Drifting to Tokyo

Talia had nodded to Taylor. "I am hanging in there. It's tough...but I'll make it." She was really more concerned with Taylor's well being at that point. Taylor had been beaten up badly in the ring, but Talia hadn't known the extent of the injuries until just now. She wanted to give her some words of wisdom or something to make her feel better, but Taylor did seem to be somewhat lively despite the injury. Anything she said would be wasted, but regardless she blurted out, "You're strong, I know you'll make it." She offered one last smile before Taylor turned around.

"This is-" but before she even introduced him, Taylor pushed right by her and leaped at Johnny. What happened next left Talia with her mouth open. She watched as Taylor poured her soul out onto him. Not only did she confess why she was acting a certain way, but also apologized for assuming he spent time with Tension girls. Talia felt compassion for the girl, even despite the circumstances. Then she realized what it meant. Taylor was referring to girls like her! Without even realizing, Talia had become that girl. The home wrecker.

But it wasn't until Taylor stared at Talia that it really hit her hard. Five minutes before, she didn't have a care in the world despite all the problems she had. Now, that veil of ignorance had been removed. She wanted to say something, she really did. But almost anything she said would have been inappropriate at the time. Instead, she turned to look at Johnny. It was hard to tell if she was mad, sad, or anything else. Hell, even she didn't know how she felt. She just muttered "Johnny..." once, before also turning around and crossing her arms, not wanting to look at him at that moment.

Johnny was gratefully enjoying his sushi when suddenly Talia announced that the last person he wanted to see was there, right near by and that she was not only a fan but was determined to go make contact. Johnny's eyes widened and he suddenly felt his heart sink as Talia skipped over there.

He watched silently as they made small talk. Why wouldn't his body move and crawl away? Why wouldn't it let him escape this living nightmare? He knew what would inevitably happen and he tried to think of what he should do. His heart was pounding and he thought he was going to start sweating. He tugged at his collar and before he was halfway through his thoughts, Taylor was pouncing on him. He sucked in a breath and stared deeply into her eyes.

He wanted to hold her, tell her everything was ok and take her back right then and there. He opened his mouth to speak but it remained without voice. Finally when she was finished, Talia chimed in and his heart sank. This was a mess and somehow he felt like a jerk when he didn't even DO anything!

He stood up and hugged Taylor tightly. His strong arms embraced her and his hand rubbed her back to comfort her. He closed his eyes so he wouldn't be able to see Talia and then he pulled Taylor to arms length and looked at her. "I kinda liked the blue hair..." He said and then smiled. "But... The black hair looks good too." He then lowered his head. "I wish... I wish you had told me all that instead of throwin me out without even giving me a damn reason!" Johnny sighed and he looked past Taylor to Talia.

"Talia-chan I'm... I'm sorry I... Taylor and I.. We're going out. Or... Well I dunno. I'm not sure right now what we are. I can't say I didn't think we were still together a little bit but... I should have told you. I can't say it never came up but I didn't tell ya when I had some chances to either. I was just... you're great an all and I didn't wanna ruin the fun we were havin especially when I didn't really know what was goin on!"

Johnny stepped away from Taylor and ran his fingers through his hair. "Shit!" He said. He then looked at Taylor. "I'm gonna finish my date with Talia-chan." He said. "I need to think about all this... I'll call you tomorrow. We'll talk. We'll sort it all out."

"But... I won't be able to know for sure what to do until I finish my day! It wouldn't be fair to Talia-chan either! If..." He looked to Talia with nervous eyes. "If you still feel like it..."

Johnny just wasn't sure about what was going on... He felt sick.

Taylor stiffly accepted Johnny's hug and fought the urge to bury herself in him. She couldn't decide whether she wanted to rage or start sobbing, so she did neither and her face maintained a blank, tepid expression that anyone in the world could read.

"I broke up with Johnny." Taylor offered by way of clarification for Talia's sake, her voice strong, the absence of anger on her face was more threatening. "A little over two weeks ago."

She stepped back and looked between Johnny and Talia. She found herself curiously numb, but she still couldn't leave. "So how did you guys meet? How long have you been dating?" She asked, in a cold approximation of polite interest. In the back of her mind was the fear that They'd been dating for two weeks, or longer. If Johnny really had been... she didn't know what she'd do.

But what did she care, she told herself. She broke up with Johnny. She dumped him, and hard. He was yesterday's news, right? What did she care?

Johnny furrowed his brow at Taylor's words. He looked at her with more coldness than he wanted. "We aren't dating... we're on a date..." He said simply. He had to make sure that everyone knew that as well. He felt bad for being so definitive with Talia. "We met yesterday. We had a match... I... " Johnny paused and turned his head. He couldn't say he had beaten the crap out of her.

"We had a match and talked afterwards and decided to hang out today. That's it." He said sternly. "Now... we're decided to make a date of it and ... see what happens." He had decided. Just now. Taylor was putting him in a spot that he did not like to be in. But if she was going to clarify so earnestly, then he would have to as well.

