Owen Cruze vs. Deanna Frost

[SnowQueenSCW]

The Witches of Alden

”Admissions”

Trader Joe’s
New York City, New York
January 23rd, 2023
12:29am

“Talk quickly.” Deanna ordered simply as she pushed her cart against the cold concrete of the parking space, hearing the rattling that the small, hard wheels made against the ground as they headed to her Jeep. Behind, actually needing to pick up her pace to keep up with the right head, Sage Alden followed. “Once I’m done…” Deanna continued. “I’m pulling out of the parking lot and possibly forgetting that this conversation happened.”

“Okay, okay.” Sage pressed, her voice noting her surprise in the coldness in Deanna’s.

As for the manager-turned-wrestler, she knew she was being somewhat rude and not quite herself in this manner, but she had to be. It wasn’t really rudeness as much as it was being guarded, or on her guard, as it were. She was entertaining this stranger, whom Deanna knew nothing about other than Sage and her brother were Selena’s aunt and niece and they wanted her to meet this supposed ‘Alden family’, wherever/whatever they were. The fact that the mere notion brought up flashes of her time with the Frost/Frostmere clan was enough to put Deanna on edge, and seeing Selena flat-out refuse them the first time they had met those two on similar grounds was enough for Deanna to be uneasy at the woman Alden stalking her like this and confronting her in the grocery store.

Just hear her out and get the hell out of dodge… she told herself, reaching her vehicle and lifting the trunk up, her free hand already grasping one of the full bags of groceries to store in the space. She almost didn’t hear Sage speaking until she had spotted, out of the corner of her eye, the dark-haired woman’s mouth moving.

“I…” she tried, her voice shaking a little, complete with ‘uhs’ and ‘umms’ as she stammered. “Come on!” she chastised herself. “Why can’t I find the words?!”

“Tick tock.” Deanna warned without looking, putting another bag into the trunk of her Jeep.
“That’s not helping!” Sage whined a little, even giving a little pout.

It was this that caused a bit of guilt to shoot through Deanna. Yes, it was highly inappropriate that Sage had stalked and followed Deanna from – well, Deanna wasn’t sure on that or how long, which was unnerving, but she had promised some time to the older woman, who was just nervous now that she had the audience she sought. With a sigh, Deanna turned around and faced the woman, crossing her arms over her chest. “Okay…” she spoke into her sigh. “I’ll cut you a break. What do you want? Why did you want to talk to me?”

“I wanted…” Sage tried to explain. “I want you to know that we didn’t mean any harm to you or Selena or Alejandra.”

“Stalking me like this doesn’t help that case.” Deanna stated matter-of-factly. “You could have visited us or something. I’m sure we’re not hard to find on social media.”

“I know, but…” Sage shrugged. “I don’t know. Caius and I were always raised to confront our problems head on.”

“And Selena and I are a ‘problem’?” The redhead asked with a raised eyebrow, seeing Sage’s eyes go wide.
“No! No! Not like that – I didn’t mean-“ she stopped to collect herself. “I mean we were raised to believe that if you wanted something, you worked hard to achieve it, not just sit around and ‘let it come to you’.”

Okay, now THAT Deanna understood. Everyone she knew in the immediate ‘Frost’ family – from Alejandra to Selena herself – shared that feature. It wasn’t inclusive to family, either. Owen Cruze was living a resurgence in his career by that same mentality, working his ass off to undo his past actions as a villain in SCW and redeem himself in his own right and in the eyes of the fans. It was one of the many things Deanna respected of the current world champion, along with his skills and abilities – not to mention his god-tier speed. God-tier? she almost laughed out loud, catching herself from doing so in front of Sage. I’ve been watching Elsianna play Dungeons and Dragons for too long.

But it was true! Cruze’s speed was second-to-none! The only way Selena, one of the biggest stars in SCW history from talent and accolades alone, had managed to stay ahead of Owen in the past was to a ) have her head on a swivel and b ) keep the boy grounded at all times through unpredictable chain-wrestling – a series of combo moves, in her case grappling over Selena’s method of striking.

“-and to find her again after so many years… it just left a lot of emotions I thought I had left buried.”
“I…I’m sorry…” Deanna admitted guiltily. “I didn’t catch that.”

