Johnson City - Aidan Carlisle vs. Nora Harris

[Jana Rikar]

1 RP / 1750 Words
Deadline is 7/19 Noon EDT
Thanks!

[Nora]

“We hear things, back in the locker, you know. People talk. Everyone saw what happened during my match - J Fleck, someday I’ll repay you for saving me from getting squished by that falling lighting rig. The problem that I’m having here? Is that it wasn’t an accident and I don’t care who tries to say it is. We’re wrestlers, some of us put that ahead of even being human beings, true. And we all know that unexpected things can and do happen during a wrestling match. All it takes is one misplanted foot and you could blow your quad, a kick to the shoulder could tear your labrum, a bad landing off a moonsault and you could crack a vertebrae. Concussions, are always a thing. The list is long and sordid, but we still sign our match waivers and we go out there to entertain the fans. All of us have something, that got us here in the first place, right? The reasons on why are as plentiful as the injuries that we could rack up.”

Nora was standing wearing low slung jeans, and a tight white Forever 21 t-shirt, her bare toes wiggling against the carpet she stood on in her house. In front of her was a flat screen TV where she’d usually watch her Netflix but today was watching a replay of the last show.

“But to get to the point a bit? Just because we know the dangers doesn’t mean that we appreciate someone that deliberately adds to them! From the reactions ringside, from Bob, this is something that has a root cause that needs…”

A tiny shrug, but the shake of her dark haired head is far more serious.

“The root needs dug out, and I’m talking to the people in charge when I say this - unless this stops and right fast, who’s going to want to work here? If you go to the ring and get attacked, well, that’s wrestling but when a lighting rig falls it's either negligence or it’s deliberate. Just take care of us Jana, because we believed in Defiance enough to come here, and try to make our mark. Just keep that in consideration.”

She pressed stop and turned away from the TV towards where she’d propped up her GoPro camera.

“Now some of you may have noticed that I signed up for a match in another company. On July 31st I’ll be competing in Spirit and Pride Wrestling, up in Canada and I’ll be in a huge fight, with the most people I’ll have ever shared a ring with outside of training. I’m doing this for all of you - the fans, and my fellow Defiants. I’m getting our name out there, getting myself noticed. I’m going to work hard to make you all proud of me, I promise you that. I’ll be making rounds so to speak, not just in SAP, but I’ll be seen watching other shows and it will happen - I’ll get noted on the live shows, and people will hear ‘Nora Harris of Defiance Wrestling’. The opportunities are there, if you just ask. Walk up and get your shot! We’ve got a brand new inagural belt that is going to be won or awarded soon, and in Johnson City Tennessee at this week’s TNT we’ve got me, facing our Defiant Champion in the Main Event. Nora Harris versus Aidan Carlisle. It was bound to happen sometime - I certainly didn’t expect it now.”

Nora looked to be caught in a strange mixture of both excitement and trepidation as she shrugged.

“I’ve got passion for this business, I’ve got miles of heart. I’ve got a fight and moves no one expects from a woman my size. I’m a Harris and pound for pound we may never be the biggest dogs in any fight but we’re the loudest, the proudest, and the fightingest.”

She paused, and laughed slightly.

“Is that even a word, I couldn’t tell you. The thing is, nobody in their right mind is going to bet against Aidan. They call her the Alpha Bitch for a reason, it’s not just a catchphrase to sell shirts and lunchboxes. Everyone saw what she’s capable of doing to retain her title. It means a whole lot to her, as it should. She’s proven it has, time after time. Now I’m not going to stand here and run her down, because that’s ridiculous. I’m also not going to stand here and list out everything she’s done in her long career, because if she wants to? She knows them all far better than I do. They’re her benchmarks. They’re her markers, that let her know where she stood in those particular times in her career. She’s a premier athlete, she wrestles at a championship level even if it’s just a little throwaway match. She plays football, on top of that and stays in peak physical condition. This is what she does.”

Nora counted off her sentences one by one until she came to the end and shook her head again.

“Me though? Sure I may be on a personal crusade to convert the masses to the joys of having breakfast for dinner, and I may be really super fond of a certain ginger bestie, but I work hard, I keep up my training and I strive to learn new things. Will what I have be enough to defeat Aidan Carlisle and become the next Defiant Champion? I have the skills, and I was taught by a legend in this business the old fashioned way. I can’t compare to the experience of Aidan’s career, that’s a given. But this match is more than just ‘her next title defense’. This match is my first shot at any title, anywhere. That means I’m going to put everything I have to give in this match.”

