[Eiley]

OFF CAMERA
Location: Kaneohe, Hawaii
Date:Thursday, May 25, 2023
 

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While she had won her match against Ruby Steele and proved to those watching that she was the better protege of Mikah, she still didn’t feel any different than she had before the match. She had hoped that the win would have made her feel anything but numb, but unfortunately, that did not seem to be the case. It also didn’t help that she was gaining traction and garnering some attention to her and she could only imagine how that was going to blow up in her face in the future. But she was doing her best to try not to think about Dean and what had happened in London and she was doing her best at swallowing those emotions down and burying it under a lake of alcohol. She thought maybe the alcohol would help, but it hadn’t really done anything but make her feel even less than before. If that was even possible.

So here she sits in a bar in Kaneohe, Hawaii, trying to stay out of the limelight and to avoid nearly everybody but Mikah. And even some days she avoids her, knowing that the training regime that Mikah usually wanted Eiley to complete was intense, even if Mikah wasn’t the one training in the ring with her. And Kendall seemed to be just as good as Mikah and knew how to follow Mikah’s regime, which Eiley appreciated, even though she had wanted to train under Mikah but she understood that Mikah’s pregnancy threw a wrench into that plan. But Eiley had this coming week off from competing and she had no desire to leave the island for the mainland, even though she knew that Dean knew where she usually resided. But she hadn’t seen him since London and she was hopeful (as one could be) that he had given up on her.

She smiles at the bartender as he sets down another cherry coke and rum and she gratefully takes a drink from the glass through the small black straw.
 
•-•Eiley “Thanks.”
 
The bar was nothing too special this time as Eiley wasn’t trying to pull a scheme as she was taking the night off from that lifestyle. She didn’t want to be somebody she wasn’t for some rich tool that she did not really care about. It was another reason she was sporting a simple orange dress that was pretty much skin tight. It was not something she would wear to impress a man and it was more comfortable than she thought it would be.
 
○-○Oz “You’re looking aggressively mediocre. Not working?”

He basically threw himself down onto the barstool, with his back against the bar. He turned just far enough to set his empty glass down and motion to the bartender for another. From the look of him, he had been there for a while. That probably wasn’t the best idea for someone with a recent head wound, although nobody ever accused Oz of being the most intelligent.

•-•Eiley “I’d rather look mediocre than be mediocre like you.”
 
She doesn’t even look at him, not really giving him the attention that she believes that he wants. Instead, she focuses on the television in front of her that was playing some random game that she didn’t care about. She didn’t care to see his reaction or care to try to see if he cared about anything. She didn’t care at the moment anyways; her drink was much more important than him. She did not even care that he had chosen to walk over and sit next to her, she could ignore him just the same as if he was across the bar instead; it was the easy thing about distancing oneself from people in general.

•-•Eiley “But please, sit down. Your presence is so obviously wanted.”

She rolls her eyes in sheer irritation as she watches the bartender give him his drink of choice and she rolls her eyes again for good measure. She was not even sure why he was sitting this close to her at the moment and she had hoped she had picked an inconspicuous bar to lay low in. Apparently not.
 
○-○Oz “Mediocre? Please. All you’ve done is beat the lesser Pierce. Or lesser Steele. Both? Doesn’t matter….”

He wasn’t one to give anyone any credit, whether they deserved it or not. Although, she had gotten mostly positive feedback on each of her matches, while Oz ended the majority of his interactions in the ring on his back win or lose. It couldn’t have happened to a more deserving guy either. He had earned the beating he got from Kris. Austin James Mercer was another story, but Oz did more than his fair share of insulting him before their match. If anything he had been learning not to run his mouth like he did in his normal life.

○-○Oz “That’s why you’re clearly going to need someone like me. All I do is win, even if it’s ugly. People like you. I have the talent. Put us together, everyone wins.”

He took a long drink from his glass, emptying nearly half of it. As upbeat as he was trying to make himself sound, she could tell that he wasn’t the happiest about how his first few weeks in Sin City as a solo act had gone. After all, it had been bad enough for him to come running to her for a team up. She is quiet for a while, trying her best to ignore his presence and sips on her drink and orders another one once the glass is empty. She glances at him before sighing and reaching over as he goes to take another drink and she taps the bottom of the glass toward him, making it spill down the front of him.

