“If you’re watching this, I’m going to apologize for this upfront for leading you here under false pretenses. If you’re willing to play along and listen for a bit, I promise it’ll be worth your while.”
Betsy peers into the camera of her laptop and bites nervously on her lower lip.
“Let this live stream serve as a confession that I, Betsy Granger, would like to tell the world my side of the story... Whatever the hell that ends up being. Look,” she says, leaning forward a bit. “Reality is ripping itself apart and I... I can’t even tell what’s real anymore. Realities are blending together faster than I can repair what I broke.”
Her hands ball into a fist on top of the table.
“Stay with me and have a seat, you’re not going to be on your feet for this wild ride...”
****
The scene opens with a group of young adults training rigorously in the ring. On one side, standing arm in arm as they are normally found, are PWE’s breakout talents Xaria Linette and Betsy Granger. Standing on the opposite side, with her usual sourpuss expression is Betsy’s chief rival, Kayla Richards. Next to her in his usual spot at her hip is her boyfriend, Billy Danielson. Off to the side are their main trainers, Shawn Warstein and Kasey Winterborn, the couple who had started up the training program out of their own basement. Ophelia and Charlie had been so taken with the idea, they were eager to fund it under the PWE banner, and well...
Here we are.
As James Raven and Lewis Chad Pinkson sparred in the center of the ring, Xaria leans close to Betsy and whispers loudly in her ear. “Why exactly can’t you sneak away to go camping with me and my family this weekend?” she inquires in her delightful French accent.
Turning her head to hide the strained expression at the question, Betsy struggles to find an answer that wouldn’t hurt her friend's feelings. “I have a date... with on of the Fight! NYC guys.” she says quickly, instantly regretting the lie when Xaria rounds on her.
“How did YOU get connected with anyone on THAT level?” Xaria pushes, clearly suspicious of Betsy’s sudden stroke of luck with men.
“You know how all these feds are starting to intermingle with one another... I happened to be in the right place at the right time, what else can I say?” Betsy says, hoping to steer Xaria away from the topic.
She wasn’t to be deterred. “Who he is? How you met? How long have you been talking?” a perfectly groomed eyebrow quirked upward. “Have you done anything with him yet?”
“Christ girl, is this the third degree? I can’t tell you who he is, he made me promise to keep it on the DL.” Xaria’s eyes narrow suspiciously, but she gestures for Betsy to go on. “We met after one of the Venom’s while you were off doing who knows what. Been texting since then, but haven’t seen him since that night... Hence, the meet-up this weekend. Which means NOTHING has happened.” she adds this last quickly as Xaria opens her mouth to probe further.
Giggling, Xaria shakes Betsy playfully before catching Kayla’s sour gaze. Turning her full body towards the couple, Xaria shakes her chest at them. “Like what you see over there? Turn that glare somewhere else, toots.”
Huffing, Kayla storms off, followed closely by Billy and several of the other students. Rolling her eyes dramatically, Xaria turns back to Betsy who is attempting to hide her laughter. “You ever wonder if her Vag is as tightly scrunched as her face is all the time?”
Xaria chokes on the water she’d been spitting on; reaching out with lightning speed, she slaps Betsy playfully as she recovers and begins laughing. “Girl... Come on, they’re waving for us to get in there.”
Indeed, Shawn had turned towards the chatting girls and motioned for them to get in the ring the boys had just vacated. As Betsy and James passed by one another, they exchanged an awkward smile but still no words. Suppressing a disappointed sigh, Betsy climbs in the ring and looks down at her best friend with a grin as they assume their positions.
****
“As you can tell by now, all these realities I fall into still seem to find me squaring off with Kayla. It seems that in every universe I travel to, I find you... And you hate me. It’s an interesting thing because I’m never quite sure why. The way you ramble on about violence, gore, I hate this person for whatever stupid reason went through your barely functional brain; you really need to calm the fuck down every once in a while.
