(RE)UNITED: PART THREE (PLACES TO BE)

Last week did not go according to plan at all. Matt Stone lost his match to Cameron and looked like a fool in the process. The only silver lining was that he managed to hit Cameron so hard in the head that he picked some random person to be his partner instead of Ella, causing much controversy in the locker room and over social media and that distraction gave him and Nessa the edge for their title defense. In light of his loss though, he wasn't willing to take any chances, heading over to Nessa's place bright and early to get a jump on training for the week, they had a lot to go over and a short amount of time to do so, Nessa being sick over the past week did not do them any favours in preparation and they barely had time to even celebrate their win as a team. There'd be time for that Saturday though if all went right. He walked up the stone steps towards her front door, ringing the bell and checking his watch. 8:02 in the morning, plenty of time to get work in today.

The door opened almost immediately, almost as if she'd been expecting him. The look on her face though, that didn't seem welcoming at all. In fact, she seemed distracted as though she was in a hurry. "Oh," she looked over his shoulder, seeing that the street was still empty. "Matt, hi. I wasn't expecting you."

"Uhh...hi?' He questioned, turning around to see what she was looking at before looking back. "You weren't expecting me? It's Monday and we have a title defense, what kind of partner would I be if I wasn't here first thing to go to the gym with you? Figured we could grab breakfast on the way there."

"I probably should have texted you but with being sick last week I completely forgot. Brie-" she cut herself off, correcting herself, "Sabrina. You know. Michel's sister. She's returning to the ring tonight in Montreal and she expects me to be there." Nessa bit her lip, looking down as she tugged the smallest of her suitcases closer to her leg. "It's just for the night. I'll be back tomorrow night. I promise. So we'll only..."

"Wait." He started, not caring to hear the rest of what Nessa had to say. "So you're going to be gone all day today and tomorrow so that you can watch the sister of the man with whom you broke off an engagement compete rather than train for the tag title defense that we have this week. After, and I'm sure I don't need to remind you of this, you spent the majority of the last week laying in bed?"

"I... uhm... technically..." Nessa failed to meet his gaze, "might not have technically broken it off yet. I've just been avoiding him entirely." She forced a smile, "but otherwise, I suppose you're right. I did do some light yoga last week but nothing too strenuous."

"I see." He said, as coldly as the breeze was on this late October morning in Toronto. "Well far be it for me to stand in your way of having fun. I should probably go, though. Someone ought to be in the gym today, anyway."

"Matt," Nessa stepped out onto the porch, letting the screen door bang shut behind her. "It's not like that. It's not about fun. It's... I promised her. I made a-" she stopped herself before saying commitment because the look on his face could have melted steel beams. "I'm not going to let you down, okay?"

"Well you left me alone out there while Ella was in Cameron's corner, and now you're ditching literally half of our training time so someone you barely hang out with anymore can do something completely independent from you while you watch. You can't let me down this time, Nessa. That implies I had expectations for you in the first place." Matt turns to leave, taking a few steps before peering back over his shoulder. "Enjoy your trip." He finishes before heading down the path.

"Wait!" Her voice rang out on the quiet street. He heard her shoes pounding down the stairs and then she grabbed the back of his jacket. "I didn't go to the arena because I didn't want to distract you. That's the honest truth. The last thing you needed out there was me sneezing all over the place when you were trying to focus on beating that stupid little boy. Okay? If you wanted me there, you could have asked. But you didn't. And I can't read minds." She was breathing hard, the words all coming out in a rush.

"You didn't want to distract me?" He repeated like an echo, raising an eyebrow. "Well that's nice, kind of you to keep your sickness to yourself. And I suppose you don't want to distract me at the gym, either, right? I mean, it makes sense. Seeing the great Nessa Wall all sweaty and working out, that's enough to distract anyone, right? Well I suppose I should be thanking you, then, for having my best interests at heart, right? Thanks, Ness. Really."

"I didn't mean it like that." She let her hand drop, sighing. "I need to go to Montreal. I've got to cut the last of my ties to that family. Once and for all. I'll be back tomorrow and we'll have the rest of the week to get ready. That's enough time because you're one of the best wrestlers out there."

"Well then you do it, Nessa. I'll keep training so that I can be one of the best, you just try not to get sick again, alright?" He asked, once again turning to leave, not needing to hear her answer. He had an Egg McMuffin to get.

She opened her mouth to try and bridge the gulf she could feel between them but the cab she'd called chose that moment to pull up at the curb. "Drive safe!" She called after him before turning back to the house to go get the suitcase she'd left inside the door.

He just gave her a fleeting thumbs-up as he made it back to his own car, opening the door and getting in, thinking about what just happened and how he'll have to readjust his own plans now. If she wasn't going to be part of the team, then he'd have to carry the whole team himself, a far cry from what he was approached about doing with her months ago. Seemed like once they won the tag titles she didn't care so much about putting in the work, but he did. He's seen many champions go down the same road as Nessa was now and it never helped them. Now wasn't the time to get bitter though, it was the time to put in the work and get ready for what was shaping up to be the fight of his life.