MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2020
TIME: 10:45 PM

The blonde bombshell hadn’t been too focused on anything lately. She wished that she could say that she was focused on the match at hand and that she’d used the week off she had before to use to her advantage, but she couldn’t say that. She couldn’t shake the feeling she’d been feeling for a few weeks now that something was just missing in her life. She couldn’t shake it and it didn’t help that Kris seemed to be everywhere even if he wasn’t even around her. It only reminded her that he wanted her to be more focused on the match than what she was and she couldn’t handle that. So, she left.

She hadn’t known where she was going and didn’t know when she buckled Myles into his seat. She didn’t even know when Leighton had asked her question after question about where they were going now. Leighton had started to enjoy the California life and Mikah smiled and knew that was Leighton’s father in her. Her biological father had loved California so much that Mikah never understood why but she was starting to. So, after looking at Leighton she started to drive and she ended up in Malibu, California. She managed to book them a room at one of the hotels that were right on the beach. She wanted to be close to the beach and she knew that she could trust Leighton with Myles, she was really good with the one year old and Mikah was grateful that she had a good relationship with her daughter now.

But now she sat on the beach, the dark night sky over her head and her feet in the sand. She had beach blanket spread out so she wouldn’t get sand in her shorts. She didn’t understand why she had felt that desire to drive two and a half hours from San Diego to Malibu but yet, here she was. She lies back on the blanket and stares up at the starry night sky and smiles to herself. She knew that this was Masen Christian Othniel’s doing.

;;MIKAH “I miss you more every day.”

She says the words as if they’re going to help her voice what she was feeling. But she didn’t understand what she was feeling herself. She continues to stare up at the night sky, an odd feeling surrounding her. She closes her eyes for a moment before opening them again to see Masen Christian Othniel standing above her form. Her eyes widen and she scrambles up to her feet in a slight panicked way.

;;MIKAH “What the hell…what are you? What is this?”

The last time she had seen him, she had overdosed on a bad dose of heroin. And that had been over two years ago now. So, you can imagine how confused she was when she sees him standing over her.

::CO “Calm down….It’s okay. You’re okay…”

She gives him a look because she knows that something has to be wrong for her to be able to see him. To be able to communicate with him and to hear his voice.

;;MIKAH “No, no. Mase…this…this is never good. I shouldn’t be able to see you. I shouldn’t be able to do this…”

She reaches out, expecting her hand to go through him but she’s surprised when it lands perfectly on his cheek. The look of surprise is on her face as she looks at him and she feels the tears in her eyes and before she can stop them, they’re already slipping down her face. He smiles at her and he reaches out and brushes a tear away with the pad of his thumb of his right hand.

::CO “Don’t…just try not to think about it.”

She wanted to trust him but she couldn’t. Even if she wanted to, she couldn’t trust that this was real and there wasn’t some underlying condition.

;;Mikah “I…I…how? How am I supposed to trust this, Mase!? The last time this happened I almost died from an overdose!”

He sighs and runs a hand over his head before looking at her. He could tell that shew as fighting the urge to just hug him and he couldn’t deny that he wanted her to hug him.

::CO “Just…let it happen?”

He could see the hesitation in her eyes but he watches as it fades and soon, she has her arms wrapped around him, hugging him close to her body. He smiles before wrapping his own arms around her as well, hugging her back and holding her firmly against him.

;;Mikah “I want this to be real.”

He holds her to him, not letting go as she seemed to still hold onto him as well. He could tell that she didn’t trust that this was real. He smiles to himself before moving a hand up and running it through the back of her hair.

::CO “It’s real. Or as real as you want it to be.”

She didn’t know if she should believe it or not because this was too weird. But at the same time, she didn’t want to question it, either. She missed him every single day and didn’t want to miss out on whatever this was.

;;Mikah “Okay.”

She finally pulls back from his hug and she looks into his eyes, smiling just a little at him. She knew that she still didn’t trust this to be real and that something could prohibit this from being anything else. She didn’t want to think that she could move just so and it would be gone in a blink of an eye. She wanted him to be there, really be there.

::CO “Okay.”

She smiles at him as he mimics what she had to say to him. He smiles back at her before cupping her cheek with his hand. She leans her cheek into his hand, her eyes still locked on his. Tears fill her eyes again as she remembers the last time that she’d actually had a conversation with him. She had overdosed on a bad batch of heroin and she had told him she hated him. She lets a couple of tears slip down her cheeks as she looks at him. He reaches up and wipes her tears away with the pads of his thumbs as he looks at her. He clearly didn’t understand why she was crying again.

;;Mikah “I’m sorry, I know crying is not your favorite thing to deal with.”

She looks down at her feet but he carefully places his hand under her chin and moves her head up so he can look at her again.

::CO “Hey, it’s okay. You can tell me, you know….you can tell me anything.”

She smiles gratefully at him.

;;Mikah “I just…I can’t stop thinking about the last time that we had actually had a conversation. You know, when I overdosed…”

She clearly thinks about looking down again but she doesn’t, instead she holds his gaze with her own eyes. He doesn’t look away from her as they stand like that on the beach, their eyes connected to one another’s.

::CO “I remember…”

She takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out as she keeps his gaze with hers. There wasn’t that awkwardness there between them because she wasn’t scared to tell him about her feelings. He knew how she felt about him and she had always been open about how she felt about him; it was never something that intimidated her when it came to him.

;;Mikah “I said that I hated you. But I don’t hate you, Mase. I could never hate you.”

The guilt was written in her eyes as she looks up into his eyes. He smiles gently at her before leaning down and pressing his lips lightly against hers and then pulling away.

::CO “It’s okay. Do you remember that time where you came here to this beach about a month or so after the OD event?”

Mikah frowns for a moment before thinking, trying to recall the memory back. It came to her in waves and she looks at him. She remembered the night in question where she sat in the sand and had cried as she talked to nobody but was meaning to talk to him.

;;Mikah “I remember.”

She nods her head as she tells him she remembered the night in question. He smiles at her before pulling her into him and hugging him again.

::CO “I was there. I heard everything you said to me and I know how you feel about it. And I knew that you didn’t really hate me, Miks. But I had to make you want to go back….it wasn’t your time.”

Mikah looks at him and smiles softly. She had come to accept that it hadn’t been her time to join in him the afterlife in 2018 but it didn’t make things any easier.

;;Mikah “I know that now. But I was…just so angry with everything. I lost my championship and I felt like it wouldn’t matter to anybody if I was gone. I even though that Leighton would be happier without me….”

She knew now that that wasn’t true but at the time, she had felt as if it had been.

::CO “You know that’s not true.”

He could see it in her eyes though that she didn’t believe that to be true anymore. She places her hands on his cheeks and leans up and presses her lips lightly against his, kissing him softly.

;;Mikah “I know that now. Which is why this…is so confusing to me. But I don’t want it to go away. I need you.”

He can see the emotion pass through her eyes as she stands in front of him, his face in her hands. He smiles gently at her before he puts his hands on her cheeks and she moves her hands to cover his.

::CO “You don’t need me as much as you think you do, Miks. You have Myles and Leighton…even Kris.”

A mix of emotion passes through her eyes as he mentions Kris.

::CO “What was that look?”

Her cheeks flush a light pink color as he asks what that one look was about.

;;Mikah “I don’t know…”

It was a weak attempt to get him to drop it but she knew that he wouldn’t. It wasn’t like things were going badly for her. But they just…didn’t feel the same as what she had expected them to. She still had to deal with Drake when she tried to get him to see Myles. And she didn’t have time to be proactive on Twitter about the matches she was booked in nor did she have the time to start petty drama on the social media app to further the storyline between her and Kris’ opponents.

::CO “No, you know. It’s okay…tell me.”

She never argued with him about her emotions and telling him where she stood on things. She smiles softly.

;;Mikah “It’s not like anything is wrong, really. We’re functioning really, really well as a tag team. Better than we did when I decided to come back. We haven’t lost a match yet.”

She smiles at the thought but there was still a certain look in her eyes. And he was quick to pick up on it. He brushes his thumb over her right cheek bone gently.

::CO “But…”

He was gently coaxing it out of her, even though he didn’t have to be gently with her at all.

;;Mikah “It’s different. I don’t know what is so different. But things are just different and I don’t know how to handle it. So I don’t handle it, I ignore it. But I’m the one that gets called out for it on Twitter. I just…it’s not my job to babysit him or whatever. Or defend him when he gets into stupid Twitter drama.”

She was talking about the small little spat she’d had with Court on Twitter earlier today. She knew that it wasn’t her job but yet, some people clearly thought differently.

::CO “Is he saying you should?”

She shakes her head no.

;;Mikah “No. I don’t think he and I have said more than a few sentences toward one another in a while. But still. All his little friends I’m sure have that same thought in their head. Because let’s be honest, Mase…nobody is really a big fan of me anyways.”

She wasn’t trying to bring any attention to herself. And she didn’t care if people liked her or not, that was never anything she strived for in the first place. But it didn’t hurt to bring up, either.

::CO “It’s never bothered you before that people didn’t like you.”

She smiles at the fact that he was quick to point that out. She looks at him and nods her head, agreeing with him. She knew that he would be the one to tell her that.

;;Mikah “I know and I don’t care that people don’t like me. It’s not my job to make people like me. In fact, I like it better if people didn’t like me. But it’s frustrating that they use social media against me. Like it’s not my fault Kris chooses to argue with our opponents on the app. I shouldn’t have to jump in to save him at any point. And I wouldn’t expect him to jump in to save me either. Him and I are both adults and we can hold our own.”

It just frustrated her that people thought she needed to be more proactive on Twitter and promote the matches that they were in. She didn’t want to do that.

::CO “Have you tried talking to him?”

She makes a face at the idea of approaching the subject with Kris. It wasn’t like their communication was very good anyways. And she hated talking about uncomfortable things with him. Like her emotions. She never believed that she was allowed to have them.

;;Mikah “And what good would that do me, Mase? It’s not like it will change anything. I don’t think he cares where my feelings lie. I think you’re the only person who has ever cared about my feelings if we’re being honest.”

He gives her a look and moves his arms and wraps them around her lower waist, holding her against him. She doesn’t push him away, instead settles into his chest, resting her head against his collarbone area.

::CO “You don’t know that, Miks. You have to talk to somebody to know how they feel about certain things. And you haven’t had any sort of conversation with him about anything lately. Give him a chance.”

She sighs as she slips her arms in between his arms and torso to wrap them around him. She knew that he wasn’t actually there but she liked the feeling it was giving her and she didn’t know if she could let go of this feeling. Or let go of him again.

;;Mikah “Why? So he can laugh at me and tell me that I’m crazy for those feelings? No thanks, I’ll save the feelings for you.”

He sighs but doesn’t say anything as they stand on the beach, their arms wrapped around one another and neither one of them seemed to want to let go of the other.

::CO “He won’t laugh at you, Mikah.”

She doesn’t move for a minute, just holds him close to her.

;;Mikah “You don’t know that, Mase!”

He doesn’t say anything for a moment or so as he tries to find the right words to say to her. But he didn’t know what he could say to her.

::CO “But Miks, you won’t know unless you try. And he’s your partner, you need to be honest with him. Not some…ghost.”

She knew that what he was saying made sense; she couldn’t argue that at all. But she didn’t want it to make sense. She wanted to just stay with him even if it was impractical.

;;Mikah “I guess you’re right…will you come with me?”

She didn’t want to have to come to Malibu every time she wanted to talk to him or to see him, even. But it looked like that was going to be her only choice. He carefully nods his head.

::CO “Yes, I’ll go with you.”

His voice and the words made her smile and she felt grateful that he was willing to stay with her, even though she hadn’t a clue what it meant. But it was something, right?

;;Mikah “Great. Let’s go get Myles and Leighton and I’ll drive back to San Diego.”

He frowns but doesn’t say anything at first.

::CO “Just stay here for a couple of days. Let Leighton get to know Malibu. Then we can go back on like Thursday…”

Mikah smiles and nods her head before leaning up and kissing him. She didn’t know what this meant or how it was even happening. Or if it was even happening but she didn’t care. All she knew was that she wanted him to be a part of her life no matter what.

;;Mikah “That works for me.”

THURSDAY

Mikah walks back into Kris’ place in San Diego and sets the one year old down and he instantly walks over to the array of toys that had been scattered about the living room. Mikah smiles absent mindedly at the fact that her son considered this to be his home and that he felt comfortable here. Leighton, however was moody and stormed immediately off to her designated bedroom and Mikah winces when the door slams shut.

;;Mikah “Teenagers.”

She mutters to herself before jumping when she sees Kris standing in the kitchen, watching her. She raises an eyebrow at him and she glances back to see Christian Othniel still there with her. She didn’t want to question why she could see him even though she knew that she should.

::KR “Where were you off to today?”

She raises an eyebrow at that. He hadn’t seemed to notice she had been missing for most of the week. Not that she was surprised.

;;Mikah “I was in Malibu since Monday. Nice of you to…never mind. We should probably talk.”

She glances over her shoulder at Christian and he gives her an encouraging nod. She knew it was a crazy idea that she could see him but she didn’t care. She just didn’t care.



FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2020
TIME: 5:45 PM

The scene opens up to what appears to be the Jet City Sports Lab that was located in San Diego, the one that Kris ran. Mikah is sitting on one of the turnbuckles and she was dressed in a pair of black spandex booty shorts and a white sports bra. Her blonde locks are tied up in a ponytail to keep her hair out of her face and she appeared to be sweaty as if she had been training or working out. Both were very well a viable option to what she had been doing in the gym.

;;Mikah “Hi…remember me?”

She waves two fingers at the camera, a smirk on her pretty face as she looks into the camera.

;;Mikah “I’m not sure if you remember me, Bella.”

She continues to hold that smirk on her face, not letting it waver.

;;Mikah “I’m one half of the Black Sheep and I believe we beat you and your husband or whatever he is a few weeks ago. I kind of like when the past tells the future. Because that’s what your future is going to look like. In nine days exactly.”

She was confident. Nobody could ever say that she wasn’t confident and she was proud to be so, too.

;;Mikah “People have always underestimated me before I became the best Bombshell in SCW history. They never thought that I had what it took to be the Bombshell Champion back then. But you know what? I don’t want to live in the past because the Black Sheep’s future? It looks fucking great.”

She didn’t care if she was putting the cart in front of the horse so to speak. She wanted to make sure that Bella and Malachi knew exactly what she was about.

;;Mikah “You see, I don’t like playing around on Twitter and starting shit that I don’t care about. That’s not me anymore. What I like to do is show people who I am in that wrestling ring and what I can do. And why I’m the best fucking Bombshell ever and my in ring work is the only thing that can speak for me. You two can’t deny that Kristopher and myself are talented in the ring. We’re undefeated as a team. Hell, we’ve been undefeated as a team since 2018 or whenever it was the last time we teamed before 2020.”

She shrugs her shoulders.

;;Mikah “I’m no Mercedes Vargas when it comes to dates. But as a tag team, Kristopher and I can’t lose. There’s something about us as a dynamic that other teams overlook and pass of as just sheer luck that we’ve managed to win every match we’ve been booked in so far. They don’t consider anything we’ve done as worthy of any attention because of who we are as people. But the truth of the matter is, Bella and Malachi? You have a lot to worry about in nine days.”

She smirks again, that cocky look in her eyes again.

;;Mikah “You see, a few months I decided to return to SCW to form this team with Kristopher just so that we can dominate the mixed tag team division. And we’ve done just that since I returned. Were there bumps and bruises in the road? Sure, of course but now? We’ve got nothing else to lose whereas you two? You have everything to fucking lose.”

She lets out a small laugh.

;;Mikah “You two are sitting pretty—well, not pretty—as the mixed tag team champions right now. You’re on top of the world and I’m sure that you’re loving every single minute of it. And I’ll be generous enough to let you two sit there for nine more days. I’ll let you fake it for a few more days because that’s all you have left to do. That’s all you have left in your pathetic, transitional championship reign.”

She pauses again and just looks at the camera, her gaze unwavering.

;;Mikah “I’m not a nice person. I’m not a princess, I don’t get the happy endings that people think they deserve. So I am going to take my happy ending on the twenty-seventh. And I’m not even going to be shy about it. Because I’m not going to ask if I can beat you or if we can beat you because we already know that we can. We’ve done and we’re going to do it again.”

She smirks again, another chuckle escaping her lips.

;;Mikah “You see, Kristopher and I? We’re not walking into that match not knowing what we’re going to get. Oh no, we know exactly what we’re walking into on the twenty-seventh because we’ve already been in a match against you two. And you know what else we’ve done?”

The glint is evident in her eyes as she stares straight into the lens of the camera, that cold calculated look in her pretty eyes.

;;Mikah “We beat Wolfslair on our first try going up against them. How long did it take you two to beat them?”

She gives the camera a fake confused look.

;;Mikah “Multiple times, correct? I don’t care about your history with them but I think it’s safe to say that if somebody was to walk into one of the sports book at one of those Las Vegas casinos and they were going to put money on one of our teams, they’d place it on the Black Sheep.”

She sits up a little straighter and leans back just so.

;;Mikah “Because the odds are stacked against you. And nobody should ever bet against the Black Sheep. We get shit done the first time and if we have to do it a second time? It’ll just be a show off.”

She smirks again.

;;Mikah “But I know not to take you lightly, Bella. Because I’m sure you have some sort of shady trick up your sleeve. Or perhaps you think that I have some shady trick up my sleeve but I don’t need to cheat to win.”

She smirks again and simply shrugs her shoulders at the camera.

;;Mikah “Your husband or boyfriend or whatever is he only has to worry about Kristopher. And that’s no easy feat. You never know what you’re going to get when it comes to Kristopher and that has always worked out in our advantage.”

Mikah seemed to enjoy the fact that Kris was a wild card when it came to the ring. She, however liked to keep things technical and almost always avoided the top rope. She didn’t like doing high risk moves that could possibly break her neck.

;;Mikah “You see, while Kristopher and I didn’t start off on the right foot as a team back in July, we’re doing great now. We’ve managed to put all that nonsense shit behind us and work well as a team. And I’ll be the first to admit that when I returned, I figured it would be just like it was in 2018 when he and I were dominating each of our respective divisions and that he and I could just team up and it would come naturally to us. But I was wrong. Things didn’t happen naturally between us at first because neither one of us really trusted the other but right now? I could honestly say that I trust him more than I probably trust myself. And that’s saying something.”

She smirks again.

;;Mikah “I have to because we’re going to steal those championship belts from the two of you. And we’re going to enjoy every second of it. Because there’s no possible outcome where we don’t win on the twenty-seventh.”

Another look passes through her eyes for a moment and she seems a bit lost for a second, something catching her eye off camera but she is quick to bring her attention back to where it was supposed to be.

;;Mikah “Bella, you and Malachi might be the perfect couple and you might think you’re the perfect tag team. But you both are nothing compared to Kristopher and I. Nada. Not a thing. There’s no real comparison when you look at you two as a team and you look at Kristopher and I as a team.”

She shakes her head slowly.

;;Mikah “I’m sure you wanted to be more than transitional champions. But all dreams come to an end.”

She smirks.

;;Mikah “All good things come to an end as well. Nothing can stay happy forever.”

She fake pouts her lip out as she stares into the camera again.

;;Mikah “You and Malchi? You’re not the heroes that you want to be. I’m sure you have this grand idea that you’re going to retain the championships on the twenty-seventh and save the SCW universe from a Black Sheep mixed tag championship reign because what kind of reign would Kristopher and I have?”

She laughs a little and looks at her feet for a moment, the thought idling in her head as she stares at her feet. She looks back up at the camera and smirks.

;;Mikah “A better reign than what you and Malachi have had, that’s for damned sure. Because we don’t need no hero bullshit going on. There’s a reason that most people hate the villains and that’s because they’re jealous of them. Jealous of the raw talent that they possess and it’s no different with Kristopher and I. And feel free to admit how jealous you are of us. Because together? We’re going to be unstoppable once we steal those championships from the two of you. Our reign? It’s going to be endless. But you two can go on faking it for nine more days.”

She giggles before sliding down off of the turnbuckle and onto her feet. She adjusts her short booty shorts for a second before placing her hands on her slender hips.

;;Mikah “Because it will just make winning those belts from you that much more enjoyable than what I think it is going to be. And don’t cry and ask why after it happens because it’s not personal. I don’t give two fucks about either of you but you have what I want. And I set out to be a Mixed Tag Team Champion when I gave myself a contract. And I’ve never not gotten what I wanted when it came to championships. Just ask crazy Christina or Crystal. Whatever name she’s going by now.”

She visibly shudders at the mention of her biggest rival’s name, not that she had much to do with her anymore. But it was still a thought that seemed to cross her mind.

;;Mikah “When I set my mind to do something, I do it. No questions asked. And I want those championships. So, sorry about your shitty luck. Your reign is almost over. But don’t worry, I don’t mind being called the bad guy…”

She winks at the camera and adjusts her sports bra a bit.

;;Mikah “I quite enjoy it, actually. Get ready for the twenty-seventh the best you can because your loss will be coming. Nothing personal...because...”

She pauses, mostly for dramatic effect. But she seems to linger a little longer as she spots something. She quickly pulls her attention back to the camera, a smirk settling back on her face.

;;Mikah “That’s what villains do.”

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 19, 2020
1:05 A.M.

She had left the kitchen light on after grabbing herself a bottle of water and a blueberry bagel. She knew that she wasn’t going to be eating most of the bagel if any at all but it was nice for her to have the option. She sits down on the couch and sets the toasted bagel with butter on it on the coffee table before pulling her legs up into a criss-cross position underneath of her. She grabs the bottle of water and takes a drink as she just stares at the television in front of her that was turned off. She lets out a breath that she hadn’t realized that she had been holding.

It had been almost three weeks since she had been in California and it appeared that Kris hadn’t even realized that she had been gone. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that, really. She had thought that maybe he would have realized she and the kids were gone but apparently she wasn’t important enough. She sighs and takes another drink of her water before slouching down into the couch.

She had been back in the Chicago area to finalize her divorce with Drake and to let him spend some time with Myles. She hadn’t been the best at that lately and she wasn’t looking forward to the shared custody, even though she was sure she’d have Myles more than Drake as he was always off doing whatever he wanted without any repercussions. It bothered her that he could just shake off his responsibility as Myles’ father and she took a deep breath, hoping to stop any tears that were going to fall down her face. It made her sad to think that at this moment in time, she was more of a single parent than she had been when Leighton was an infant. And Leighton hadn’t known her biological father for several years. They hadn’t even touched the custody part of the divorce, Mikah had only assumed that she’d get the primary custody of him and what not. She wasn’t worried about the child support, because she had enough money to support herself and probably six other kids. She just wanted Myles to have his father. She sighs and lets her eyes drift shut and lets her mind slip back to the summer of 2018

FLASHBACK TO JUNE 2018


The ride from the arena to the airport in the back of Alphonso’s limousine was tense and quiet. They managed to get along when they ate Panda Express with Despy but they went radio silent the moment the limousine doors closed. And now they were at the airport getting ready to board the jet.

