Story written with  MartineauQC
Ivie Robins was created by  MartineauQC

All-Star Week has always been a time for fun and games, a chance to let go some of the tension of the season. There were some who worried about their performance at the dunk contest, others who worried about the three-point contest, but for the most part All-Star Week was a nice break from stress. Not for Lisa, however.

After the dunk contest, the Summit hosted a “Taste of Seattle” event at the Hilltop Seattle Hotel International Ballroom where FBA players, staff, and significant others were welcomed to enjoy a coffee and paired liquor tasting. This was an event Lisa was the most excited for since it was first announced. It was going to be an event she and her uncle would have gotten to experience together. Eric would have enjoyed the liquor portion of the tasting, and Lisa, the coffee portion. It was perfect for the two of them. But Eric wasn’t there with her. Not after he heard what she had planned to do from last night’s “debate.”

Lisa entered the ballroom wearing a short red evening dress with a high neck to cover hers and a slit over the breasts. Being February, it was still cold out, but all Lisa had for cover was a silk shawl. She needed to look the part, and weather had no sway on the matter. With her was a small purse: the most important item on her. In it held the envelope Valencia gave her that she was to leave behind. All she needed to do was wait for an opening to leave it on a table, unnoticed.

The ballroom filled up quickly after the dunk contest had concluded. There were cameras and GMs and coaches, all manner of staff. There were FBA players, some who were involved with All-Star Week, some who were not. There were some people Lisa didn’t recognize but assumed they were guests of the others. Lisa was one of the few who had shown up alone. This meant no help, no distractions, nothing. If this was going to happen, Lisa would be solely responsible.

She tried some of the coffee, she mingled with the guests, she posed for pictures, she wandered and surveyed the area. She paired the coffee with some liquor, she caught up with some of the members of her draft class, she joked and laughed, she kept eyes on the furs with the cameras. She ducked in and out of conversations, she went to the bathroom and psyched herself up in the mirror, she fixed her hair, she had second thoughts. She remembered her father’s words, she remembered why she was doing this, she made up her mind to go through with this, she saw an opening. Ready to set the envelope on the table while no one was looking, a new unforeseen obstacle caught her eye.

Across the way was Damario. What the hell was he doing here? How did he get in? Upon a second reflection it wouldn’t be hard for him to claim he was Lisa’s guests since by this point, he had been known to be in a relationship with her. Lisa froze, envelope still in her hand. Her window was quickly closing, but this wasn’t the right time. She decided to retreat and placed the envelope back in her purse. Just as she did, their eyes caught each other’s, causing the two to sigh and acknowledge one another.

Damario sat down at a wall-mounted seat against the tilted windows overlooking Elliot Bay, and Lisa made her way over to join him. She sat with one leg crossed over the other while hugging herself, and Damario kept his gaze off of her. This complicated things in more ways than one. The two hadn’t spoken to each other since he cursed her out and kicked her out of his home back in August. He did attend the game Baltimore played in Las Vegas, however, but Lisa ignored him and left before he could have a chance to speak with her. That was probably why he showed up here tonight. There had been enough time for things to calm down a bit and give each other a chance to reflect on what happened. Maybe things could start to heal. That’s what Lisa felt Damario was thinking anyway.

“I miss you,” Damario finally voiced, barely being heard over the light chatter of the ballroom. Lisa said nothing and kept her own gaze forward. Damario left time for her to respond but sighed when he realized she wouldn’t. “Listen. I’m sorry about everything. I keep thinking about that night and I feel like such an ass.” Lisa continued to stay quiet but wrapped her tail around her leg. “I understand you don’t have anything to say to me. Or maybe you do. I donno. But after everything, I realized what a hypocrite I was being.” Lisa’s ears twitched towards Damario. “When we first broke up, I told you how you were running away from the first sign of danger instead of talking it out. But you learned. You did come to me to talk out what you were going through, and I blew up and ran away exactly like what I accused you of doing the first time. You were coming to talk to me and…” Damario’s voice trailed off as he heard his own words.

