DISCLAIMER: The following is a work of fiction and not to be confused as complete or accurate representation of any beliefs, religions, etc. Please refer to research/articles by experts for that.
Villain of the Year
”Water, Water Everywhere!”
New York Aquarium
Brooklyn, New York
April 27th, 2024
1:12pm
Selena let the long sigh come out of her as she stood just inside of the main entrance of the New York Aquarium, her eyes taking in the dark outside, her ears drowning out the noise of the small crowd that was walking past her (some walking and some running inside, actually) in favor of the storm she could just hear raging outside in Coney Island.
“Great idea…” she whispered under her breath, quietly cursing herself for being here – her own idea.
The storm had have been threatening to fall the entire ride here, Selena taking delight in the dark, gray clouds – actually a beautiful thing to see – as she drove the hour to Coney Island from New York City. The sound of lightning falling, the thunder that is, filled her ears as she watched another couple rush into the aquarium entrance, as if a simple thing like rainwater was going to burn them like acid. Still, brought a sad smile to the Snow Queen’s face when she saw the gentleman holding his coat over his date, the shorter woman clearly appreciative as she checked herself to see if she was dry before thanking him and walking past Selena, paying the world champion no mind as she guided her date further into the large building.
She had been standing here for almost forty-five minutes… simply waiting as she leaned against the wall at the side, checking her phone every 2-3 minutes for any update or text from her date. Thinking about it, she did so again… nothing. Again, her thumb hovered over the ‘unlock’ portion of her screen, the one that would recognize her thumbprint (usually… it was stupid sometimes and refused to on occasion), contemplating the need to do so and text the woman to see what was keeping her or if she was even going to show up or whatever. Any kind of update.
But she didn’t… THAT was the fault of her date. Selena had picked this location but it had been the shorter woman that had suggested that neither woman text each other the day of the date other than when they were heading down their own ‘hour-long travel’ here. She had even suggested them not bringing their cellphones but the platinum-blonde had shut down that idea faster than one could blink. She was not travelling into Brooklyn without her GPS anymore than when she travelled through NYC and Manhattan without it. Traffic was murder in both places and it was easier to have an advisor to direct her in such matters.
Another flash of lighting came just outside, Selena spotting the spurt of light that followed the bang, causing another sigh to escape her. Perhaps it was time to call it…
She’s only 30 minutes late… her mind tried, causing the world champion to shrug her shoulders and roll her back against the flat wall. Entering the aquarium before the rain had begun to fall, she was perfectly dry, not one hair out of place as it flowed fully down her and against her back. She had chosen a black skirt with a dark-green button-up blouse, her purse hanging over her shoulder, the question still persisting in her mind.
What if she had been stood up? It wasn’t like it was groundless… She hadn’t spoken to her wife since before Breakdown and… she felt her jaw clench.
How fucking dare Alex… the growl had been unintentional, and yet, had still escaped her. The old man had messed up and he knew it! That’s all her direct approach on Breakdown had been!
The world champion was supposed to highlight the pay-per-view! That was the rule! You save the best for last! That was the goal! That’s what being ‘the best in SCW’ deserved! And she had worked her ass off to be the world champion and to stay the world champion! Hell, Phillips had declared this match ‘the main event of the evening’, which had only further infuriated the Snow Queen when she had heard it in gorilla. Not because it was his fault, but because it SHOULD have been. That’s all her talk had been intended to be. Making him aware of his mistake and instilling a new ‘standard’ and getting some assurance that such a thing would not happen again.
She was the world champion. Her challenger was getting the chance of their career, regardless if they were ‘ready’ or not or what their ‘status’ in SCW was. Even ‘The One’, who was good, Selena could admit that, despite not being cut-out for the main-event picture like Selena had called, had still deserved the main-event match, at least to say she had ‘been there’ and ‘tasted it’. Now? She couldn’t even say that. And why?
Because “the rivalry warranted it”…
Again, Selena growled under her breath. The rivalry between Bree Lancaster and Psycho-Simon had been ‘big enough’ because Simon was running around screaming ‘I’ll save you! I’m your savior’ like some repackaged Religious Wright. THAT was more deserving of the main-event the world fucking championship match?!
