OFF CAMERA
Location: Vimy, France.
Date: May 9, 2024
 

Eiley sighs as she walks through another tourist spot in Vimy, France and was not finding what she wanted. She was trying to find a spot that she wanted to film her promo for Sunday’s episode of Climax Control. But everything had been a little too touristy and she wasn’t sure if that’s what she wanted. She had done the private tour of Vimy Ridge and Arras battlefields the day before but it wasn’t what she was looking for. She had looked at the many different museums that the place had to offer but they hadn’t worked either. She couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was she was looking for but she knew it wasn’t any of those. She stops just outside of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial and looks at it. She knew that there was going to be people around but she could see the potential for a promo spot.

••eiley•• “This could be it…”

She turns to look around her before frowning as she sees Kaleb walking up to her. She just gives him a half smile as he stops alongside her.

ΘKALEBΘ “Is this it?”

He gestures at the buildings in front of them and she moves her body back so that it was facing the buildings. Her eyes scan over them before she looks over at him, a slightly worried look in her own eyes.

••eiley•• “What…are you doing here? I didn’t…think that you were supposed to be..you know…here.”

Her voice was hushed as if she didn’t want her words to be heard but it wasn’t like anybody around them was paying them any attention. But the worry in her eyes showed him that she was worried about somebody noticing them and hearing her words as well.

ΘKALEBΘ “Don’t worry, everything’s fine.”

He places a hand on the small of her back as a way to reassure her that things were fine. However, the look on her face screams that it did nothing to comfort her or reassure her worries. She carefully brushes his hand off of the small of her back and she steps just two steps closer to him, trying to ensure that they were the only two that would be able to hear one another.

••eiley•• “You don’t know that. People could see you, see me, see us together.”

There was a sense of urgency to her voice and it was not lost on Kaleb. He tries to give her a look to tell her to calm down without actually saying the words. But she didn’t seem to calm down at all as her eyes darted around, trying to see if she recognized anybody that was around them. Kaleb rolls his eyes, annoyed with the blonde’s actions and behavior and only wanted her to calm down and not freak out in front of everybody that was at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial as he knew it would only draw attention to them if she were to act out. He gently pulls her into him and hugs her, the gesture looking sweet to those who would look at them but the feeling was different for her as it was tight and his lips are close to her ear as he whispers.

ΘKALEBΘ “You need to calm the fuck down. Nothing is wrong and nobody is going to see us together. Nothing is going to happen, just fucking calm down. Got it?”

His whisper had been harsh and she just simply nods her head in response to what he was saying. She didn’t want to rock the boat and she didn’t want to upset him anymore than he seemingly already was because of the anxiety that was eating at her.

••eiley•• “Okay, I’m sorry. I just wanted to be sure, I want everything to be perfect.”

He lets go of her, releasing her from the hug and she takes a deep breath in through her nose and slowly lets it out through her mouth. She adjusts the shirt she is wearing to smooth out any wrinkles that his hug had caused.

ΘKALEBΘ “So you think this is the perfect location? Something that you’d pick?”

He looks at her and she could tell that he was putting her to the test. She looks at the memorial buildings in front of them and studies them for a moment, trying to decide if this was it. If this was the place where she wanted to film her promo against Diamond Steele and Jayden Harris. She slowly turns her head to look at him before slowly nodding her head to confirm that it was.

••eiley•• “I think so…it is important to this city, and I know that it would hold some sort of importance in the background of the promo piece. I think the importance of the buildings will be enough without explaining why.”

She looks back at the buildings as she contemplates the ideas that move easily through her head.

ΘKALEBΘ “You have to be sure. We can’t afford to be wrong; we cannot ever afford to be wrong, Eiley. Things always have to be spot on.”

The firmness to his voice was not lost on her, either. The tone of his voice matches the look in his eyes as well. She knew what was at stake and she knew exactly what he was talking about and she nods her head at him.

••eiley•• “It’s not wrong, it’s the right choice for what I want and what I want to do. I don’t need anything flashy for my vision. I don’t want the focus of the promo to be on the memorial but instead on me. I want myself to be the focal point of the promo this time and I want to direct it at what is important, and I don’t think the past is important.”

She was trying her best to put emphasis that the past was not important and that it was all about the future. She tried to hold the conviction in her voice as she confirmed the choice she made by looking over at him.

ΘKALEBΘ “Good. What else?”

He presses her for more and she frowns for a moment, looking at him as she tries to think about what he could possibly mean. But in her mind, she was drawing blanks. She couldn’t think about what else there could be or if there even was anything else that could be added. She was sure that he was testing her, but she wasn’t entirely sure, either. His moods were often hard to navigate and she was doing her best not to upset him again.

••eiley•• “What…else? I … um…”

She stumbles over what else there could be or what he was trying to get at. She couldn’t find anything else that he might be talking about and her eyes meet his, the anxiety written in her own. She knew he was trying to get her to think about what else there could be.

ΘKALEBΘ “Think, Eiley. What else could you need?”

He pushes her toward something but she still couldn’t put it together in her own brain. She looks around, her eyes scanning the people that were also visiting the memorial before she sighs.

••eiley•• “I don’t think I need anything else, Kaleb. I just need me and those buildings to be in the background. I know you think I need something flashy, but flashy sometimes doesn’t always work. I tried to change it up last week and I feel like I failed and that Mark and I just barely got by with the win against Aiden Reynolds and Melissa. I can’t afford for that to happen this time. The focus has to be on me this time, nothing else.”

He looks into her eyes, holding them for the moment before smirking and nodding his head. She relaxes, seeing that she had gotten his approval. She looks at the memorial once again as she lets her body and her brain relax. She wanted the anxiety to disappear as she thinks about the upcoming promo that she would have to record for Sunday’s match against Diamond Steele and Jayden Harris.

ΘKALEBΘ “Good, because that’s what the focus needs to be from here on out. You, nobody else.”

A frown falls on her face as she processes his words and she slowly turns to look at him. A slight confused look in her eyes as she contemplates on how to respond to his statement.

••eiley•• “And Mark Cross, he’s my tag team partner for this tournament. I just can’t disregard him and cast him aside like he doesn’t mean anything. He’s important for this match and for my own success.”

This time, it was Kaleb’s turn to frown.

ΘKALEBΘ “He might be your tag team partner, Eiley, but he’s not what is important. You are what is important and proving yourself is what is important. It is why you came back, right? To prove yourself?”

She slowly nods her head, looking at him. It was something that they had discussed as it was something that she wanted more than anything.

••eiley•• “Yes…I want to prove myself to everybody. To prove I have what it takes to be the best.”

Kaleb grins at her.

ΘKALEBΘ “Good then Mark will only be something that will only be helpful to you in advancing in the tournament to get you what you want. Nothing more, nothing less.”

She seems conflicted for a moment, trying to decide how she felt about what Kaleb was saying. She didn’t necessarily agree with him about her tag team partner but she wasn’t going to upset him by openly disagreeing with him, either. She was learning how to navigate his moods and she didn’t want to set him off.

••eiley•• “O-okay. But there’s no need to not let the focus be on him, too. It’s not going to hurt me if the attention is on him too. It will only benefit the both of us if we are in the focus and in the spotlight. It doesn’t mean anything else.”

Kaleb just smirks a little bit.

ΘKALEBΘ “If that’s what will help you propel yourself into the main event, then that’s what you need to believe. I am not saying that you shouldn’t trust your partner, I’m just saying that in your promo, you need to be the focus. Because what you have to say is important.”

Eiley nods her head as if she understands where he was coming from. She takes a deep breath again and then slowly lets it out once more. She was trying not to get on his bad side as she didn’t like to see the angry side of him, the side of him that he rarely let out unless he couldn’t control it.

••eiley•• “Right. I’m just planning on sitting on the sidewalk with the buildings in the background. I don’t think I am even going to mention them, just let them be in the background. I know it’s not usually something that they would like and I’m almost sure that mentioning them might be good, but I think making my focus me is more important.”

Kaleb nods his head, agreeing with what she was saying. Kaleb watches her, taking in her body language as she seems to become a little more comfortable in his presence.

ΘKALEBΘ “I agree. Now let’s go find something that you can wear for the promo that will make you stand out.”

She shakes her head no, this time openly disagreeing with him. This movement makes him raise an eyebrow in curiosity but he doesn’t really react yet, letting her speak.

••eiley•• “Nothing flashy. Just a pair of jeans and a cropped tee. Nothing flashy, nothing special. I don’t want them to take anything away from my words.”

He grins at her, seemingly proud of the idea that she had in her own mind for her promo piece. She smiles back at him, seemingly happy that she has gotten his approval for the idea she was talking about.

ΘKALEBΘ “Perfect.”

The two of them turn to walk away from the memorial, leaving their thoughts there. The two of them walk towards the parking lot where the vehicle that Eiley had been driving was parked. Kaleb pulls her into him in front of the car and hugs her gently this time and she relaxes into him just a little, hugging him back as the anxiety melts away.



ON CAMERA
Location: Vimy, France..
Date: May 10, 2024.
 


“Last week was my first match back from an extended absence from competing. And I’ll be honest, it probably wasn’t the best that I’ve ever been in the ring. But that doesn’t matter because Mark Cross and I still walked away with the win and we eliminated Aiden Reynolds and Melissa. But while it doesn’t matter, it is important to look back at the match and see what I can do better to improve myself. Because that’s what it’s about, right? Proving that you’re the better wrestler. And in this case, proving that you’re the better team when it comes to advancing in this tournament.

This is my second time being in this tournament and last year, my partner and I only advanced to the second round. But to be fair, we were going up against J2H and his partner.  And going up against one of SCW’s legends is no easy task. Some would say that facing Devona is no easy task, either but if you ask me, she is not to legend status just yet.  The second round, last year, was the round that bounced me and my last year’s partner out. And maybe this year will be the same but I’m hoping that this year, this second round proves to be vastly different from last year.

In this second round of the Blast From the Past tournament, Mark and I go up against Jayden Harris and Diamond Steele. And while I do not have to worry about the semantics of facing Jayden Harris, because that job in itself lies in Mark’s hands, I am sure it is not something that Mark is going to take lightly. Jayden Harris is the offspring of former SCW World Heavyweight Champion, Michael Harris. I don’t know a lot about Jayden or really Michael, other than Jayden’s father was … controversial to put it nicely. And maybe Jayden isn’t the same, but he’s got a long ways to go to prove that he isn’t just like his father. But there’s a saying that goes that fathers and sons resemble each other, and sons tend to do what their fathers did before them. It’s going to be hard for Jayden to prove that he’s not the same as father. But hey, I’m all for believing that people can prove somebody wrong but Jayden has pretty big shoes to fill. And a lot of people to prove that he’s not the same as his father and only time will tell.”

Eiley just shrugs her shoulders.

“I understand about having big shoes to fill, even if I am not related to Mikah. She’s a SCW legend herself and you’ll be hard pressed to find somebody who doesn’t agree. There are a lot of people out there that want to argue that I haven’t even began to fill her shoes, and realistically, they’re right. The most I have done is hold a tag team championship belt with Oz for a few months, nothing more. I haven’t had the opportunity to go for the World Bombshell Championship and I have yet to go for any singles belts, either. But you know what? I don’t even fucking care anymore. I am tired of being compared to her and I am not her, so people can stop assuming that I’m going to be just like her in the ring. And while she did train me, it’s not like we’re the same person in and out of the ring. And I’m done trying to prove myself to her…especially after she kicked me out of her gym. So I’ve had to find open gyms that allow people to walk-in to train and that is not something that has been easy for me. And it’s even harder trying to find somebody that will work with me in the ring but I’m used to having things not be easy for me and I’ll persevere through it and I’ll come out the better person. And I am going to make my mark in SCW and do whatever it fucking takes to be better than she was in the ring.

This tournament is going to be the thing that launches me into that superstardom…something that sets me in that direction that I deserve to be going. I know a lot of people look at this tournament and have a jaded view on it. But the way that I look at it, it lets the winners of the tournament shoot themselves into the main event and into the spotlight. And that is something that I am personally wanting for myself. I want to be in the spotlight and to be in the center of attention. This is something that I have never had in my entire life and I am going to prove that I can handle being in the spotlight.”

Eiley smirks a little at the camera, the arrogance reaching her eyes as she sits in front of Canadian National Vimy Memorial.

“Many of you will call this kind of behavior childish and that I am acting as if I am entitled to something when in fact, many of you believe that I am entitled to absolutely nothing. And for a little bit, you’re right. I understand that there are other Bombshells in this tournament that have put in the work to get where they are and I am just coming off of a four month hiatus and I don’t deserve to be in this tournament. And most of that belief comes from the fact that if Mark and I were to win this tournament, the two of us would be reward with championship opportunities. And I know that there are idiots that believe that I don’t deserve a reward of that status. But this tournament is something that absolutely anybody can enter to receive that reward. And if those whiners want to change the playing field, they could have entered this tournament just like I did and everybody else.

Moving on to Diamond Steele…”

Eiley makes a face as she looks at the camera.

“It took me a moment to realize that Diamond Steele is the same person as Kate Steele. Because for some reason, I thought that they were somehow two different people but I was corrected when I looked it up. I am not sure why it is so hard to keep track of the names of the Steele family, but sometimes I forget who is who. But at the same fucking time, I don’t fucking care either.

Diamond Steele might have something to say about the fact that her and I have both trained at Jet City or that we have some of the same connections. Or something of that nature but the fact is, I was mostly trained by Mikah. My affiliation with Jet City is due to Mikah being happily married to Kris Ryans. She might also mention something about Mikah and the training, but I am not a mind reader. I have absolutely no clue what goes on in the mind of Diamond Steele and I’m not going to pretend that I do. All I know is that she’s going to be on the opposite side of the ring of me and my job is to face her in the ring and do whatever I can to get the win for our team. Or at least, make it so that she doesn’t get the win.

Last week, Diamond claimed that this tournament was the right time for her to return to SCW and that it was the perfect place for her to assume her rightful place at the top of the card and at the forefront of the Bombshell division.”

Eiley just shakes her head a little bit with a slightly amused look on her face.

“While that is quite funny, it is not too bold of her to say. She does have history in this company and has been around here much, much longer than I have. It is not too bold of her to say but she has to remember that there are a lot of Bombshells in this division fighting for that same exact thing. Every bombshell that is signed with Sin City Wrestling wants to prove to the bosses that they have what it takes to be the face fo the division and to shoulder everything that comes with being said face of the division. But I don’t think Diamond Steele has what it takes to carry a division like the Bombshell Roster on her shoulders. How many times has she crumbled before? How many times has she walked away as if this company was nothing? Granted, I don’t know her exact record with doing that but it seems like it’s a revolving door for her. But it’s nice to see that there is something inside her head that is making her aim for more than being just a bottom feeder. At least there’s that.

I will give her props and agree with what she said about Jet City being the gym to bring out the best for SCW’s Bombshell division. It is not something that can be argued if you look at statistics or how many success stories has come out of Jet City. But I’m going to expand on that because I don’t think that Jet City’s success is only limited to the Bombshell division. People like Oz, Jaycee, and Kris Ryans came from Jet City and so did Kris Ryans’ brother, Jason Halich and Coby Quik. It’s not just the Bombshell roster that reaps the benefits from Jet City’s gym, it’s SCW in its entirety. However…

Diamond seemed to get one thing wrong or perhaps, mistaken…”

Eiley smirks a little to herself as she leans back on the sidewalk leading up to the memorial.

“Mikah wasn’t trained by Jet City. And while I am desperately trying to distance myself from her shadow, it is important to point that out. I’ve heard the story about where she came from so many times, that I could practically tell it myself. But no, Diamond got that wrong because Mikah was trained by a woman named Ally Johnson and she was trained in New York City. And maybe Diamond wasn’t lumping Mikah in with Jet City but it sounded like she had. But Mikah does work with Jet City now, doing coops with them for her own gym but her success in SCW cannot be  directly linked to the success of Jet City. By association? Yes, but not directly. Her success came before she was even friendly with her now husband.

And you would think that Diamond would be able to get things right because she sure likes to list her own accolades that she’s achieved in SCW. You would think that she would be able to get a little history down right so that she wouldn’t sound like a complete baboon when talking about Jet City and other gyms to push talent into SCW to see how their training worked and if they were good at their jobs. Diamond wants to talk about how certain Bombshells that were trained by SCW legends should emulate their trainers’ attitudes. But a good trainer shouldn’t want their student to be exactly like them but to exceed their expectations from them and become their own person inside the ring. And I’ll be as clear as I can be, I am not saying that Mikah is a perfect trainer and while she’s not perfect, she is one of the best. But her own narcissism prevents her from being able to be the perfect trainer because she wants everything to be perfect and expects perfection from her students. It is why she is so hard on them and why she is-was so hard on me before she kicked me out of her gym. She wants her students to be perfect in the ring and she expects them to be perfect because she believes that it reflects back on her and she doesn’t want her name dragged through the mud. But I disagree with Diamond saying that students should emulate their trainers’ behavior and attitudes….

And it might be a little ironic for me to be saying because the first year of my career, I was so focused on trying to be like Mikah that I was missing the fact that I wasn’t her. It made my mind go crazy with anxiety because I was always so worried about what she would think and if I was doing right by her. It got to me more than I ever thought it would. I had to take a break and step away to see that I couldn’t be her but I could try to be as good as she was in the ring and that’s what I am going to try to do from here on out. Even if she did kick me out of her gym.”

Eiley smiles at the camera and shrugs her shoulders.

“But this match against Diamond Steele and Jayden Harris has absolutely nothing to do with Mikah or any of those trainers who have achieved legend status here in SCW. It is about us and what we’re going to do in that ring to get the win. How far each of us are willing to go to get the win. I know that I will do anything I can to get the win because it means something more to me. I want to prove myself to everybody and that I wasn’t…I’m not some flash in the skillet and just a competitor who’s only around when things go her way. I want to prove to everybody that I’m going to be a force to be reckoned with when I step foot in the ring.

I know that Diamond has a history here in SCW and a long list of accolades and accomplishments for this company. However, there isn’t  going to be any red carpet that’s going to be rolled out for her on Sunday. This match isn’t a movie premiere or a rock concert for her. It’s not something that is going to just be given to her and she’s going to have to do whatever it takes to help her partner come out with the wind. But she’s not going to be given anything and nothing is just going to be fucking handed to her. I’m going to treat Diamond on Sunday as if she’s fresh to this company. Because I don’t give a FUCK about what she has accomplished before in this company. She could have fucking kissed Jesus’ feet and I still wouldn’t give a fuck about that because it’s not important. Those accolades and accomplishments aren’t going to be something that steps in the ring. Those things that she proudly listed off last week in her promo against Harper Mason mean jack fucking shit to me. Just like my previous mixed tag team championship reign isn’t going to get me any fucking leverage on Sunday because that’s not what’s on the line. Those things? They’re only important when you’re listing them on a resume for a job but you already have a job here, Diamond. I don’t need to fucking hear about what championships you’ve previously won or who you’ve beat to retain them or win them. Because you’re not the champion of those championships now, which means that you also lost those championships. It is easy to talk about your success in this company or in life but it’s a lot harder to talk about your failures in this company and I am sure that you have a lot. Just like my failure is not being able to re-capture the mixed tag team championships with Oz back in December or being able to beat Boring Kayla Richards in January. Those are my failures. Or at least, the most recent failures. I know there’s more but those are the two that seem to reign supreme in my life. And I’m sure it will be mentioned by either Diamond or the Boresome Bombshell Champion about how I have been MIA for four months and I’m sure both of them will credit that to the Boresome Bombshell Champion and how I was scared. Blah, blah blah.

But I wasn’t scared. I was just done. I needed space and time, something I couldn’t get while being booked in matches and I know that the quality of my in-ring work would have suffered. So I took the time that I personally needed to get my head right. And I did just that and came back to compete in this tournament to prove that I am going to be one of the best Bombshells that this company has seen.

Diamond, you’ve had your time to shine in previous years and it’s time for you to step aside to let somebody else have their time. I don’t give a fuck about what you’re going to say about me or what you’ve said about me, I have everything to prove and you’re just in my way. And I’m going to do whatever I can to ensure that Mark and I walk out of Climax Control on Sunday as the winners so that we can move on in this tournament. You’re nothing more than a roadblock on my itinerary. And I’m going to destroy that roadblock on Sunday.

Hope you’re ready for it.”

OFF CAMERA
Location: CALIFORNIA
Date: --
 

FLASHBACK TO EILEY’S EARLY YEARS

A nine year old Eiley walks up the steps to another foster home after being kicked out of the previous one. Her social worker had done their best in explaining why she had to leave the previous house but Eiley had tuned her out because she simply didn’t care to hear it again. She was used to it because it happened so frequently that the reasons why she got removed from the homes didn’t seem to matter to her. She looks down at the black trash bag that held her belongings before looking up at her social worker, Lauren Palmer. She was nice enough and Eiley was probably more comfortable with her than she was most of the foster homes that she had been in.

LAUREN “Eiley, I know that this is never easy for you, but I promise Mr. and Mrs. Alberts are nice people and they have twin girls your age! You’ll get to play with kids your age this time. I believe their names are…Riley and Rachel.”

Eiley noticed the hopeful smile that Lauren had on her face and she wanted to smile back at her, but she never trusted foster homes that the parents had children of their own. Or at least in her experience, it had never been a good thing.

