The background story of Nathan Coyers, my first character for the FWA. Enjoy!

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This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things
By JWolfman

Within the hallways of Show Low, Arizona's High School gym, Nathan Coyers gingerly walked toward the back exit, carrying his olive-green duffel bag over his shoulder. Just thirty minutes ago, the white-furred cougar was laying flat on his back in the middle of the wrestling ring while the victor of the match stood from the second-level turnbuckle with his fists raised. His last match in Arizona before he was scheduled to fly to Canada, and the promoter asked him to job to a male tiger smaller-framed (and younger) than him. Nathan insisted that he wanted to end his Southwestern-America touring with his head held high and in front of a large crowd of people already aware that this match would be his last, and was even willing to take a heavy cut on the night's pay for it. The promoter however remained stubborn, since the male tiger, Steve Wilkens, was not only the son of a semi-legendary American pro wrestler, but also a rising star. So Nathan went along with it, but at least Steve was generous enough to not only cooperate with him to go through a twenty-five minute match of high spots and brutal hits, but also not to showboat too much in his victory.

After some quick doses of medication, application of ice packs, congratulatory pawshakes from fellow wrestlers, and a payday of a hundred dollars, Nathan gripped the horizontal handle of the back exit door and paused. He soaked in the silence of the hallway, and not the very least the pain on his lower back and legs. He knew that once he exited through this door, it'll be the last sentence of his chapter here in Arizona. Of course, there were plenty of things here that he'll miss... especially the fact that he could walk around outside in the warmth of Phoenix in the middle of winter. He'll miss his parents, the few fans that cheered him despite the fact that he worked as a kayfabe heel, and In-N-Out Burger. But as he stepped outside into the gym's back parking lot, his green eyes spotted the one thing that he won't miss after leaving.

He sighed, walking straight for his 1990 Dodge Daytona. While it has a dull gray exterior, cracked leather seats, and a history of ignition issues, this wasn't the object of his aversion. He refused to utter the first word toward the lone female lynx waiting for him as he brushed by her, pretending that she didn't even exist.

"Nathan!" The name provoked his ears to twitch. He hoped he didn't have to hear that voice again. The Gods are cruel, but he refused to give in, keeping his eyes on the dusty relic on wheels. The lynx growled and quickly moved to stop between him and his vehicle to freedom.

Nathan stopped and his eyes finally gazed downward on the face of the much smaller-framed feline. Her bright brown eyes stared back at him, but while it may provide a false sense of innocence to an ignorant observer, Nathan became wise over the years, and thus knew better than to be fooled. He gazed back at his car and stepped forward to push her aside, but she pressed her paws onto his chest, again halting him. "Nathan..."

At least the softer tone from her spiked his curiosity, and he looked at her with a better alertness for detail. Gray and light-tan fur with white on the neck down her entire front, black tufted ears jutting out of her thick and long black hair, and a routine street attire of jeans, snugly-fitting black shirt to show off her modestly-sized chest and leather cowboy boots. As the oldest of five daughters under Iranian immigrants (or as her parents referred to themselves, exiled loyalists to the defunct Pahlavi monarchy), she maintained the Middle-Eastern accent and while Nathan saw it as an attractive trait in her at first, it later became an abhorrent due to the words associated with the accent as she spoke. He sighed and shifted the duffel bag to his side. "You're not supposed to be here Alaleh."

Alaleh frowned. "You're bailing for New York and not gonna say goodbye to your girlfriend?"

Nathan resisted the temptation to sigh in relief. She still didn't realize that he lied to her about his destination. His ears laid back and knowing that she won't go away anytime soon, he finally dropped the heavy duffel bag to the paved ground. "We've gone through this too many times before. You and I are history."

No stranger in resorting to violence, Alaleh struck him on the chest with the bottom of her fist. "No we're not! Let me go with you, you still have a chance to make amends with me."

"Make amends?" He blinked and bent over slightly to meet her at face-level. "You're asking me to make amends with you? As if I care about you anymore to do that?"

Her paw whipped across his face in a slap, hard enough to force Nathan to stumble back a step. "Don't you dare speak to me like that, Nathan!" She growled but upon seeing him straighten up and rubbing his cheek, she let off a deep breath. "Okay, okay now you're making me angry..."

Nathan shook his head and again moved to push her to the side, picking up his duffel bag. "I should've filed for a restraining order..."

Again she stalled his trek to the vehicle as she grabbed his arm. Nathan winced though, as she not only grabbed him on an already sore spot, but also with the sharp claws into the flesh. "But you didn't, and you know why? Because you still love me!"

