Post by modern_myth on Oct 31, 2024 7:51:16 GMT -6
Holding a small cake box that he just bought from a nearby bakery, Noah Torres made his way to the Academy lunchroom. It was past dinner time so there wasn’t anyone around which he found partly to be a relief, considering the day he had yesterday getting into a bloodied fight with Razor Wolf. He had stayed in his room the whole time since he got patched up by a doctor, not wanting to see anyone or do anything. He even skipped training but only due to doctor’s orders since his vision was kind of fucked a little and of course the headache and busted nose. But he was feeling better now, just a slight throbbing of the head, yet he came out of hiding to see Paizlee tonight.
He asked to meet here so he could apologise in person. He had snapped at her on Twitter when all she did was show friendly concern. He regretted it as soon as he sent the tweet but the pain was just a lot to handle and his mood was foul. But he was raised better than that so that’s why he got her a slice of chocolate fudge cake with edible glitter on it to show how sincerely sorry he was. He found a bench in a far corner away from the main entrance of the lunchroom and sat down to wait for her, adjusting the sunglasses and cap that mostly covered the scars of last night.
Paizlee hummed a tune to herself as she walked the hallway headed towards lunchroom, despite some heated twitter interactions earlier in the day she was in her usual happy mood. She had worked enough low-rent shows with tired wrestlers to know when not to take something personally. But that didn’t stop her feelings from getting a little hurt from time to time, especially when it came from someone she cared for. So the humming was a mild nervous habit she used to keep her head as clear as possible in situations like this.
Reaching the door she stopped for a moment, looking across the empty room to the solitary figure seemingly doing his best to be invisible; making her approach with a friendly smile she dropped down into a seat opposite him, leaning across the table with an arched brow and a hushed tone.
“Don’t worry, I had a tail but I lost ‘em somewhere between the roof and the parking lot.”
He looked up, brows furrowed in confusion at first. Then he managed a smile, as best as his face could allow at this point. He shook his head with a chuckle.
“And what does that mean?” he asked, an amused look on his face.
Finally getting a good look at him, she studied the obvious signs of the fight the day before and her eyes softened, a concerned gaze before she caught herself and grinned.
“Well you’re here all secret agent looking…” she gestured to what he was wearing. “It’s very-“ her tone was still hushed, teasing. “James Bond. You know, clandestine meetings under cover of darkness.”
He chuckled and shrugged. “Yeah well, better under cover of darkness, I guess. Don’t wanna scare you with my new makeover or whatever. Plus I’ve still got this headache so the less light, the better. Or at least quiet and away from people. Anyway.”
He slid the cake box to her, carefully so it wouldn’t topple or anything.
“Here. For being rude to you when you didn’t deserve that at all. And also,” he paused for a second, “for being a good friend.”
“Well, it’s almost Halloween so you’re really supposed to scare people.” She offered her own way of looking at things, as she often did, finding the positive spin on the situation.
Sliding the box directly in front of her and taking a peek inside, her eyes lit up at the sight of her two favorite things. Looking back across the table to him, her smile was a little less wide, more intent than before.
“Hey you know you don’t have to actually like, feel bad about that? I mean, I love this and you’re soooo not getting it back but, wolfdick went low… talking about your mom like that. I understand.” A soft, less playful tone that matched the intent behind her smile. He appreciated hearing this but didn’t say anything.
As she spoke she flipped the box all the way open, leaning in to smell the sweet scent of the frosting and letting out a content sigh.
“You know why I love cake so much?” She didn’t really give him a chance to answer, which was perfectly fine because he was in no hurry to interrupt, knowing she might have a story to follow up as always. “Growing up my dad was a terrible cook and an even worse baker. Once it was just me and him we pretty much lived off of takeout and those tv dinners on the silver trays. But every year on my birthday, he would go all out. Make these huge, disgusting cakes that tasted… awful.” She laughed as she relayed the memory to him, shaking her head just a little. “He wasn’t perfect, he made a lot of mistakes and he yelled at me more than not, but every single birthday we would share a slice of whatever monstrosity he had put together and I could just feel how much he loved me…”
That got him smiling. He could relate to that in some ways, being raised by a single mother himself. It was probably one of the reasons why he felt connected to Paizlee. He reached over to help get the cake spoon that was hiding a little inside the box and handed it to her.
“I’m sure he did. Or he wouldn’t have gone through all that trouble for you. He sounds great. You miss him?”
She took the spoon with a smile, making sure her first bite was almost entirely frosting and nodding slightly as she chewed.
“All the time. It was just me and him for a really long time, when he got hurt and I was out on the road I’d call him like fifty times a day, he hated it.” Sticking the spoon into the cake with another smile, she caught his gaze and held it. “He was like you in some ways. Or you’re like him in some ways, whichever way round that works.”
Caught off guard, he asked, “How? Besides not being able to bake or cook.”
“You both have the weight of a world on your shoulders. Different worlds but the same pressure… and he was also the type to push people away. After my mom he never let anyone back in.” She tried to keep the tone non-judgmental, twirling the cake fork between her fingertips as she spoke. “The difference is, you still have time to figure out how you change that.”