A firm nod, her hands going to rest on her hips.

“I can’t promise you all that I’ll beat her. That’s foolish, as foolish as saying that anyone can beat anyone on any given day. It’s just words. What I can promise is that I’m going to use everything I know, every single bit, in this match and she can tell you that whatever I bring won’t be enough. That’s fine.”

She starts to walk away, then pauses to look over her shoulder, black ringlets spilling down her back and arm.

“She can say whatever she wants, she’s earned that right. But I reserve the right to disagree, and I am going to visualize myself walking out of our match with that title belt in my hot little hands.”

---

The package arrived when she wasn't home, the UPS driver left it with her neighbor that was always up all hours of the night and just as likely to be walking to the 7-11 at midnight as he was at noon. He creeped her out a little but there wasn't much she could do about that, and still get whatever this was. Package retrieved, she trotted back into her apartment through the porch sliding door, and paused to make sure she locked it before setting the box on the table. She didn't remember ordering anything, though from the postmark it could be from her mom, or maybe her brother. She struggled with the tape, because she still hadn't managed to get a pair of kichen scissors and at one point she even bent back her nail which caused her to let slip a word she rarely ever used even when she was alone.

Finally she tore the box open, checked for a merchant's packing slip, nothing. She removed the bubble wrap and then some loose paper, and what was inside had her pale just a little bit. She'd always sent Tommy emails, or wired him money. He didn't have her new address. She had a moment of panic, but then gave it a bit more thought and talked herself into thinking that maybe he got it from her trainer, his father. She held up the contents of the package, her stolen (and empty now) white leather purse. It was beat up, and the lining torn as she examined it and remembering how much she'd paid, how much she had adored it, she set it back in the box and burst into tears.

Nora got herself back under control then, and went to wash her face before she sent a few text messages to her friend. He might not understand why she was upset, but he always seemed to know just what she needed to hear.

[Aidan Carlisle]

Success was a funny thing. Subjective, so easily applied against many measuring sticks. It was arguably the busiest time in Aidan's ten-year career, juggling wrestling and her personal life with playing football for the Milwaukee Mayhem. It was a 'young' team, arguably a 'rookie' team, and they had come this close to the playoffs. It would have been easy to be disappointed at being one game away, and coming up short.

Strangely, though, Aidan wasn't disappointed. She was proud of the team and what they had accomplished. A 9-7 winning record earned them a get-away on the team owner, Rachel Frost's, private island, dates TBD. That was quite a reward in itself, but the feeling of accomplishment was even better, at least for the moment. Best of all, she was already looking forward to the next season.

Anticipation. It was something that had become foreign for a long time, back when she was in a rut and victories in the ring felt empty. That time was gone, and she wasn't sure she had ever been happier in life and in her wrestling career. At a little over four months as the Defiant Champion, with a few defenses under that title belt, there was no arguing that she wasn't still successful in the ring as well.

Success, naturally, was to be celebrated. Hence, for practically the first time since they had rented the place together before the start of the LFL season, Aidan and Claire's apartment was in a state of moderate disarray. Laundry was in baskets waiting to be done, gear bags were on the floor by the door. The coffee table had become a buffet of sweets and treats between the two couches, which had been shoved close enough that an outstretched arm from either of the women could reach the spread.

The credits of Mad Max: Fury Road were beginning to roll on the second viewing of the day.

Aidan craned her neck slightly to look over the coffee table and it's selection at her roommate.

“Laundry, or...”

Claire shook her head to the negative in response as she dipped a pretzel into the partially empty bowl of Pinterest-approved S'mores dip.

“One more time.”

Aidan had to admit to herself, she was glad for the answer. Shifting the remote from where it had been resting on her stomach to the arm of the couch, she sat up at last and stretched her back and shoulders. Claire, who seemed rarely stop smiling these days after the change in her life, was doing so now, and Aidan couldn't help smiling back.

“Feels good, doesn't it?”

“All of it.”

“When we started, did you think we'd do this well? I had hopes, but not expectations.”

“Same. I didn't care if we were the dirt worst, I just wanted to have fun.”

Aidan nodded her agreement thoughtfully.

“It was a big chance for WL and Rachel to take on us. I'm glad they did.”

Claire grinned.

“Paid off for them though.”

“That it did. Think we should ask for a raise for next season?”

They both laughed at that, though it wasn't entirely out of the question, given how well the two had performed for the season. As they looked over their array of snacks, Claire quipped.

“Maybe a food allowance instead.”

The thought earned a little chuckle.