•EILEY• “Okay.”

Her voice was small and her answer had been short and she watches as Lauren presses the doorbell to the house. Eiley takes a deep breath, trying her best to settle the anxiety that she was feeling in the pit of her stomach. She was used to the many different homes that she had to move to and she was sure that this home would be no different than any of the other homes she’d lived in, temporarily.

She watches as the door opens and a couple stands there with smiles on their face that Eiley was sure were meant to be welcoming, but instead they were kind of terrifying in their own way. Eiley just gives them a small, shy smile of her own as Lauren clears her throat to do the introductions.

LAUREN “Hi David and Georgie Alberts, I’m Lauren and this is Eiley Finch.”

Eiley wants to shrink away and disappear as they look at her, sizing her up. But she knew that she didn’t have much of a choice because living in group homes were worse than foster homes.

•EILEY• “Hi…”

Her voice came out almost as a squeak and she tries her best to plaster a smile on her face.

GEORGA “Oh my gosh! She’s just darling, Lauren! You didn’t tell me how adorable she was. Isn’t she just adorable David?!”

Eiley grimaces a little bit, hoping that it was not as noticeable as Georgia gushes over her a little bit. She couldn’t help but think that her words were only for show in front of Lauren.

DAVID “Of course she is, please, please. Come in.”

Eiley watches as they step aside and she looks up at Lauren, an unsure look on her face before Lauren smiles before nodding her head and leading the two of them in. David takes it upon himself to grab the trash bag of Eiley’s things as Georgia ushers Eiley and Lauren into the living room.

LAUREN “Thank you for taking Eiley in on such short notice, Georgia.”

Eiley could tell that Lauren and Georgia have interacted before due to them being on first name basis with one another. She also had the feeling that Lauren’s placed children with them before on a last minute’s notice.

GEORGIA “Oh nonsense! You do not have to thank me at all, Lauren! We’re happy to do it, I just can’t stand to think about all of those poor children that need a place to live.”

Eiley just watches as Georgia clutches at her heart and has one of those empathetic looks on her face. However, she keeps quiet, not sure what she was supposed to say to either of them. She was never very vocal when it came to new foster parents as she only knew about the abusive types of foster parents, never those who actually wanted to help children thrive in a world where they weren’t wanted.

LAUREN “I promise she’s a good kid, she’s just had a rough few years.”

Eiley was used to being described as a good kid by Lauren but the sentiment usually never transferred to the foster parents once Lauren left. Eiley expected both David and Georgia to turn into monsters once Lauren’s car drove away.

DAVID “I am sure she’s a wonderful kid, Lauren. She seems quiet, everything okay?”

Eiley didn’t like the way that David’s eyes moved over her young body but she just forces a smile and nods her head. She knew that they expected her to speak, but she didn’t know what to say to them.

•EILEY• “I’m okay.”

Eiley tries her best to put a convincing smile on her face as she didn’t want to send red flags to the parents so early. She had always been told in previous home that she was a bad girl and an even worse kid and she didn’t want that to be what these two saw in her.

GEORGIA “The girls are upstairs playing…let me go grab them.”

Eiley just watches as Georgia goes upstairs to find the girls and the introductions soon don’t take long. Eiley already was sure that the twins didn’t like her but the act they were putting on for their parents and Lauren was convincing enough. The first few minutes were never hard but Eiley could tell that Lauren was getting ready to go and that she would be left in the care of the Alberts and she’d have nowhere to turn to.

LAUREN “Well, thank you again. I am sorry that it was so last minute but things were not working out for Eiley at her previous home. And just a reminder, I will pick her up on Thursday afternoons for her therapy appointments. Eiley, please be good and if you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask, okay? I’m just a call away.”

Eiley already felt the anxiety settling in and while she knew she had to stay with them, she still didn’t want Lauren to go. She had asked Lauren before to adopt her but Lauren said that she couldn’t and that since she was a young, twenty something female, she wouldn’t be approved. Eiley just nods her head and lets Lauren give her a hug before she watches her leave. She glances at Georgia and David and the happy looks on their face don’t fade once Lauren’s gone. She feels a little bit of hope in the pit of her stomach but tries her best not to let it linger.

GEORGIA “Girls, why don’t you go show Eiley the playroom? Your Daddy and I are going to wash Eiley’s things. And please, behave yourselves.”

Eiley listened as the girls agreed with what their mother said but she wasn’t sure that they were compliant and she didn’t like the look that Georgia had given them, either. But nonetheless, Georgia walks away with David and Rachel and Riley turn to look at Eiley, sneers already on their faces once their mother is out of earshot and sight.

RILEY “You know, our parents are never going to be your parents, right?”

Eiley watches as Riley folds her arms over her chest in a slightly defiant way before glancing at Rachel.

RACHEL “Yeah, they never keep strays very long.”

The girls snicker before motioning for Eiley to follow them to the playroom. Eiley drags her feet but eventually follows the girls upstairs to the playroom, that was filled with toys and things to play with. Eiley glances at the girls before chewing on the inside of her lip. It was all a little too much for her to take in and she wasn’t sure what Rachel and Riley were planning but she already was acutely aware that they didn’t want her there.

•EILEY• “This is a nice room.”

It was a simple sentence and an olive branch that Eiley was trying to extend to the girls. She didn’t want to be in their way and she didn’t want to make trouble. She didn’t want to be enemies with them, but there was something about their attitudes that made her feel like an outcast.

RILEY “Probably nicer than anything you own. And you shouldn’t touch anything, we wouldn’t want your disgusting germs to be on any of our things.”

Riley lets out a laugh that only makes Eiley shrink back into herself even more. She wasn’t sure what the two girls were playing at but she already wanted out.

RACHEL “Yeah, you look filthy. When’s the last time you took a shower?”

Eiley looks down at her feet, chewing on the inside of her cheek as she tries to ignore the words that came from the girls’ mouths. She knew that she needed to take a shower but she hadn’t been given that opportunity very often at the previous home she had been in.

•EILEY• “I…um…yesterday.”

She knew that it was a lie, but she didn’t want to admit the truth to the mean twins. She already knew that they knew she was lying but she wasn’t going to admit that out loud.

RILEY “Yeah right. You probably don’t even know how to shower. You’re worthless, just like all of the other kids that have been here.”

Eiley doesn’t say anything, not even trying to defend herself as Riley gives that holier-than-thou look that Eiley’s seen on so many kids before.

RACHEL “Yeah, we only like the money our parents get for having you here. It lets us have all the nice things in this room.”

It was honestly nothing that Eiley hadn’t heard before. She was used to kids being mean, especially if the parents took in foster kids while having their own biological children. She knew that it was just the way things were and that she’d have to suck it up because she had nowhere else that she could go.

•EILEY• “Money that is supposed to be going towards things I need, not you two brats.”

The two of them looked appalled that Eiley would even dare speak out against them. But Eiley didn’t care as she tries her best to hold her ground. She hated feeling like she was worthless and she hated letting other kids speak to her the way that these two were speaking to her. It was not her fault that she didn’t have parents that wanted her and it wasn’t her fault that she had gotten placed at their house because the previous foster parent couldn’t keep his hands to himself.

•EILEY• “I bet nobody wants to really stay with you two, anyways.”

Eiley doesn’t give them the opportunity to respond as she turns around and walks out of the playroom. She didn’t really know the layout of the house or where anything else was, so she walks back downstairs to the living room and sits back down on the couch, waiting for David or Georgia to ask her if she needed anything.

END OF FLASHBACK



ON CAMERA
Location:Denver, Colorado.
Date: January 5, 2024.
 

The scene opens up to Eiley sitting in the seats in the Denver Coliseum dressed in a pair of black leggings and a cream colored sweater. Her blonde hair is down in waves and she has a burgundy stocking hat on her head. In her hands is a cup of hot chocolate and she’s placed her UGG covered feet on the seat in front of her. She looks at the camera before taking a small sip from her hot chocolate and then giving a smirk at the camera.

“I thought about finding some off the beaten path type of location to do this in, a place where nobody else would have even dreamed of filming their promo at.”

She leans back, stretching her back out a little bit.

“But then I remembered who I was booked to face this weekend…”

An arrogant smirk crosses her face as she gets comfortable in the slightly uncomfortable seats.

“And thought why the fuck should I even bother?”

She raises her eyebrows at the camera before shrugging her shoulders.

“Because Ms. Irrelevant isn’t going to do anything spectacular for her promo; it’s always some sort of the same thing. Over and over again, and nothing she says is ever anything close to being special or even truthful, for that matter. And if I’m being honest, she always puts me to sleep with her monotonous voice and her annoying face.”

Eiley takes another drink of her hot chocolate before setting it on the ground down beside her. She looks back at the camera and simply shrugs her shoulders.

“I might not have the best voice or the prettiest face, but at least I try to make what I am saying interesting and something that people should want to listen to.”

The emotion she was trying to convey showed through her voice but it did not seem to reach her face. Rather, she seemed uninterested in the whole idea of doing what she was doing.

“And if I’m being honest, this is getting a little repetitive and boring.”

She fakes a yawn and pats her hand over her mouth a few times as she crosses her feet at her ankles.

“But before we get into that, let’s talk about what I know to be true. Things that have happened since October.”

She doesn’t move from her position in her stretched out, comfortable position as she stretches her legs out straight, leaving them crossed at her ankles.

“Ms. Irrelevant and her partner beat Olly and I for our Mixed Tag Team Championships at High Stakes. Fact. Olly and I struggled for the next several weeks after that. Fact.”

If she had been interested in what she was doing, she might have ticked each item off with her hand but she couldn’t be bothered to do so.

“And Olly and I didn’t beat Ms. Irrelevant and her partner back at December to Dismember. Fact. And I’m sure she’ll bring all those valid points up and it will be the only things that she says that will be truthful because she can’t come up with anything interesting to say otherwise. Because even though she is half of the Mixed Tag Team Champions, she’s still so fucking boring. And still nobody gives a flying fuck about her presence in this company and I’m not even sure her partner gives a flying fuck about her if I’m being honest, again. And why should he? She’s nothing special.”

Another shrug of her shoulders and another look of indifference crosses her face.

“In matter of fact, this match is so uninteresting that when Olly told me I was booked in a match and I looked who it was against, I went back to doing absolutely nothing. It’s not an important match and it doesn’t matter who wins or loses this match other than the fact that it will improve one person’s win streak and give the other a tally in the loss column. That’s all this match is.”

Another indifferent look passes over her face and another shrug from her shoulders.

“I know that I am supposed to care about every match that I’m booked in. And I know that I am supposed to put forward some sort of effort to show that I am trying my best to do what is expected of me. But what am I supposed to do when I’m booked against the same person that I’ve been in matches with over and over again since High Stakes? It’s boring and repetitive and I guarantee the fans will use this match as their designated bathroom break and snack break.”

Again, another look of indifference passes over her face.

“AND to make things worse, we’re in fucking Colorado. It’s fucking cold here and it’s not California or Hawaii and I already fucking hate it here. I can’t wait for this match to be over so that I can get on an airplane and getting the fuck out of here.”

The girl spent most of her time in the states that rarely got cold and she had spent the last few weeks with Olly in his place in Barcelona, hidden from the world. It was barely cold anywhere that she frequented and she was not a person that was fond of wearing layers or pants, for that matter.

“There are always going to be comparisons made when it comes to me and my trainer, Mikah. There’s always going to be somebody saying that I will not ever measure up to the type of Bombshell that she was. There are always going to be those that doubt what I am capable of in the ring and that’s fine. I’ve never been the person that people root for or the type of person anybody has ever expected to make something out of themselves.”

No emotion reaches her eyes as if she has been disconnected from that part of her life.

“In fact, I’ve had several foster parents tell me that I was worth nothing more than the money the state gave them for fostering me. I was always told that I would end up on the streets as some sort of trash, working the streets to make money. There was not one person in my life from when I was younger that believed that I was worth anything.”

Again, no emotion reaches her eyes but the look of disconnect is still there.

“And you know what? Maybe I’m not. Maybe I’m not worth anything more than a paycheck. But you know who’s decision that is to make? Mine, not some whore that looks like she needs her face rearranged by slamming it into a table.”

It might not have been something that was recommended for her to say and if she had an agent of sorts, they would have been disappointed in what she was saying. But she didn’t and she didn’t care.

“Ms. Irrelevant doesn’t get to say that I’m nothing and that I am not going to amount to anything in this company.”

It’s the first time that a flicker of emotion reaches her voice but there is no fiery look to match her tone.

“She doesn’t get to make claims that I will not amount to much or that I will not ever be on the same level that Mikah was. And maybe I won’t because honestly? That’s a task that’s hard for anybody to reach and I’m pretty sure that Amber Ryan is the only bombshell that has ever reached that status.”

She smirks a little bit.

“And honestly? I can see it. I also know that Mikah respects Amber Ryan as a person and as a competitor. But this? This isn’t about Mikah or who she respects. It’s about me being the best that I can be and whether that is something that is similar or close to Mikah and what she used to be in SCW.”

She smirks again.

“And while people still seem to have some sort of problem with the fact that Mikah’s the one who’s trained me, it’s not going to change the fact that she is the one who trained me. And the fact that she is considered to be the best and the literal measuring stick for what a Bombshell should be.”

She glances over to her right, frowning just a little bit as she hears a noise. It takes her a moment to regain her focus before she looks back at the camera once more.

“There’s always going to be criticism when it comes to me because of my affiliation with Jet City and Mikah’s gym. But yet, Ms. Irrelevant comes from a gym that is so irrelevant that they should change their name to Irrelevants Lair. Because when have they done anything interesting? It’s been a long time since any of them have done anything worth talking about. But yet, their gym isn’t as harshly judged or criticized when it comes to the talent that pours out of their doors, if you could even call it talent.”

She fires off a half smirk before reaching down and grabbing her hot chocolate and finishing it off.

“Maybe this is sour grapes, maybe it’s not. But what I do know is that people want me to care. They want me to care that Olly and I lost to Team Irrelevant at December to Dismember. They want the two of us to be all mopey and sad. But do you know what?”

She makes a face before shrugging her shoulders again. She grabs her phone and scrolls through something and is clearly reading something on her phone.

“We’re not. I’m not and I don’t fucking care about somebody like Ms. Irrelevant or her partner. I don’t give a fuck that management thinks that I should be booked against Ms. Irrelevant again and try to prove something that I don’t care to fucking prove. And the card that was released on Sunday claims that there’s heat between Ms. Irrelevant and I but I’m not sure where the fuck that heat is. Because I don’t fucking care about her or this match. In fact, I do not even care that she exists in this world.”

She rolls her eyes, the irritation showing through.

“This is just something that the management wants to push and wants to pretend that is there, when it’s really not. They want to write the narrative that Ms. Irrelevant and I are at some sort of war with one another when I really do not even care that she exists in this world. I do not even care that we’re employed by the same people and I don’t fucking care that her and her partner are the Mixed Tag Team Champions. Because other than Olly and I? Nobody wants those belts. Nobody gives a fuck about that division. And here’s a little insight for those who don’t really pay attention…”

She moves a little bit, placing her feet on the ground and leans forward, looking directly into the lens of the camera.

“It is obvious that we are working under a dictatorship.”

She pauses for literally sixty seconds, letting her words sink in and the silence surrounds her as she just stares into the lens of the camera. She just cracks a smirk after the sixty seconds and leans back in her seat.

“I’m sure you’re all wondering what I mean by that, and don’t worry. I’m going to tell you. Just give me a moment to relish in the fact that we work under a dictatorship.”

She lets out a chuckle before adjusting the stocking hat on her head.

“I’m going to let everybody in on a little secret as to why Olly and I partly lost the match at December to Dismember. And it might shock you but management? They don’t want Olly and I together. And no, I’m not talking about as a team and while that’s part of it, they don’t want us together in our personal lives.”

She raises an eyebrow at the camera, the smirk still plastered on her face as she lets the silence surround her once more.

“But I wasn’t aware that they had the right to tell anybody who they can and can’t be with outside of the ring. I’m sure that they haven’t told Court and Ruby that they can’t be married, even though they’ve expressed their distaste for Ruby. And I’m sure that they haven’t told HBC and Miles that they can’t be together. But yet, they don’t seem to want Olly and I together.”

She shrugs her shoulders.

“But I’m going to make one thing clear, what I choose to do in my personal life and in my time away from this company is nobody’s concern. I can choose to see whoever I want and that just happens to be Olly. And management doesn’t get to dictate who I can or can’t date; SCW isn’t a dating service. I’ve known Olly since I was a teenager, way longer than I’ve known anything about SCW. And I’m not about to jeopardize my personal life to make management happen. So, they’re just going to have to accept the fact that I want Olly in my life in every form that he can be. And there’s nothing they can fucking do about it.”

She smirks at the camera again, that arrogance and confidence showing through.

“But Ms. Irrelevant and I do not have to worry about Olly or Finn being at ringside because apparently they’re banned from ringside.”

She makes a face and shakes her head.

“I am not even sure how that is relevant to a singles match, anyways. I’ve never had Olly accompany me to the ring for a match of mine before and I am not sure why I would ask him to do so now. Or why he would, in a match that isn’t about him but is more about me. And the “heat” that Ms. Irrelevant and I have between one another. Something that management wants to be there but isn’t because nobody cares about this match. However, I had to look at the card again and maybe we won’t be the designated bathroom break match or the designated snack break match because after our match is Bill Barnhart’s match, and that’s another snoozefest as well.”

She lets out a chuckle at the thought before shrugging her shoulders once more.

“To be honest, the match that Ms. Irrelevant and I have will probably be the bathroom break match and the next match will be the snack break match because nobody’s going to care about the two matches before Court’s match against the whiny Ariana Angelos. And to be honest? They shouldn’t care.”

She smirks a little again.

“Oh? Is that surprising that I would say something like that? I’ve only been saying it the entire time I’ve been talking tonight. This match is not important, and it lacks everything that a match should be. A match should inspire me to want to win, but instead? It’s only making me want to get the night over with so I can escape back to my corner of the world and out of the fucking cold. It is just something that I have to do so that I don’t get fined money from the dictators of this company. And I will show up, even if I don’t care about how this match goes because I haven’t been given a reason to care.”

She knows that it sounds childish to want a reason to care but she doesn’t care.

“There is nothing important that is going to come out of this match. Nothing of any importance, anyways. It isn’t going to matter if I win, or if I lose because it’s just another match that I’m booked in because the dictators couldn’t find anything else to put there on the card. Essentially? I’m just a fucking pawn in their game of chess. They don’t have a plan, they’re just drawing up matches for their own gain. And more power to them.”

She gives the camera a thumbs up with her right hand before rolling her eyes once more.

“I’ll do what I’m supposed to do on Sunday. I’ll show up and get dressed in my gear and I’ll go out to that ring….”

She points to the ring and the camera pans over to the ring that was already set up for Sunday’s event before it moves back to Eiley.

“And I’ll try my best to give Ms. Irrelevant a match that she deserves and I’ll try to come out with the win. But I’m very aware that I’m not the favorite to win because of my personal life choices. And probably because of some of the things that I’ve already said tonight, and that’s fine. I’ve never been anybody’s favorite and I’m probably not going to be anybody’s favorite. That’s fine, I’ve gotten through the majority of my life surviving just fine and I’m sure that I could survive this match on Sunday too without my ego being bruised…”

She smirks a little bit again, the emotion this time reaching her golden-brown eyes.

“Afer all, it’s just a match against Ms. Irrelevant and she’s nobody important.”

She adjusts her hat once more, feeling it having slouched down on her forehead just a little bit.

“Do I want to win? Obviously but it’s not something that I’m going to hang my hat on. I’ve become hyper aware of the fact that I’m not favored to win anything anymore. And that I’m nobody’s favorite. It’s a lot more fun being the un-favorite anyways, that way when I do win matches, nobody will see it coming and it will hurt those who lose that much more.”

She smirks before standing up and fixing her leggings once more. She glances around before focusing on the camera.

“See you all on Sunday.”

She starts to walk away before stopping and looking back at the camera, a smirk on her face once more.

“If you’re lucky.”

OFF CAMERA
Location: Kaneohe, Hawaii
Date: December 5, 2023.
 

Mikah’s gym was filled with a lot of people to promote SCW’s December 2 Dismember Pay-Per-View that would be happening in a week and a half. Eiley and Oliver were supposed to be sitting behind a table to promote their match, talk with fans, and whatever else Mikah and Kris shot their way. There were also other booths similar to theirs that had to do with wrestling and SCW in general. Eiley was not too enthused about being close in proximity to Oliver but she didn’t have much of a choice as Mikah had threatened her to stay put or she’d be on Ridley duty. Eiley was still amazed at how Mikah let a two month old baby run their lives but it was at least mildly entertaining to watch both Mikah and Kris interact with the two month old. She also watched as Mikah and Kris’ older children ran around the gym as if it was second nature to them, which it was but Eiley always kept an annoyingly close eye on them ever since they locked Oliver in a storage closet on Climax Control.
 
However, she needed a break from everybody and from trying to act as if everything was okay between her and Oliver.  So she had gotten up about three minutes ago to take a breather from being just mere inches from him and had found herself in a hallway when Myles walks up to her and she gives him a skeptical look.

♦MYLES♦ “Eiwey, I need your help.”

