Beer and Sympathy

"Well, congrats on managing to brag about being oh-and-six, motherfucker..." Taylor muttered. "Want a fuckin' hug before ya go?"

"Piss off, cunt. I'm too fuckin hot for you." Jocelyn said and left the bathroom. She then paid her tab and left the bar. She really needed a drink.

"Rrrrrrrrrrrrr..."

Taylor clenched her fists and reddened at the face. She was irrationally angry for what was a generally unremarkable verbal scuffle. Maybe she was just angry and drinking was bringing it out. Sure.

She threw open the bathroom door and dug into her pockets on her way back to the bar. She slapped a wad of bills down and clapped a hand on Angel's shoulder.

"We're getting the fuck outta here."

Angel was waiting at the bar, quietly enjoying her fourth beer, scoping out some of the other people in the building, when Taylor suddenly stormed up to her. She raised an eyebrow towards the blonde, but didn't argue, slipping off of her stool at Taylor's command.

"What's wrong?" She asked, a tinge of worry in her voice. "You didn't wreck the bathroom or anything, did you?"

Taylor scowled, and didn't immediately respond to Angel as she stomped toward the door.

"Just, fuckin'..." She trailed off. When she reached the front door, she shoved it like it had just insulted her and stumbled out into the street. "I just need some air, okay? Like... It's been cool hanging out so far and stuff, but I guess shit's really fuckin' stressful right now, and sometimes it just all... It feels like too much. And sometimes I just wanna... fuckin'..."

She made a choking motion with her hands and shook an imaginary neck back and forth. She made a frustrated, angry gesture before turning down the sidewalk with a huff.

Angel followed behind Taylor, keeping a slight distance behind her. She slipped out onto the street after her, and when Taylor took off down the sidewalk, she was right there behind her.

"Yeah, it's been cool tonight. Never thought that you and I would hang out like this, chica," she finally spoke up, after a minute of silence. "But are you going to be okay? Should I go, or...?" She was unsure of what to do, not wanting to bother Taylor while she was angry, but not wanting to leave her alone either.

"...do you even know where you're going, chica?"

"Yeaaah, I'm cool..." Taylor sighed. She stopped and turned around to face Angel. "And no, not really."

She resumed walking in no particular direction. "I ran into that Jocelyn girl in the bathroom, the one that Bear beat at Summer Splash a couple years ago. She's a real peach. I guess she's what I expected... But right now, I really can't stand people saying bad shit about Bear. Ya know? Like, I almost want someone to keep talking shit so I can beat the fuck out of them."

She gathered up her blonde hair and pulled it over her shoulder so she could put up the hood of her black Dojo sweatshirt. "I'm cool, though. I'm not gonna flip out or anything."

"Can't blame you," Angel answered, picking up her pace a little so that she was walking beside of Taylor instead of behind her. She shoved her hands into the pockets and looked up towards the night sky. "I'd do the same thing in your shoes. You know, if I was that close to someone and someone else started smack talking them."

She lowered her gaze back down, and turned her head towards Taylor, giving her a friendly, warm smile. "If you need to flip out, though, then go for it. I think I can take it, chica."

"Umm..." Taylor peered up at the sky while she thought about it, and then shook her head. She didn't have the energy. "Naaaah, I'm good. I flip out enough as it is, and I'll have plenty of chances soon..." Her indigo eyes flashed at Angel. "I'm saving it all for Kelly."

She drew a deep breath and let it out in a long, whimsical sigh. She let her body ease up and felt the tension leave her shoulders and her arms, and let her head loll forward. "Mmh..." She groaned. "So my big problem is over training... So I work a lot with mom to get used to taking it easy sometimes. I just... have a really hard time letting stuff go when it doesn't sit right, or when... I know I need to be better. But over training hurts you more than under training, so..." She shrugged.

Then there was an embarrassed catch in her voice. "I... had a thing a while ago, one night. They told me it was a panic attack. I just woke up and couldn't breathe. I thought I was dying, so... I guess I need to work on chilling the fuck out, right?"

Angel caught Taylor's gaze at the mention of Kelly, and gave her a nod of approval. "Good. Save it all up, and stomp her sorry ass."

She listened to Taylor's explanation, and finally spoke up again when the punk was done. "Over training is no good. I learned that the hard way back when I first got here. I pushed myself too hard, way back then. I thought I couldn't keep up if I wasn't going one hundred and ten percent all the time, you know?" She paused. "I've never told anyone, but I was scared as hell back when I first started here. I was pushing myself to the point of total exhaustion some weeks, because I was so desperate to keep up with everyone. That damn rankings list didn't help either. Staying at the top of it was so important to me that I couldn't even think about slowing down..."

She sighed, and then shrugged. "But I learned to calm down and relax. I learned to control myself. And...well, you see where that got me." Grin. "Top of the world, chica!"

She allowed herself a brief laugh, and when she finished, the Latina looked towards the punk again. "How often do you get out of the house like this anyway? And just give yourself a chance to relax?"