Facing The Little Princess

Temporary love - Ben Platt

I exhaled nervously as white fogs came out of my nose. Glasgow was definitely not the best place to be at night. I rubbed my hands together with force as I regretted not wearing a glove. I was in front of the locked gym, waiting for Aiden. He had texted me to wait for him here at 8PM. Surprisingly, people still roamed the streets at this time. It was like no one ever slept in Glasgow. I didn't blame them, I too was roaming the streets making money. I had almost given up and almost ran home when I sighted a man chased by three scary men across the road but I thought of Jack and me. We need this. I need this.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting." I flinched when I heard Aiden's voice and I turned around to see him wrapped in a huge winter coat too. So I wasn't the only one affected by the cold. "Living with three tough girls and a tough wife isn't easy for me" he said giving me an apologetic smile.

"It's all good Aiden. I wasn't here for long." I lied, the words bitter at the tip of my tongue. I hated lying. It made me feel filthy but I had no choice. Mom taught me never to lie but a little white lies here and there won't hurt, will it?

"Well then. You ready?" He asked lighting a cigarette and my nose scrunched at the whiff of the cigarette smell.

"Not really but I can handle yes." I joked and he chuckled, plunging the cigarette into his mouth. I watched in curiosity and amusement as he inhaled it passionately and exhaled it through his nose, ignoring the choking stench. I always wondered what men in Scotland found in cigarettes. To me it was a cancer stick. The short cut to death.

"You'll be fine," he muttered and began to walk in long strides. I followed half running and walking, cussing him inwardly for having long legs and cussing myself for being so slow. We kept on walking, passing three streets before he stopped in front of a local club that had DEMETRE'S written on it in neon lights. Next to the building was a tiny passage that had a staircase leading to darkness. I had the urge to ask if it was safe but clamped my mouth shut.

"This way," he muttered dumping the used cigarette on the floor and going up the stairs. I followed him closely, really scared. We got to the top of the stairs and went down again. We stopped in front of a black door that had Aiden's wrestling club on it just like the name of his gym. Aiden's gym.

"Here we are kid," he said and opened the door. People, mostly men and teenagers surrounded a ring with black ropes. I spotted a few teenage girls and women but they appeared gothic. The place stenched of sweat but I felt a little safe as I stared at the bouncers everywhere. Aiden was a good business man. It was so loud in here as people cheered and screamed and I knew the walls were soundproof.

"Here's how my club works," he started moving in and I followed him like a slave desperate to hear her master's rules.

"You snitch, you get stitches. I have protection from the corrupt police here so reporting won't get you anywhere," he said and I gulped.

"If you get paired in a match and you win the match, you get paid in cash immediately. You get paid according to your performance and the audience," he said and I nodded, getting interested. I had a feeling this was going to be fun.

"Now watch and learn, you're next," he announced as we got near the ring. They let me stay there because I was with Aiden and he was the owner.

Two men were about to fight but something else caught my eyes.

Lo and behold, across the other side of the audience, at the front row, there Finneas sat next the woman he was arguing with today and the man that sat at the passenger seat of the car, smoking. My eyes widened in shock as I noticed he looked bored. So maybe this place wasn't secluded after all. I stared at him admiring the way he had his lips pouted. Those dark pink almost red attractive lips that had butterflies stirring in the pit of my stomach. I shook all nasty thoughts I had of him and attempted to focus on the match before me but as I stared back, the match had ended. Meaning I was up next. Holy damn.

"Next up. Give it up for our little princess, the one and only nose breaker, Nina!" The guy with the microphone in the middle of the ring called out and my heart sinked down my chest as I saw who he called little princess. She was no princess but a beast. She had a leather jacket and a black bra on with black leather shorts. Her hair was short and combed down. Her boots were spiky with thorns all over like the leather jacket my favorite British rock star Yungblud wears. She had a red mouth guard on and I shivered. She came into the ring and showcased herself more like a dance stripper and everyone cheered. I glanced at Finneas and noticed he had his eyes glued to his phone. Good.

"Going against Nina we have our newest member, the girl with scary fight scar, the unbeatable Po!" He called and my breath hitched as I stared at Aiden who winked at me.

"Don't beat that record but give it your best shot!" Aiden yelled at me over the loud cheers pushing me forward. I gingerly climbed my way over the ropes and got into the ring to face my worst fear. She glared at me in fight position, Teeth open showing the bloody red mouth guard.

"Lord give me strength." I whispered into the hot air and glanced at Finneas who had his eyes wide as saucers as we made eye contact. Great. Fucking great. I'm about to make a fool of myself in front of my crush. Fucking great. Can I be fucking reminded why I agreed to this. Oh yeah. To take care of Jack.

"I can do this. I've seen it in WWE. I'm gonna fight like Rhonda Rowsy and win like Becky Lynch." I said to myself and the guy left the two of us in the ring. I exhaled loudly and the bell rang.

Hope you all enjoyed this