•-•Eiley “I think it’s you that needs my talent, Olly; I’ve not made any enemies when it comes to SCW. Yet.”
 
She was quick to add the yet as she knows that her career is still young and there’s always that chance that she could fuck everything up and make enemies. But probably not to the extent that Oz had done.

•-•Eiley “At least I haven’t gotten my ass handed to me because I fucked over the wrong people. Or person, should I say?”

She just gives him a look before turning her attention back away from him as she tries once again to ignore his presence next to her. It was proving, however, to be extremely hard even if he wasn’t talking and she did not want to admit anything else to him. He finishes his drink and sets the glass on the bar before ever trying to pat himself dry. It wasn’t the first time that he had ended up wearing a drink during an outing. He usually tried to take it as a compliment.
 
○-○Oz “Sure, some people are going to get all hung up on that. Just like people are going to give you more credit than you deserve because you’re nice to look at.”

He laughed, and then spun around on his stool so that he could track down the bartender for another drink.

○-○Oz “You could have the personality of a bag of bricks, and they would still give you the time to go out in front of the crowd. I mean, at least for a few months. Think about it. That is what made all of our schemes work out. You’re great at drawing attention. Not much needed below the surface.”

She was trying not to let his words sink in as she notices that he was pretty much making himself at home next to her at the bar. She gives him a look.

•-•Eiley “You do know that you contradict yourself. In one sentence you’re telling me that I look mediocre and in the next, you’re telling me I’m nice to look at. It’s hard to believe anything that comes out of your mouth, Olly.”
 
She points it out but she wasn’t too bothered by those comments as it was pretty typical of him as it was usually a part of their normal, every day banter. Or every day banter if they were to talk every day. She wasn't sure if they didn’t because of her choosing to distance herself from everybody, on his end, or a mix of both. And most of the time, she didn’t have the energy to think about it.

•-•Eiley “Is anybody other than yourself giving you praise, Olly? Because last I checked, management was told by the best to give me a contract. I do not believe that you have those same bragging rights. However, you can brag that you got your pretty face all busted up by a Hall of Famer.”
 
She scrunches her nose up at him before thanking the bartender once more as she grabs her drink and takes a long drink from it, feeling the need to do so in order to deal with Oz.
 
○-○Oz “There is so much wrong with that. First, technically my face was busted up by a chair. And the  chair wielded by someone angry because they probably won’t make it to the Hall of Fame by their friends. Kris just made that possible for him. Without getting laid out earlier in the night, maybe I would have had something left to defend myself. I still won.”

He seemed frustrated at the fact that his new drink hadn’t come, despite the fact that the bar was fairly busy, and he wasn’t exactly taking his time drinking them. Although, if he had any respect for bartenders they probably wouldn’t have run into each other a year ago.

○-○Oz “And second…. I don’t think J2H would have been complimenting you if you were a dude. You lost. What good could he have seen in you, other than what you looked like standing across the ring. And you actually try to look nice out there… not like right now.”

It could have been the head wound, the drinking, or a combination of the both but Oz was being more hostile than normal. Maybe it was just that the comments were actually getting to him for once.

○-○Oz “...and that’s why you’re getting everything handed to you while I am getting beaten to a pulp.”

She is quiet for a moment, battling something inside of her own head for a moment as her eyes shift over to him for a moment before she takes a deep breath and attempts to push whatever it was back down. She takes another drink of her cherry coke and rum before setting the glass down.

•-•Eiley “As opposed to you where nobody sees anything good out of? Other than a human punching bag, of course.”
 
She glances at the door, feeling slightly jumpy but relaxes just a tiny bit as there didn’t seem to be anybody walking in that she would be remotely worried about. She looks back at Oz and gives him an annoyed look before watching the bartender mix up the drinks.

•-•Eiley “And you won on a technicality and I won by making Mrs. Pierce tap out, so therefore my win over Ruby Steele-Pierce is more legit than yours over whatshisname. And I have never been handed anything but a shitty hand in my life, Oliver and I have the scars to prove it.”
 