For someone with a fiance that seems to enjoy you physically, you’ve got the sandiest vagina of any woman I’ve ever met.
Your mere existence in my life is an obnoxious, confusing conundrum.
Or it was until I started to see a pattern form through these universes. So, Kayla... If you’re still with me, allow me to continue on this weird journey. Because like it or not, you’ve been pulled into it with me.
So, whether I like it or not, you’ve become my problem on a much bigger scale than the problem you think you are.”
****
Over the weekend, while Xaria was away, Betsy decided to take the short trip home to visit with her parents. Excited to see her, they set up her old room and left her pile of mail on her dresser. At the top of the stack was a bright purple envelope that came from her grandmother. With a grin, she walks over and sinks down onto the bed as she uses her nail to open it up and pull out the card inside.
“Just a Reminder to Always Smile and Stay Happy!” the front declares in neon purple scrawl against a pink background. Leave it to Grams to pick the most blinding color scheme, Betsy thinks with an affectionate chuckle. She opens the card and is instantly attacked with the last song she expected to hear.
“Huh (Because I'm happy)
Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof
(Because I'm happy)
Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth
(Because I'm happy)
Clap along if you know what happiness is to you
(Because I'm happy)
Clap along if you feel like that's what you wanna do”
“Aaaahhh, fucks sake Grams!” Betsy hisses, closing the card and tossing it aside.Looking around her room, she gets up again and starts walking around. Touching her curtains, she wonders over the fabric for a few moments before letting her eyes roam to her closet. It was a lot emptier than it had once been, save for her sister’s cheerleader uniform and a few jackets. As frustration bubbles from her boredom, her eyes fall on the card again. Picking it up, she runs her fingernail over the letters before opening it up. Allowing the song to play a bunch of times, she starts to let it grow on her.
****
By the end of the weekend, the song was kept on repeat on her playlist.
****
“So... How did your date go?” Xaria asks, wasting no time after cornering Betsy in the women's locker room.
“Well... He took me to dinner at this really great place in the valley. Ordered the most expensive thing on the menu and even had a little wine.” Betsy says, widening her eyes for dramatic effect.
"You wild thing,” Xaria says sarcastically, thumping Betsy playfully on the shoulder. “So, you had a little wine to loosen things up... Then what?”
And from there, Betsy just went loose on a story of a romantic night under the stars ending in passion. Xaria’s gasp of surprise cuts her off; for a moment, Betsy worries that her lie might have gone too far. But a moment later, Xaria’s beaming face is inches away as she shakes her friend roughly. “You slut, you went all the way on the first date? Girl, he must really be something special!”
“Well... Yeah.” Betsy stammers, managing to slip out of Xaria’s grip. “Look, he still wants to keep it under wraps, and to be honest, so do I...”
Which is of course, the moment Kayla saunters out of the showers wrapped up in a towel. The smile on her face could have rivaled that of the Cheshire Cat. Betsy’s mouth snaps shut as her stomach sinks while Xaria glares at the brunette and crosses her arms. “Can we help you?”
“I’m not the one who needs help, from the sounds of it. Giving it away to one of the big dogs on the first date; you know he’ll never call you again, right? What was the point of this little venture, to get ahead of the rest of us?” Kayla’s smirk grows smugger as she flicks her wet hair towards them. “Pathetic, Granger. And they give me grief for being open about my back-handed bullshit.”
“Kayla, it’s not what you think...” Betsy starts, but Kayla’s snickers loudly, holding up a hand.
“You don’t have to explain yourself to me, Backseat Betsy; I grew up in this business. I’ve seen women operate like you my entire life.” Kayla says, her voice full of scorn.
“If you don’t back off right now, that towel is going to end up around your throat,” Xaria growls, stepping between the two women.
Kayla grins from around Xaria’s shoulder at Betsy. “Don’t worry, Bets... This will be our little secret.”
