Post by Austen Blackwell on Dec 6, 2017 16:12:36 GMT -5
Off Camera
Driving up to Malibu was not that far of a drive. Two… maybe two and a half hours. Austen and Ruby had discussed getting together and getting some in-ring work going. Austen had some offers from local shows for some spots, and he figured what good way to get some work in while also getting to spend some time with his friend. Ever since moving up to NGW, Austen and Ruby had not been in touch as much lately.
Austen finds his way towards the address she had texted him. Pulling up to what appeared to be some sort of gym-like building, he found a parking spot and grabbed his bag. Austen headed inside of the building and looked around trying to see if he saw his friend.
"Austen! Over here!"
Ruby's voice carries through the gym and the WCG star looks over to see the perky blonde waving to him with a huge smile on her face. She was already warming up on one of the treadmills, but she slows the machine to a stop and hops off as she waves at him and starts heading in his direction to meet him halfway. She throws her arms around her good friend that she hasn't seen for quite some time, giving him a big hug before stepping back.
"Glad you found the place alright. I hope the drive wasn't too long. I feel bad having you come all the way out here to me."
Austen hugs her back tightly.
"It’s fine, big time!"
Austen has a good laugh as always about her moving up to the NGW roster.
"No, I am happy to make the trip. It is not too bad. Plus Mercedes has some WCG stuff to take care of now that she is Assistant General Manager."
He looks around the place.
"So this is your usual place, huh?"
Ruby gives the familiar place a quick look around, trying to imagine seeing it through unfamiliar eyes as Austen is seeing it right now. She shrugs her shoulders at the question.
"Kinda sorta. I mean, mine and Scotty's place has its own gym but we don't have a ring or anything like that. So, you know? Kind of back and forth between here and there."
She shrugs her shoulders again.
"Anyway! Tell me again what you were thinking about us teaming together?"
"Well there was this small, SoCal company that I worked for growing up. I did concessions as a kid. And then eventually had a couple of shows there. They wanted to have me in some sort of Main Event match, so when I proposed having a friend there to tag team with they were over the moon. So you and me taking on two of their talent. That something you’d be down for?"
Ruby considers it for a moment, letting her head bounce back and forth as she mulls it over.
"Sounds like fun. I guess it depends on when it is and all that jazz. It'd be great to team with you again, though. It's been a while."
"They are good with working around our schedules. Whenever. And they are good for it. So with that, I think maybe we should get inside of the ring and get some tag team work going? Unless you forgot how to tag me in… big time."
Austen laughs as Ruby pushes him back, catching him off guard.
"I joke. I joke!"
Ruby feigns offense to Austen's jests before laughing them off with a nod.
"Okay. Okay. We'll see. Just, try to keep up with me, small time."
She winks at him with a laugh before heading to the ring. Austen has a good laugh at it as he climbs up onto the ring apron. He pulls the ropes open for Ruby to allow her inside of the ring. Austen heads inside as he grabs the top rope, stretching his arms out.
"So we going to train one-on-one? Or did you have any one else lined up for us to tag against?"
"Oh, come on, AB. Do you think I can't put together a little training session?"
She smirks at him and laughs before waving over another man and woman who appear to have been waiting to get started. The man is a little bit bigger than Austen while the woman is taller than Ruby's 5'1", but they look mostly harmless.
"Austen, this is David and Serena. David has a huge crush on Mercedes, so he's not a very big fan of you. Just FYI."
Grinning at that little comment, she winks at Austen again.
"Brat. Okay. You wanna start, or me?"
Austen looks the other team over, and sizes them up. Ruby walks past Austen, patting him on the shoulder as she heads towards the apron.
"Go ahead, big shot. Need to make sure you can still go before I agree to tag with you under real circumstances."
"Alright. I got it."
Austen starts off the session as David is on the other side of the ring from him. The two lock up inside of the ring as Austen pulls him into a side headlock. David pushes off sending Austen into the ropes. Austen hits the rope and rebounds, hitting a spinning heel kick taking David down. Kipping back up to his feet, AB quickly reels off a standing moonsault as he mocks a pin. David kicks out at what would be two, as Austen looks up to Ruby to see if she was ready for a tag.
