AV 14 Dark Match: Avery Shields Vs. Eka Guramishvili

"You can count on it."

She offered Eka one last farewell wink though the teenager's gaze lingered on the Georgian while she made her exit from the arena. With all of her supportive praise and even the silly joke, Ave found herself charmed and readily respecting the raven-haired girl. The fiery redhead couldn't help but feel a bond with the Georgian after the two had gone the distance and had each shown one another their mettle. Admittedly, it was also the kind of moment that could bring out the absolute worst in some people. Fortunately, Ave was thoroughly convinced she had caught a small glimpse of something great within the Georgian this night.

Ave savored her solitary moment of victory for a moment longer. Then with the appreciative fanfare of the crowd, she made her own departure from the ring before her swirling sentiments could bring an irresistible, but blissful, sting to the young girl's eyes.

I will never forget this moment, Geneva. So, please, remember me.

Avery Shields wins via submission!

Several minutes had passed since Avery had made her way backstage. An EMT had insisted on giving the teenager some first aid though, after a brief examination, Ave managed to amicably shoo the physician away.

Her opponent that night, Eka Guramishvili, had certainly got her licks in during their fierce battle. Her youthful, freckled, face sported a couple bruises and a matching black eye--thankfully, the swelling had been minimal. Her bottom lip was busted, but it had stopped bleeding before she had even left the ring. Still, it was hard for her to resist the urge to prod the fresh wound with her tongue.

All-in-all, she had left the ring without any significant injuries. It had been a spectacular, clean, fight. Ave couldn't have asked for much more.

Well, admittedly, winning certainly didn't hurt neither, of course!

At some point, the young redhead had parked herself on to one of the benches that littered the stadium's backstage halls. With Avalanche proceeding into full swing there was plenty of hustle and bustle backstage and, abruptly, a thunderous roar from the crowd easily shook the halls of the stadium. Ave hardly knew what exactly spurred the cheer, but the fiery redhead let out of a rambunctious cheer of her own and quickly fell into a girlish, self-indulgent, laugh. Despite her exuberant outburst, a weary--if satisfying--ache soon settled across her body.

Feeling herself unwinding, Ave settled into an introspective reverie. After such an emotionally charged night, she finally felt as if her feet were once again returning to solid ground. She smiled, though a stubborn stinging sensation came to her eyes. She had fended off her tears once already, she wasn't sure she could do it again...

Ugh, keep it together, Ave. Perhaps, she was just being overly self-conscious--what harm could a few tears do? Regardless, Ave's fierce pride fought desperately to keep her sentimentality at bay.

Taylor moved through the AFW halls with squared shoulders and a cocky stride, an infectious grin on her lips, and a barely contained energy that seemed to glow just beneath her skin. She was clad in her warmups, a black Johnny Higurashi tank top under that, and was on her way to her dressing room for a long night of warming up and waiting for her moment.

As she passed, she spotted the spunky young redhead sitting off to the side, and her face lit up. "Heeyyy, dude! Who the fuck are you, man?" She laughed, and hopped up to Avery to give her a slap on the shoulder. "I caught your match, most of it. Good job, dude! How's it feel to just walk in off the street and pick up an Avalanche win?"

"Holy shit!... Taylor Parker? You're Taylor Parker!"

Holy shit, the redhead's flustered thoughts couldn't help but echo her exclamation. It really was Taylor Parker--Avery had kept a poster of the woman plastered on her wall for how many years now? It was definitely her. The redhead bounced to her feet, unable to hide the hero worship that gleamed in her notably glossy, brown, eyes.

"Wow, I don't even--," she paused a moment to compose herself and failed horribly, "Where do I even begin?" She gave a helpless laugh and then simply spoke from the heart, "I feel fucking amazing!... You actually saw my fight? Like, for real?"

The moment felt utterly surreal and entirely too good to be true.

"Yeah?" Taylor grinned. She took Avery's fandom in stride, like a professional. It wasn't every day, though, that she found a fan in a fellow Friction wrestler. She had a history of not getting along very well with the competition.

"I saw a lot of it. I'm not really gonna have a chance to sit down and watch stuff today, but I caught it from the monitors back, like... over there." She waved off down the hall. "You had some good knees and stuff. She had you in some trouble, too, man. You're tough as shit. What's your name?"

"I'm--ugh, that's so awesome. I can't believe it," her voice cracked and seemed to trail off. A few stubborn teardrops crept down the overwhelmed girl's freckled visage. Ave's features flushed deeply and she hastily attempted to wipe away the damnable tears. She had picked a hell of a time to crack, but Taylor's praise had sealed the deal on the waterworks.

"Wow, I swear this isn't normal for me," she insisted with a meek laugh, "I know it's dumb, but it's just been an emotional night, you know?... And, then, here you are."

Stop sobbing and give her your name, dummy! The chastising thought was sobering, Ave gathered herself up once more and set her misty gaze confidently back on Taylor, "Avery Shields," she gave her name with an appreciative smile and quickly added, "Oh! But you can call me Ave. I mean, if that's cool with you?"

The teenager's tearful smile was soon enhanced by Ave's typical exuberant charm.

"Haaaa!" Taylor laughed good-naturedly when Avery became emotional. She just had to hug her.

"Hey, don't ever be afraid to cry. Everyone's gonna see everything, anyway, and trying to hold it in's just gonna mess with your head." Lord knew the odds were that Taylor was going to end up crying tonight, for one reason or another, and probably in front of millions.

"Okay, cool. Good to meet you, Ave. I gotta run and start getting ready and stuff, but... hey," she looked directly at the young redhead and said sincerely "Come find me sometime. Not tonight, but like, me or Junko or anyone. I think I wanna talk to you about something. Okay?" She flashed her gorgeous, cutting, camera-ready grin and looked back at Avery as she began to walk past her.

"Great job tonight, man, go enjoy it. Don't get too cocky about that submission, though! That shit won't work on me, motherfucker!" With a laugh, Taylor headed off down the hall to begin further preparations for the biggest, most terrifying match of her life.

A hug. God, that was exactly what she needed. The fiery redhead smiled and kept a stiff upper lip despite the touching gesture. Words couldn't have even begin to describe Ave's gratitude and when Taylor flashed that alluring grin Ave nearly melted where she stood. The teenager's treasured poster she kept up on the wall in her tiny apartment didn't even slightly do the woman justice.

Ave was simply starstruck, but Taylor's infectiousness charisma easily elevated the young girl's spirit on to an entirely new plateau.

She laughed unabashedly at the blonde's teasing remark, it felt incredibly flattering. In return, she eagerly called out to the woman, "You got it! I'll find you, no matter what! Thank you! Thank you so much!"

Naturally, she would have loved to have spent the whole night talking with the superstar, but it was quite understandable that Taylor had places to be. Not to mention a frickin' championship title to win. As Taylor's figure disappeared down the hall, Ave immediately regretted inadvertently missing her chance to show Taylor her support. She had been completely swept up in the emotional moment, there was so much to absorb and even more she had wanted to say.

You got this, Taylor, I know you can do it, Ave smiled and offered the sentiments wholeheartedly even if Taylor couldn't hear them now. Ave's battle had concluded, but there was no doubt that there was going to be one of hell of a night yet to come to Geneva!