If it's a fight you want...

Irving Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse
New Orleans, LA
Friday, November 10, 2017

Aurora Graves sat in the corner of a white booth, a somewhat lost look on her face as she scanned the room with her eyes.

Aurora: Damn it... how long does it take to go to the bathroom?

She grumbled to herself as she leaned against the glossy white material that covered the back of the booth.

Aurora: And for that matter, where the hell is Hannah?

She sighed, then pulled out her phone to check the time. After a few seconds, NGW interviewer Hannah Lacey entered the room, scanning the scene for a familiar face. Not that far behind Hannah was an NGW camera crew. Finally spotting Aurora, Hannah smiled and hurried over to the booth where the former Tag Team champion was sitting.

Hannah: Sorry I’m late... my Uber got some bad directions to my hotel. So, you and Damon are staying here, are you? Looks like a nice place.

Aurora shook her head disapprovingly.

Aurora: Look, Hannah, I didn’t agree to meet with you to discuss travel arrangements. You wanted to talk to me about my upcoming match with Daisy Rose, so I suggest you stick to the topic at hand.

Aurora folded her hands in front of her, crossing her legs at the ankles. Hannah looked down, casually smiling at Aurora’s white and black high-heeled ankle booties, styled to look like sneakers. They matched perfectly with Aurora’s white leggings and matching long-sleeved tunic that hugged every curve of her body, trimmed at the hem with the same black and red stripes that decorated the shoes.

Hannah cleared her throat in an effort to redirect herself.

Hannah: Well, then... let’s get started. On the last episode of Dissension, you lost a hard-fought match against Travis Blake. Now, you’re just a couple of days away from facing the returning Daisy Rose. How does your loss affect how you’re going to tackle this next match?

Aurora: Simple... it doesn’t. You see, Travis Blake and Daisy Rose are two completely different animals. It’s not like I can apply what I learned from my fight against Blake against someone with a completely different style.

Hannah: Fair enough. But do you think Daisy’s time away from the ring will have any adverse effect?

Aurora: Is this the part where I’m supposed to sigh dramatically and act like I give a rat’s ass about the fact that she’s been out on maternity leave these last few months? News flash, Hannah – women have been having babies since the dawn of time.

Hannah: I can’t imagine you’d have the same opinion if – say – Amber Richards were to return to wrestling.

Aurora: First off, that’s Amber Levitt, and again, that’s different. Amber’s a dear friend of mine, and after everything that she’s been through, she deserves all the happiness in the world.

Hannah: You really don’t like Daisy Rose, do you?

Aurora: Ding, ding! Tell the lady what she’s won!

Hannah: I don’t think you’ve ever really touched on the reason for your dislike of Daisy Rose. Could it be...

Aurora: Jealousy? Hannah, if Devlin Scott didn’t frown on the wrestlers kicking the shit out of interviewers that asked incredibly stupid questions, I’d rip your tongue right out of your mouth and stuff it into your ear.

Hannah jolted backward, clenching her hands in front of her as a look of fear took over her face.

Hannah: Sorry, Aurora... I didn’t mean to suggest...

Aurora: No. You want me to answer the question? Fine... I will. The biggest reason that I don’t like Daisy or that chump of a husband of hers is because of the way that they act. Every time I log onto Twitter, I see them cluttering up my timeline with #ChaosThis #ChaosThat. Hell, they’ve even slapped that stupid label on their own kid!

She rolled her eyes and groaned in disgust before she continued.

Aurora: Let me ask you something, Hannah.

Hannah: Okay....

Aurora: What happens when you eat the same damn thing every damn day... for breakfast, lunch AND dinner?

Hannah: I can imagine that you’d get sick of it after a while.

Aurora clicked her tongue and made a check mark in the air in front of her before nodding her head.

Aurora: Precisely. Their gross overuse of the word “Chaos” in – well, just about EVERYTHING has made the word lose any meaning. But if Daisy wants to see REAL chaos, then Aurora Graves will be MORE than happy to oblige.

Hannah: You sound incredibly confident.

Aurora: And why wouldn’t I be? While she’s been sitting around at home, I’ve been busting my ass both in and out of the ring. And yeah, I know what you’re going to say. “But she was pregnant!” To that, I say “good for her, here’s a cookie.”

The bottom line is that I don’t give a flying fuck about how long she’s been gone, nor do I care why. The only thing I care about is what happens once we step through those ropes and that bell rings. I care about giving everything I’ve got in that ring, and Daisy Rose had better be ready, because if she’s not – well, let’s just say it’s not going to end very well for her.

Aurora shook her head, the look of determination locked on her face as if it was carved in stone.

Hannah: Well, with Dissension just a couple of days away, do you have anything to say to Daisy?

The corner of Aurora’s mouth turned upward into a wicked smirk as she leaned forward. Hannah gestured toward the camera, where Aurora directed her trademark dagger-like stare.

Aurora: Hmph. Do I?

The smirk twisted into a sneer as her ocean blue eyes peeked out through narrowed eyelids.

Aurora: Daisy, if you’re looking for a knockdown, drag-out fight that will no doubt steal the show this Sunday, then you’re in luck, because you’ve been in the ring with me before. You know what I bring when I step through those ropes, and I can assure you that I’ve done nothing but improve since the last time we faced off.

She stood up from the booth, sidestepping the small round table in front of her as she took a couple of steps toward the camera. After a moment, the narrow-eyed glare softened into a sardonic smirk as she raised her hand, pressing her thumb and forefinger to her forehead.

Aurora: You know, it's almost funny. Here we are, two women eager to break out of the tag team mold that we’ve been in for the bulk of our time in the limelight, and yet you and I couldn’t be more different. And come Dissension, those differences will be even more evident when I leave your fallen carcass in my rear view.

With one final sneer, Aurora sat back down at the booth, with Hannah Lacey staring at her, a nervous look on her face. Aurora looked at her and smirked as she settled into her seat. Within seconds, her husband Damon Graves emerged from his trip to the bathroom, a pair of drinks in his hands. He sat down beside his wife, setting their drinks on the table.

Damon: Sorry that took so long, Harley. That Figured I’d stop at the bar on the way back and grab a couple of drinks. Reasonably Corrupt Black Lager for me, and an appropriately named cocktail for you....

Aurora: Oh?

He smirked as he slid the cocktail toward his wife. She picked it up and brought the glass under her nose so that she could give it a quick sniff.

Damon: Yeah, it’s called “(She’s a) Brick House”.

Both Hannah and Aurora giggled at the mention of the cocktail’s name. At that moment, Damon looked up, finally taking notice of the interviewer.

Damon: Sorry... had I known you were going to be here when I got back, I would’ve ordered you something as well. You know there’s a one-drink minimum here....

Hannah: I know, but I don’t drink when I’m on the clock.

Husband and wife looked at each other, each with knowing smirks on their faces. As Damon nodded his head, Aurora turned back to Hannah with a bit of a snicker in her voice.

Aurora: That’s okay. We’ll just flag down a server and order you a Shirley Temple...

Hannah: I don’t want to impose...

Aurora: Nonsense, we insist! In fact...

A server caught Aurora’s attention, prompting her to stick her hand up in an effort to flag him down as the scene faded out.