Laughing wickedly, Kayla slinks out of the room and heads towards the private area she and Billy tended to share. Betsy looks over at Xaria, who is still glaring hatefully at the door. “Don’t even worry about her, Bets. Get it off your mind, we have a party to get ready for!”
Nodding uneasily, Betsy allows Xaria to guide her back towards the showers. She barely registers Xaria’s excited chirping as she wonders how long it would take Kayla to spread her creations around...
****
“As you can imagine, it didn’t take very long. Much like our Kayla here, the Kayla of this story has a mouth as big and lips as loose. I’ll bet her gag reflex is nonexistent.”
Smirking, Betsy holds a finger playfully to her lips for a moment before continuing.
“So, at the party, I ended up running into some more familiar figures. And needless to say, that’s when things took a bit of a weird turn....”
****
As the party raged on, Betsy desired nothing more than to disappear in the walls. She had feared that Kayla would waste no time putting the word out and she hadn’t been let down. As soon as she and Xaria had walked through the doors of the party, several people stopped and turned their heads in her direction. As they passed by, she caught most of them hiding their mouth behind their hands to whisper excitedly as they continued to stare. Xaria had stuck it out with her for quite some time, but when her crush William had come calling, she was gone with little more than an apologetic smile.
Sipping on the drink she’d managed to find herself; Betsy stares out in wonder at the people who had showed up. Her heart fluttered when she’d spotted James surrounded by his usual gaggle of friends and admirers. Several of the girls in barely-there dresses were dancing with drinks in their hands, casting glances at the guys from under fake eyelashes.
“It’s all a bit stupid, isn’t it?” A voice close to her ear inquires, causing her to jump. Lewis Chad Pinkston holds up his hands. “My fault, I thought you’d heard me approach.”
“Clearly not.” Betsy says, “But I agree, watching the sad mating rituals of our peers isn’t my favorite way to spend Friday night.” She turns her head slightly to glance at him. “I’m surprised to see you here.”
“I have my reasons.” He says, his eyes landing on the fire-filled Ophelia Pain. “And why are you here, hunting for your next meal?” He chuckles until he sees the expression on her face. “Hey... Look, sorry, I didn’t mean anything-”
“You’re fine; you’re just going off of what you heard. I’m not mad at you, Pinkie.” she says, glaring at Kayla and Billy, who had just arrived.
“Kayla said she overheard you telling Xaria about it... You can’t be TOO mad if it’s true, right?” Pinkie asks reasonably, causing Betsy to close her eyes in defeat.
“I wouldn’t care so much if it WERE true, Pinkie; but it’s not and that’s why I’m a little stressed out right now.” Her stomach turns as she happens to lock eyes with Raven. He smiles at her warmly, but she looks away as her cheeks turn pink. “Doesn’t matter, the damage is done and people are conditioned to believe the most scandalous story, not the boring truth.”
“Fuck what they think, am I right?” Lewis says, giving the room a quick sweep. “We may have our differences, but you aren’t so bad, Granger. Maybe we just got off on the wrong foot, but there’s nothing to stop us from getting our balance.”
For the first time all day, Betsy smiles. “Thanks for that Pinkie.” She gets to her feet, forcing Lewis to join her. “What do you say we find Xaria and get out of here?”
His eyes drift longingly back to Ophelia. “You go Bets... Maybe next time.”
She opens her mouth to try and encourage him, but she can see that he wasn’t to be swayed. Giving him a friendly hug, she weaves through the crowd to find Xaria. Before she reaches her, she manages to run straight into James. He beams down at her as she steps back, red-faced and wide-eyed. “I’m so sorry, I’m such a clod.”
“Of all the things I could have run into today, you aren’t the worst.” He attempts, earning him a weak smile from Betsy. “Yeah, that wasn’t my best line, but the beauty is in the attempt. Where are you trying to get off to so quickly?”
Before she could reply, Xaria appeared, throwing her arms around Betsy and squealing. Betsy manages to catch her as she stumbles, nearly gagging at the smell of alcohol on her friend. Smiling apologetically up at James, she gestures towards her intoxicated friend. “Duty calls... I’ll see you around.”