“Oh…uh…” Sage tried. “I was saying that I and, especially, Caius had been looking for our sister for so long and, when our father died, we sort of… gave up. Then to finally have that breakthrough with Selena being on TV and… it brought back a lot of good and bad emotions.”

“Okay…” Deanna huffed, the question that had burned in her brain since she had met the two Aldens. “How bad were things that a forty-year absence occurred? I mean, I don’t get along with MY sister, but geez, FORTY YEARS?!” Though it has been at least five for me… she thought sadly to herself.

“I… I don’t really know.” Sage shrugged her shoulders in defeat. “Maybe she was afraid we’d drag her back or something. I wish she’d let me talk to her.”

“Were you two close?” Deanna asked.

“She…” for a moment, Sage seemed to look away, lost in her thoughts. “She was my best friend. While Caius sought her advice on certain matters – being closer in age than me… I was her ‘little sister’. She sort of was my-“

“Protector?” Deanna asked without thinking, her eyes widening as the words escaped her. She hated to say it, but she understood, even before Sage nodded her head.

“One time… I got bit by a snake.” Sage smiled at the memory. “Allie was so scared. She literally picked me up, ran back to the house screaming bloody murder! Woke up half the neighbourhood and wouldn’t put me down till father literally wrestled her out of her arms.”

Despite herself, Deanna felt a smile creep to her lips, the redhead biting down on her lower lip to repress it. “I… skinned my knee.”

It was interesting that, out of all the times Deanna had relied on her sister – including her ‘coming out’ as a lesbian – THAT was the first memory that came to the redhead’s mind. Running up across the front lawn, a grasshopper she had caught clutched in her hand, screaming her sister’s name to show it off, only to trip on the stairs leading to the porch and skin her knee, effectively squashing the poor insect (She had named him “Mr. Greeny-Jump-Jump”) against her chest, and crying her eyes out, more so for her lost ‘pet’. Amy had rushed out, seen the mess, cleaned up Deanna, bandaged her knee and let her watch ‘Beauty and the Beast’ on DVD, one of her favorite movies at the time. She remembered how safe she had felt wrapped in that blanket with her bandaged knee and clean clothes lying on the couch with her sister watching over her while Amy made dinner…

And how part of her, even standing in the snow and cold of the winter of New York twenty-some years later, she would give almost anything to have that feeling back again. Looking up, the redhead saw Sage sniffling a little, the woman running a hand haphazardly through her raven hair.

“Why does she hate you so much?” Deanna asked, earning a surprise expression from Sage.
“Did…did she say she did?”
“No.” Deanna shook her head. “But I know disdain when I see it. My sister looked at me like that last time I saw her. She doesn’t… approve of my choices in life or partner.”

Sage gave a nod. “Well, we didn’t give Allie a choice. But all I wanted was to tell her I was sorry. That it was wrong of the family to put that on her.”

“That’s… that’s it? You wanted to apologize to her? The whole family?”

Deanna saw the woman seize up a little at the question, a hiss of an inhale coming from the raven-haired beauty. “No… she still isn’t… well received there. But Caius and I, even father, we just wanted to apologize to her. But the weeks turned into months and the months turned into years – but when we found Selena, and then her? It all came back…” her voice trailed off.

“But so did the feeling of abandonment from your older sister?” Deanna finished the sentence, earning a nod from Sage.
“All the times I wanted an older sister to talk to. About homework, college, liking boys, hunting-“
“Hunting?”
“Nevermind.” Sage shook her head. “It just… seeing her brought it all back and it… it was hard when I saw her last week.”

“Then why don’t you tell her all that?” Deanna finally said as she returned to getting the last of her bags into the trunk. “Tell her everything you told me. The apology, your hurt feelings, all of it.”

“She threw me out last time.” Sage tried, her eyes a little wide.
“Cause you and your brother were suddenly there en masse and trying to get not only her but her daughter.”

“Yeah…” Sage’s voice trailed off. “I can see that might have been a mistake in approach.”

Deanna shook her head. “Look, all I know is that if my sister showed up to talk to me, no matter how angry I was, I would at least hear her out. Because… I’d give anything to have her back in my life like I use to.”