Ruby takes the tag from Austen and immediately climbs to the top rope to take David down with a flying crossbody as soon as he gets to his feet. She hooks a leg for the cover but he kicks out at two before making the tag to Serena. The two women lock up in the middle of the ring with Serena twisting Ruby's arm up. Ruby cartwheels out of the hold, wrings up Serena's arm and runs past her to clothesline the taller woman with her own arm! Ruby makes another cover but again Serena kicks out. Ruby backs into her corner and offers the tag back to Austen.
Austen leaps into the ring with a slingshot as David enters as well. The match becomes two-on-two as Austen takes David down with a massive dropkick. Ruby is able to hit a sitout Full Nelson Slam on Serena as she is laid out. David rolls out of the ring as does Ruby. Austen heads up to the top of the corner. Austen looks down and hits a 450 Splash as he covers Serena and scores a three count.
"Not bad. Glad to see you haven't slacked since I abandoned you."
Entering the ring again, she continues to tease however when Ruby mentions the abandonment there is a very genuine flash of remorse and sadness that flashes across her expression, even lingering behind in her eyes once she manages to cover it up with a friendly smile.
"Ruby, I got you. We’ve got this, okay?"
He could tell her remorse. Austen heads over to her and immediately hugs her. David and Serena dust themselves off and head outside to the ring apron for a drink of water.
"You did what was best for you. I get that. Danni gets that. No one hates you. You are up in NGW with Scotty. I would do the same for Mercedes. And Danni would do the same for Donovan. You abandoned no one. Got it?"
She offers a smile at his compassion and encouraging words.
"I know. Thanks. It just… it's not ideal. Getting to be with Scotty and all of that amazing talent on the NGW roster is amazing, but you guys aren't there. It's just an adjustment. One I'm still making, I guess."
Austen smiles at her, and say something to reassure her.
"Well don’t get too comfortable up there. Who knows how long before Danni and I move up?"
With that, Ruby and Austen grab something to drink before going back to training for their local tag team match.
Driving up to Malibu was not that far of a drive. Two… maybe two and a half hours. Austen and Ruby had discussed getting together and getting some in-ring work going. Austen had some offers from local shows for some spots, and he figured what good way to get some work in while also getting to spend some time with his friend. Ever since moving up to NGW, Austen and Ruby had not been in touch as much lately.
Austen finds his way towards the address she had texted him. Pulling up to what appeared to be some sort of gym-like building, he found a parking spot and grabbed his bag. Austen headed inside of the building and looked around trying to see if he saw his friend.
"Austen! Over here!"
Ruby's voice carries through the gym and the WCG star looks over to see the perky blonde waving to him with a huge smile on her face. She was already warming up on one of the treadmills, but she slows the machine to a stop and hops off as she waves at him and starts heading in his direction to meet him halfway. She throws her arms around her good friend that she hasn't seen for quite some time, giving him a big hug before stepping back.
"Glad you found the place alright. I hope the drive wasn't too long. I feel bad having you come all the way out here to me."
Austen hugs her back tightly.
"It’s fine, big time!"
Austen has a good laugh as always about her moving up to the NGW roster.
"No, I am happy to make the trip. It is not too bad. Plus Mercedes has some WCG stuff to take care of now that she is Assistant General Manager."
He looks around the place.
"So this is your usual place, huh?"
Ruby gives the familiar place a quick look around, trying to imagine seeing it through unfamiliar eyes as Austen is seeing it right now. She shrugs her shoulders at the question.
"Kinda sorta. I mean, mine and Scotty's place has its own gym but we don't have a ring or anything like that. So, you know? Kind of back and forth between here and there."
She shrugs her shoulders again.
"Anyway! Tell me again what you were thinking about us teaming together?"
"Well there was this small, SoCal company that I worked for growing up. I did concessions as a kid. And then eventually had a couple of shows there. They wanted to have me in some sort of Main Event match, so when I proposed having a friend there to tag team with they were over the moon. So you and me taking on two of their talent. That something you’d be down for?"
