Elevator Music To Your Ears

AFW HQ in Toyko: 8:13 p.m.

Wearing the tailored navy suit that Eliza Harenwood  had given him for Christmas, Clyde Gastin was just leaving an office on the top floor of AFW HQ after signing the contract regarding his upcoming rematch for the AFW Tension Title just to make things official. He could have easily signed the contract in Kyoto but he had just happened to be visiting his sister in Tokyo so they had the contract faxed over for the cowboy who happened to be in the area and thus save a good three hours.

Adjusting his tie, Clyde headed down the hallway at a slow pace, mulling over his situation with Eliza and all the drama with Lilly. He sighed and just tried to ignore it, right now all he had to think about was Ami Takeuchi and getting the title back from her once and for all!

Now he could go home and most likely train.

With that on his mind, Clyde pushed the elevator button and inwardly nodded to himself to go straight home and focus on the match ahead, sure it was about eight p.m. but late night workouts were awesome.

The door opened and Clyde stepped in.

"Hmm..."

Dressed in a cobalt blue and white dress that extended to her feet with her sunflower blonde hair fashioned into eye-catching curls that bounced slightly with each poised step, a certain lady of regality casually strolled past the executive offices of AFW with her attention centered squarely on the tablet held in her right hand. A decidedly stuffy environment dotted with water coolers and rubber potted plants that some wrestlers may have felt out of place traipsing through.

Though for Gwendolyn this was a welcome respite from having to associate herself with the lower class rabble in the league. An experience she attempted to avoid at all times, hence why she prefers to hobnob with those of a higher social class on this floor of the building. Now with her various business affairs concluded, including making certain arrangements in regards to her burgeoning tag-team career, Gwen now found herself retreating to the luxurious confines of her limousine downstairs. Waiting patiently to whisk her away back to her humble mansion...

...Just as soon as she could catch the elevator about to close its doors.

The heiress extended her white satin-gloved hand inside just before it closed to have it open back up again thanks to the sensors. Gwen strolled into the elevator still perusing the quarterly earnings of her company on her tablet as she stood beside someone she only vaguely made out from the corner of her eye as someone dressed in a dreadfully tacky suit.

"Lobby, s'il vous plaît ..." Gwen uttered in her posh vocals, feverishly swiping away at her portable device and absorbing vast amounts of financial information...all while waiting patiently, for who she assumed was an elevator operator, to get her downstairs, post-haste.

Clyde was hitting the button when he noticed a young woman on the way but barely getting a good look at her, hearing the clacking of her heels against the floor and seeing her soft white glove clad hand extend outward. The cowboy's eyes widened, prompting him to quickly hit another button to open up the doors to let her in before seeing this tall and voluptuous young woman enter the elevator.

She was dressed like a queen, her skin was flawless and and her hair was perfect, the sight of Gwen had Clyde just staring at her with a dumbfounded look on her face and a light blush on his cheeks as he looked at Gwen, before he realized who she was exactly.

That lady who cheats a lot.

Suddenly she spoke up and Clyde jumped a bit, looking around before realizing she meant him and then trying to remember if his mom ever said s'il vous plaît and what it meant!

"L-Lobby....S-Soooon... Right now?" He asked before just pushing '1' on the dial as the doors shut.

"Pardon me, Ma'am but... Ain't you..." Clyde began to say as the elevator began to clearly lower for a moment before giving a startling jerk that halted its momentum before the lights suddenly flickered off and went pitch black.

"Uh oh."

Perusing her tablet with rhythmic swipes of her dainty finger, Gwen's attention was zeroed in on the share prices of her company while using her knowledge of macroeconomics to decipher the copious amounts of information at her fingertips...still not taking the time to lift her head up to acknowledge the elevator operator at her side.

Her pampered upbringing teaching her to never fraternize with the "help" unless absolutely necessary. And normally, those underlings knew better than to exceed their boundaries and address their employers out of turn. At least that was the way her corporation was managed. So Gwendolyn couldn't help but furrow her brow in irritation and slightly turn away from the elevator operator once he began to start some form of idle chit chat. The heiress having no intention of discussing her notoriety with-

*screech*

The screeching stop of the elevator would jostle Gwen from her one-track mind and have her stumble in place with a startled gasp. Gwen clutched her tablet close to her chest for the few terrifying seconds of pitch black darkness before the elevator lights kicked back on...

...with the heiress finding herself leaning heavily against the elevator operator. Staring up at him in wide, hazel-eyed innocence with their faces inches apart while wrapped up in his arms...before an angered scowl crept across her heavenly visage with Gwen aggressively shoving the elevator operator back as hard as she could.

"What manner of addle-brained imbecile can't operate a rudimentary lift?! I certainly hope you weren't overtly fond of this position, because I can absolutely guarantee it won't be waiting for you before this time tomorrow!!" Gwen hollered with her hands on her hips, already giving him more than a piece of her mind.

