April 24, 2015

OFF CAMERA: 04-24-2015

Nessa Wall stood in front of the door to her loft, rummaging in her Louis Vuitton purse for the set of keys that she’d dropped inside only a few short minutes ago. Apparently it had become a bag of holding and they’d been devoured in the void because she couldn’t find them at all. “Damnit,” she muttered, resisting the urge to upend the thing on the floor. Instead she cocked her head, hearing a faint sound from inside, almost drowned out by the whirring motor of the elevator as the car started its descent again behind her. Lifting her fist, she knocked on the door.

The sound of the knocking could be heard from within, but not very loudly as the television was blaring commentary from Chris Collinsworth, Matt Stone, the Abominable Showman, playing Madden 15 on his Playstation. He paused the game, checking his watch to see how long it’d been since he ordered his pizza. Grabbing his wallet off the coffee table, he got up off the couch and headed towards the door. He undid the chain lock, something Nessa insisted he use if he were to be at her place and opened the door, seeing her rather than some pizza guy. “Oh, hi there...what are you doing back so soon?” He asked, having bought her a week long trip to a spa for her birthday, the week not being up for another two days.

“Something’s come up,” she said with a tired smile, leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. “And I have to be on a plane for Texas tonight-- I had to cut it short but they said they’d refund you for the days I didn’t use if I’m not planning to come back before the end of May.”

“Something’s come up?” He repeated, looking for details, giving her a look over. “Also, do you not have my pizza?” He gave her a smirk, stepping aside so she could enter her own place, really the least he could do.

She shook her head, laughing. “No, I don’t have your pizza.” Setting her purse down, she stepped out of the way so he could close the door, glancing over at the paused game on the television. “Yes, something that may or may not be exciting has fallen into my lap. Remember CWF? I think I told you about that place once.”

“No, I don’t recall, though it had nothing to do with me, so that’s not really a surprise” He heads back over to the couch , plopping back down, but still glancing over at Nessa to give her his attention. “I’m not sure how I feel about other things being dropped in your lap, but I suppose my jealousy is of little concern.” he finishes with a wink, patting the spot beside him to ask her to join.

She followed him over and sat down, pulling her legs up under her as she leaned against him. “It’s not something you should be jealous about, really. It’s… well… they asked me to fill in as their Vice President. It’s not really a permanent position but it is a great opportunity to make a difference. They have potential and if I can just get them to see how silly it is to force their women to compete in a segregated division…” Nessa laughed, “it would be a victory for female wrestlers everywhere!”

“I’ll bypass the segregated woman joke I’m sure you don’t want to hear and skip right to the congratulations part.” He said, pulling her closer and kissing her forehead. “That’s great for you, though I’m sure it’s going to take up a lot of your time, how long are you going to be in Texas for?”

“Just the weekend, although I might have to go back before Fearless to finalise paperwork and all that nonsense. I’m not sure. If anything, I’ll be there Sunday though, I promise-- I wouldn’t miss your moment of triumph for anything.” She sighed in contentment, closing her eyes. “I missed you, Matthew.”

“Well I hope your spa treatment was good, at least.” He offered, holding her close. “And I missed you too, as you can see I was vigorously training in your absence…” He said, glancing over at the video game he was just playing as if it was his training.

“Oh definitely,” she let out a little laugh, “I can see you’ve been hard at work. And yeah, they were wonderful. I’d definitely go back. My skin feels as soft as a newborn’s and they were utterly amazing at massages.”

“Not as good as me, I bet, but as long as you enjoyed it, that’s all that matters. How long before you have to go back out?” He asked, curious how much time he had with her.

“Flight leaves at ten tonight… latest one I could get, unfortunately. We’ve got time enough, anyhow.” She smiled up at him, “hope that won’t be an issue… I know you wanted to focus on getting ready for your match and all.”

