And here I am again, 3:20 AM in the morning.
I stare at my watch and sigh, my breath easily being seen in the cold night's air. I look up at the sky, the moon casting it's glow down through the window and into the room. I don't know why I was up so late, why I couldn't get to sleep and why I felt so anxious about the coming days. Another Avulsion was coming soon, and on the very last night before the show where I'm to face this big-named X-Net icon...I'm wondering just what I'm up against.
In a way, I'm actually glad. I knoew this man must be a challenge, and I look forward to facing him, I really do. However, I have an odd sense of worry that I might actually lose this match. I don't want to lose this one...not so soon. I can take a loss like the next wrestler, but I just made up for my only one so far...and I'm not ready to have to try and do it again.
I'm ready to move forward, I'm ready to start causing waves in the ocean that is the NLCW.
I know I'm the underdog still, and I know that everyone believes that this wrestler from the now-dead HWF, not even the best they once had to offer, has no chance against the X-Net champion, the seemingly more successful and talented Jeremy Diaz.
It's just like it was when I first faced Sean Galen, isn't it? I wasn't even afraid of losing to him back then, because I knew I was new, and that no-one expected anything more from me...and I guess that's what fueled me to beat him. I love being the underdog.
Yet now...I'm afraid. I'm afraid that after finally feeling free of all I've been through, it just won't be enough. Who's to say there's going to be another match with this guy should I fail? Who's to say he won't simply end my career in that ring tommorow? The thought of losing this business saddens me and frightens me, this is my life...my dreams are here.
My dreams aren't just in the NLCW, they're in the business itself. They're with every match I fight in, they're with anywhere that I'll ever be apart of. This..this is my very life that I'm carrying out on camera for these people. When they watch me, they don't just see a wrestler, they don't see someone who has an on-screen and off-screen personality. When they watch me on television...I'm the same man in person. Some people find it hard to believe that in this world of gimmicks and catch phrases, I honestly don't change myself for the camera at all.
They come to me expecting an icon, and they leave with the realization that despite my status I really am just like them. I'm living for my dreams, fighting for my dreams, and doing whatever I can to accomplish them. The people seem to respect the fact that I don't change who I am for the show, and that I allow myself to be real for them.
I suppose they can connect with me on a better level because of that. In a way, I'm glad that millions of people know who Dominic Pericolo really is. That so many people understand that I'm not changing myself to entertain them, that I can be myself and do it just as well. It's amazing to think that so many people respect me for this, and that so many people apparently look to me as a hero.
A hero, heheh...who would have thought I'd have ever been a 'hero'. Maybe...one day I'll even meet my own definition of a 'superhero'.
...maybe.
I could feel a smile on my face as I stared up at the night sky and sighed. So long ago the very thought of me even being a hero was laughable, and I would shut the whole idea completely out of my mind. I thought I had the chance to be a hero long ago, I thought I had the ability to really be the man who saved the day and I failed. I had realized I had the chance to be after the whole ordeal had occurred, I realized my failure many months too late.
But Suki has helped me see that I can still be the hero, that I still am the hero that I thought I never was. To Suki Minamoto, I am her hero. I...wow, I guess in a way...I'm also her superhero. To at least one person in this world...I've made the impact I've always dreamed of making.
How ironic...that it's with the girl of my dreams, that all my other dreams start coming true.
And that very thought makes me feel so incredible that it's really hard to comprehend such a thing to be possible. The woman that I love, the angel that saved me, looks up to me as a hero in her life--a superhero. It's truly a feeling unlike any other, a feeling that seems so strange to me and yet at the same time...so true and pure that I feel myself giving in to that idea more and more each day.
"Dominic?" I heard a whispered voice call from behind me. Rolling over, I saw Suki staring at my with her beautiful brown eyes, a smile on her face. I pulled her closer to me, smiling softly as she buried her face into my chest. Chuckling, I looked down at her and smiled wider.
"Hey Suki...what's up? Why are you still up this late?" I asked, quirking my eyebrow in curiosity. She laughed lightly and punched me in the arm from her position, shaking her head and lifting it from my chest.
"So says the man who has a wrestling match tommorow night...you really should get some rest Domi. It'll help you focus." she said with a smile. I stared into her eyes, allowing a soft sigh to escape my lips as I nodded.
If only she knew that she's the very reason I can focus so sharply in the ring now. If only she knew how much she's affected me for the better...that she was the final break that allowed me to overcome my past once and for all. That she helped me so much...that with the final match against Galen, the one chance at redemption for my loss that I had...I won because of her. She took my hand in hers and gently kissed it, before wrapping her arms around me and allowing me to hug her closer to me. Moments passed before she nuzzled her face gently into my cheek, whispering tiredly once again, sleep beginning to catch up to her.
"Hey...sleep well, okay? I'll see you in the morning," she said, interrupting herself with a yawn, "...please try to get some rest, this place could really be your chance Dominic. I'm not going to stand by and watch it slip from you, I want to help as much as I can." she said, hugging me gently. I squeezed her gently and smiled, before pulling back slightly and looking into her eyes.
"Hey, you've helped more then you know Suki. Thanks so much for your support...if it weren't for you, I don't know if I'd be here right now. Thank you so much...I really do appreciate it angel..." I said, seeing her blush lightly and smile.
We hugged each other once again, holding each other close for comfort. What seems like hours of bliss were only a mere few minutes, but in those minutes I felt so much happiness in my heart that we could damn well have stood there into the morning hours and I wouldn't have cared. Inevitably, however, we withdrew and smiled at one another again.
"It's no problem, Domi...now get some sleep okay? Sweet dreams...I love you" she said, a large smile on her face.
I nodded, chuckling softly. "I love you too, and don't let the bed bugs bite either." I grinned, receiving a small laugh from her. She hugged me again, still giggling a little. I hugged her to me and smiled, lowering my head and looking over her shoulder at the sheets on our bed, closing my eyes softly.