Lights went pitch black as he heard that horrid screech before feeling something... Or rather someone one press against him so suddenly! It was out of reflex that Clyde wrapped his arms around the woman until the lights came on and Clyde saw the heriess' flawless face so close to his own! "Uhh..." Clyde found himself red faced as he stared at Gwen, unsure of what to do or say as he was stood so close to the beautiful blonde haired heairess who... suddenly shoved back and finding out just how undainty the Friction star could be as he nearly flew right off his feet!

"Gh!" The cowboy flew back a little and smacked the guard rail as he stared at Gwen with wide eyed disblief as she went from clinging to him to shoving him!? Women. Go figure.

The cowboy just sort of stood, wide eyed, watching and listening to Gwen just go off on him! He sure didn't know what 'addle-brained' meant but he sure knew what imbecile meant. Her colorful language soon had the cowboy frowning sourly at the spoiled blonde who thought he was some minimum wage chump!

"First off, Ma'am! Clyde T. Gastin might not be no Doctor or Lawyer, But he sure as heck know how ta' run a dang ol' elevator and not break it!" Clyde declared with a finger raised upward.

"Second! I ain't no elevator monkey neither! I'm a wrestler, like you! Clyde Gastin of Tension Pro." Added the cowboy, knowing that was all he needed to say and this gal would know exactly who he was.

Standing authoritatively with every intention of giving the incompetent elevator operator a thorough tongue-lashing, Gwendolyn balked slightly with a raised eyebrow for two overtly jarring reasons.

Firstly...was the horribly distinct and southern twang to his voice that took Gwendolyn by surprise considering she was expecting yet another nebbish Japanese roustabout. The southerly and Texan accent being particularly grating to her refined ears the more he droned on. Secondly...was the full name he continuously bandied about in his rather prideful and repetitive introduction. The synapses fired off in Gwen's mind and she connected the dots rather quickly. Recognizing the case of mistaken identity once he introduced himself as...

"Ahhh~...the Notorious Clyde T. Gastione~..." Gwen elegantly enunciated with a French inflection to his last name, a smug smirk and devious expression now burgeoning from her previously angered temperament. "That certainly explains that...unique, southern drawl of yours. Proper introductions are most certainly in order. Gwendolyn Dupont Bettencourt, of Friction fame~..." Gwen took a step back to gracefully bow and curtsy towards the scruffy haired Texan, years of refined elegance having her pinch the sides of her blue dress to lift them at her sides while crossing her legs before straightening herself back up.

"My most sincere apologies for not recognizing you sooner, Oh Master Of The Tension Elite~...Your..."exploits"..." Gwen raised her arms to provide air quotes to that word. "...are of such renowned infamy that even I myself have heard tell of them. Well, the parts that are acceptable for polite conversation~..." Gwen's innuendo-laden words would show that she was indeed aware of his rather lascivious history in Tension. Though before she would continue on with what she knew about him, Gwen would turn in place and step towards the elevator buttons.

"However, clearly my dear boy, you are not so intellectually gifted as to know how to operate a device as primitively rudimentary as a simple lift. Observe..." Gwen pridefully stated with a prim smile while beginning to press the floor buttons on the panel...to no effect. The heiress clearly becoming agitated by the look in her eyes as she began pressing all the buttons she could press, harder and harder...to still no effect.

"...grrr..."

Clyde just sort of stood there blinking as Gwendolyn elegantly pronounced his name, her demeanor no longer angered with him or frustrated but instead being rather formal and courteous. Clyde liked that side of her, but even he was a little weary of how quick her moods were shifting from politely dismissive, to pissed off, to attentive and polite.

"Women... Go figure." . Clyde thought before speaking up, only to pause as Gwen gave an unexpected, formal bow and elegant curtsy that had Clyde blushing a bit. Eliza and him were so casual now that prim and proper, elegant greetings like this were alien to Clyde who couldn't help but stand up straight and give Gwen a firm bow, lowering his head to her with his hands at his sides. He didn't know why he did it, he just figured he was supposed to be formal too.

"O-Oh yes! It's real nice ta' finally meetcha Miss Bettencourt. I've sure heard a lot about ya for a real long time." Lots of bad things regarding her cheating ways but many good things. A likely contender for the Friction Title based on her successful Entropy reign.

Although he was a bit miffed at first, Clyde was pleasantly surprised to hear that Gwen knew about him and even blushed bashfully as she called him the 'Master Of The Tension Elite'. That was very flattering to hear from the lovely Friction Star. Her apology was certainly accepted, but If Gwen was giving subtle jabs, it went over the thick skull of the cowboy who found himself confused as Gwen gave the air quotes and talked about his exploits.

"Oh." Clyde sealed his lips tight and felt a little embarrassed, not realizing what she was talking about at first before realizing he had a few sticky matches in his sort of clean career. She must be a real fan if she knew about some of the more lewd fights. But before Clyde got a chance to try and clear up some of those matches, the vocabulary-challenged American managed to catch one of Gwen's verbal jobs as she apparently insulted his intelligence!?

His eyes perked up before his brow furrowed a bit, wrinkling his nose at her. He said nothing and ended up crossing his arms while tilting his back confidently as Gwen strode over to the Elevator dial that she would attempt to operate.

Clyde just stood in the corner, arms still crossed as he ogled the cute heiress while she adorably attempted to get the elevator working again, going from graceful to clearly agitated. Even Clyde had to stifle a laugh.