“Yeah....” is all he manages before he’s left staring at her retreating back. With a sigh of disappointment, he rejoins his friends.
****
“We’ve been on this collision course for a long time Kayla. And much like the invisible force in Final Destination, it doesn’t matter how many times you try to run from me. It doesn’t matter how many times you escape these hands.
Retribution is due and girl, you’re going to feel every fucking inch of it.”
Betsy glares into the camera before her face softens.
“I’m getting a bit off track, but the more I think about it, the less I start to care about the WHY. Nothing I’ve done or said could have possibly triggered you this much; so, it’s my mere existence that gives you unrest.
Fine by me, Bitch Barbie. It took me a lot longer than it should have to reach this point; my field of fucks has grown barren. I tried so hard to be the nice girl, everyone’s friend, because why be a spreader of hate when so many already lurk in plain sight?”
Betsy points directly into the camera.
“That’s what you are, Kayla; a killjoy, party-pooping soul-sucker and not in the good way that Billy would benefit from.
I’m not the one, you Crankiest of Cunts.But I digress. There’s more story to be told and I’m getting ahead of myself. I’d hate to lose you before you get a chance to see how this will end...
How this will always end. Do you want spoilers Kayla?”
Betsy holds up a sign that reads two words in bold letters.
GRANGER VICTORIOUS
****
Days after the party, Betsy is surprised to find Lewis waiting beside her car in the parking lot. Everyone else had left for the day, or so she’d thought. She’d stayed behind to help Shawn and Kasey clean up around the place; now she stared at the twitchy guy before her.
“What’s up, Pinkie?”
He turns his wide eyes to her, a slightly embarrassed look on his face. “I was wondering if you could help me with something.” He says, his voice cracking slightly.
Motioning for him to get in the passenger seat, they slide into her car at the same time and slam the doors shut. Turning to face him, Betsy pulls a confused expression. “You look like you’re about to throw up, what the heck is going on?”
“I overheard Pheely talking to some of the other girls.” He blurts out. “She’s hot, Bets, like... Way out of my league, but I’m dying to swing my shot.”
“Soooo... What’s the problem?” Betsy asks, more confused than ever.
“She doesn’t want a guy who doesn’t have an experience.” He wails.
Betsy’s face breaks as she struggles to keep her smile at bay. “Are... Are you a virgin, Pinkie?”
“No!” He growls. “But when they were listing off her possible partners, I got cut because I come off as a clingy virgin.” His face breaks as he stares sadly at Betsy.
“That's a rather mean thing to say.” Betsy muses, still wondering how any of this involved her. “What does any of this have to do with me?”
“You’ve already pretended to make it with one guy, right? I was wondering if you could do something like that again... But maybe make it more of a public spectacle... With me.” He says, looking at her hopefully.
As his words sink in, her grins turn to genuine shock as she shakes her head. “Absolutely not, Pinkie! Are you crazy, that’s a terrible idea!”
“Noooo, it’s brilliant! We only have to make them THINK we’re doing the nasty so that she knows for a fact that I have experience.” His tone grows more desperate. “I wouldn’t ask you if I didn’t trust you to keep the truth between us. Please, Bets?”
****
“The things I do for the people I like; for the record Pinkie, you and I could be tight like that if we were to start again. Given the current environment we find ourselves in, we could use all the friends we can get, and I have nothing against you. Unlike Kayla, you aren’t a colossal pain in my ass with a paper-thin vendetta against me.
How pathetic she is, costing me the Excellence Championship on that first Victory. She couldn’t stand the fact that I was about to prove my superiority over her, once and for all. It could have been anyone else in that match, and we wouldn’t have seen hide nor hair of Kayla Richards. Instead, she’s made me her target for some fuck all reason.”
Betsy shrugs, throwing five dollars into a jar already full of them.