Oh, but Alex hadn’t stopped there! He could have been a man and admitted to the error in judgment. Certainly wouldn’t have been the first one he made this year, let alone in his life.
But noooooo… her mind hissed.
He went low!
The SCW icon had chosen, rather than take the constructive feedback, to bring the Snow Queen’s wife into the conversation! The man had tried to make Selena out to be the villain here by instigating that she cared more about the world title and being the world champion than her own partner. It had taken everything Selena had, in that moment, not to break and just slap the disrespectful shit in his wrinkled face! As if CHBK had ANY right to lecture her on such matters like family! How were HIS kids doing?! Alex Jr. and…gods… Lexy Chapel.
The wrestling failure and the biggest failure of a manager in SCW today! she almost laughed at that. Still, the line had stung and she had forced herself to maintain her composure rather than lash out and give the man the beating he deserved. Last thing she needed was to give Alex any reason to suspend her like he had Kandis –
stupid brat.. Even so, the idea of ‘taking’ the last bit of airtime from Deanna’s United States Championship match. Did she feel guilty? A little, but it had to be done. Hell, with Adam Brock getting hurt and the match ending on a bit of a tragic note, Alex should have been THANKING Selena for stepping up and ending the show properly, highlighting her upcoming title defense at Taking Hold of the Flame and leaving people wanting more. Of course, the icon hadn’t done that at the end of the show, oh no! Man was too arrogant to admit when he was wrong or that Selena ending Breakdown meant ratings and eyes on SCW, star power he had been sorely lacking before she returned.
A shake of her head and Selena’s focus was back on the doors from the aquarium. Still, she had said what she said about Deanna and had tried to explain it afterwards but… it hadn’t come up. Or Deanna hadn’t heard it the night of Breakdown. Either way, Selena had opted for a ‘bigger’ date with her wife today, coming here to Brooklyn as a way to ‘make up for it’ and, if the opportunity arose afterwards, talk about her logic.
But what if Deanna had already heard? What if that was the reason she wasn’t here yet? What if that was the reason Selena was alone in Brooklyn?
One more glance at the doors, one more check on her phone for any message, and one more sad sigh, and Selena shook her head. She’d been stood up. That’s what had happened. Strangely, she didn’t feel mad about it. She was still mad at CHBK for his unwarranted question/stab at her private life, but Deanna… she just didn’t understand things...
With a turn, Selena gazed into the large expanse that was the oldest aquarium in the United States, taking in the conversation hall she had been waiting just inside of the park entrance from the parking lot. She still had about three and a half hours before the park closed, and the idea of simply walking back to the parking lot and driving back to NYC and the Eyrie Tower didn’t really appeal to her. She was too irritated to really focus on Polly and the upcoming Breakdown. Not that THAT had her particularly worried. Again, Deanna’s ‘past foes’ kind of thing. People were already drawing the connection – the whole ‘if Polly couldn’t EVER beat Deanna, then against Selena…’ and then drawing the same conclusion that Polly would inevitably make in her promo, segwaying it into the typical ‘being underestimated’ nonsense.
It was a ‘paint-by-numbers’ approach, Selena could see it plain as day. And while it made Polly motivated and ambitious, of course (certainly going a long way to her THOTF promises), the world champion had seen it enough times in her career – hell, had just gone through it with Kristen Scott - to not be fully worried about it just yet. And even if she was worried about losing momentum for the pay-per-view, her mind was too rattled right now to really focus.
Maybe a quiet walk through this aquarium would do me some good… she thought.
Give me some ideas for a promo for Breakdown… she began to walk further into the conservation area, her thought already beginning to work out some idea for the upcoming wrestling show-
“Chica!”
She almost didn’t turn around at the sound, simply because it wasn’t her name. That had been her initial thought until her brain, battling through the fog of thoughts that thinking about SCW and Polly had brought up, caught up, mentally yelling:
That’s you, stupid!
Turning around quickly, Selena spotted the woman having burst through the front doors. She hadn’t even stopped moving, the shorter woman rushing over to where the platinum-blonde stood.
