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❝ And this is the last time we ask for gimmick ideas from Jordan. ❞

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Jordan was tired.

NXT would be heading to Australia in just a few minutes, but in order to get there, she had to get up early.

She typically woke up early every morning, to head to the Performance Center (which she referred to as her favorite place on earth). However, this particular morning, she had gotten up far earlier than she usually would, and she didn't have the Performance Center to look forward to.

She was currently in the airport, struggling to stay awake. She was sitting next to Adrienne, who was scrolling through her phone. She had spoken to Johnny and Tommaso for a few minutes, but they ended up leaving somewhere, and she hadn't seen them since.

"How much longer do we have to wait?" Jordan asked Adrienne, who looked up from her phone and over at her friend.

"Our flight boards in five minutes," She replied. When Jordan sighed, she added, "I've never been around you this early in the morning before, but I don't like it."

"No one said you had to sit next to me," Jordan retorted.

When Adrienne stood up, walked away, and sat next to a confused Liv Morgan, Jordan gasped and crossed her arms.

"I'll be over here if you need me," Adrienne told her.

Jordan glared at Adrienne for a few seconds, who had already launched into a conversation with Liv. She stopped when she felt someone take a seat next to her. She looked over and saw Johnny.

When he saw her face, he asked, "Wow, who pissed in your cereal?"

"Adrienne is being mean to me," She said, leaning back in her chair. "She said that she doesn't like me."

"I highly doubt that's what she said."

"You weren't there when she said it."

"But I know Adrienne," He said. "And I don't think she'd say something mean like that."

"But - "

"I know, I wasn't here," He finished for her.

Jordan glanced around the room, then looked back at him. "Where is Tommaso?"

"He's on the phone somewhere," He told her. "I'm not sure exactly where he is, but I do know he's somewhere in this airport."

"Wow, really?" She asked, her voice laced with sarcasm.

He laughed as a lady over the loudspeaker said that their flight was boarding.

X X X

Now on the plane, Jordan watched as her fellow NXT Superstars filed onto the plane. Johnny and Tommaso were seated a few rows ahead of her, and she knew that Adrienne would be sitting next to her.

Once she spotted her, it didn't take long for Adrienne to reach her seat. It only took a few seconds for her to speak.

"So, what's going on between you and...?" She trailed off, raising her eyebrows and smirking.

"Who are you talking about?" Jordan asked, frowning. She racked her brain. "I've only talked to you and Johnny, and Tommaso for a few minutes."

"Pick one."

She frowned. "Johnny?" When Adrienne just smiled, Jordan's eyes widened for a second, but she quickly gained her composure. "Why? Have you talked to Tommaso?"

"What? No. What are you talking about?" Adrienne asked. "Why? Should I talk to him?"

"No." Jordan shook her head. "It's nothing."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, definitely," Jordan reassured her. "He's with Candice, remember? There's obviously nothing going on between us."

Adrienne just nodded.

Jordan leaned back in her seat. Was she trying to reassure Adrienne, or herself?

X X X

As everyone filed off of the plane, Jordan found herself more exhausted than she had been when they boarded.

She had traveled outside of the US before (as a kid to Taiwan, and as an adult to the UK and Japan for shows), and while she couldn't recall how she felt about the family trips to Taiwan, she could remember her adult years, and how much she hated being in a different country with a different time zone.

Everyone was now waiting for their luggage. Jordan took a deep breath, eyeing the conveyor belt to make sure she didn't miss her bag.

"You look like a zombie."

She turned to see Johnny now standing next to her.

"I always look like a zombie," She told him.

Instead of disagreeing, he said, "But now, you look like a tired zombie."

"Do zombies get tired?" Jordan asked, not looking away from the conveyor belt.

"I..." He trailed off, and Jordan looked over at him. It looked like he was searching through his brain for the answer, like this was information he had learned years ago that he had kept stored back in his mind, just in case he needed it one day. But now that he needed it, he was having trouble finding it.

She looked ahead again, and when she saw her bag, she walked forward and picked it up. She walked back over to Johnny, who no longer had the deep in thought look on his face.

"You can't really be tired if you're dead, can you?" He asked.

"I don't think you feel anything when you're dead," She said. He nodded for a second, then walked forward to get his own bag. When he returned, she continued, "Like, I don't think a zombie would even feel pain if you cut its arm off or something."

"I mean, they feel hunger," He said. "Since they want to eat our brains or whatever."

"Here's an idea for DIY," She said. "We stop what we're currently doing, and we become zombies."

"That... is a horrible idea."

"Aw, come on."

"What's going on over here?" Jordan turned around to see Tommaso approaching them. He already had his bag.

"Jordan wants us to be zombies," Johnny told him.

She didn't know what Tommaso thought they were talking about, but it probably wasn't that. He looked at her in confusion.

"What?"

"Instead of being indie darlings, we should be zombies," She explained. "Our whole gimmick will just be us screaming braaaaaains and walking really slow."

"And since zombies can't feel pain, we'll never be beat," Johnny added, speaking slowly as the realization came to him.

"I see you're coming around to the idea." She smiled.

"And this is the last time we ask for gimmick ideas from Jordan," Tommaso announced.

"But it's such a good idea," She protested.

"It's really not."

"But he likes it," She said, pointing at Johnny. "You're outnumbered."

"Tell Hunter your zombie idea, then," He said. "See if he likes it."

She frowned, and looked at Johnny. "He's not going to like it, is he?"

"He might laugh at it," He told her.

She sighed, and looked back at Tommaso. "Fine, you win."

"I know," He said, and began walking. "Now, come on. Let's get out of here."

***

Not counting Adrienne catching on to Jordan's crush, this chapter was mostly filler. But hey, you got to read a whole conversation about zombies, so who's really complaining?

To clarify, Jordan's parents are from Taiwan, hence the family visits there. She was born in the US, though, and is Taiwanese-American.

Also, this is the only chapter that will take place in Australia. They'll be back in Orlando for the next one. I was just inspired to write about a flight by this video. (lmao I'm gonna end up sharing this in all my books)

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]