“You’ve made it clear that your most effective form of attack is ‘strike and dash’ because you’re a fucking coward. You’ve always been all talk and cheap shots, but when we get into that ring, there’s nowhere left for you to run. Nothing you have in your arsenal will be enough to prevent the holy hell I plan to bludgeon out of that stupid fucking face of yours.
You aren’t the only one who can get nasty in the middle of that ring.”
Her lips quirk upward.
“You started this fight; you invoked the monster the lurked beneath the surface. I just hope you’re prepared to face the full impact of what you’ve unleashed.”
****
“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this,” Betsy whispers from the cramped closet she currently shared with Lewis.
Outside, they could hear the crowd gathered outside the door after they’d deliberately made a scene. Upon their arrival, they clung to one another, feeling each other up playfully before announcing their intentions of love-making in the equipment closet. Ophelia Pain had noticed and gestured for her squad to gather by the door. Kayla and Billy were there, shaking their heads at the other morons who were pressing their ears against the door.
Betsy nods with a grin and starts hitting the wall with her fist. “Ooooh yeah, Pinkie, that’s so fucking good.” She says in her best sex voice.
Lewis flashes her a grin as he gives her a thumbs-up before adding his own sounds. “Fuck Bets, your so wet... and tight...”
This statement is met with giggles and frantic muffled murmuring. Betsy bites back a laugh as they increase the speed of their thumping. Moaning loudly, Betsy begins to shake the shelf with all the protective gear. “Like that, yeah baby, don’t stop!”
Lewis lets out a series of fake moans, giving the dirty talk another attempt. “Oh man, Bets, that smell is... funky!”
Before he can stop her, Betsy is slapping him hard, which sounded like ass slapping to the eavesdropping crowd. “Ewewewew no, you idiot!” she hisses at him through the banging.
Outside, most of the crowd makes a disgusted face. Kayla and Billy look viciously amused by the situation as a whole while Ophelia eyes the closet curiously. At this point, Xaria had arrived and recognizing Betsy’s voice, pushed her way to the front of the crowd. Her eyes bug out of her head as she takes in the scandalous commentary from inside.
His eyes widen as he realizes his mistake and nervously switches gears. “The smell is incredible! I love it!” he manages, earning him an eye-roll from Betsy.
They carry on for a few more minutes before Betsy catches him by the shoulder. “Ready for the big finish?” she asks and as he starts to nod, she punches him in the gut.The sounds he makes fool the crowd into believing that he just blew his load all over... something. They begin to cheer as the pair in the closet touch foreheads, catching their breath quietly.
“Thank you,” Lewis whispers, before turning towards the door and facing the crowd. They all look at him expectantly and he just grins. “What? I just got laid, bitches!”
The guys begin to cheer and sweep him away in a congratulatory round of high fives. Betsy watches the scene with a small smile before running a hand through her hair; she lets out a startled gasp when she turns and comes face to face with a glowering Xaria.
“Uh... What’s up, Xari?” Betsy asks, confused at her friend's anger.
“Listen, lady, just because you got a taste of what real man is like doesn’t mean you need to go throwing your cat around to every available creep.” She throws her arm out towards Lewis, who was still being thumped on the back by impressed guys. Ophelia had made her way up to him and was now batting her eyelashes in his direction. “Pinkie, Bets? Really? I thought you had taste, I thought you had self-respect.”
“Since when did you become Mother Theresa?” Betsy asks bitterly, pushing past her friend to make her way out of the door. Xaria follows her.
“As your friend, I’m obligated to tell you when you’re acting like a slut.” Xaria declares stubbornly.
“And as YOUR friend, I’m obligated to tell you when you’re being an overly obnoxious twat.” Betsy fires back.
“You know what, screw you,” Xaria says. “We’re not friends anymore, I want you out of my place by the end of the week.”
Betsy’s mouth drops open as Xaria stomps away from her. Bewildered by how quickly everything had turned to shit, Betsy starts towards the nearest motel to figure out her next moves...
TO BE CONTINUED