She was always skeptical when it came to both of Mikah and Kris’ kids because they almost always outsmarted her and Oliver. And Myles was almost always the one to lure them to their trap because he was the youngest and knew how to use his charm. But she hesitates to say something as he looks at her with his big eyes and she falters a little bit, already knowing that she was going to give in. She looks into his eyes and sighs but makes a mental note to steer clear of the kids the best she could in the near future.

•EILEY• “What do you need help with, Myles?”

She always had the belief that she was not good with children and they kind of terrified her but for some reason, trying to tell Myles no was no easy feat. His eyes light up as he realizes that she’s about to help him with whatever he needed and he grabs her hand, pulling her in the direction of where he needed her.

♦MYLES♦ “It’s over here, my bouncy ball got stuck on a high shelf and I can’t get it down. I tried to climb it to get it but Mama caught me and made me get down but didn’t let me tell her what I needed up there.”

She wasn’t sure if it was normal for a four year old to talk as much and as well as he did but she was almost always impressed with how he talked and how well he talked at that. Eiley just nods her head, not thinking about the four year old’s logic in searching her out as her height was barely 5’6. But she could climb the shelving units and Myles wouldn’t get hurt, which would save a lot of drama in the long run. Myles leads her to a storage closet and he opens the door and the second she steps inside, he closes the door behind him just as Kris and Mikah step around a corner. Kris grins and high fives the four year old and Mikah gives the two of them a skeptical look.

;;MIKAH “What did you two do?”

Her eyes did not leave Kris even though the question was aimed at both of them. Kris just grins at her before shoving his hands in his pockets.

::KRIS “Going to make the two scaredy cats talk to one another, so we’re locking them in this closet. Myles already lured Oz in there looking for a missing, non-existent bouncy ball and we only needed Eiley in there, so we figured the same trick would work.”

MIkah gives her husband a look, not sure if she approved of his ways or the fact that he was including Myles in on his schemes now. She just shakes her head as she watches him lock the door from the outside, figuring that he flipped the door handles around so that it was able to be locked from the outside instead.

;;MIKAH “The two of you together is not a combination I think I like.”

Kris just gives her a smirk before they walk off to leave Eiley and Oz in the closet. Meanwhile, Eiley had yet to realize that she was locked in the closet as she was trying to determine if the bouncy ball was in there or not. She jumps a little bit when she realizes that Oliver is in the closet as well. She gives him a slightly confused look before she remembers it was Myles who lured her in the closet in the first place and then groans as she realizes that she’d been tricked. She tries to open the door but find that she can’t, as it’s locked and then glances at Oliver.

•EILEY• “Fucking kids.”

She glances at Oliver again before she moves to sit on the floor, figuring that there was no way that they were getting out of the closet until they were let out of the closet by somebody who had a key.

○OZ  “You’d think that we’d learn our lesson at some point….”

It didn’t sound like something he thought was possible. They both knew that the one time that they refused to play along would be the one time that there was actually something wrong. The two of them were destined to fall for the trick every time just to avoid the imagined backlash from Kris and Mikah.

○OZ  “I’m not going to complain about not being stuck out there at that table though, ya know?”

He had never really enjoyed being the center of attention, and being at these events always felt like having the spotlight shine on him all day. Being at the table felt like being under a microscope, and there were only so many ways he could skirt around people asking him if he thought that they were going to win back their Mixed Tag Team Championships at December 2 Dismember. At least in the closet they didn’t have to put on a smile and pretend everything was great between the two of them.

○OZ  “...I’ll hang out all day if it means I don’t have to take another picture with people that’ll be booing at their television when we come on it.”

Eiley just looks at him as she leans back against one of the shelving units in the closet. She wasn’t sure how she felt being locked in a closet but she was growing bored of putting on a fake act in front of people that neither one of them really cared about.

•EILEY• “Maybe they won’t be booing….maybe they’ll be cheering.”

The sentiment did not reach her eyes as she let her head rest back against one of the ledges of the shelving unit. She relaxes the best that she is able to in the closet. She wasn’t sure what they were going to talk about or if they even wanted to talk to one another. Things were still tense between them and they had yet to even agree on a topic.

•EILEY• “But I don’t care if they cheer or if they boo, it’s not going to matter. There’s always going to be some sort of stigma surrounding those who represent Jet City. We’re not the golden stars from the GO Gym, so there’s always going to be people dirtying our names.”

She glances at him before looking back up at the ceiling. Maybe it was a blessing that they didn’t have to be in front of the fans and were able to take a break, even if they were being forced to be around one another.

○OZ  “They’d cheer us if we were a little closer to home. It didn’t seem to matter what we did in San Diego. The people there were happy to blow the roof off the place cheering for us anyways, ya know? Every night won’t be like that though.”

San Diego felt so long ago for both of them that it didn’t really matter anymore. Dwelling on it certainly wouldn’t get them out of the closet any sooner, assuming that someone was out there listening to them to make sure they got back on the same page. Oz took a shot at appeasing whomever was forcing them to talk, speaking more than loud enough for someone in the hallway to hear him through the door.

○OZ  “Don’t know why they feel the need to do something like this though. It’s not like we’re not good or anything. We won. We beat The Barnharts. We have momentum. Problems solved.”

Everything that he was saying was technically true, but he wasn’t saying any of it like he believed it actually changed anything. She just gives him a look, raising her eyebrows at him. She was not sure that his sentiment would be shared with the person who was presumably listening outside of the door.

•EILEY• “It’s the Barnharts, though. It doesn’t take much talent to beat them.”

She didn’t really want to play devil’s advocate and she knew that both Kris and Mikah were smarter than that and would see through whatever facade that Oliver was trying to show. She’d even gone back and watched a few past Climax Controls and could see that their two mentors were smarter than most of their co-workers and their brains were always were three to five steps ahead of everybody else.

•EILEY• “Finn and Kayla are obviously not the Barnharts and clearly, we had an issue with beating them eight or so weeks ago. I can see where their concern is coming from.”

The game of playing fake nice was not something she was enjoying anymore and it was becoming a lot more taxing than she wanted it to be. They had been tiptoeing around one another for weeks and it was not getting them anywhere, so she didn’t figure that it would get them anywhere at the moment.

○OZ  “I can’t. I don’t see why they pretend to give so much of a shit. So we aren’t undefeated anymore, who cares? They are the only ones that ever were, and we aren’t them. Basically everyone in the division has made sure to tell us that at every opportunity. We fell a little short just like literally everyone else does from time to time.”

It wasn’t exactly easy for him to admit out loud, but if that is what they wanted to hear in order to unlock the door and let them out, he was willing to cut himself down a little.

○OZ  “It was my fault. And then I overreacted afterwards. I shouldn’t blame you for costing us the titles, or for my losing streak continuing a couple of weeks ago. You’re obviously perfect and I just need to make sure that I stay out of the way.”

She frowns a little at his words before she looks at him, the look still on her face. She processes what he told her her before looking back up at the ceiling for a moment.

•EILEY• “I don’t think anybody but us cares about our win-loss record, Oz.”

She wasn’t sure if that was true but she wanted to believe that it was. She wanted to believe that people didn’t care if they won or lost as much as the two of them did.

•EILEY• “And please, nobody thinks I’m perfect because I’m not perfect, I’m human, just like you are and just like everybody else. And losses happen, neither one of us is to blame for the loss we suffered to Finn and Kayla. It does not fall on just your shoulders, it falls on both of our shoulders. You are the only one that is blaming yourself for the loss. I have never once blamed you for anything.”

She looks over at him, this time not looking away from him like she was earlier. She didn’t feel the need to steer her gaze away this time.

○OZ  “Just because you don’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not there…”

The words are quiet, almost under his breath, and it cut all the way to the disconnection they had the last time the topic came up. She had walked out of the room when he finally came clean about what was bothering him, and shifted the focus back to herself. Instead of dealing with it, he had walked out and caught an earlier flight out of town. Neither of them seemed to have that option now though. Whatever came out of his mouth was going to have to sit with them in the room.

○OZ  “I get that you aren’t paying attention to the things people say about us, or the tweets that go out daily, but I am. I can’t help but to follow that shit. I spent so much time trying to be invisible, that I can’t help trying to figure out what everyone thinks about me now that I have to be in the spotlight. For so long I had myself convinced that I was invisible, so nothing mattered. That’s not the case anymore. We got people’s attention, and then they blamed me when we fell short. It wasn’t you. It was never you. But just because you aren’t the one saying it doesn’t make it not there.”

He slams his mouth closed and bites on his bottom lip in an attempt to cut himself off, but since he started unloading his frustrations, it felt worth it to just get it all out.

○OZ  “The things that I do right don’t matter, because all of our success is your success. You get the highest of the highs, and avoid all of the lows because everyone is kicking me whenever we are down. It’s been messing with my head for like two months now and all you ever do is shrug and pretend like it’s not a real problem.”

He shakes his head, and laughs out of frustration. It was bad enough that it felt like nobody else saw the response that he was seeing, but he couldn’t even get himself out of the trap no matter how hard he tried.

○OZ  “...so I went and got a match by myself to fix it, and the story was all about you all over again. We walked into a match with The Barnharts, but instead of the story being about how I made sure we picked up the win, the whole thing was about you pinning Bea. In everyone else’s eyes, we aren’t equals. I’m just along for the ride.”

Of course, he knew that all of those complaints were just symptoms of the real problem. Neither of them could control what the dirt sheet writers wrote. They couldn’t control what the fans debated about. They didn’t write the cards, and couldn’t censor their opponents. None of the problems that he listed were problems that Eiley could solve, but they had all led Oz to the same conclusion.

○OZ  “You’re too good to be wasting your time with me.”

She’s quiet for a moment, trying to process everything that Oliver had told her. She didn’t want to just brush it off but she didn’t know what to say or what to feel about it. She didn’t want to ignore it but if she didn’t, it would eat at her just the same and she had to compartmentalize it and had to ignore it.

•EILEY• “Because I can’t pay attention to the tweets or what other people are saying about us, Oz. If I do, it will be the entire situation with Dean again and I will spiral. I can’t let myself spiral because it won’t end up well.”

She didn’t know how to make him feel better or how to make him see the way that she looked at or the way she saw things. She chews softly on her bottom lip as she looks at him for a moment, trying to think of how she wanted to respond.

•EILEY• “I don’t want all the attention, Oliver! I never wanted that. Sure, I might act like I do but I don’t. When you presented the idea of us as a team, that’s what I wanted. Something that was supposed to be good and is good. I know it bothers you when I say that you shouldn’t give a fuck about what the others say but you should only be worrying about what I say. We are equals and fuck what everybody else says.”

She seems a little hesitant as she looks at him before getting up and straightening out the shorts she was wearing before walking over to him.

•EILEY• “I am not wasting my time with you, Olly. And I’m not too good.”

She tentatively reaches up and cups his face gently with her hand for a few seconds and then goes to pull her hand away, not sure if the touch would be welcomed.

○OZ  “That’s nice of you to say, but we both know it’s not true. It’s never been true. It’s always been this way, and even Jaycee knows it. You knew it back when we ran into each other at the beach and you still had a few real jobs. I don’t know why I thought anything could change.”

He looks down at her, but it isn’t her eyes that draw him in. Instead, a flicker off of one of the pins in her hair gets his attention, and he reaches out to pull it free before holding it up in between them.

○OZ  “Turns out we could have left the whole time.”

He turns away from her and goes to work on the lock. Within a few moments, there is a click from the other side, and he is able to push the handle down and open the door. He takes a look around the hallway, surprised that none of the responsible parties were lingering nearby to overhear their conversation.

○OZ  “They must have known that one of the two of us would have figured out how to get out eventually. Or they were willing to just let us die in there.”

He knew that if he gave her the opportunity to turn the conversation back to the two of them, it would likely result in an incredibly uncomfortable afternoon at the table trying to sell both Sin City and Mikah’s gym to newcomers. He turned back to her and she tried to say something, but he cut her off.

○OZ  “I’ll see you back out there…”

And without waiting for her response, he was through the door and headed back out onto the floor.



ON CAMERA
Location:Honolulu, Hawaii.
Date: December 9, 2023.
 

The scene cuts open to show Eiley sitting on a bench, looking at the ocean. She is wearing a simple white with gold stripes bikini with jean shorts over the bottoms and her blonde locks are down around her face, clearly damp from having beeni n the ocean and beads of water were dripping down her sun-kissed skin. She watches as the sun is in the beginning stages of setting and she glances at the camera, a smile tugging on the corners of her mouth.

“There is nothing prettier than the sunsets her in Hawaii.”

She motions discreetly for the cameraman to turn around to catch the beginning of the Hawaiian sunset. After watching it for a few seconds, it turns back around to look at Eiley.

“But the funny thing about that is that the sun is going to set on Finn Whelan and Kayla Richards’ Mixed Tag Team Championship reign. Hopefully sooner rather than later but I cannot predict the future.”

She glances at the ocean again, a slightly far-away look in her gold eyes.

“Because if I could have predicted the future back when Oz and I lost the championships to Finn and Kayla, I would have never believed the last several weeks if they had played out in my head the way that they happened. I would have never believed that mine and Oz’s paths would be so misaligned and there’d be such a feeling of disconnect there. I would have never guessed that we would have lost to Finn and Kayla, either because Oz and I were so confident going into that match because we had beaten everybody else that had stepped up to the plate and we had expected to do the same when we stepped into the ring against Finn ad Kayla.”

She pauses as she thinks about what she wanted to say next.

“But clearly, Oz and I lost the championships to Finn and Kayla and shit went downhill pretty quickly for the both of us. We had walked into that match on top of the World, believing that we were the best tag team that SCW had to offer but we were knocked off of the World and reminded that everybody can be beat, no matter how good they are separately or even together. Did that feel good? No, it absolutely did not feel good but it is something that I have come to accept because there’s nothing else that I can do about what happened at Violent Conduct because I do not own a time machine nor can I invent one. So the only thing that I can do is learn from what happened and try to be better in eight days time.”

She runs her fingers through her hair before leaning forward slightly, focusing her attention on the camera.

“But before I do a deep dive into what everybody can expect next Sunday or what I hope that they can expect, I’m going to clear one thing up. About Oz and myself.”

The look in her eyes turns more serious.

“It does not matter what you think about me or what you believe to be true about me or whether you all think that I’m the one in this team that is the one to watch. Or whatever it is that you are all saying about me because that shit does not matter. What matters is this: Oz is not replaceable, and he is not the weak link in this team. Him and I? We’re a fucking team and we’re better together than we are apart. I am not better than he is and he is not better than I am, we are a team and we are better together.”

She gives the camera a look, trying to put some emphasis on what she had said. She fully believed that her and Oliver were better together than apart and she did not believe in the comments that constantly plagued him.

“And now, back to the regularly scheduled program.”

She sits back against the bench, straightening herself up a little bit.

“There’s a lot that has happened since Violent Conduct and I’m going to be honest, Olly and I havevn’t been our usual selves. We have been struggling and anybody who has eyes that work can clearly see that. Loss after loss and argument after argument that all led to the feeling of defeat. We had been defeated and we couldn’t get our shit together to give a fuck about the matches we had been booked in and we could barely stand being in the same room as one another and it was looking as if doomsday was going to be here before we even made it to our rematch next Sunday.”

She shrugs her shoulders as she was being a lot more open and honest about the last few weeks.

“But things started to turn around last week and for the better. Olly and I beat the Barnharts and we’re going into December 2 Dismember with a win under our belts and we’re starting to feel more like a team again. It’s small, baby steps but it is better than being at each other’s throats and not able to get along. We needed something that was going to help us get back on the same page and a match against the Barnharts was clearly something that we needed. An easy win, something to unite us on something rather than something that makes us be at one another’s throats. Clearly the bosses know what they’re doing when they want to get a team back on track.”

She smirks a little bit as she starts to slowly gain her confidence back.

“I was wrong when it came to Finn and Kayla; they clearly had whatever it took to beat us back at Violent Conduct. I underestimated their ability to get things done in the ring. I figured they were like the other members of Wolfslair and Olly and I would be able to do the same to Finn and Kayla. I thought it would be just as simple as that, but I was wrong. But you know what I wasn’t wrong about?”

An arrogant look passes through her eyes as she looks at the camera, that smirk stretching across her face.

“I wasn’t wrong about Kayla Richards. She is the weakest link of their team.”

She raises an eyebrow at the camera.

“Oh, what? That’s not fair to call her the weak link when every-fucking-body has been calling Olly the weak link of Limitless? I’m just calling it like I see it and everybody else can fuck off for all I care. I’m done being nice because it hasn’t gotten me anywhere. I don’t care about what people say about me or claim that I’m the future star, I would not be here if it wasn’t for Olly and I can say that with full confidence. I wouldn’t want to be here without Olly as my partner. But let’s talk about what Kayla and Finn have done since they’ve become champions, shall we?”

She smirks again at the camera.

“Because you can bet that Kayla and Finn are going to talk about the troubles that Olly and I have had over the past few weeks. They’re going to believe that Olly and I have zero chance in beating them in eight days but what have they actually done as champions since they beat us for the belts?”

She raises her eyebrows at him.

“Other than defend them one time and retain them against two challengers who can’t really be considered to be challengers? Finn’s had a singles match and Kayla? What has she done? I’ll tell you what she’s done and that’s absolutely fucking nothing of any importance other than proving that without Finn, she wouldn’t be one half of the mixed tag team champions. She’d be in stupid matches against the likes of Bea Barnhart with dumb stipulations or something similar. She wouldn’t be in a high profile match like she is with Finn against Olly and I next Sunday. She’s interchangeable when it comes to her team with Finn. He could find another body to take her place and I am sure it would be the same as teaming with her because she doesn’t seem to carry her own weight. And I don’t care if I’m being petty, everybody else wants to make that comparison when it comes to Olly and I and I’m going to use it against them. She just wants a free ride to success and nothing more. She doesn’t want to put the actual work in to be a part of the mixed tag team champions; she just wants the fame and glory, nothing more, nothing less.”

She was probably wrong and she was definitely letting the bitter side of her show. She knew it probably wasn’t a good look for her, but at the same time, she didn’t fucking care. She was tired of listening to people complain about it or get under Oliver’s skin about it. She didn’t see it that way.

“It’s not fair of me to assume that Kayla is the weak link, just like it’s not fair of everybody else to assume that Olly is the weak link of Limitless. Because he is absolutely not the weak link and I’m sure that Kayla brings her own qualities to the team she and Finn have but what they are? I am not sure.”

She simply shrugs her shoulders at the camera.

“But what I do know is that when Olly and I are on the same side and on the same page, we can’t be beat and we are unstoppable as a team. Even if we do not win next Sunday, that’s not going to be the end of Limitless because there is not going to be a me in SCW without Olly and I hope he views it the same way. When we’re together and on the same page, we can’t be stronger. And you can bet next Sunday, we’re going to be the best that we’ve ever been and prove just why we deserve the Mixed Tag Team Championships once again.”

She stands up and adjusts her shorts.

“And there’s nothing anybody can do about that.”

She smirks as she starts to walk away and then glances over her shoulder at the camera.

“Because we’re Limitless.”

OOC NOTE: Sorry to mine and J's opponents. J is not going to be able to post as his power is out and his phone had only 4% battery life left three hours ago. I was not going to post at all because it's not really fair that my partner can't post and then I got wrapped up in my college coursework and so I am just posting this even though it is literally nothing.

Sorry to Sam and Mark for the poor showing. I am ready for college to be over.


OFF CAMERA
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii.
Date: November 13, 2023.
 

It has been a while since Eiley had been in Hawaii and in the apartment that she shares with Oliver. Ever since they lost the championships to Finn Whelan and whatshername, she had been keeping herself busy in other states and cities, trying to keep her mind from spiraling. It didn’t help that her and Oliver hadn’t had much of a conversation since they lost the championships and to her, it seems like they’ve been on uneven ground ever since. She wasn’t sure where he stood but she was tired of tiptoeing around him and she just wanted to be home for a few days before she had to travel to Flagstaff, Arizona for the next episode of Climax Control.

She had most recently been in New York City, doing whatever her heart desired and because she had never really experienced the city before. She didn’t have any connections to the city or any friends there, so she had resorted back to her scheming ways to get money from wealthy men and she was pleasantly surprised to see that they were still willing to give it to her. She had squirreled their money away, opting to just spend enough to afford a simple hotel room in the city before she would return back to Honolulu, to hopefully face Oliver for the first time in a few weeks.

She walks into the apartment that she shares with Oliver to find it just as they had left it the last time that they had been here. She could tell that a few things were in different locations, which gave her the indication that Oliver had been there at some point but she wasn’t sure when that would have been. She could feel the slight disconnect between them  and she didn’t like. She also hated to admit to herself that she missed him.

•EILEY• “Of course, he’s not here.”

She wasn’t sure where he was and she wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to go looking for him at the moment. She wasn’t sure where they stood and she was too anxious to find out.

OFF CAMERA
Location:San Diego, California.
Date: October 15, 2023.
 

There had been constant turmoil in Eiley's life since Summer XXXtreme. For a while, she had felt as if everything was going to be okay; Dean was presumed dead and gone and nobody but her and Oliver knew about the real reason for his disappearance. That was until she discovered a letter that had been sent to his parents. How she had obtained the letter didn't really matter but now, she could only think about the fact that Kaleb was involved in some fashion.