"Will you fucking let me go?" He pulled his arm away from her, and despite feeling the extra pain of the scratches, it was enough for her to release him.

"What's wrong with you, Nathan?" Alaleh whined, her eyes already becoming moist with tears. It was another attempt of guilt-tripping, but this time Nathan wanted nothing to do with it.

"What's wrong with me? Alaleh..." He closed his eyes and sighed. "Has it ever occurred to you that you never admit to your mistakes?"

"Mistakes? What mistakes? You're the one drifting away from me, and here you are, trying to leave without saying goodbye! We've been together since High School, I've supported you when you decided to risk your body for this fake sport and--"

Nathan held up his paw quickly, interrupting her. "Whoa, hold up. You've never supported me on that! You kept gossiping with your clique of friends about how much a 'loser' I am for even watching wrestling, and you've rarely even attended the shows that I'm involved in. You called wrestling 'gay' and think I'm wasting my time!"

"I've stood by your side the entire time!" Alaleh screamed back, her voice rising to a near-shrill pitch. "I was actually embarrassed when some of my friends laugh at the fact that you're a pro wrestler, that you look stupid with those silly goggles that you wear. You rarely have time for me anymore, as you're always training just to get yourself beat up all the time. And yet I stood by you! Remember a couple months ago when you had that match with all the tables and barbwire, and you ended up in the hospital? Who was there sitting by you when you finally woke up? And this is how you pay me back?" She growled and her paws clench tightly. "You... you... Ajab ahmaghi hasti to!"

Nathan rolled his eyes slightly and finally reached his car close enough to open the door, throwing his duffel bag inside first. He barely had any comprehension for her parents's native language and she often took advantage of that whenever she became angry at him, although that particular quote was something she said to him enough times to recognize the translation. "Leave me alone. I told you for months already that we're done. Why can't you let me go?" His voice carried a sense of ad nauseam, not willing to argue with this lynx any more.

"I don't believe you. We're not through, Nathan..." Her upper lip quivered and she absently brushed back some of her long hair. "I need you..."

"You need me..." Nathan said with a groan and climbed into his driver's seat. Alaleh grabbed the car door while it was still open, stalling Nathan's departure for freedom once more. He frowned and grabbed the door handle, glaring back at her. "We've been together for a long time, but you have your own life now and I have mine. Let go of the fucking door."

Alaleh hissed. "No. You're fucking stupid, thinking you can live without me!"

"Bullshit," Nathan said, grunting as he overpowered her grip on the door to finally close it. Even with the window up, his ears still catch the slightly-muffled sounds of her voice.

"Don't fucking leave me!" Alaleh pounded on the glass of his door window, and once Nathan turned on the engine, she quickly climbed onto the hood of the car, much to his surprise. He leaned back on his seat instinctively as she planted her knees onto the hood and then slammed her fist onto the windshield several times. "Don't leave!"

"Are you fucking nuts?!"

Alaleh whimpered loudly, pouting like a child two decades younger than her as she balanced herself on the angled car hood and her palms flatly pressed against the glass. Nathan stared back incredulously, unsure on what to do. After ten years of dating, with emotional highs and lows, best times and worst times, the last time Nathan might see her would be this moment. Not in marriage, not in spousal death, but with her atop his car hood with the engine idling. Staring into her eyes, he felt a tinge of guilt, slowly succumbing to her will. When he found out his own parents were talking negatively about her due to her Iranian ancestry, he openly fought them with words. He took her out to movies, concerts, lunches and dinners, and shared many laughs together. If he simply left now, all those years together would have been for naught. Gone.

Gone would be the years of asking for her paw in marriage, only to be scorned with demands of patience.

Gone would be the scorn, the mocking, the guilt trips, and the gossip.

Gone would be the lies and the hypocrisy.

Gone.

He grabbed the stick shift, putting it on reverse. Alaleh screamed loudly, instinctively grabbing hold of the gap between the windshield and the hood as the vehicle suddenly drove backwards when Nathan's foot slammed the pedal. The car stopped after twenty-some feet, forcing her to let go due to the momentum and as she slid across the windshield, Nathan growled and changed gears to move forward. That was finally enough to throw the lynx off the side of the car, but Nathan barely gave her any notice as she rolled painfully along the pavement. With a screech of tires, he quickly drove off the parking lot, and then on the road toward the airport in Phoenix.

Alaleh whimpered with her face onto the ground, feeling blood trickling from her nose. Holding her injured elbow, she staggered up and glanced just in time to see Nathan's car speeding away in the distance. She frowned, baring her fangs as her paws clench.

"You'll learn, Nathan... you'll learn."


The End