and patted her knee comfortingly. "What do I have to do?"
"Stephanie's going to ask for you in about ten minutes, just go in and explain the situation."
"Plead my case?"
"Yeah," he agreed sadly. "Plead your case."
He left her in the middle of the ring. She spent the next fifteen minutes just sitting there, Indian style and barefoot, thinking about all the possible ways Stephanie could go about punishing her. There was the knowledge, all throughout the heated conversation, that if they were caught there would be consequences. It was causing problems, they were handling their business during work hours – they were being unprofessional.
She gathered her hair over her shoulder and turned her head to face the ramp. Stephanie McMahon herself was walking towards her, looking more serious than Tessa had ever seen her. Tessa clamoured to her feet, pulling her shorts down because they'd ridden up.
"Ms. McMahon," Tessa greeted her boss after she'd jumped out of the ring – between the bottom and middle ropes just as usual.
"Miss Scobille, I was wondering if I could speak with you in my office?" Tessa nodded, it occurred to her that Stephanie rarely, if ever, went in search of the talent. It wasn't unusual for her to wander around backstage but for her to actively seek out someone she wanted to see in her office... Tessa knew that she was in serious trouble. The Diva followed her boss, engaging in small talk that was obviously designed to deter thoughts that Tessa was in trouble. Every question about signings or her family made her more uneasy.
She sat down opposite Stephanie when they reached her office and waited patiently for Stephanie to speak to her.
"Do you know why I want to speak to you, Tessa?"
"It's about last night, isn't it?"
Stephanie nodded, "We knew of the history between the three of you long ago and I would be lying if I said that we thought nothing was going to come of it. Especially when the idea was pitched to have Tia be Sami Zayn's girlfriend."
"This would have happened anyway," Tessa whispered. "Everything was kind of just swept under the rug... It was bound to come back out one day. I just wish it hadn't happened at work."
"I wish it hadn't happened here, either." Stephanie's grave tone made Tessa close her eyes and take in a deep breath.
"Is this the part where I get suspended?
"No, we don't want to suspend you. Though we are going to give you some time off to rest your knee," Stephanie said slowly. Tessa's mouth pulled into a thin line. "You were saying a few weeks ago that your surgically repaired knee was causing you troubles."
Tessa was ready to argue her case and explain that her knee had always caused her grief, that she was finally regaining confidence in the ring, but she quickly realised that this was the company's way of suspending her without really suspending her.
"How long?"
"We'll bring you back at Battleground." Tessa sighed, that was nearly a month away from the ring. She would miss the y in the Bank Pay Per View and her match on that card.
"And the title?" It wasn't a question Tessa wanted the answer to but it was one she needed.
"We're going to strip you of the title for displaying behaviour that is unbecoming of a champion. In kayfabe it will be because of your knee."
"And the storyline with Sami and Dolph?" The plan had originally been to start teasing a split and Tia's heel turn on Sunday, but that obviously wasn't going to happen now.
"We discussed you returning during their match at Battleground, looking to help Sami only to turn around and reveal that you've spent the past few weeks with Dolph," Stephanie stated, a sad smile on her face. Tessa couldn't quite work out why Stephanie looked sorry for her. She would take what sympathy she could get, though, especially from the people in charge. "Tonight we'll have the commentators explain your absence by telling everyone that you started yelling at Zayn and accusing him of being the reason you've been losing and then blame him for your knee playing up. You'll have asked for some space." Tessa took a minute to think over the change in storyline, it made enough sense to her. Enough sense for the WWE, anyway. The next question she already knew the answer to.
"When does the time off start?"
"It's effective immediately," Stephanie said and Tessa couldn't even pretend she hadn't been suspended. She had no say in it at all, how was it any different to a suspension other than different wording on the press release? "Someone will tell Cameron that her match is now against Emma and we'll let Sami Zayn know that you'll no longer be accompanying him to ringside."
"Can I?" Tessa asked quickly, "Tell them both?"
"Are you sure?" Stephanie looked at her curiously, the hesitation caused by the possibility of another backstage altercation.
"Rami and I won't get into a fight. It takes all three of us to cause trouble." A thought crossed her mind and she looked at Stephanie for a moment before she decided it was a question worth asking. "What about the guys?"
"Rami," Tessa took note of the use of his real name, something Stephanie had avoided the entire conversation, "was fairly uninvolved from what I saw on the footage and Colby's in the middle of a huge push at the moment with The Authority and you've no doubt heard that he's slated to win the contract..."
"Right," Tessa said tersely with a nod. "I suppose I should go speak to Cameron and get the belt for you."
"Thank you, Tessa. I'm sorry it had to be this way."
"Yeah, me too."
The walk back to the locker room was done in much the same manner as when Tessa arrived. She held her head high and showed no signs of being upset. John spotted her and gave her a supportive smile when she walked past but he didn't speak to her as he was unsure if she had been to see Stephanie yet.
All of the Divas were in the locker room when she returned – The Bellas getting ready for their match on Raw with Eva and Summer getting ready to be in opposing corners. They smiled at her but continued getting changed. Tessa pulled Cameron over to the side, inadvertently getting the attention of everyone. She was not only talking to Cameron but every Diva in the locker room. AJ Lee included.