;;MIKAH  “Thanks Alphonso. See you in Georgia.”

Alphonso smiles and nods his head as Mikah gathers her things and gets out of the limousine. She lets Kris lead but still keeps the radio silence thing going.  She follows him up the steps and into the jet, letting the airplane people take care of her luggage and stuff. 

She looks around the jet before sitting down in a chair and looking out the window. She hated take off and wasn't looking forward to it. They both seem to be okay with the silence or maybe he knew if he pushed she'd walk off the plane and get a ticket on a commercial jet.

In roughly ten minutes, they were in the air and at a pretty high altitude where it was safe for them to move about.

Mikah looks over at Kris before looking back out the window. 

;;MIKAH “Happy birthday.”

She says it quietly but loud enough for him to hear. He drops his phone into his lap and looks up at the clock on the wall. With a light shake of his head, he replies.

±±KRIS RYANS “Nah, a couple more hours until it is today in San Diego. I don't celebrate until it is my birthday there. Today is just Sunday.”

He pushes up from his seat and moves across the cabin to the full size bar set up near the wings. He walks around it and pulls the top off of the blender on the counter before going through the cabinets below.

±±KRIS RYANS “I am going to make a drink though, and there's definitely enough alcohol here for you if you want something.”

Each time he comes up from the cabinets, it is to drop a handful of something into the blender. The first few are ice, but fruit was soon to follow. Everything from oranges, to pineapples, and mangoes got tossed in, pre-sliced by the crew that got the plane ready. It was the best of of taking it for Kris.

±±KRIS RYANS “Not saying you have to..”

She looks over at him and shrugs her shoulders as she runs her fingers through her still damp hair. She then pulls it back to a messy bun before pulling her knees up to her chest.

;;MIKAH  “I'm good.”

She bites her bottom lip, thinking about the night’s events. She rubs her cheeks a bit before glancing at him.

;;MIKAH  “I wouldn't want to go overboard and have it…”

She stops though and doesn't finish her sentence before checking her phone and then putting it away, not wanting to deal with any more tweets.

±±KRIS RYANS “Suit yourself…”

He puts the lid back on top of the blender with a shrug, and turns it on. The blades shred everything inside, creating a bright orange colored smoothie. Kris pulls one of the glasses from the bar and pours half of the contents into the cup before returning the blender to its stand.

±±KRIS RYANS “Congrats on winning your title back. Apparently I get to interview you next week.”

He says the words as he passes by her, but continues to the back of the cabin. There is a small doorway in the back wall, and he gives the door a light push. The space inside was small, but contained a bed, small bathroom, and what he was looking for. He pulls a chair away from the desk in the corner of the room, and sits down at it. Kris digs through his pockets, tossing things into the drawer of the desk before trying some of his drink. He makes a spectacle of it, making sure Mikah could hear him smack his lips and let out a sigh of relief after drinking someone.

±±KRIS RYANS “That is delicious…”

She glances in his direction and rolls her eyes.  She drums her fingers against the arm of the chair, trying her best to ignore him. She looks out the window again, watching the night sky underneath them.

;;MIKAH  “I am sure that it is delicious.”

She simply shrugs her shoulders as she stands up and adjusts her Nike leggings before walking back to the area he was in and leans against the doorframe, looking at him.

;;MIKAH  “I thought you didn't drink? Should I be telling…”

But her voice fades off because most of her friends were friends with him as well.  Except her husband but she still hadn't decided how to approach that subject.

;;MIKAH  “And yes you do. I am sure you already have a lot of questions that you want to ask.”

She looks at him then at his drink. He point at the drink while shooting a condescending look her direction.

±±KRIS RYANS “No alcohol in this one. It is just fruit and ice. That stuff out there is Jay's thing, not mine. You drink. It's rude not to offer.”

He did not really seem interested in the same pleasantries they had shown each other while others were around. There was no need to pretend when it was just the two of them.

±±KRIS RYANS “I am sure they could find someone better to interview you though. I'm not Pussy Willow or that other one with the even dumber name.”

She rolls her eyes.

;;MIKAH  “But that's not what the bosses want so.”

She just shrugs her shoulders before tugging off her hoodie and tossing it aside to reveal her turquoise tank top that shows the straps to her pink bra.

;;MIKAH  “I do drink.”

She moves over and sits on the bed, crossing her ankles and watching him. 

;;MIKAH  “But I'm trying not to as much. The experience of May 27th is enough for a while.”

She takes a deep breath before laying back on the bed. She stares up at the ceiling of the plane.

;;MIKAH  “You know...I probably upset a pregnant woman today.”

She lifts her head to look at him.

;;MIKAH  “I blame you.”

He takes a small book out of the desk and thumbs through it to an empty page.

±±KRIS RYANS “Well I apologized for eating teddy bear shaped cookies and wore a dumb shirt, so we are even.”

It takes a few moments of searching through the drawers but he finds a pen and starts writing on the first blank page. The first few lines come easy, but he has to put more thought into it as he goes.

±±KRIS RYANS “...but I guess that means Chelsea's test was positive.”

Mikah nods her head.

;;MIKAH  “Yep.”

She doesn't say anything else for a minute or so before she can hear the pen scratching on the paper.  She gets up and walks over to him and peers over his shoulder.

;;MIKAH  “What are you writing?”

He makes no move to hide the book, and she finds the answer to her own question when she looks down at it. At the top was the date, and what followed looked like a list of notes about conversations he had, and things to remember. Her name is mentioned more than a few times, as well as both Chelsea's and Despayre’s.

±±KRIS RYANS “I have trouble remembering things sometimes. It's been something I have been doing since I came back with Jay. It helps me keep everything straight when it gets fuzzy.”

He laughs as he finishes out the last few important details of the day and closes the book before she can finish reading.

±±KRIS RYANS “It's not something I like to advertise.”

Mikah just looks at him before shrugging her shoulders, not judging him.

;;MIKAH  “It's not like I have anybody to tell anyways.”

She looks down at him before taking a deep breath and moving back over to the bed.

;;MIKAH  “Besides you. And maybe Leighton. Despy probably wouldn't understand.”

He shrugs and tosses the book into the desk.

±±KRIS RYANS “Anyone that gets punched in the face for a living should understand. You think Mercedes is getting her ass beaten and remembering all those stats off hand?”

He rolls his eyes at the thought. It made him feel better to think that everyone had the same problems that he did. Isolating himself only ever made things worse.

±±KRIS RYANS “You apparently have a whole horde of students and a husband to add to that list. Also probably Simon.”

Mikah smirks.

;;MIKAH  “Jealous that Simon was on my Twitter bio as my best friend before you were?”

She tosses a pillow at him.

;;MIKAH  “The husband doesn't give a shit.”

He picks up his drink, and drinks almost until the point of brain freeze just to put off having to answer her. Once he lowers the glass, he focuses more on it than trying to answer her question.

±±KRIS RYANS “It doesn't really matter. I should have really paid attention to how I made this though because it might be the best I have ever done.”

She rolls her eyes at him before standing up and wiggling a bit to adjust her leggings.

;;MIKAH  “What do you pay attention to? Other than the championship title picture. And Coby.”

She walks out of the bedroom area of the plane and over to the mini fridge and pulls the door open to grab herself a bottle of water. He spins around in the chair, looking out the doorway.

±±KRIS RYANS “Oh, so you are pissed off that Chelsea knew about your nearly permanent vacation. I get it now.”

She rolls her eyes as she takes a drink of the water. She closes her eyes for a moment before sitting down in one of the chairs. She screws the cap back on her bottle of water and deliberately chooses not to answer him about that.

;;MIKAH  “Disney World was great. Just wonderful. Magical things do happen there.”

She once again pulls her knees up, putting her feet on the bottom of the chair. He gets up out of his chair, bringing his drink with him.

±±KRIS RYANS “No, you don't get to be shitty and then change the subject. If you have something to say, then say it. It's gonna be a long plane ride otherwise.”

He crosses the cabin but does not take the seat across from her, opting to stay on his feet.

±±KRIS RYANS “I guess that's what your little salty pounding on my door thing was.”

She moves just enough to reach for her phone.

;;MIKAH  “My favorite part about Disney World was when I made Crystal tap out. Such a glorious feeling.”

She avoids his eyes before taking another drink of her water. He rolls his eyes in response.

±±KRIS RYANS “Every detail of my life gets dragged out in the public eye and thrown at me in promos. You keep quiet, and have to have a hard conversation with a close friend, and that is too much. Good to know.”

He takes another drink from his glass and then turns to set it on the bar. When he comes back he leans down to her, and lowers his voice.

±±KRIS RYANS “Coby screamed at me on that rooftop thinking it was me that did it. When he realized it wasn't me, there wasn't really a list of others if could have been if I cared about it. I didn't even have to say anything. He knew because I was pissed off.”

He shrugs his shoulders and lets out an irritated sigh before moving past her and back towards the room.

±±KRIS RYANS “Clearly it was a bad idea to give a shit. It's not doing me any favors.”

She rubs her hands over her face before getting up and following him.

;;MIKAH  “Then don't ask me to share my feelings! It's that simple, really.”

She moves in front of him pretty easily. She looks up at him.

;;MIKAH  “I didn't need that shit tonight. I didn't need Chelsea asking me if I was okay indirectly or bringing it up on air! And it is not my fault that your life gets displayed out in public. It is not my fault more people pay attention to you than they do me.”

She looks up at him again.

;;MIKAH  “I am sorry that I don't have many friends that actually give a crap. Because well, the only other one I had is dead. And buried in some cemetery who the fuck knows where.”

She stops to rub her eyes.

;;MIKAH  “I'm also sorry that I seem to have emotions. I'll go back to not having them.”

She goes to move past him to go back to the cabin. He does not hesitate before firing back at her with his own pointed words.

±±KRIS RYANS “Maybe if you could just have them consistently instead of taking little jabs at me and then changing the subject. If you want to talk about it, then fucking talk about it.”

He makes no move to follow her.

±±KRIS RYANS “I didn't tell her to say anything. I didn't talk to her. I had nothing to do with it. But I get blamed? Why? For being a friend that you sometimes hook up with and can use as a verbal punching bag? No thanks.”

She turns to look at him, her eyes narrowing at him.

;;MIKAH  “But you are the common denominator. And I get that he's your best friend. And you need to tell him things. But fuck.”

She throws the water bottle down.

;;MIKAH  “Are you going to tell him we've been fucking too?”

Her eyes move to his. He does not back down from her either.

±±KRIS RYANS “I don't think I need to.”

His voice was not raised, but that did not mean he sounded happy about it.

±±KRIS RYANS “It was obviously a bad decision. Everything has only gotten worse since we crossed that line. You don't even want to have a conversation with me, you would rather just be pissed off. How can we make that work as friends? Or even as partners on our show?”

She looks away from him.

;;MIKAH  “Do you think I was only pissed tonight?  You think that was the only thing I was feeling?”

She raises her eyebrows at him. 

;;MIKAH  “Because if it is, then well.”

She just holds her arms out before letting them drop down to her sides.

;;MIKAH  “Then whatever.”

She turns to go back and sit back down in her chair. He points to her without following.

±±KRIS RYANS “...and that is what you do. You say you want to be able to have feelings, and share them, but when it comes to actually sharing them, you don't want to. You just want to sit and sulk.”

His voice starts to raise, and she was one of the few people that could even make that happen.

±±KRIS RYANS “If you want to talk, then you have to talk. You don't get to complain about it, and then shut down. You can't have it both ways.”

She looks at him but doesn't move from the chair right away.

;;MIKAH  “Because when I do share them, it doesn't seem to matter any!”

She didn't care if her voice was loud or not. She stands back up and walks over to him, getting in his bubble.

;;MIKAH  “You want me to talk about my feelings but every time I do, it blows up in my face. So excuse me if I don't think that it is a very good idea.”

She looks up at him her breathing slightly heavy. He does not back away, but his demeanor changes once she is right in front of him. Most of the frustration is gone and he has trouble focusing on their argument.

±±KRIS RYANS “Because you half ass it. You start to say something and then stop.”

He meant the words, but as he went they became less angry.

±±KRIS RYANS “Just spit it out.”

She looks up at him, seemingly thinking as they stand in the slightly narrow hallway.

;;MIKAH  “I…..”

She closes her eyes trying to shake off the vulnerable feeling.

;;MIKAH  “I...felt…”

She chews on her bottom lip.

;;MIKAH  “I was upset, okay? It's not like I tell people a lot of things and when Chelsea mentioned it, I just thought you…”

Her voice stops.

;;MIKAH  “I felt betrayed. And if you had told that, what else would you tell?”

He reached out and puts his hand on her cheek, raising her face up so his eyes can meet hers.

±±KRIS RYANS “I would not have told him, and he didn't actually have any details. I wouldn't do that, and you should know that. He pushed buttons until he got what he wanted,and he can do that because he has been around for a lot.”

He shrugs, letting his hand drop.

±±KRIS RYANS “I thought that you would trust me enough to know that. Or maybe just enough to talk to me before jumping to the wrong conclusion.”

She shrugs her shoulders a bit.

;;MIKAH  “I wanted to...I just…”

She chews on her bottom lip.

;;MIKAH  “I know you're different but there are not many I trust before. And this…”

She motions between them through the small space she can.

;;MIKAH  “Would be a big secret exposed.”

END OF FLASHBACK

She opens her eyes and sighs. She didn’t want them to go back to that type of relationship where they didn’t tell each other things. She wanted to be able to communicate freely with him without being worried or scared of the repercussions. She sighs and gets up and walks down the hallway to his room and knocks before opening the door and looking into his room. Once she spots him, she makes sure that her eyes lock with his. She seems a little hesitant as she looks at him, the silence lingering between them this time. She swallows hard before leaning against the frame of the door as he waits for what she was going to say. It would maybe be the first time she felt as if she could say it.

;;MIKAH “We need to talk.”


FRIDAY, AUGUST 21, 2020
7:45 P.M.

The scene opens up to Mikah sitting on a stool in a room that appeared to be bare. The walls were white according to the camera and she sat in the middle of the room on a stool with one leg crossed over the other. As soon as the camera begins filming, the walls begin to come to life. They begin playing some of Mikah’s greatest matches and clips of her backstage. It was now evident that the once white walls were actually green screens so she could have her memories flashing on the walls around her.

;;MIKAH “If you have done your research, Bella, these are the some of the things you might see…”

She looks around her, letting herself see the images on the wall. She smiles to herself as she watches herself dominate in a match before she turns her attention back to the camera and cracks a smile at it.

;;MIKAH “But if you haven’t done your research, I am not sure what you’re going to have to say about me.”

She shrugs her shoulders.

;;MIKAH “And I can say that I won’t be bothered by it because I can assure you that I’ve been called everything there is to be called. You don’t get an impressive resume like mine by making friends and having pleasant things be said about you.”

In the background something can be heard and after a while it is praises of Tommy Knocks being played on repeat. It was rare that the host of the Hotwire ever had anything bad to say about her and he had named her the number one Bombshell of all time, so she had his compliments playing softly.

;;MIKAH “Do you even know who you’re stepping into the ring against, Bella?”

She tilts her head to the side, a small smirk spreading across her face.

;;MIKAH “I’m a three time Bombshell Champion, a former Internet Bombshell Champion, and a former Roulette Bombshell champion. I have a resume that will make your accomplishments look weak. And yes, you and Malachi are the current Mixed Tag Team Champs but let’s be real…”

She smirks as she looks at the camera.

;;MIKAH “You won’t be holding them for much longer. Because Kristopher and I? We know how to win and get shit done. Nobody has taken us seriously as a team because we ‘bicker’ too much or can’t seem to get along. But I’m the person that can push personal differences aside to work with my partner in a match and if that’s what I have to do to ensure that my team gets the win? I will.”

She flicks her hair over her shoulders before she looks at the camera again.

;;MIKAH “Clearly there’s no doubt that you and Malachi are a team that knows how to work together. You’ve been doing it for a while, right? You had a shot at the previous Mixed Tag Champions at Into the Void but fell short. And at Summer XXXtreme, you and Malachi won the championships, securing the goal that you’d set for yourselves as a team. But how do you feel knowing that you’re transitional champions?”

She knew that it was a bold statement to be making but she simply didn’t care. She rarely cared if the things she said were bold and maybe crossing over the line.

;;MIKAH “Because I’m sure you’ve heard rumblings in the backstage area. When I want something and I’m focused on that goal? I don’t fail, Bella. And right now? You and your partner have what Kristopher and I have our eyes on. There isn’t going to be much failure when it comes to this. I won’t allow it. I’ve never been one to step away from a challenge. I’ve beat Chrystal or Christina, whichever crazy persona she’s going by right now so many times it has become boring and repetitive.”

She shrugs her shoulders.

;;MIKAH “I’ve also beat Mercedes Vargas so many times that I could beat her in my sleep. You, are going to be new and fresh and full of surprises, I’m sure. But even though you’re not going to be one of those boring, repetitive opponents, I’m still going to kick your ass as if you were. It will be a new challenge to me and I actually do look forward to stepping into the ring with you.”

She smirks.

;;MIKAH “It’s always fun to say that you beat the current champions in a non-title match up.”

She smirks at the camera once more.

;;MIKAH “What you and Malachi have is. . .”

She frowns and scrunches up her nose a little at the thought of what she was going to say.

;;MIKAH “Gross.”

She smirks again, wiping the frown easily from her face.

;;MIKAH “Oh, did you think I was going to say sweet? Because ew. I don’t do sweet shit for anybody. I was married to Drake Green for almost four years and while I was in love with him when we were married, I can honestly say that he and I didn’t have that sickeningly sweet relationship that people gush over. But let’s not go down that road.”

She chuckles.

;;MIKAH “What you and Malachi need to focus on is the fact that Kristopher and I? We work well together. Despite all the bickering we have done since I’ve returned as a competitor, we do work well together. And nobody believed that he and I would ever become successful as a Mixed Tag team here in SCW. But we’ve had a handful of matches together since and we’ve won them. But what I want you and Malachi to do is…or more like, not to do..is..”

She hesitates as a match of her own catches her eye on the walls. And for a moment she is drawn into her own self. She shakes her head and turns her focus back on the camera.

;;MIKAH “Don’t focus on the fact that Kristopher and I bicker on Twitter back and forth. It’s just Twitter. Nothing that happens on there should be taken seriously. Ever.”

She wasn’t the type to promote her match on Twitter or even say when she’s working out. People don’t need to know that.

;;MIKAH “What you should do is go back to the summer of 2018 and look at who was dominating the Bombshell roster and the Superstars roster. Pre-July for the Superstars roster, however. It was me and Kristopher.”

She puts her hands together to clasp them together as she looks at the camera, a smirk donning her pretty face.

;;MIKAH “And you would think that people would come to the conclusion that you put two people of that caliber together in a tag team that it would work, right?”

Again, she tilts her head to the side as her eyes are locked on the camera.

;;MIKAH “But no, people don’t think that. They think Kristopher and I are laughable. And replaceable. They think that we’re going to be a flash in the pan and not be worth anything after a few months. But newsflash, I didn’t hold the Bombshell Championship for as long as I did to just be flash in the pan or another transitional champion like Mercedes Vargas or Crystal-Christina.”

She shakes her head as she looks at the camera.

;;MIKAH “Oh no, I came back for Kristopher and I to break records. And set the bar for what a mixed tag team should be and should look like. Because let’s be honest…”

She smirks again, that arrogance reaching her eyes this time.

;;MIKAH “Kristopher and I together? We look fucking amazing. I’m fucking beautiful and he’s fucking beautiful, so together we’re a good looking team. There’s a reason people like Christian Underwood and Fenris go bat shit crazy over him.”

She winks at the camera.

;;MIKAH “Looks might not be everything but when you have them, flaunt them. And so with looks and our talent in the ring, we’re the whole package. And you and Malachi?”

She smirks at the camra as she stands up.

;;MIKAH “Have everything to be worried about.”

 
<div style="width: 695px; margin: auto;">
<text align=right> <p align=”Right”> "IT’S JUST THE PRINCIPLE."
LOCATION: LAS VEGAS, NEVADA.
DAYS UNTIL SUMMER XXXTREME: 14
EXCITEMENT LEVEL: MEDIUM
SCENE i
REC•

MONDAY JULY 20, 2020
1:05 A.M.

Mikah was standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom at the suite she was sharing with Kris and he had yet to return. She had chosen for them to stay at the Ventian for a night or two so that she could do some shopping before they had to be on that ridiculous boat for a week. She was growing bored with the suite by herself as she had opted not to go to the arena for the stay home episode of Climax Control; even though she had told Kris she’d see him there. She didn’t care that she had technically lied to him. Okay, maybe not lied but she had changed her mind not to go after seeing a few things she didn’t care to see on social media.

She glances out the open bathroom door as she hears the little clicking noise that the door made when the key card was being used. She rolls her eyes and turns back to the mirror to finish taking her makeup off. She had on a silky turquoise robe that went just above her mid thigh. She doesn’t turn around when she can hear him let the door slam shut and then she still ignores his presence when she sees him in the mirror as he leans against the frame of the bathroom. She looks at him through the mirror and raises an eyebrow at him.

;;MIKAH “Do you need something, Kristopher? Because staring at me like that isn’t going to magically make me read your mind.”

She could tell that he wasn’t in the greatest of moods. She had not watched the show live, so there was no way of knowing if he was upset with her, or something that had happened on the show. Of course, she knew that he wasn’t the type to not vent about whatever it was. She pulls her blonde locks up and ties it up into a messy bun on the top of her head, before bracing for impact.

±±KRIS RYANS “I missed you backstage tonight. Did you forget that there was a Climax Control?”

Mikah just shrugs her shoulders before turning to look at him and leans against the bathroom counter top. She folds her arms over her chest as she looks at him.

;;MIKAH “No.”

She kept her answer short and sweet. She just looks at him, almost challenging him. At least now she knew that it was her that he was mad at, not anything that happened. At the very least, it meant that nothing had changed going into Summer XXXtreme.

±±KRIS RYANS “So you just decided not to show up after we discussed what we were going to do?”

She could see the struggle on his face as he tried to control his own emotions. A smirk appears on Mikah’s face for a millisecond but it is gone just as quickly as it appeared.

