Episode Two - Persistence is Key

Another joint piece with that Kasey chick. She's alright her. Originally this was about twice the size, but the next half will get its own post instead - and will include the infamous American Tommy. Yea, I bet you're all pumped for that.



The alarm shrieked and Akragth woke with a start. Through his morning squint, he looked at the display. 6am. Annoyed by its screeching, he reached over and smashed his fist down on the device.

Breakfast brought cold oatmeal. A carefully created, well balanced breakfast that he had organised the night before. Akragth sat at his table, overlooking the city. He dug the spoon deep into the bowl and scooped up some of thick gloop. Looking down, he spotted his daily newspaper. Some bullshit about the election like usual. He flipped the paper over. Back sheets, sport section. Square and centre, a picture of Amis Shelton grinning like a tool with his title belt. Must have been a slow news day in Boston.

Ak scoffed and shook his head. The dude has what, four months of relative success and thinks he’s the shit? How many matches had that kid even had, anyway? Hardly a storied career, was it? Not like his own career.

He looked over to his half of the BFW World Tag Team Championship. How many titles had he won now? Dozens. AFC, TFI, GEW, and now BFW. Probably more places besides that, too.

His belly full, Ak checked his phone. Eight missed calls. Six from Sophia - again. What did she want this time, he wondered. Damn her. The other two, though...they were both from the same unknown number.

Akragth yawned and then pocketed the phone. He had no intention of calling Sophia back, and the mystery calls would have to be something he solved later. For now, he had a long day of training ahead. A champion can’t slack off in their regime - and he had no intention of giving up his title at the first opportunity, unlike the others in the promotion.

His gym gear on, Ak headed to his elevator.

---

Downstairs, the elevator’s doors parted to reveal the security guy sat at his desk. The sharply dressed man nodded politely and smiled like an idiot.

“Good morning, sir,” he said. He wasn’t from these parts, not with that accent. Ak had never asked him about that though. Hell, he could barely even remember the guy’s name. Jameson? Jackson? Eh, who cares?

Akragth gave a sort of half smile back, before trying to hurriedly rush by the man with being forced further toward a conversation.

“Uh, um, s-sorry, but...” The man stuttered as Ak looked at him. Conversation it was then, curse him.

“Yes?” Ak asked.

“I, we got a call for you a little time ago. A lady. Sounded fairly young.. She left a message.” The man held a piece of paper out. Akragth unfolded it with a quick flick of his finger.

‘Tried to call, but couldn’t get through. I’m in town again and was hoping to train more? You have my number now, call me. Kasey xx’

Ak closed his eyes and cursed under his breath. How had she even gotten his number? Old Jimmy? Had to be...bastard. His fist tightened around the note until it crumpled. “Thanks…” he muttered as he moved toward the front doors to his apartment building.

Kasey was persistent, Ak had to give her that. And it wasn’t that he didn’t want to try the young lady. Quite the opposite, really--he had learned a respect for her ability since their last training session, including watchin her most recent match, a tidy victory in a 2 minute squash. But he wasn’t one for socialising. History had shown, loud and clear, that the only person he can rely on is himself. Letting her get close was...well, no matter, he wouldn’t let that happen. No, instead he’d make her wait before responding - if he responded at all. Perhaps she’d decide to move on by herself.

---

The automatic doors slide aside and Akragth walked out into the morning sun, an almost blinding light as it reflected off the tall buildings surrounding him. He squinted for a second and then his focus was immediately drawn elsewhere. He cursed again.

‘Move on by herself’, he repeated in his mind. Guess not. Kasey obviously had other ideas - there she was, sat on a bench, a large bag beside her, legs crossed, eyes down at her phone. Ak bit his lip a little, then took another step forward, before she spotted him. She jumped up and ran straight at him, wrapping both arms around around his broad shoulders. He stood there, unmoving, stunned, awkward.

She was oblivious to his discomfort, an almost giddily relieved laugh bubbling up as she took a half step back. “I was sorta bored.” The explanation issued forth with another soft laugh, “and I figured if I kinda like camped out, I'd eventually… you know… like find you. Or you'd trip over me or something because I tried to call but…I wasn't sure you… well your outgoing message is uhm… so hi.”

Akragth remained almost rooted to the spot. She had come to find him? That was...unexpected, though not entirely surprising. He felt a smile trying to work its way to his face, but he maintained his stern look.

“So you’re following me now?” He looked at her with a deadpan expression.

Kasey blanched, actually looking horrified at the implication. “Oh no. No. No.” She shook her head vehemently. “I would never… I'm so not a stalker or anything. I just…” she trailed off, biting her lip, “oh man. You don't think I'm crazy, do you?”

