Illiya -- The Party

June 9th 2007, 7:43pm
Vancouver, B.C.

“We have to go, Illiya. We said we would go.”

“No… you said we’d go. I wasn’t even in the conversation. I doubt I was even asked. They probably just wanted you there.”

“They want you too…”

“They don’t, Ez. I’m not exactly the most popular person in school.”

“We’re a packaged deal.”

“That doesn’t make me feel any better…”

“I’m not saying that in a bad way. I want you there… I need you there…”

“It’s just.. not my scene.”

“Just bring a book. If you don’t like it, read. If you REALLY hate it, we’ll leave. I promise.”

Illiya sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

“Fine. But seriously… if I want to leave, we leave. Promise?”

“Of course!”

Ezrynn smiled big and hugged her sister tightly around the neck. She jumped away, off to find something to wear. Illiya rolled her eyes, not looking forward to what she’s just gotten herself into. She stood up from the bed she had been sitting on and walked to her closet, looking through. It was only this year she had started to dress more like her sister. She loved the whole ‘goth’ look. But not to her sisters extreme.

As she rummaged through the newer black clothes, she came across an old outfit she used to love. She wore so many colours back then. But could she say she missed them? Not in the slightest. She was always uncomfortable. But now… now she felt better in her own skin. In her own clothing. But not comfortable enough to go to a huge graduation party. And that’s exactly what Ezrynn got her into. To be honest… she didn’t know why everyone was so excited to get Ezrynn to go to these parties. They were the outcasts, yet Ez was always a hot commodity. It didn’t make sense. And with all the shitty high school drama bullshit movies the twins had watched over the years, Illiya’s first thought was some kind of Carrie-esque high school torture. Were they being nice just so they could ruin her life in the end? Did they have some other kind of agenda? And this is why she agreed. To watch out for her sister. Because if Illiya didn’t, who would?

Illiya found herself dressed in a very tame velvet skirt with lace around the bottom. A pair of ripped up fishnets covered her pale legs and a black tank top over her chest. She wore black old-timey heels on her feet and black necklaces adorned her neck. Both girls had jet black hair, but Illiya hadn’t done much upkeep lately. Her ginger roots were coming through. She did her makeup, drawing on thin eyebrows and colouring her lids in the blackest eyeshadow she owned. She drew her lips in a dark red colour, the only actual colour in her ensemble.

“Hope you’re ready!”

Ezrynn’s chipper voice filled the room as she stepped in. Her outfit was a lot more elaborate than Illiya’s. Her hair was teased to hell with purple extensions placed at the sides. She wore a purple crop tank top with a ripped mesh shirt overtop with some lacy material thrown over that. She had placed a poofy white skirt with black stripes on the bottom with a white studded belt resting loosely on her hips. Black and pink striped stockings covered her legs and black maryjane wedges were on her feet. Her makeup was black with bright pink spots on her cheeks. She looked like an odd clown-like doll. At the time, it was her signature look. To be as out there as possible.

“Let’s go. We’ve got a party to attend.”

Illiya sighed as she followed her sister out of her room. She popped back in her room, however, quickly grabbing a copy of Wuthering Heights to bring along. The two went downstairs and got into a car being driven by a friend of theirs.

June 9th 2007, 9:45pm
Vancouver, B.C.

When they arrived at the party, everyone got excited over Ezrynn’s entrance. They all seemed so excited to see her. Illiya, on the other hand, was quite ignored, as usual. She quietly slipped inside, looking for a quiet place in a corner. A place where she could keep an eye on Ezrynn and remain anonymous like usual. She flipped open her book and began to read. The only thing she planned to do that night.

About an hour in, Ezrynn had come over to Illiya to check on her.

“You having fun, pretty?”

“I’m having a fantastic time, Ez. Just enjoying my book.”

“You should come party! We’re dancing and everything. You should stop being so antisocial and play with us!”

“Or I could just continue reading.”

“I’m just concerned, you know? I want you to have fun.”

“I am having fun. I promise.”



Ezrynn nodded and took a sip from her beer. A few photos were snapped by one of their friends, just reminders of the final party for the graduating class. Ezrynn smiled and put on more of an act for the camera. More photos being taken. Illiya just laughed, awkwardly sitting beside her sister.

“Okay… I’m going to go grab another beer. Come find me when you’re done wanting to be lonely, kay?”

She smiled big and kissed her sister on the cheek. She stood up and walked away, leaving Illiya to read again.



June 9th 2007, 1:07am
Vancouver, B.C.

After a couple more hours, a few photos taken with her sister, and a finished book, Illiya decided to roam a bit. She looked around the room, not seeing her sister at all, which was odd. She had remembered looking up a few minutes ago and seeing her. She began to push through the now busy crowd towards the kitchen area. She looked around the room, trying to find Ezrynn. Nothing. People just pushed passed her as if she wasn’t even there. She continued through the large house. She found the person the twins had driven with to get to the party.

“Hey James. Have you seen Ez? I can’t find her.”

“Yeah… She went upstairs I think. Everything cool? Gunna party now?”

