Apologies (for Wanderer)

[CaptainL]

No one had said anything, but it didn't really matter. Everyone knew exactly what was on everyone else's minds. The tension between Jonathan and Chelsea hung heavy in the air, both of them waiting on the other to say something, but neither really wanting to hear what might come. If it so happened that Jonathan was still mad - if he still had any ill will for Chelsea that he was going to drag her into now - the Englishwoman wasn't ready for it; she had enough she had to deal with as it was. But the anticipation was killing her just as much as her dread was. At this point, she just wanted it all to be over. She didn't want to have to worry any more. And, at last, Jonathan spoke. Chelsea leaned further over the table, her muscles stiffening as she hung onto the bar. She bit her lip, readying herself for the worst...but it never came. Instead, Jonathan...apologized to her. Openly and sincerely.

"...I..." Chelsea didn't know what she'd expected. But, somehow, she hadn't expected this. She took a pause, staring out into space. Was that really all? Was Jonathan, after he had already yelled at her and kicked her out of his gym just because he didn't like her attitude - when Chelsea had no patience for people who couldn't put up with her - really deciding that he was in the wrong? Her eyes went wide, and her jaw fell open. She wanted to say something, but nothing came. Her mind was too busy working away at parsing out what was being said to her.

And yet...Chelsea already knew every word of it was true. Chelsea knew Jonathan. He could be goofy some times, yes; some times it seemed like he didn't know what he was talking about, but she did know one thing. Jonathan was always someone who saw the potential in her. He saw her for how she really was - not just the rough, tough exterior she put up to feel better about herself, no matter how the fans booed her for speaking her mind. He wanted to work with her. Jonathan had always truly believed that there was something great in her, and something that could help her career take flight. He had been willing to help her bring that out. It was for that reason that the Englishwoman felt so betrayed. But so too, it was for that reason that Chelsea realized she could trust in what he had to say.

And what really made something stick in her mind was when the discussion turned to Natalie. Chelsea clenched and unclenched her fist, staring down at the counter as she thought over what she was hearing. Could it really be that it wasn't just her? That Natalie really was just trouble? Could Chelsea have even been right about her?

At last, with one long sigh, Chelsea spoke. "I'm...sorry, Jon. I accept your apology. I'm just...sorry I got you into this mess in the first place." Her voice was softer now; she was willing to open up around him, and to be honest about her feelings. After all, she trusted him not to judge. "I guess I got too worked up, and I shouldn't have taken it out on the rest of you, but...I just couldn't put up with her any longer. This isn't...the first time she's been like this, huh?"

As Chelsea's gaze lingered a little while longer on Ryan, she began to realize one other thing - one thing that was staring her dead in the face, and that was too big for her to ignore. If Natalie really was this much of a troublemaker, someone who caused issues for everyone just by being around them, who refused to meet anyone eye-to-eye...Chelsea couldn't help but see herself. Her temper had led her to similar issues before; it had burnt bridges and scared people away from her. It had made it harder for her to find a job, or for anyone to get closer to her. It was Jonathan who showed willingness to work with Chelsea, for the first time she could remember outside of her own family, and that was what had endeared him to her. Since the formations of the Mad Tea Party, Chelsea had begun to open up, and she'd begun to move past her old self. But nothing really made her confront how much of a nuisance she had been until she was shown it had been staring her in the face this whole time. In some cases literally.

"God...did I use to be like that? I don't know how you could stand me..."

[Pegasus]

Jonathan heard Chelsea’s softer side as the timid and more genuine voice of his friend came through. Chelsea ALWAYS stuck to her Liverpool gruff and tough voice as that made her feel a bit more powerful and confident. He has learned that Chelsea doesn’t have the best self-esteem since her rockstar career never got a foot in and her sister, Molly, was way more likable due to her status as a cosplay model. Chelsea never resented her sister for her fame, but it sure made her wish Chelsea could get that slice of pie for herself. Jonathan saw potential in her to be a proud babyface, but that gruff demeanor towards everyone she crossed made him feel like her shift in attitude didn’t mean anything. Chelsea wasn’t becoming the babyface she aspired to be and that made him super crossed.

But here Chelsea was acknowledging it after looking back on Natalie’s actions. Jonathan couldn’t say he felt any different about Natalie after what she did at Do or Die. Oscar got clobbered in their match even if he was the one to win it all. He really won on pure luck alone and Natalie sent him straight to the hospital. She was a pretty dangerous opponent if you got her around weapons and she’s pretty creative while on her skates. Jonathan fears what could happen if Chelsea were to get into a match with her and it wouldn’t be like the battles with Finella.

