[HBCarter]

 
Earlier this week…

It was early morning, and the small apartment building on the outskirts of North Las Vegas was relatively quiet as the majority of the occupants were either asleep or already having left for the drudge of their blue color jobs. One resident was a garbage man, another worked as a bar back in one of the casinos of the famed Vegas Strip. An older woman even was rumored to be a private eye for the Las Vegas police department. And the newest tenant who had moved in mere months ago -- was a professional wrestler.

The lobby door to the individual building slid open and Carter McKinney, known in wrestling circles as Helluva Bottom Carter, or simply HBCarter, paused to hold the door open for his best friend Ariana Angelos, to set foot into the building before him, carrying her single piece of luggage in her hand for her overnight stay. Carter then followed, pulling along his own wheeled luggage from his wrestling travels.

Carter: I still think that this is ridiculous. I don’t need a baby sitter.

Ariana: Well tough beans, Carter. You heard what the doctor said; 24 hours under observation, just in case.

Carter huffed a sigh of annoyance before he started through the lobby and toward the stairwell that would take him and his guest to his third floor studio. Ariana, having been here many times before, followed behind with a wisp of a smile and could not help but tease her bestie by asking…

Ariana: Would you prefer that the doctor had called your mom to fly here and stay with you?

Carter whipped around, his face aghast.

Carter: God no!

But he clapped a hand over his mouth as in this old building, built at some time in the early 1950s, had great acoustics and his voice carried just a bit. Ariana nodded knowingly.

Ariana: I thought so. So buck up! I’m your roomie for the next 24 hours.

Carter: Fiiiine!

They turned back around and continued toward the stairwell, Ari popping her forefinger from her lips and drawing an imaginary number one in the air before her. Of course Ari could tell his tone was done so teasingly. Carter loved having her over to hang out, as he loved hanging out at her place as well. They had discussed staying in her house, given that it was much larger than his simple studio, but Carter’s smaller place was chosen for obvious personal comfort.

But no sooner did they reach that first step than the door to the immediate left opened and an elderly woman, the epitome of the sweet old lady image; complete with curly white hair, thick rimmed glasses and a shawl over her shoulders, took a single step outside into the hall.

Carter: Hello Missus Wagner.

Ariana then noticed for the first time just how thick the old woman’s glasses were when she looked up at her friend with rheumy eyes and blinked.

Mrs. Wagner: Oh hello dear! Finally back home from your travels?

Carter: Yes ma’am! Took us all night too so we’re just going to get settled in for the day.

The old lady then turned her attention to Ariana and a smile softened her lips.

Mrs. Wagner: Oh she is lovely.

She took one step further out and the narrow hall made it close enough that she might pat Ariana on the wrist.

Mrs. Wagner: You’re a lovely young lady.

Ariana’s cheekes blustered a charming pink under this sweet old lady’s misguided notion that she was Carter’s girlfriend, but she didn’t have it in her heart to correct the stranger. At least, not yet.

Ariana: T-thank you.

Carter waved ‘bye’ as he led the way upstairs as his neighbor went back into her own apartment and closed the door behind her.

Ariana: She thinks I’m a lovely young lady.

Carter: Don’t get too worked up. She’s blind as a bat and thinks I’m a lovely young lady.



The door to Carter’s apartment then swung open and Ariana stepped inside first, and smiled as she looked around. She had been here so many times before but she still had some difficulties in understanding how Carter liked living in such a small space; despite the fact he repeatedly said that it was comfortable and more than enough for a single person. His abode was roughly 450 square feet, and had minimal decor and furniture inside. Ari understood that Carter was a neat freak inside of his apartment, and if there was anything that he had a dislike for, it was clutter.

You know what a studio apartment is, don’t you? It’s pretty much what one might expect. It was wide, open space the moment you set foot inside, the ‘living room’ the predominant area and just to the right, well to call it a kitchen might be generous but it served its purpose. Or would if Carter had any rea interest in cooking but if it weren’t microwaveable or cold be delivered by the Uber Eats, then he wasn’t very interested. The floor was wood paneling, and the artistic side of Carter prompted him to liven up the drab drywall with a soft colorful paint job. The only real furniture that he had in his living space was his desk along the far wall, and an entertainment center; a sofa that could be pulled out into a bed (he had gotten that for Ari), and a couple of chairs in case of guests - so far only Ariana and Gabriel and Odette had gotten too call themselves that. In fact, Gabriel had tried to talk Carter into letting him help in getting the twenty year old a larger place, but Carter was quite happy with what he had. Unlike so many others that shared his lifestyle, Carter was not particularly materialistic. In fact, his pride and joy was just past the partisan wall, in the far corner of his home where the bedroom (?) might ordinarily be located.