;;MIKAH “I thought it wasn't necessary for me to be there. You seemed to have it covered and I deemed it unnecessary for me to be there.”

She looks at him, raising her eyebrows at him. She was almost daring him to challenge her or say something else.

±±KRIS RYANS “Would have been nice to get a heads up or something. I wouldn’t have wasted my time waiting for you to show up. What did you think was more important than being there?”

He looked like he did not even want to ask the question. Whatever the answer was going to be was just going to make the situation worse. It always did. She looks at him,  her eyes looking into his.

;;MIKAH “Does it even really matter?”

She raises an eyebrow at him. To her, it was in the past and didn't really matter anymore. It couldn't be changed so it wasn't important.

;;MIKAH “I just thought that you could handle it. That you didn't need me to be there with you. It's not like you need me to hold your hand, Kristopher. You said it yourself that you needed space from me. So, I was giving you all the space that you wanted.”

She goes to walk past him even though he was technically still blocking the door for her to leave. When she is within a step of him, he moves away from the inside of the doorway to completely block her path.

±±KRIS RYANS “It wasn’t about needing you to be there. We had a plan. We have a match to get ready for. We have an entire division that we had the opportunity to scout out. I thought that you were going to take this seriously after you were done gloating about winning. I guess I was wrong. ”

He turns away from her, and heads out into the living space of the hotel room. He was getting more and more frustrated just trying to deal with her. It was like having a conversation with himself. He was starting to understand how everyone else felt when they lectured him. It wasn’t a feeling that he enjoyed.

;;MIKAH “You had a plan. I changed it and made it nonexistent. You had Coby there. And I won the match for us a week ago. And an entire division? Please. There's like two maybe three teams that we need to worry about, Kristopher. Quit acting like it's the end of the world."

She rolls her eyes at him as she looks at him. She moves into the living room of their suite.

;;MIKAH “We have two weeks to prepare for our match, Kristopher.  I am sure we will be fine. Plus, you have other friends to worry about."

Kris sighs heavily and brings his hands up to cover his face. He tries as hard as he can to push down the annoyance bubbling up inside of him. When he speaks, his voice is still level.

±±KRIS RYANS “We can’t ever do that if you don’t show up. It was all fun and games when you would blow off shows or drink backstage when it was just you that you could drag down. We are a team now. If you do, you take me down with you. It shouldn’t be too much to ask that you take things seriously.”

He could have said a lot worse. Usually he would have phrased things as hurtful as he could just to make his point. That was not going to work here though.

;;MIKAH “I am not drinking backstage. I barely drink so that argument is invalid. You were busy with your friends, what was I supposed to do? Sit around and talk with people that I don't like? No thanks. I had a better time in the Grand Canal Shoppes.”

She knew a part of her was being difficult just to spite him but she wasn't about to admit her feelings. It was still something she struggled with.

;;MIKAH “And plus, I was just giving you what you wanted.”

She gives him that look but moves and sits down next to him anyways. More than anything, he looks defeated. The night had worn out all of his patience and he was ready to just throw in the towel.

±±KRIS RYANS “I’m so tired of all of this ‘friends’ shit. From Coby, to Tim and Alexis, and now you. I’m just trying to do my own thing. I don’t know why all of you can’t just let me. I’m not forcing anyone to do anything. If you don’t want to be at the shows, then just don’t go. If you don’t give a shit about Underground, then ignore it. I shouldn’t have to be constantly explaining myself to everyone about shit that doesn’t matter...”

She fights with herself to try to not roll her eyes but it was inevitable as the action was just second nature to her. She just shakes her head at him, toying with the sash of her robe. It was very obvious she was naked underneath as the skin showed through the front.

;;MIKAH “I'm not making you do anything you don't want to.  Be friends with whoever you want to. But don't expect me to just be okay with you throwing m-people under the bus. Maybe once in a while you could pretend to like me. I was in a marriage with that pretend shit. Wait--never mind. I'm going to go down to the casino to drink. Since that's all I do anyways.”

She gives him a pointed look, rolls her eyes and stands up to leave. She doesn’t seem to care that all she had on was her robe and that it was barely covering her as it was. She grabs her little wallet thing and then walks out of their suite, letting the door slam shut behind her. She knew that she could tell him how she felt and not get any flack from him about her feelings or at least, that’s how it was two years ago. She wasn’t sure she felt that way anymore. Or that she could feel that way anymore. It was complicated and she didn’t care to think about it as she walks down the hallway and plops down on the circle couch that the Venetian has in the area before the elevators. She had no desire to actually go down to the casino and waste her money but she definitely wanted him to think that she was going down there. It was all in the principle.

<text align=right> <p align=”Right”> "DELAYING THE INEVITABLE."
LOCATION: SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA.
DAYS UNTIL SUMMER XXXTREME: 9
EXCITEMENT LEVEL: MEDIUM
SCENE ii
REC•

FRIDAY, JULY 24, 2020
7:45 P.M.

The scene opens up to the JCSL in San Diego at Kris’ place and Mikah is seen sitting on a turnbuckle, dressed in a pair of short Nike spandex shorts and a simple turquoise sports bra. She smiles at the camera before leaning forward just a little.

;;MIKAH “I’m not going to waste my time with introductions. Everybody in SCW knows who I am and what I’ve done in this company. I need no introduction. My partner on the other hand. . .”

Mikah makes a face and makes a hand motion to signify that it was an iffy situation.

;;MIKAH “He likes to make an entrance. But that doesn’t really matter, either.”

She seems hesitant in continuing but she’s really just trying to gather her thoughts and rearrange them to where she felt they should be.

;;MIKAH “When it comes to SCW, there isn’t anything that I haven’t done. Or been accused of. Things my partner likes to throw in my face when he’s feeling as if I’ve neglected him and our team.”

She holds a smirk on her face as she looks at the camera. The camera once again seemed a little shaky.

;;MIKAH “I’ve been accused of drinking before a match and I’ve been accused of sleeping with Hot Stuff Mark Ward. If it’s a thing, I’ve more than likely been accused of it.”

She holds a smirk again on her face.

;;MIKAH “I have never drank before a match, just backstage when I wasn’t booked for a match but was still being the Bombshell Champion and I showed up. I’ve never had sex with Hot Stuff Mark Ward but we’ve only kissed twice. Maybe three times, I’m not sure. Ask Mercedes Vargas if you want confirmation on that.”

She shrugs her shoulders.

;;MIKAH “But do you want to know what none of my opponents never talk about?”

She looks at the camera, a serious look on her pretty face.

;;MIKAH “They don’t talk about what I’ve accomplished in SCW. They don’t talk about how I was only in the company for maybe six months, if you can even count it because I took a two and a half month break from competition. I won the Bombshell Championship after I returned from the two and a half month hiatus. And do you know the only thing that my opponents then could say about me?”

She laughs and shakes her head to the camera.

;;MIKAH “All they could say was that I won the belt as a fluke. That I’d drop it the next time I defended it when Raynin got her rematch. And when that didn’t happen, it was still the same thing over and over again. Nobody believed that I was the real deal and that I was the one that they should be respecting.”

She was trying to stay on track and not let her annoyance guide her. She had a reason for starting it this way and she didn’t want to let her emotions control where it was going.

;;MIKAH “It’s because I didn’t start out in SCW. I came into this company with a decorated history from other companies that had credit. I had a reason to act as if  I was the best thing that SCW had signed because it was true. And it’s still true today.”

She carefully crosses one leg over the other and leans back just slightly.

;;MIKAH “Nobody knew how I got a contract to compete. Even Hot Stuff Mark Ward said so himself that he wasn’t sure how I got myself a contract.”

She smirks again, keeping that same confident look present on her face.

;;MIKAH “People like to think that I’m stupid or just a dumb blonde. They never really give a second thought to the things that I do. They never think that I have an ulterior motive because they think I’m too stupid to know what that means or how to do that.”

She reaches up and pushes some of her hair out of her face.

;;MIKAH “Nobody really questioned why I returned months ago as Hot Stuff Mark Wards unofficial official personal assistant. Some assumed that I was bored at home with a baby and an alcoholic husband or that maybe I just needed the spotlight again. Nobody ever guessed that I would return to active competition. Or that it would be in the Mixed Tag Team Division.”

She was right; nobody would have thought that she would have returned only to be placed in the tag team division. A division she had been so disgusted with in the first place. But people never looked into her past or really paid much attention to her two years ago. She had always been insistent about how she and Kris would have ruled the division if they hadn’t been the top tier champions for their divisions.

;;MIKAH “I saw the chance for what Kristopher and I had always wanted to do two years ago. I saw that chance just dangling there and I couldn’t resist just taking it.”

She shrugs her shoulders.

;;MIKAH “So, I worked myself up a little contract and shoved the paper in Mark’s face and he signed it just so I’d go away and leave him alone. Which is what I knew he’d do without any hesitation and then I contacted Kristopher. And you know how he got his contract too, that was all me. It may have taken me longer to actually have dove into the return but once I did, nobody saw it coming. And that brings me to our opponents, Bill and Bea Barnhart. The Barnharts. The lovely married couple or really, the not-so-lovely married couple as I’d prefer they be called.”

She smirks again and shrugs her shoulders.

;;MIKAH “And you see, Bea and Bill, you two don’t know anything about Kristopher and myself as a team. All you have to go on is speculation. You only have to go on what I did two years ago as a singles competitor in the Bombshell division. I’ve only one match since my return to active competition and as you can see, that was successful because of me. I got the win for Kristopher and myself. That ring rust that everybody was talking about, didn’t exist. And it doesn’t exist. I’m in the best shape of my life, even after having a baby. I’m more focused than anybody can imagine.”

it may or may not have been a small, subtle jab at her partner for thinking that she wasn’t focused on their plan or what they wanted to be endgame.

;;MIKAH “I’ve tried to watch you, Bea. I’ve tried to understand how you work inside of the ring but there’s something about it that I just...I can’t understand. Why do you rely on a partner to get a win?”

She tilts her head to the right just a little as her eyes stay connected with the camera.

;;MIKAH “Because from what I can see, you can’t seem to hack it in the Bombshell division on your own. Your success-if we can even call it that-seems to only be relevant when you and Bill are teaming together. So, what does that say about you as a competitor, Bea?”

She raises an eyebrow in slight curiosity.

;;MIKAH “I’m not a hero, Bea. I’m far from it, actually. I’m not going to sit here and hype you up as an opponent. Because why should I do that? Why should I act as if you’re on the same level as I am when you can’t hack it as a singles competitor? Why should I entertain the idea that you might be as good as I am in the ring? Because I hate playing pretend and we’re not children anymore. And this? This isn’t going to have a fairytale ending for you and Billy.”

She doesn’t seem to hold any emotion on her face as she looks at the camera.

;;MIKAH “You two aren’t going to waltz down to that ring in nine days and act like you’re going to beat Kris and myself. It isn’t going to happen. And if you want to pretend that you’re the heroes in this story? Go right ahead. It’s just pretend and I don’t live in a fantasy world. I don’t try to pretend that I’m a good person and my partner will be the first one to throw me under the bus and say that I’m not. And he’s right, I’m not. I’ve never claimed to be a good person and I never will.”

Of course, she never thought she was a good person. She always struggled choosing between right and wrong and how people perceived her.

;;MIKAH “Do you know what sets me apart from you, Bea? I mean besides the fact that I’m better looking than you are?”

She chuckles to herself, that confident look still in her eyes. When she was talking about a match or competing in the ring, it was the only times she felt supremely confident in her abilities.

;;MIKAH “I can hack it as a singles competitor. I am the measuring stick of what a Bombshell should aspire to be. Look at Alicia Lukas. Do you think she could have been as successful as I was if I hadn’t set the nine month record for her to break? Do you think that she would have been able to have carried the division if I hadn’t done it months before her? I am the definition of what it takes to be a Bombshell and you should feel honored to be able to step into the ring against me. You’ll fail and you’ll lose but you should feel fucking honored to lose to me. I’m the best Bombshell that there’s ever been in the company; Tommy Knocks said so. And I hold that honor proudly.”

She seems to hold herself a little more confidently, her chin held high as she continues to talk.

;;MIKAH “I inspire people to be better in the ring so that they had a shot at breaking my record. And Alicia was the only person to have been able to have done it. But then there’s the Bombshells like you. The ones that can’t seem to hack it on their own and have to rely on a partner to get a win in the W column. And it’s downright disgusting and I’m going to fix what is wrong in SCW. I ‘m going to cure it of the disease that has infiltrated the tag team division.”

She grabs the ropes and leans toward the camera.

;;MIKAH “A lot of the teams in this division focus solely on their team as a unit and never branch out to singles competition. And that’s sad because then they become more and more reliant on their partner. And never get a life for themselves. But I’m here to tell you that before you form a team, you should try to find success on your own.”

She wouldn’t have done it any other way. She would have never gone into tag team wrestling first and then tried to find success because it wouldn’t have worked in the first place. She didn’t like people and it never would have gone over well if she had tried to actually work in a tag team.

;;MIKAH “Nobody has given much serious thought to Kris and I as a team because on paper, it doesn’t look like we could be successful. If you pay attention to social media, you would say that we hate one another. That we can’t stand one another and that a team with us as one another’s partners is too combustible to actually work. Most of you discredit us nd brush away because of our combative personalities. But what nobody sees is the way we do work together.”

She just shrugs her shoulders.

;;MIKAH “Nobody expected us to win almost two weeks ago. They all thought that we couldn’t get along long enough to get the win. So when I secured the win for Kristopher and I, the mouths hit the ground in shock. Nobody should have been surprised. Kris is talented on his own and is a Grand Slam Champion himself. He can hold his own in a match and I don’t have to watch out for him. And he doesn’t have to watch out for me. And we both hate people, that’s why we work well together. And if we don’t seem to get along one day, it doesn’t matter because we will still win because it’s what SCW needs. And we’re going to purge the mediocrity out of the Mixed Tag Division.”

She smirks at the camera as she slowly slides down off of the top turnbuckle.

;;MIKAH “It’s only a matter of time until we get a shot at the Mixed Tag Champions. And there’s nothing anybody can really do about it. Bea and Bill are just a stepping stone to the way to the inevitable.”

She snaps her fingers.

;;MIKAH “Just like that.”

She smirks and shrugs her shoulders.

;;MIKAH “We’ll be the villains in the story because nobody said that being a villain had to be a bad thing.”

She winks at the camera before getting out of the ring as it slowly fades to black.

 OAK BROOK, ILLINOIS.
Date: March 31, 2020.
Time: 11:00 AM.
OFF CAMERA
--

A sigh escapes the blonde Bombshell's lips as she jostles Myles in her arms as she unlocks the front door. She runs her fingers through her hair as Myles chews on his fingers.

Mikah: "Finally home baby…"

She kisses the infant's head as she struggles for a second or two before setting her stuff down in the doorway before going into the living room and sets the toddler down on the floor. She glances around, looking for her absent husband. She smiles as Leighton walks into the room.

Leighton: "Hey mom."

Mikah smiles before kissing her daughter's head.

Mikah: "Hey, Leigh. Can you watch Myles for me for a bit?"

Leighton raises an eyebrow at her mother but doesn't seem to protest as she picks up her baby brother.

Leighton: "Sure, Mom."

Mikah smiles before going to find Drake, assuming that he was in the office. She doesn't bother with knocking on the door and just walks in.

Mikah: "So which whore are you putting your dick in now?"

She folds her arms over her chest as she looks at her husband. She didn't take in what he was doing or if she had even noticed. Drake lifts his head up from his book.

Drake: “Hi honey...missed you too”

He smiles as he takes a sip of his scotch. She looks at him and raises an eyebrow at him with that cold, calculated look that had become her signature look.

Mikah: "I'm sure you have…."

She didn't seem amused with his sarcasm as she shifts her weight a little from foot to foot.

Mikah: "Or did you only miss me because the whore down the road hasn't invited you over? Or the whore from Twitter. Or you know, whichever one it is this month."

She raises an eyebrow at him.

Drake: “Ok…”

He sets his drink, and his book, down on the desk and leans back in the chair.

Drake: “What’s going on? What did I do now?”

She laughs before shakes her head at him as she leans against the doorframe, watching him as he seemed in the dark about what she was going on about.

Mikah: "You're really going to sit there and act like you don't know about the other sluts that you've been sticking your dick in? Did you think I was going to let you get away with it for forever?"

She raises an eyebrow at him.

Mikah: "I put up with it before I retired from in ring competition in September of 2018 because I was never home. I figured it wasn't hurting anybody. But I figured that you would stop after I became pregnant and then had Myles. But apparently not."

She shakes her head.

Mikah: "Apparently Myles isn't important enough for you to stop."

Drake turns his head sideway and smirks a bit for a moment before wiping the smile off his face.

Drake: “I….”

He sighs before lowering his head a bit.

Drake: “Really? This is what we’re gonna fight about? Me sleeping around? We didn’t fight about it a year ago when you were pregnant….two years ago when you were out fucking that guy all over the country….and now what? Because you’re going out to work and taking the baby so you can’t get drunk and fucked in a hotel room I’m supposed to all of a sudden be Mr. Monogamy? Come on Miks….don’t do this.”

He sits back down and picks his book up. She walks over to him and takes the book from him.

Mikah: "Excuse me?"

She looks at him before shaking her head as she stands in front of his seated form.

Mikah: "Because I thought you stopped!"

She was louder this time, almost yelling at him about it. She gives him a dirty look.

Mikah: "We have a fucking son together, Drake. I thought that maybe that would be a little more important than you being a manwhore. But I guess I was wrong."

Drake: “What changed? Becuase we have a kid you only want me to fuck you? Is it because of Myles or is it because of you? Don’t try to use him to make me feel bad. You know what I am….what we are….don’t pretend you’re holier than thou now just because you had a baby, Miks. We’re the same people we were a year ago."

She rolls her eyes at him.

Mikah: "Don't pretend that we are the same people we were a year ago, Drake. Don't act like you haven't been drinking more and more each week."

She raises an eyebrow at him.

Mikah: "Or are you abusing drugs again?"

Drake leans back in his chair and just stares at his wife.

Drake: “Look…what?”

She raises an eyebrow at him.

Mikah: "What? You think I didn't know what you've been doing?"

She holds a smirk for a second.

Mikah: "I used to do drugs, Drake. Over 14 years ago but I did. I know the signs."

Drake: “I’m not...you’re not MY mother Mikah. Don’t try and turn this around here. You’re just mad I’m still having fun and you’re obviously fucking miserable."

She gives him a look, a small smirk tugging at the corner of her lips

Mikah: "Are you really that...stupid, Drake?"

She looks at him.

Mikah: "I get that Misty put up with your shit for a long time and never held you accountable because she couldn't hold onto a guy but don't you dare think that I am going to."

She looks him over.

Mikah: "And if you think for one second that I'm going to leave Myles in your care while you're off snorting coke, you have another thing coming."

Drake gets up and slaps his glass of scotch across the room, creating a loud crash of breaking glass.

Drake: “What the fuck are you gonna do? Don’t walk in here like some mother superior. You’re no fucking saint. What….you don’t think I know about what happened? Please Miks….grow up. We are who we are. You don’t have to like it….shit you know where the door is….but this is who we are.”

She flinches just a tiny bit at him smacking the glass across the room.

Mikah: "That happened before I fucking had Myles, Drake! Don't you dare insinuate that it has happened since. It's fucking different and you know it!"

Her voice was still raised.

Mikah: "I wouldn't do it around my child. And you weren't even around when it happened in June of 2018, so you don't get to fucking throw that at me."

She looks at him. He lets out another long sigh and then sits back.

Drake: “What are doing here?”

He pulls out a cigarette from his top drawer and lights it. He takes a deep drag before slowly letting out the smoke between his lips.

Drake: “You had to bring up Misty?”

She shrugs her shoulders.

Mikah: "I did. What are you going to do about it?"

She raises an eyebrow.

Mikah: "Probably a whole lot of nothing.".

Drake: “Well if you were half the woman she was maybe I wouldn’t have to stick my dick in half of America to feel something….”

Mikah laughs before raising an eyebrow.

Mikah: "You haven't felt anything for anybody long before Misty. Don't even act like you liked her."

Mikah rolls her eyes.

Mikah: "And if you were a better man, I wouldn't be fucking Kris Ryans whenever I want to. At least he didn't…."

But she stops not wanting to go there. Drake once again takes a long drag and exhales, blowing in the direction of his wife.

Drake: “And there it is…”

He puts the cigarette in his ashtray.

Drake: “Look...if you want out….just say it. Save the theatrics. It’s boring….and that’s beneath you. You’re not boring….”

Mikah rolls her eyes at him.

Mikah: "I want you to stop fucking doing coke and drinking all the damned time. And acting like it is okay!"

She wasn't going to deny that she was an angel. Everybody practically knew about her "friendship" with Kris Ryans anybody. And Drake would have been perceived as an idiot if he didn't know about it.  But they never talked about it. It was an unspoken agreement between the two. Act like everything was okay.

Mikah: "Because honestly? Fuck whoever you want. I don't care."

Drake: “What does Popeye say…..?”

He picks up his Newport and takes another drag.

Drake: “I am what I am.”

Mikah: "...You are not the man I married. So I don't know what the fuck happened to you…"

She looks him over before taking his cigarette from him and puts it out.

Mikah: "Do you even WANT Myles and I in your life? Or is the booze and drugs more important?"

Drake cocks his head a bit and smiles. He takes Mikah’s hand and puts it in his.

Drake: “Of course I do. Myles is the most amazing thing in my life...and I love you Miks. But I am exactly who you married. I’ve never changed...I’ve always been this guy. Maybe you’ve changed….and that’s ok…..”

Mikah sighs.

Mikah: "The drugs have to stop, Drake."

She looks at him.

Mikah: "And I haven't...changed that much. Maybe a little but not much…"

She looks at him.

Mikah: "But I can't leave Myles in your care with you on drugs."

Drake shrugs.

Drake: “It’s not like I’m high 24/7 babe...I just like to have a good time….we’ll get a nanny.”

She shakes her head.

Mikah: "No. I did that with Leighton, I am not going to do it with Myles."

She gives him a look.

Mikah: "And you think I don't like to have a good time? I do but I'm not going to get fucking high to have a good time."

Drake: “So what now….you gonna leave me?”

He takes out another Newport….and lights it.

Drake: “Is that what you want?”

She didn't feel like anything was figured out or anything had been resolved.

Mikah: "....I don't know."

She looks at him for a moment.

Mikah: "Are you ever going to change?"

Drake pulls out two glasses from his desk drawer and slides over the bottle of Johnny Walker black. He looks up at Mikah and smiles as he unscrews the bottle and pours two fingers in each glass. He sets the bottle back down, picks up both glasses, and hands one to Miks.