Finella was tough and extreme herself able to give Chelsea a run for her money. Their We Are LAW match last year was talk of the town and Jonathan even read about it in LAW Magazine once he had some down time visiting Chelsea in the hospital. However, Natalie seemed to be a bit more cunning and charismatic with her wrestling. Thinking she didn’t take her opponents seriously while also proving that she is more than just a woman wrestling with roller skates. This wasn’t a barn tussle that Chelsea could walk into.

“Even if you were worser than her in attitude, I’d still prefer you over Natalie. That girl got on my fucking nerves,” Jonathan replied.

“Trust me, chica. You are light years better than that skater girl if rumors about her are to be proven true. You’re a fair boss of this establishment and you aren’t afraid to put your foot down,” Ryan added.

[CaptainL]

It wasn't like Chelsea to open up around Jonathan. She trusted him, sure - he was one of the first people she had ever been comfortable approaching on a deeper level, and one of the first people she realized she could go to for help. But she was so afraid of that softer side of her - that part of her that held everything she felt made her weak and soft; that part she had hidden away out of shame - that she had never been willing to let her true face show through, and to truly tell him how she felt. Now, though? This was different. Chelsea had put up those walls, and repressed the kindness in her heart, because she felt like she had to just to survive - when the world around her seemed full of danger and uncertainty and doubt, when everyone seemed to be against her. Perhaps it had started when she'd settled down with George - when things finally started to look like they were going her way, and that she really did have something to be hopeful about and proud of, she didn't need to hide any more. Perhaps she was so stricken by what Jonathan had said - or that he had even said it to her at all - that it shook her out of her persona, and forced her to confront him face to face. Either way, she would never have thought of showing his side of her in public. But something about this was different.

With a sigh, she looked back up, facing Jonathan and Ryan. As she thought about it more - how they promised to have her back - she smiled a little wider. That was a reminder that, yes, things really had looked up for her. She had friends - she had people who were there to support her. She had always feared she would drive everyone away, and that she would never have anything approaching a true relationship beyond her sister. But she'd made friends. She had a boyfriend, even, and some of those friends she had found among the most unlikely people she could ever imagine. She realized that she really had seen more success than she could ever begin to imagine. A tear began to well up at the corner of her eye, but she bowed her head and shut her eyes before it could fall. Still, a smile grew across her face, and what she said - however low and hushed it might have been - she said without a hint of dishonesty. "...thank you."

However, there was still one other thing Chelsea had heard that didn't quite sit right with her. As she blinked a few times to herself, she sat back up a little straighter, looking at Ryan as she raised an eyebrow. "Wait...what rumors?" What had Natalie gotten into?

Chelsea listened to everything Jonathan said about what Natalie had done - and with a wince, she couldn't help but be reminded of the brutality Finella had shown her, which had landed her in a hospital too, more than once. When she had seen the depths of the rage and aggression in Finella's soul...even Chelsea had been afraid. Now, that feud was behind them. They had made up; they were moving forward. But now she was seeing the warning signs that there might have been another Finella on the loose. And she had to ask herself...was there something else that needed to be done?

[Pegasus]

“I merely speak on the rumors that she is a troublemaker outside of the ring. It seems like she cares nothing for anyone, but herself and I imagine everyone she comes across wants to teach her a lesson,” Ryan replied as Chelsea asked him about any rumors surrounding Natalie.

“And she also posted on Twitter about having a match with Molly. You might want to get ahead of the game and be there for your sister. At Do or Die, she may have lost to Oscar, but she royally kicked his ass and busted up his leg without a care in the world. It took his cousin coming out to put a stop to it, but the damage was done. After Molly, she could go after Harmonia, Finella, or even George,” Jonathan warned Chelsea as he had to sigh on that last name.

Jonathan knew that if Natalie hurt Chelsea’s sister or her boyfriend, it was a declaration of war. Chelsea was known for her temper and Finella already felt that wrath last year when she struck George. It was the straw that broke the camel’s back even if Finella didn’t mean George any harm and Chelsea already had enough to deal with in the build-up to the match. Now, Chelsea has only competed a few times since returning to being healthy and hasn’t done too much due to her new job as co-owner of The Wolf and The Bunny, but Jonathan knows deep down that Chelsea wants to fight more than ever if Natalie will be on her case. That itch is too strong to ignore for her and her fighting spirit.