The older woman gave a nod. “You’re… you’re pretty smart for a woman so young.”
“Comes with living with Selena.” Deanna answered quickly. “She’s a wreck without me-“

Her voice hitched a little as she felt her phone vibrate in her pant-pocket. Quickly drawing it out, she scanned the text-notification. ‘Done with interview’ it read. ‘You on your way home?’

“Speaking of which.” Deanna smiled to herself. “I better go.”
“Yeah…okay.” Sage nodded. “Thanks for, you know, hearing me out.”
“Yeah.” Deanna nodded. “I don’t want you or your brother bothering us anymore, okay? But… for what it’s worth, I hope Alejandra at least listens to you so you can, at least, have closure.”

“Thanks.” Sage answered glumly, turning to leave. She had only managed a few steps when she heard Deanna call out to her.

“Hey, just one last thing…” she waited till Sage had turned around. “Alejandra said something about witches after you left. Do you have any idea why?”

The dark-skinned woman gave a shrug as if the question was the easiest thing to answer. “Cause we Aldens ARE witches. Including Alejandra.”

The silence was agonizing as Deanna stood there, her mouth suddenly agape as Sage waved a friendly goodbye, disappearing from view long before Deanna could even move. My mother-in-law… is a witch…a LITERAL one… Deanna thought over and over again in disbelief. Part of her wondered if Selena knew, though she doubted that.

Gods… if I had known that… she thought in her own defense mechanism: humor. If I had known that… I would have asked Alejandra to put a hex on Owen…

Just to give me a better chance…
__________________________________________________

The Guard Tower

Hey guys! Deanna here! One half of the world tag-team champion, rookie of the year, Queen’s Guard, that sort of thing and…

And apparently, I can’t start off this promo the way I wanted to because I have some questions that were directly thrown my way by my upcoming opponent, the world champion, Owen Cruze…

Yeah, you heard that right, True Believers, little Gritters and everyone in the SCW Universe. This coming Breakdown, in quite possibly a ‘David vs Goliath’ on sheer accomplishments and abilities alone, it’s me vs. the SCW World Champion, Owen Cruze… Holy cats!

And no, Owen, that isn’t me calling you a literal ‘giant’ or saying you’re doomed to fail if I bring a slingshot to the ring – that’s more Kim’s thing, I am sure. You can’t expect me to believe that she doesn’t have one stashed away somewhere.

But truly, that is how I see you. This massive behemoth in the industry. Your last name alone, more than the Frost name, oozes success. Orlando? Shaun? The latter will surely find himself in the SCW Hall of Fame one day as, I know, will you. But you? You’re the man that BEAT the Executioner, Xander Valentine! You’re the man that won the chamber! You’re the man that started 2023 as “The Man” in SCW… Hell, you’re defending the world title in a few weeks in a realm that isn’t your own and, from a former Underground champion, you’re in for a hard ride…

I can’t say any of that about me. I’m not a former world champion. I’m not a chamber winner. I’ve been a wrestler a little over a year and haven’t really won a top-tier singles title like United States or Adrenaline. I can’t hang my hat on main-event singles wins like you can. In fact, part of me is haunted by one of the worst losses I’ve ever had in that “5 moves of doom match” with a man that you trounced in Adam Allocco.

So, please, Owen, out of the respect that you showed me, let’s not kid ourselves here. People are running to their bookies about this match – show-stealing as it will be and I swear to you, I will give it everything I have to make it so. SCW deserves NOTHING less than that – But those people are running to their bookies and placing all of their bets on you, not me.

For the first time, Owen, after being second to Xander and Allocco as the ‘safe bet’, YOU now are the odds-on favorite here, which explains why you seemed so calm in that aquarium, surrounded by sharks. Even you know that you are the heavy favorite going in and I am the underdog. But I will get to that in a moment.

You asked me some questions, Owen. And I’m not going to ignore them when you were kind enough to give me time to answer them. Again, that respect. You asked me about how I view Selena’s success in regards and comparison to my own. You asked me if I was inspired or burdened by being in her shadow and if I still find myself there or if I believe I’m somewhere else. You also warned me of being lost in that shadow and success belonging to my wife, as it had happened for other families/family members in this business.

And my answer is both a simple one and one you might not like, Owen: I am not my wife.

See, Owen, all that talk about Selena? How you couldn’t stop mentioning her as the sharks swam around you? It makes me feel like you’d rather face her rather than me and your concern for my future, while endearing, felt more like you projecting that desire.

