Giddy from her interaction with the Kingslayer, Skylar rounds the corner into the women's locker room. She nearly collides with Dana Brooke.
"Watch out, slut!" The blonde woman shoulder checks Skylar on her way to the door.
"Excuse me?" Skylar snaps her head in the direction of the body builder.
Charlotte pipes in from the other side of the room, "You heard her, slut."
"What are you doing? Collecting men from different countries?" Alicia Fox adds.
Skylar scowls, "What the hell are you even talking about?"
"She's talking about that British guy you were fucking in Japan last week," Charlotte starts. "Then Finn Balor, or was he actually the first? And now Rollins? You're probably fucking Gallows and Anderson too aren't you?"
Skylar just stares at them dumbfoundedly.
"You gonna work your way through the whole roster?" Dana asks.
Charlotte quickly adds, "Or are you just sticking with the top guys? We saw you with your tongue down Rollins' throat earlier. Who's next? Roman?"
"I don't have time for this," Skylar stammers as she shoves past the trio of women to grab her bag. "And it's none of your fucking business who I date."
In a tizzy she high tails it from the women's locker room through the backstage area. Twisting and turning through the labyrinth of busy hallways fighting back tears. When she finally feels like she's far enough away from everything she stops and leans against the cool wall of the arena basement. Blinded by tears she sinks to the floor, unable to keep herself from sobbing any longer. She fishes for her cell phone with her right hand while the left attempts to wipe the tears from her eyes. Silently praying she taps on Kenny's name and hopes that he'll pick up.
"Hello," he groans into his phone sleepily.
"Hoshi?" She tries, and fails, to hide the emotion in her voice.
"Sky? What's wrong?" She can hear him sit up abruptly. "Are you okay?"
"No Hoshi, everything's okay," she tries desperately not to cry.
He grumbles, "Thats why you're calling me at six in the morning on a Tuesday?"
"It's still Monday here," she swallows. "I.. Uh.. Wanted to hear your voice before my debut tonight. Needed a little encouragement from my big brother."
"I've got my alarm set for ten AM so I can watch the show," he tells her proudly. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."
"Thanks Hoshi," she says quietly.
He talks to her for a short while more before she finally lets him go. Her heartbeat a little more stabilized she pulls herself up off the floor. Dragging her gear bag behind her she starts to walk back towards the more populated backstage area. Seth is the first person she sees as she crosses back into civilization. He reads the turmoil on her face and grows concerned.
"You okay?" He already knows the answer.
She nods unconvincingly, "I'm fine. I just need to get cleaned up for Raw... And I'd rather avoid the locker room."
He can see the conflict she's dealing with without her needing to speak it, "You can use my locker room. It's got it's own shower. And it's private."
"I'm already getting shit from the girls for kissing you earlier," she shakes her head. "I don't want to cause any more problems for either of us."
"Sky, did someone say something to you?" His concern is obvious.
She looks down at her feet, unwilling to admit that she's having trouble with the other girls. His soft look convinces her otherwise, "Yeah. I'm not exactly making any friends in the locker room."
"Use mine," he insists. "I prefer changing with the boys anyways."
"You're sure it's okay?" She asks guiltily.
He nods and pulls her close to him. His strong arms wrap around her shoulders as he places a light kiss on her forehead. "I'll let Finn and the boys know where you are," he promises. "Text me if you need anything. I'm just a short walk away."
She squeezes her arms around his chiseled torso and sighs into his chest. She mouths a thank you as he points her in the direction of his locker room. She manages to sneak through the halls undetected and slips inside. Skylar takes a quick shower and checks the time before starting to pull her ring gear on. She throws some sweats on over the top of her tights and heads off to meet up with the Glam Squad to prepare for her debut.
The girls swarm her, excited for her first time on camera as a performer. They get to work curling her dark hair and matching her makeup to her new gear. Silver and black everything seem to engulf Skylar and the team. When they step back to let her get a look at herself in the mirror she's blown away. Subtle curls fall past her shoulders. Blinding silver shimmer transitions into smoky metallic black on her eyelids. The fake eyelashes they had applied have two small rhinestones on the outside corners of her eyes. Her lips are stained with a deep blood red matte lipstick. She smiles and thanks the hair and makeup team profusely for working some serious magic then escapes back to the privacy of Seth's locker room.