Drake: “I’ve been telling people my whole life that I’m gonna change. My brother, Max, Barry…

He looks at Mikah and cracks a smile.

Drake: Misty…..Mark Ward, Christian Underwood...the list goes on. But you know what?”

She looks at the glass.

Mikah: "What?"

He takes his finger and traces the line of her face.

Drake: “I’m sick of lying...and I don’t want to lie to you. Sure...I’ll stop now...maybe for a few months or a year...and then one day I’ll just be holed up in a hotel room with….whatever. I am what I am, Miks. I promise I will always be there for Myles...and for you….but I can’t promise something to you that I know is a lie.”

Mikah sighs as she looks at the glass.

Mikah: "I don't know what I am supposed to say about that."

She shrugs her shoulders as she watches the ice cubes in the glass.

Mikah: "I don't understand how that's more important than family."

Drake grabs Mikah by the back of the neck and pulls her in for a soft embrace, gently pressing his lips up against hers. He pulls back and smiles.

Drake: “What’s important is putting Myles in the best environment to thrive. And this….whatever this is….is not it. I think you know that. What’s gonna happen when Leighton figures out what we’re really like? What about when Myles grows up and reads about us? That’s not right…”

She shrugs her shoulders at him.

Mikah: "Leighton probably already knows. She is my daughter. She's not dumb."

She looks at him.

Mikah: "And you're right. I don't want Myles to grow up in this environment. I don't want him around the drugs. Or the alcohol. Or the random whore you invite over."

She looks at him again.

Mikah: "It isn't fair to him."

Drake: “I’ll pack a bag.”

He downs the rest of his scotch….and picks up his cigarette.

Drake: “Just tell Leighton...yeah.”

He walks past her. She grabs his wrist, stopping him.

Mikah: "No. This is your house…"

She just shrugs her shoulders at him.

Mikah: "I only moved here for you. I don't plan on...staying here if I don't have to. It's your house."

She gives him a small smile.

Mikah: "I'll have Leigh pack a bag and I'll get some of Myles' things."

Drake: “Miks...you’ve got two kids and dogs. Just stay as long as you like….”

He walks past her.

Drake: “I bought it for you anyways….”

She shakes her head as she looks at him.

Mikah: "You bought this before we were even really official. I wasn't going to stay long anyways. Please don't."

She offers a smile.

Mikah: "I swear…"

He stops at the door way and looks back at her, and smiles.

Drake: “I love you, Miks.”

She smiles softly

Mikah: "Love you too."

 
<div style="width: 695px; margin: auto;">
<text align=right> <p align=Right> ”CAYALYST.”
LOCATION: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK.
DAYS UNTIL CLIMAX CONTROL: 6
EXCITEMENT LEVEL: LOW
SCENE i
REC•

MONDAY, AUGUST 6, 2018
9:40 A.M.

Two weeks, going on three.  It had been two weeks since she’d been in a SCW ring or around the people she worked with. Two weeks that she’d busied herself in New York City and working with Elowyn  on the basics when it came to wrestling.  It was something that Elowyn was being quiet about on Twitter and Mikah had noticed.  Something else that Mikah noticed was that when Adam Wilson started tweeting, Ellie kind of picked up the pace as well.  It was interesting.

Mikah walks into the building she had yet to name to see Elowyn sitting on the floor, looking half dead.  Mikah understood the feeling but she couldn’t just stop because then her mind worked too fast, too quickly.

;;MIKAH “I did tell you that it wasn’t going to be easy, right?”

Mikah smirks a bit at Ellie as she seems content to just sit there on the ground, trying to regain any energy that would be needed for the day.  Ellie groans before standing up and fixing her shorts that she’d chosen to wear.

±±ELLIE  “Can’t we just have one day off?!  We’ve been training for what seems like forever with no break in sight!”

Mikah raises an eyebrow at the young girl and shrugs her shoulders and places her hands on her hips.  She looks around the training center, that was still having work done on it before returning her eyes to the young girl.  She understood that Ellie was tired but she didn’t want to give herself a break because then it let her mind linger to places she didn’t want it to go.

;;MIKAH “I thought you wanted this, Elowyn?  I thought you wanted what I have?”

Mikah looks into the young girl’s brown eyes and raises an eyebrow.  Maybe it wasn’t fair what she was asking of the young girl but then again, Mikah wanted to make Elowyn the best that she could.  She wanted Elowyn to really, really want this.  And maybe she was going a little extreme on the training but it was helping to occupy her mind.

±±ELLIE  “But one or two days off wouldn’t hurt us!  I do want that, I really do but I’m exhausted, Mikah!”

Mikah rolls her eyes at the young girl’s complaint but she relents and just gives Elowyn a look.  Maybe a break would help Elowyn but Mikah was sure that she would go crazy if she didn’t have something to occupy her time.

;;MIKAH “Fine.”

Mikah didn’t say anything else as she stood in front of Ellie.  Ellie looks up at the blonde bombshell with an eyebrow raised in her direction.

±±ELLIE  “Fine?  What do you mean by fine?”

Mikah rolls her eyes at the young girl before glancing behind her to see Brody just standing there, keeping an eye out.  He hadn’t gone anywhere but he was there.  He was always there until Cameron either stopped or was forced to be stopped.

;;MIKAH  “Fine.  You can have the week off.  I have to prepare to go to California anyways.”

Preparing to go to California always took a lot out of her as she still had a lot of issues with the state; more now than before if she was being honest.  She looks at Elowyn, who seems conflicted with Mikah’s answer.  Mikah just shrugs before turning on her heel and walking away from the young girl.  She needed to check her office to make sure things were going as planned with it.  However, she didn’t expect Elowyn to catch up to her pace.

±±ELLIE  “Wait!  I wasn’t wanting a whole week off! Just a day or two here and there!  We just can’t take a week off!”

Mikah glances at the girl and Brody moves behind the two, walking behind them.  Mikah doesn’t say anything, her mood and demeanor shifting to something that Elowyn didn’t quite understand.  She appeared more cold, more stand-offish than before and Ellie could sense that.

;;MIKAH  “No, you wanted to take a break, Elowyn.  A break is longer than just a day or two, so that is what I’m giving you.  Maybe if you didn’t want to take a week long break, you shouldn’t have bitched about it.  Now you need to accept the consequences of your actions and stop whining about it.  I gave you what you wanted; suck it up.”

Elowyn’s mouth hangs open for just a moment before she closes it as Mikah stops in front of her office.  She raises her eyebrows at Ellie.

±±ELLIE  “What is wrong with you!?  You haven’t been like this since our first encounter?!  Why does it always have to be everything or nothing?  Can’t there be an easy middle ground?”

Mikah rolls her eyes.  Easy?  Things were never easy around here and things that were?  They were fake.  Mikah laughs a bit before shaking her head at Ellie.  She clearly didn’t understand a thing about her trainer.

;;MIKAH  “Because.  This isn’t just something that you half want and you half don’t, Elowyn.  You have to decide whether or not you want it.  Either you do, or you don’t.  I was trying to make you into a decent wrestler; somebody that would eventually be better than I am currently.  But right now?  You couldn’t even beat Dani Weston, who’s won no matches and holds her own backstage.”

It wasn’t really a bad insult but Mikah wasn’t trying to insult the young girl.  She was just trying to explain why it was important to her that they train every day.

;;MIKAH  “You’re not Court, Ellie.  You don’t have the natural ability that she’d had in our first training session.  Shew as a natural at this and she caught on pretty quickly and you?  You’re struggling.  You’re showing me that you don’t really want it but instead, appear to only want the perks that come with being a wrestler.  You’re acting more like a Christina Rose rather than a Mikah.”

Ellie’s mouth drops open again and she glares at Mikah, wanting Mikah to change her mind but she knew that she was going to have to prove herself to Mikah.

±±ELLIE  “There is something wrong with you.  Not everybody trains every day, Mikah!  People should be allowed breaks!  I have siblings to take care of!”

Mikah lets out a cold laugh before rolling her eyes.

;;MIKAH  “I knew that this was going to be a huge mistake.  Taking on a person who knew absolutely nothing about the business.  Either decide if you want it, Ellie or quit wasting my fucking time.  And quit using your siblings as an excuse to not want this; I’ve told you that they can come with you while you’re here.  There is nothing here that they can hurt.”

Mikah rolls her eyes at the young girl’s excuses.  Ellie just narrows her eyes at the blonde bombshell, clearly not understanding why the blonde was acting in such a way.

±±ELLIE  “I understand that and I’ve done that but they can’t live here, Mikah!  I want to be a wrestler, I do but I can’t have my life be at this training center.  I need time with my siblings; Lincoln needs me there more than I’ve been there in the past two weeks.  Auden is struggling to accept the fact that our mother wants nothing to do with us!  And Asher?  He got his girlfriend pregnant and has to help her decide whether or not she’s keeping the baby!  There are other things in life that are important to me, too!  You can’t just dismiss the fact that I have a family.”

Ellie’s eyes had a fierce look to them and it made Mikah smirk.

;;MIKAH  “I had a baby when I was approached about this, Elowyn.  Granted it was one child and I was taking care of her and she is my biological child, but I put in the hours to get where I am today.  What about you, Elowyn?  What do you want?  Your life cannot just be about your siblings; it has to be about more.  You will come to regret your choices you made and resent them.”

Ellie shakes her head vehemently at Mikah, not believing what Mikah was telling her.  She didn’t think that she would ever resent her siblings.  Her parents?  Yes but not her siblings.  It was not their fault that her parents couldn’t function as adults.

±±ELLIE  “I will never resent my siblings for the choices my parents made.”

Mikah presses her lips together and shrugs her shoulder, disagreeing with the young girl.  She may not have had that disfunction in her life but she had parents that were shitty to her and wonderful to her siblings.

;;MIKAH  “Maybe not but do you think that they will appreciate the things you’ve sacrificed to raise them?  Do you think that Asher is going to give a crap that you gave up college to ensure that he stayed in school?  Or do you think Auden will grow up realizing that you gave up everything so that she could be a child?  No, she’s going to grow up hating you because you’re going to have to act like her mother even though you’re not.  You will never have that bond that sisters should have because your parents took that away from you.  I understand you want to be there for them but you deserve to do something for you too.”

Mikah folds her arms over her chest, looking at Ellie.  Ellie was growing more and more angry with the blonde bombshell.

±±ELLIE  “You’re wrong.  Just because you don’t have a family that cares about you, doesn’t mean you can belittle mine.”

Mikah rolls her eyes before stepping in closer and leaning down just a bit to get in Ellie’s face.

;;MIKAH “I got away from my family so I could become somebody.  You are your family and as long as you continue to try to be the backbone?  They’ll walk all over you.  Lincoln already calls you mom and you don’t correct him.  If Asher’s girlfriend has that baby, who’s going to take care of it?  I guarantee you that it will be put on you and you will not have a life of your own.”

Mikah understood that Ellie was making sacrifices for her siblings and she understood why she felt that she had to do it.  But she wanted Ellie to do something for herself, something that would benefit her for once.  Ellie had told Mikah that she’d been taking care of Auden since Auden was two and she was only ten.  It was a hard thing to do but Mikah understood why Ellie felt obligated to do it.  But Mikah wanted Ellie to see that she also needed to have some time for herself as well.

±±ELLIE  “I am the only thing Lincoln has ever known as a mother, Mikah.  I was sixteen years old when he was born and he was pushed into my arms instead of my mother’s because she didn’t want to hold him.  I gave him his bottles and changed his diapers.  I made sure that he got to his doctor’s appointments to have all his vaccinations so he didn’t get sick.  I am basically his mother.”

Ellie was trying not to get upset with the blonde bombshell but it wasn’t working out for her very well.  Mikah sighs as she looks at Ellie but she doesn’t stop.

;;MIKAH  “Great.  You’re a good mother to Lincoln even though you shouldn’t have to be. You didn’t exactly choose that road but this?”

Mikah gestures around at the training center before locking eyes with Ellie.

;;MIKAH  “This could give you something that is yours.  Something you actually chose for yourself.  But you won’t take it; you’re too scared that you’ll mess your siblings up. Newsflash, Elowyn, they’re already messed up.”

She wasn’t trying to be harsh but facts were facts.  Asher would never be able to be a normal teenager after his girlfriend has the baby and Auden was at that pre-teen age where her life could spin out in either direction.  Lincoln might be the only one that had a chance.

±±ELLIE  “Of course I want this!  But I never expected to be working every day on it!  I understand that I would be representing your name but Mikah, this is ridiculous!  I’m going to be burnt out before I even get anywhere in this business!  I’m not asking for weeks off, just a day or so!”

Mikah shakes her head before looking at the girl.

;;MIKAH  “You have the rest of the week, Ellie.  I have to go to California for SCW anyways and you were bitching about having to train, so you get what you want.  I will just go to California earlier than expected.  Maybe you should think before you start whining about shit.”

She turns to walk away from Ellie, but Ellie grabs Mikah’s arm.

±±ELLIE  “You can’t just leave for a week!  Why can’t you just bend a little bit to make this work?  It won’t kill you to have a little bit of empathy!”

It was clear that Ellie was becoming a little upset at what Mikah was doing.  But Mikah simply didn’t care as she stands there.

;;MIKAH  “Because.  Once you say something, you can’t take it back.  That’s another lesson you need to learn going into this business, Elowyn.  And sure, it might suck that you’re going to suffer a set back, but this will help you in the long run.”

Ellie couldn’t see it that way but was starting to feel abandoned.  She scowls before looking at the blonde again.

±±ELLIE  “You’re a bitch.  I can see why that Aviana chick has a few issues with you.  You shouldn’t hold everybody to the Courtney Pierce standard.  We get it, Court is amazing and did wonderfully in that tournament but not everybody is Courtney.  I am Elowyn Reid, not Courtney Pierece.  I learn at my own pace and you don’t have to be a bitch to me just because you feel that you can.”

Mikah just laughs to herself before looking at Elowyn.  She did not mind that Ellie was calling her a bitch; it was nothing new to her.  She reaches up and tucks her blonde locks back behind her ears.

;;MIKAH  “You calling me a bitch doesn’t phase me, Elowyn.  I have been called things much worse than that.  I will see you in one week.”

Mikah doesn’t give her a chance to respond before she steps into her office and shutting the door behind her.  Ellie stands there for a minute, staring at the closed door before storming off to grab her things and leave.

<text align=right> <p align=Right> ”APOLOGIES.”
LOCATION: MALIBU, CALIFORNIA.
DAYS UNTIL CLIMAX CONTROL: 4
EXCITEMENT LEVEL: LOW
SCENE ii
REC•

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 8, 2018
9:40 P.M.

She watched as the waves crashed to the shore and she sat on her beach towel.  The moon was shining bright above her as she just watched the ocean’s waves.  She felt on edge and nervous about being in California and in this exact spot.  It had been almost one and a half months since she’d overdosed right there in the sand.  She wasn’t going to come here at first but she couldn’t resist the temptation to visit this spot.  She knew that if Kris knew where she was, he’d be either pissed or in a panic.  That is, if he even cared anymore.

;;MIKAH  “It’s been one and a half months, Mase.”

She didn’t care if she looked crazy as she spoke out loud to somebody that wasn’t physically there.  She lets out a breath that she hadn’t known that she was holding before looking up at the night sky.  The moon was shining brightly above her and the stars were twinkling in the sky.  She didn’t know what she was supposed to feel; the last words she’d told him were that she hated him.  And maybe a piece of her did, but she couldn’t hate him for forever.

;;MIKAH  “I keep thinking back to that night….”

She looks around before looking up again then out at the ocean.  She was talking about the night where she had accidentally overdosed.  It wasn’t something she had ever brought to the public eye and she did so for good reason.  She didn’t want to have any of her potential opponents use it against her.

;;MIKAH  “I don’t even know if that night was real…but you…”

She stops as she feels the tears in her eyes again, as if that memory of what happened was too painful to relive.  But she couldn’t help but to think back to that day.  He had seemed so real and so alive at that moment.  She hadn’t wanted to return to the living world but had instead, wanted to stay in that realm with him.  She hadn’t dared voiced that to Kris or even to Drake because that would be way too hard for either of them to understand.  But she had a connection with Christian Othniel that couldn’t be explained.

;;MIKAH  “I wish I could do it over again, Mase.  I wish I could be there with you again.  I miss you every day and when I’m around Leighton, I see so much of you in her that it’s unreal.  You never said you were a good guy but you did do some good things in your life.”

She didn’t care if she looked crazy; talking to a ghost of a person that wasn’t there.  She closes her eyes and she could almost feel him there.  She felt as if he was sitting behind her, his back to hers.

;;MIKAH  “I wish I could hear your voice…”

She closes her eyes and inhales the scent of something she couldn’t describe but it smelled like him.  She doesn’t move, but she sits there.  The ghost like form of Christian Othniel was indeed sitting behind Mikah, his back pressed to hers.  He wanted to be there for her just as much as she wanted him to be there.

»»CHRISTIAN OTHNIEL  “I’m right here, Mikah.”

Of course she couldn’t hear his voice and she definitely couldn’t feel his hand as he tried to grab hers.  She sits there and just breathes in his scent.

;;MIKAH “There are so many things that I didn’t tell you that night, Mase.  So many things that I wanted to tell you but I was…I was caught up in the moment.”

She lets a tear roll down her cheek at the memory of their argument in that realm.  She wasn’t sure what it was called but many television shows and movies called it the in-between.

;;MIKAH  “I’m scared, Mase.  I’m scared that Cameron is really going to do something serious this time.”[/color[

She voiced her feelings out loud, something she hadn’t said out loud since Cameron had returned.  She closes her eyes and just listens to the waves crash onto the shore of the beach.  She felt relaxed here but only to a certain extent.  She would never be completely relaxed until Cameron was in jail or in a psychiatry ward where he belonged.

»»CHRISTIAN OTHNIEL  “I wish that I could be there to help you through this.  But you’re strong, Miks.  And braver than you believe.”

He knew that she couldn’t hear him but he wanted to say the words anyways.  Her bodyguard was there, close where he could step in if he had to.  Mikah just forces a smile as she watches the waves crash against the shore, over and over again.

;;MIKAH  “What if he hurts Leighton?  What if his goal is to get Leighton to get to me?  I don’t know if I can handle that.”

She reaches up to wipe another tear away from her face.  She didn’t like crying, it made her feel too vulnerable to the world and she hated that feeling.

»»CHRISTIAN OTHNIEL  “I don’t know how to tell you things will be okay, Mikah.  We’re in two different worlds.”

She sniffles and closes her eyes, trying to will herself to see him.  But she hadn’t taken any drugs; she’d made a promise to Kris and she intended to keep that promise.

;;MIKAH  “I keep thinking that if I hadn’t been saved that day, that we would be together right now, Mase.  Enjoying each other again and then I think that maybe it should have happened.  Maybe I should have died because then Leighton would be safe from Cameron and his psychopathic ways.  Am I going crazy?”

She closes her eyes and tries again to reimagine Christian Othniel.  But the only image of him that she could bring up was the one of his face after she’d told him she hated him.  That brokenhearted look and it made her hurt to her core.

»»CHRISTIAN OTHNIEL  “You’re not crazy but you deserve to be among the living.  You have so much potential in you still that you don’t deserve to be here with me.  I don’t deserve you; you’re better than I am.  You are a better person than I am, Mikah.”

He moves in front of her, staring at her face as she cries.  He reaches out to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear.  She gasps a bit, feeling her hair move but not much.  She opens her eyes but sees nothing in front of her.  She glances behind her to see Brody standing there behind her.

;;MIKAH  “I want to keep Leighton safe at all costs.  But I can’t promise her that with Cameron running around.  I wish you were here because I would send her to stay with you.  You could have kept her safe and away from harm.  Fuck.”

She felt as if everything in her world was going up in flames.  She didn’t like feeling that way but she couldn’t stop that feeling from being inside of her.  She knew that Leighton was in Oak Brook, safe with Drake.  But still, Cameron knew where she lived.  He’d sent flowers there and she knew that when she got to Anaheim, he’d have arranged for flowers to be in her hotel room as well.

»»CHRISTIAN OTHNIEL  “I will always try to keep the both of you safe.”

His words never made it to her and he knew that.  But he tried anyways.  There was so much that he wanted to tell her but he couldn’t.

;;MIKAH  “I don’t hate you, Mase.  I wish that I could change the fact that the last words that I’d said to you were I hate you.  I want to take them back so badly.”

A few more tears roll down her face as she sits there, proclaiming her feelings to somebody that wasn’t there.  Christian sees the tears on her cheeks and he tries to wipe them away but he couldn’t.

;;MIKAH  “I will always love you, Mase.  You are Leighton’s father and you were the first guy that’s ever truly loved me for me and not just some sex toy…”

She smiles at the thought of their love.

»»CHRISTIAN OTHNIEL  “I love you too, Mikah.”

He hadn’t ever told her when he was alive; it’d always been some sort of game between them.  Some sort of back and forth and neither of them had been brave enough to voice it allowed.  But somehow, Mikah always went back to him no matter how many guys chased after Mikah or vice versa.

;;MIKAH  “But, I can’t keep doing this…I can’t come here again to find you.  It breaks my heart every time and I can’t keep hating California because of you.  I will always love you but I have to stop.  This hurts too much.  I thought that maybe it wouldn’t hurt this time…but it just hurts more.  I’m sorry, Mase.”

She picks up some sand and lets it run through her fingers before getting up and grabbing her things from the beach.  There wasn’t much more to say.  She shoves her feet back into flip flops before walking toward Brody.

??BRODY WAGNER  “Ready Mikah?”

Mikah looks at Brody and simply nods her head.  There wasn’t much more to say or do other than to head to Anaheim.  It wasn’t a long drive and she’d be asleep in the back before Raphael even got to moving.  She was exhausted both physically and emotionally.

;;MIKAH  “I’m ready.  Let’s go.”

She leads the way to the white limousine that was waiting for her.  Raphael smiles at her and opens the door for her and she climbs into the backseat before he shuts it.  She looks out the window and freezes, swearing she can see Christian Othniel standing outside of her window.  She places a hand on the window and he does the same from the outside.  She removes her hand and sees the fog of his still there on the outside.  She smiles and lets Raphael drive away with Brody sitting in the front with him.

<text align=right><p align=”Right”> "BLOWING SMOKE."
LOCATION:LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.
DAYS UNTIL CLIMAX CONTROL:2
EXCITEMENT LEVEL: MEDIUM HIGH.
I SCENE iii
REC•

FRIDAY, AUGUST 10, 2018
4:45 P.M.

