All For The Glory

[Keegan Hightower]

Luke Jackson walks into the restaurant that he had ask Mayu Ito to meet him at. He had to tell her something and he didn’t know how to say it. He thought maybe a lunch would be better. As he walked in he saw her sitting at a table by herself he walked up and tapped her on the shoulder. 

Luke Jackson: Hey Mayu. How are you? 

He went for a hug as he hadn’t seen her in awhile. The raven haired woman reached up to give him a light embrace with a smile. 

Mayu Ito: Hey Luke. I’ve been wonderful. 

She was cheery and it was fairly obvious with her tone.Luke sat across from her and took a drink of water that was on the table, he looked at her and smiled. 

Luke Jackson: Thanks for coming out, May. We need to do this more often we have somewhat lost touch the past few months. With me being busy and all of that. 

Mayu softly chuckled. 

Mayu Ito: You aren’t the only one, Lu. Though, admittedly, most of my free time is spent with Ricky. 

He slightly laughs as he looks at her. 

Luke Jackson: You are lucky you are the only one that gets to call me Lu. Yeah, I’ve been getting closer to Ricky, it’s kind of odd. But that is why I asked you to lunch, man this is hard. 

He looks away from Mayu not wanting to look her in the eyes. Mayu’s brows furrow to show her confusion. She shifted in the chair to cross one leg over the other. She had a feeling this had to do with Ricky. 

Mayu Ito: Has he done something? 

He couldn’t look at her as he took a deep breath. 

Luke Jackson: Yeah he kind of has. I just don’t know how to say it. 

Her lips made a thin line with how firmly she pressed them together. She wasn’t sure what to think… 

Mayu Ito: I think it might be best to just… rip the band-aid off. Try to just be blunt.. 

Luke closed his eyes and wet his lips with his tongue 

Luke Jackson: Okay, well after the last FGA show I went to my locker room and there was a DVD in there. There was a note saying that it was some tape on Dexter Jacobs. I wasn’t sure who it was from or whatever. I thought well I might as well check it out because it had stuff for my next opponent. But it wasn’t on Dexter. My sister was there and she was undressed but she wasn’t the only one in the video. Ricky was in it as well. 

He shook his head. Across from him Mayu’s eyes begin to widen. 

Luke Jackson: Ricky slept with my sister while he was with you. 

Mayu’s eyes dropped to the table as she took a slow breath inward to process this news. Her eyes blink a few times but they quickly gloss over. 

Mayu Ito: He… slept with your sister.. 

She repeatedly in a calm tone despite the tears that had bubbled to blur her vision. Mayu lamely nodded her head and with a sharp inhale.

Mayu Ito: Is that all? 

Luke Jackson: Just that he made a tape without her knowing. Showing it to me and, well, Jules saw it too. I didn’t want to tell you, May. It hurts me that I did. I thought I could hold it in but you are my friend and I had to say something. 

Once again, Luke shook his head as he looked at her tears. With the back of her hand, Mayu wiped her eyes. 

Luke Jackson: I’m sorry. 

Mayu Ito: It isn’t your fault… It’s his… 

Mayu took another breath in, eyes repeatedly blinking to clear the fast recovered tears, before one hand cup her mouth to muffle a sob. 

Luke Jackson: I don’t think he knows I told you. I haven’t said anything about the video but I think he knows I have watched some of it. 

He ran his hands through his hair. 

Luke Jackson: All I can say is I’m sorry. I wish I could make it all go away for you. 

As soon as the tears started, they came to an abrupt stop. Mayu wiped her eyes one more time as she scooted back from the table. 

Mayu Ito: You aren’t to blame, Lu… I don’t want you to feel this is in anyway your fault. If anything, I’m sorry you had to be put in this situation… Despite the… shocking… news… I’m glad you told me. It’s better to know now than later. 

He nodded his head. 

Luke Jackson: Well one would think he would have told you first. I thought that he had changed but guess not. Just be yourself May, he really isn’t worth it. 

Luke frowned and looked at Mayu who had a rather dull expression. 

Luke Jackson: Sorry I brought this up right at the start of lunch. 

Mayu Ito: It’s fine… 

Her hand crawled over to pluck up a menu, feet slid her back to the table and she opened up the menu. Luke looked at his as well he took a deep breath and cracked a little bit of a smile. 

Luke Jackson: Next time we have lunch lets not like try and break one another’s heart okay? 

Mayu nodded her head with a weak smile. 

Mayu Ito: Deal. 

The rest of the meal was a little bit better the two friends talked about the past times they had and how they had to have these meetings more often. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Luke Jackson sat in the arena where in a few days him and Ricky Valero would be fighting Dexter Jacobs and a partner of his choosing for the FGA Tag Team Titles. The arena was empty and the workers had started to work on the ring. An audible swear word would come forth every once and awhile as Luke put his feet up on the back of the chair that was in front of him. He took a deep breath and looked at the camera and a slight smile creeped across his face. The smile didn’t last long as it turned right into a scowl.  

Luke Jackson: I guess I really should get into the elephant in the room huh? 

He cracked his knuckles a little bit as he nodded his head.  

Luke Jackson: I’m not sure what is going to happen with Ricky and I and that is the Gods honest truth man. What happened with he and my sister is something that I can’t forgive or well forget. 

The video kind of reminds me about that.  

He shakes his head and closes his eyes the thoughts of the video still fresh in his head.  

