THE FIRST RUNG OF THE LADDER TO SUCCESS

The sun was out, the children in the park were laughing and it was a gorgeous day to be doing just about anything outside. So, naturally, Matt was indoors sitting near a wrestling ring looking down at his phone. He had spent the better part of the last half an hour answering various ask.fm questions, the newest craze for wrestlers to do to reach out to their fans and peers alike. Now this wasn't something that he often did, because quite frankly he didn't care about his peers and his fans knew all they needed to about him, but he had some time to kill this afternoon so here he was. Weeks before the big show, he had been asked by one of his aforementioned peers, Nessa Wall, to help out for her upcoming big match at the Pay-Per-View. The two of them weren't particularly close, at least he didn't think so, but when a pretty lady asks you for help, you accept it. That'd always been Matt's motto (at least starting right at the time she'd asked him). It seemed like a good motto to follow, at least, and she was certainly pretty enough to warrant his time. Sure, she was engaged to some commentator, but such commitments were a foreign concept and one that he certainly didn't mind breaking, or being part of it.

He looked up from his phone, hearing the doors opening up and seeing the blonde woman approaching. She looked frazzled, for lack of a better word, slightly disheveled in her workout gear even though the pink stripes on her yoga pants were so blindingly bright that they looked brand new. She waved as she crossed the space, an expression of relief seeming to cross her pretty face at the sight of him.

"Oh thank goodness you're here!" She called out. "I've had the worst morning possible. It was almost like the universe was trying to keep me from showing up today."

Matt got up off the chair he was previously occupying as she approached, extended a hand as a greeting. "Oh? The whole universe, you say?" He asked, intrigued. "I must say, if you're able to fend off the entire universe, I'm not sure I can help you with anything, being a mere mortal and all."

Nessa rolled her eyes. "Good to know I can't use any sort of hyperbole with you, Captain Literal." She glanced around the nearly deserted gym, shaking her head. "I guess people have a lot of places they'd rather be..." she trailed off awkwardly before moving in a little closer. "Listen, before we get started, I need to tell you something and I need you to promise me that what I say will stay between us."

"Uhh...okay." He agreed with an eyebrow raised, wondering what could be so important that it warranted a secret, or better yet, why she would trust him with it. In the vaguest of terms, they had known each other for years, that is to say that they had met briefly a few years ago and could now say they had a friendly face backstage now, but to his knowledge they certainly weren't friends. Friends weren't something he had.

"I've been watching your career for a while, Matt," she seemed less awkward now, a smile on her lips as she studied him for a reaction. "That's why I asked you to meet me today. I know this is something you and only you can help me fix." Nessa paused, licking her lips, leaving him to wonder if she'd done it for dramatic effect, even moreso when she whispered the rest, "I've got a paralyzing fear of heights."

"I see." He said, thinking for a second. Helping her learn to wrestle was why he thought he was here, but helping her overcome a fear of heights wasn't going to be easy. "Well that's certainly not a good thing to have in this line of work thanks to all the gimmick matches people like to throw us into. Ladders, cages, even the top rope for that matter. How long have you had this?"

Nessa stared at him for a few seconds, her mind going back to the time she was five, standing on the end of the diving board at the YMCA. She could feel the panic squeezing her chest as she looked down at that artificially blue water, mimicking the feel of those water-wings around her upper arms. The swim instructor was shouting from down below, telling her to just jump and get it over with but the longer she stood there, the higher she seemed to be. Finally, she shook her head and at that moment, two hands came down on her shoulders and shoved her hard. She'd barely missed the edge of board, smacking into the water hard. She remembered swallowing a bunch, coming up coughing. She hadn't wanted to ever go back after that.

She blinked, forcing the memory aside. "A long time. Since I was little."

"I'll assume you mean young." He replied quickly with a smirk, trying to lighten the mood after it took Nessa a good fifteen seconds to answer him. "Well there's no quick fix to this, I suppose, you just have to sort of fight through it when you have to. Okay, hop up on the apron and turn around to face me, okay?"

She nodded, valiantly biting her lip for a second before she let her bag drop from her hand. "I'm also awful at jumping," she tossed over her shoulder, making her way over to the ring only to find that it didn't have any steps. She took a few steps back and then jumped, grabbing the second rope to haul herself into position. "Okay." She flashed him a toothy smile, "now what?"

"Terrible at jumping?" He asked himself as he watched her head over to the ring, she was not as graceful in person as he had thought she would be, but she said she had a terrible morning, so he was going to give her the benefit of the doubt. "How does it feel when you look down at the floor?" He asked, not sure the extent of the height required to be an issue.

"Oh," she laughed, "no, that's fine. It's anything higher than the top rope. That's why I don't usually go higher than the second."

"Oh, well then..." He said, looking around hoping to find a ladder just laying around, but with no luck. "I guess the top rope it is, then." He jumped up on the apron, whether he was showing off or not is anyone's guess, and gets in the ring, holding the ropes for her. "Let's go."