She had literally run out of the area that she and Oliver had been in with Jaycee after the revelation of Kaleb's involvement. She didn't want to believe that he was involved or that his agenda may have had sinister intentions behind them. It was baffling to her because she had been out on his boat multiple times and he had not even remotely tried to do anything harmful to her. But now, she wondered if he had been luring her into a false sense of security.

After she had run out of meeting with Jaycee, she had been physically sick and had thrown up onto the side of the road. That then led to dry heaving as she couldn't comprehend the fact that Kaleb's intentions hadn’t been pure or genuine. Then she thought of the times she had done things with him that she never would have done with Dean, willingly.

Now, she was trying to figure things out. She hadn’t wanted to go to Vegas to try to confront Kaleb, so instead of facing Oliver, she was locked up in one of the rooms in the Jet City South building, trying to hide from her partner. She moves a little to get comfortable as she keeps her phone’s ringer on silent and her media volume was low so that hopefully it wouldn’t be heard through the closed door. She glances up as she can hear somebody walking in the hallway outside of the room/closet she was hiding in and she pulls her feet up on the crate she was sitting on and then pulls her knees up to her chest. She focuses on her phone for a little bit before sighing to herself as there’s a knocking on the door. She chooses to ignore it but the knocking doesn’t seem to stop.

•EILEY• “Please go away!”

The stealth mode clearly wasn’t something that Eiley was good at, especially when it came to Oliver.

○OZ  “You’re going to have to learn some new tricks if you don’t want to be found.”

She can tell that he was leaning up against the outside of the doorframe just from the sound of his voice. However, as he talked, it sounded like he had squatted down so that his voice would more easily carry through the small crack under the door.

○OZ  “You’re going to have to come out eventually, and I don’t have anything better to do, so I’ll just be here to talk whenever you’re ready…”

She frowns at his words and presses the side button on her phone to lock it before looking/glaring at the locked door. However, she doesn’t move as she looks around the room/closet before looking back at the door.

•EILEY• “What’s there to talk about?”

She knew what they needed to talk about but she was really good at avoidance. It was how she had originally handled the Dean situation that had happened back in April.

•EILEY• “I can hide in here just as long as you can wait out there…”

But she knew that she would probably cave first as she usually did. She sighs before grabbing her phone and standing up before opening the door to see her partner there, however squatted down. She gives him a small, half fake smile.

•EILEY• “Is this what it feels like to be tall?”

She gives him a smirk, trying to change the subject. He pushes himself back to his feet, and looks down at her. He was more than willing to give into the change of subject if it meant getting her talking.

○OZ  “I wouldn’t know. I am looking up at most people too. It’s really just you that sees me from that perspective. Well, you and children.”

And they both knew that the children he spoke of didn’t think that he was too big to mess with either. Kris’ team of terrorists had beaten them up at the gym and stolen their titles after several exhausting days.

○OZ  “...and Kris cut me a couple of days of slack. We’ve been going pretty hard and he doesn’t want me to burn out or get hurt before High Stakes even gets here.”

Eiley gives Oliver a skeptical look, unsure if Kris had underlying intentions or not. She chooses to ignore the comment about her height as she knew that she was short.

•EILEY• “That seems a little suspicious…Kris cutting you some slack…”

She raises her eyebrows at him as she relaxes just a little bit. She leans against the door frame, her eyes still on him. She looks around the hallways, noticing that it was relatively quiet around the gym and that was okay with her.

•EILEY• “Kendall seems to have a similar idea. Or she’s just fed up with my lack of interest in training. Can’t be too sure.”

She shrugs her shoulders at the thought. He didn’t seem surprised that everything seemed to link up. Things had a way of happening like that around the Jet City crowd.

○OZ  “You know they have eyes and ears everywhere. If we are thinking about something, they already know about it somehow. It’s not like a couple of days would be a bad thing either….”

He didn’t just mean the Kaleb situation either, but the other problems could probably wait until after the two of them handled the cloud hanging over Eiley’s head. Although, he didn’t want to feel like he was pushing her to do something that she didn’t want to do.

○OZ  “....unless it’s not something that you have the brain space for. I totally understand if you want to just try to push through and focus on the match. It’s been working for us for a couple of months already.”

She looks at him, a slightly hesitant look on her face as he suggests talking about it or not, if that’s what she wanted. She takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out as she chews on the inside of her bottom lip.

•EILEY• “But…it’s not going work long-term…”

She knew that it would be best to just talk about it.

•EILEY• “I…don’t know where to start…”

She takes a deep breath as she looks at him, an unsure look on her face. She then looks around the hallway before looking at him and then grabbing him by his shirt and pulls him into the closet and shuts the door. She didn’t want to take the chance that anybody could be listening.

•EILEY• “I don’t remember Kaleb being a part of Dean’s group when we were teenagers, but he had to have been. But…I don’t really understand his motive? Or what his endgame was…I had been on his boat multiple times and he didn’t … try to get rid of me. And…I’ve done things with him..”

She avoids looking at him as she spills the words out of her lips quickly, not sure that she would get the words out if she didn’t do it quickly.

○OZ  “For all we know, the whole thing is a big coincidence…”

Granted, he felt that was probably a longshot at this point. Without being directly involved in any of it, everything sounded like it added up for him. The way that Jaycee pulled the name out of nowhere, and triggered the reaction that it did made him believe that on some level she must have believed it too. Although that could have just been wishful thinking. If Jaycee was wrong, they still didn’t have any idea what was actually going on. Oz wasn’t willing to let himself think about that possibility.

○OZ  “...on the other hand, the only person with any of the answers is Kaleb, and you’re the only person that could get him to talk. That doesn’t mean that you’ll have to do it alone though. We’re a team, remember? That goes a lot further than Sin City.”

She looks at him and while his words should be comforting, it only made her feel a little more unsettled. She didn’t think that it could be just a coincidence and now all of her memories with Kaleb were tainted with whatever this was or could be.

•EILEY• “That means we have to go to Vegas..”

She knew that’s where Kaleb was and she could get ahold of him but she hadn’t talked to him since the one tour where she had been sort of elusive toward him. She wasn’t sure that he would even take her call this time.

•EILEY• “Are we going to drive or fly?”

She looks at him. She knew that a flight was only an hour or so from California and driving from San Diego would be a little over five hours. But not that she had even know where they would get a car.
OFF CAMERA
Location:Las Vegas, Nevada.
Date: October 16, 2023.
 

The flight to Las Vegas from San Diego hadn’t taken them too long and Eiley had explained nearly everything to Oliver on the flight from San Diego to Vegas, even the dirty details that she necessarily didn’t want to but did so anyways. And she had sent a text message to Kaleb, asking to meet up at neutral location at some cafe off of the strip to talk. She wasn’t sure it was the best idea and now, as she and Oliver wait for him to show up she looks at Oliver.

•EILEY• “I think we should just go. Just forget it and go and maybe he’ll just…disappear.”

She looks at Oliver with a slightly hopeful look on her face that he would agree with her. Even if she did want to know what Kaleb’s hidden intentions were, she wasn’t sure she wanted to know about his involvement with Dean or Dean’s schemes.

○OZ  “There's really only one way to make that happen…”

He directs her eyes back to where a camera sits behind a window over her shoulder. The street signs in front of it helps to obscure it from view, but he had made sure it was getting a good shot.

○OZ  “Just remember, I am only ten seconds away if things get weird and I can hear everything….”

He looked down at this watch, knowing he had limited time to get out of sight.

○OZ  “Don't admit to anything, and try to get him to say anything to make himself a suspect and by the end of the day we will never have to see him again.”

Eiley nods her head as she chews on the inside of her cheek, anxiously. She doesn’t require him to say anything else as he slips over to a table not too far away. She tries to sit still but every time the door opened and the little bell rang to signal the door had been opened, she flinched. She looks up as she sees him walk into the cafe and he was on time, which she figured that he would be. She forces a smile on her face, hoping that it was friendly enough that it wouldn’t raise suspicion. Kaleb notices her before nodding his head at her with a smile on her face as he walks over. She swallows hard as he leans down and plants a kiss on her cheek before sitting down across from her and she resists the urge to wipe it from her face.

•EILEY• “Thank you for coming…”

He smiles at her as he leans slightly onto the table, his blue-grey eyes looking into hers.

♠KALEB “Not a problem at all, in fact I’m glad you messaged me because we kind of left things in a bad place the last time we talked.”

She vaguely remembered the talk they’d had in Peru but she knew that he had disapproved of whatever it was she had with Oliver and she wasn’t sure if that came from jealousy or from disgust.

•EILEY• “You’re right we did. I have to say I was a little scatter-brained then and my head was not in the right place. But I have a question…about Dean…”

She looks at his face and she can see the recognition on his face and she forces a smile, trying to appear as if she was calm and collected, even though her heart rate was saying otherwise.

♠KALEB “Ah…yes, what about Dean?”

There was a look in his eyes that Eiley could now read as something sinister and she grabs her glass of water and takes a drink from it to calm herself down.

•EILEY• “I…haven’t heard from him lately and I was…just curious if you had? You see, his parents have been asking me where he’s been...”

She looks up into his eyes, hoping that he was buying her lies. But she didn’t know what he knew and what he didn’t know. A smirk plays over his face as he watches her squirm in her seat.

♠KALEB “You and I both know that isn’t true, Eiley. I thought I told you in Peru that we both know you’re not dumb…so I am not sure why you are trying to act like you are. You know where Dean is, just as much as I do.”

He leans forward and says in a quiet voice.

♠KALEB “And we both know he’s not coming back, don’t we?”

She knew that he was trying to rattle her and stir up things that she didn’t necessarily want stirred up. She has to keep a straight face as she looks at him, using all of the strength she could and remembering the some of the tips she had learned over the years.

•EILEY• “I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about, Kaleb. I haven’t talked to Dean in a long time, but I remember that you used to run around with him when you were teenagers.”

She watches his face as the smirk turns a little more sinister and he leans back in his chair. He didn’t seem too bothered by the fact that Eiley had connected the dots.

♠KALEB “I’m surprised it took you this long to remember, Eiley. I wondered if you were ever going to figure it out. And don’t worry about Dean’s parents, they think he’s on vacation somewhere.”

It was all she needed to hear and all she could stand to hear again before she stands up to leave but he is quick to grab her wrist.

•EILEY• “Let go.”

He just smirks at her, looking up into her golden brown eyes, his hand still holding onto her wrist.

♠KALEB “Don’t be a stranger, Eiley. I know I won’t be.”

He lets her wrist go and she walks outside to get some air, breathing it in quickly once she is outside.



ON CAMERA
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada.
Date: Saturday, October 20, 2023


The scene opens up to show one half of the mixed Tag Team Champions, Eiley sitting on a bench in front of the newly finish Las Vegas Sphere. And behind her the Sphere’s image was the usual emoji that it has currently been sporting. She is dressed in a pair of jean cut off shorts and a black, ribbed cropped tank top. Her blonde hair is pulled up into two messy space buns on each side of her head and her mixed tag team championship is sitting next to her on the bench.

“Time is a funny thing, really. Time is something that most everybody takes for granted and usually has some sort of  view that there will always be time to do something at a later, future date. But time moves faster than anybody realizes and we spend at least seven hours of our day sleeping and for those who have a normal job, they spend eight or more hours at work, away from their families. However, wrestlers have a different sense of time and usually view time as something that they have to use wisely when they are young because that’s when they are in their prime in the ring. Or time that they spend chasing after something that they may never get in their career. Things like World Championships or any championship, for that matter. And that’s just what Kayla Richards and Finn Whelan are doing right now, wasting time in chasing after the Mixed Tag Team Championships.”

She glances back at the Sphere, smiling at the cute, confused expression the emoji was currently displaying.

“A lot of previous teams have wasted time in chasing after the Mixed Tag Team Championships and their tries have been fruitless for them. They wasted weeks of their lives chasing after a fever dream that Olly and I both knew was never going to happen for them. But Kayla and Finn? They’re on borrowed time already as a team. Kayla already stated it last week in her own promo that she was not used to being in a team and that she has been chasing after singles titles. She even went on to make the statement that she completely tried to avoid teaming up with somebody to chase after these championships.”

Eiley looks down at the championship for a moment before looking back at the camera that was currently recording her for her promo.

“Then what is really the point in going after these championships now? Clearly, Kayla, you think you’re above these championships. Because you spent a few minutes talking about the championship that you lost three times and how you it taught you something after losing it that many times. That, to me, makes me think that you think that these championships are beneath you or at least, that’s the way it sounds when you first even started talking about the championships and you wanted everybody to know that you’ve had success outside of the Mixed Tag division and that your previous championship reigns happened three times. You wanted that to be an important fact and you wanted everybody to think that you’re a better competitor than I am in the ring because I have not held a singles championship….yet.”

Eiley winks at the camera as she gets comfortable on the bench, enjoying the illumination that she was getting from the Sphere.

“You see, my career is just starting out, Kalya. I have alllllll of the time in the world to chase after singles championships. Championships like the World Bombshell Championship or even the Bombshell Internet Championship. I don't have to rush to those championships right now because what I have going for me with Olly is just what I want. But this championship? The one that I share with Olly? It is the most important one to me because it’s another accomplishment that I am sharing with Olly, who is probably my best friend. If not anything else.”

She smirks again, a certain look in her eyes.

“I don’t want to ever feel like this championship is beneath me in any fashion. Because it’s not. And you should know how hard it is to rely on another person in a match after all, you claimed that being in a team is not something that you are used to. You even boldly state that you and Finn are not on the same page, essentially. And we all know that you and Finn are professional wrestlers, none of us would be employed by SCW if we weren’t.”

She gives the camera a slightly confused look before shaking her head.

“That point was a little redundant, don’t ya think?”

She just laughs it off as she leans back against the back of the bench and crosses one leg over the other.

“You seem to think that even though you and Finn aren’t on the same page, that you will be able to power through it to get the win on Sunday. And you are right, Olly and I? We are an effective team and probably the best team that this company has seen since Kris Ryans and Mikah themselves. And sure, people say that we’re the cheap knockoffs but if you think about it, we already get along better than they did their first entire first reign. So, essentially, we’re already better Mixed Tag Team Champions than they were.”

It probably was a bold statement to make and Eiley was well aware of that. But she believed that making such bold statements like she had was something that could make the difference in the pace of the match.

“Kayla, you can claim to be an excellent people reader all you want but fear? That’s not something that I feel while competing in the ring for the SCW audience. And I find it amusing that you and Finn quite literally contradicted one another as you claimed that I am riding Oliver’s success all the way to the bank but Finn sees it as the opposite. He wanted to point out that Oliver has not found success outside of the Mixed Tag Division, while I have. Whereas you, you seem to think that Oliver is the standout star of this partnership. However,, what you don’t seem to take into consideration is the fact that Olly and I? We’re a team. We’re not out to get something over one another and we work together phenomenally well. We are good at what we do and that’s why Ben Jordan and Sam Marlowe couldn’t hack it at Violent Conduct and it’s why Austin James Mercer and Tempest always fall short when they’re booked against Olly and I. We’re just simply the best team that SCW has employed.”

She shrugs her shoulders as she looks at the camera.

“And honestly? I do not care how you got this championship match because I have zero room to talk Nobody thought that Olly and I deserved to be in the match at Summer XXXtreme and everybody believed that we were not going to walk out of that match as the Champions. Everybody claimed that we hadn’t paid our dues yet and that we hadn’t been in the company long enough to even earn that shot. And I don’t give a fuck about your previous singles championship reigns. That? Is irrelevant when it comes to Sunday because you’re not facing anybody for a singles championship. I don’t give a fuck who you think you are or what you think that you’re capable of in the ring that I’m not. Because I’m going to tell you that I’m just as capable in the ring as you are, if not more. And the fact that you and Finn aren’t on the same page? That’s only going to help Olly and I even more on Sunday because he and I? We’re always on the same page when it comes to competing.”

She hold an arrogant look on her face, one that could have rivaled her mentor, Mikah’s signature look.

“It seems like Finn is really the only one out of his team with Kayla that believes that they can manage to work together. I also thought that the month was October, not January? I don’t think you can claim, new year, new you this late in the year. We’re practically at the end of the year, you’ll have to wait until January of 2024 to claim that shit. And honestly? I don’t give a shit how many times you’ve flaked on SCW or how many times you’ve rose to the top only to fail because that doesn’t matter on Sunday. Go ahead and flake again, it’s not my concern. My concern is to defend my championship with Olly against you and Kayla, not laugh at the fact that you’re quick to note your own failures. That’s your problem, not mine. And while you want to basically shit on the competitors of Jet City, you can’t say that about me, not fully. I’m half trained by Jet City and half trained by Mikah at her gym in Hawaii. And plus, everybody that has come out of Jet City is more successful in the ring than the two of you combined and the one that is owner of Jet City? He’s considered a legend in this company.”

She smirks at her own words.

“Maybe it’s jealousy that’s coming out of your mouth because you’re not somebody that comes from Jet City, the gym that has probably cranked out more superstars than whatever crack shot of a gym you came from. I don’t know and frankly, I don’t fucking care, either. And I don’t give a shit about your sob story of a life before you became a superstar. We all have pasts and demons in our closet, it’s not SCW’s job to clean out our closets. Nor does that make you any better than Olly, Finn. And you can claim that you don’t need Kayla to get a win or for her to be the one to push you over, but guess what? In this match? You’re going to have to rely on her a little bit in order to somehow get the win. But it’s doubtful that it’s going to come to that.”

She just smirks again before glancing back at the Sphere which still had the emoji on it.

“You know what’s funny? Olly and I haven’t really dove into the singles division yet besides a few matches here and there. But yet, Finn, you seem to think the few matches that we’ve had without one another is sinking our potential singles division careers. But right now? We’re not singles division stars, we’re the Mixed Tag Team Champions and we’re the champions for a fucking reason. Sure, some of the outcomes of the matches we’ve had have been a little unorthodox, but a win is a win. You don’t see anybody discrediting any other champion for how they’ve won their matches, do you? No, but it seems to be a trend for everybody to do so to those champions who have come out of the Jet City gym. Personally, I think it’s jealous because they can’t fucking hack it in SCW but that’s just my opinion and it should be taken with a grain of salt. And if you must know or be reminded, the GOAT of SCW, J2H himself pretty much endorsed me and my career on Twitter, so yours and Kayla’s opinion of me? Irrelevant and unimportant because your opinion is never going to be as important as J2H’s. And that’s just facts.”

The arrogance was easily seen on her face. It had been a while since she had felt this confident in herself and her team with Oliver. And it was nice to feel confident once again.

“There’s a reason that High Stakes is SCW’s best show and there’s a lot effort that everybody puts into their matches and their promo work. Everybody wants to prove to Mark Ward and Christian Underwood that they are the best and they aim to prove it by winning their match. But Olly and I already know that we’re the best team that SCW has right now. Austin James Mercer and Tempest tried twice to beat us and they couldn’t get it done. Everybody’s favorite Ben Jordan and the ultimate good girl Sam Marlowe couldn’t get it done and they were definitely the handpicked favorites to get it done. And on Sunday, Kayla and Finn are going to fail just like the others have failed in the past. It’s not something that can be changed by time or by sheer luck.”

She smirks again as she looks at the camera. She ignores the people that seem to come in and out of the frame. Some seemed to recognize her but for the most part, they leave her alone.

“This is the show where Olly and I are going to be the ones to cement our names as the best in the Mixed Tag division, even though it should already be known. We’re unbeaten as a team and we’re not looking for a remedy for that on Sunday. We’re going to continue to be the best team that this company has ever seen. And we’re going to continue to work on being better than Mikah and Kris Ryans as a team. And while Finn likes to think that we’re limited…”

She smirks at her own words as she grabs her championship belt and slings it over her shoulder. She stands up and adjusts her top a little bit. She glances back at the Sphere once more before looking back at the camera with a confident look on her face.

“We’re going to prove just why we’re Limitless.”

OFF CAMERA
Location:San Diego, California.
Date: October 2, 2023.
 

Eiley knew that it was stupid to have come back to San Diego when they had not had a show in the area for a long time and her and Oliver had been training in Hawaii since Mikah had gone to the island a few weeks ago so that the baby could be born there. Eiley originally had been happy to have gone back to Hawaii, but her curiosity about Dean and his family wouldn’t leave her alone. She wondered if they were even worried about their son’s whereabouts but when she had walked down the street of the home that they lived in, it was pretty apparent that nobody was home and by the looks of it, they were on vacation somewhere. There was only one car in the garage and from staking out the place, she noticed that a neighbor had collected their mail and took it inside on a daily basis. It made Eiley nervous to know that they weren’t home and it made her wonder if they were out, searching for their deceased son. Or supposed deceased son; Eiley wasn’t too sure that he had died when he fell overboard, and his body hadn’t washed up on any shore but that didn’t necessarily mean anything either.

Eiley sighs as she tries to find her footing in the backyard in the dark as she carefully makes her way to one of the windows that she knew they left unlocked because they always forgot about it. Or that’s how it had been nearly five years ago when she had lived with them. She carefully pushes the window open and hoists her upper body up and into the window and carefully lets herself into the house. She hesitates in the spot she stands up in, hoping that the alarm system wasn’t set off but after what seems like forever, nothing happens and she grabs her phone to use the flashlight on it. She carefully and quietly walks into the dining room where she spots the mail that had been brought in by the neighbors. She glances around as if she was scared that there was going to be somebody that pops out from behind a corner to catch her in the act of what she was doing. She didn’t even know what she was doing here or what she was looking for. Other than Dean’s obsession with her, she hadn’t had anything to do with the Clemsen family in years. But she wanted to make sure that Dean’s disappearance couldn’t be linked back to her.