"Sorry, I'm a lil' slow with elevators, mind showin' me how ta' press them buttons again?" Said Clyde, expecting Gwen to no doubt glare at him, while he would show her his very coy grin before stepping off the wall of the elevator.

"Pardon me." He'd say before stepping beside Gwen and leaning over a bit to hit a big red button that said 'Emergency Call'. "I'll never understand why numbers and basic things have English text but the instructions are are always Japanese, but I 'spose I can't complain." Said Clyde before pushing the Emergency button which led to the intercom being turned on and a woman speaking in Japanese.

"<Hello, AFW Headquarters Emergency Service how can we help you?>"

"Uh... Yeah, hi? We're stuck in the..." Clyde began to say before he was cut off. "Oh dear you're stuck in the elevator? I'm sorry to hear that. I'm afraid we had a system failure and we're working on fixing the motor as we speak... It should only take about thirty minutes to an hour!" Said the woman as sincerely as possible while Clyde turned around to look at Gwen with a worried look.

It appeared they'd have to get comfy now.

Gwendolyn's patience was being tested as her furious jamming of the elevator buttons continued to get her no reaction. Except for the snarky comment behind her. Gwendolyn indeed turning her head to shoot Clyde a scowling glare when he turned her words right back against her. Though what was perhaps more irritating was when Clyde stepped beside her and pressed the blaringly obvious Emergency Call button. The heiress standing back at attention and crossing her arms under her chest, looking the other way with her snooty head held high.

"Hmph...I was merely testing to make doubly sure the elevator was malfunctioning before I called for assistance, which I clearly would have done had you not so rudely interrupted me..." Gwen scolded in an irritated voice while attempting to save face and hide the fact that her Japanese kanji was a tad rusty. For now she stood beside Clyde shoulder to shoulder and listened in on the conversation, the heiress turning to face Clyde with the same worried look when given the grim news. That they would be stuck together.

"W-Well...considering the fastidious workers under their employ, and given the knowledge that an illustrious noble such as myself may be trapped in it's confines, it stands to reason that we should have this matter solved in an even shorter amount of time. Perhaps ten, fifteen minutes at best~..." Gwendolyn assuredly stated with a haughty smirk with all the confidence in the world that they should be moving in no time flat.


AFW HQ in Tokyo: 8:38 p.m


Seated against the elevator wall with her arms folded and her index finger repeatedly tapping on her arm, Gwendolyn continued to plan out who amongst her employees she intends to fire first for this entire debacle. A half an hour passing with not much being spoken between the pair as she sat across from Clyde. Only offering a passing glance in Clyde's direction before anxiously looking elsewhere, Gwen wasn't exactly offering the Texan a cordial invitation to start a conversation...

"Uh huh." Clyde replied dryly to Gwen before hearing her fancy words regard their current situation. Gwen had a vocabulary that had the cowboy practically scratching his head as he TRIED to keep up and understand her as best he could. And he did, mostly. But the moment he heard Gwen talk about how long this would take, Clyde couldn't shake an eerie possibility that perhaps, she had just jinxed them.

The minutes had passed for a what felt like an eternity and Clyde worried if perhaps, they were indeed screwed. His phone battery was running low and that meant no more video games to pass the time as the two wrestlers were cooped up in this elevator with Clyde giving Gwen a few looks as she seemed to tap away at her arm and try to make the time go by.

Even Clyde felt like he had to break the ice so it wouldn't be so awkward in here.

"So... Uh... Ya gonna be late fer anythin' today?" Clyde mused a little.

Time seemed to somehow pass even slower in the cramped quarters of the defective elevator, Gwendolyn glancing down at the blinking battery light on her tablet next to her. Her own device seconds away from dying as well and taking all of her precious stock information with it. She lamented the fact that without it she would be unaware of the time with no reading material to occupy her busy mind as well...and that she now had nothing else to distract her from engaging in conversation and actually getting to know Clyde Gastin.

Her lamentable prediction becoming a reality when Clyde spoke up and broke the deadening silence between them, grabbing her attention with a curious gaze. She sighed deeply before attempting to once again freeze over the ice Clyde was trying to break.

"...*sigh*...A valiant attempt at forced camaraderie, but ultimately futile. I somehow find it hard to believe someone of your caliber could ever partake in any form of thought-provoking repartee. Besides, I suffer through enough inane chit-chat throughout my daily routine as is. Presidents, celebrities, CEO's. Nothing but..." Gwen raised back up to her feet and began waltzing around the elevator while inspecting it from corner to corner, continuing to speak but not looking down at Clyde. "...ritualistic gladhanding and exchanging of favors. Yes, I get quite enough of that, to say the least, thank you very much. Besides, I do believe I may know of another, more...productive usage of our time together~..." Gwen softly spoke before peering down towards Clyde with half-lidded eyes and devious, suggestive, and seemingly impure intentions written all over her face. With a clicking of her pearl white boots, Gwen would extend her arm and daintily point her index finger down right in front of her.

"Now, Monsieur Gastin...get on your hands and knees~..."