Chapter 13

A week later...

Nova had been in the ring practicing every chance she got. Once the wrestling ring was set up from town-to-town, she was there.

After Becket calmed down, he went back to working with her on a regular schedule. He never apologized for spanking Nova, but she just left well enough alone. That week she avoided any conversion as much as possible, as did Becket. Both knew each time they tried to talk it ended in an argument, so it was best to keep conversations to a minimum.

It was the night of the next televised show and Nova arrived with only Claire by her side. She had her entourage stay at the hotel. After they did her hair and makeup, she felt there was no need for the fanfare from that point on. The next morning, she would have a meeting with the team to inform them she was letting them go and sending them on their way.

Once at the stadium, Nova stopped by the women's locker room before heading to see her father.

Walking in with a plan she approached the biggest, strongest female in the room, Tasha Trixx. "Hi, Tasha. I'm Nova."

The tall blonde bodybuilder glanced up from lacing up her boots to see who was addressing her. Tasha went back to attending to her ring gear, not seeming all too pleased that someone was interrupting her. Finally, the woman stood and shook Nova's hand after she finished lacing up.

Nova swallowed down the lump in her throat as gave a weak smile to the seasoned vet. "I wanted to come and introduce myself to some of the girls. I didn't get a chance last week."

"Yeah. You headed out pretty quick after Raven almost knocked your head off." Tasha raised an eyebrow at her.

Nova put her head down while letting out a breath, willing herself to keep calm. "I guess I deserve that. Everyone thinks I'm getting special treatment. I may be but I'm working hard too."

"I heard. Stacy told me." Tasha noticed she seemed upset and relaxed. "I'm sorry. I'm being rude. I am glad to meet you. I love your music."

"Thanks. I'm a huge fan of yours. You're one of the best female wrestlers in the business and I've watched every match. Your sort of my idol. I just wanted to come and ask if maybe you would be interested in working with me in the ring sometime? I'm still pretty rusty, and I want to work with someone besides Becket. I need to get ring time with some girls too if I plan on getting back in there." Nova shuffled back and forth trying to be sincere.

Tasha smiled and patted her shoulder. "Sure. How about tomorrow? We can grab some lunch first and girl talk."

Nova perked up, "Really? I would love-"

Nova stopped in mid-sentence as Raven walked up behind Tasha. Nova stepped back expecting the worst.

"Chill out, rocker girl. I'm not going to kick your ass."

"Raven, I don't want to have heat with you. I understand why you did what you did. I wanted to come to fix this tension between us," Nova said sincerely.

"Huh? You're not mad?" Raven questioned.

"No. We all do things we think we have to do. I'm used to people just assuming I'm a spoiled brat. You really hurt me last week, and I didn't deserve that. If you have a problem with me being here, I understand, but that was wrong." Nova squared her shoulders, standing firm.

Tasha nodded in agreement. "She's right Raven. That was messed up."

Raven put her hands on her hips and tilted her head trying to get a feel for the girl. "I know. It was. I'm sorry, Nova. It's just... we all think it's not fair that you got this spot and haven't worked for it. Being with Becket's team is huge and we all would have loved that opportunity. Girls don't get to be part of a faction very often unless we're the eye candy."

"I get that. I am not just a rookie. This industry has been my whole life. I started training seriously when I was a teenager and wrestling has always been my first love. Music just happened to work out for me first. It may take a while for me to get back in the ring, but I will work for it. I promise. Becket is never going to let me in a match until I do. I came here hoping to talk to you and Tasha. I just asked Tasha if she would work with me. I would like to work with you too if you'd let me. We have similar styles and are high flyers. I actually am a big fan of you both. I want to start over and try to be friends if that's okay?" Nova reached out her hand to Raven.

Raven looked down and giggled. Raven suddenly rushed over and hugged her so tight Nova couldn't breathe.

"I'm so sorry. I'm such a huge fan of your music and I was just upset. I've wanted to meet you forever. I have all your music and watched all your movies."

Nova hugged her back with a smile. Feeling a happy warmth that she hadn't felt in a while she let out a relieved breath. This was what she always missed most about wrestling. The family dynamic and support.