Lisa was half there, though. She could hear what Damario was saying, though none of his words came as a surprise to her. He had done a similar thing when the two had broken up the first time. He turned her away, but after time came back to try and start over. She knew that over time Damario would cool off and play the guilty one. She knew this was his plan when he came to her game against Las Vegas. She just wasn’t expecting to see him here today. But this was a distraction. She was on a mission and her eyes darted back and forth, watching everyone in the room.

Except for…

The mouse would soon come face to face with the one person she absolutely did not want to see, or at least not without Valencia or David to back her up. The tall lanky figure glanced over and spoked. "Yoo, Damario.” It was Ivie Robins, the Dane from the Texas Lone Stars, Lisa’s previous teammate, and most recently the cause of Lisa’s troubles. With all her scanning and checking, Ivie was the last person Lisa was keeping an eye out for. Ivie wasn’t participating in any of the All-Star events, so Lisa had no reason to think she’d be here. Even Damario being here did little to cause Lisa any anxiety. But Ivie's voice shock her to her core. Lisa stayed stiff, looking straight on.

"Oh. Um. Hi," Damario answered. "Ivie, right? How are you?" Damario gave a polite smile.

Ivie was gently swirling liquor in her glass as she smiled at the cat. "Hey, no complaining, here to see batty and spooder. We did talk a couple of times back in Vegas," Ivie told him. She hadn’t addressed Lisa yet. No “hey,” or “how are you?” Why? Maybe Ivie could see right through her. Maybe she already knew what Lisa was planning. Either way Lisa was absolutely stiff and Ivie probably knew she was still living in the mouse’s head rent free. That had to be it, right?

"That's cool,” Damario continued, unaware of Lisa’s internal battle. “I wanted to see the All-Star game, cuz, well," Damario gestured to Lisa with the top of his head and smiled. Ivie being here complicated things even further. Of all the moments, why was she here now? Maybe Lisa should bail on this whole thing and duck out of the hotel altogether. Would it even be worth it if out of everyone, she was caught by the very person fueling this stunt?

Ivie nodded back at Damario. "Yeah, it's coo' it's coo'." This was the absolute worse. The last time Lisa and Ivie had spoken was over Tweetter; more importantly, after Baltimore had lost to Las Vegas. Lisa had made her distain for the loss known on Tweeter, and it was then Ivie had accused Lisa of being just like her father, manipulating people to get what she wants, and sited her breakup with Damario as proof. Lisa was frustrated, and Ivie had the nerve to cross a line comparing her to her father? She had the gall to use her ex to say that she manipulated him the way David would have? At the time Lisa left things open ended when Ivie called her out publicly. Lisa was so shaken she could not bring herself to formulate a comeback. But this meant Lisa was leaving Ivie to feel like the victor. And it was precisely this public fight that brought David back into Lisa’s life. It was this fight that told David that Lisa needed to learn how to take on the world. And it was this fight that brought Lisa to that ballroom tonight.

Normally, Ivie would had been pleased to continue where she had left off on Tweetter when she shook Lisa, but right now, seeing Lisa in such a state was good enough for her. Lisa had burned a lot of bridges when she went after her friends and pass teammates, and Ivie wasn’t about to let her off the hook... at least not yet. Sometimes the best response was not responding at all, and Ivie knew that that was probably driving Lisa nuts. "I'm happy that you seem to be doing alright big guy,” Ivie continued. “I'm about to head out. Not much of a liquor gal anyway. We be out for Ice cream,” the Dane spoke.

Damario nodded. "I hear that. I don't really drink the stuff too much myself." He glanced over at Lisa and saw the displeased look on her face. This caused him to sigh to himself and eventually stand to his feet. "I don't mean to be rude, but I need to use the little boys room.” Finally, Lisa looked at Damario in shock. “Besides, I should give you two some time to catch up. Lisa doesn't need me hovering around and taking up your time." Lisa wanted to say something but what? She needed to get back to what she came here to do, but Ivie being here meant she’d need an excuse to step away. Besides, Lisa was in no mood to deal with Ivie right now. "Three's a crowd, right?" Damario asked, somberly.

Ivie chuckled. "Hey, go right ahead bud." She gave her empty drink to a passing waiter, as she stood tall, face to face with Lisa, an interesting contrast on the situation.