“No, not at all, you can get up and pay for the pizza when it comes” he remarks, tossing his wallet in her lap. “Any word on how much being a vice president will net you? It’s got to be a pretty good paying job, right?”

“It is.” She nodded, grinning, “enough to afford more Louboutins, at any rate. I’ll find out the final figure when I get there since I also get a cut of the merchandising and a finder’s fee for any talent I recruit and bring in that actually makes it. It’s going to be exciting!”

“I like how you count money in shoes rather than in numbers like a regular person, one of the many reasons you’re adorable.” He adds, hearing his phone go off, which was all the way across the couch. “Can you grab that for me? It’s probably just a twitter notification.”

Nessa grabbed his phone, swiping across the screen to wake it up before staring at the message on the screen. “It’s a text message,” she struggled to keep her voice level, “from Val… ‘need to see you. Be at Lozano & Co....yesterday. Translation: NOW!’ Oh how adorable, she even closed it off with a winking emoji. I don’t even want to guess what that means.”

“Well,” he started, looking at the phone. “I’m guessing it means she wants me to fly out to LA as quickly as possible so she can get some final preparation done for her title match. I think the winky face is there because she realizes that getting there yesterday wouldn’t be possible. She has a weird way of being playful.” He says, trying to make sure Nessa doesn’t get the wrong idea about his working relationship with Valentina.

“I see. She’s playful, is she?” Biting her lip, she glanced back at the television and thankfully was saved by the knock on the door. “Oh, that must be your pizza.” Grabbing his wallet, she dropped his cell phone into his lap and made her way over to the door. Out of spite, she tipped the boy double what she knew he would have, using his own money before kicking the door shut and locking it again. With pizza in hand, she walked back over, feeling her stomach rumble at the smell of it.

“Not really” he fired back before the knock at the door, which thankfully interrupted the bit of awkwardness going on, and giving him an ideal opportunity to watch the blonde beauty get up and walk over to the door. He turned off his game, obvious to the fact that Nessa was being her most generous self and watched her bring back his precious. “I suppose I should get us plates, right? Only barbarians eat out of the box.” Despite that that clearly was his plan, he got up to retrieve them some plates.

She opened it, surprised that he hadn’t gotten anything strange. As though it was a force of habit now, half of the pie was just tomatoes and bacon, the way she usually ordered it. “You must’ve told them ‘the usual’,” she called after him, almost forgetting all about her jealousy over Valentina.

“Oh, I guess so,” He called back, heading into the room with two plates and a handful of napkins, another Nessa inspired rule, not like a man. “So yeah,” he started, sitting down beside her. “Guess I’ll have to head out then too at some point.”

“Well at least we can carpool to the airport.” She tried for a smile, feeling almost disappointed.

“Well I’m not going to go tonight, she can wait for tomorrow, but I’ll drive you down when you need to go, no problem.” He handed her a plate, grabbing a slice and tossing it on his own. “Have you been paying attention to Harmony and Mika and all?” He asked, wanting to change the subject.

“Honestly?” She laughed, shaking her head. “I’ve been doing my best not to.”

“So you see the craziness that I’ve tried to shelter you from? You’re better than those people, Nessa, those crazy, crazy people. They’d only hold you back, I’m sure, while I’m here to nudge you forward.”

“And this is why you’re the best partner and manager and human being on the planet, darling.” She grabbed two slices of the pizza and put them on her plate.

“You have such a great way of worshiping me, I adore it. You’re all of those things to me, too. This was certainly a nice surprise seeing you tonight, thanks for coming back early.”

“I could have gone straight from the spa,” she said softly, “my bags are already packed, after all. I just needed to see you.”

“Well your needs are my command, my queen. Anything else I can do for you, perhaps fluff your couch cushion?” He asked, sounding as sincere as one can when asking such ridiculous things.

“The cushions are fine,” she replied with a smile. “I’ll settle for the sound of your voice and your smile, if it’s all the same to you.”