“Dea…” she caught herself quickly, her instincts being the only thing catching and correcting her mistake. “Evelyn!” she tried, using the alter-ego name her wife had created, like Deanna had just used Selena’s.
Seemingly relieved, the redhead finished her trek, getting to Selena in seconds. “I’m…” she panted a little. “So sorry… I…”
“You’re drenched!” Selena remarked, unable to hide the concern in her voice. True to her words, the redhead’s hair was soaked, as was the light-brown coat she was wearing. “Gods…” Selena whispered before grabbing hold of Deanna’s hand, wet and cold to the touch. “Come on.” She whispered, refusing to let Deanna sway her. Firmly, she guided the redhead through the conservation area and just outside for a brief trek to the ‘Sea Change’ area, where the washrooms were. “In.” she ordered, switching herself around to push Deanna into the women’s bathroom.
“I’m fine…” Deanna tried, but was ignored as, upon entry, Selena’s eyes scanned the entire bathroom quickly, her eyes settling on the dispensers hanging on the wall. Continuing her ‘guiding skills’, she put Deanna right beside the paper-towel dispenser. “Stay.” She ordered before flicking a finger at the woman’s coat. “Coat off.”
“Se-“ it was Deanna’s turn to catch herself. “Chica…” she corrected, her voice holding no less of the whine as it held during the near-flub. “I said I’m fine.”
“I could always wrestle it off you.” Selena warned, a devilish grin appearing before her features. “But that might lead to us getting banned from here. Up to you, but either way, that coat is coming off.”
The redhead gave a rather loud sigh before, eventually shrugging out of her coat, revealing the dark-blue dress she wore underneath it. The clothing was completely dry thanks to the coat, which Deanna handed over to Selena. Taking it, the taller woman knocked on the nearest bathroom stall.
“Anyone in there?” she asked, giving only a split second of silence before shrugging the coat over the closed door, fanning it out as much as possible to allow it the chance to dry a little. That taken care of, she returned her attention towards the redhead, moving around the standing Deanna and swiping her hand over the automatic sensor again and again, swiping as many paper towels as she could. Content when she had several in her hand, Selena placed them on the counter before taking a few and moving back to Deanna, immediately using them to wipe at the woman’s face -
adorable face, she mentally noted.
“Geez…” Deanna huffed. “A bit much, don’t you think?”
“You won’t be saying that if you get sick.” Selena chastised, continuing to wipe and dab at Deanna’s face, throwing out the wet paper towel and grabbing a new one with each few swipes. “What happened?” She asked. “The storm really just hit about twenty minutes ago.”
“Yeah…” sighed Deanna. “I got here an hour ago.”
“An hour ago?!” Selena asked in surprise. “I’ve only been here almost 50 minutes.”
“Well…” Deanna shrugged. “When I got there, they told me the parking lot was full.” She shook her head. “So, I tried to find a place along the surf avenues, nothing. Then I tried the Boardwalk, got nothing there. Finally find a place but it’s a fifteen minute walk from here and, wouldn’t you know it, THAT’S-“
“That’s when it started raining.” The two women said at the same time, Selena picking up on Deanna’s closing line easily. “Oh, Deanna…” Selena whispered with a shake of her head, not caring about her slip over names. “I’m sorry.” She tried. “I should have advised something closer – like a five-star restaurant or something back home. Or looked at the weather or have us travel together… I don’t know something.” She gave a huff.
In response, the redhead gave a shake of her head. “I was excited when you suggested it.” She admitted. “We’ve never gone this far away for a date before – besides work, I mean.” She corrected. “But driving an hour just for a date…” she shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know… sort of romantic. Like we’re making a little extra effort.”
“I…” Selena sighed. “I felt I needed to after-“
“Nope!” Deanna caught her wife with a twist of her head and glare of her emerald eyes. “I know that look.” She warned. “You’re going to talk about work.”
“Well, I…” Selena tried. “Yeah but just for a second and-“
“Rule 1!” the shorter woman chastised. “I didn’t come here and get wet as the fish we’ll see to talk about work. I came here to go on a date with you.”