Ruby considers it for a moment, letting her head bounce back and forth as she mulls it over.
"Sounds like fun. I guess it depends on when it is and all that jazz. It'd be great to team with you again, though. It's been a while."
"They are good with working around our schedules. Whenever. And they are good for it. So with that, I think maybe we should get inside of the ring and get some tag team work going? Unless you forgot how to tag me in… big time."
Austen laughs as Ruby pushes him back, catching him off guard.
"I joke. I joke!"
Ruby feigns offense to Austen's jests before laughing them off with a nod.
"Okay. Okay. We'll see. Just, try to keep up with me, small time."
She winks at him with a laugh before heading to the ring. Austen has a good laugh at it as he climbs up onto the ring apron. He pulls the ropes open for Ruby to allow her inside of the ring. Austen heads inside as he grabs the top rope, stretching his arms out.
"So we going to train one-on-one? Or did you have any one else lined up for us to tag against?"
"Oh, come on, AB. Do you think I can't put together a little training session?"
She smirks at him and laughs before waving over another man and woman who appear to have been waiting to get started. The man is a little bit bigger than Austen while the woman is taller than Ruby's 5'1", but they look mostly harmless.
"Austen, this is David and Serena. David has a huge crush on Mercedes, so he's not a very big fan of you. Just FYI."
Grinning at that little comment, she winks at Austen again.
"Brat. Okay. You wanna start, or me?"
Austen looks the other team over, and sizes them up. Ruby walks past Austen, patting him on the shoulder as she heads towards the apron.
"Go ahead, big shot. Need to make sure you can still go before I agree to tag with you under real circumstances."
"Alright. I got it."
Austen starts off the session as David is on the other side of the ring from him. The two lock up inside of the ring as Austen pulls him into a side headlock. David pushes off sending Austen into the ropes. Austen hits the rope and rebounds, hitting a spinning heel kick taking David down. Kipping back up to his feet, AB quickly reels off a standing moonsault as he mocks a pin. David kicks out at what would be two, as Austen looks up to Ruby to see if she was ready for a tag.
Ruby takes the tag from Austen and immediately climbs to the top rope to take David down with a flying crossbody as soon as he gets to his feet. She hooks a leg for the cover but he kicks out at two before making the tag to Serena. The two women lock up in the middle of the ring with Serena twisting Ruby's arm up. Ruby cartwheels out of the hold, wrings up Serena's arm and runs past her to clothesline the taller woman with her own arm! Ruby makes another cover but again Serena kicks out. Ruby backs into her corner and offers the tag back to Austen.
Austen leaps into the ring with a slingshot as David enters as well. The match becomes two-on-two as Austen takes David down with a massive dropkick. Ruby is able to hit a sitout Full Nelson Slam on Serena as she is laid out. David rolls out of the ring as does Ruby. Austen heads up to the top of the corner. Austen looks down and hits a 450 Splash as he covers Serena and scores a three count.
"Not bad. Glad to see you haven't slacked since I abandoned you."
Entering the ring again, she continues to tease however when Ruby mentions the abandonment there is a very genuine flash of remorse and sadness that flashes across her expression, even lingering behind in her eyes once she manages to cover it up with a friendly smile.
"Ruby, I got you. We’ve got this, okay?"
He could tell her remorse. Austen heads over to her and immediately hugs her. David and Serena dust themselves off and head outside to the ring apron for a drink of water.
"You did what was best for you. I get that. Danni gets that. No one hates you. You are up in NGW with Scotty. I would do the same for Mercedes. And Danni would do the same for Donovan. You abandoned no one. Got it?"
She offers a smile at his compassion and encouraging words.
"I know. Thanks. It just… it's not ideal. Getting to be with Scotty and all of that amazing talent on the NGW roster is amazing, but you guys aren't there. It's just an adjustment. One I'm still making, I guess."
Austen smiles at her, and say something to reassure her.
"Well don’t get too comfortable up there. Who knows how long before Danni and I move up?"
With that, Ruby and Austen grab something to drink before going back to training for their local tag team match.