Luke Jackson: Of course it pisses me off man and I want to beat the shit out of Ricky. Not just for myself but for Mayu, and for my sister. But I can’t man I have to focus on what him and I are about to do. 

He points to the ring and nods his head. 

Luke Jackson: In a few days he and I will enter that ring man and have a shot at the FGA Tag Team Titles. It was something that I didn’t believe I’d ever get close to even with Ricky. When he and I started in this tournament we heard all of the talk. We heard that we wouldn’t be able to get this far man. Hell, I even thought that a little bit myself. But we’ve done it but now all of the things that people were talking about started to come true. Now we have this little bump in the road and it is something that we have to work through and well we only have a few short days to do that. Will we? Who knows? But there is one thing that I do know he and I have our eyes on the same goal. Those titles would looks sweet on our shoulders but we have a tough hill to climb. I know that and Ricky knows that we knew that coming into this tournament that every match would test us. Every match would be harder than the next, and this one is the top tier match. This one is the one that we have been working for and it is finally here man.  

As for Ricky, in this match I can look past at what happened. The goal is in sight and I can’t let something like this eat me up alive. As much as it pains me that he did it, as much as I want to slap him in the face and ask him why the hell he did it I can’t. I just have to toe the line and work with him for the goal. It’ll make me proud of myself and Ricky if we get this win. But to be honest man I’m proud of us right now. No one expected this from us but here we are. One more step and we would be able to prove all of the doubters wrong. I just hope Ricky is ready for this. 

I know… 

He stops and put his finger up and nods. 

I know that I have had my doubters ever since I have gotten here to the FGA. I’ve been told that I’m not good enough that I’m biting off more than I can chew. I get that and well man I guess I am my own worst critic. But isn’t that true with everyone? Don’t we all think that we could do that much better? That if I made that move one second quicker I would have won that match. One step ahead of him and I would have ducked that clothesline. We all doubt ourselves sooner or later and maybe I’m the worst one at it because I feel that I should be better. I feel that I should have won more matches because I know what kind of talent I have man. Maybe that talent hasn’t been shown much as of yet man but I’m almost there and maybe this match will help me. Maybe this match will let me showcase everything that I have. Like I said two weeks ago I cannot let Ricky down. He has worked his ass off to get here and maybe I don’t like the tactics that he shows in his personal life and he might be the biggest scum on the face of the Earth. But we are in this together and well we need to do it man.  

Well, maybe we are also at a disadvantage because of one other thing. We don’t know who the hell Dexter Jacobs is going to bring to the ring with him. That is what probably hurts the most because you don’t know who you have to study for you don’t know what to expect. In turn though it could hurt Dexter a little bit. You see Whiskey and Dexter were a good team. They ran roughshod in the Dynamic Duos tournament and were able to win the Tag Team Titles and well they have been able to defend them night in and night out. That is not an easy task but they did it with flying colors man. Now, I’d expect maybe a little bit of a bump in the road now simply because Dexter is now with a new partner. It isn’t against Dexter because I know how much of a talent he is man. I’ve been in the ring with him and he hits hard but that goes for a lot of people that I faced so I guess that isn’t saying much.  

Dexter is someone that will hit hard like I said and Ricky and I can bring the best offense that we have and it will not knock him down. He doesn’t feel pain he will keep coming at you daring you in a way to keep on fighting him. To keep on trying to hurt him and well that is what we have to do. We have to bring everything we have man to put that little seed of doubt into his head. And I have to use my speed to get past him. With my speed I can start to make him doubt himself a little bit because as the old saying goes you can’t hit what you can’t see. If I stand up face to face with Dexter he will hurt me and he won’t think anything of it. So speed is the key for me and I will have to use it. 

He shrugs his shoulders and takes his feet off the chair in front of him and sets his feet flat on the ground. 

Luke Jackson: I don’t know who Dexter has pinned as his tag tam partner. Knowing him and how he ticks he will bring someone that probably hits as hard as he does and is as big as he is. He will go all out in this match because he wants to keep the titles that he has. He has the advantage here, he has something that Ricky and I want. He knows what it is like to win them he doesn’t know what it is like to lose them though. That is why Ricky and I are here we want to know what it is like to win the Tag Team Titles. We need to show Dexter how it feels to lose them. He and his partner are the champions Ricky and I are well obviously the challengers man.  

I’ve never been in a situation like this and well that might be a huge disadvantage. Ricky has been he has held titles before and that is something that I need to draw off of. I need to see how he handles the pressure and how he makes it work. Everyone is waiting for that moment when I start to lose it. When the challenge becomes too much and I let it swallow me whole. We all have seen what happens to me with that I need to block that out of my mind. I need to become a man that fights and will not let a chance at glory slip through my hands. I cannot let Rick carry this match I have to put in work as well. We are a team as much as we probably don’t see eye to eye right now and the pain that he has caused me before needs to end. We have been working together the past month or so. We need to keep that momentum we need to be a unit we need to be a team and well we need to be the champions. We have worked too hard to lose it right now. This is our shot at glory and we have to grab it with both hands. No matter who Dexter brings with him we need to be the better team. We need to win the titles, this is our chance.  

He nods his head. 

Luke Jackson: I’m not letting Ricky down or myself down. Not this time. I want to be a champion and I will be that champion and finally people can stop talking about me as a failure as just a loser that gets lucky once and a while. I’m changing of how people are looking at me. Even if I lose I will keep on fighting and if I win well then maybe people will start to see me as a real wrestler not as some kid wanting to be one. 

He gets up and looks at the ring one more time and nods his head.