"I'm sorry too. I have to go face the music with Becket now. I'm sure you've all heard by now what he did to me last week. He spanked me like a freaking kid. I want to punch him in his crap nasty face."

Raven stepped back and laughed and Nova's comment. "Becket means well. He's just really serious about this business and is afraid you will get hurt in the ring. None of this has been personal. You just need to show him you're serious, and this isn't just some hobby that you'll get sick of in a few weeks. If you really want to be here, you're going to have to prove you belong. Tasha and I will help you if you are really serious about training hard. No short cuts."

"I'll work hard. You'll see. Thank you. I'm going to go."

Nova went out of the locker room smiling, punching at the air playfully in victory.

"Well, how did it go?" Claire stood in the hall eating a protein bar.

"Great. Raven apologized and I'm having lunch with Tasha tomorrow. We'll see how it goes from there."

"See. I know they would come around."

"You were right. I just needed a fresh start."

Nova put her arm through her friend, and they headed down the hall to the Colossus locker room. Now to deal with her biggest problem... Becket Knox.

***

"Want me to knock?" Claire giggled seeing Nova staring at the door as if it was the gates to hell.

"No. I just need a second," she said, taking a deep breath, trying to will herself to open it.

Ace came up behind her and turned the doorknob. "It works like this," he joked.

"Ha ha. I'm aware of how a doorknob works," Nova giggled at his goofy grin.

"Come on in. We've been waiting for you."

He held the door open for the girls, watching Claire as she walked by. He quickly noticed her blushing and Ace licked his lips while looking her over as she passed.

"Hey, beautiful. Where have you been all my life?" He winked at Claire with a sly grin.

Claire giggled covering her smile with her fingertips as they went inside, while Ace took a chance to check out her backside.

The most optimistic of the group, Jake, got up from the bench and went to pull Nova in for a big bear hug.

"There is our superstar! Hello, pretty lady. You look good. New look?"

"Thanks," she said playing with the tips of her long locks. "I went with a new hairstyle. Claire and I were up late changing it last night. Something less harsh than black and purple. I wanted something more classic for the show to fit in with the Colossus look."

"That's cool but your regular glam rocker style is nice too. How is the training going?"

"It's going okay. I'm having trouble with bumps and running ropes though. I know it's so basic, but I just feel like something is off. It is probably just a few adjustments from my regular routine."

"Once you have some time in the ring, you'll get back in the swing of things. Just give it time. You're going to be stiff for a while until you get in the zone."

"Yeah. I'm feeling it too. My neck is killing me, and I got some hellacious ring rash. I'm tough, though. I can handle it. As long as no one shoots on me tonight," she grumbled, looking to Becket to see if he noticed the shot in his direction.

He looked up at her from his phone knowing that was a dig at him about the prior week. Becket sat back on the couch in their locker room, looking over his protege while pretending to ignore the comment.

Narrowing her brows he taunted, "She's doing pretty good. As long as she can learn to bite her tongue, she'll be fine. Unless she's already wanting to run back to her penthouse, and celebrity life."

"Actually, I'm quite enjoying being back in my element. The ring is like home to me. Actually, I think Becket's been a little soft on me. He thinks I'm some fragile little flower." She crossed her arms with a devious grin.

He nodded at the challenge. "Good. I'm about to ramp up training, buttercup. Time to really break you in. Maybe we can get Ace or Jake to run a mock handicap match. We can see how you do with a little tough love. You're still a long way from getting a real match."

"I'd be glad too. I actually just asked Tasha, and your hit woman Raven, to work with me in the ring." She stared at him down, as he adjusted his knee pad.

Their banter was getting more heated and quickly Jake tried to change the subject.

Claire touched Nova's arm to calm her while noticing Nova was trying to keep from blowing a fuse. Nova had a quick temper and didn't do well with people being nasty or snarky to her.

The room was thick with tension when the stagehand called for Nova.

"Great timing. See ya in the ring, Becket."

The girls left and went to Eric's office ready to get started for the night.

Becket just smiled and shook his head as she walked out of the room. He knew she was getting better, but he wasn't quite ready to let her have that much credit. He would need to razz her just a little more. After all, she new girl on the block and every newbie had to pay their dues.