Jonathan leaned over the counter and looked directly at Chelsea. Chelsea needed to be ready for anything in case Natalie came knocking at her front door and being her first true mentor before George and Karl, he had an obligation to help her. He wanted to make sure Chelsea knew what she was getting herself into and had the tools necessary to stack up against Natalie. Jonathan hated to imagine Natalie completely owning and beating Chelsea sending her right back to the hospital. He knew what he had to do.

“I wanna be your teacher again. If you’ll have me back that is. If you want Natalie, then you need all the help you can get. Don’t think you have to fight this alone or with just George by your side,” Jonathan explained.

[CaptainL]

Chelsea never thought she would see it. After her oldest and most trusted of mentors had seemingly turned his back on her in a dispute that Natalie had started anyway, she was all but convinced that Jonathan was dead to her - and that anything else he might have had to say to her couldn't possibly be good. But she couldn't be further from the truth. Jonathan realized he had made a mistake - and he had seen the consequences of that mistake, to Chelsea and to everyone else. Now, he wanted to let her know what he had learned. And of all those things he'd learned, nothing quite struck a chord with Chelsea like knowing that Natalie could be after her sister.

"I'm sorry-!? She's wot?!" At once, a change came over Chelsea. She'd been letting that reserved, vulnerable side show. But no longer. Her eyes went wide, and she jumped up from the table, shoving herself back upright. At first, she was aghast with shock - and a moment later, the empty stare on her face twisted into a snarl of rage, her brow furrowing inward and her nails digging into the surface of the table beneath her. She bent lower to the table, and her whole body trembled. Chelsea might have been ornery, she might have been antisocial, and she might have been ready to start fights at the drop of a hat. But Molly was still her sister, and she loved her dearly, in the way only a sister could. Now, if Natalie was going to unleash that same grating, humiliating treatment she had shown her onto Molly - and from what Jonathan was saying, she had only grown worse since then - there was no question. Chelsea had to step in; something needed to be done. Her teeth grit just thinking about it.

The Englishwoman looked back at Jonathan and nodded, her face stern. "I think it's about time we show 'er a piece o' me mind," she said. There was no time for sorting out any feelings or making amends. Natalie was at large. Molly was in danger. It was time for Chelsea to step up for her and to be her big sister. And Jonathan was exactly the partner he needed in that. Not only had he trained her, he had trained Natalie, too, and he already knew what she was like and what she was capable of. He would know what Chelsea would have to be ready for. Jonathan's guidance might just be the secret weapon Chelsea needed. And above all...she would have him back.

She held her hand out toward him, inviting a shake. "I'm wi' ye."

[Pegasus]

Jonathan perked up when Chelsea stuck her hand out and he immediately grabbed it firmly with a shake of understanding. He then pulled Chelsea into a hug glad to have her back in his life and not have her hating him for everything. Chelsea had her moments of being a pain in the ass, but Molly seemed to handle it for the years they lived together so he might as well get with the program. He also learned treating her like a child wouldn’t be effective and he had his own issues to resolve with that. Jonathan and Chelsea promised to be better for each other as teacher and student as well as best friends.

Sarabeth kicked open the doors and William had to come in after her whispering scolding words for interruption. However, she just held a grin on her face.

“Sappy time is over. It seems you two made up. Let’s get drinking!” Sarabeth cheered with a fist in the air.

“One drink. Just please take it easy,” William pleaded.

“Don’t be a wet blanket, dad. Just enough to enter the tipsy village and we’ll slow down from there,” Sarabeth suggested:

[CaptainL]

As Jonathan pulled her into a hug, Chelsea's face lit up with a smile. She had never been the kind of person to get all touchy-feely like this, but she could accept there was a time and a place for everything - and right now, she could accept this. Letting out a soft and contented sigh, she nestled in closer against Jonathan's side, with a smile on her face. In the end, Chelsea was a lost soul looking to something, or someone, she could cling to for support when the world around her felt bigger and more intimidating than anything she was ready for. Jonathan had been one of those sources of support. She thought she had lost Jonathan - but now, she had him back. She felt safe. She felt wanted. She was finally able to move beyond everything that had worried her and raised uncomfortable questions in the back of her mind, and everything was going to go back to the way it had been. The way it always should have been.

Of course, this was still Chelsea Forster. She wasn't the kind to get all sappy, and she especially didn't like other people seeing her that way. When Sarabeth burst into the room, Chelsea jumped up in her seat, sputtering in disbelief. "Wha'!? I'm sorry? 'ow much o' dat wuz yous listenin' in on? Keep it ter yoselves-!" She glared back toward her and William. But as soon as the topic of drinking came up, Chelsea might as well have forgotten she was ever upset in the first place. She knew a good time when she saw one - and it would appear that Sarabeth did, too.