She goes through their mail before frowning when she comes to an unmarked envelope with the names, ”Evelyn and Daniel Clemsen” written in a scratchy handwriting. She glances around before opening the letter carefully to see what it was. She reads it before her eyes widen slightly as she sees Dean’s signature on the bottom and it was just a letter signaling that he was okay or at least, that’s what the note was telling Evelyn and Daniel. But Eiley knew that it couldn’t be possible, but she couldn’t tell if it was Dean’s handwriting or not as it had been years since she had even seen his handwriting. She reads it again, clutching the letter in her hands as the fear and anticipation settles in the pit of her stomach as her eyes read over the letter a few more times as she tries to process what she had just read.

•EILEY• “It’s…not possible.”

The words were barely above a whisper and practically inaudible as she thinks about what to do with the now opened letter. She didn’t know what to do about it or how to think but she knew that she couldn’t get caught just standing in the Clemsen’s dining room, reading their mail, which she knew was a federal offense. But instead of putting the letter back in the pile, she puts it back in the envelope and shoves it in the pocket of her jacket.

OFF CAMERA
Location: Kaneohe, Hawaii.
Date: October 5, 2023.

Eiley had not been focused for most of the day as she had been in Mikah’s gym, and she had not been doing well in the ring against Kendall. She knew that if Mikah were here, there would be dire consequences for how poorly she was doing in the ring and Eiley knew that she would deserve whatever it was that Mikah would say to her.

•EILEY• “I know, I know, I’m unfocused. I’m really trying, I promise.”

She knew that the Barnharts weren’t exactly a huge challenge for her and Oliver but she knew that she couldn’t go into the match, unprepared. She didn’t want to give them any excuse to find a way to get the win over them because she felt that if they were to get the win, it would discredit her and Oliver’s reign as the Mixed Tag Team Champions and even though her mind was not in the ring, she didn’t want to be the reason for it.

*KENDALL* “It’s really not me that you have to worry about. Mikah’s going to be here in about fifteen minutes and she’s going to want to see some sort of progress out of you. It’s her and Kris’ legacy that you and Oz are in the shadow of, not mine.”

Eiley gives Kendall a look as she leans back against the ropes in the ring. She was trying to catch her breath and had been trying to prove that she was fine and could hack it in the ring. But Kendall had always been one step ahead of her and had knocked her down every time Eiley had tried something.

•EILEY• “I thought she wouldn’t be cleared medically for six to eight weeks after having the baby…”

Kendall gives Eiley a confused look.

*KENDALL* “I didn’t say that she was going to get in the ring with you but she wants to see how you’re doing in the ring. Where’s your partner anyways?”

Eiley shrugs her shoulders at Kendall. She wasn’t sure where Oliver was at this particular moment in time and she wasn’t his babysitter or in charge of his whereabouts.

•EILEY• “I really don’t know. But I wasn’t aware that I was supposed to know his location at any given time. It’s not like he and I are married.”

The statement had come out a lot more snippy than Eiley had wanted it to and she grimaces as she sees the unamused look on Kendall’s face. They both look up as the doors open to Mikah’s gym and in walks Mikah with the baby car seat slung over her arm. They both watch as Mikah is quick and effortless as to setting the seat down and getting the baby out of the seat. Eiley had yet to meet the baby and was apprehensive about doing so as babies weirded her out, but she could see the excitement on Kendall’s face as she is quick to get out of the ring and goes over to wash her hands as Mikah walks over to the ring. Eiley doesn’t move from her spot in the ring as Mikah stands outside of it. Eiley could see that the baby is dressed in a pale purple ruffle romper and a cream-colored bow on her head. However, Eiley didn’t move closer to get a better look as Mikah seemed pretty content in holding the newborn.

;MIKAH; “How are things going Eiley?”

Eiley knew the tone in Mikah’s voice was serious but also curious and Eiley wondered how much Kendall had told Mikah over the past two days. She knew that her head was not in the right place and she needed to work to get to where she needed to be mentally and physically to be prepared for the match against the Barnharts. Eiley opens her mouth to say something but is cut off by Kendall, who had walked back over and Mikah easily placed the sleeping Ridley in her arms.

*KENDALL* “This is the most perfect baby I have ever seen. She is so well blended between you and Kris.”

Eiley watches the two women look at the sleeping baby and she couldn’t understand the fascination with the baby. If Eiley was honest, she was a little scared of babies.

;MIKAH; “I want her to have Kristopher’s eyes. But they’re still baby blue right now but she definitely has his temperament.”

Eiley sighs before getting out of the ring, figuring that Kendall was going to be infatuated with the baby and that the training would wait a little bit. She goes over to the station where the sink was and washes her own hands before grabbing a fresh bottle of water and walking back over to Mikah and Kendall. Eiley couldn’t help but notice that Mikah had seemed a lot calmer now since she was no longer pregnant, and she was not sure if it was a good thing or if there was something brewing.

•EILEY• “Babies’ eyes change colors?”

Eiley knew the bare minimum about babies and even less about their eyes and changing colors. She looks at Kendall, who was still holding the newborn before looking at Mikah. Mikah didn’t seem to be bothered by the question and Eiley just shrugs her shoulders as if it was normal for her to not know the answer.

*KENDALL* “Sometimes if their eyes aren’t going to be blue. My older sister had bright blue eyes as a baby but she now has brown eyes. It usually happens in the first year of their life. Do you want to hold her?”

Eiley freezes up a little but doesn’t have much time to refuse as Kendall places the baby in Eiley’s arms. Eiley struggles for a moment to get used to the feeling of the newborn in her arms, the panic settling in. Mikah smirks, sensing the discomfort in the young woman.

;MIKAH; “You’ve never held a baby, have you? It’s not that hard and she’s not going to bite, yet. Give her about ten months and she might. Here…”

Mikah reaches out and helps Eiley get better control of how to hold a baby. Eiley just looks at Mikah, that wide-eyed panicky look in her own eyes. She wasn’t sure she wanted to hold the baby but the baby didn’t seem to mind the jostling that was happening, either.

•EILEY• “How is she sleeping through the moving?”

Mikah chuckles as she sits down, and Kendall follows suit. Eiley thinks about sitting down but she doesn’t think she can manage to do so without dropping the newborn.

;MIKAH; “She’s become used to Myles holding her and he’s a little wild for a four-year-old. Out of the kids under ten, she prefers Lindsay because she’s the calmest when holding her. Myles can’t sit still long enough to be still with her as he always has to chase after KJ. But if we’re talking about all of the other four, Leighton would be the other obvious choice because she’s eighteen and has handled babies before. She probably does a better job than you.”

Eiley wasn’t going to object as she still felt uncomfortable holding Ridley, but she looks down at the newborn’s face and studies it. She could see that the baby had a blended number of features from both parents and could only wonder which one she was going to be more like. Eiley is quick, however, to hand Ridley back to Mikah, not wanting to hold the baby any longer.

•EILEY• “Yeah, well I haven’t been around babies before.”

Eiley just gives Mikah a tight-lipped smile before sitting down. Mikah moves so that she can sit on the floor with her back against the ring and her feet on the floor with her knees bent. She carefully positions Ridley on her legs so that the baby could be stretched out while asleep.

*KENDALL* “Eiley here is struggling with focusing today. I’ve knocked her on her ass several times.”

Mikah raises an eyebrow at the information that Kendall had spilled before looking at Eiley, a serious look on her face.

;MIKAH; “You can’t lose to the Barnharts, Eiley. You’ll be the laughingstock of the entire company. And nobody will let you live it down. You can’t have that blemish on your record, trust me, just ask Kristopher.”

A small smirk passes across Mikah’s face, but she is quick to replace it with a serious look. Eiley sighs and runs her fingers through her hair.

•EILEY• “I know, I know. And I’m trying but it’s hard. I don’t even know why I’m so unfocused today.”

Eiley wasn’t trying to be unfocused in any sense, but it was just happening and while she knew why, she couldn’t tell either of them the true reason as to why she is so unfocused.

*KENDALL* “Look, we know that the Barnharts are not the biggest threat to you and Oz’s championship reign. But you still have to treat this match like it is a high caliber match. It’s going to prepare you for the match you have at High Stakes against Finn Whelan and Kayla Richards. Plus, you and Oz need a little tune up before that match anyways. And this match can be just that.”

Eiley nods her head, knowing that Kendall was right.

;MIKAH; “Plus, you need to get your head in the game because whatever you’re thinking about right now? It is not as important as not losing to the Barnharts. Trust me.”

Eiley couldn’t deny that she was right. She didn’t want to lose to the team of Bill and Bea Barnhart as they were not somebody that her and Oz couldn’t beat when they are focused.

•EILEY• “How did you always stay focused?”

Mikah chuckles at the question that Eiley had asked. Eiley looks confused for a minute but doesn’t say anything as Mikah begins to speak.

;MIKAH; “Oh, I had plenty of distractions throughout my career. Most of the time Kristopher was a walking distraction but I also am really good at compartmentalizing and it’s something you need to learn to do in order to be successful in this career.”

It definitely seemed easier said than done. Or at least to Eiley as she didn’t know if she could push something to the back of her mind enough to focus on the match.

•EILEY• “Okay…I can try that. Are you ready to go again, Kendall? I think I’m ready to focus on what needs to be done.”

Kendall smirks and nods her head, getting up to her feet. Mikah carefully picks the sleeping baby up and moves to sit in a chair to watch, laying the baby across her lap.

*KENDALL* “You’re the one that needs to be ready, Eiley.”

Eiley nods her head as the two of them get in the ring.

•EILEY• “I will be.”



ON CAMERA
Location: Kaneohe, Hawaii.
Date: Friday, October 6, 2023


The scene opens up to the view of the ocean as Eiley stands in front of it in a simple orange summer dress with her mixed championship sitting in the sand in front of her. She shakes her hair out a little bit as the camera shifts a little bit to focus on her after getting a good glimpse of her championship in the sand.

“Is it going to be worth it? Is it going to be worth leaving the beautiful island of Hawaii to travel to Reno, Nevada with Oliver for a match against the Barnharts? I can’t really say in good faith that the sight of the Barnharts is going to be anything worth looking at compared to the view of the beach in front of me.”

The camera pans away from Eiley to get a glimpse of the view of the beach and the ocean before it moves back to Eiley.

“The Barnharts are anything but impressive when it comes to the competition here in SCW. Their record speaks for itself but if they are one thing, they are consistent with being the most disliked on the roster. And I’m not talking about their behavior or how they act on screen but it’s because they do not try to put any effort in to beat any opponent they face. They don’t change or adapt to the culture in the company, they just keep doing the same old shit that gets them nowhere. Has Bea Barnhart even won a match this year? Because if not, I’m not sure why Mark Ward and Christian Underwood continue to renew their contracts unless they enjoy employing glorified easy wins for their opponents.”

Eiley smirks a little bit.

“Bea will compare me to some sort of animal as she did the last time I faced her because she has nothing else to say that’s worth listening to. She’ll ramble on about how she’s going to beat me even though it hasn’t happened yet and I doubt she’s even beat anybody above her own caliber. I don’t know what more I can say that would make it easier for her to realize that I’m better than her.”

Eiley looks down at her championship that is still in the sand before she looks back up at the camera, a smirk still on her face.

“Oz and I have been the Mixed Tag Team Champions since July and have not had any problems in defending our belts. Sure, there may have been some close calls, but at the end of the night, we retained our championships and are on our way to cementing our own legacy in SCW. What can the Barnharts say? Except that they are old, outdated, and out of touch with what is real and what is fantasy. In real life, they do not amount to the high caliber that SCW expects out of its superstars. If anything, I do not even know where the Barnharts would belong when it comes to the totem pole of SCW. Definitely nowhere near the middle or the top and I’d definitely say they were either at the bottom of the totem pole or even lower, if at all possible. I mean, what do they expect when they get booked in matches against champions like Olly and I? Do they believe that they even have a shot at winning? Or are they already expecting to lose? Because they cannot expect to be anything more than jobbers, at best. And sometimes, I even think that is too much of a good thing because even jobbers try harder than the Barnharts do. They don’t change the way they portray themselves on the screen and they don’t adapt to what the culture is like around them. They are stagnant in this company where they believe that they are able to keep up with the best of the best, but that’s just it. They can’t. They want their cozy, comfortable life that the money they get from SCW brings. The do not care about their win and loss record or that they are literally the laughing stock of the locker room and when people see that their opponent for the next show is one of them, they have a laugh because they know that it is going to be the easiest win of their career. Or the easiest wins of their career, if they get booked in multiple matches against the Barnharts.”

Eiley shrugs her shoulders before she sits down in the sand and digs her feet into the sand behind her championship belt. She looks at the camera again and takes a deep breath.

“In reality, this match that Olly and I are booked in against the Barnharts is only a warmup match before we defend our championships against Finn Whelan and Kayla Richards at High Stakes. The bosses already know what the outcome of this match is going to be they’re not stupid, they know that Olly and I are going to be the ones walking out of the arena on Sunday with the win. The only reason they booked us in this match against the Barnharts is to make sure that Olly and I are a well-oiled machine. They just want us to be well prepared for the more important match that will be happening at High Stakes. They don’t give a fuck about the Barnharts; they know the Barnharts are not the type of talent that is bringing them in the money that names like J2H or even Courtney Pierce brings them. They will never have that star pull that the top champions of this company have. Or even the legends of this company bring. Legends like Kris Ryans and his wife, Mikah. Or Delia Darling. Names like Despayre., The list really can go on and on, but the fact is that the Barnharts are absolute trash when it comes to this company. They are not taken seriously, and they are a laughingstock and are not to be taken seriously.”

Eiley moves a little more in the sand to get more comfortable. She stretches her arms out behind her to support her upper body. She shakes her hair out behind her, letting the sun hit her face and closes her eyes and relishes the warmth of the sun.

“This is the life. This is what everybody should dream about it when it comes to paradise and what they want their life to be like. I couldn’t imagine being somebody else where they’re stuck in an office with a boring nine to five job where all they get to do is look out a window at life passing them by. However, that is the life that the Barnharts should aspire for because they sure as hell aren’t good in a wrestling ring.”

She doesn’t move her head, letting the rays of the sun hit her face.

“I’m sure that if the Barnharts really applied themselves, they’d be decent in the ring but that’s even close to happening. They won’t change their ways because a zebra can’t change their stripes. But Olly and I?”

She lifts her head up and looks at the camera, a smirk crossing her face.

“We are the best tag team that this company has, hands down. There’s nobody that can touch us and our talent. We even beat Ben Jordan and Sam Marlowe, which everybody doubted that we would walk away unscathed from that match. They were the favorites and Olly and I? We’ve never been anybody’s favorites, not once in our lives has anybody bet on us for anything. But we’ve always bet on one another. And that’s all that we really need to do. We don’t need to be the favorites or liked by anybody other than each other. I don’t need the popular vote because just like this country? We don’t need to rely on that vote to win. We only need to rely on each other.”

She sits up and grabs her championship and dusts the sand off of it. She admires the championship belt a little bit before looking up at the camera with a smirk still on her face.

“There’s not much time left before the clock runs out and Sunday is here. And there’s not much left that I can say about the Boring Barnharts and there’s nothing more that anybody can really say about them as they do not change and they will not be any better than what they are.”

She shrugs her shoulders.

“I don’t make the rules and I only know that Oliver and I are the best team this company has. Nobody can touch us or upstage us. And we’re going to use the Barnharts to prove just that on Sunday. And it’s going to be the easiest thing we’ve done since we won these championships.”

She knew that she was sounding more confident than she probably ever had before, but it was the truth and it was how they were going to prove their worth on Sunday.

“When you take Olly and I’s star power and pit it against the shadows of the Barnharts, we can’t do nothing but shine and prove we’re just that good. And I am honestly looking forward to it. Probably more than I’ve looked forward to a match in the past couple of months.”

Eiley starts walking toward the ocean, draping her championship over her shoulder.

“I’d like to say more but talking about the Barnharts is boring me. And this state is too beautiful to be dulled down by the Barnharts. So, see you on Sunday.”

She continues to walk toward the ocean and glances over her shoulder, the smirk still present on her face.

“Ciao.”

OFF CAMERA
Location: Yucatan, Mexico.
Date:Thursday, August 24, 2023.
 

Eiley was not sure that she enjoyed a pregnant Mikah or the fact that Mikah and her husband had decided to come to Yucatan for Violent Conduct. She hadn’t had a real training session with Mikah or Kendall since SCW started the World tour and just her luck, Mikah had convinced Kendall and her husband, JD to tag along so that Eiley and Kendall could work in the ring together while Mikah watched and critiqued.

Eiley collapses on the mat of the ring, breathing heavy as she and Kendall had just got done working on some techniques in the ring. Kendall just laughs a little bit as she gets out of the ring to get a bottle of water. Eiley just scowls in Kendall’s direction but doesn’t move from her spot in the middle of the ring.

•EILEY• “Are we done for the day?”

Eiley looks over at Mikah, who was trying not to frown at her pregnant belly as she pushes gently on the side. Eiley watches with slight interest before chuckling softly.

;;MIKAH “Laughing at a pregnant lady is considered rude, Eiley.”

Eiley just gives Mikah a look before shrugging her shoulders as Kendall walks back over and tosses Eiley a bottle of water before down next to Mikah.

*KENDALL* “Have you and Kris thought about a name yet?”

Eiley rolls her eyes as the focus shifts from her to Mikah and Kris’ unborn baby. It wasn’t like Eiley really mattered anyways as she preferred to be practically invisible.

•EILEY• “Just don’t give her a basic name like Olivia or Emma. Those types of girls are always basic and if she’s anything like you or Kris, she’s not bound to be basic.”

Eiley doesn’t move to look at Mikah or Kendall as she continues to stare up at the ceiling of the building they were training in.

;;MIKAH “No, not really. I like a few names that I like but I haven’t mentioned them to Kristopher just yet. And don’t worry, it’s not going to be Olivia or Emma, Eiley.”

Eiley nods her head as she moves a bit to get comfortable, bending her right leg and putting her foot on the mat.

*KENDALL* “Naming a baby seems harder than actually giving birth to a baby. She will have that name for the rest of her life and that seems like something that would be hard to choose.”

Mikah laughs but agrees with Kendall as she pushes in on the side of her baby belly.

;;MIKAH “Yeah, that might be true but I knew what I wanted to name Leighton before I knew that she was even a girl. And with Myles, it was the only boy name that I had liked at the time. This time, I haven’t found a name that I think will fit her just yet.”

Eiley just nods to herself, even though she couldn’t really understand where Mikah was coming from. She didn’t have kids of her own and she didn’t know how she even got the name Eiley as she did not know her biological parents in any fashion. She had contemplated looking for them once before but it hadn’t evolved into anything. But now the thought wanders through her mind, wondering about how she came to be. But she didn’t want to focus on that so she smirks, shifting her own focus back to Mikah’s baby name dilemma. She sits up a bit, propping her upper body with her arms stretched out behind her with her hands on the mat.

•EILEY• “You should name her Courtney, just to spite Court. Just imagine how pissed off Court would be then.”

Eiley seemed to enjoy playing both sides as she liked being on friendly-ish terms with Court but she also knew not to get on Mikah’s bad side. It was something that took a while to learn but she was starting to come around.

;;MIKAH “If you think Court is pissed off at the world now, I couldn’t imagine how pissed off she’d be if Kristopher and I named our baby Courtney.”

Mikah shakes her head at the thought and it only makes Eiley chuckle. Eiley knew that she should focus on the match that she and Oliver has against Sam Marlowe and Ben Jordan in a few short days, but this was a little bit of a stress reliever for her. She didn’t have to think about the match and the what ifs or her whatever it is with Oliver or the fact that she had pushed somebody over the railing of the cruise ship to their presumed death.

*KENDALL* “She would probably come to Hawaii just to burn you’re your first house.”

Mikah laughs before nodding her head.

;;MIKAH “Not that she would get very far; the security on that house is tighter than the one that Kristopher and I live in now. Having turned it into an AirBNB, I wanted to make sure that the guests that stay in that house have only the best security while staying there. So, Court and her chip wouldn’t get too close.”

Eiley knew that Mikah had sort of merged from a professional wrestler into some sort of business connoisseur. Mikah ran a successful training gym that was also multi-functional and open to the public. It had a walking track above the wrestling rings as well as all the work out equipment that one could one and it also had meeting rooms and the room that the wrestling rings were in could be transformed into a ball room that could hold events like wedding receptions and other things. And now, Eiley had learned since Mikah was in town that she was adding onto the building to include an inside and outdoor pool and two hot tubs as well. Eiley was impressed with all the additions that Mikah was adding to the building and could only see it being more successful than it already was.

•EILEY• “I don’t think she would go that far. I don’t think she would try to intentionally injure you or your family to that extreme.”

Eiley also wanted to give Court the benefit of the doubt as well. But she also didn’t know Court as well as Mikah once had, so she wasn’t too sure how far Court would go.

;;MIKAH “She really doesn’t bother me as much as she probably likes to think she does. Or wants to, anyways.”