She followed him in, being careful not to get too close even though she was blushing at his courtesy. "Thanks. I really appreciate this. You have no idea how much sleep I've lost worrying about this silly ladder match."

"Oh..." He thought for a second, and decided to just go with it. "Are you sure that you're not losing sleep because you sleep on the top bunk?"

She didn't think about it, just reacted, swatting him in the shoulder. "I'm not twelve. Geez!"

Matt chuckled. "Alright, alright, worth an ask. Well there's your ropes, start climbing. If we have time, I'll show you some leg exercises that might strengthen your thighs so, get some more bounce in your step."

Turning her back to him, Nessa went over to the corner and started to climb, the process slow and almost painful. When she reached the top, she awkwardly turned around, pale as a ghost. From where he stood, he could see her legs shaking as she tried to keep them still. "Oh.....kay. I'm up here. Now what do you want me to do?"

Matt resisted the urge to ask her to do a dance, though it was a tempting thought. "Just stay calm, Nessa. Focus on me and nothing else, okay?" He took a step closer so it would be easier for her.

"Sure. Fine." She spoke through gritted teeth. "Focus on you. I'll try."

"Don't worry Nessa, I'm here for you if anything happens. I'm not going anywhere." He said, reassuringly, getting closer to her. "The key to getting over this, or at the very least dealing with it, is to stay focused on your objective. Now you're going to have to grab a title while you're on the ladder, do you think you can raise your arms now?"

She nodded, wobbling a little even though she regained her balance quickly. "I... think so?" Unfolding her arms from her chest, she raised them as high as shoulder height before stopping, closing her eyes. "Oh shit. Got dizzy there for a second."

"Remember, Nessa, focus on me. I'm standing right here, nothing is going to happen to you, I promise. I'm right here." He was trying to be reassuring, though really he had no idea how to psychologically fix someone's phobia, he was just doing the best he could.

Her blue eyes opened again, locking on his. She was back to biting her lip as she lifted them a little higher, inch by inch until they were fully extended. "Promise... you're not going to let me fall and crack my head open on the floor like a ripe melon?" Her voice shook but she managed a thin smile.

"Of course I won't," he said quickly, but sternly. He could have made a joke there, but he managed to show some restraint, though his mind was coming up with more and more and he watched her. "You're doing good, Nessa, just a little higher." He said as her arms extended.

She stretched up, arching her back, fingers splayed as though she was visualizing that belt she was getting the opportunity to grab. "It's easier when you're talking." That smile was full and bright now, "your voice is actually really soothing."

"Well good news for you is that I love talking, isn't it? I could talk for hours really, but we should really focus on what you're doing instead of my soothing voice, shouldn't we?" He asked, though he had to admit it was quite flattering to be told he had a soothing voice.

"We should..." Nessa blushed, breaking eye contact as she looked down at the canvas, immediately wobbling. Her hands dropped and she crouched quickly, grabbing the ropes on either side of the corner to keep from falling while the vertigo passed. "Crap," she muttered, feeling hopeless and stupid for letting her focus slip so easily.

As she was slipping, Matt was right there to catch her just in case, though a little relieved that wasn't necessary. Once he was sure she was secure, he looked up in her eyes. "So what went wrong?"

"I looked down," she mumbled, her cheeks bright red. "That one thing I knew I shouldn't do. I've seen enough of that trope on TV after all." The fact that he was there was strangely comforting. "I used to do gymnastics. My balance isn't awful, I promise."

"How did you make it through that?" He asked, genuinely interested. "You would think that has a lot of heights in it, no?"

"Not the same. Mostly floor routines. You've seen the thing with the ribbon twirling, I'm sure." She didn't wait for him to answer. "I did rhythmic. Until my boobs started to grow and then I was too top-heavy to compete anymore. I never did anything with the bars or the rings." She tried to steer away from the technical terms in case he'd only seen passing moments in watching past Olympic events. Still crouching, she let go of the ropes and reached up to tuck her hair behind her ears.

"Oh cool, you'll have to show me, sometime." He smiled up at her before remembering he was meant to be helping her. "Okay, well you just have to keep your eyes on me, stay focused and when the time is right, look up to see what you're grabbing. That's all you have to do and then you'll be a winner. You do want to be a winner, right?"

"Of course. That's what I've always wanted." The words came out with a frank honesty that brought the blush back to her cheeks. "I'll never settle for just being adequate. Leave that nonsense to the rest of the pack." Her tone was vehement, "I want to win that championship, Matt... I want to be the best."

"Well to be the best, you have to be able to do this, Nessa. So stand up, reach towards the heavens and grab that brass ring," he all but commanded. It was a little harsher tone than he had been using up to that point, but it was still motivational enough to drive her to try once more.