The blonde bombshell sat outside of the Amazing Cakes shop at a metal table that looked as if it was made from wire.  She had a cupcake sat in front of her and she was wearing a pair of white shorts and her orange ‘Kris Ryans did it Better” t-shirt.  Her blonde locks are pulled up into a messy bun but for the most part, she appeared to be in a good mood.

;;MIKAH “Does everybody in SCW miss their Queen?”

She smirks at the camera as she looks around.  There were people passing her by and giving her slightly weird looks but they didn’t say anything.

;;MIKAH “On Sunday, it will have been three weeks since you last saw me in a SCW ring or on the television screen.  And I know, everybody is missing their Queen but let’s face it.  I deserved the little break that I got.  I had two championship matches back to back and I deserved a time away from the ring.”

She just shrugs her shoulders before looking at the camera.

;;MIKAH “But on Sunday?  I’m back.  And what do you know?  I have to defend my championship in another championship match.  A match, that my opponent did nothing to deserve.  Oh wait.”

Mikah drums her fingertips along the top of the table.

;;MIKAH “She almost won the battle royal at Summer XXXtreme, so of course she deserves a shot at my championship.”

Mikah simply rolls her eyes in absolute disgust.

;;MIKAH “But I thought winning a battle royal and almost winning were two totally different things.  Maybe if Mark Ward wanted to give Dani Weston a shot at my championship, he should have written that another stipulation of that Battle royal match was that the runner up also gets a shot at the Bombshell Championship at a Climax Control!”

Mikah rolls her eyes again, in irritation.

;;MIKAH “Was that written on the card?  I can’t remember because I was too busy trying to figure out how the fuck Christina Rose had gotten into that match in the first place.  She didn’t deserve to be there.  How many times do I have to beat the living daylights out of her before it becomes lame?  I mean, really?  Who does the booking for this company?!”

Her attitude had changed and she was growing more and more irritated with the fact that she had to keep defending her championship against people who didn’t deserve it.

;;MIKAH “Do you think it’s fair that I have to defend my championship so soon but Fenris doesn’t?  Oh look, it’s another bout of ‘we cherish the world heavyweight champion more, so let’s throw Mikah into another match and give Fenris any easy tag team match’ sort of deal.  Remember when they did that when Kain had that championship when I was Bombshell Champion?  I believe I called bullshit on that too, just like I am now.”

She pushes the few strands of hair that wouldn’t stay in the messy bun out of her face before staring into the lens of the camera.

;;MIKAH “You want me to pretend to be happy about being booked in another championship match?  Fine, I’ll pretend on Sunday but I’m not going to play pretend right now.  I’m not going to pretend that Dani Weston actually deserves this shot at my belt because let’s face it, she doesn’t.  She hasn’t even won a fucking match but they’re throwing her into the ring with me.  What do they think is going to happen?  Do they think I’m going to let her get her first win in SCW?  Hell no, if anything, I’m going to make sure that she remembers just who she is stepping into the ring with.”

Mikah pauses for a moment.

;;MIKAH “Or did Dani Weston get this match because she’s one of Gabriel and Odette’s darlings?”

She purses her lips together with a smirk playing on her face.  She holds her hands out, palms out before shrugging her shoulders.

;;MIKAH “Because let’s face it, if you come from Gabriel and Odette’s training school, you are almost guaranteed a shot at either of the top championships.  What, don’t believe me?”

She raises an eyebrow at the camera before shaking her head.

;;MIKAH “Evie Baang.  She gets countless shots at any championship she wants.  However, she did earn at least one of her shots.  So give her credit there.  But if you come from their little school, you are almost guaranteed success in SCW.  Am I mad?  Not really because this is just going to be so much more fun for me.”

She lets a laugh slip from her lips.

;;MIKAH “However, this challenge will be something new.  Something fresh, something different because lately?  I was starting to think that it was the Mikah beats Christina show.”

She smirks a bit at the camera.

;;MIKAH “Dani Weston.  SCW’s newest good girl.  Or maybe we should call here SCW’s recent girl that can’t seem to catch a break.  I don’t understand how she doesn’t have any wins under her belt.  She seems like she’d be a promising student of the game, right?  I mean she’s one of Gabriel and Odette’s darlings, so she’s clearly capable in the ring.”

She purses her lips together and taps her index finger to lips a few times.

;;MIKAH “So let’s think here.  Why is Dani Weston losing all of her matches?”

A mischievous glint passes through her eyes before she lets a small chuckle slip through her lips.

;;MIKAH “Well, first of all she teamed up with Casey Williams, the witless wonder.  That right there is her first mistake.  Nobody in their right mind should team with the witless wonder.  Maybe if you picked a better tag team partner, you might actually have a few wins under your belt.”

She tilts her head back and forth a little bit.

;;MIKAH “What were you thinking when you decided to pick him as your partner, Dani?  Weren’t there better options for you out there?  But maybe you’re just too nice to say no.  Are you that type, Dani?  Can you not tell somebody no?”

She tilts her head to the side as she lets that thought linger.

;;MIKAH “How can you be a winner with a partner like Casey?  Maybe that’s where your whole career has gone wrong.  Maybe if you started out with a better tag team partner, you’d be doing a lot better in your career.  I’m no Mercedes Vargas and I’m not up to date on my records about other people’s win loss records but isn’t this some sort of record in SCW?”

She looks over at a couple that passes by but she doesn’t say anything to them nor them to her.

;;MIKAH “I guess, the thought of one of the Darlings being winless is shocking but funny to me.  I know you don’t expect me to make fun of it, or maybe you do but can’t you see the irony in it?”

An odd smile slides onto Mikah’s face for a moment.

;;MIKAH “Or maybe I’m the only one that thinks of those that come from Odette and Gabriel Stevens’ training school that way.  Maybe I’m the only one that sees the group of you all as darlings.  But it’s ironic that you are the one that could possibly disappoint them the most.”

She shrugs her shoulders before wiping the smile from her face, her eyes holding a serious look to them.  She takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out.

;;MIKAH “But let’s get serious here.  I’m not trying to undermine your ability, Dani.  I’m sure, despite your win loss record, that you’re very talented in the ring.  I’m sure that there is some reason that Mark Ward gave you this opportunity other than the fact that you almost won the Battle Royal match at Summer XXXtreme.”

Mikah makes a face, sticking her tongue out in disgust.

;;MIKAH “Do you think I ever got anything for almost winning a match, Dani?  Do you think Hot Stuff Mark Ward ever gave me anything for that?  Do you think I ever got put into a championship match because I almost beat an opponent?”

She raises her eyebrows at the camera.

;;MIKAH “Absoutely none.  You don’t get a prize because you almost came in first place.  That’s not how the world works, Dani.  Don’t think that just because they handed you this opportunity that you’re going to get another one just handed out to you.  If I was Mark or Christian, I wouldn’t even put you in this silly tournament that they’re making the Bombshells go through to get to me.  You’re getting your shot right now, that should be the only opportunity you get, right?”

She smirks a bit, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

;;MIKAH “This is the biggest match of your career so far, Dani.  You’re so fresh to the scene that you might not realize just how big this match is for your career.  I hope you soak it in.  I hope you revel in the feeling of being booked in a main event so early in your career.  You might not get another opportunity like this again, I hope you realize just what a shot this is.  A chance to step in with me, the Queen.”

Mikah reaches under the table and pulls out a silver tiara and places it on her head, straightening it out so it looked good.

;;MIKAH “I think I’ve cemented myself in this company as the top Bombshell.  The one that sits on top of the throne and will soon be a part of the Hall of Fame.  Maybe this year, I can be inducted into the hall of fame.  But let’s face it, it probably won’t happen, especially if I am still Bombshell Champion like I plan to be.”

She just looks at the camera, a cocky look on her face.

;;MIKAH “Dani, I’m sure you’re a nice girl.  I’m sure you think that I should always be happy and in a good mood because I am the Bombshell Champion and because I’m married to Drake Green.  That my life is all sunshine and rainbows but no, life doesn’t work that way, Dani.  Life is not always sunshiney and happy.  Things happen and on Sunday?”

She smirks and raises an eyebrow at the camera.

;;MIKAH “You’re going to find out that your dreams don’t always come true.  Just because you want something?  It doesn’t mean you’re going to get it.  I know that you want to win on Sunday because you are craving that first win, something you’ve yet to achieve.  But it’s not going to happen for you on Sunday, not at my expense.”

Mikah shakes her head no, her lips skewed to the side.

;;MIKAH “You want to face me, that’s what every Bombshell in this company wants.  They want to face me and you should want to face me whether or not the championship is on the line because I am the measuring stick for what a Bombshell should want to be.  Do you think that people think about Mercedes Vargas when they think about the best Bombshell in SCW?  Definitely not.  She’s good as a stat book, however.  I can’t remember everything she does, that’s not my expertise.  My expertise is being the best Bombshell in the ring.  There is a reason that Christina wasn’t able to win three of the four matches we had since SCW reopened its doors.  And that’s because I’m the best there is.  I’m the mother fucking Queen and it will take more than a winless loser to take my championship away from me.”

She looks at the camera and shoots another smirk at its direction.

;;MIKAH “I hope you’re ready for Sunday, Dani.  Because whether you like ir or not, it’s going to happen and we’re going to add another loss to your record.  Losing to you is just not something that I can see myself doing.  I will wish you luck because…”

She picks up the cupcake and takes a bite before licking the frosting off of her lips slowly.

;;MIKAH “Luck is for losers.”

She winks at the camera before standing up and starting to walk away but she stops, looking over her shoulder at the camera.

;;MIKAH “Ciao.”

 
<div style="width: 695px; margin: auto;">
<text align=right> <p align=Right> "CREEP PART II."
LOCATION: PACIFIC OCEAN.
DAYS UNTIL SUMMER XXXTREME VI: 6
EXCITEMENT LEVEL: LOW
SCENE i
REC•

MONDAY, JULY 16, 2018
11:00 A.M.

She sits up in her bed, trying to find some comfort in the waves that crash upon the ship and as it lulls a bit as it moves through the Pacific Ocean. She had a lot to do today since she was the Bombshell Champion but she just wanted to lie in bed.  She was trying to recover from the fact that Cameron had found a way to hack into her promo piece she had been filming for her first week of promotional work for the show.  It had taken Drake and Brody twenty minutes to pull her out of her catatonic like state.  And then, she just sat there with tears streaming down her face.  She couldn’t understand why he was back all of the sudden.  It had been a blissful year or so without him threatening her life.  She had enjoyed being able to breathe.

So, she sits there trying to think of what she needed to get done for the show.  She should be mingling with the fans and not trying to hide from one crazed moron but she couldn’t shake the feeling that Cameron was on the boat.  And she knew that there was a high chance of him being on the boat.  Drake had gone off to do something that Mikah couldn’t really remember, which left her alone with Brody in the suite.

??BRODY WAGNER “What’s on the agenda today, Ms. Mikah?”

He wasn’t trying to push her and that was something that Mikah could appreciate, even though she wanted to pull the blankets over her head until Sunday was over with.  She looks at him and shrugs her shoulders as she looks down at her attire.  That was the one thing she had done that morning, gotten dressed and ready to go but then she found her bed and wanted to just stay wrapped up in her blankets.  So, she had a little Twitter war with some nobody and now, she was feeling even more terrified to go out and see what the ship had to offer.

;;MIKAH  “As much as I would like to, I don’t think I can lock myself in the room this year.  As Bombshell Champion, I am sure that it would be a lot more beneficial to me and to the company that I go out on the deck and walk around.”

She said the words with confidence but her face showed the exact opposite.  She couldn’t shake that feeling of fear and paranoia.  She wanted to get rid of that feeling so badly.  But it was there, settling in her stomach like a ball of nervous energy.  She looks at Brody and offers him a small smile.  She was glad that Ellie was having a fun time on board and didn’t need her to be around to hold her hand.

??BRODY WAGNER  “You don’t have to be worried; I will be right with you the whole day.  For this whole trip.  There will be no way that Cameron can get to you.”

He tried to be reassuring to the blonde but she still didn’t seem to be confident in leaving the safety of her own room.  But she stands up and adjusts the skirt of her dress before nodding her head at Brody.  There was not much she could do to stop Cameron from purchasing a ticket and attending the show.

;;MIKAH  “I know but it is still scary to think that he can just do as he pleases without any repercussions.”

She knew that what she was struggling with was miniscule compared to what some other people encounter when it came to stalkers.  But she had grown comfortable with her life.  Enjoying the fact that she had been able to breathe so freely and not worry about looking over her shoulder or being terrified of coming home to a box of chocolates that weren’t from her husband.  But now, that safety net she’d had was gone and Cameron was there in its place.

??BRODY WAGNER  “My job is to ensure that you’re safe.  I can assure you that I will do whatever it takes to keep that promise.”

He places a hand on her upper arms and gives her a supportive look and she sighs before grabbing her small clutch purse.  She couldn’t lock herself in her room this year; it wasn’t an option.  SCW only had her as their top champion right now, the face of the company until either Fenris or whoever took the Heavyweight Championship.  It wasn’t the same without Kris being around and she was trying not to think about that.

;;MIKAH  “I know.  I’m working on it.”

She doesn’t let him have an opportunity to speak before she leaves the room, him trailing behind her at a safe distance.  She smiles as she passes a few fans of the sport and gives them a wave as she makes her way to the deck.  She was sure that most of the stars of SCW would be out and about by now, unless of course they’d spent the night in the casino.  She had stayed away from the casino and instead, taken Despy out to the chocolate restaurant and let him get whatever he wanted.  It might not have been the best idea on her part but it was fun to watch him pick all the chocolate desserts and ooh and aah at them.  It might be the highlight of the entire cruise.

She smiles as she passes a few other fans, who stop and stare with wide eyes.  She stops as well and glances at Brody who stops as well.

;;MIKAH  “Do you want a picture?”

The girls nod their head enthusiastically and move over to Mikah.  She hands one of their phones to Brody and he snaps their picture.  The girls thank Mikah and she smiles before moving on as they hurry back to their room.  Brody doesn’t say anything as Mikah finally gets to the upper deck and she steps out into the open.  She squints her eyes as the sun beats down in her face and she is almost tackled with a hug from Ellie.

±±ELLIE  “This has been the best couple of weeks of my life!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

Mikah chuckles and gives Ellie a hug back before looking around the deck of the cruise ship.  There were people everywhere.  There was no possible way to know if Cameron was lurking around and watching her every move.  And she definitely couldn’t act like a paranoid schizophrenic either.  She was going to have to suck it up and try not to think about him or what he could possibly be doing at the moment.

;;MIKAH  “I am glad that you are enjoying yourself, Ellie.  I enjoyed it the first time I was booked on the ship a few years ago.  And two years ago, I got married on the ship.”

It was a fond memory for her, even when she and Drake weren’t on the best of terms.  It had been a wonderful day and she’d put so much thought and planning into it.  She also put a lot of money into it. It was the first real wedding she had as the other two had been Vegas weddings and not a marriage. She was paying for a marriage, not a wedding.

±±ELLIE  “I bet you were a beautiful bride.”

Mikah shrugs her shoulders but then wrinkles her nose and nods her head, agreeing with the young girl’s words. It was okay to be biased, right?  As long as nobody else knew you were being so.

;;MIKAH  “I’d like to think so.  Also, I didn’t use the ship as a honeymoon destination either; Drake and I paid for ours.”

She knew that Ellie wouldn’t really understand the dig at Christina but that was okay, Mikah understood it.  Mikah chuckles as Ellie looks around, still seeming to take in the whole idea of being on the cruise ship.  There was a part of her that wished she could remember when she was so bright eyed and full of amazement at things that were new to her.  But now, things weren’t as new and they’d lost their luster.  It didn’t make them any less fun but there was a lot less wonder now.

±±ELLIE  “I’m going to go swimming again. We got a group of people together to play volleyball, do you want to join?”

Mikah shakes her head no and Ellie runs off, leaving Mikah standing there with Brody.  She had put her bikini on underneath her dress, in case she wanted to do something in the water. But all she could think of was the time when Cameron had approached her in Florida when she was with Leighton. Brody could sense the uneasiness of the blonde and he takes a step forward.

??BRODY WAGNER  “Everything okay, Mikah?”

He didn’t want to make the mistake like he’d done on Saturday when she refused to take her hands off the back of her head.

FLASHBACK TO SATURDAY

Mikah was on the floor, her knees tucked underneath her and her body folded down over them with her forehead against the floor and her hands over her head, her wrists pressed over her ears as she tried to block Cameron’s voice out.

??CAMERON  “I MISSED YOU MIKAH, DID YOU MISS ME?”

His voice had continued to say it, over and over and she didn’t want to hear it.  But she couldn’t move and felt as if she was stuck in her spot.  She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to erase the images of his words on the walls and she covered her ears, trying to tune his voice out.

??CAMERON  “I MISSED YOU MIKAH, DID YOU MISS ME?”

She lets out a sob that was more like a scream as his voice seems to get louder, trying to overpower her attempts to tune him out.  She clutched handfuls of her blonde hair in her fists as he continues to say the words, over and over again. Taunting her unrelentlessly.

??BRODY WAGNER  “Can’t somebody shut it off!?”

He was trying to get it shut down but he was having as hard of a time as everybody else was.  They were scrambling to try to close Cameron off, cut his connection but he proved to be very good with the technical stuff and his voice continued to carry on.

??CAMERON  “I MISSED YOU MIKAH, DID YOU MISS ME?”

Brody was growing more and more agitated that he wasn’t doing much to help Mikah and couldn’t seem to shut it down.  He hadn’t wanted to just pick her up and remove her from the room because he didn’t want to trigger some sort of response from her, so he picked up his phone and sent a call to her husband, Drake.  He knew that Drake was in the area as they had to board the ship the next day.

Mikah stayed on the floor, her hands still holding the back of her head and handfuls of her hair.  She was sobbing now, trying to tune out Cameron’s voice but it wasn’t working.  He kept saying it and she kept wanting it to stop but it wouldn’t.

::DRAKE  “Where is she?”

It hadn’t taken him too long to get there, having known where she was going to be filming her promo piece.  Brody moves him over to where Mikah was and he sighs before moving down to try to get Mikah to come up from her state.  He placed a tender hand on her back and she had flinched until she heard his voice.

::DRAKE  “Mikah, it’s okay.  It’s me.”

His voice had been calm and recognizeable to her, even in that state.  It was like it came through Cameron’s voice and she could distinguish between the two and she had stopped sobbing so loudly, trying to find his voice again.

::DRAKE  “It’s okay, babe.  I’m going to get you out of here and you won’t have to hear his voice anymore, okay?”

He stated it as a question but it hadn’t been one at all, he was going to do it whether or not she wanted him to.  Because he knew that she couldn’t have stayed in that spot because they hadn’t figured out how to sever the connection that Cameron had with their servers.  Drake carefully picked her up and removed her from the room, Brody following quickly behind them.

END OF FLASHBACK.

Brody had felt bad that he couldn’t drag Mikah out of her own head and had failed miserably at his job, that he hadn’t left Mikah alone unless she was with Drake.  Mikah hadn’t seemed to mind his presence this time, unlike the last time he had been around.  Mikah smiles at Brody before nodding her head and placing a hand on his arm.

;;MIKAH  “Yes, I’m okay.  I promise.  I’m just going to go sit in the sun and enjoy the warmth on my skin.”

Brody nods his head and he too tries to relax and follows her as she finds an empty lounge chair.  He stands back behind the chair and Mikah takes her dress off, revealing a simple but stylish black bikini with the bottoms having neon colored braided ties on the sides.  She smiles before sitting in the chair and stretching out to take in some of the sun’s rays.

She people watches, watching them walk by her and some stop to look at her and some just hurry on by as if they were starstruck.  She chuckles to herself before spotting Ben Jordan across the way and she just wrinkles her nose a bit.  She wasn’t trying to be overly social, but she waves anyways before settling back down in her chair.  She wasn’t sure where her husband was on the ship, but she was sure that he would be with Ben at some point during the week long duration of the ship.

She closes her eyes for a moment, for a moment before she opens them quickly as she didn’t want to get too lost in her mind.  She didn’t want to relive Saturday.  It had taken Drake a long time to get her to talk to him, to open and she didn’t want to go back to that place. She takes a deep breath and smiles as a waitress stops to ask her if she wants something to drink.

;;MIKAH  “Yes, I’d like a Miami Vice…you know, the frozen one that half pina colada and half strawberry daiquiri mixed?”

She nods her head, writes it down, and walks off to get the drink. She makes a few stops on the way back to the bar to get a few more orders in and that didn’t seem to bother Mikah. She was trying to learn because she knew that it was something that she needed for the training center.  

She jumps when Ellie flops down in the seat next to her, beads of water rolling down the young girl’s bronzed skin. Mikah eyes Ellie over for a moment before sighing.

;;MIKAH  “Do you need something, Ellie?”

Ellie shakes her head no before she too gets settled in the chair. Mikah chuckles and relaxes a little as she looks up at the blue, cloudless sky.  They seemed to have gotten lucky on the cruise ship so far; the weather was cooperating and she didn’t have to worry about drowning at sea.

±±ELLIE  “I’ve been thinking…”

Mikah raises an eyebrow at Ellie and then waits, wondering if she was ever going to continue her sentence.  Mikah lets out a breath of air and looks over at Ellie.

;;MIKAH  “You’ve been thinking….what?”

Mikah didn’t really like to coax things out of people and she knew deep down that it was hypocritical of her. People were always having to pull things out of her because she kept them so well bottled up inside.  But she couldn’t seem to deal with it very well when it came to Ellie.

±±ELLIE  “Yes.  I’ve been thinking about what you do, in the ring.  And do you think that maybe you could train me too?  I don’t have much money to give you for the lessons but I was hoping that maybe you could take a chance on me?”

Ellie looks at Mikah with a hopeful look in her eyes.  Mikah knew that Ellie had been processing the whole thing since she brought her along to Texas. She saw the stars in the young girl’s eyes and she knew that Ellie was going to easily fall in love with this world. It wasn’t something Mikah had intended for Ellie to do but she couldn’t say she was surprised; Ellie grew up in a family with hardly anything to their name or parents who cared about them.  She had the same drive that Mikah had as a young adult and Mikah wanted to channel some Ellie’s energy into something good and positive.

;;MIKAH  “Do you think you can handle it?”

Mikah gives Ellie one of her skeptical looks and Ellie lets out a dramatic sigh and flops back against the back of her chair as if Mikah had told her no.  Mikah shakes her head and chuckles at the young girl’s flare for the dramatic.

±±ELLIE  “Yes!  I know it’s going to be hard and I’m probably going to be sore for a long few weeks but I want to try.  And if I’m not a natural at it by the first month, you have permission to stop, okay?”