“Uh… no. I’m just making sure she’s alright.”

“I’m sure she’s cool, Ill. Don’t worry.”

She shrugged James off and went towards the stairs. What if something happened? What if something was happening? What if she was hurt? Panic set in as she ran up the stairs to find her sister. She opened the first door, seeing a couple embraced on the bed.

“Shit. Sorry.”

She closed the door quickly and went to the next one, vowing to knock first. She did not to repeat seeing that again. After a couple more rooms, she knocked on the last one. She could hear shuffling inside and a yelp from a female. She tried to open the door, but it was locked. She knocked again, harder this time.

“Hello? Let me in!”

She heard shuffling again and a muffled yell. Like someone was covering a persons mouth.

“Ez? Are you in there?”

A higher pitched muffled sound was heard to the question. Illiya panicked and started to slam her small body against the door to try getting in. It was no use. A guy came over as Illiya was getting ready to throw herself into the door again. He put his hands on her arms to stop her.

“What are you doing?”

“Someones in there. They locked the door.”

The guy made a growling sound in his throat.

“Hey man! Parents room is off limits! I told you guys that. Fucksakes.”

He reached up to the top of the doorframe, grabbing a small metal key. He stuck it in a tiny hole and jiggled it slightly, the lock making a popping sound.

“If the bed is fucked up, you’re fixing it.”

He moved his hand against the wall and turned the light on. Ezrynn was, in fact, in the room. A guy they didn’t know was with her, hand over her mouth. Her eyes were a bit wide as she stared at her sister.

“What the fuck?”

The guy tossed Ezrynn to the bed and put his hands up.

“I wasn’t gunna do anything. Just wanted a bit of ass, you know? And she was giving me the eyes, you know what I mean, man?”

He winked at the guy who had opened the door. Illiya clenched her teeth and began to run for the guy to tackle him. She was caught by the other guy, who held her back with an arm around her waist.

“Get the fuck out of here, dude. That shit won’t fly around here. Especially not in this room. Who the fuck are you anyways? Get out of my house.”

The guy shrugged and left the room. Illiya got out of the hold on her and joined her sister on the bed.

“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

“I’m ok. It was just a misunderstanding. In that he misunderstood a no for a yes.”

The other guy piped up.

“You good, Ez?”

“Yeah, Mike. I’m fine. Thank you.”

“No worries. I saw you come up here. Had to make sure you were cool.”

Ez nodded and smiled slightly at him. He nodded back and left the room, closing the door to give them a bit of space.

“What happened?”

“We just came up here to talk. But he lied about the talking. I couldn’t get him off me.”

“You’re lucky Mike and I came up. You’re lucky Mike came up.”

“I am. Thank you. Mike is a good guy too.”

“Apparently. We need to change something, Ez. We need to change ourselves. I never want this to happen again. I won’t always be there. And not everyone is smart enough to notice something is wrong like Mike.”

“I agree…”

- - - - -

December 28th, 2016
Vancouver, B.C.

“That’s when we decided to start training. To learn to fight. To be able to stand up for ourselves.”

Illiya stared at the photo of Ezrynn kissing her cheek, smiling. She had been looking through old photos, reliving memories.

“We had talked about being wrestlers for years before. We watched wrestling religiously. We had found indy companies online and watched countless hours of videos online. We watched WWF before it was a wildlife saving acronym instead. All the televised wrestling shows. Everything. We loved it all. But we were just two skinny goth girls. What could we do? We found we had a lot more talent in the ring than we knew. We were pretty good. And together, we were amazing. My strengths made up for her weaknesses. And vice versa. But we could also hold our own baby ourselves. We learned from each other and from our trainers. We’d always be small, but we could pack a punch. Plus… being small made it easier to snake out of a hold. Being small can be an advantage.”

She dropped the photo to the floor in the living room of their fathers house. The two would be leaving the next day for Osaka.

“All of this leads to now. To right now. To us in Redemption Wrestling. To us winning our first match here as a team. To us fighting for Canada separately in Japan. We’re going to make names for ourselves once again. I’m tired of the shadows. I’m tired of sitting in a corner waiting for someone else life. I’m tired of being on the sidelines. I want this for us. I want us to have every opportunity to get to the top. And we will do our best to get there. But first, we have to get through this tournament.”

She pauses, standing up to continue the packing she had been doing before she got carried away with photos.

“My first opponent is Caroline. Her streak is fifty-fifty so far. A mix of wins and losses. While that doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things, it does tell me things can certainly go either way for her. I don’t know her style. I haven’t seen much of her in the ring other than a few past shows I’ve gotten my hands on. She’s good, but I think I’m better. She’s the opposite of myself in personality… but being an egotistical bitch only gets you so far. And by that, I mean it won’t really win her a match. It takes skill and talent to win a match. And I’m confident in my own.”

She shrugs, throwing a couple shirts into a suitcase.

“I’ll bring everything I’ve got into this match. I will do what I can to win. To advance. I want this. And it’s going to be hard to stop me.”

She smiles at the camera and goes back to her packing, ending the feed.