Don't Look Down

Taylor wore her punky makeup each day to show off her face to the world. She had never been the kind of girl to want to hide in a crowd, never been shy or bashful, never had a second thought about flaunting herself. Maybe not to the extent that some of the AFW skanks did, but Taylor knew she looked good, and she liked the feeling of all eyes being on her when she took the stage.

Some days, though, the slower mornings, she felt as if she was putting on a mask. Her bold, black eyeliner, carefully drawn in, her smoky and punky eyeshadow, felt more like a barrier between herself in the world, on the days when she just didn't want anyone to see. When she had something to hide. Like today.

Today she just wanted to put a bag over her head to hide her swollen, red-and-purple face. The after affects of her fractured eye socket and re-broken nose were slightly jarring at first sight, and she couldn't bear the thought of people's reactions to her. She couldn't wear a bag out in public, but she put on the next best thing: her black hoodie. She pulled the hood over her head and pulled the strings.

She had a meeting to attend in Tokyo, and she wasn't looking forward to it. She never looked forward to spending any time with Lukretia Von Creuzfeldt, probably no one did, but she had received a message from Hilde before she could make the call to demand a meeting of her own, and if they both wanted it then there was no putting it off. The same old train ride, and she was back at AFW.

She drew a deep breath to help sooth her nerves before she could set foot in the building. She hoped against hope that she could make it in cleanly without running into anyone, but being that she was until very recently the champ, it was unlikely that she would go unrecognized. Whatever.

She took the back way through the building, avoiding the more public areas and cutting through backstage. In the middle of the day, there was no Friction show going on, so hopefully it would be clear sailing. She put one foot in front of the other in her haphazardly half-tied, worn out and cherry red Doc Martens on her way to the elevator.

Angel looked up at the wrestler's entrance to the AFW complex, and smiled.

She hadn't been here in well over six months, not since her final appearance with Taylor, before she had hopped the plane to fly across the world for Avalanche. She had taken care of her time off via phone, and hadn't had a reason to visit the place since she had returned to Japan.

But, she had to work out the details of her return, and that required a visit with the always pleasant Lukretia. It wasn't how Angel wanted to spend her day, but she didn't have much of a choice. She was ready to get back in the ring, and she was feeling more then a little anxious and impatient about her return. Today's visit was a necessary evil. She just hoped it would go by quick and without incident.

Without another moment's hesitation, Angel slipped through the entrance and into the building, taking her time passing through the backstage hallways of the arena. It felt good to be back. Really good. She might not have really been back yet, but just being backstage was making her feel good, making her feel like she was back home, where she truly belonged.

After taking a lazy, roundabout trip through the hallways, she sighed to herself, and finally decided to bite the bullet. There was no point in stalling any longer, she decided. She took a turn towards hallway that led to the elevator that led up to Lukretia's office, and stopped as she noticed someone else standing there waiting for it. She was taken slightly by surprise, not having expected anyone else to be here at this time of day.

With a shrug, she picked up her pace again and stepped up to the elevator, standing beside the girl as they both waited for it to arrive. After a few silent seconds, she spoke up, glancing out of the corner of her eye towards the other person.

"Going to see Luk?" she asked, a friendly tone to her voice as she slowly tapped one foot against the floor, impatient for the elevator's arrival. "Looks like she's got a busy day today, huh?"

Ugh. Company.

Taylor kept her head down and eyes forward, hands stuffed in the pockets of her skinny jeans. The hoodie would hide her from this chick well enough...

"Yh..." She quietly cleared her throat. "Yeah."

She hazarded a glance over at the girl, and instantly recognized her. Her head snapped back forward, and she had to stop herself from making a sound. She did not want to see her right now. Though, of everyone, she might understand, at least a little... Though it was just as likely she'd want to rub Taylor's face in it. She hadn't seen her since Avalanche. It was good to see she was still alive, at least.

But maybe she could just stay inconspicuous... except that her tell-tale red-streaked blonde hair ran out from under her hood and over her shoulders. She awkwardly tried crossing her arms in such a way as to hide it, but it was no use at all.

"Hey, Angel," she said quietly, after admitting defeat to her hair.

Well. This certainly got awkward fast.

Angel didn't even have to look at Taylor again to know it was her. She would have recognized that voice anywhere. Part of her wanted to groan, and part of her wanted to turn and walk away. Of all the people she could have ran into, it just had to be Taylor. In the back of her mind, she was already thinking about how bad this situation could go.

She sighed again, and shook her head.

She remained quiet for a moment, then finally answered Taylor, looking away from her as she talked. "Hey, chica," she replied, keeping her voice light, and friendly. "Been a while, huh?"

"Uh..."

Bing!

The two were mercifully rescued by the elevator doors opening, allowing a moment of respite while they repositioned inside. Taylor hit the button for the top floor and leaned against the wall with her arms folded. There was really no use in hiding now, but she still didn't want Angel to see her all busted up. For some reason. Pride.

"You really disappeared, man," she said, her voice scratchy. She cleared her throat again. "Where'd you go?"

Angel stepped into the elevator, taking a position on the opposite side from Taylor. She was glad for the brief respite too, but it didn't last as long as she had hoped.

"Took some time off," she answered, stealing a glance towards Taylor. "Spent a month or so back home, visiting the family. Been too long since I had gone back home, you know?"

She lifted up her shoulders, letting them roll backwards, trying to keep herself relaxed as she kept talking. "After Avalanche, after...you know, I figured it was a good time to cash in some of my vacation time."

She glanced towards Taylor again, letting her gaze linger on her longer this time. "Don't worry. I'm back now. I don't plan on vanishing like that again for a long time, either." She grinned, just a small grin, but a grin nonetheless, a small attempt at keeping the air from getting too tense between them.

Taylor breathed a small laugh. "Yeah..." She put her hands behind her hips on the wall and leaned against them. "I really want to do that. It's been... Well, four-and-a-half years, outside of the one time last summer, in Jersey. I went to the city then, but... I didn't see anybody."

She didn't see her mom, the only person she had back home. Which was the reason why she hadn't been back.

"Sorry," she said, though she wasn't totally sure why.

"About the same for me. Last time I visited the family was back during the first Avalanche. Didn't have a match, so I took some time off and went back to visit home." She closed her eyes, leaning back against the wall of the elevator, but then opened an eye curiously as Taylor apologized to her.

"Sorry?" she asked quietly. "For what, chica?"

Well, when you put it that way...

Taylor opened her mouth to speak, but had no words. She lifted a hand in front of her and let it drop, and then shrugged and shook her head.

She changed the subject. "So like..." She began, and hesitated. She looked across at the Latina with earnest eyes. "Are you okay?"

Angel opened her other eye, and lifted an eyebrow towards Taylor. She shrugged at her, then lifted a hand upwards, brushing away her hair to show off a small scar going across part of her forehead.

"Other then this little momento from when you busted me open?" She grinned slightly wider at Taylor, meeting her eyes for an instant before looking away again, dropping her hand back down. "Of course I'm okay. It's been seven months. Plenty of time to get over anything that was wrong."

Her grin dropped off her face though, and she dropped her voice to a softer tone again. "What about you? How are you doing?"