He went quiet, averting his eyes to stare at the cake where she had taken a bite of. He wasn’t used to being told like this so directly but more so without judgment at the same time. Insults, name-calling, you name it, he’s gotten plenty whether to his face or not. But this? He didn’t remember if he ever had someone telling him something so heavy and true and direct. He didn’t even know what to say. But he could feel Paizlee’s eyes on him and that alone pressured him to say something, anything.
“Uh…. Cool.”
He picked up a few cake crumbs that had spilled on the table and put them aside.
“I… uh… it’s just a lot, you know. This wrestling thing. I guess I’m just trying to find myself in it.”
He shrugged, still actively not meeting her gaze. She watched his movements, the nervous distractions he was giving himself. She reached across and grabbed his hand by the end of his fingers, tugging gently on his arm to try and get him to meet her gaze this time.
“Those are two different things Noah, finding yourself and the wrestling thing? They’re not gonna slot into place at the same time, or maybe they will but they’re not totally intertwined.” Her tone was back to that soft, hushed tone she had used before.
“If you let this be everything, it keeps feeling like you’re losing everything. And trust me there’s a lot more to lose outside of the ring than inside it.”
He listened intently. He was aware of what she did and went through prior to The Academy, at least what she had shared with him before on a different occasion. And he felt like she knew what she was talking about so he considered her words seriously.
“I mean, it’s not everything everything. But I guess it’s something, you know? My mom never shared anything with me about this world when I was growing up. She only started sharing a few stories recently after I told her I wanted to start training. But even then she doesn’t particularly like it and I’m okay with that. But I have to know more. I just have to,” he paused for a second, “I gotta learn more about my dad.”
His voice trailed off, surprised at himself for admitting it out loud, let alone saying it to someone else. But that’s how much he valued Paizlee. He shrugged again, masking his emotions that’s no doubt brewing inside him on such a topic.
He cleared his throat. “I appreciate you looking out for me, Paiz. I really do. But I don’t see any other way to see this through without making it to be everything. But don’t worry, I won’t hold it against you if you win this Friday and I lose.”
His face softened as he attempted to make the conversation less intense. She broke into a smile and nodded her head, feeling like she had gotten him to really think about things she leaned into his playfulness.
“Well that’s good because I am DEFINITELY going to win.” She exaggerated the word before taking another big bite of cake, finishing it before continuing. “It’s been intense, since things really started and there’s a place for that, but there is also always a place for cake.” She pushed the box towards him with a lift of her brows.
“For the good memories.”
He smiled back. “For the good memories.”
He looked down at the now empty box. “I take it it was really good?”
She smiled, that softer and more intent smile again, looking at him from across the table with a slightly different light in her eyes. A brief nod accompanying her reply.
“Yeah… really good.”
He looked back at her. No more words necessary. Just a smile back, sharing this moment. For the first time in a while, he felt a little less weight off his shoulders.
He asked to meet here so he could apologise in person. He had snapped at her on Twitter when all she did was show friendly concern. He regretted it as soon as he sent the tweet but the pain was just a lot to handle and his mood was foul. But he was raised better than that so that’s why he got her a slice of chocolate fudge cake with edible glitter on it to show how sincerely sorry he was. He found a bench in a far corner away from the main entrance of the lunchroom and sat down to wait for her, adjusting the sunglasses and cap that mostly covered the scars of last night.
Paizlee hummed a tune to herself as she walked the hallway headed towards lunchroom, despite some heated twitter interactions earlier in the day she was in her usual happy mood. She had worked enough low-rent shows with tired wrestlers to know when not to take something personally. But that didn’t stop her feelings from getting a little hurt from time to time, especially when it came from someone she cared for. So the humming was a mild nervous habit she used to keep her head as clear as possible in situations like this.
Reaching the door she stopped for a moment, looking across the empty room to the solitary figure seemingly doing his best to be invisible; making her approach with a friendly smile she dropped down into a seat opposite him, leaning across the table with an arched brow and a hushed tone.
“Don’t worry, I had a tail but I lost ‘em somewhere between the roof and the parking lot.”
He looked up, brows furrowed in confusion at first. Then he managed a smile, as best as his face could allow at this point. He shook his head with a chuckle.
“And what does that mean?” he asked, an amused look on his face.
Finally getting a good look at him, she studied the obvious signs of the fight the day before and her eyes softened, a concerned gaze before she caught herself and grinned.
“Well you’re here all secret agent looking…” she gestured to what he was wearing. “It’s very-“ her tone was still hushed, teasing. “James Bond. You know, clandestine meetings under cover of darkness.”
He chuckled and shrugged. “Yeah well, better under cover of darkness, I guess. Don’t wanna scare you with my new makeover or whatever. Plus I’ve still got this headache so the less light, the better. Or at least quiet and away from people. Anyway.”
He slid the cake box to her, carefully so it wouldn’t topple or anything.
“Here. For being rude to you when you didn’t deserve that at all. And also,” he paused for a second, “for being a good friend.”
“Well, it’s almost Halloween so you’re really supposed to scare people.” She offered her own way of looking at things, as she often did, finding the positive spin on the situation.