“Only if they want to turn you into a defensive lineman as well. We are going to go have to go for the worlds longest run tomorrow to burn all this off. ...Or we could just sleep in, since it's the off season. We're allowed to get fat in the off-season, right?”

Claire feigned a thoughtful moment.

“Better check out contracts.”

“I'll call WL... first thing in the morning.”

Aidan pushed up from the couch, stretching again.

“Alright, ten minute intermission, then one more time.”

Claire nodded, standing as well. They both deposited a few dishes in the sink before Aidan ducked into her room. The Defiant Championship was laid out carefully on the bed, her ring gear all folded neatly next to it. The sight brought a little smile to her lips.

The smile quickly turned thoughtful as she drew her phone from her pocket and sat on the edge of the bed. She had put this off long enough, she supposed. It had taken a bit of string-pulling and truth-bending to get Nora's phone number from the company. After all, it was moderately suspicious to ask for an opponents' personal information. This time, though, there was nothing nefarious behind it. Taking a deep breath and collecting her thoughts, she hit that little green call button. Not surprisingly, it went to voicemail.

“Nora... So this is Aidan, and I know this is a little weird, but I was calling... to wish you luck I guess? I'm not generally one for keeping quiet when I don't care for someone, but I like to give credit where credit is due.

“I don't dislike you Nora, not at all. In fact at the moment you might be the only person on the roster that I do like. Before Adalynn peed her big girl panties and turned tail from the company, I was going to try talking to you about the possibility of being tag partners at some point. For now, of course, that's been changed by circumstance.

“More than all that, though, I respect you. And it's precisely because I do respect you, that I'm not going to hold anything back in our match. If you're anything like I think, you don't want an easy win. You want to win because you gave it every last drop and came out on top. You don't want a win because I half-assed it. Not that I half-ass anything, it's not my style.

“So at TNT expect a fight. Not just a fight, but the fight of your life. Every ounce of experience I've gained over the last ten years, everything that makes me who I am is coming your way. From the outside, and hell probably from your perspective, it's going to seem like I'm trying to kill you between those ropes. I owe that to myself, and you don't deserve anything less.

“You deserve The Champion, The Defiant Queen, The Alpha Bitch. If you walk away with the biggest win of your career and your first championship, then you deserve for there to be not even the tiniest sliver of room for anyone to claim that you didn't one hundred percent earn it. Let there not be even the shadow of a doubt.

“But make no mistake, I will be doing everything within my power to walk away still the Defiant Champion. I'm not content to be only the First Defiant Champion. I want to be the best, the longest reigning, the most defending Defiant Champion. Years from now when people look back at DWF, I want my name to be synonymous with the company. I'm not looking just for a championship reign, I'm looking to cement a legacy.

“Unfortunately Adalynn's cowardice put you in the middle of the path to that legacy. Maybe Jana thought you were the only one that deserved a shot at the Championship, to which I'd have to agree. Maybe she thought it was good for business. Hell, maybe she just drew a name out of a hat. Whatever it was, despite my like and respect for you, you've become an obstacle that I have to remove.

“And I will remove you, just like I removed Heidi and Trixie's hopes of even getting a shot when they faced me. Just like I removed Max from my path despite his best plucky underdog attempts. Just like I removed that pathetic garbage queen Kasey Summers from the entire company. You're better than any of them, that is something I won't deny. Hell, you're probably better than all of them combined, if I'm being honest. Nevertheless, I'm still going to remove you.

“You, however, I know will endure. Unlike Heidi or Trixie, you grow with every match instead of stagnating. Unlike Max, you don't let one aspect of yourself define your entire existence. Unlike Kasey Summers... Well I don't even really need to finish that, do I? I feel like making the comparison would be an insult in and of itself.”

Finally pausing to take more than a quick breath, Aidan almost ended the call there, but it didn't seem quite right. There was more that she felt needed to be said, even if she was unsure if she should say it. It wasn't that it was insincere, or that she thought saying it was inappropriate. It was simply something she did not say often. But fuck it, why not?

“I hope you actually listen to all of this rambling, and I hope that you understand. I think you will. When all is said and done at TNT, no matter what the outcome when the final bell rings, I'll shake your hand.”

An instant before Aidan hit the button to end the call, she heard the beginning of the warning that the maximum message length had been reached. Exhaling slowly to collect herself, she shoved her phone back into her pocket. TNT would come, and it would be a fight for the ages. But for the rest of today...

“Ready?”

Claire poked her head in the door just as Aidan was standing up.

“Shiny and chrome.”