She takes some time to admire the subtle details of her makeup before pulling on her kneepads and lacing up her boots. She poses herself in front of the full length mirror and takes a few photos. The completed look is the first thing to make her smile since kissing Seth. For just a few moments everything is okay. Skylar glances at the clock to check the time just seconds before her phone buzzes with a text from Finn. He lets her know that they're meeting in front of gorilla in ten minutes for their segment. She sends the photo to Kenny and gets a heart eyed emoji as an immediate response. She tosses her phone into her bag and slips out the door to gorilla.
Soft, sweet smelling leather envelops her as she walks down the busy hallway oozing confidence. She sees Gallows' head towering above those of Finn and Karl. His eyes catch hers and then they bulge out of his skull at the full sight of her. He fumbles for words, making his friends turn around to see the dark haired woman striding up behind them. The two best friends eyes find Skylar simultaneously, then their jaws hit the floor.
"God damn Sky!" Karl hoots.
"Skylar..." Finn's Irish accent stammers. "You, look beautiful." She blushes at their compliments. "Ready?" Finn asks, barely able to pry his eyes off of her.
The four former Bullet Club members make their way into gorilla as Alexa Bliss escorts Braun Strowman to the ring for his match with Finn. The crowd goes wild as Team Little Big makes their first appearance together to promote the Mixed Match Challenge. A few moments of quiet cleanses the arena before Finn's music begins. The pulsing heartbeat gets the fans riled up and on their feet. Finn is the first through the curtain with the good brothers close behind him. Skylar stays just behind the black tape on the floor beyond the heavy curtain fabric. She watches the monitor as Finn throws his arms into the air at the top of the ramp along with his music. Instead of throwing his arms into the air a second time, like he usually does, he points a pair of finger guns at the entrance way.
"B-b-b-Balor Club... For Life" booms on the speakers in a deep voice. Skylar's own music starts up after a bit of piped in static. The subtle nod to the actual Bullet Club theme in her music makes the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She steps through the threshold of the entrance way just as her name punches through a shining Omega graphic on the Titantron. Unsure of what exactly is going on, the crowd is quiet for a moment. When they see Skylar on the stage though they start cheering, madly. Finn smiles at her before turning back towards the ramp and leading the trio to the ring. He goes about his entrance, minus the arm raises, with Skylar at his side. He grins a huge smile at Braun and Alexa when Skylar steps through the ropes next to him.
Before the match begins Finn sends Gallows and Anderson to the back, but not before the group exchanges Too Sweets. This leaves Skylar on the outside in case Alexa interferes, and it doesn't take long before she does. Though Braun doesn't exactly need her help she's quick to trip Finn behind the referee's back. Skylar makes a hasty swoop around the side of the ring to where Alexa is. The blonde sees her coming though and retreats around the corner of the apron. She keeps an eye on the women's champion as the match continues.
Before Skylar can settle in and watch the rest of the match Alexa does it again. She takes off around ringside and tackles the champion to the ground. The commentary team goes wild as Skylar pummels Alexa. The emerging star is relentless as the blonde champion squeals. She raises her fist above her head but before she can send it crashing into Alexa's face again a hand catches her. A huge hand. She looks back over her shoulder to see Braun glaring at her while palming her fist inside his massive mitt. Slowly she rises to her feet while the monster stares holes through her.
She's lifted the remainder of the distance to her feet by the hulking mountain of a man. Braun growls nonsensically at her while Alexa skitters to safety. Skylar stands face to... chest with the big man as he continues to glower at her menacingly. Luckily Finn comes to her rescue as he launches himself over the top rope with a dive onto the monster, taking him to the floor. Skylar rolls to the side to avoid any of the collision. Finn jumps to his feet and checks on Skylar before rolling back into the ring himself. Unfortunately the dive only enrages the already angry beast. Braun clamors to his feat, roars at the time keeper and steals his chair. He tosses the heavy steel seat over the top rope as if it were a child's toy then steps up into the ring. Finn attempts to scramble out of his way but takes a chair to the back for his efforts. The referee rings the bell and disqualifies Braun, granting Finn the official victory. While Braun heads up the ramp with Alexa, Skylar rolls into the ring to collect Finn. She helps him to his feet, slinging one of his arms over her shoulders. The crowd is on their feet cheering as the pair makes their way to the back.