She does not elaborate as she sips her drink once more, letting the alcohol hit her bloodstream and wishing it would be quicker than it already was. There was a part of her that wishes she had stayed in Vegas as she seemed to be more invisible there and harder to find.

 ○-○Oz “Obviously you have to see something positive in me. I am not the one that starts drinking and leaving voicemails on your phone.”

It was a cheap shot considering that he had already taunted her with it at Climax Control. Though, if Oz thought that it was a button he could push, he was going to give it a shot.

○-○Oz “I know that you know I am right, even if you’d never admit it to my face. That’s more than enough for me. If I was so bad, you wouldn’t have agreed to team up in the first place.”

She clenches her jaw a little bit as he brings up the voicemail and she takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out as she looks at him. She was trying to mind her emotions the best that she could while she could also tell he wanted to get under her skin.

•-•Eiley “Maybe I felt bad for you, did you ever think of that?”
 
She gives him a look, trying to keep her voice even and her face void of all emotion. Sometimes, alcohol helped with that and other times it didn’t. This was one of those times where she couldn’t tell if alcohol was making it worse or helping it.

•-•Eiley “That voicemail…”
 
She hesitates, but only for a moment.

•-•Eiley “Was left when I was drunk, yes. But…I was also feeling different emotions than just being drunk. I’d had a great night with a better guy, so I was riding the high of that. Maybe it shouldn’t have been left, but it was. But it’s not all what you clearly want it to mean.”
 
Or at least, that’s what she was telling herself. The bartender finally returned with Oz’s drink, which pulled his attention, even if only for a moment. The annoyance written all over his face didn’t disappear once the drink was in his hand though.
 
○-○Oz “I thought it was pretty clear. I wouldn’t be surprised if it were just you feeling sorry for me though. You spend so much time feeling sorry for yourself that you’re probably pretty good at it by now.”

He took a drink from the glass, and kept his eyes focused on the screen straight ahead. She looks at him, narrowing her eyes at him before tucking her hair behind her ears.

•-•Eiley “I’m surprised that you could think that far. But you know what I wouldn’t be surprised about?”
 
She looks at him, her eyes locked on him as she contemplates whether or not she wants to say the thought running through her mind. She knew once it was out there, it couldn’t be taken back and she was not sure if it would be a low blow or if it would affect him or not.

•-•Eiley “I wouldn’t be surprised if you’d sell me out to…somebody just as you had them. You’ve already said in  so many words that you could do better without me.”
 
She just shrugs her shoulders at him as she grabs her drink and finishes it off and sets it on the bartop. She had to stop herself from spilling out Dean’s name as she hadn’t wanted to bring any other attention to her history. Or theirs? She wasn’t sure what it could be considered.
 
○-○Oz “That’d be pretty hard. Jaycee was easy to sell out because someone out there actually gave a shit where he was and what he was up to. Wouldn’t be the same for you.”

All of the words came out colder than what she was used to hearing from him. He was typically abrasive, but now it seemed like he was actively trying to be mean. Clearly she had struck a nerve by bringing up Jaycee. She wasn’t exactly sure on the details of how that all played out, but she knew that it hadn’t ended up good for Oz even if he somehow got to walk away from it.

○-○Oz “...not that I can complain. Since nobody else gives a shit, when I asked you to do the mixed tag thing you jumped right on the opportunity. Whether it was whatever feelings you have, you feeling sorry for me, or me being right doesn’t matter. It still worked out for me.”

She doesn’t say anything as she gets lost in her mind for a moment or two as she could only wish that was the case. But she just takes a deep breath.

•-•Eiley “Right.”
 
She couldn’t help but let the words get to her as she looked at him and she stood up, balancing herself on her own two feet as she looks at him. For the most part, her face remains emotionless and the emotion does not reach her eyes as she looks at him. She shakes her head at him as she grabs some money out of the side of her dress and throws it on the bartop.
 
•-•Eiley “Maybe it would be better if you found somebody who actually gives a shit then. Because I don’t, not anymore. Have a nice fucking night, Oliver.”
 
She doesn’t wait for a response as she walks out of the bar in a slightly hurried fashion. She didn’t want to give him enough time to follow her or stop her to try to get the last word in. She sighs as she walks along the road in the direction of Mikah’s Kaneohe house that she let Eiley stay in since she’d moved to Kailua.