Eiley nods her head in understanding as she collapses back down on the mat, staring up at the ceiling once more.

*KENDALL* “I think Kendall is a good name for a baby.”

Mikah laughs and Eiley glances over at them before resuming staring at the ceiling.

•EILEY• “I haven’t had much experience with names, honestly. But I like the name Ivy. People are always mispronouncing my name.”

Mikah laughs at Eiley a little bit.

;;MIKAH “Trust me, that’s the least of your worries. I have been called Mee-kah, Mick-ah and all sorts of things. I even had to give everybody in SCW the right pronunciation after being there for a while as nobody seemed to know which one it is. You could do that, give them a little lesson on how to pronounce your name because I doubt anybody other than Oliver has it right.”

Eiley just shrugs her shoulders. It really didn’t bother her too much and only amused her when people pronounced her name wrong.

*KENDALL* “Nobody rarely gets my named pronounced wrong. However, if I’m signing up for something online and don’t fill out my gender, they sometimes think I’m a male because apparently Kendall is a unisex name.”

Eiley chuckles a little bit at the thought. She was not even sure what type of name hers was or it it was just made up by her biological egg and sperm donors.

•EILEY• “I think I’ll let them keep pronouncing my name wrong. Maybe I’ll even get Olly in on it.”

The mention of Eiley’s nickname for Oliver seemed to get Mikah’s interest and she smirks a little to herself before looking over at Kendall and then at Eiley.

;;MIKAH “So…what is it with you and Oliver, Eiley?”

This also seemed to get Kendall’s attention and interest as well as she leans forward to look at Eiley. Mikah had an idea of where they were headed but she wanted to see where Eiley thought that they were.

*KENDALL* “Yes. That is the burning question that almost everybody wants to know. What is the situation with you and him?”

Eiley just smiles to herself as she looks up at the ceiling as if she knew the answer, but really she didn’t know either. They were on better terms than they were before but she didn’t really know what they were or weren’t, to be exact.

•EILEY• “I’m not sure that there’s anything there to discuss, really. Champions?”

It was a vague description of what she felt they were and it wasn’t necessarily a lie. Mikah just rolls her eyes at Eiley’s blindness to her and Oliver’s situation.

;;MIKAH “How’s that part of your thing with him going?”

Eiley shrugs her shoulders at Mikah’s question.

•EILEY• “Fine? We haven’t actually teamed together since Summer XXXtreme but I imagine not much has changed in that aspect. Maybe it’s changed when we’re not actively competing but I can imagine it’s only for the better.”

She didn’t elaborate that she had been staying with him at his place in Barcelona because she was sure that neither of them even knew that he had a place in Barcelona and she didn’t feel like that was her information to share.

;;MIKAH “I feel like you and Oliver have a better in-ring relationship than Kristopher and I have or had.”



*KENDALL* “But I don’t think anybody can beat the relationship that you and Kristopher have at all.”

Eiley frowns a little as Kendall compliments Mikah and Kristopher’s marriage. But it wasn’t like she and Oliver had defined them as anything exclusive or anything more than a tag team, so she couldn’t really be jealous. But that was easier said than done when it came to relationships and it sometimes scared her. She felt more for Oliver than she had probably felt for any other person and it scared her, so she did her best to keep it bottled up and to herself. He didn’t need to know how she felt about him, so she didn’t dare tell him.

•EILEY• “Do you have any advice for when I face off against Sam?”

She was shifting the conversation away from personal relationships. She didn’t have many personal relationships and she didn’t want to talk about her working relationships with either woman in the room, so shifting the focus to the match was the best idea that she could come up with.

;;MIKAH “You’ve already beat her once, Eiley. What more advice could I have for you?”

Eiley gives her a look but doesn’t say anything as she looks back at the ceiling. She had beat Sam almost two months ago but the stakes weren’t going to be high like they were this time. This time, it was her and Oliver against Sam Marlowe and Ben Jordan.

*KENDALL* “It should be easy for you.”

Eiley lets out a sigh of irritation as neither woman seemed to be helpful with advice towards her and Oliver’s match against Ben Jordan and Sam Marlowe. And it was frustrating to say the least.

•EILEY• “Yeah but now it’s me and Olly versus Sam and Ben. It’s not the same.”

Mikah rolls her eyes at Eiley before looking at Kendall and then over at Eiley.

;;MIKAH “It’s not that much different, Eiley. It’s basically two singles matches balled up into one match. You don’t even have to worry about Ben in any way, shape or form. And plus, Ben’s a good guy and is the least likely to put his hands on you. And Sam is going to be the same as she was in the singles match you had against her.”

Kendall nods her head, agreeing with Mikah.

*KENDALL* “Yeah, you shouldn’t be so worried.”

Kendall was never very helpful to Eiley when it came to her SCW opponents because Kendall had never been in SCW. But Mikah knew the ins and outs of a SCW ring and should be more helpful.

Eiley sits up before standing up and getting out of the ring. She walks over to Mikah and Kendall and stands in front of them. They just look at her with their eyes raised and she folds her arms over her chest.

•EILEY• “You could give me better advice than that, Mikah. You’re a SCW legend and in the Hall of Fame. And you know what they’re going to be looking for in the match. And you were friends with Ben Jordan at one point, don’t think I didn’t do my research on him. I know that you were married to one of his best friends more than three years ago. All I am asking for is a little advice on how to handle facing Sam Marlowe again with Ben Jordan in her corner, it’s not too much to ask for, is it?”

Mikah raises her eyebrows at the young Bombshell before sighing and nodding her head before motioning for her to sit down.

;;MIKAH “Lose the attitude and calm down. I don’t need your attitude or ego to rub onto my baby.”

Eiley gives Mikah a look.

•EILEY• “That baby is already going to have a bigger ego than anybody in this room. I don’t think you should be worried about how my ego or attitude is going to rub off on your unborn child.”

Mikah laughs before motioning to the chair with her hand.

;;MIKAH “This baby is probably going to be more talented than anybody signed to the roster. No offense, Eiley.”

Eiley didn’t seem to be too bothered by the comment as she figured that it was something that Mikah would say anyways. She easily could brush Mikah’s arrogance off as it was easily earned.

•EILEY• “Probably true. But I am wanting to be the best that I can be under you. People already compare me to you, so I just want to be the best by you.”

Mikah smirks, liking the words that was coming out of the young girl’s mouth.

;;MIKAH “That’s definitely the right mindset to have going into the match. Because you can bet that Sam is going to bring up the comparison of you and I and try to use it to her advantage. She’ll bring up the fact that she beat me in February of 2016 for my championship and have some sort of idiotic claim that she did the impossible.”

Mikah waves the thought away with her hand.

;;MIKAH “But it’s all in the past. Nobody views Sam Marlowe as a threat anymore and you shouldn’t either, Eiley. You’ve already beat her once, you can do it again. What you do have to worry about is how Oliver is going to fair against Ben Jordan. He lost to him a few weeks ago, so you need to make sure that it isn’t going to happen again. And Ben Jordan is a legend in SCW himself, so odds are already against you as him and Sam are probably the favorites to win the match. What you’re most going to have to worry about is keeping you and Sam in the ring versus Oliver and Ben. That would be the safest option.”

Eiley frowns at Mikah.

•EILEY• “Oliver was just having an off night, it’s not his fault. And he’s focused. I don’t think we really have to worry about him facing off against Ben on Sunday.”

Mikah gives Eiley a look.

;;MIKAH “Look, I am not saying that Oliver is not good enough to beat Ben. But the fact is, Ben’s already beat him once and has the upper hand on him. And while you have the upper hand on Sam, match wise, it doesn’t not mean that you are going to save this match. And while I do think you and Oliver have a good chance at beating them, I do know that there are people that are betting on Sam and Ben to win on Sunday. And that’s not an unrealistic bet for them to make. Anything that Ben Jordan is involved in usually has good statistics on his side. And don’t ask Kristopher, he probably has his own opinion. But mine is more important.”

Mikah smirks to herself and Eiley rolls her eyes. She was used to the little competition side between Mikah and Kris that was always playful and nothing serious.

•EILEY• “So, basically I need to try to keep Sam in the ring with me and keep Ben on the apron?”

Mikah nods her head, a smile instead of a smirk forming on her face.

;;MIKAH “Precisely. And ignore the doubters; Kristopher and I always had doubters. As a tag team and now even more as a couple and we’re probably two of the most successful people that came out of SCW. And I have faith that you and Oliver will get there. But I have to go find my husband and make sure that our children aren’t driving him up the wall. Have fun.”

Eiley just watches as Mikah leaves the area without saying anything else. She watches as Kendall grabs her things to leave.

•EILEY• “Going to go find JD?”

Kendall nods her head.

*KENDALL* “Yep. Going to convince him to make a baby.”

Eiley makes a face at the thought of it and shudders. She watches as Kendall struts out of the room with a sway to her step. Eiley shakes her head.

•EILEY• “And I thought I had an attitude problem.”



ON CAMERA
Location: Yucatan, Mexico.
Date: Friday, August 25, 2023


The scene opens up to Eiley sitting in the chairs that would be filled with fans in two days time.

“Mexico is such a…well, I don’t know what I would describe it as a country but it’s something. Being in Mexico is not as nice as some people would think it is and I am ready for this tour to be over so I can spend time not flying to countries with weird laws. And I am ready for everything to be back to normal and with easy access to.

But that’s not the point. The point is that there’s only two days left until Oz and I step into the ring against Sam Marlowe and Ben Jordan to defend our mixed tag team championships. Two days before Olly and I prove to everybody that we’re here to stay and that we’re not just transitional champions. Because, that’s what everybody is saying, right? They think that our win at Summer XXXtreme was just a fluke and that there is no way in hell that we can beat a SCW legend like Ben Jordan and the inconsistent bombshell, Sam Marlowe. It’s no secret that they’re the favorites to win this match. Hell, even my mentor, Mikah stated that they were the favorites and had all the odds in their favor. But she did tell me that she believed it was because of Ben Jordan and not Sam Marlowe, so technically the odds are only half in their favor.”

A small smirk crosses her face as she looks at the camera as she leans back to get comfortable.

“But it’s honestly no surprise to me that everybody thinks that Ben Jordan and Sam Marlowe are going to win. Olly and I have always been the underdog, the un-favorite when we’re booked in a tag-team match. It will be no different from how we felt going into our match at Summer XXXtreme, except this time we have something to defend and an even bigger point to prove. And the point we’re going to make is that we are the best mixed tag team in this company right now. And while some people might say that it’s a bold claim, it can’t be called a bold claim when we’re holding these…”

She reaches under her seat and pulls out her championship and places it in her lap with the front facing the camera.

“This right here states that Olly and I are the best in the mixed tag division. There are no other claims that can be made that would be true. Because any other mixed tag team aren’t holding these. And this is what all of those other mixed teams want, right? So it’s only fair that Olly and I are sitting at the top and god-fucking-damn it, we should not be considered the fucking underdogs in this match. We should be considered the ones that are going to win this match without any hesitation. We should be the favorites to win and everybody should be betting on us and not the sorry excuse of a bombshell, Sam Marlowe.”

She makes a face at the thought of it.

“Is that nice of me to talk so…poorly of Sam Marlowe? No, but do I fucking care? All she’s going to do is compare me to Mikah and how I am not as good as her or that I shouldn’t aim to be just like her because imitation is not the sincerest form of flattery. Except I should want to be like Mikah because she is still something that everybody should aspire to be. She is a legend in SCW all her own and just because somebody like Sam Marlowe likes to base her whole entire career on the fact that she was the one to beat Mikah in February of 2016 for the Bombshell Championship states otherwise, doesn’t mean shit.”

Eiley rolls her eyes in annoyance again.

“I had wanted to give Sam the benefit of the doubt when I first faced her back in July. I wanted her to be better than she was and I did not get what I wanted out of her. Sure, I got the win and have already proven that I am better than she in the ring. But I don’t get all the hype that surrounds her. She comes and goes as she pleases and is inconsistent at best. Half the time, I don’t even know if she’s employed by SCW or if she just shows up randomly and they sign her up for a match. Maybe she has one of those types of contracts, I guess I don’t know. But for somebody that is getting the chance to face me and Olly with Ben Jordan as her teammate, should be a little bit more consistent.

And that is coming from me, somebody who doesn’t understand what consistency is but I’ve been in SCW since the Blast From the Past Tournament and I’ve only lost one real match, two if you count the match I had in the Blast From the Past tournament. And I would call that pretty damn consistent. AND I got a compliment from the fucking current World Heavyweight Champion himself. So if there is something that I can claim over and over again is that. AND the fact that I’m being trained by Mikah, who is considered to be the greatest Bombshell of all time by Tommy Knocks. I am already better on paper compared to Sam Marlowe. Especially when her…”

She pauses to make air quotes with her fingers.

“Biggest accomplishment is dethroning Mikah from her legendary reign as Bombshell champion. Something that happened seven years ago and is not even relevant to today. That’s such a boring thing to rely on. But then again, I am talking about Sam Marlowe, who has the personality of a fish. The only thing that she could have going for her is the fact that she is considered to be one of the nicest Bombshells of all time. But even that is lame in comparison to pretty much everything else. Because being nice never got anybody anywhere and it damn sure has never got me anywhere in my life. I’ve always had to fight for and take what I wanted for myself. And this Sunday does not seem like it’s going to be any different.”

She shrugs her shoulders before looking down at the championship in her lap before looking back at the camera.

“This is the reason that Olly and I are going to be the best on Sunday. We don’t have anything else to lose but these championships. And sure, Olly lost to Ben a few weeks ago, but everybody has a bad night here and there but that doesn’t mean that Ben Jordan and Sam Marlowe have the upper hand on us because as I see it, we’re even. I have beaten Sam one on one and Ben has beaten Oz one on one. Even.”

She smirks at the camera, a similar look that her mentor Mikah always wore when she was in front of the camera.

“I don’t even think I care what Sam is going to say about me. Or how many times she is going to compare me to Mikah. Because in the end, the only thing that is going to matter is that I already have a win against her and heading towards a second. What she has to say is not important because she’s not the champion and she is nothing compared to me in the ring. Am I a rookie? Yes, but I still feel that I am better than her.”

She shrugs her shoulders.

“But let me play devil’s advocate for a minute, or two.”

She smirks again as she leans back even more, placing her feet on the chair in front of her to make herself more comfortable in the uncomfortable seat.

“She will make the claim that I want to be Mikah. Or something of the sort. But she’s wrong. Because I don’t want to be Mikah, I want to be better than Mikah was in SCW. I want to be the best that I can be and I already think that I’m on my way to make that claim a reality. And I’m going to start with beating you for a second time, Samantha. I’m going to prove that you’re not as good as you think you are in that ring. And even though you managed to snag a good partner in Ben Jordan, that isn’t going to matter. Because Benny Boy can’t put his hands on me in the ring. He can try all he wants but I don’t think that’s legal in a mixed tag match. And while you have faith in your partner to be there for you every step of the way, I have more faith in Olly so that he and I can walk out of this arena on Sunday as the defending and reigning Mixed Tag Team Champions.”

She smirks again, the confidence reaching her eyes just as it had filled the tone of her voice as she spoke.

“There’s not much more preparation that any of us can do but to be ready on Sunday for this match to start. It’s not going to be pretty but it’s going to be a match that everybody is going to want to pay to see and if we’re lucky, it’s going to steal the show on Sunday. Or at least, Oz and I will. Sam and Ben just lack everything there is when it comes what a champion should be. And if we’re being honest, which I always am, Ben is more of a World Heavyweight Champion material than being mixed tag team champion material. It’s not something that I am proud of saying because I fully support J2H in being the World Heavyweight Champion, but Ben would make a good challenger for J2H. And that’s where he should be spending his time and not wasting his talent on teaming with a has-been like Sam Marlowe.”

She just shrugs her shoulders before looking down at her championship in her lap once more. She runs her fingertips over the nameplate with her name etched on it. She doesn’t look up for a moment or so as she lets her fingers run over every letter of her name. After a moment, she looks up at the camera with a smirk on her pretty face.

“The fact is that time is running out for anybody to believe that Sam and Ben are going to beat us. And while it may seem like the odds are in their favor, I can promise you that they aren’t..”

She stands up and adjusts the shorts she is wearing and hoists the championship to be placed over her shoulder. She looks at it with a look of adoration on her face before looking back at the camera.

“There’s only one way that this match is going to go on Sunday, and Ben and Sam better prepare for the worst. Because Olly and I are going to retain and that’s what everybody can bet on.”

She smirks again before starting to walk towards the end of the aisle she was sitting in. She glances over her shoulder with a glint in her eyes.

“Because we’re Limitless.”

OFF CAMERA
Location: Read Below.
Date: Monday, July 3, 2023.
 

It had been a hard time for Eiley to sleep after she had witnessed Dean falling overboard; presumably to his death. She had been scared to sleep in the cruise cabin with Oliver close to her in case she woke up with a nightmare. While she had told him what happened and he seemed to be okay with it, she was still struggling with the aftermath of it. It also did not help that she was also struggling with the fact that she had not told anybody about what happened in London and she was having an even harder time putting it out of her mind after witnessing his demise.

Of course, the silver lining was that she managed to compartmentalize it enough to focus in the match that she and Oliver had been in the night afterwards. She was comforted by the fact  that the exhaustion of it all would crash her into  a dreamless sleep and she would be spared the nightmares she knew were coming. And she had been right. The second they had gotten off of the cruise liner and boarded Jet City’s private jet, she had crashed. She didn’t ask where they were headed, and Oliver hadn’t offered her any of the details. She wasn’t certain how he had talked Kris and Coby into letting them borrow it, but wasn’t sure that she actually wanted to know the answer either. She didn’t have the energy for that, and frankly, it didn’t matter. Wherever they went, and whatever happened, she would adapt, because that was life. For instance, in all of her pondering what her first championship win would be like, it never involved a death. Yet here they were. And she  had wanted to celebrate their big win but the second that she had sat down and the plane took off, she was out. Such is life.

She hadn’t the slightest idea how much time had passed when she woke up. It had to have been a significant chunk of time because while she didn’t feel very well rested by any means, she wasn’t tired. The windows that had been covered to block out the light earlier were open now that the skies were dark around them. For a moment, she thought she remembered that they touched down at some point, but wasn’t convinced that hadn’t just been her imagination. Oliver was no help. He had been very dismissive any time she even came close to bringing up the subject. The pilots were also closed-lipped in their announcements to the cabin area, so she assumed Oliver had instructed them to keep their mouths shut. After minimal effort, she just let it be, figuring it didn’t matter as they’d have at least two weeks before they had to report to Rome for Climax Control at The Colosseum. When the plane finally landed, the two of them gathered their bags and descended down the flight of stairs to the ground below. Once her feet were firmly planted back on earth, she looked around in an attempt to find any kind of identifying feature that would give her a clue to their location. The fact that every sign that the two of them passed as they moved through the small airport was in a language that she couldn’t read wasn’t any more reassuring than Oliver’s avoidance of the subject. As they made their way through the front doors of the airport to a line of cars waiting to pick up passengers, Oliver ran out and stuck his head into the window of one of them before saying something Eiley didn’t understand. Apparently he came to some kind of agreement with the driver because he tossed his bag through the passenger side window, and then opened the back door for Eiley to get in. She didn’t move.

•EILEY• “Where even are we?”

She looks to Oliver, hoping for some sort of answer but when she only gets a shrug and a more impatient motion to get into the car. Realizing that she doesn’t have much room to argue with him, she concedes and hands him her bag before sliding into the back seat.

•EILEY• “You know that this could be considered kidnapping, right?”

She wasn’t sure that it could since she willingly got on the plane and now into the car.  Technically nobody was forcing her to do any of it, but that didn’t change how the situation felt. She frowns again when he plops down beside her in the seat and closes the door. When the car takes off  without a  response from him she decides to finally press a little harder about it.

•EILEY• “I don’t even get a hint? Or did you forget how to talk to me?”

She gets a small smile of sorts from him and he sighs, but doesn’t offer any kind of explanation. It should have annoyed her, but it didn’t. The whole situation should have been a gigantic red flag, but for some reason, it wasn’t. She thought if she ever found herself in a situation like this one, she would try and run for her life to get away from the person. However, not only did she not feel the urge to flee, part of her didn’t want to spend any time away from him. She had gotten used to sharing a bed with him, albeit platonically thus far. They had even survived sharing the smallest space imaginable together for over a week. Deep down she was thankful for wherever it was they were going, because they were going together. The worst part of stepping off of the boat had been the realization that they were both going to be leaving that small bubble that they had made their own. It was safe there.

•EILEY• “Are we even in the United States?”

She assumed as much because nothing that they had passed in the airport or so far in the car looked even the smallest bit familiar to her.  Other than a few words here and there, she couldn’t read any of the signs. She caught a glimpse of the driver looking back at them through the rearview mirror with worry on his face that maybe he was becoming an accomplice to a kidnapping. For some reason, it was reassuring to her to know that he understood them at the very least.

•EILEY• “ Can you at least tell me what side of the world we are on?”

