Cammie & Wade: Mosh Pit Grading

[x-scorpion.livejournal.com]

Wade comes and grades Cammie's fight-night out. It gets a B-.

The music was the type that really got the blood pumping. Base, heavy guitar chords and wailing vocals. Cammie was right down in the front, where the pit was the heaviest. The club was one of those on the edge of District X, most of the people who came were mutants and the brawls were generally powers heavy. No one aimed to kill though, but it was a good way to really let off steam.

Eventually, sporting a few new bruises, Cammie made her way through the crowd to the bar and flagged down the tender of said magical place, "Hey, can I get a shot of bleach?" she asked. They knew her well enough that a they now kept a lot of chemicals right up front. Life was, sometimes, quite good.

"You know," Wade said, shouting over the music to be heard. "I think you could make better use of your elbows." He leaned back against the bar, a shot of bourbon in hand, and quirked an eyebrow at Cammie. "There's at least three guys you could've bruised better if you'd really been utilizing them."

Cammie did a double take for a minute before knocking back her bleach, "Since when is this your type of fucking place?" she returned.

"I'm a man of many varied interests and talents," Wade said, grinning. "You could also guard your kidneys better, I think. Move faster, stop falling into predictable patterns." If you treated every situation as though it might turn hostile at any given moment, you were always pleasantly surprised when it didn't - and prepared when it did.

Cammie gave him an odd look, "Are you fucking grading a pit fight?" she asked.

Pausing to consider that, Wade frowned slightly, then let his expression drop into an easy smile. "Yeah. Yeah, I am. You get a B minus."

Cammie leaned up against the bar, incredulous, "It's a pit fight you don't get to grade a pit fight. No rules. No one cares. Jesus, have you ever even been in one of those?" she asked, pointed in the pit's general direction.

"Millie, darling. Dearest apple of my eye and light of my life - I practically invented pit fights. But I think you're missing the point. Which is that you could do better. When you can go into one of those and come out on the other side without a single new bruise, I'll be impressed," Wade said, still smiling.

"Millie?" Cammie returned dryly, "So, oh wise and powerful one, what the fuck would you suggest for tactics in a pit?"

Wade's smile widened into a grin. "Be aware of everyone and everything around you, chickadee. That's really the only way you'll succeed."

"Uh huh," Cammie said simply, motioning for another shot and getting her glass filled with bleach before knocking it back again, "Well, my teacher sort of skipped town 'bout a year ago so fuck all that noise."

"You mentioned that before," Wade said, taking a sip of his bourbon. "You only look a little sloppy, though - I put you through your paces when I first got here. Pretty sure I could pick up where what's his face left off. If you're interested."

"Well, I'm always good for a fist fight," Cammie said with a shrug, "Might as well learn how to do better than a fucking B. B? Seriously?"

"B minus," Wade emphasized, then stole her shot glass and nodded toward the pit. "First lesson - go back and use your elbows."

"And you're holding my bleach hostage until I do?" Cammie asked, crossing her arms.

Wade knocked back the rest of his bourbon and slid the glass toward the bartender, eyebrows raised in Cammie's general direction. "Have you noticed a theme yet?"

"Yeah, you're an asshole," Cammie says, "Who likes to take my shit."

Waggling his eyebrows, Wade said, "Your grade is slowly sinking. Insubordination is a terrible reason to fail a class, oh surly one."

"Fuck you," Cammie said, throwing her arms up, but turning back around towards the pit, "And not in the fucking fun way."

"The teacher-student relationship is sacred," Wade called after her. "And not to be tampered with!" He picked up the new glass of bourbon the bartender put in front of him and settled in to watch Cammie's progress through the pit.