Built against the corner of the studio in its own sectional was a bed, just up a small set of steps and cordoned off by its own wall setting. On the exterior of the sectional’s wall was a built-in closet and some shelves for the idle collections that Carter did allow himself to indulge in. Little knick knacks like his obsession with the TV series, Supernatural, and a few Siamese cats statues and plushies.

Ariana knew Carter desperately wanted a Siamese cat to call his own, but there was little chance of that happening given he was gone for lengths of time, either training or touring with her for SCU. Plus there was the fact his landlord didn’t allow pets but Ari had little doubt that somehow Carter could and would find a way around this little obstacle if he had a like mind to do so.

Carter sighed.

Carter: Well, I guess I can’t put this off any longer.

Ariana had a seat on the sofa, having stashed her own luggage just to the side and out of the way so as not to cause either to trip or just to be unsightly to her neat-freak best friend.

Ariana: What is it?

Carter took off his leather studded jacket and then hung it up beside the front door. He fished his phone from an interior pocket (Christ Ari sometimes wondered just how many pockets that thing had!) and he had a seat beside her before switching it on. He rolled his eyes and shared a look with her before explaining.

Carter: The `rents. They watch everything I’m on and even though I didn’t tell them we were going to be on the last episode of Climax Control, chances are they watched anyway since they know about our match Sunday.

Ariana: So… you think they saw what happened?

As if to answer, Carter held up his phone so that Ariana could have a look at the screen and her eyes opened wide and lips pursed as a low whistle escaped from them, seeing that Carter had missed almost two dozen messages since the night he had to be admitted to the hospital to be under observation for a possible concussion.

Carter pressed a ‘return call’ button, and switched it to video feed and in no time at all, the familiar face of Carter’s mom Dawn McKinney filled the screen.

Dawn: Carter! Ohmygoodness!  Are you alright!? Your father and I were watching and we saw what that brute did to you…

Carter: Mom… mom….

But every time he tried to get his mother’s attention, she continued to talk over him until he waved his hands in front of the screen and barked ‘mom!’ before she calmed herself.

Carter: MOM! … I’m alright! Really! And Bobbie Dahl did not do that to me. I just fell trying to catch a speeding bullet named Ari!

Carter jetted a thumb to his side, and Ari leaned into the shot so his mom could see his guest and Ariana waved at her with a small, almost apologetic smile since she still blamed herself for Carter being hurt.

Dawn: Oh, hello Ariana dear. Are you alright?

Ariana: I really am, Missus McKinney.

Dawn nodded, then turned a worried eye to her only son.

Dawn: Carter, what were you thinking?

Carter: I was thinking of trying to break Ari’s fall, otherwise she would have taken a nose dive right into that guard rail!

Dawn: But what did the hospital say?

Carter: What makes you think I was in a hospital?

Dawn: Well you had better be young man, or else it just means you were ignoring the messages from me and your father.

Ariana again leaned into the shot so she could whisper just loud enough for both Carter and his mom to hear…

Ariana: Busted!

Carter gave her the ol’ side-eye before he turned back to his mom and he sighed in annoyance.

Carter: Okay, fine. I was in the hospital. But I didn’t have a concussion the doctor said and I didn’t call you yet because I didn’t want you or dad to be worried.

Dawn: You didn’t think we’d be worried after seeing what happened and we weren’t able to get a hold of you?

Ariana tried to repeat her ‘busted’ routine but Carter smirked and gently nudged her back out of the way.

Dawn: And you know how your father and I feel about you wrestling! You could get hurt!

Carter closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath before he opened them again.

Carter: Mom, we’ve been through this. A lot. This is my dream, not yours or dad’s. I put myself through this, earned it all on my own. It would be nice to get at least a little support.

Dawn: Carter, if we didn’t support you at least a little bit, do you think we’d be watching you on TV? At all?

Ariana: She’s got a point.

Dawn: And YOU dear…

Ariana turned to the screen with wide eyes and a soft ‘eep!’

Dawn: You are much too young and pretty to be engaging in such fisticuffs.

Carter turned to Ariana and smiled widely, returning her own mocking words.

Carter: Busted! Hahaha!