Oliver maintained his amused silence for the entire ride, not that it had taken very long. From the point that we left the airfield, we were basically on the highway for fifteen minutes before the car came quickly to a halt. Eiley did her best to keep track of how far they went and in which direction as a passive self-preservation trick that she taught herself for her dates. She guessed that they couldn’t have been in the car any longer than twenty minutes before it came to a stop outside of a large apartment building. Oz reached up and handed the driver a stack of bills that definitely weren’t the currency she was used to seeing, and then got out of the backseat. He managed to grab both of their bags through the window of the vehicle in the time it took her to slide out of the backseat, and simply shouldered both of them instead of giving hers back to her.

•EILEY• “Still nothing?”

He smiled again, and shrugged his shoulders. Wordlessly, he led her through the lobby of the building. Neither the doorman, nor the woman sitting behind the desk said a word to them as they passed through like they had been there their whole lives. They stepped into an open elevator and Oliver pressed one of the buttons without appearing to have to think about it at all. By the time that the doors shut in front of them and the elevator started to rise, Eiley’s curiosity was boiling over.

•EILEY• “You’re going to have to say something eventually, so you can just tell me now…”

Despite her pleas, they stood in silence until the chime signaled that they had reached their floor. When the doors opened, Oliver led her down the hallway, and passed only a couple of doors before he pulled out a set of keys that she had never seen before. In their time together she had seen him handle an endless stream of hotel keycards, watched him use credit cards that he had definitely stolen, and she had even ridden around in cars that she knew there was no way he could afford. However, the most out of place thing she had ever seen him do was produce something as normal as a set of keys. When he put them in the door and unlocked it, she was dumbfounded.

•EILEY• “Not breaking in for once?”

He opened and walked through the door without actually answering the question. She followed him into the furnished apartment, and watched as he hung the keys on a hook near the door. He dropped the bags onto the couch at the end of the hallway without breaking his stride and then went to work adjusting the sliders for all of the lights in the main room. Most importantly, he was doing it all as if it had been his everyday routine for his whole life. There was no hesitation or pause to any of it. He moved from task to task with the kind of ease that one only had at home.

•EILEY• “You LIVE here?!?!”

Oliver stopped in his tracks and seemed legitimately confused by the question. It was a good sign after what felt like an excruciatingly long time stonewalling her.

○OZ○  “Why are you surprised? Everyone lives somewhere.”

It was such a shitty and condescending answer. She knew that he knew what she meant. For the entire time that they had known each other, the commonality was the fact that neither of them had a place to call home. In their early teenage years they had popped from place to place. When they were working together in Hawaii, he had been adamant about not being caught in one place for too long because it drew attention. Since then, the two of them had been on the road with Sin City, or bouncing back and forth between Jet City and Mikah’s gym in Hawaii. In her mind, not only did he not have a home, neither of them really had time for one anyways. That whole worldview got flipped on its head the moment that he started moving around the apartment so freely.

•EILEY• “You’re the one always talking about it being dangerous to ever be in one place too long. Yet…”

She motions to the room around them still waiting for some kind of better explanation.

○OZ○  “When you’re stealing stuff from people, it’s best that they don’t ever have any idea where you are…”

It was the same spiel that she had heard so many times before and she was even able to mouth the words with him as he said them. She could tell that he didn’t appreciate her mocking him though, because his tone changed a little bit when he kept going past the words she knew.

○OZ○  “...so you never take anybody home.”

He looked around the room, and then back at her.

○OZ○  “That’s what this is. This isn’t supposed to be a place for everyone else. It’s a place for me, and a place that nobody is ever going to find me, because nobody even knows to look here. I figured it was a good spot for us to escape to. We kind of earned it, ya know? We’re champions.”

He tried to leave it there, but there were still the other underlying reasons that the two of them might want to lay low that went almost without saying. For the sake of keeping things focused on the fact that he had successfully hidden all of this information from her for so long, he didn’t actively bring up the cloud hanging over her head.

○OZ○  “Just a few days away from it all to decompress, ya know?”
 
The sentiment wasn't lost on her at all, but she didn't want to press it, especially after being slightly reminded of needing to get away and why. It was almost like her curiosity had pushed the other thing to the back of her mind and it was almost irrelevant. In the absence of that anxiety, everything else came back, crashing into her like a wave. She nods her head as she looks around but doesn't really move from her spot.

•EILEY• "It's nice that you have a place like this…"

She says the words quietly and almost hesitantly as if it wasn't right to say them. It was something about saying them that she thought might make everything just disappear.

•EILEY• "Everybody should have a place to call home."

[color=#928BAO]She had wanted a home as a child but instead, had been bounced around from foster home to foster home. And then the past few months, she had been hiding from Dean and had been grateful that she hadn't had a place to call home. She runs her fingers through her hair before looking at him, studying him for a moment or two.[/color]

•EILEY• "Thank you…for bringing me here. You really didn't have to…and you still don't have to deal with…"

She hesitates, not sure how to word it. She had watched her phone like a hawk after the Dean incident, terrified that Dean's body would have washed up on shore somewhere. Or that somebody had seen something and reported it to law enforcement.

•EILEY• "My mess with Dean."

She never had anybody to rely on or go to for help as for the most part, it had just been her. This was new territory for her. What made it even stranger, was that Oliver was not typically the type of person that would go out on a limb like this. He was the same person that had sold out Jaycee. She had never seen him do a single thing without knowing that there was something to gain from it. It was a pleasant break from their usual reality.

○OZ○  “Your mess is my mess. We’re friends. We were in the same room. We were partners on the show.”

It was nice to know that despite his selfish nature, he was still somehow able to put himself aside to have her back. She was about to respond with some platitude about how much it meant to her, but he cut her off and took his point a step further.

○OZ○  “You know… it’s kind of funny. That room was so small, and we had so many signings, events to attend, and then training for the actual show, that I am not sure we were ever out of each other’s sight the whole time we were on the boat. If anything weird happened, it couldn’t have had anything to do with us.”

His eyes didn’t leave hers, and he said the words in such a casual nature that she wouldn’t have seen through them if she didn’t know for a fact that every one of them was a lie. That wasn’t the point though. It was simply his way of telling her the same thing that he would tell absolutely anyone else that asked. But he wasn’t done. He pressed one of the buttons on the panel that controlled the lights, and the blinds on the far side of the room parted. He motioned for her to join him by the window so that she could see the lights of the parties going on down below. Just a block from the skyscraping apartment building was a pier where the nightlife appeared to be in full swing. The beach surrounding it didn’t look any different than the beaches that she had been accustomed to her whole life.

○OZ○  “...and it’s not like we ran away to some kind of dark hole in the world. We just won the Mixed Tag Team Championships; our first ever championships I might add. We weren’t running away from anything, we were running to something: a vacation. We’re just celebrating, Barcelona style.”

She couldn’t tell if he was avoiding everything with Dean like he had been all of her questions during their trip here because it made him uncomfortable, or because he was still just treating her with kid gloves. She had a feeling that if it was anything other than the latter, he wouldn’t have brought her here. For someone like Oz, having a place like this was probably his most closely guarded secret. This was his escape, and his safe place, and he had brought her into it. That didn’t sound like someone who was avoiding a problem. It sounded like someone trying to protect someone from a problem.

•EILEY• "...."

She had opened her mouth to say something or anything but no words would come out. She didn't know how to say what she wanted to say without it being too much and she didn't want to ruin everything he had just said. However,  she also didn't know how to exist in a world where she didn't have to be running away from Dean; or hiding from him, in better terms.

•EILEY• "I am not sure I remember how to not run away from things."

Surprisingly, she admits it out loud. The words came out slowly, and almost hesitantly, as if it would make reality crash down around her. The fact was, she wasn’t good at this kind of thing, and that is why she avoided it. If there weren’t people around that she let get close to her, she didn’t have to deal with the traumatic experiences that haunted her. For that reason, she didn't keep friends, and to be honest, Oliver had lasted longer than anybody else in her life. Dean popped back into her life, but she didn’t want him around. She never had,  but for some sick reason he had wanted to be around her. There was always something to run from, yet Oliver was telling her that this place was not for running.  This was a place for staying, and a place where she could simply exist.

•EILEY•  "I've been running from Dean since…London."

It was another shocking admission, and something she hadn’t admitted to anybody, not even herself. She had kept that locked away and repressed with the hope that one day it would just go away even though that had never worked with any of the things she had bottled up in the past.

•EILEY• "It would be nice to just… live."

She gives him a half smile as she looks at him before averting her eyes back to the window. She lets her eyes scan over the nightlife of Barcelona and she tries her best to relax. The two of them didn’t actually make it down to partake in any of the night time adventures that first night. Instead, Oz was more than happy to give her the grand tour of his home. Despite all of the negativity that hung over them, it wasn’t actually the worst way to spend an evening. They had an entire city of things to explore, and more than enough time to do anything that they wanted. It didn’t seem like either of them were anxious to leave their new shared space though, and not even just because it was much bigger than the last.



OFF CAMERA
Location: Rome, Italy → Barcelona, Spain.
Date: Sunday, July 16, 2023 & Monday, July 17, 2023.
 

The Climax Control in Rome had been nothing too exciting but she and Oliver had done their thing and she was ready to dip out and go back to Oliver’s place to hide out. Or maybe it was because she enjoyed spending her time with Oliver and not having to share it with the world. She was glad that neither she nor Oliver had been booked in a match and got their little celebration thing out of the way so that they could return to Barcelona with no hesitation and it wasn’t going to be that long of a flight back to Barcelona and it could be almost like they never really left.

Eiley was in the bathroom in their locker room, making sure she had everything packed back into her bag and made sure to wash her hands after using the bathroom. She was not sure where Oliver was but she was assuming he was in the main part of the room, making sure his things were in his own bag. She looks into the mirror and fixes her hair before sighing and going to open the bathroom door. She frowns a little bit as it seems a bit jammed and can’t get it open.

•EILEY• “What the…”

She checks the lock on the door and can see that it was not locked but for some reason, the door was sticking. She frowns and pushes on it again but it wouldn’t budge. She was trying her best not to panic, but she could feel it settling in the pit of her stomach as she tries to pull next, but it didn’t seem to matter either, the door was not budging. She can feel her heart start to race a little bit as she pushes again, a little more frantically than before. She was trying her best not to let her memory go back but it was becoming harder and harder to do so as the last time she had been stuck in a bathroom was when Dean had locked her in one in London, in April.

•EILEY• “Hello!? Olly?”

She bangs on the door with her hand, trying to get the attention from somebody and could only hope that Oliver was in the main area of their locker room. She begins pounding her fists on the door, trying to make as much noise as she can as her heart begins to race and the panic attack sets in.

•EILEY• “Oz?! Oliver?!”

She could feel her breathing becoming slightly ragged as she tries again to open the door, not sure why it was stuck. Or what was stopping her from opening the door. She closes her eyes for a moment, trying to catch her breath and work on her breathing, even though she really didn’t know many breathing techniques. It seems like forever goes by before the door is finally opened from the outside. Eiley opens her eyes to see Oliver standing there and she gives him a slightly embarrassed look as she could feel the panicky feeling still there and her heart still racing inside of her chest.

•EILEY• “Sorry….the door wouldn’t open…”

It was a lame excuse and it made her feel like a child that she had reacted in that way. She had originally thought she had put what happened in London behind her, but apparently things could trigger her mind and it would send her right back to that moment. She could still feel her heart racing as she grabs her things, her hands a little shaky from the panicky feeling as she avoids Oliver’s eyes for the time being, the embarrassed feeling still setting in.

•EILEY• “Are we ready to go back to Barcelona?”

She was quick to try to change the subject and get the attention off of her at the moment. And she would try to keep it off of her while her heart went back to its normal rhythm. She knew that eventually she would have to tell him something but at the moment, she wanted to delay the inevitable as much as she possibly could. She is grateful that he doesn’t press the matter and they both grab their things to leave the arena, ready to get out of Italy.

→THE NEXT DAY IN BARCELONA←

The weather in Barcelona had been pretty good while they had been in the city and Eiley was enjoying that there was nobody other than Oliver that she knew. She knew that she realistically didn’t have to look over her shoulder every five seconds to see if Dean was there. Because most likely, Dean was dead and in the middle of the ocean and his body quite possibly may have been eaten by sharks. Or at least, it was kind of what Eiley was hoping for in the long run.

The two of them had gotten back to Barcelona late the evening before and Eiley was grateful that Oz had not mentioned the little freakout she’d had in their locker room. If she was honest with herself, she was embarrassed that she had reacted in that fashion. But her mind had taken her right back to that dingy bathroom in London that Dean had locked her in while he was out. It was at least better in the bathroom of the dingy hostel than it had been in the bedroom area, but still, it elicited a horrible trauma response from her and she was not proud of the moment. And now the two of them sat outside in a restaurant’s outdoor seating, looking at a menu to try to decide what they wanted to eat. Eventually, they both order off of hte menu and the waiter goes away to put their orders in.
 
•EILEY• “Too many options.”

She wasn’t sure what she ordered was going to be too good but she figured it couldn’t be worse than some of the food she had encountered in dirtier, cheap restaurants.

•EILEY• “So…do you like Barcelona?”

She didn’t know why she had even asked that as they had been here nearly two weeks before the Climax Control in Rome. Eiley closes her eyes and shakes her head to herself.

•EILEY• “That was a dumb question. Do not answer that. What I mean, is that you seem more at peace here. Or at least, you have in the past two weeks.”

She had observed him while they had been here and she noticed that there was something different about him, but in a good way. And she liked it and liked the way he was in Barcelona compared to the way he had been in Hawaii over a year and a half ago.

•EILEY• “It suits you.”

She raises her glass of white wine up to her lips and takes a drink.

○OZ○ “It serves its purpose…”

It was an unintentionally vague answer. To Oz, there was no other way to explain it, but he realized that the words sounded ominous on their own.

○OZ○  “Sin City doesn't know about this place. Neither do any of the people I have worked with in the past. And I haven't ever done anything wrong here. I almost don't exist when I am here. It's that feeling that I like.”

She is quiet as she thinks about what he was saying. It made sense and she wanted to not exist for once in her life. But instead, she seemed to create problems wherever she went.
 
•EILEY• “Not existing sounds nice. It sounds like a better alternative than…”

She doesn't finish her sentence as she looks down for a moment. She didn't want to explore it but she knew that she couldn’t hide it from him forever. But she honestly didn't think it was that bad. Minus the minor freak out in the locker room bathroom, it had been manageable.
 
•EILEY• “I appreciate you sharing your little corner of the world with me. You didn't have to.”

She had probably told him that at least five times a day over the past two weeks. She never wanted to be a burden to him because she had always felt like a burden to every foster family she lived with.

○OZ○  “Given everything that you have told me about, and everything else that you've kept to yourself, it seemed like you could use the time away to decompress.”

Granted, there was something selfish about his actions. He couldn't very well have Eiley implode while they were the Sin City Mixed Tag Team Champions. Also, she was the only person not bothered by this presence. It was beneficial to have a partner in crime.

○OZ○ “Most people haven't had as rough of a life, or even as rough of the last few months as you have. Just trying to look out for you and be someone to talk to.”

Even if he never expected to be in the situation she was in due to Dean, it didn't change things. They were stuck with one another regardless of how rocky things got. She goes quiet again as she thinks about what he was saying and she continues to look down at the table or her phone, trying to decide which was more interesting. There were things that she hadn’t told anybody, including Oz. There had been horrors in her life living in foster homes and she’d had an attitude all throughout her teenage years, which caused a lot of contention between her and Oliver as teenagers; she hadn’t been particularly nice to him and often lashed out at him because of her living situations.
 
•EILEY• “Maybe not.”

She was not used to people looking out for her, realistically as she always had to look out for herself. There hadn’t ever been one person that she had felt too comfortable around until Oliver and it was still sort of weird to her.
 
•EILEY• “I never thought….that it would be like this for us. Especially when we were teenagers and my life was a living hell. And Dean…that’s a mess. A bigger mess than you probably even realize or know about.”

There was a part of her that wanted to tell him but there was also a part of her that was terrified to talk about it out loud. Then it would be real and somebody other than herself would know about it. She takes another drink of her white wine before looking at her phone as Oliver takes a drink from his wine glass, just a fan snaps their picture, unbeknownst to them.



ON CAMERA
Location: Amman, Jordan
Date: Friday, July 21, 2023


”In just a matter of days, it will be my first match since Summer XXXtreme when Oll-Oz and I won the Mixed Tag Team Championships, much to pretty much everybody’s dismay. Oz and I were not the team that hardly anybody had picked to win because according to them, we haven’t paid our dues and we’re too new to the scene; too fresh. But here we are, the champions and there’s nothing that anybody can do about it until they challenge us for the championships. Which is where Sunday is going to lead us to….I face off against Samantha Marlowe in a one on one match in preparation for the match that Oz and I will have against her and her partner, Ben Jordan at Violent Conduct.

That’s not what I am going to focus on at the moment because that’s not what is going to be happening in two days at Climax Control. Instead, it will be Sam and I facing one another with Oz in my corner and Ben in hers. It is going to be the match that sets the tone over the next few weeks that will be leading up to Violent Conduct. And it’s only fitting that I go first.

Compared to Sam Marlowe, I’m a rookie. But what a lot of people do not realize about Sam Marlowe is that she is [u[not[/u] consistent or reliable as a competitor in SCW. Is that harsh for somebody who is as new to the scene as me? Probably but I really do not give a fuck. Sam Marlowe disappears at any given moment when it comes to SCW and comes back to try to be relevant for a few months before disappearing again when she realizes that nobody cares about her or her boring personality. The only interesting thing about her is that she’s friends with SCW’s nicest superstar, Ben Jordan. And if you ask me, there’s probably something a little more there but that’s just me speculating on what I’ve seen and what I’ve heard about happening in the history of SCW. Ben Jordan is the nicest guy on the roster that’s chosen the most boring Bombshell in the history of SCW as his tag team partner.

Her record on paper might make her look impressive to the naked eye because she is technically a decorated performer in SCW. She’s held championships and is even know for knocking Mikah off of her championship reign when Mikah was considered to be the best at the time. But Sam had paled in comparison to Mikah when it comes to Sam’s reign as Bombshell Champion especially when she lost her first reign to Mercedes Vargas who is mid at best. She has never claimed to be the best but that’s because she knows that her claim would be false as she is nowhere near the best. Sam, if anything is mid at best as well.

This is not me saying that going up against Sam is going to be a walk in the park because I’m well aware that she knows what to do in a wrestling ring. There is no doubt about that. But what I am saying is that she’s just the average Jane when it comes to her character. She’s too nice and most people like her but that’s only because they think that they’re supposed to like her. And the support from Ben Jordan simply doesn’t hurt, either. But really, what more is there when it comes to Sam Marlowe? Because I really cant figure out the appeal she brings to the table, other than a few cheers from the marks in the crowd. It’s not like she’s exciting to watch or even consistent with her employment here in SCW. And sure, she’s nice but being nice is overrated and I’d much rather be hated for something I am than cheered and loved for something I am not. I fully believe that Sam Marlowe is not as nice as she leads everybody to believe. I have never met a person in my life that is that nice because they want to be. Most people who are that nice have an ulterior motive but for the life of me, I cannot figure out what her ulterior motive would be, if she were to have one.

I get a lot of flack because I am trained by Mikah, who for some reason does not seem to get the same level of respect that other Hall of Fame Bombshells get. I get that I have big shoes to fill but that’s not why I get flack. Take the current Bombshell Champion, Court for example. She has this notion that Mikah’s only leading me to fail and does not want to see me succeed because she believes that Mikah is a horrible human being and a horrible trainer. And maybe to Court, Mikah was not a good trainer, I don’t know because I wasn’t around. But Mikah’s done her best to be supportive of my young career, even while hiding a huge chunk of her life from her gym and from the SCW universe. She has done the best she can with training me and when she found out she was pregnant, she made sure that Kendall James could train me just as well and then she took on the portion of training me on how to cut a promo. Is this something that I think Sam Marlowe might touch upon? Possibly. I wouldn’t count it out because nearly everybody does and wants to discredit Mikah for everything she has done in the company. And maybe that is not going to be what Sam is going to say, I’m not a mind reader and I do not even know how Sam feels about Mikah as a competitor as Sam is very quiet and doesn’t really talk a bunch of shit.

Or maybe she will say that she was the one who dethroned Mikah’s legendary reign and therefore she could claim that she could beat me on Sunday. It’s a possibility that she could win on Sunday but it’s not going to be because she beat Mikah over seven and a half years ago. I am not Mikah in the ring and I am only aiming to be better than she was in SCW. It’s a hard pill for most people to swallow but if anybody’s going to be better than her, it’s going to be somebody who has been fully trained by her.

I am not saying that Sunday’s match is going to be easy but it’s not going to be as hard as the match at Summer XXXtreme was. It’s only going to be me and Sam in the ring and I do not not have to worry about two other Bombshells that might have the opportunity to stop me from making the pin. And I doubt that I have to worry about Ben Jordan’s presence at ringside because he does not strike me as the type to interfere in a women’s match and even if he tries, I fully trust Oz to take care of it. Because I trust in my partner just as much, if not more than you trust in Benny, Sam. And while you and Ben have known each other a long time, Oz and I have known each other for a long time as well and have been through some shit together. But we always come out on top.