Mikah chuckles and reaches over to place a hand on Ellie’s shoulder to calm her down.  She had always had it in her mind that she’d some day train Ellie.  She just hadn’t expected Ellie to have wanted it so soon.

;;MIKAH  “Calm down, please.  Of course I’ll train you. I am sure that you will be a natural and it takes longer than a month to find that out.  Trust me.”

Ellie seems to visibly relax and Mikah chuckles as they go back to sun-tanning.  Mikah felt a weird sensation fall over her and she sits up to look around.  She knew that he was hear somewhere, but she didn’t know where.  She looks around, making sure he wasn’t anywhere where she could see him before she settles back down against the chair to relax.

CAMERON’S POINT OF VIEW

He sat up in the crow’s nest, watching her as she talked with the young girl with wild curls and bronzed skin.  He watched as she teased the girl and seemed to be okay with just being around this girl and it made him mad, frustrated even because she had never been that calm around her.  He wanted her to be but she just wouldn’t find her peace with him.  And that girl was just able to be around his Mikah without any problems arising.  How was that even fair?

??CAMERON  “You are mine, Mikah.  And I will make sure that you won’t forget it.”

He was lucky that he’d easily snagged a job on the cruise ship, volunteering to spend most of his time in what was called the crow’s nest because he wouldn’t be spotted up there and he could watch for her when he wanted to.  He watches as she sits up and a sick smirk crosses his face as he realizes that she can sense him watching her.

??CAMERON  “See, Mikah, your sense are already in tune to mine.  It’s meant to be.”

He watches as she settles back down into the lounge chair that she was sitting in and he can tell that she’s not relaxed like she had been a few weeks ago.  He can tell that she was tense and he smirked to himself, proud of himself and his doing.  That was him.  He had her all worked up and he wanted to be the one to get her to relax, to relieve her of that tension and he was going to help her one day.

??CAMERON  “Soon you will be relieved of all that tension, Mikah.  Soon, my love, soon.”

He takes a deep breath, hoping that a gust of wind will carry her scent up to him but no such luck.  So he just scowls to himself before settling on watching him from his perch.  He grabs his binoculars to get a better view, zooming in on her before he moves over to the girl next to her. He didn’t like her and that was going to have to be rectified.  She had to go before he could do anything.  He was more worried about her than the bodyguard.

??CAMERON   “Sorry, Mikah’s little pet, you’ve got to go.”

END OF CAMERON’S POINT OF VIEW

<text align=right> <p align=Right> "CREEP PART III."
LOCATION: PACIFIC OCEAN.
DAYS UNTIL SUMMER XXXTREME VI: 4
EXCITEMENT LEVEL: LOW
SCENE ii
REC•

WEDNESDAY, JULY 18, 2018
5:00 P.M.

The meet and greet that Mikah had Ruby set up was packed and it was set right in front of the casino.  Mikah had been surprised by the line but at the same time, not as surprised.  They got to sit across from her and ask three questions while she signed whatever it was they wanted her to sign.  Ruby had cut off the people at thirty, not wanting Mikah to be there for forever.  Mikah had agreed to do this only if it wasn’t filmed for the show and Ruby had been happy to agree.  There would be enough of the SCW camera guys running around to get footage for some sore of video package and would more than likely get a few shots of the top champion signing autographs and conversing with the fans.

;;MIKAH  “Hi, what’s your name?”

A young girl had sat down in the chair across from Mikah and had wide eyes as she looked at the blonde Bombshell.  Mikah offers her a pleasant smile, not wanting to push the young fan away.

??FAN oo1  “M-my name is…Leighla.”

Mikah smiles at the young girl and watches as she produces an action shot sort of picture from her bag and hands it to Mikah.  Mikah looks at the picture and smiles warmly as it’s a picture from the Climax Control right after Into the Void where she made Christina Rose tap out.

;;MIKAH  “That is a very good choice of a picture, Leighla.  How do you spell your name?”

Mikah wasn’t dumb, she knew there were many different ways to spell that name and she didn’t want to get it wrong for the young girl.  Mikah writes the girl’s name as she spells it out loud before signing her own name after a inspiring sort of message.

??FAN oo1  “Who do you want to win the battle royal?”

Mikah looked into the young girl’s vibrant green eyes and offered a small smile.  She hadn’t really put much thought into it because she had been sure that the whole thing was rigged for Christina to win.

;;MIKAH  “Anybody that isn’t named Christina Rose.  I’d like to see Aviana Faith win it.  Or even Dani Weston.  I think there needs to be a fresh challenger because as much as I love to prove to Christina how much better I am than she is, it gets boring.”

Mikah smiles at Leighla before looking over to where Ruby was standing to her right and then she looks to her left to see Brody standing there, his hands crossed in front of him and on alert.  She shakes her head but seems to feel safe in her little bubble.  She glances behind her and into the open doors of the casino as some hooping and hollering goes on inside.  Somebody had won big and it puts a small smile on her face.

??FAN oo1  “Do you think that any of the other participants in the batte royal can beat Christina?  She is a seasoned wrestler…”

Mikah shrugs her shoulders.

;;MIKAH  “Anything can happen, right?  It didn’t take me too long to win my championship when I signed with the company.  Most people thought it was a fluke win and I’d lose it soon after but I held it for nearly nine months, setting the record and breaking other records.  So, anything can happen.”

Mikah did believe that anything could happen because she had seen it.  She had seen people do the impossible when it came to wrestling; it just depended on who had the biggest drive.

??FAN oo1  “Last question, do you think I could ever be like you?”

Mikah was a little taken back by the question because she never thought that she’d have young fans that looked up to her.  She knew that she had fans that knew a good wrestler when they saw one but she hadn’t expected a child younger than Leighton to be so smart and intuitive about wrestling.

;;MIKAH  “I believe that you can do whatever you set your heart to, Leighla.  It’s not about whether or not I think you can, it’s whether or not you think you can.  So, if you want to do this…”

Mikah stops to gesture around her so that Leighla knew what she was talking about.

;;MIKAH  “You have to work for it but first, finish school and then decide if this is what you want to do with your life.”

Leighla seemed to be pleased with the answer and gets up after thanking Mikah and running off to an older woman, who Mikah guessed to be the girl’s mother.  Mikah glances at Brody and he gives her a small, discreet nod to let her know that he hadn’t seen Cameron yet.  Mikah doesn’t have much of a chance to think as a man in his mid-twenties sits down across from Mikah.  He looked to be an avid wrestling fan that bordered between average looking and good looking.

??FAN oo2   “Hi.  I’m Ollie and I’ve been following your careers since your days on the MSN circuit.  I just love your in ring work and how dedicated you are to honing your craft.”

Mikah blinks a few times as she just stares at him for a moment before giving him a small, insecure smile.  Lately, she seemed to be unsure of male fans and what they wanted out of her.

;;MIKAH  “Hi, Ollie.”

She signed the picture that he held out to her but she didn’t seem to want to make small talk with him like she had with Leighla.  He didn’t seem threatening or overbearing like Cameron had seemed when she had first met him a couple of years ago.

??FAN oo2  “Do you think that Natural Selection will ever reunite for a reunion show of sorts?”

Mikah just looks at Ollie before looking over at Brody who was just shaking his head.  Apparently, Ollie wasn’t emitting a threatening vibe to Brody so Mikah just shrugs her shoulders.

;;MIKHA  “I highly doubt it.  Christian Othniel is dead and I don’t know where Marcus Bain.  Jacob Mitchell is probably in Hawaii with his family, enjoying the retired life.  Um…Con is also another wildcard so I would say that it’s probably not going to happen no matter how much anybody wants it.”

She had thought about it as well, it wasn’t only Ollie that wanted the reunion but people had lives and families and Mikah understood that.  She knew the fans would want the reunion one day but it wasn’t going to happen.

??FAN oo3  “That’s too bad, the group was fun to watch.  Especially at the event that was stationed in Hawaii after you all had pretty much gained control over PWT.  Good times.”

Mikah just offers a smile but doesn’t know what else to say to the hardcore fan.  At least, he didn’t seem to be obsessive like Cameron was.

??FAN oo2  “Are you looking forward to Sunday?”

It was a simple question and she admired that he had only wanted to know that and didn’t dig down deep for another question that she couldn’t give him an answer to.

;;MIKAH  “I’m looking forward to getting off of this ship…but as for my match, I’m not sure.  Maybe.”

It was all that she was going to give him.  There was nothing else that she wanted to say about her match.  It was a wild card sort of match and she was not looking forward to only finding out the night of on who she was facing off against to fight for her championship.  It made her anxious.

??FAN oo2  “Last question, where do you think Kris Ryans is?”

Mikah holds her breath at that question.  It wasn’t something she thought she’d be asked but there it was, out in the open now and dangling in the air between them.  She hadn’t thought about why Kris was gone or when he would return; she was trying to keep busy herself so she could focus on her match on Sunday.  But Ollie was there, asking the question that she was sure that everybody wanted to know.  The match between him and Fenris had been talked about since Fenris and Courtney won the tournament and now neither of them could compete in the matches they had the right to compete in.  How ironic.

;;MIKAH  “Um…I think he’s probably with his kids?  I’m not sure I can give you an answer that you would be okay with because I don’t really know where Kris is.  And I know that sucks for you and all of his fans but I have to believe that wherever he is, he’s safe and happy.  Otherwise, we might be in trouble.”

Ollie seemed to be okay with that answer and he stands up, pushes his chair in and holds his hand out to shake Mikah’s hand.  Mikah does it without complaint, shaking the man’s hand.

??FAN oo1  “Thank you for answering my questions!  You’re the best!”

He walks off into the casino and Mikah’s eyes follow him for a moment before Brody chuckles and she shoots him a dirty look.  She couldn’t help that some of the wrestling fans liked to suck up to the stars in hopes that one might remember them.  Brody regains his composure before looking over the area again, his eyes scanning for Cameron.  He gives Mikah a small nod when he doesn’t see the  boy.

Mikah looks back to see another guy who was probably closer to his fifties sit down.  He looked like a younger version of George Clooney with less grey hair.  Mikah raises an eyebrow at him.

??FAN oo3  “Hello, I’m Ian and I’ve been a fan of Sin City Wrestling since it first opened.  How devastated were you when they closed their doors in January?”

Mikah raises an eyebrow at the man’s bluntness.  He didn’t want to make small talk or anything, he got done to the questions right away and Mikah couldn’t help but respect that.  It showed that he respected her enough to want to not waste her time.

;;MIKAH  “It sucked at first, because SCW is my home and has been my home since November of 2014.  But it was kind of a blessing in disguise in some ways. I was growing tired of being on the road all the time and I could feel the drive to want to give them 110 percent every time slipping away from me and that wouldn’t be fair to them.  I wouldn’t have taken a break and I could have tarnished my record and theirs if they’d stayed open.  It was a blessing in disguise for a lot of people and once it closed, people started to realize that what they missed most, was SCW’s consistency and fairness.  But I think the break helped the company find talent who will be true to them in the end.”

Ian nods his head as he slides a picture of Mikah and Drake together for her to sign.  She stares at the picture for a moment before signing her name on it.

??FAN oo3  “How did you make the decision to return to SCW when they announced that they would be re-opening?”

Mikah chews on her bottom lip for a moment before smiling at him.

;;MIKAH  “I weighed the pros and cons against one another.  And I had help from a friend as well.”

It was a simple answer but it was the truth.  She wasn’t lying that she had help from a friend on whether or not she was going to return to the company in April.  But she wasn’t about to disclose which friend had been the one to help her decide, either.

??FAN oo3  “Your first defense since returning saw you lose the championship to Christina Rose only to win it back two weeks later, how do you think your defense on Sunday is going to go?”

Mikah stares at him for a moment, blinking slowly before shrugging her shoulders.  How was her second defense since regaining the championship going to go?  She wasn’t sure because she still wasn’t sure about who she was going to be facing in that main event.

;;MIKAH  “Honestly?  You’re looking for an answer I can’t give you.  If this was being filmed, I’d say I already have the win in the bag but this isn’t being filmed.  You’re getting me and I don’t know how the match is going to go because I don’t know who I’m going to be facing.  It will probably be Christina Rose because that woman gets unlimited shots at the championship even though she can’t hack it in a ring against me but I’m crossing my fingers that it’s somebody fresh, somebody different.  The one plus about facing the nutcase is that I do know her style and she’s become a teensy bit predictable in the ring.  And I’m sure the same could be said about me from her.”

She shrugs her shoulders again but the answer seemed to suit Ian as he gets up to leave.  Mikah thanks him quickly before sighing and looking at Ruby.  Ruby gives her a thumbs up, telling her she’s doing a wonderful job and Mikah jumps as a teenage boy sits down quickly in the chair, the metal scraping against the ground.  Mikah blinks before looking at Brody, who had stepped forward in case this boy was harmful.

;;MIKAH  “It’s okay, Brody.”

Brody nods his head before stepping back into his place and Mikah turns her attention back to the teenage boy and raises her eyebrows.  He seemed to be in some sort of hurry.

??FAN oo4  “Hi.  I’m Holden!  I can’t believe that I’m here and getting to meet you!  This is crazy!  This is insane!”

Mikah blinks before looking back at Brody again before looking back at Holden.  She offers a smile before signing the two pictures he pushed at her.

;;MIKAH  “Yeah, amazing.  How are you enjoying the cruise so far?”

Holden looks at the pictures that now had Mikah’s autograph on them before looking at her wide eyed. She smiles a bit at him, trying to get him to relax enough to think of the questions he wanted to ask.

??FAN oo4  “The cruise is amazing!  Everybody on this ship is amazing!”

Mikah blinks a few times as she tries to be patient with the kid’s excitement about being on the cruise.  She was working on her patience but it wasn’t the best yet.

;;MIKAH  “Do you have any questions that you want to ask me?”

She thought it would be best if she came right out and asked him if he had any questions for her because he didn’t seem to be focused on the task.  He straightens himself up in the chair and nods his head.

??FAN oo4   “Yes!  First question, who is your favorite opponent you’ve had in SCW?!  Second question, who is your least favorite opponent in SCW?  And third question, if you could bring anybody back to a SCW ring, who would it be?”

Mikah takes a deep breath, trying to translate everything he said into her own language.  She smiles at him though, trying not to scare him away as he seems to be a joyful teen.

;;MIKAH  “Favorite opponent in SCW?  Hm.  There have been a lot of opponents that I’ve had while being employed in this company.  But my favorite?  Probably…Melody Grace on the few times we squared off.  She’s amazing even though her personality and my own don’t seem to mix.  As for my least favorite?  That’s a tie between Polly Playtime and Christina Rose.  And it’s only Christina Rose because I am so tired of facing her.”

She takes a deep breath before smiling.

;;MIKAH  “Most people would expect me to say J2H or Melody Grace or somebody like that but no.  If you know me, you know that I’m going to say Simon Jones.  After all, I do have a t-shirt about bringing him back.”

She thought about saying Kris Ryans but he wasn’t gone gone, just on a hiatus.  She smiles at Holden who nods his head enthusiastically before he gets up and runs off as well.  Mikah shakes her head and begins to relax as people start to come and go, her world becoming a bit of a blur as she seems to answer the same questions, over and over again.  She holds a hand up to stop the line at the twenty-eighth person.

;;MIKAH  “I’ll be right back.  Restroom break.”

She had done pretty well, the whole thing having taken two hours from her life.  She grabs her clutch purse before moving through the casino to find the restaurant.  She does her thing and when she’s walking back, she checks her phone and frowns as she hadn’t heard from Ellie.  She had instructed Ellie to come down at about 6:45 p.m. so they could go get dinner after she was done with the meet and greet but she hadn’t heard anything.  It was weird.

;;MIKAH  “Hey, Brody?”

Mikah stops next to her bodyguard, a frown on her face and warning bells going off in her head.  It was not like Ellie to not respond.  

??BRODY WAGNER  “Everything okay?  Are you okay?”

The panic on his face almost made her chuckle and she nods her head.

;;MIKAH  “Yeah, I’m okay.  But…I have a favor to ask of you…”

Brody raises an eyebrow at the blonde Bombshell before giving her a skeptical look and waiting for her to continue.

;;MIKAH  “I haven’t heard from Ellie all afternoon, will you do me a favor and go check on her, please?  I just have a feeling that something is wrong…”

Brody frowns as he looks at Mikah then over at Ruby, who was doing her best to entertain the last couple of fans left.

??BRODY WAGNER  “You know that I’m not supposed to. I’m not supposed to leave you alone.”

Mikah rolls her eyes and places her hands on her hips.

;;MIKAH  “I am fine, Brody!  Ruby is right over there and I am sure that there is another superstar around here that could step in to help if Cameron decides to show his face.  I will be just fine, okay?  Now please, go check on Ellie because I’m stuck here and can’t!  Please!”

Brody sighs but nods his head, not protesting against what Mikah wanted.  And she did have a decent point, there were a lot of superstars hanging around the ship, so if Cameron chose to do anything, there would be somebody around to help her out.  Mikah watches him walk off, headed in the direction of where Ellie’s room was.  Mikah straightens her skirt of her dress out before sitting back down to meet with the last two fans.

??FAN o29  “Hi, I’m Emma!  And I just love you!”

Mikah looks at the woman, who had dark brown hair that almost appeared black and she smiles as she signs the woman’s shirt.

;;MIKAH  “Hi, Emma. Thanks, I appreciate all your support.  Are you enjoying yourself on this little vacation?”

Emma nods her head vigorously as she looks at her shirt that now sported Mikah’s signature.  Mikah smiles back and puts the cap back on her metallic turquoise sharpie.

??FAN o29  “Of course!  Everybody is so nice and friendly!  I know I’m allowed to ask three questions and I’ve been trying to rack my brain to think of something different to ask you.”

Mikah tried to concentrate and tried to focus on Emma but that feeling of being watched was back.  She chews on the inside of her lip, trying to listen to Emma as she rattles on and on about trying to find the perfect questions.

??FAN o29   “So, finally, I just want to know one thing…how do you stay in shape?  And how do you resist temptation from foods that might not be in your best interest to eat?  Oops!  I guess I had two questions!”

Emma seemed to be cheerful and Mikah wanted to wince because Emma was one of those girls who didn’t seem to have a trouble in the world.

;;MIKAH  “I run a lot and work out as often as I can.  I try to keep a routine with my running and this ship is the only thing that limits my running.  But other than that, it’s just a routine I keep.  And food has never been too much of a temptation for me.  I have never been obsessed with food so I don’t have to resist any.  It’s not hard to do though.  It would just take a lot of practice to get used to not giving into your cravings.  That’s all.”

Emma smiles before telling Mikah goodbye and Mikah freezes as the next person sits down, wearing a black hoodie with the hood up to disguise their face.

;;MIKAH  “Can you please put your hood down?”

The panic settles in Mikah’s eyes but the guy shakes his head no before putting a picture on the table and saying nothing.  Mikah averts her eyes to the picture and she gasps as it’s a picture of her from Saturday with her hands over the back of her head.  She pushes away from the table and stands up just as Brody and Ellie come into view.  The guy scurries off, hurrying away from Mikah and her bodyguard.

??BRODY WAGNER  “Who was that?”

Mikah shrugs her shoulders as she looks at the picture that was still on the table before looking at Ellie, who appeared to have been crying.  She looked shook up.

;;MIKAH  “What happened to Ellie?!”

Her eyes went to Brody for answers and he sighs before looking at Mikah.

??BRODY WAGNER  “When I got to her room, some guy was holding her door shut.  I think you work with him?  I’m not sure but when I got there he took off.”

Mikah just looks at Brody, unsure of what to really say as she realizes that Cameron was getting help from somebody on the ship.

<text align=right> <p align=Right> "FINAL COUNTDOWN."
LOCATION: PACIFIC OCEAN.
DAYS UNTIL SUMMER XXXTREME VI: 2
EXCITEMENT LEVEL: LOW
SCENE iii
REC•

FRIDAY, JULY 20, 2018
10:00 P.M.

The setting was simple, the empty pool with nobody in it and nobody around.  It was dark but there was help from the pool’s lights and a spot light on the high diving board.  Somehow, they got it so that the cameraman could film Mikah from the ground to get a shot of the pool and the high diving board.  They had her wear a microphone and everything. She looks at the high diving board before climbing up and carefully walking out and sitting on the end of it, her legs dangling on each side.  She was wearing a pair of short light wash jean shorts with grayed ends and her favorite ‘Bring Back Simon Jones’ t-shirt.  She nods at the cameraman to let him know that she was ready.  She waits for his signal before she looks around.

;;MIKAH “We are two days away from Summer XXXtreme the sixth edition.  Just two days until this cruise is over and everybody gets off and goes back to their everyday life.”

She sits as still as she can, not wanting to fall off of the diving board and into the pool.  They had managed to give her a water proof microphone and sound box just in case it happened and she wouldn’t get zapped.

;;MIKAH “The feeling that this ship has me feeling is…gross.  I cannot wait to get off of this ship and away from all of you.  Sunday night cannot come soon enough.”

She makes a face but most of her fans knew it was all a charade so she could get into character.

;;MIKAH “So, who’s it going to be?  Who’s going to end up facing me for a shot at my belt?”

She raises an eyebrow.

;;MIKAH “Will it be the nutjob, Christina Rose?  Will it be the ever faithful Aviana Faith?  Or perhaps, Apple Coren?  Or maybe Dani Weston?  I’m not sure.”

She shrugs her shoulders as she looks around the boat.  It seemed to have gone still, nobody floating around and she was okay with that.

;;MIKAH “Oh, am I forgetting people?  Seleana?  Not important and probably won’t throw her own wife over the top rope if she had to.”

The truth hurts but it didn’t matter much to Mikah that Seleana would probably fall flat on her face in an attempt for gold.

;;MIKAH “But let me start with the easiest first.  And that is the never ending saga that is Christina Rose.”

Mikah makes a face before rolling her eyes.

;;MIKAH “She thinks that I don’t want to face her because I am scared of her.  I am not scared of her.  She has only beaten me twice in every encounter that we’ve had.  I will not let it come to a third time.  But since I didn’t want her in the Battle Royal match, she thinks she can spout off saying that I’m scared of her.  She doesn’t seem to have a clue, does she?”

She raises an eyebrow before looking around.