The shift in mood was so abrupt that it left Ak feeling unsettled. After a few moments of hesitation, something within him relented. “No…” said. “I just...you’re dedicated, I have to give you that. That’s good, you’ll need that sort of drive if you want to capture success in this industry.”

Still feeling awkward by the whole thing, Ak brushed past her. “Come on then.” She quickly retrieved her bag and ran up behind him, a coffee cup in either hand and it was a testament to that sort of awkward grace of hers that she didn’t spill any as she thrust one out at him.

“I didn’t figure you’d want it watered down any so… I got yours black. You know, because you’re strong and kinda scowly and you probably like your coffee like a slap in the face. But if you need sugar, I have some in my bag. Somewhere. I think.” She was almost scrambling to match her stride to his, talking a mile a minute.

Akragth took the cup without looking back. “You worry too much. Always trying to impress, to make people think positively of you.” He scoffed. “But that’s all bullshit. People will treat you however they wanna, no matter what you say. Me? I’m not impressed by you trying to cater to my needs. You know why? Because I look after myself, always have.”

He stopped abruptly, and she almost bumped into him. He turned to look at her now. “But what does impress me, what I can respect, is someone who has the drive, the ability to take what they want from this life. Fact is that nothing comes free, and to succeed means fighting against the odds.

“Are you that person? I’m not sure yet. I think you can be, though.” He can see she was taken a little aback. “Look, what I mean is, don’t worry about the sugar or the coffee, or if you’re doing something that’ll upset me or piss me off. If you’re going to keep going with me, if you really are who you claim you want to be, then cast your worries away and turn your focus toward how you can take what you want from your life and your career.”

“Oh.” She bit her lip, toying with the disposable lid, “well, it wasn’t a matter of trying to impress. I just… I thought it would be impolite to show up and be all drinking one and not offer. And I mean, I do kinda want you to like me. I know you think that’s dumb or childish or whatever like that Genocide guy said I was but I mean the world is a big pile of shit and it’s really not all that necessary to add to the pile with more negativity, you know?” She frowned, taking a sip of her coffee before making a face, “oh, yuck. Okay, maybe don’t drink yours. It’s all cold-- I just think maybe unless someone’s earned my hate, what’s the point in wasting that energy, you know? So if that makes me Suzy Fuckin’ Sunshine, so be it.”

Akragth sighed a little. But to cook an omelette you have to break the egg. “That’s just it, though. You’re too damn...nice. People will take advantage of that, you know? And I’m not saying this because it’s dumb, or childish. I’m saying it because it’ll hurt you in the end. Trust me on that. I just...I’m trying to teach you how to protect yourself. Not just in the ring,” he pressed a finger against her temple, “but here, too.”

She swatted his hand away, eyes narrowing and for a moment she didn’t really realise what she’d done. “I’m not some stupid baby. God… I’m almost twenty-five.”

The fire had returned. Good, she would need it if she was to get anywhere. And if he had to provoke her to get her fired up? Well, so be it. “You’re right. A near twenty-five years on this planet, and yet you still concern yourself more with the welfare of others than with your own well being, your own success. You spend all this time flustered, trying to appease everyone, and yet...how many even notice you? How many care? How many are grateful?” He shook his head. “When will you learn?”

“None,” she snapped, resisting the urge to whip that arctic coffee at him, “that’s how many give a shit. Yeah, I got all sorts of ‘get well soon’ wishes last year, when I got hurt. It was on TV and it was a big company. People cared… on the surface. They were measuring themselves against me, thinking how grateful, how thankful they were to not be in my shoes. So, yeah, maybe I’m a little worried I’m going to come on too strong, too dorktacular weird and I’m gonna scare you away… I don’t even know. So if you think I’m annoying… I’ll try harder to be more like the kind of person you’d want hanging around. Okay?”

“Precisely my point. They pretended to care, but really they just pitied you. Me? I don’t pity you. You got hurt, happens to the best of us. What matters is that you came back. I’ve asked this before, but now I’m asking again--what are you looking for? Why are you here, Kasey?”

“You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you.” Her voice came out softer than before, “and it's probably a dumb reason but I guess…if you really have to know, I'll tell you. If it matters that much. But you have to promise you won't laugh. Okay?”

Akragth frowned. “Do you know me so little as to think that I’d laugh at you?” He almost felt offended by the idea of such pettiness.

“You just got finished telling me how people suck and they’re out to eat my soul or whatever, and now you’re pissy that I don’t trust you?”

“People, yes, but not…” he sort of just trailed off. “Nevermind, go on.”