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ON CAMERA
Location: Kaneohe, Hawaii.
Date: Friday, June 2, 2023

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“There’s never a better time to start something new other than when you’re already experiencing a high like no other.”

Eiley appears in view in front of the ocean, standing on the beach.

“I’ve experienced so much success since I signed my contract with Sin City Wrestling that I thought about ways that I could capitalize on that success. And that is the smart thing to do; everybody should aspire to be successful in whatever they do in their life and if we’re being honest, it’s human nature. However, some human beings do not have the drive it takes to be successful if it does not happen right away. And I can tell that there are some of those people in SCW already and I’ve only been around a short amount of time. It’s a shame, really.”

The wind blows her blonde locks around her face just a little bit and she glances behind her at the ocean before turning back to face the camera.

“There are many ways that people can measure success and people have different versions of success. But my version is the best.”

She lets a smirk roll off of her face with ease, not worried about the confidence now.

“Because I’m the best student that has been trained by Mikah.”

She knew that it was a bold statement, considering that Courtney Pierce was also trained by Mikah and was now the SCW Bombshell Champion. But Eiley would cross that bridge when she needed to.

“Is that bold to say? Probably and our current Bombshell Champion might disagree but right now? She’s not relevant at the moment because my success is not the same as hers and it will be vastly different. This time my success will be linked with my partner, Oz’s success.”

A slight blank look passes through her eyes but she is quick to change it to a half smirk.

“He’s currently being trained by Kris Ryans, who everybody now knows is alive and well. And who is Kris Ryans? Well, he’s a SCW Hall of Famer and recognized as one of the best in the business in SCW. His name holds a lot of respect in the halls of SCW, so therefore him being willing to train Oz must mean something in regards to what the higher ups see in Oz. Or maybe our opponents will see it as the higher ups putting their trust in the wrong person. But the fact remains that Oz and I as a team?”

She smirks once more, her eyes focused on the camera.

“Are going to be the next unbeatable team. Just like Mikah and Kris were in their second run. Where the higher ups had to shelve the mixed tag team championships because everybody was too scared to step up to the plate to face them. Because they knew that if they did go up against Mikah and Kris, they would lose. And that’s just what our opponents on Sunday are going to feel when they step into the ring with us.”

The confidence that her statement held reaches her eyes this time, which was definitely different than her first two or three promos.

“And their level of success is the level of success that Oz and I are going to have. I would say that is a bold statement but if it’s the truth, is it really all that bold? I also understand a lot of people have a hard time swallowing the truth and accepting what is. But there is not anything that either Alexandra or Miles can do about it.”

A simple shrug of her shoulders is followed by a smile as she thinks about the upcoming match and their opponents.

“You know what else that they can’t do anything about?”

She pauses for dramatic or theatric effect, whichever you the reader prefers.

“The fact that Oz and I are already better than they are. And this isn’t me being cocky, this is me stating facts. Facts that shouldn’t be overlooked. I will hang my hat on the fact that J2H endorsed me as a competitor. That is not something that either Miles or Alexandra can say.”

She was going to run with that as long as she possibly could. And she wanted to make sure that he didn’t put his faith in the wrong competitor as she wanted to prove that whatever he had seen in her, is actually there.

“Miles, I’m sure that you’re okay in the ring. After all, you had a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship at Into the Void. So you can’t be horrible in the ring and while Oz is new to the scene, I do believe that he has what it takes to beat you and to be better than you. Because I believe that he is better than you, even if he’s just starting his career out. You are just grasping for straws now, trying to find your way into a championship match once again at the huge show. But I’m not sorry to tell you that Oz and I are not going to be the ones to bend to your will because we want it more. And we will get what we want.”

She nods her head as she agrees with her own words.

“And your choice in picking a female for a tag team partner is definitely suspicious at best. You had the entire Bombshell roster to look at to try to find a tag-team partner for this opportunity to earn a spot in the fatal four way match, and you chose Alexandra Calaway as your partner. What I want to know is if you are clinically insane?”

She raises her eyebrows at the thought.