With a cheer, Chelsea threw a fist high in the air. "Nah, nah. Let de lady 'uv wha' she wants, like! So long as she knows wha' she's gettn' into, because I'll drink 'er under de table!" She threw an arm around Sarabeth, going to pull her closer to her side as a competitive grin broke across her face. For Chelsea, this had brought closure to something that had been bothering her for too long. That called for a celebration - and it seemed like Sarabeth was becoming just the sort of person she wanted to share that celebration with. Yes, this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

[Pegasus]

A couple hours had passed since Jonathan and Chelsea made up. Shots after shots were deployed by Chelsea as Jonathan, Ryan, Sarabeth, and William had their drinks and were starting to feel themselves enter a whole different world. Chelsea would soon join them in drinking their hearts out and it was safe to say after so many shots, everyone was drunk. Jonathan fluttered his eyes opened and close, Ryan laughed hysterically even when no one was chatting, William fell to the floor in a heap, and Sarabeth somehow found herself in an arm wrestling contest with Chelsea. Whoever initiated the challenge was left in the unknown.

“You think…You think just because you’re….a….brick….you can beat me in arm wrestling? I…..was doing these contests….in junior high!” Sarabeth exclaimed.

“Not for nothing, kid. Chelsea’s a pro at this stuff. Holy shit, I’m hammered!” Jonathan retorted as he held his head.

“Our amigo is completely gone. He has gone to sleep on the floor here,” Ryan added as he looked down at William sleeping.

“Astrid, please let Winston out into the fields. He’s trying to steal the milk bones again,”
William stirred in his sleep as Anfield, Chelsea’s dog, came over to lick his face. “No, boy, get the penny out of your mouth!”

[CaptainL]

Had Chelsea not been the woman of the hour for this occasion, brighter heads might have prevailed. But this was Chelsea. She was never going to pass up a drink, nor was she one to balk when it seemed like an opportunity to prove herself in the face of opposition. When she was riding high off the relief she felt of finally having made things up with Jonathan, she was even more encouraged to liven it up; in her mind, it was an occasion that called for a party! Whatever the case was, Sarabeth might have intended to just have a couple of drinks...but with a little needling and encouragement on her part, Chelsea had quickly forced her plans to change!

Now, the two were leaned over the counter, hand clasped in hand. Chelsea's fingers laced around Sarabeth's with an ironclad grasp as she leaned over further, hissing through her teeth. Even with her elbow braced in position, she still did what she could to muscle in closer, pushing forward with her shoulders to lean in against Sarabeth with even greater force. And of course, she wasn't going to take Sarabeth's boasts lying down!

"Ye think THAT'S impressive!? Dat ye can push around a sixth grader? Big fookin' deal, like! Ye should kun I've gorra reputation around deez parts, if ye would take a blimp over ter yer left!" Chelsea's eyes didn't leave Sarabeth's, locked as they were in a glare, but sure enough, to the left was where a few framed pictures were hung of the arm wrestling match between Chelsea and Finella that had propeled their feud into infamy at the Wolf and the Bunny some time before. Chelsea was proud to be a part of it, and that pride was carrying her on here - she wasn't about to lose to Finella, and she wouldn't stand to lose to Sarabeth, either! Even still, Chelsea was quite drunk herself, and her stance wobbled from side to side as she tried to push in closer. If Sarabeth acted at the right moment, she just might be able to overpower her if she caught her off-balance. That was, if Sarabeth was lucid enough to see an opening...

[Pegasus]

Sarabeth had never been drunk before and she was completely wasted when she had her first three drinks. The tipsy in her vision spun the world around and she was on the verge of sleepiness wanting to just take a snooze, but she had a contest to win. Sarabeth never gave up in her matches and the golden arches of victory waited in the distance as she pushed through managing to match Chelsea’s strength thanks to her training with Alania. Sarabeth gritted her teeth managing to lower Chelsea’s hand a little bit and this probably proved to the co-owner of the pub that she was facing a future star in the making. She may have been a Young Lioness, but it was clear Sarabeth had Astrid’s determination and fighting spirit despite not being biologically related to her.

She tried pushing down with all her might just needing a few seconds more to make this last push count. Sarabeth fluttered her eyes for a minute more wiping them with her free hand, but slowly found Chelsea raising her own hand back up. Sleepiness was starting to take affect, but Sarabeth had to keep trucking. She kept their hands balanced as she pushed with all her might. This was a tightly even contest even with both women drunk as sailors.