And that’s what is going to happen when the four of us meet at Violent Conduct but that’s not Sunday. What is going to happen on Sunday is I’m going to get the best of Sam Marlowe and I’m going to win. I’m going to walk out of the arena on Sunday as the winner and with all of the leverage in mine and Oz’s corner. It’s not going to be a walk in the park but it’s going to be something that is going to happen and I’m going to do everything in my power to assure that it happens. Because I have no limits when it comes to winning and on Sunday, Sam, you’re going to find out why Oz and I are called limitless. And this is just going to be the beginning of what’s to come and I hope that you’re prepared. Because the clock is ticking down and there’s not much longer for you to have time to prepare.

This is just a precursor to future events, Sam, but it’s going to give you all the insight you need and after Sunday, you’re going to want to disappear again and go back to being irrelevant. But I know that you won’t do that because you do not want to disappoint Ben. But don’t worry, after Violent Conduct, you can slink off to your corner of the world and stay irrelevant. Because I’m going to prove on Sunday that I am better than you and I am going to prove why Oz and I are the champions by winning this match.

You can do all you can to fight it, Sam, and you can try your best on Sunday but I’m telling you now, it’s not going to be enough. You are not enough for Ben Jordan as a partner and you are not enough as a Bombshell either. You’re just mid and I’m already stirring up the water and bringing attention to the mixed tag division. And you’re struggling to stay relevant.

Nothing matters to me other than winning on Sunday, to prove that I have what it takes to be one half of the Mixed Tag Team Champions and you’re just the tip of the iceberg, Sam. It’s nothing personal, but you’re going to accept defeat because there will be no other choice for you. Hope you’re doing the best you can to prepare because it’s almost over for you.

Tick tock.

Ciao.”

OFF CAMERA
Location:
Date:Thursday, June 22, 2023
 

Eiley had left the previous Climax Control immediately following her match and flew back to Hawaii to meet back up with Kaleb to spend more time on his boat. She hadn’t expected to not care so much about the fact that she had lost her match but it hadn’t really mattered to her; not as much as her opponent had tried to state that it did. And she did not try as hard as her stupid opponent thought she had. It hadn’t mattered to her because she was going to go back on the boat and spend a few days on the ocean in the sun. She had been thankful that Kaleb had been thoughtful enough to stock the downstairs with food and had been happy to stop if needed.

But now it was Thursday, and she knew that needed to get focused for the match that she and Oz had at Summer XXXtreme. She couldn’t be the one to fuck up their careers that were intertwined; it was one thing to do it to her own career, but she didn’t want to do it to Oz’s. She wasn’t that selfish. She sighs as she walks through the beach of Kaneohe, carrying her shoes in one hand after being let off on the shore. She sighs as she looks around, squinting as the bright sunlight hits her eyes. It was around noon and she had to find a way to get to Mikah’s gym, get dressed, and work on something other than putting suntan lotion on.

The sand felt nice on her feet and she didn’t mind that she was still in her black bikini and a pair of shorts over the bottoms that were unbuttoned. She smiles to herself as she thinks about all the time that she had been spending on the boat with Kaleb. She continues to walk along the beach, enjoying the warmth of the sun and lost in her own little world when she stops as she sees Oz laying in a chair on the beach. His clothes gave her the impression that he was still up from the previous night of partying, but with the sunglasses over his eyes she couldn’t tell if he was actually conscious. He didn’t move at all as she approached, but once she was close enough to try and nudge him with her foot, he spoke up without stirring in his chair.

○OZ “I figured if I hung out on the beach long enough eventually you would show up.”

His voice cracked, likely from a night of partying. It almost sounded like he had been inhaling sand all evening the night before. However, from having partied with him before, she knew it was probably just a side effect.

○OZ “I would have thought that you would be staying away from boats being that we are about to get trapped on one with all of our co-workers for a week.”

She looks at him, her eyebrows raised for a moment as she processes his words. She just shrugs her shoulders as she looks him over, letting her eyes wander over him, shamelessly.

•EILEY “You weren’t wrong because here I am.”

She doesn’t seem too worried about the fact that she had been literally out of reach for practically everybody. She didn’t really care to think about what she was missing out on while she had been out of reach. She chuckles softly at his words, her eyes dancing with amusement.

•EILEY “I’m not too worried about being trapped on a cruise liner with our…co-workers for a week. There are ways to get away from people on that ship. Plus, there’s also other people that will be on the ship that aren’t our co-workers. Fans or whatever.”

She had not really put too much thought into the cruise liner, if she was going to be honest. It didn’t bother her too much to think that she was going to be stuck on a large ship with many amenities. It could possibly provide her with other opportunities as well.

•EILEY “Are you sure that you can handle being around a lot of people? I remember how you said you don’t like attention. It will be hard to be…invisible on that ship.”

She gives him a smile as she fidgets with her shorts, debating on re-buttoning them but in the end, leaves them alone.

○OZ “Kris kind of forced me to give up on being anonymous. The dude laid me out in the middle of the ring and turned me into a meme. People know me as ‘that guy Kris knocked out’ as soon as they lay eyes on me.”

She could tell that the loss of his anonymity was a sore spot for him. It was understandable given that the two of them had made a living off of being able to go unnoticed by everyone around them.

○OZ “I can’t be too upset. He has caused me to have to level up my game. I have to try three times as hard to walk away with half the normal haul at the end of the night.”

He reaches into the pocket of his unbuttoned shirt, and pulls out a roll of cash. She had gotten pretty good at being able to eyeball and estimate the value of the rolls through all of their travels together, and he wasn’t lying. It was lighter than normal, but he couldn’t really complain a whole lot. Realistically, it was still some of the easiest money they could make.

○OZ “The Summer XXXtreme boat is different though. Being trapped for a week with the people I am trying to steal from doesn’t sound smart. There is no exit strategy. We’re stuck. I guess that makes it more of a vacation than a work thing.”

She runs her fingers through her hair, watching him before shifting her weight a little bit in the sand. She was used to the uneven ground but that didn’t mean that she was comfortable all the time on it.

•EILEY “The vacation life could be nice. And for what it is worth, if anything, I don’t know you as the guy that Kris knocked out.”

She was not sure it was much of a consolation prize because she had known him before either of them had been involved in SCW. She also wasn’t trying to make it sound like it was a consolation prize, either.

•EILEY “I am sure that there are still ways to get around it on the ship. It would definitely be a lot harder, and would probably have to involve disguises of some sort. But I wouldn’t say that it’s impossible.. Could even be considered thrilling, if you’re into that sort of thing.”

She’d had close(ish) calls before and while that would have stopped other people from continuing on, it only seemed to make her want to continue on. She chalked it up to that same feeling of the thrill of the chase.

•EILEY “But I also don’t think getting in trouble before the big match would be ideal…”

She looks at him again before adjusting her bikini top a little bit.

○OZ “Big match…”

The two words made him laugh sarcastically. He had gotten disenchanted with the whole idea of competing for Sin City after his last outing.

○OZ “Everytime I go out there alone, I get my ass absolutely handed to me whether I win, or I lose. I don’t think it would be all that bad if I got caught lifting things off of fans. It would probably get me fired and save me a lifetime of nonsensical beatdowns.”

It was a bit overdramatic, but she could understand why he would feel that way. The games that Oz usually ran were low risk. Most of the time, nobody would even think to lay a finger on him. However, all of that changed in Sin City. People squared up first, and asked questions never. That is the most radical part of the lifestyle change for Oz.

○OZ “I mean it is not even like I really wanted to be here originally. I got sent here. Maybe I should just walk away and stop trying to make the best of it.”

She listens to him and could understand where he was coming from. It was not nearly as fun going out there and losing compared to winning. She had lost her match against whatshername and while it didn’t feel the best, she really didn’t care. Nobody could win every single match they were in.

•EILEY “Every time? And I didn’t take you to be a quitter, Oll-Oz.”

The two were both seemingly competitive but in different ways. She preferred to be more discreet about it.

•EILEY “I don’t think every match has been a disaster, has it? The one where we teamed together seemed to go okay…”

She had been pretty much disconnected from anything SCW related for a few weeks. And disconnected from people, as well. She couldn’t seem to keep any connection with anybody, except Kaleb. But she knew that whatever it was with Kaleb wasn’t real; she didn’t feel anything real with him. He didn’t make her feel anything other than normal feelings. It wasn’t the same sort of feelings she had around Oz. But she wasn’t going to admit that outloud to anybody.

•EILEY “But if you’d rather give up, I guess that’s your choice. It’s just something I can hold over your head.”

She scrunches her nose at him with a smirk on her face. She didn’t mind if was taunting him in a sense, if it worked.

○OZ “Maybe you just haven’t had the target painted on your back like I have. Things seem cool because even when you lose, you get complimented. You come up a little short, and still get to walk away. On the other hand, even when I have won, I’ve lost.”

It was the kind of self-pity that she wasn’t used to hearing from him. Usually Oz was the perpetual optimist. He was always trying to work some new angle to make every situation eventually go his way. She almost didn’t believe that it was possible for Sin City to have beaten that out of him already.

○OZ “I’m not saying that I’m not showing up. I’m not saying that I am not going to compete or anything like that. Imma be there, but not because of Sin City. I wouldn’t send you out there alone. I don’t want to leave you hanging. That’s really what matters. We have been partners a lot longer than we have been in SCW. That won’t change.”

There was a small glimpse of something positive under the surface, but it didn’t sound like he actually believed the sentiment. Maybe he was just telling her what he thought she wanted to hear.

○OZ “It just feels like it is going to be a lot less fun than what our lives used to be.”

She listened to him, keeping pretty much a straight face through his entire little speech or whatever and she could understand where he was coming from. Before SCW, they had been pretty much anonymous and could do whatever they wanted. They weren’t under a microscope like they seemed to be in SCW. And he’d had a rough few matches and had essentially, made enemies with Kris at one point, even if it seemed to be in the past now.

•EILEY “What is it you told me when we first ran into each other in Honolulu?”

She raises her eyebrows at him and taps her index finger against her lips. She looks down at him before choosing to sit next to him in the sand. She couldn’t really remember everything about that night but she had remembered that originally, they hadn’t gotten off on the right foot right away.

•EILEY “You had stated that you weren’t going to let anybody drag you down. Of course, that was you talking about De–not about SCW. But it can still apply here.”

She didn’t want to say the name as it usually sent her in some sort of spiral. She hadn’t touched or even thought about London or what had happened there. Out of mind was a better way to deal with it. She gives him a kind smile before tossing some sand at him.

•EILEY “Don’t let the idiots in SCW drag you down, Olly. You’re better than they are.”

She takes a breath and looks away from him and back out to the ocean. They were both making revelations about how they felt about one another.

○OZ “I don’t really care about them. I care about myself.”

That was about as honest he could be about the situation. Of course, it sounded a lot worse than he meant it without some kind of clarification.

○OZ “I have spent the majority of my life trying to avoid getting stomped out. Now that shit happens on a near nightly basis. It’s not like I have ever been afraid to square up. I don’t hate having to fight my way out of situations. The problem is, even when I win, I lose. I think I could do a lot better for myself by not having to eat a beatdown every Sunday.”

She opens her mouth to correct him, but he cuts her off.

○OZ “Yeah, I know. Not EVERY Sunday, but close enough. I can’t help but feel like my talents are being under-used, and my face is getting over-abused.”

He didn’t want to inspire her to pity him as well though, so he attempts to shift the conversation away from himself.

○OZ “Which I guess makes teaming with you a better deal for me. No matter who rearranges my face, I will still be standing next to you. On occasion, you are good looking enough for the both of us. As a champion, probably even moreso.”

She expected the backhanded compliment, it was something he was rather good at doing. But it doesn’t stop her from rolling her eyes just the same.

•EILEY “Look, you’re on good terms with Kris now. I don’t think you have to worry about that anymore. And before you say that it has happened from other people, it’s just the beginning of your career. Do you think that everybody starting out had an easy go at it?”

She raises her eyebrows at him. She was not used to this type of behavior from him and he was the one that usually talked her into things.

•EILEY “I’m definitely more attractive than you. And I have the endorsement from the next World Heavyweight champion, so I’m pretty sure that means more..”

She gives him a small wink.

•EILEY “But if you want to continue this little poor me party, go ahead. But…I’m going to go to the gym. Or something. I need out of this bikini.”

She carefully stands up and brushes the sand off of the backs of her legs and from the back of her shorts and then pulls them back up as they had drifted down, due to not being buttoned.

○OZ “I could help you out of the bikini, but I think that is frowned upon at the gym.”

The words come out in a completely flat tone, just like the rest of everything he has said. It makes it near impossible to know if it was just some off-color joke he was making or a serious declaration of interest. It wasn’t like he was going to let her dwell on the answer to that question though.

○OZ “Then again, knowing who owns the place, probably not. I have already heard a bunch of wild stories backstage at Climax Control. Makes me feel a little dirty about everyone saying we are the new versions of them.”

For the first time, the sound of his voice actually shows just a pinch of interest. He pushes the bridge of his sunglasses down his nose, revealing his eyes. They weren’t nearly as bloodshot and tired as Eiley expected them to be.

○OZ “Although, I am pretty sure they never got beaten as a team. If we can be that good, maybe not everything will suck in the long run.”

She was trying her best to not let his comments affect the color of her cheeks. It wasn’t like it bothered her, but it was a natural reaction.

•EILEY “Knowing those two, they’d probably encourage you to help me out of the bikini.”

She knew that she probably wasn’t too far off, either. Eiley was also the type that did not really want to believe that all of the stories about their mentors were true but she had a feeling that they were true. But she didn’t want to dwell too long on that, not wanting to draw the comparisons either. Not that too many could be made backstage between her and Oz.

•EILEY “And we’d probably be lucky enough to be as good as they were as a team, honestly. I’ve watched some of their matches on old tapes, and it is practically scary at how well they worked together. And still work together.”

She just shrugs before smirking a little bit as she looks at Oz, letting her eyes wander a bit before she looks back out at the ocean.

•EILEY “I probably don’t need help out of the bikini…but the gym attire later…”

She doesn’t finish her sentence as she starts walking up the beach, leaving Oz there. It takes a few seconds for her words to really sink in, and then he takes another few struggling with himself about whether or not to follow. Eventually his cool and calm demeanor lose the battle, and he rises out of the chair.

○OZ “I should probably join you then.”

He looks back at the chair before discarding his stolen sunglasses on it and sprinting through the sand to catch up to her.

○OZ “....because if we are actually going to win, we should probably take this more seriously than we did the qualifier. We need to make it out of the gym ahead of Kris and Mikah this time though. I’m not trying to get locked in again.”

She chuckles to herself as he easily catches up to her and she just shrugs her shoulders at him.

•EILEY “It wasn’t too bad last time.”



ON CAMERA
Location: --.
Date: Saturday, June 24, 2023


“One loss means nothing to me. If you want to be technical, it’s two losses as  my Blast From the Past partner got pinned by J2H in the first round which by association, I have that loss in my win loss record. But I technically didn’t sign a contract till after that match. So, in my eyes it is almost like that match and that loss doesn’t matter nor count to my record here in SCW. But the loss last week to whatshername? I don’t think I can expunge that from my record but I still do not care about it. And that stupid, ugly bitch wants to think that I actually tried, kudos to her. But she doesn’t know what it’s actually like when I try to win a match. Because that? That was me barely trying to do shit. And she can continue to be butthurt about it, because she is a nobody and does not matter to me. And that’s all I’m going to say about her. Because my match on the ship is going to be more important because it’s for the mixed tag team championships.

These championships are being brought back after a little over a year of being terminated because nobody could beat Mikah and Kris. They retired the championships after they both beat everybody that challenged for the belts. And it’s fitting that Mikah and Kris are mine and my partner’s mentors. It is almost like they brought these championships back for Oz and I once it came out that he and I were trained by the best of the best. It’s almost like it’s fate that we won our match against Alexandra Callaway and Miles Kasey. It was almost like the higher ups had wrapped the win for us and handed it over to us, wanting Oz and I to advance to this match coming up in a week. And I can’t really say that I blame the; I’d want Oz and I in the final match for the championship match. I wouldn’t bet against us but that’s just me, being biased on what I know that Oz and I can do in the ring.

Is this me, tooting my own horn so to speak? Yes, because I can and I feel that it’s appropriate. I’ve been nothing short of impressive since signing my contract with SCW. I have only suffered one loss and that’s because I didn’t even care to try to win. I didn’t care about it enough to try as I was busy trying to focus all of my energy on this match for Summer XXXtreme. Silly? Maybe, but this match is more important than a silly little singles match against somebody who doesn’t matter. Because you know what does matter? Oz and I as a team.

I’ll be honest, Oz and I took a while to get on the same page and sometimes, we still aren’t really on the same page when it comes to outside of the ring. We both have different…ideas but we both know what’s important once we step foot in that ring. And we know what we want out of it and how we need to go about it. We can’t let things that do not have to do with competing affect the way we are in the ring. You know who else was really good at keeping things that didn’t matter out of the ring? Mikah. So it is only fitting that I, her prestigious student, picked up on that mannerism from her. Oz and I do not have to see eye to eye when we’re not in the ring because that’s not practical; nobody is going to agree on everything, that’s just not how the world works. Because if it did work that way, the world wouldn’t be going to shit and everything would just be peaceful. But it is not that way, and Oz and I have learned that early on. We know what to bring to the ring and what to keep bottled up in the back.

As for our opponents, which there are plenty of them in this match and it’s definitely going to be a struggle to keep everything straight, I think they’re going to chalk Oz and I up to being the rookies that we are and not count us for shit. They’re not going to believe that we have it in us to win. We are the youngest in this match and we might even be the youngest in the company, I’m not sure. But that doesn’t mean that what we’re bringing to the match isn’t worth taking note of. I have a feeling that we’re going to be under looked and not even be anything more than an afterthought. But the most fun thing about that is going to be proving everybody that we’re facing wrong. Proving them that we are the team to beat because we are the ones that are going to be coming prepared.

I’ve looked at the teams that Oz and I are booked against and they seem solid. Tempest and Austin James Mercer have held these championships before, so they’re obviously going to be the biggest challenge in the match because they’re going to know how it operates. But it isn’t going to be impossible to beat them. Because the card said that they were former champions, which means that they aren’t unbeatable. And just like Oz and myself, they’re also going to be fighting for the championships. Plus, I believe Oz has a little bit of a thing to settle with Austin, so I’m not sure that they have what it takes to walk out of this match as champions.

Kim Pain and Peter Vaughn could be another big threat when it comes to this match. They might be another wild card in this match. But Peter Vaughn might be a little exhausted from his first match in the night to be able to focus too heavily on the match at hand. He’s involved in a triple threat match for his roulette championship against Miles Kasey and The Troll and that match has all the potential to take most, if not all of his energy. Kim, however, could be the one to carry this team. I know a little bit about her; Mikah told me as much as she could be bothered to remember about her. Of course, Mikah’s information about Kim comes from years ago, but how different could it be? People do not change the way that they compete in the ring that often and she did prepare me enough to tell me that Kim was good at submission holds. But here’s something that she should know, Mikah’s also trained me well…okay, well Kendall has trained me the best she could in submission at holds under Mikah’s supervision, given Mikah’s pregnant condition. So, I’m not going into this match blind to the fact that Kim is good at submission holds. She is, however, considered to be a veteran of the sport, even if her accolades have not come from SCW. I’m not going to pretend that she is a nobody in this match, because her past holds up and she’s going to give it her all. But I do think that she’s going to be one to maybe underestimate me when it comes to what I bring to the match. Maybe not, maybe I will be wrong but only time will tell.

And the last of our opponents is Alexander Raven and Luna Vanity. They are probably the only team that I cannot figure out or what they’re even about as a team. And they’re probably one of the teams in this match that could be considered dull and boring. Or maybe I just find it hard to sit through their little promos and can’t find a reason to want to find anything decent about them. I am not even sure how well they are as a team because I can’t seem to force myself to sit through their promos. But I can’t discredit them either because they did make it to this match, so that has to mean something, right? They’re not going to be pushovers because I do not think that they would have made it to this match if that was the case. But looking at them separately, rather than a unit, Luna’s style is nothing like mine and that could definitely be a toss up in this match. However, I do not think it’s going to be something that is going to count me and Oz out as a team. I think that Oz is very capable of holding himself against Alexander as well, if there is a need to do so, which there obviously will be. I do not think that Alexander is any better in the ring than Oz is. And I’m going to bet that Oz is even better. But hey, I’ve already stated that I’m biased, so might as well stick with the theme.

This match is not going to be just a normal match because there are four teams competing for the mixed tag team championships. That’s eight people that want the same thing and it’s going to be a fight to the finish to get the win. Everybody in this match wants it and there’s not one person that is booked that I feel doesn’t care about the outcome. I know that everybody is going to do whatever they can to get the win for their team. And the only thing I can say about that is that Oz and I are going to be the best team in a week from tomorrow. There’s not much else to it. We know what we want and we know how to get it, and size other people aren’t going to stop us from trying to get it, either.

And on the off chance that Oz and I lose, it’s not like we’re not going to get another shot at it. Because we’re going to be here, fighting for that chance every time we get the opportunity. And it’s not going to go away just because of one match where the outcome might not go our way. We’re here for the long run and we’ve got everything to prove. And we need to prove that we’re better than our predecessors and we have to break their records that they’ve set with these championships. There is no choice but to win.

And there’s nothing the six other people we’re booked against can do about it but try. But they will lose and we are going to prove just why we’re the next best thing to happen to SCW.

Ciao.

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

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.



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


“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.