“Because who in their right fucking mind would pick Alexandra Calaway as their tag team partner. Miles, do you realize that you’ve basically chosen to lose before the match has even happened? You cemented your fate the second you agreed to this team.”

She just once again shrugs her shoulders as she looks at the camera.

“Alexandra Calaway has not won a match since she signed with SCW. She in all aspects is a loser in all definitions of the word. And does that make me sound like I am grade school? Probably, but is it the truth? Absolutely. You cannot sit here and call her a winner because she’s not. She has had no success here in SCW, not one little ounce of it. She’s nothing compared to me and what I already am in this company.”

The confidence she was showing was definitely something that she had gained in the past few weeks and it could be rivaled to Mikah’s or anybody else who had the same attitude as Mikah.

“I’m already more successful than you, Alexandra.”

She shifts her focus to Alexandra.

“While a lot of people would try to hype you up and encourage you to not give up, I’m going to be the opposite. You haven’t won a match here yet but on your resume on the SCW website, it says you have all these accolades from companies where you’ve previously worked and those accolades make it seem like you have at least tasted success before. But that brings up the question as to why you haven’t had any success in SCW as of yet? I’d like to think it’s because you are not as good as your resume states that you are. Because if you were as good as your resume states, you’d have won a match by now. You would not be this pathetic shell of what competitor should be.”

Another smirk crosses her face.

“Another reason that I think you’re not gaining any traction in SCW is that you went from a little kiddie pool, swimming with minnows to an ocean and swimming with sharks. The talent here is just that much better than the talent you’ve faced before in the companies you used to work in and you’re feeling miniscule in the grand scheme of things. And you should feel that way, because you’re not as good as you’d like everybody else to think you are.”

She shrugs her shoulders.

“Up until now, I’ve never been one to toot my own horn, so to speak. I was the person that did not want that attention. I wanted to be in the dark, working in the shadows so that I could get by and not draw attention to myself. But you, Alexandra, it does not seem that you’re the same. You listed your accolades on your profile as if it’s such a good thing that you’ve been so many companies and you’ve accomplished such things there. But how does that pertain to SCW? Because your success in those companies does not translate into SCW.”

She grins at the camera as her eyes glint in arrogance.

“I don’t give a fuck what you did in your previous companies because your time in SCW has been lackluster. And it’s laughable that you think that you even have a chance to win on Sunday. It’s hilarious because you and Miles have absolutely no chance in beating us. You both are not better than Oz and I and there’s nothing that can be done so that you are. You can try all you want on Sunday and I really hope that the two of you do but you’re not going to be better than Oz and I.”

She takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out.

“And speaking of Oz or Olly as I like to call him.”

She smirks to herself, knowing that Oz did not like her calling him Olly but she was still going to do it.

“We might not always get along or be on the best speaking terms. And I might want to watch him get pummeled every now and then…”

She smirks, knowing that the importance of her words would resonate more with Oz than anybody else.

“And it’s still probably going to be something that I might want to see, but it does not mean that he and aren’t going to be a good team. Because I already know how he and I are going to work together. We’ve been working together for a little over a year even if it hasn’t been wrestling related.”

She smirks to herself.

“Us as a team just makes sense; he’s already going somewhere here in SCW and I am also on the same route as he is. And while we are the most unlikely team in this tournament, we are going to be the team that makes it to the end and earns those belts. Because we know what we want and we know how to get it.”

The last sentence definitely had a double meaning that only Oz would understand. They both had similar backgrounds and she knew that he would understand.

“So, Miles and Alexandra, Sunday is only two sleeps away.”

She holds two fingers up and wiggles them.

“And that’s when your fate is going to be sealed as the team that lost to the team that’s going to win the championships at Summer XXXtreme. So you’re welcome for giving you something worth talking about.”

A smirk again crosses her face.

“Prepare the best you can. Or don’t, I really don’t give a fuck. All I care about is winning in two days time.”

She starts walking up the sand and the cameraman follows her. She glances at the sky before looking back at the camera.

“And I hope you’re ready to win, Oz. Because it’s going to happen on Sunday.”

She winks at the camera before looking down and then back at the camera, her signature smile on her face.

”Ciao.”

She continues to walk up the beach to the pavement as the scene fades to black.

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