Kasey shook her head, rolling her eyes. “Okay, I’m gonna give you the short version because… really? I get the impression less is more right now. My uncle was Billy Starr. You might have heard of him. He was a big thing back in the late 90’s, early 2000’s. He… there… okay, maybe I have to tell you a bit more. There was a car accident, okay? When I was fourteen. And I ended up going to Phoenix to live with him, at the school. Wild Ones Wrestling Academy.” The more she talked, the lower her voice got, until she was almost whispering the words, her eyes squeezing shut for a second as she dragged in a deep breath.

“I’m listening…” he said. His voice was almost soft now. The anguish on her face was obvious--even for him. And there was just something about her that made him care. Why? Why did he care? Moreover, why did he not seem to mind caring?

“I was… that was a really shitty year. I mean, I was angry. All the time. So Uncle Billy let me start training. I guess he figured I’d get the fight out of my system and that would be that but I really… like I really, really loved it. I watched hours and hours of tape and I learned everything I could about reversals and taking bumps the right way and I helped him with the new recruits he trained. I’d get in there and throw down and… they were sloppy and I would help them not be and so… uhm… in 2009 there was this guy who came and trained with us.

“He just got his break at the big time and he was trying to make sure he was ready-- maybe you’ve heard of him-- Lex Collins. So… I… kinda had this super huge crush on him and I like begged him to let me go on the road with him for the summer and we had this huge fight about it because he thought Lex was going to like corrupt me or whatever and so I just left. In the middle of the night and he was so pissed he didn’t talk to me for weeks. Months… and then… while we were… there was a fire at the school. And… my uncle died.”

Ak inhaled deeply. Tears were welling in Kasey’s eyes. “I...I’m sorry. I guess tragedy has helped shape us both into who we are.” He took her by the arm and pulled her toward a bus stop. She sat beside him and he took a tissue from his bag and handed it over to her.

She sniffled, wiping her nose, “so, I got into it… because of him. To honour his memory. And I just keep royally fucking up over and over and it’s like… I need to get the dedication right. You know? Because he deserves something better than...”

“Than...this.” Akragth slowly, knowingly nodded. She really wasn’t so different to him. Is that why there was this...connection? “If this tragedy is what drives you, this regret, this feeling of emptiness, then that is what we must focus on.  Forget about pleasing people and trying to be their friend. Think about you. Think about your loss, your pain. Use that to drive you, to give you a purpose. You know?”

“I know.” She stared down at her lap, feeling foolish for laying it all out for him. “It’s just… sometimes… I don’t wanna be alone, you know? I just want someone I can talk to. Or someone I can just sit with who gets… who gets what this all means. And maybe that’s dumb because I mean, you’re okay. You’re pretty much this whole lone wolf guy and you’re really awesome. You… I wanna be like you. Like who you are right now. When there aren’t any people watching… when there aren’t any titles on the line or cameras rolling.”

Akragth chuckled for a moment. “Trust me, you don’t want to be like me. Not in every sense, at least.” Kasey sniffled. “But...I can get where you’re coming from. I thought you had people you can talk to though--that you trust? What about, uh, Landon?”

“There's Landon. And Saffy. And maybe Grace at the FLW school but…they… can I be honest? It feels like it's only a matter of time before they turn on me. I mean my track record… with… uhm… my love life? Epic fail.” She shrugged as if that wasn't a big deal,more resigned than sad. “It is what it is, you know?”

“Yea...yea, I know.” He looked down at the concrete beneath them. There was a momentary silence. “I was...there was a girl. We were...I dunno what we were. For years she was my guide, my anchor - you know? But we've grown apart. She didn’t agree with some of the decisions I've made recently.

“And now, now she’s gone. I mean, she tries to call, but it ends up as an argument, so what’s the point?” He sat back and exhaled. “There have been others, too. Point is, I understand what you’re saying…”

Impulsively she reached over and took his hand, giving it a squeeze. “Sometimes it's less complicated to just be alone. I have a cat. So that's good.”

“Yea, I…” He stared into space for a moment before looking down, and seemed to snap back to his normal self. He abruptly pulled the hand away and stood. “We...we should get to the gym. We’ve both got a long day ahead…”

Kasey nodded and stood.

“Umm, I, I enjoyed this chat." She smiled. He turned to walk on. "Maybe later,” she hesitated for a second, “we could get dinner? My treat. If you want to, you know? Like maybe…there's a steak place that looks good. I saw a review on Yelp. But only if you want to.”

Akragth stopped in his tracks. He half looked back. Dinner with her? Not exactly what he had intended, but...ehh, what was the harm? She seemed interesting enough. What the hell, right? He nodded. "If you put the work in today then yea...fine."