But unlike Carter, Ariana could not put up much of a defense. She adored his om too much to get sassy, and Dawn understood. She quickly put Ari out of her misery by turning back to her son.

Dawn: You can’t blame your father and I for worrying about you. We love you. We supported you ever since you told us that you were gay at fifteen.

Carter sighed.

Carter: I know.

Dawn: So just let us be parents and worry about you. It’s what we do best.

Carter smiled.

Carter: Okay.

Dawn then turned to Ariana.

Dawn: And you’re staying with him?

Ariana: Yes ma'am. The doctor wanted him watched for 24 hours after he left the hospital.

Dawn nodded, satisfied.

Dawn: Okay, good. Keep a close watch on my boy. And Carter?

Carter: Hm?

Dawn: Don’t let this happen again? Answer us when something like this happens!

Carter simply nodded, and Dawn’s face softened into a loving and warm smile.

Dawn: Love you!

Carter: Love you too.

He turned his phone off and set it down on the table before turning to Ariana.

Carter: You see the kind of things I have to deal with?

Ariana looked back and forth between Carter and the phone, blinking like her friend was nuts.

Later that night…

In the dead of night, Carter stirred awake in his bed and opened his sleepy eyes -- to find Ariana staring down at him with a mirror under his nose.

Carter: AHH!!

Ariana: AHH!!

And as Ariana fell back off of his bed, Carter’s surprise caused a struggle and him getting entangled in his own bed spread!



“Okay, I get it. I've been hearing it from practically everyone ever since I showed up in Phoenix to accept the open challenge of London Underground. You’ve only had one match whereas London Underground has had many. You've never teamed with Ariana before while London Underground have turned it into an art form. You're only in your first week as an active wrestler where has London Underground has been going for almost 3 years. Trust me, there is nothing that you can tell me that everyone else has it already said before. But you know what I have to say to that?”

“So what? You're out there saying things that you seem to think I haven't thought of myself? I know what situation that Ari and I are in. I know that we are outmatched. I know that we are the underdogs. I know that London Underground has the advantage in this match in every conceivable way! Hell! Ari and I won't even really know who we are up against, whether it will be Daniel or Ousborne, Mackenzie or Charlotte, in this match until literally they make their entrances! That puts the ball entirely in their Court, and how Ari and I react is entirely laid out at our feet! So why did I do this to us? Why did I ‘accept’ the open challenge? The answer is really very simple.”

“Why not?”

“The first goal of every wrestler in this business is to Simply get better. And you're not going to get better unless you get inside of the ring with the very best that the sport has to offer. I understand that, and I am hoping that Ari understands it as well. Did I jump the gun when I accepted the challenge without even discussing it with my best friend first? Maybe. I won't even try to deny that, but I don't regret it. Not for a single moment. I mean, look at what's happened ever since I did it and Daniel Morgan accepted the challenge!”

“Our bosses in Sin City Underground have booked us in and even bigger match, in our mixed tag team match against the Good Shepherds, one of who is the SCU Women’s Combat Champion! Slowly but surely, we're moving up. I haven't been pinned yet, and the only reason my bestie got pinned in her last singles match was because that walking STD had to cheat! I would say that we're doing very well for ourselves, and a lot of that is because of my taking the initiative to step out onto the main stage and stake a claim at a world championship!”

“So Ari and I learned a lot from Gabriel and Odette when they gave us a crash course in tag team wrestling, and that was because of my Ari’s own initiative because I have to admit I wouldn’t have thought of asking. Why, I don’t know because Gabriel and Despayre wrote the book on tag team wrestling and Odette knows Gabriel better than anyone. So the question on everyone’s mind is; are we ready? I’d like to believe so. At least, we’re as ready as we ever will be given the current place we are in our careers, and the fact we are heading right into the unknown.”

“London Underground has a lot going for it, and the biggest edge they have is the Freebird rule they operate under. They’ve shown that they can operate and succeed in any combination between the four, even if there is the slightest level of antagonism between Osbourne and Mackenzie. But where Ari and I are concerned? It’s not business like it is with Daniel Morgan and his employees. Ari and I are best friends. We have been ever since we met at our training. I’m sure there has to be some level of friendship between London Underground, but can they say that they’re as close with one another as Ari and I have been in the past year? Would Charlotte say she loves Daniel the way I can say I love my Ari?”

“I guess we’ll find out come Sunday in Los Angeles. I have always wanted to visit LA! The lights! The glamour! And this weekend? We face the best of the best!”

“What have I gotten us into?”