;;MIKAH “I don’t think that me beating you in your first defense after Into the Void was me being scared and I don’t think me beating you five days before your wedding was me being scared, either.  It’s called boring, Christina.  I’m tired of facing you because you’re not a challenge to me anymore.  There is nothing about you that I find challenging anymore.  It’s like beating a dead horse and I simply don’t want to do it anymore.  Obviously, if you don’t get thrown into the pool, I’ll have to face you again.  And you’ll just have to accept the fact when you lose that I am better than you.  I am a better competitor than you and my record proves it.  Just because you have held the championship three times and looking for a fourth reign, doesn’t make you better than me.  What makes me better than you is that I can hold the championship longer than you can.  I mean two weeks…not very good.  And go ahead, bitch about the way I took my rematch clause.  That’s why it’s called that; I get to choose when I wanted.  And how does that feel, Christina?  Knowing that Hot Stuff Mark Ward and Christian Underwood gave me what I wanted because they didn’t want to see me walk away?  Must suck to think they have low confidence in the fact that you were the champion.”

Mikah smirks at the camera.

;;MIKAH “You want to talk about respect?  You will only have my respect when you stop acting like you are an innocent victim, Christina.  You’re a good wrestler, I’ll give you that.  There isn’t denying that you don’t have talent but you’re not a good person.  And before you start, I have never claimed to be a good person. Don’t believe me?  Ask Kris Ryans.  But you have an issue when it comes to me and respect.  You cry and plead for it but yet, you do nothing to actually earn my respect.  And maybe I might respect you as a wrestler a little bit but I will never respect you as a person because you are as fake as they fucking come.  I hate fake people.”

She swallows hard before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

;;MIKAH “And you want to come at me for having my wedding on that boat?  Go for it.  SCW didn’t pay a dime for that wedding to be there.  Drake and I paid for it, not anybody in SCW and it wasn’t the whole week, thank you very much.  I didn’t make the week about my wedding but thanks for trying to make me look like the villain because I enjoy it.  My wedding wasn’t even promoted at the event. And maybe you didn’t have a choice because SCW set sail two days after your cliché wedding date, but you could have waited and not called this your honeymoon.  Everybody has a choice, Christina.  You made yours and now you’re trying to change your tune so people don’t see you as a cheap whore.”

She shrugs her shoulders.

;;MIKAH “And maybe you should’ve put more focus onto your first opponents, rather than on me.  I’m not in that battle royal but Dani Weston, Aviana Faith, Apple Coren, Portia Alexander, and your new wife, Seleana.  But no, you chose to focus on me.  Because you are so sure that you are going to be the one to beat all of them to face me.  I hope they all gang up on you and you’re your fake ass over the top rope.”

Mikah shrugs her shoulders again and winks at the camera.

;;MIKAH “Apple Coren…the one woman in the match that seems to be more arrogant than myself.”

Mikah lets out a laugh before shaking her head.

;;MIKAH “And usually, arrogance can be used as a good thing but I think in this case it is not so good.  I am not even sure that I have anything to really say about Apple Coren because what she is, is ridiculous.  Her name is even ridiculous but I guess she’s keeping the theme of ridiculousness.  So at least she’s being consistent but she doesn’t even seem to be too worried about even facing me.  She thinks that it’s going to be a walk in the park, the easiest thing she’s ever done.  But she doesn’t even realize just who she’s facing.  I’m not Seleana nor am I anybody else that you’ve faced in SCW, I’m much, much worse.  I hope you remember that, Apple.”

Mikah winks at the camera before adjusting the way she was sitting on the end of the diving board.

;;MIKAH “And then there’s you, Seleana…Christina’s newly wed wife.”

She makes a fake smile before rolling her eyes.

;;MIKAH “Nobody ever doubted that Christina got you this shot.  Believe me, everybody knew it from the get go that she was the one that helped you secure that spot.  You are the only one that is trying to fool everybody.  You don’t stand a chance in the battle royal, you know that?  You won’t end up in the main event against me because I don’t think you have the guts to throw your own wife over the ropes and into the pool.  So pardon me if I’m not absolutely terrified of you.”

She shrugs her  

 
<div style="width: 695px; margin: auto;">
<text align=right> <p align=Right> "THE RETURN."
LOCATION: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK.
DAYS UNTIL SUMMER XXXTREME VI: 13
EXCITEMENT LEVEL: LOW
SCENE i
REC•

MONDAY, JULY 9, 2018
11:00 A.M.

She was spending more and more time in the city than at her home with her husband.  He said he understood and they had both been super busy in the past few weeks.  She hadn’t minded being back in New York City, back in her old stomping grounds and back to working on her little pet project.  She had never been so glad before that she hadn’t sold her house when she moved to Oak Brook, Illinois with her husband.  She had to fill the house back with groceries and anything else she needed, but she found it peaceful to stay there while she was still getting things in order for her training center.

That’s where she found herself today, at her building with Ellie in tow.  She’d hired a construction crew before she had to leave for Texas and they’d already gutted the ground level of the building.  Mikah was impressed with how fast they were working.  She had picked up Ellie on her way to the center and along with Ellie, she’d picked up her little brother, Lincoln.  Ellie had dropped the little boy off at the daycare while Mikah had talked to the head construction guy, Isaac.

;;MIKAH  “It’s coming along great.  How long do you think until we can get both rings in here?”

She had turned her attention to Isaac, who was being as patient as he could be with her while he also tried to keep his guys in order.  He glances at a clipboard before looking at her.

**ISAAC  “A month at the earliest.  We’ve got to install the mats that go around the ring and underneath it before we can have the company bring them in.  But at the longest? Ten weeks.”

Mikah nods her head as she figures it up in her head.  She then glances over to her left to see Ellie walking over to her.

;;MIKAH  “Perfect.  That gives me enough time to actually find trainers other than myself.  And two rings that I actually like.”

MIkah turns to face Ellie as she reaches Mikah’s side.  Mikah smiles before motioning for the young girl to follow her to the area where the front desk would be.  Mikah had already ordered the technology for the front desk and had already picked a color theme for the front area.

;;MIKAH  “This is where the front desk is going to be.  There will be a high tech computer, a phone, and a calendar.  You are free to decorate the desk however you want with whatever pictures you want.”

Mikah then points to the area upstairs and Ellie follows her hand movement before her attention is back on the blonde.  Ellie hadn’t ever been apart of a renovation process before and it was thrilling to her to watch all the movement of the people and to see them work as one cohesive unit.

;;MIKAH  “That is where my office is going to be.  It is where I will spend most of my time when I don’t have to be in the training part of the building.”

Ellie nods her head, seeming to understand where Mikah was going with the conversation.  Ellie didn’t know all the details that Mikah had planned for the training center, but she was intrigued about the idea.  She hadn’t ever been into wrestling but she was going to get into it.

±±ELOWYN REID “it seems like you have a good start of an idea to what you want this building to be.  I’ll be honest, when you first told me about your idea and how you wanted me to be the receptionist, I was skeptical.  But I am excited now.”

The dynamic between the two of them had changed in a few week’s time.  Ellie had seemed to understand where Mikah had came from and what she stood for and Mikah was a little more empathetic to Ellie and her history.

;;MIKAH  “It has so much potential.  And I can help people that want to be in the sport.”

She shrugs her shoulders as Ellie smiles at her.  Ellie got to see a different side of her, a side that many didn’t get to see.  But Mikah was at “home” in New York City; there wasn’t really another place that she felt such at peace in.

±±ELOWYN REID “You’re different.”

Mikah frowns a little before looking at Ellie.  She wasn’t sure what the young girl meant by it.  How was she different?  She couldn’t really see it.

;;MIKAH  “What do you mean?  How am I different?”

Mikah watches Ellie, watches as Ellie smiles and looks at Mikah before looking back to where all the workers were.  She watched the workers for a moment, tearing her eyes away from Ellie for a moment before returning them to the girl’s form.

±±ELOWYN REID “I did some..research.  Because I wanted to know about you and who you really were as a person.  And you were not a very nice person a few years ago. But now, there’s something different about you.  I don’t know what it is however but whatever it is or was, it’s good for you.”

Mikah blushes a little bit at the sentiment.  She couldn’t imagine that she had changed so much in just a few years but somehow, a twenty year old seemed to see it.  She looks at Ellie before shrugging her shoulders.

;;MIKAH  “Everybody has to change sometime, right?  I mean, we can’t just stay the same.  We have to evolve...”

She didn’t sound like she meant it at all and Ellie could hear that in the tone of her voice.

±±ELOWYN REID “And that is also something you wouldn’t have said a few years ago.”

Mikah is quiet for what seems like forever as she thinks about what Ellie was telling her. She couldn't believe that what the young girl was saying was true. But maybe it was?  Had she changed that much? She wasn't sure.

;;MIKAH  “Well, maybe I have changed.”

She just sends a simple smile Ellie’s way before glancing at Isaac as he shouted an order at one of his men. Mikah chuckles a little and seems to be okay with not being in charge.  Or at least, not in charge of Isaac’s men.  That was one job description that she definitely did not want.

±±ELOWYN REID “When do you have to board the cruise ship?”

Ellie was good at changing the subject, that was something that Mikah had found out last weekend in Texas.  She had tried to ask Ellie about her family, about her mother and her father but each and every time, Ellie had magically changed the subject to something else.  Mikah hadn’t wanted to pry, so she went with it. Mikah chuckles to herself at the thought before looking at Ellie.

;;MIKAH  “On Sunday, the fifteenth. You should come, Ruby said she would stay at your house and watch your kids.”

Mikah stops when she realizes that she had called Ellie's siblings her kids.

±±ELOWYN REID “It's okay, I consider them my kids anyways. And are you absolutely sure that Ruby wants to do that? My family can be all sorts of crazy...”

The unsure look on Ellie's face made Mikah chuckle. M.k okah knew that Ruby could handle crazy and that she would be just fine for a week at Ellie's house. But it was going to be hard to convince Ellie of that.

;;MIKAH  “Ruby is a superhero. She can handle absolutely anything that anybody throws at her. It is one of the many things about her that I like. And one of the reasons she is still employed.”

Mikah could tell that Ellie was still apprehensive about the idea of some stranger stepping into her role in the house. Mikah smiles, trying to be encouraging and supportive.

±±ELOWYN REID “But my family doesn't know her...”

Mikah wished she could say that she understood the struggle of trying to put trust in somebody to watch your siblings but she didn't. She only understood how hard it was to find a nanny for a child. Was it the same process? The same feeling? She wasn't sure.

;;MIKAH  “I assure you that Ruby is the best. I would trust her with my life. Would you like to meet her first?”

The apprehensive look was not something that Mikah was used to.

±±ELOWYN REID “It would help me feel a lot better, actually.”

Mikah smokes at Ellie before pulling her phone out and sending a quick text to her personal assistant, Ruby.  She pockets the phone after getting a reply and nods her head at Ellie.

;;MIKAH  “Consider it done.”

Ellie gives Mikah an appreciative smile and seems to visibly relax at the thought of being able to meet the woman who Mikah held in such high regard.

±±ELOWYN REID “I am sorry that I'm acting a little looney but they're the only family I have and I have to make sure they're okay.”

Mikah smiles in a knowing way. She knew what Ellie meant because when Leighton was a little girl, she had been so finnicky when it came to picking out a nanny.

;;MIKAH  “I do not know if it is the same thing, but when my daughter Leighton was a little girl, it was a hard task in picking out a nanny.  I was gone a lot and I had to find somebody to trust with the care of her.  I was so busy and I did miss out on a lot of Leighton’s childhood and I may regret that but it provided her with a home and things she wouldn’t have if I hadn’t gone off to do it.”

Mikah smiles softly at Ellie before shrugging her shoulders as Ellie gets a sentimental look on her pretty face.

±±ELOWYN REID “It is the same feeling except Asher and Auden should be able to take care of themselves at least for a weekend.  But Asher is in that high school boy stage where he thinks he needs to throw a party when I’m away.  Even with Lincoln and Auden there.  It is a hard task.”

Mikah smiles and gives Ellie a sympathetic look.  She was soon going to be the mother of a thirteen year old girl and she was not prepared for it.  At all.

;;MIKAH  “Leighton is going to be thirteen years old at the end of August.  It is a scary thought to raise a thirteen year old child; I remember being thirteen years old and it definitely wasn’t pretty.”

She shudders at the thought before looking over Ellie’s shoulder and frowning as she sees a young man who looked a lot like Cameron.  She freezes for a moment as she looks over at the man.  Ellie seems to notice the shift in MIkah’s demeanor and tries to get her attention once more.

±±ELOWYN REID “Mikah?  Are you okay?  What’s wrong?  What did you see?!”

Ellie turns around to try to see just what Mikah was staring at but she couldn’t pinpoint just exactly what the blonde was looking at.  Mikah moves her attention s-l-o-w-y back to Ellie.

;;MIKAH  “I’m fine.  I just...I thought I saw somebody I knew...”

She glances over Ellie’s shoulder again but can’t seem to spot the young man.  She just smiles at Ellie again before shrugging her shoulders.

±±ELOWYN REID “Somebody good?”

Mikah just shrugs her shoulders and places a smile on her face as she looks at the young woman.

;;MIKAH  “Not a big deal!  It wasn’t him so it doesn’t matter.”

Ellie didn’t look convinced as Mikah seemed a bit skittish now.

±±ELOWYN REID “Are you sure?  Do we need to call somebody to insure your safety?”

Mikah smiles at Ellie, appreciative at the young lady’s sense of empathy.  An emotion that Mikah hadn’t mastered at her age but she hadn’t much reason to, other than Leighton.

;;MIKAH  “I’m fine.  I promise.  I am okay and it wasn’t him.”

Mikah wasn’t sure if she was trying to convince Ellie that it wasn’t Cameron or herself.  But she could feel just how shook up she was about the idea of seeing him.  The situation with Cameron had never been resolved; he had just stopped showing up where she was.  She had never looked into why he had stopped coming around because she had been so relieved that she didn’t have to keep looking over her shoulder for him to appear.  But now...that feeling was back and she couldn’t seem to push it away.

±±ELOWYN REID “Who is him?”

Mikah offers Ellie nothing but a smile, still intent on pushing the incident from her mind.  But Ellie looked concerned and Mikah couldn’t seem to distract the young girl.

;;MIKAH  “His name is Cameron.  He’s just an overly obsessed fan of mine.  That’s all.”

She tries to brush it off as if Cameron’s existence wasn’t a big deal to her and her life.  Ellie holds a skeptical look on her face as she looks at Mikah, not believing that this Cameron guy was just obsessive.  Especially if Mikah was this rattled about it.

±±ELOWYN REID “Do you get those a lot?”

Mikah chews on the inside of her bottom lip as she looks around again before shaking her head no, answering Ellie’s question.

;;MIKAH  “Not really.  We all seem to have weird fans at some point in our lives but not many people get a Cameron.  I guess I am just lucky...”

She didn’t feel lucky, not one ounce.  Instead, she was starting to feel caged in, a little panicky.  But she was trying not to show it, not in front of Ellie.  She didn’t want Ellie to worry about her or not take the job because of a creep.

±±ELOWYN REID “Have you talked to the police?  It seems pretty serious if he is stalking you.”

Ellie had hit the nail right on the head with the word.  Mikah raises an eyebrow and shakes her head no.

;;MIKAH  “Nope,  because it has been over a year since I had last had any sort of interaction with him.  Drake had even hired a bodyguard to protect me since it had become a little more serious than what we had first thought.  But when Cameron disappeared for over a month and a half, we let Brody go...”

Mikah hadn’t really gotten along with Brody because it had gone against everything she believed in.  She felt that she could take care of herself because of her job and her position in the wrestling world. But Drake had been persistent and wasn’t going to let her take no for an answer and besides, Drake had done the hiring, not Mikah.  So she couldn’t have done anything about it even if she wanted to.  And she had tried to fire Brody but he wouldn’t go away, insisting that he was hired by Drake, not Mikah.

±±ELOWYN REID “Maybe you should give Brody a call back...”

Ellie seemed to be worried for Mikah and Mikah just shrugs her shoulders.

;;MIKAH  “Maybe.  But it’s probably not even Cameron, I probably shouldn’t even be worried about it.”

She seemed confident in the thought but her body language said something else.

±±ELOWYN REID “But if it turns out to be him, you’d feel safer with Brody around, wouldn’t you?  What if Cameron gets himself a ticket on the ship?  Has a room booked next to yours and everything?”

Mikah frowns at Ellie.  That was a possibility and it was something that she hadn’t actually thought about until Ellie brought it up.  It turned her eyes a little wild at the thought.  She closes her eyes and tries to calm herself down.

;;MIKAH  “I...didn’t think about that...”

She was trying to push the panic down, as far down as she simply could so she didn’t have to think about the fact that Cameron had every right to purchase a ticket.  She looks at Ellie before taking a deep breath and shrugging her shoulders.  There wasn’t anything that she could really do about it.

±±ELOWYN REID “Have you talked to your husband about this?”

She shakes her head no, slowly.  It hadn’t even registered in her head that Cameron returning could be possible.  She couldn’t believe that she had been so naive to think that way; things had been going way too smoothly for her lately.  It was about time that something fucked her world up.  She only wished it didn’t have to be Cameron.

;;MIKAH  “No...because it hadn’t crossed my mind that he was back.”

Stupid, stupid, stupid.  It was the three words that kept repeating themselves in her mind.  How could she have been so stupid?!

±±ELOWYN REID “Do you want to call him?  To maybe warn him?”

Mikah shakes her head no.  There was a person she wanted to call but she wasn’t going to do that.  She needed to find out if it was Cameron before she went ballistic just thinking about it.

;;MIKAH  “No, I don’t want to worry him.  He has an important match against Tommy Crimson to be worrying about; he doesn’t need to be worrying about his wife.  Besides, I am not even sure that it was Cameron.  I could just be overreacting!”

She replaces the fearful expression that she was wearing with a happy, pleasant smile.  Ellie just shrugs her shoulders as she tries not to think about all the problems that Mikah could be having.

±±ELOWYN REID “Oookay.  But if it is Cameron, you need to call your husband.  He needs to know...”

Mikah nods her head, agreeing with Ellie, even though she definitely had no intention of calling Drake even if it was Cameron.

;;MIKAH  “Of course.  Drake would need to know about it as much as the next person.  As my husband, he needs to know about my life.”

It came easily off of her tongue, almost as if she believed herself.  Ellie just smiles at her, believing the lie as well.

±±ELOWYN REID “Good.  It is in your best interest to keep safe.  Especially when you step foot onto that cruise ship.”

She gives Mikah a cheerful smile and Mikah returns the look.  She then changes the subject, swiftly as she didn’t want to talk about Cameron anymore.

;;MIKAH  “So...you never said whether or not you were actually going to come on the cruise?”

Mikah smirks at Ellie as they move around the building, Mikah checking on the bathrooms and locker rooms, making sure it was going as planned.

±±ELOWYN REID “I am going to go.  Granted that I like Ruby and trust her with my kids.  I have never been on a cruise and I cannot be more excited about it.  Even with a bunch of crazy superstars and bombshells running around.”

She makes a face at Mikah and Mikah chuckles.  Last year on the ship, she hadn’t barely left her room.  She hadn’t enjoyed being on the ship but yet, now she wasn’t sure how she felt being on the ship.  It would be different because her best friend wasn’t going to be on the ship.  Not this time but it’s not like it had mattered much to her the previous year as she had shut him out when he had needed her most.

;;MIKAH  “It’s not that bad.  I promise.  Most of us behave ourselves on the boat and can get along if we need to.  Nobody has been thrown overboard just yet.  However, I may just throw the nutso off over the side if I have to.  I am tired of facing her.”

It was the truth.  She was sick and tired of facing the woman who got more chances than Jessie Salco.  There was only so much she could say about her without repeating herself.

±±ELOWYN REID “Yeah?  How was the ship last year?”

Mikah simply shrugs her shoulders as she walks around, heading back to the front of the building.

;;MIKAH  “I don’t know.  I didn’t go exploring too much. I spent a lot of time in my room.”

This seems to peek Ellie’s interest a little bit.  Mikah chuckles as she searches through her purse for her car keys.

±±ELOWYN REID “Why not?!”

ikah chews on her bottom lip as she thinks about the question that Ellie had asked.  She remembered why she had locked herself in her room.  She had been so wrapped up in the fact that her husband hadn’t wanted to come onto the ship with her, so she spent it alone.

;;MIKAH  “I had been wrapped up in my own issues and hadn’t felt the urge to socialize.  It was just a purely selfish reason, that’s all.  It’s not that the ship isn’t fun, there is a lot to do on board.  You won’t regret going.”

Mikah manages to easily find her keys and pulls them out of her purse and smiles at Ellie.

±±ELOWYN REID “I am excited.  I did a little research about the cruise company and it looks like it could be fun.  I even splurged and bought myself two bikinis.  Granted, they were from Walmart but they are new.”

Mikah watches as the young girl’s cheeks turn a light color of pink and she chuckles to herself.  She could remember her days of splurging on herself even though it hadn’t been on the budget.  She hadn’t garnered her sense of style until she could afford it. She remembered her days of shopping at the supercenter as well, even if she didn’t like to admit it out loud.

;;MIKAH  “I am sure that they will work just fine.  In the mean time...”

She jangles her keys at Ellie.

;;MIKAH  “Do you want to go get some lunch at a small little cafe?  I told Ruby that we would meet her there…”

Ellie nods her head and Mikah smiles at the young girl.  Maybe, just maybe she’d found another young girl to mentor.  If only she could convince Ellie to actually train for a position in the wrestling world.  She felt that the young girl could be good at the sport but she didn’t want to push Ellie to do something she didn’t want to do.  Mikah was not that person.

±±ELOWYN REID “Sounds good to me.  I only had a half a slice of peanut butter toast for breakfast, I’m starving!”

Mikah chuckles and motions for Ellie to follow her.  She remembered the days before her eating disorder.  The days where she would almost go hungry because she let Leighton get the most of the food that she could provide.  But then she got into the business and what the society deemed appropriate for a female wrestler got into her head and food became non-important and being skinny and in shape became most important.  It was the one thing that she hoped she could shield Ellie from if Ellie chose to be in the wrestling business.

;;MIKAH  “You should have said something earlier!  I would have shut up and we could have left earlier!  I understand being hungry, Ellie.  It is like the least desireabe feeling in the world.”

Mikah gives the young girl a look as they walk out of the building and Mikah turns her head just in time to see Cameron standing there, waving at her with a sick smirk on his face.  Mikah just stares at him for a moment before hurrying to her car with Ellie in tow.  She didn’t want to face the fact that he was back and something had detained him for a little over a year. She wanted to push him out of her mind because she had to meet up with Ruby with Ellie so that Ellie and Ruby could go over the plan for the next week but Mikah couldn’t deny it to herself, she was scared.

<text align=right> <p align=Right> "CREEP."
LOCATION: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.
DAYS UNTIL SUMMER XXXTREME VI: 10
EXCITEMENT LEVEL: LOW
SCENE i
REC•

THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2018
11:00 A.M.