Talia was torn. She felt like an idiot, that she had no idea that Taylor and Johnny had dated (or were still dating). She alone had initiated all of this by nosily walking over and introducing herself to Taylor. When Taylor said that she had, indeed, broken up with Johnny, part of Talia wanted to just be rid of her. Too bad, it was your fault. But at the same time, she felt so sorry for her. The way Taylor leaped at Johnny and fell apart in his arms. She had lost her title, was injured, and now didn't have a boyfriend? For once, Talia looked at someone and felt that she had it worse than her. When she then kept a blank stare, her emotions clearly being repressed, Talia felt all the worse. She had seen the girl open up, then close just as fast.

And the way Johnny wanted to reason it out. Taylor said they had split, but Johnny seemed hesitant about it. If it was the other way around, Talia wouldn't have minded. It was the fact that Johnny wasn't sure about his relationship with Taylor and still agreed to spend all this time with her. Had Johnny at least told Talia about Taylor, it wouldn't have been as awkward. Had she known he was on makeshift or confusing break, she would never have been so physical with him. He listed Akashi and Cecilia as Friction wrestlers her knew, but not Taylor. Not his (somewhat) ex-girlfriend. She felt that they had grown close, that information regarding an ex-girlfriend in the AFW (a popular one at that) was not something to be kept a secret.

So when Johnny said to Taylor that he would finish his date with her, Talia just shook her head. "I'm sorry...but I don't think I can do this." Even if Taylor left at the moment, or even if she (for some reason) told Johnny that they were through for good, Talia didn't think she could go on with the date. She just felt so insanely uncomfortable at that moment. She just wanted to leave. So without another word, that's exactly what she was going to try to do. Talia lifted up her bag and pulled ten thousand yen, approximately half the cost of the trip and meal, and dropped the money on the table. "Thank you," she muttered quietly to Johnny, though since she had paid him back for their day, one could wonder why she thanked him.

As she began to walk off without even saying goodbye to either of the two, she stopped to look at Taylor. With an apologetic look, she stated simply, "I'm sorry." Talia then would start walking away from the two, to let them work out what they have (or didn't have). She had a great time with Johnny that day, but the awkwardness of the situation was just too much for her. She never wanted to be part of such drama.

Johnny's remark cut Taylor deeply enough that it appeared to not affect her much at all. She only straightened up a little, clenched her jaw, and consciously made an effort to unclench her fists. All of this was her fault. Because she couldn't ever get her shit together, she'd ruined every meaningful relationship she had.

Except for Cassie, but... Cassie didn't count, at least that's how she felt at that moment, unfair or not. She knew everything was her fault, so why did it all feel so unfair? She stuffed the part of her that wanted to fall apart sobbing on the ground deep, deep down inside her, and only showed the outside world her stone face and deliberately inert body language.

"Don't worry, Johnny" Taylor started in a low voice as Talia started to leave. "There are plenty of fish in the sea, am I right?" She flashed him a deadly serious look, and then turned to walk after Talia and leave Johnny behind.

In her current mood, she found herself walking fast enough that she quickly passed Talia, and had to stop for a moment to let her catch up.

"Talia." She said, walking along side her. "All that hang in there bullshit, that's only half of it. Right? You gotta realize, if you want to fight here, no one is going to help you. If you think they will, you deserve everything you get, and if you can't cut it here, quit. No one wants to see some stupid girl get killed in the ring when she should've been home baking cookies." She touched Talia's arm with the back of her hand to stop her and looked at her with intense, dark blue eyes. "You'll always be alone, no matter what. You should be very afraid of everyone else you see in that ring, because people like you a toy to them. They will play with you until you break, and they will enjoy it."

She looked away, let her eyes wander casually around the street, and began walking as if they were just taking a leisurely stroll. "Good to meet you, anyway, sorry I ruined your date. If you ever make the switch to Friction, feel free to find me in the gym if you want to get your ass kicked." It was honestly about as friendly an invitation as she could muster.

She turned to cross the street, just to get away from Talia. She had nowhere in particular to go. It didn't matter where she ended up anymore, did it?

"No..." Johnny muttered as he watched Talia and then Taylor leave. He was going to run after her but Taylor was faster. He stood for a minute,watching them speak before he chased after.

"No! Hell no!" He shouted at Taylor as he approached. "You don't get to act like you're the one who got hurt!" He growled. "I didn't do a damn thing to you! In fact, I BEGGED you to let me in! What hurt worse then being thrown out was not even bein given a FUCKING reason!"

He motioned to Talia. "Talia-chan's a nice girl and you know what... I DID hurt her. Our match yesterday ... I took my frustrations over you on her... and... for some fuckin reason... she still even spoke to me! She has a right to be pissed off, you don't! All I wanted was to finish my day and gather my thoughts. That way too much to ask!?" Johnny's face was red. He felt himself shaking as well. This was hard.