“The sound of my voice? You and I have that in common, then, my voice is simply divine, eh?” He asked with a smirk before taking a bite into his meat lovers slice, the best of all the slices.

She watched him for a few seconds before digging into her own, polishing off the first piece as though she’d been starved half to death for the last few days. “Oh God… so delicious.”

“I bet they wouldn’t let you eat anything like this at the spa, only healthy food and figure watching, I bet. Not here, not in the real world where we stuff our faces with pure deliciousness.”

“They had a delightful pomegranate and kale juice cleanse.” Nessa replied, “but it didn’t have any artery-clogging cheese on it.”

“I’m not even going to pretend I know what kale juice is, though is sounds gross. I am glad your arteries weren’t clogged, though, that’s always a plus.” He says, finishing off some pizza of his own.

“It’s a hideous shade of green, that’s what. And no, I doubt you’d like it.” Setting down the crust from her first piece, she looked up at him. “Are you ready for this match, honey? In all honesty, are you?”

“I think so, pretty sure, even. I’ve got Linda pulling out her hair in frustration and Misty is as silent as ever, so who the hell knows what she’s thinking, but I’m not about to let this slide through my fingers. Not again, anyway.”

She nodded, “good. That’s what I like to hear. Take it from that stupid little bitch and never let it go.”

“That’s the plan, though to be honest, I don’t care which of the two I beat. If Misty is in a position to lose, I’ll take it. If Linda’s in a position to lose, I’ll take that too. My main goal is that title, by any means necessary.”

“By any means should always be the way to go,” Nessa replied with a sage nod. “Believe me.”

“Well I should have just rolled you up the last time, but oh well.” He said slyly, looking over at her with a smug look on his face, as if saying he could have easily beaten her.

“Them’s fightin’ words, sweetie.” She chided, reaching for another slice of pizza.

“Fighting words? You want to test your might against the mighty Matt Stone? Have you no will to live, all of a sudden?” His voice was as booming and condescending as he could make it with pizza being chewed.

“Hah!” She faked laughing, “you and what army?”

“You think I need an army? Babe, I am an army, I’m the...well you know who I am, I’m too apathetic to go into it all now. Sufficient to say, I’m the next Pride champion, and I shan’t require an army to do it.”

She nodded. “Absolutely, honey,” she was mildly patronizing, “you’ve got this.”

“Well I appreciate your support, I know I’ve always got it, don’t I?” He asked, looking for reassurment for some reason, though not being forthcoming with why.

“Of course you do. Why would you even ask that?” She felt a little prickle of fear that had her pushing the plate away, her appetite suddenly fading.

“Just checking” he replied, nonchalantly. “Sometimes vocalizing is better than just presuming, you know?” He asked rhetorically, not really expecting an answer from Nessa.

“Mmmhmm,” she nodded. “Just like I know I have yours. Right?”

“I’m here for you in all of your endeavors, vice presidency and everything. I won’t just drive anyone to the airport,” he says with a wink.

“And that’s why I love you,” she winked back, “you’re unbelievably supportive. I just couldn’t imagine having any of the success I’ve had over the last year without you being a part of my life. You’re my good luck charm, sweetie.”

“Well that’s true, no arguing that” he adds, remembering back on all he’s done for her. “But helping you out has been mutually beneficial, I believe. You’ve gotten praise and I’ve gotten you.” He finishes, smiling at his princess, just admiring her for a moment.

“And soon you’ll get the best prize of all,” she replied and then paused, feeling a tickle in her nose a split second before she unleashed a sneeze that she didn’t have time to cover. “AHCHOO!” Shaking her head, she couldn’t help but laugh at the timing, “not that, of course. The Pride Championship.”

Matt just shakes his head, smiling at her. “Bless you, babe. That’s the Nessa I know…” he says, noticing the pizza was in her line of fire. “Let’s call them both the best prize ever. Now that that’s done, we can do something else…” taking her hand, he starts leading her to the bedroom as we fade to black.