Mikah had landed in Los Angeles, California barely ten minutes ago with Ellie at her side.  She had decided that it would be easier to bring Ellie along with her rather than flying her out at a separate time.  Plus, it gave Ruby a little more time to bond with Lincoln, who was having a hard time accepting the fact that his sister was going on a vacation. Mikah had noticed that Ellie had been scared of flying, something she hadn’t known until now.  She had flown Ellie out to Texas, rather than have Ellie come with her.  She almost felt bad for making Ellie make the trip by herself the week before but she didn’t have time to think about that right now.  Right now, she had to get to the baggage terminal to grab her suitcases.

;;MIKAH  “It is usually not this chaotic but this is LAX and everything is chaotic here; I fucking hate California.”

Ellie nods her head as she tries to keep up with Mikah’s quick stride as they made their way to the baggage terminal.  She didn’t say much as Mikah didn’t seem to want to talk too much.

;;MIKAH  “Please do not ask why; I do not want to state my reasons why.”

Ellie nods her head as they finally make it to the baggage claim and Mikah scans the monitor before finding their flight and which number their luggage would be on.  Mikah smiles at Ellie before moving over to the moving conveyor belt.

±±ELOWYN REID  “It’s okay.  Most people hate New York City; everybody is entitled to have their own opinion.”

Mikah raises her eyebrows at the young girl before shaking her head and chuckling softly to herself.  The girl was young and had a lot to learn about the wrestling world.  She wanted Ellie to get a feel for it because if she was going to be running the front desk, she’d have to know how to deal with an angry trainee.

;;MIKAH  “Right.”

She knew that everybody was entitled to their opinions and that didn’t bother her.  It only bothered her when they tried to push their opinion as a fact, and not an opinion.  That is when it bothered her most.

It takes then another fifteen minutes to grab their suitcases and find a taxi to the hotel that they’d share until Sunday.  Mikah was quiet on the ride to the hotel, her nose stuck in her phone as Ellie took in the sights of Los Angeles.  Mikah was too busy to play chaperone and she couldn’t remember the first time that she had ever been to Los Angeles; it was a long time ago.

±±ELOWYN REID  “Do you ever see anybody famous here?”

Mikah glances over at Ellie and sees the amazement in the young girl’s eyes.  It was that look that made Mikah put her phone away for the time being.

;;MIKAH  “Yes, sometimes.  I ran into Chris Hemsworth once and I almost died.  If you think the wrestlers are big, Chris Hemsworth is just as big.”

Ellie’s eyes almost pop out of her head as Mikah seemed so nonchalant about meeting Marvel’s Thor.  Mikah gives her a look before shrugging her shoulders.

±±ELOWYN REID  “Anybody else?!  That is so exciting!”

Mikah chuckles and shakes her head.

;;MIKAH  “I’ve met a few celebrities.  Hemsworth was nice to look at. I also ran into that one chick from the Big Bang Theory.  Kaley whatshername.  She was alright, kind of in a rush and I was in a mood.  No pleasantries were exchanged.  Hemsworth, however, had been super apologetic with me and wanted to buy me a water or something for his nearly squashing me.  Sweet man.”

Mikah watches as Ellie collapses back against the cushion of the taxi cab and she chuckles to herself.  Los Angeles was something else and Mikah hated it but she could see that Ellie wanted to love it.

±±ELOWYN REID  “I don’t know what I would do if I…if I ran into some big star.  I’d probably make a fool out of myself.”

Mikah rolls her eyes with a smile on her pretty face.

;;MIKAH  “You’d be fine.  They’re people too, you know.  They try to live their lives as easily as they can manage.  It’s nothing to run into them in Los Angeles or New York City.  But if you’re in the Midwest and meet one?  Then you should be freaking out.”

Ellie shrugs her shoulders, a sheepish look on her face as she looks out the window.  Mikah watches her with interest written in her eyes and laughs to herself.

±±ELOWYN REID  “I don’t know if I could handle meeting any celebrities, honestly.  They just seem..untouchable, unattainable, you know?”

Mikah understood what Ellie was talking about but she didn’t have that same feeling about celebrities.  She smiles and nods her head, though, agreeing with Ellie’s statement.

;;MIKAH  “It seems like that at first.  It helped that Hemsworth was the first big celebrity I ran into.  Because after him?  Everybody else looks normal.  And yes, Hemsworth really is that good looking off camera.”

She had a thing for Hemsworth; she always had.  But it was just a crush and that was all.  Plus she was married and so was he.  Ellie smiles before looking again out the window, pressing her nose against the glass.  The gesture made Mikah want to pull Ellie away from the glass because she was sure that the cab driver didn’t clean his windows regularly but Mikah doesn’t.  She wanted Ellie to have a decent time while in Los Angeles.

±±ELOWYN REID  “This city is so…busy!  And they say New York City is a busy city!”

Mikah chuckles and shakes her head at Ellie.

;;MIKAH  “It’s a different kind of busy, really.  I try not to come here because it just stirs up a bunch of memories that I do not want.  But yes, this city is busy too.  And we are only here because this is where the ship departs from.  I would have stayed in New York City a day longer, but tomorrow I have to set up some things for my promo against well, I’m not sure against who but I have to set it up.”

Mikah watches as Ellie frowns at Mikah’s statement and she pulls herself away from the window to look at her.

±±ELOWYN REID  “Aren’t you facing Court?  Your first student?”

She sighs and shakes her head no.

;;MIKAH  “No, Court got injured Sunday’s edition of Climax Control and can’t compete in ten days.  So, instead of just picking an opponent for me, they put random people in a battle royal for the opportunity.  And there isn’t one person in the match that deserves the win.  Not a single one.  But I am not the bosses and I don’t book the match.  So I get the pleasure of trying to make my promo seem important and better even though it’s a literal toss up with who I am going to face in ten days.  It kind of sucks but when the number one contender injures herself, there is nothing else that can be done.”

Mikah wasn’t exactly happy that the opportunity to face her was left to a battle royal.  She hated the unknown and the battle royal was bringing just that to her.  She wanted to just know who she was facing and not trying to guess.

±±ELOWYN REID  “You’ll still win.  You’re better than them, right?”

Ellie looked hopeful for Mikah and Mikah shrugs her shoulders.  She had always believed that she was better than everybody else on the roster and she almost always proved it in the ring.

;;MIKAH  “I am definitely better than Crystal or Christina, as I showed on Sunday.  But the others in the match are pretty new to the whole system and I am not sure about them.  The most annoying of the group?  Dani Weston.  Or Christina’s wife.”

She shrugs her shoulders before glancing at Ellie.  Ellie seemed to be taking whatever Mikah said in, absorbing every word as if she couldn’t get enough.  Mikah smiled as the taxi driver stops in the middle of traffic and Mikah groans out in irritation.  She hated the traffic in Los Angeles; it was definitely worse than New York City.

±±ELOWYN REID  “You are impatient, aren’t you?”

Mikah raises an eyebrow at Ellie, a little surprised that Ellie hadn’t mentioned that little fact earlier.

;;MIKAH  “I just hate being stuck in traffic; it is such a waste of my time.  I could be doing a lot of other things right now but no.  We are stuck here in traffic.”

She makes a face and Ellie chuckles at Mikah’s reaction to being stuck.  She didn’t seem to mind it, however.  The being stuck in traffic because she hadn’t really ever had to take a cab and it was exciting for her.  She usually just walked everywhere that she went.

±±ELOWYN REID  “I don’t mind it.  I usually walk to wherever I want to go because we don’t own a car.  I am thankful that my neighbor, Olivia can drive my siblings to school with her children.  It makes things a lot easier.”

Mikah frowns, realizing she wasn’t sure how Ellie got around.  She hadn’t thought to ask before and now, she was curious.

;;MIKAH  “How did you get Lincoln to daycare then?”

Mikah watches the young girl before tilting her head to the side.  She couldn’t remember how she got around in New York City at nineteen years old, it was something that she had blocked out of her memory.

±±ELOWYN REID  “The bus.  I managed to scrape together enough money for a bus pass.  And I know the daycare is a little ways from my previous job, but it was the cheapest one I could afford so I didn’t have much choice.”

She shrugs her shoulders as if it wasn’t a big deal that she was taking a child across the city to a daycare that was pretty far from her job.  Mikah just stares at Ellie in admiration.

;;MIKAH  “You are a brave woman.  That is something I would not have done with Leighton when I was nineteen.  It was even hard being pregnant that young but I don’t think I could have gotten on a bus with a baby to take her across town.”

She shakes her head before putting a hand on Ellie’s shoulder and looks into the girls warm eyes.

±±ELOWYN REID  “What?”

Mikah watches as Ellie goes to fix her hair as if she could tame the curls on her head.  Or maybe she thought that Mikah had seen something out of place.

;;MIKAH  “I’ll find you a car.  Don’t worry about it.  You can’t be taking Lincoln on the bus; that’s not safe.”

Ellie frowns before shaking her head at Mikah’s offer.  It was something that Ellie didn’t want.  She didn’t want to be some charity case for Mikah.

±±ELOWYN REID  “I couldn’t accept a car from you, Mikah.  I can’t afford to put gas in it or the insurance on it…”

Mikah waves her hand, ignoring the young girl’s refusal to accept Mikah’s offer.  Mikah had money and money to spare.  She was not worried about it.

;;MIKAH  “You need a decent vehicle, Elowyn.  What if Lincoln breaks a bone and you don’t have a way to the hospital?  Or what if he gets sick and it could be the difference between him staying alive or dying?  You need a vehicle.  Let me help you, please.  I know you think I’ve helped you enough, but this will help you even more.  I want to do this for you because I wanted it for myself.”

Ellie looks into Mikah’s eyes and can see the sincerity in them and she sighs before looking at Mikah again.  She runs her fingers through her messy, curly hair as she tries to think.

±±ELOWYN REID  “Fine.  But it cannot be more than ten thousand dollars, okay?   I will not accept a brand new vehicle, it has to be used, okay?”

A compromise of sorts and she smiles and nods her head, accepting the compromise.  She could look for a car for Ellie after the cruise and it seems that the traffic starts to move again.

;;MIKAH  “Okay.  Deal.”

The rest of the taxi ride went smoothly.  Ellie admired all the buildings and Mikah sat in silence, thinking about how she was going to deal with the fact that Cameron was back and wasn’t going to go away.  She had seen him again at her building and was livid that he seemed to acquire a job with Isaac as one of the workers.  She wanted to demand that Isaac fire him or put him on a different project but that wouldn’t be rational and she didn’t want to cause a scene.  At least, not yet.

The taxi stops in front of the hotel that was nearly taller than all the other skyscrapers around it.  Ellie’s mouth drops open as they get out, Mikah paying the taxi driver after he gets their luggage out of the trunk of his yellow car.  They stand on the sidewalk outside of the hotel building and Mikah laughs as Ellie stares.

±±ELOWYN REID  “I have never stayed in such a nice hotel…”

Mikah starts to walk into the hotel, pulling her suitcase behind her and motions for Ellie to do the same.

;;MIKAH  “You’ll love it.  Trust me.”

Ellie nods her head, not denying it.  Mikah laughs as she walks to the check in counter.  Ellie watches the blonde talk with the lady for a few minutes, discussing the room and sleeping arrangements. Mikah walks over to Ellie after finishing up with the lady.  Mikah seemed in a good mood, so Ellie wasn’t sure what that meant.

±±ELOWYN REID  “Everything okay?”

Mikah nods her head, a smile on her face as they move to the elevator.  Everything was currently okay in Mikah land.  She was preparing for a match against a woman who she wasn’t sure who was and she was going to be in Los Angeles for only a short amount of time.  Nothing could be more perfect.

;;MIKAH  “Great.  Everything is great.  We have the presidential suite and a view of the ocean and the Santa Monica pier.  You will enjoy the pier, I promise you this.”

Ellie nods her head, almost giddy with excitement.  She couldn’t contain her excitement for being in the city and for the next few days.  Mikah glances at her phone as it chimes with a text message as they wait for the elevator to come back down.

±±ELOWYN REID  “No Cameron, right?”

She hadn’t told Ellie that Cameron was back.  There wasn’t a point in worrying the young girl that something could happen.  She smiles and shakes her head no at Ellie, lying to her.

;;MIKAH  “Nope.  Just me and you right now.  In the beautiful city of Los Angeles.  Going to board the ship in three days and be on the ocean for seven.  Nothing could be better.”

If Ellie had known Mikah longer, she’d have known that Mikah was lying straight through her teeth.  But Ellie didn’t and she just smiles and nods her head enthusiastically with the blonde.  She couldn’t help but be too excited about her own adventures that were going to start.

±±ELOWYN REID  “Right!”

The elevator dings and they let the few people out before stepping into the elevator and Mikah presses the number twenty-eight before stepping back.  She didn’t want to lie to Ellie about Cameron but she didn’t want Ellie to worry about her.  Ellie had enough to worry about and she wanted this vacation to be worry-free for the twenty year old.  She was trying her best to make it that way too.

It doesn’t take them long to find the presidential suite and Mikah’s soon using the key to open the door.  She pulls her luggage behind her as they step into it.  She sets her luggage upright, putting her suitcase on all four wheels as she looks around.  It was an elegant room with two closed off bedrooms, a kitchenette, and a living area.  It was exquisite and she enjoyed watched Ellie’s face as she seemed to take it all in.

;;MIKAH  “I’m going to use the restroom real quick.”

She excuses herself to the bathroom, wanting to check it out first.  She steps into the room and shuts the door softly behind her and clicks the lock into place.  She leans back against the door and takes a deep breath.  She had been holding that in for too long and she had been terrified that she might see Cameron on the ride to the elevator.  But so far, no Cameron.  It was going to be okay.  Or at least that’s what she tells herself, not hearing the knock at the door or the mumbled words that were exchanged between Ellie and somebody else.

±±ELOWYN REID  “Mikah?  I think your husband sent you flowers.  They’re beautiful.”

Mikah smiles at the thought of Drake sending her flowers.  It has been awhile since she had gotten any and she was excited to get them.  She washes her hand and enjoys the tropical fruity scent of the soap before walking out into the living area.  She sees the beautiful arrangement on the coffee table where Ellie had set them and she moves over to them and brings one of the flowers to her nose and inhales its scent before picking the vase up.  She searches for a card and she grabs it once she finds it.  Her eyes move over the words on the car as she holds the vase in one hand. And before she can stop herself, the vase drops from her hands and shatters on the floor around her.  She grabs her phone and calls her husband, rather quickly.

;;MIKAH  “He’s back.  Cameron is back.  We have to call Brody back in, now.”

<text align=right><p align=”Right”> "THE HACK."
LOCATION:LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.
DAYS UNTIL SUMMER XXXTREME: 8
EXCITEMENT LEVEL: MEDIUM HIGH.
I SCENE iii
REC•

SATURDAY, JULY 14, 2018
4:45 P.M.

The room was blank for the moment but Mikah was surrounded by a green screen on three sides of her.  The side that wasn’t covered with a green screen was where the camera man stood, ready whenever Mikah said she was ready.  Her former-but-now-current bodyguard, Brody Wagner stood behind the camera man, his arms behind his back as he seemed to keep an eye out for Cameron.  The cameraman nods and the green screen comes to life.  It showed an apple orchard behind Mikah and Mikah was sitting on a stool.  She smirks at the camera, as she easily shuts out her personal life and dilemma.

;;MIKAH  “Apple Coren.  You’ve been in Sin City Wrestling for…”

She tries to think but shrugs her shoulders, uncaring about the length of time.  She was wearing a pair of black leggings and a white tee with a graphic of a smashed apple on it.

;;MIKAH  “A few weeks now.  You seem to have made a small splash in the big pond that is SCW.  And I am not entirely sure why that it…”

Mikah swallows hard for a moment before raising an eyebrow.

;;MIKAH  “Maybe it is your name.  Maybe that’s why some people have seemed to take some sort of liking to you.  Or maybe it’s because people are tired of seeing some of the newer bombshells fail at their job.  But to me, you are a nobody.  You are just another person who wants something handed to them without earning it.  But wait!  I’m sure you’ll be quick to point out that you didn’t ask for this match.  And of course you didn’t. But you didn’t refuse the match either and that’s fine because it’s not going to matter.  You won’t win the battle royal because you are a simpleton.”

She shrugs her shoulders once more before closing her eyes as she tries to think if she has anything else to say.

;;MIKAH  “I want you to remember, Apple Coren, that this is your opportunity to make history in SCW.  Be the one who gets the opportunity to face me at the end of the night.  Let’s hope you don’t have any problem with being thrown out like the core of an apple is.  Because you won’t stand a chance against the other Bombshells that are booked in the match.  But I dare you to try.  I dare you to be better than them.  You will most likely fail, so I am probably wasting my time even talking about you.  Why do I even bother?”

She shakes her head and runs her hands through her tousled blonde locks.

;;MIKAH  “Because I have to.  And you have to lose, that’s just how it is.”

She shrugs her shoulders and waves goodbye to the camera.

;;MIKAH  “Better luck next time, Apple Coren.”

The screen goes black and stays that way for about three minutes.  When the screen comes back to life, Mikah is sat on the same stool but the green screen was showing pews of a church and she was dressed in the same pair of black leggings but this time, had a shirt on with a cross on the front of it.

;;MIKAH  “Aviana Faith O’Conor.”

She says the next competitor’s full name.  A name she knew because she was the second person she was training to compete.  The next Courtney Pierce but there couldn’t be another Courtney Pierce but Aviana was going to try.

;;MIKAH  “You also do not deserve this opportunity.  And you will probably think I’m being harsh because that’s how you view me.  But it’s the cold hard truth.  You are not ready for the main event, you’re barely ready for the midcard.  But you get put in a match that you’re not ready for anyways, and I’m going to have to be the one to break the faith.  To break your faith.  You are a good person, I know that because I trained you.  You have gone through some things that most people in life will never have to go through and it sucks but it’s time that you start to use that to your advantage.  Use it to want to be better in the ring because it’s what Ethan would have wanted for you.  Oh, whoops.  Did I bring up your brother?  The one that I am probably not supposed to be speaking about?  Him?”

Mikah didn’t really want to go down that road, but Aviana hadn’t shown her anything else she could use.

;;MIKAH  “Do you think that you’d be making Ethan proud right now?  Do you think that you’re making me proud right now?  Have you won any other match other than your very first match here in SCW?!  I am tired of watching you lose, Aviana. I wanted to see you succeed because then it will look good on me.  But you haven’t done much here in SCW except lose and even that, you can’t seem to do gracefully.”

She scoffs and rolls her eyes at the camera.

;;MIKAH  “I am not worried about you, Avi. I do not think that you will win the battle royal to face me at the end of the night.  So I shouldn’t even be mentioning you at all, I should forget that you’re even in the match because it is easier to do than to talk about it.  There’s nothing you have done that’s remarkable.  And I challenge you to change that.  I dare you to change it, Avi.  Prove me wrong.”

Mikah lets out a harsh chuckle.

;;MIKAH  “Of course you won’t.  Next.”

Again, the screen goes black for a few minutes.  When it comes back two minutes later, the green screen is completely white.  Mikah had changed into a grey dress and a pair of white stiletto pumps. She holds a notecard in one hand and brings it up to her eyes to read it, her eyes squinting for dramatic effect.

;;MIKAH  “Portia Alexander..”

Mikah makes a face as she says the name.

;;MIKAH  “Who!?”

Mikah pulls her phone out from her bra.

;;MIKAH  “One moment.  Pulling up the SCW website..”

She taps a few things on her phone and uses her thumb to scroll through the site, checking a few things.

;;MIKAH  “Nothing!  There is absolutely fucking nothing about this bitch on the website!  There’s no bio, no picture, nothing.  So basically, she’s a fucking wild card that was thrown into the battle royal to just add another number.  Can we even count on her to make it onto the boat?!  Like, I don’t even think she’s a real person!  How is that fair to any of us involved?!  Fuck her and fuck Mark Ward for putting her in the match.”

Mikah lets out a noise of irritation.

;;MIKAH  “You know what?  What if I just randomly showed up in that match and throw Portia’s ass out of the ring?  Maybe that would make her a little more relevant.  Because she’s not even done anything in the company!  It’s ridiculous.  This whole idea of the battle royal is ridiculous.  But nonetheless, putting a person in the match that doesn’t even have a picture on the website is ridiculous.  Portia is just ridiculous.  How can I even talk about her if she doesn’t even exist on the website other than being booked in the match?  Should I be worried about her?  I don’t even know.  But I’m betting she gets on the wrong ship and won’t even be in attendance.  Whatever.”

She tosses the notecard to the ground and looks at the camera.

;;MIKAH  “Hopefully you show up, Portia.  Because even if you do, you’re going to lose.”

The screen goes black.  It seems to be off longer than before either of the three times before and when it turns back on, Mikah is sitting on the stool again sporting her Cat woman costume from a few years back.  The green screen showed a house with a yard and a few cats in the yard.

;;MIKAH  “Seleana Zdunich.”

The name draws a smirk to Mikah’s luscious pink lips.

;;MIKAH  “You may be the wild card in the battle royal, really you might be.  You’re going into Summer XXXtreme VI on a high.  You just got married, yesterday and you’re riding the waves of marital bliss.  As blissful as it can be when you’re married to a crazy woman but marital bliss all the same.”

A chuckle escapes Mikah’s lips and she shakes her head.

;;MIKAH  “I am all for people loving who they want to love.  That is great but you chose to marry Christina Rose.  Or Crystal Hilton.  Or whatever she chooses to call herself right now.  I am not sure whether or not I should ask if you’re sane.  Because even if you’re not, it doesn’t matter.  You are in the battle royal and will have the opportunity to face me at the end of the night should you win.”

Mikah masks her feelings on that easily.  Masking any emotion that would pass through.

;;MIKAH  “You’ve done well in SCW, I believe.  Don’t hold it against me that I haven’t watched your matches diligently, I’ve been a little preoccupied with your wife.”

Mikah rolls her eyes in sheer annoyance at the thought of it.

;;MIKAH  “Are you prepared, Seleana?  Are you prepared to throw your wife over the top rope to get a shot at me?  Are you prepared to do whatever it takes to win?  I don’t know you well enough to say that you’d throw your wife aside to get the gold.  But how would that make the nutso feel?”

She raises an eyebrow at the camera.

;;MIKAH  “If it comes down to you and your wife, who’s going to make the first move to win?  Who’s going to be hesitant to do it?  That will be interesting to watch, you know?  Or are you going to throw in the towel to give your wife one more shot at me?  A shot she doesn’t fucking deserve?”