"Our match isn't happening tonight."
"Oh? Why not?"
"My knee isn't holding up too well, I've been given some time off and that starts tonight. You're going to face Emma but it'll play out exactly the same." Most of the other girls let it go at the explanation, understanding that Tessa had been working overtime recently.
"Are you okay?" Cameron asked, looking down briefly at Tessa's knee.
The champion nodded with a smile, "I'm fine. It's just a precaution." Cameron smiled back and continued her stretches when Tessa made to grab her championship and leave the room. Nikki followed her from the room with a concerned expression.
"You're leaving, huh?" She asked me, walking right beside me.
"Time off until Battleground." Tessa didn't look at Nikki instead keeping her eyes firmly ahead of her. Her next stop was Rami. "I had surgery to repair my left knee in 2010 and the meniscus isn't exactly reliable once you tear it apart."
"Why are you lying?" Nikki asked, causing Tessa to stop in her tracks. "Yeah, I know that you're lying. You do it a lot actually. It's pretty fucking annoying if I'm going to be honest."
Tessa's face said it all, her mouth hanging open, her eyes wide and her skin pale. "How'd you know?"
"John told me," Nikki said with sad eyes. "Why lie? Why lie all this time? You've got me wondering exactly how much you said in the beginning was true, you know? Over time I started to get to know you better and things started to click."
"It's just easier," Tessa frowned. "The truth is hard, frustrating and upsetting."
Nikki sighed, "We're in this together, Tessa. We're friends. Probably best friends by now. Why are you leaving?"
Tessa sucked in a deep breath as she went to recount her meeting with Stephanie. Her lip started to quiver. She told Nikki that she was being forced to take leave and that they were stripping her of the title. The belt itself was hanging by her side as she gripped it tightly in her hand.
"You know what I did? I fucked up." Nikki was shocked by Tessa's curse. In all the time they had known each other, Tessa had never sworn. Tessa noticed the reaction. "I did. I fucked up. Everything that happened last night... I'm the Triple H of this Kliq and the Lita of this situation."
The hug Nikki pulled Tessa into was the last thing Tessa needed to break into tears. She held onto Nikki tight, gripping onto her shirt. She sobbed into Nikki's shoulder and felt circles being rubbed on her back.
"We all fuck up, okay? You've admitted it. Now you just have to make it right."
It took half an hour for Tessa to work up the courage to speak to Rami. She dropped the Divas Championship off at Stephanie's office, not staying any longer than she had to for fear of the tears starting again, and then made her way to the locker room Rami was supposed to be in.
Her knock on the door was weak but the room silenced so she knew that it had been heard. As was common practice, she stood to the side and face the opposite wall just in case someone in the background of the room wasn't decent.
"I don't think that's a good idea."
"Claudio," Tessa sighed when she heard the familiar accent. "Just quickly. There's been a change of plans." Claudio groaned and the door shut. Tessa looked over her shoulder quickly and jumped slightly when it opened only moments later.
"Change of plans?" Rami asked, straight to the point.
"Can we-?" Tessa asked, pointing down the hall a little ways. Rami hesitated but, upon noticing that her eyes were bloodshot, nodded. They didn't have to go far, just far enough away that the entire locker room didn't hear them. "Last night..." Rami flinched at the mention. "It was caught on camera."
"What?" he asked, leaning forward slightly to make sure he was hearing properly.
"Someone from Total Divas heard us and decided to film it," Tessa explained. "They showed it to Stephanie and probably every other important person in the company."
"What does that mean?"
"I've basically been suspended." Tessa swallowed harshly when Rami looked down at her in obvious worry. "They're taking the title from me. Tia and Sami ends tonight because she got angry and told him that he was the reason she kept losing, the commentators will explain it all via commentary. I suppose you just go out there and look a bit sad."
"When do you get to come back?" Rami asked in a soft voice. His hand twitched by his side but he stopped before he tried to comfort her.
"Battleground. That'll be the start of Sami, Tia and Dolph."
Rami nodded, "Right."
"That was it," Tessa shrugged, looking at her feet. "That's all." She faked a smile when she turned to walk away but she was stopped when Rami gently held her wrist.
"Are you okay?"
"I should be asking you that question," Tessa choked, tugging her hand back.
"You don't have to worry about me."
Tessa told him, doing her best to look him in the eye, "I'm always going to worry about you."
Her heels on the concrete were the only sound as she walked away from him. She couldn't hold her head up anymore.
Hurricane Tessa had well and truly hit, but one has to remember that they eye of the storm only brings a temporary calm.
Fade to black.
a/n I've had this chapter sitting in the folder forever. It was one of the first things I wrote for this story and actually hasn't changed much since I first wrote it. Thank you to everybody who has made it to the end of FTB and followed Tessa through this phase of her life. From The Ashes will start at Battleground 2014 and end around Christmas.
Thank you to starsxhearts23, Straight Edge Queen, CarolReigns, alibob687, Star-Moonlight1 and Guest reviewing the previous chapter! I hope you all stick around for the sequel!
That poll is still running, guys!