Sliding the box directly in front of her and taking a peek inside, her eyes lit up at the sight of her two favorite things. Looking back across the table to him, her smile was a little less wide, more intent than before.
“Hey you know you don’t have to actually like, feel bad about that? I mean, I love this and you’re soooo not getting it back but, wolfdick went low… talking about your mom like that. I understand.” A soft, less playful tone that matched the intent behind her smile. He appreciated hearing this but didn’t say anything.
As she spoke she flipped the box all the way open, leaning in to smell the sweet scent of the frosting and letting out a content sigh.
“You know why I love cake so much?” She didn’t really give him a chance to answer, which was perfectly fine because he was in no hurry to interrupt, knowing she might have a story to follow up as always. “Growing up my dad was a terrible cook and an even worse baker. Once it was just me and him we pretty much lived off of takeout and those tv dinners on the silver trays. But every year on my birthday, he would go all out. Make these huge, disgusting cakes that tasted… awful.” She laughed as she relayed the memory to him, shaking her head just a little. “He wasn’t perfect, he made a lot of mistakes and he yelled at me more than not, but every single birthday we would share a slice of whatever monstrosity he had put together and I could just feel how much he loved me…”
That got him smiling. He could relate to that in some ways, being raised by a single mother himself. It was probably one of the reasons why he felt connected to Paizlee. He reached over to help get the cake spoon that was hiding a little inside the box and handed it to her.
“I’m sure he did. Or he wouldn’t have gone through all that trouble for you. He sounds great. You miss him?”
She took the spoon with a smile, making sure her first bite was almost entirely frosting and nodding slightly as she chewed.
“All the time. It was just me and him for a really long time, when he got hurt and I was out on the road I’d call him like fifty times a day, he hated it.” Sticking the spoon into the cake with another smile, she caught his gaze and held it. “He was like you in some ways. Or you’re like him in some ways, whichever way round that works.”
Caught off guard, he asked, “How? Besides not being able to bake or cook.”
“You both have the weight of a world on your shoulders. Different worlds but the same pressure… and he was also the type to push people away. After my mom he never let anyone back in.” She tried to keep the tone non-judgmental, twirling the cake fork between her fingertips as she spoke. “The difference is, you still have time to figure out how you change that.”
He went quiet, averting his eyes to stare at the cake where she had taken a bite of. He wasn’t used to being told like this so directly but more so without judgment at the same time. Insults, name-calling, you name it, he’s gotten plenty whether to his face or not. But this? He didn’t remember if he ever had someone telling him something so heavy and true and direct. He didn’t even know what to say. But he could feel Paizlee’s eyes on him and that alone pressured him to say something, anything.
“Uh…. Cool.”
He picked up a few cake crumbs that had spilled on the table and put them aside.
“I… uh… it’s just a lot, you know. This wrestling thing. I guess I’m just trying to find myself in it.”
He shrugged, still actively not meeting her gaze. She watched his movements, the nervous distractions he was giving himself. She reached across and grabbed his hand by the end of his fingers, tugging gently on his arm to try and get him to meet her gaze this time.
“Those are two different things Noah, finding yourself and the wrestling thing? They’re not gonna slot into place at the same time, or maybe they will but they’re not totally intertwined.” Her tone was back to that soft, hushed tone she had used before.
“If you let this be everything, it keeps feeling like you’re losing everything. And trust me there’s a lot more to lose outside of the ring than inside it.”
He listened intently. He was aware of what she did and went through prior to The Academy, at least what she had shared with him before on a different occasion. And he felt like she knew what she was talking about so he considered her words seriously.
“I mean, it’s not everything everything. But I guess it’s something, you know? My mom never shared anything with me about this world when I was growing up. She only started sharing a few stories recently after I told her I wanted to start training. But even then she doesn’t particularly like it and I’m okay with that. But I have to know more. I just have to,” he paused for a second, “I gotta learn more about my dad.”
His voice trailed off, surprised at himself for admitting it out loud, let alone saying it to someone else. But that’s how much he valued Paizlee. He shrugged again, masking his emotions that’s no doubt brewing inside him on such a topic.
He cleared his throat. “I appreciate you looking out for me, Paiz. I really do. But I don’t see any other way to see this through without making it to be everything. But don’t worry, I won’t hold it against you if you win this Friday and I lose.”
His face softened as he attempted to make the conversation less intense. She broke into a smile and nodded her head, feeling like she had gotten him to really think about things she leaned into his playfulness.
“Well that’s good because I am DEFINITELY going to win.” She exaggerated the word before taking another big bite of cake, finishing it before continuing. “It’s been intense, since things really started and there’s a place for that, but there is also always a place for cake.” She pushed the box towards him with a lift of her brows.
“For the good memories.”
He smiled back. “For the good memories.”
He looked down at the now empty box. “I take it it was really good?”
She smiled, that softer and more intent smile again, looking at him from across the table with a slightly different light in her eyes. A brief nod accompanying her reply.
“Yeah… really good.”
He looked back at her. No more words necessary. Just a smile back, sharing this moment. For the first time in a while, he felt a little less weight off his shoulders.