Opening her mouth to speak, Selena slowly closed it. For what it was, Deanna had a point. They had come all this way and Deanna looked like a drowned rat for today. Last thing the platinum-blonde wanted to do after all that was to ruin the day before it even started by talking about the one thing that ALWAYS lead to them arguing. Quietly, the older Frost moved around to stand behind Deanna, taking the woman’s soaked locks of red hair and squeezing a paper towel around some of them, trying to dry them gently.
“They’ll also be sharks, otters, octopi…” She started.
“Octopuses.” Deanna corrected.
“Octopi.” Selena corrected back.
“Octopuses.” Deanna repeated.
“I’m telling you, it’s ‘octopi’.” Selena replied simply.
With a groan, Deanna reached into her pockets while Selena continued to dry her hair, the redhead pulling out her cellphone. “Hey Google…” she spoke clearly. “Is it ‘octopuses’ or ‘octopi’?” There was a beep in the phone before a screen popped up on Deanna’s phone, allowing her to read it aloud. “Both octopuses and octopi are acceptable plurals for octopus…” her voice trailed off as she read the statement, yet she continued a second later. “Of the two, octopuses is the simpler and more commonly used.”
Selena couldn’t stop the spurt of laughter that came from her at the remark. “Simpler…” she laughed. “So… I’m the classy one!”
“It doesn’t say that.” Deanna remarked. “And mine is more commonly used. So I’m right AND more popular!”
“Knew that, already.” Selena stated without thinking as she continued to dry Deanna’s hair. There was no bitterness in her voice with that remark. She was actually happy that people within SCW were telling the difference between her and Deanna. And she… she needed to be what she was right now. It had to be done. Someone had to correct the mistakes involving the world title and the main-event picture. Someone had to correct the wrongs done the past year and the dive SCW had taken… if she was hated for that, so be it. If she had to be seen as ‘the worst of the Frosts’, so be it. If she had to tear apart superstars that Deanna had simply ‘just beat’ to drive the point home… so be it.
“Still…” she remarked with a slight smile. “Simpler… weird chose of words.” She shrugged. “Especially since octopi is easier to say.”
“Octopuses…” Deanna tried. “Octopi. Octopuses. Octopi.” She tried saying both with different tones, inflections and stresses on different syllables. “You’re right…” she finally remarked. “It flows better! Your tongue gets wrapped up in the Puss part, doesn’t it?”
“Precisely why I never use it, myself.” Selena teased.
“No puss in your videos?” Deanna fired back. “No wonder I’m more popular!”
Selena’s eyes went wide. “You don’t-“
“Nope.” Deanna shook her head. “But I’m the cute one.”
A sharp tug came from the back of her head, causing Deanna to gasp out in a little shock and pain as Deanna tugged her hair a little. “Hey!” Deanna remarked. “Don’t hate me because I’m right.”
Choosing not to say a word, Selena continued drying her wife’s hair for the next few minutes until she was, more or less done. Tossing all the remaining paper towels in the trash, the Snow Queen plucked Deanna’s coat off the stall door, handing it over to her wife. “I could talk about the ‘only puss I want my tongue wrapped around is yours’.” She answered simply. “But I am not Kandis.”
“Who’s Kandis?” Deanna asked, her eyes daring at Selena to keep that train of thought.
“No idea.” Selena shrugged, taking her wife’s arm apologetically. “Just…talking random shit.”
Fortunately, the apology combo of words and smile as enough and Deanna let her wife off the hook, simply taking her turn to guide the pair of them out of the bathroom. “So…” she asked. “What do you want to see first, Chica?” she offered.
“Well…” Selena thought about it. “I’ve always had a thing for sharks…”
“Really?”
“Hell no.” Selena laughed. “Let’s go see the cute little otters!”
“YES!” Deanna cried out in joy before she began to pull/tug Selena back to the conservation area! “Furry little otters!” she sang-cheered. “Furry little otters!”
Her jubilation, for a brief moment, caused the sting in Selena’s heart to return before she pushed it back down and out of the way.
Damn you, Alex… she mentally growled.
Sooner or later… you’re going to pay for that… she vowed darkly.
You all will…