But I am not my wife. I will never be Selena. And you’re not facing, Selena, Owen. You’re facing me.

And that’s something you and I are VERY different on. You see, you’re talking about my future and your future. You’re worried about what-ifs for us and about Selena and looking ahead to Body, Heart and Soul. You’re worried about what I want to do if I can pull the upset of a lifetime and beat you. You’re worried about the future.

Me? I’m not looking beyond tonight! This moment! This match! This second! There is nothing else for me because you don’t understand how rare this is for me. Why would you? I could be any other challenger – ‘another obstacle for you to overcome’ as you put it. One of many ‘sharks’, right? And you have that luxury, Owen, you have the luxury of not caring who you face, but simply giving it your all. If I was, say, Bree Lancaster? I am sure your words would echo similar sentiments, and rightfully so. Again, you have that luxury, Owen, because you sit at the top of the mountain, looking down.

You don’t understand – no matter how much you say that you do – what having this match means to me. And you can’t possibly understand because you don’t know me. You won’t underestimate me, and I respect you for that, but your whole diatribe focused on me just being ‘Selena’s wife and partner’ and my future in association with that and only that.

No you… you don’t understand what this match is to me. Just me. Not as a contender, or a singles wrestler but as a person. What this match, even with the odds against me, means.

Because it’s a match that could have happened twice already, Owen. Did you know that? Let me explain. First, in the chamber match. Where my arm was fractured by The One, which caused me to be eliminated second-last. If I had gotten past Adam, however, I would have faced you, Owen, in that chamber one-on-one. But it slipped past me.

And then? The End of the Year Title Shot. My name was one of the top people considered, it seems, regardless of this whole thing with Kandis that’s going on. I was, if you can believe it, one of the favorites to get the chance to face you! But again, it slipped through my fingers in favor of Hairless Penguin.

Twice over, Owen, the opportunity to face you one-on-one has JUST missed me by a cat’s whisker. And now? Here it is. And you couldn’t be more dangerous than you are now! The momentum? The world title on your shoulder? The people you’ve beaten like Allocco and Xander? I couldn’t face a more dangerous and more unstoppable version of you than at this ‘moment’, and I’ve actually FACED Kim Williams in an Underground match, remember?

But I AM facing you, Owen! Finally, after seeing it pass me by twice over, I am FINALLY getting the chance of a lifetime! Because when tonight is over, you will still be World Champion and on your way to face Kimberly, as you said, and then maybe Adam at Retribution, and then the plethora of other challengers that want their chance like Kandis and Glory.

This? You vs. me like this? You as dangerous as you are now? As driven? As passionate? This match won’t happen again for a VERY long time, if at all!

Meaning that I have one shot. One chance to pull off the win you so described – the win that can define a career!

So SCREW the ‘world title standings’!
SCREW the ‘top of the mountain’ crap!
SCREW any and all implications of titles!
And SCREW finding ‘my place in SCW’!

This is not for ANY of that! This isn’t about ‘the future’ and your ‘what-ifs’, Owen. This isn’t even for a sense of belonging for my place in SCW, Owen. This is for me! This is my one chance! My one shot to stun the world, even if it doesn’t change it! This is my one chance at the win of my entire career – a moment that may never come back again! This is my one shot at the win of a lifetime! This is for me – for Deanna!

And one shot, Owen, is all I will need. Like David took down Goliath – all it took was one shot. You may not be underestimating me, nor I you, Owen, but I don’t expect that. But underestimating me is not what I am looking for in you.

What I need is just that one shot. I need a moment for you to hesitate while you, Grasshopper, hop around the ring with your amazing speed. I need one mistake, champ, while you try and worry about the future and the ‘what-ifs’ rather than this moment. I need one moment of hesitation from you to have my shot.

And if I can get it, Owen, I promise you on everything that I am: I will not miss. I will nail a kill-shot and take you down!

You may be willing to give me your ‘best’, Owen, like the damn good champion that you are. But for you? For this one chance? This one moment to beat your ‘best’? I will give you every breath, every heartbeat, every drop of blood, and everything I am to beat the odds like no one ever has before!

All for this moment, this shot… this one chance.

Checkmate, bitches!