We built... a life together.. I thought we did or were tryin to or whatever the fuck it was. I know we weren't like married and shit or... whatever but we were together for a long damn time, I guess. maybe it wasn't I dunno, man. But you tossed me out with no explanation. and... I didn't stop lovin you even after that when I would have damn well been in my right to! I..." Johnny took a deep breath, his voice cracked a little anyway. "I still love ya... even.. even if I'm stupid for doin that but... fuck... I don't think I was askin for much... "

Johnny lowered his head and sighed. He then glanced over to Talia. "I'm... sorry, Talia-chan. Every time you open up to me, I just keep hurting you. I'm worse than those pieces of shit you had to fight in Tension. At least.. they are assholes on purpose..."

Taylor's lip curled and her fists clenched. Of course Johnny didn't do anything, didn't she say that already. She spun to face him.

[size=150:661kz2yg]"I KNOW!" She screamed so loud the whole street looked at her and her face turned red. "FUCK!"

She turned around to keep walking and stopped again, with a pained look on her face. She just wanted to leave, but the last thing in the world she wanted to do was leave. It was Johnny's turn to open up, and she owed it to him to stand there and listen.

Her icy composure was quickly dissolved, and she put a hand up to cover her eyes as she again fought back tears. This time it was a losing battle. "I know, I know, I know, Johnny..." She looked up at him, almost too ashamed to make eye contact. "Junichi..."

She believed that he meant what he said, but that didn't change the fact that... what was it? There was nothing wrong with spending some time with a coworker as friends, right? But she couldn't stop picturing them... together. Imagining their match with mutual sexual undertones. Even if she was wrong, it would take time to lose that image.

"I'm so sorry, I'm doing it again, but this time at least I'll give you a reason. I... need time to figure this shit out. Okay? It's just... a lot." She said, and couldn't decide if she should leave or not.

Hey eyes wandered uncomfortably, and there was Talia... Poor Talia. She did seem like a nice girl, even if Taylor wanted to believe that she was a skank. She felt so bad for her, she was excited to meet Taylor and then Taylor inadvertently ruined her day and everything else... Taylor was feeling needy enough at that moment, that she couldn't help but hug her. She wrapped her arms around her and gave her a squeeze, and then let go and stepped back with an awkward, apologetic smile.

Talia looked beside her at Taylor as she followed. She was honestly surprised the girl was following her, she believed she would hate her at this point. Taylor even gave her advice, words that may have been truthful but cut through her hopes anyway. It seemed harsh to live a life alone in this league. The constant training, stress, and pain...People needed someone they could decompress and relax with. For a moment, she did consider quitting. Deep down she knew that Taylor wasn't kidding. She knew that guys (and girls alike) would mistreat and toy with her in the ring because of her size and personality. She just hoped that not everyone would be like that. And from the way she just casually invited her to the gym, it made it seem like all her interactions would be with people who didn't like her.

When Johnny yelled at Taylor and explained everything he felt, Talia turned around as well. His words seemed so heartfelt, so pure. She actually felt a little guilty for being upset at Johnny. Here she thought he had just tried dating her while in an ambiguous part of his relationship. Johnny seemed so much more deep than she had believed. Hell, the day they spent together had made her forget about their match. It all made sense now. She understood why he seemed so spontaneously vicious and brutal to her and why he asked odd questions that she had no answer for. He was better than the other guys of Tension. Sure he may have been an asshole occasionally but the other times more than made up for it.

All in all it made her feel even more terrible. That in this situation, there really was no one to blame, no one who was at clear fault. She wanted to believe it was all someone else's doing so that she could hate them for it and move on. But she couldn't hate either of them. Even Taylor, after all was said and done, reached out to hug her. Part of her wanted to just ignore the hug and shun the girl. She wanted to just move on in life. But she couldn't, that wasn't in her nature. "I'm sorry," she repeated quietly as the two shared an embrace. It was awkward, that was certain, but it at least brought a measure of comfort from the girl whom she thought would hate her. Even as she Taylor smiled at her, Talia had to just smile back.

But among the decent people's words, the girl felt very out of place. They both needed time to think, but Talia already knew what their answers were going to be. Even if they didn't know, she could tell they both really loved each other, they both really needed each other, and they both wouldn't have a good reason not to continue their relationship. And knowing that made it very awkward for her to be standing there. She wanted to leave. So once again, she decided to do just that. "I'm...I'm going to go to the Friction show tonight..." Talia stated in an awkward open invitation to either of the two. "So...see ya later..." Talia would try to walk off and across the street to the arena. The first match didn't start for a couple hours, but it was the best idea she had at the time on how to get away.

Johnny watched as Talia went to leave. He couldn't chase her down anymore. But Taylor might. It seemed like she was more interested in Talia than him right now. Maybe he had been as well. She was new, unique and an innocent escape from the couple's various woes. Johhny reached out to grab Taylor's arm and hold her firmly but not tigtly as he watched Talia and was sure she was at least seriously leaving.

Johnny would then try and step in front of Taylor and look into her eyes. He only needed a single glance. He had to show to her that whatever had happened between him and Talia, which really hadn't even been more than some hand holding and cuddling.

Johnny pused himself forwardto push himself forward and push his lips hard against Taylor's. Whatever she was going throug, he nneded this. From her. He was pretty sure she needed it too. He hoped. Even if she had to part with him again, he couldn't let her leave without it.