"Damario, you idiot," Lisa muttered under her breath as Damario walked off. As she had the whole time she was sitting there, Lisa kept her arms crossed and stared straight ahead. Now more than ever was a time to test out what her father had been teaching her. She took a deep breath. "So," she said in a sing-songy voice rivaling Valencia's. "What did you think of the dunk contest?"

Ivie paused. "It was great as usual. Glad to see Spotty from Santa Ana winning the thing," she said. "Ya hype for ya All-Star game? Ya weren’t looking so hot for a bit there." And a jab. A familiar one at that. Lisa took another breath. This was a new game. She was used to playing this game with her father. But then again, he was family. This didn’t feel the same. Everything Lisa had learned scattered about in her brain. What was she doing? This was not who she was. Lisa was a gentle person, a kind and caring friend. She didn’t need to do this. Just make up with her and drop this whole stupid plan. David taught Lisa how to get back at the world, and that meant getting back at Ivie for a stupid little tweet she made months ago that at this point no one even remembered?

But Ivie remembered.

Why else would she be talking to Lisa like this? Maybe David was right. Ivie pushed the line and now here she was, trying to push it even further. One more breath.

"Did I look off? It's been a long day. I can see that. But yeah! For sure, I'm excited for the All-Star game. It's nice to have your skills recognized. I worked hard to be here after all." Lisa gave Ivie a huge grin. Game on.

Ivie continued. "Among other things, true." Another jab. Ivie wasn’t impressed with Lisa’s posturing, yet still kept her veil on. "Glad to see the big cat alright. Clearly things changed but I guess some are able to keep true to themselves. And it shows during All-Star Week, too: recognition of your talent... but your character also..."

It was a good thing the lights were turned down low, otherwise Lisa would have had no way of hiding her nose turning bright red as the blood rushed to her face. What would Ivie know about character? Was she still judging Lisa’s? That settled it. There was no way Ivie could know what Lisa was up to, but her know-it-all attitude pushed Lisa away from any thoughts of mercy even if Ivie had been trying to convince her not to go through with her plan. Lisa nodded back at Ivie.

"Yes. So true. That's why I love All-Star Week. You can't hide behind recommendations or bribes or anything like that. Only the people who truly deserve to be here are here. I suppose that's where true talent and character really shine."

Ivie glanced at her, as for a moment her insinuations didn't ring a bell for her. But she still remained as composed and collected. "Well, I need to get going, need to see batty. And by the way Lisa, be careful with that tail of yours. She looks so tight around your ankle it’ll cut the circulation in your leg," she finished as the Great Dane went on her way.

Lisa instinctually looked down at her leg and frantically unwrapped her tail. When she looked back up Ivie was gone. She was nowhere in the room. Lisa was sure of it this time. And as though timed, Damario rounded a table and rejoined Lisa.

“Did Ivie leave?” he asked. “Sorry about that. I wanted to-“

“You idiot!” Lisa shouted. “Why the hell did you leave me alone with her?!”

“I. She was your old teammate,” Damario said, shocked. “I thought-“

“She humiliated me! In public! You think we’d be talking after that?”

“Lisa. I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Damario turned to her but sat in defense.

“She told me that me being upset about how the game went, that me standing up against everyone who was laughing at me and talking down to me online, was me acting like my damn father! She knew how I felt about him! She said it to hurt me!”

“Okay. Okay,” Damario said as to try to get her to calm down. She wasn’t loud enough for other’s to really hear, but she was certainly riled up as she turned to face Damario, almost directing all of her anger towards him.

“And then,” Lisa continued, still just as riled up. “I go to defend myself and she goes, ‘oh that’s why you lost your ex-boyfriend,’” she mocked. “I was kicked out! Cursed at! Called a bitch, and she thinks…” Lisa stopped, forgetting she was talking to that very ex-boyfriend.

“Lisa… I’m. I’m sorry…”

Lisa placed her head in her hand. There she was again. Letting things get to her to the point of exploding. She took more deep breaths and prepared to apologize to Damario. This was her fault. She acted up. She got upset. She let all this dictate her actions. She needed to own up to her feelings. Because she wasn’t allowed to feel them. She wasn’t allowed to be angry. She wasn’t allowed to be confused, or hurt, or, hell, ever make a mistake. Apologize?

“You know, you were right,” Lisa said softly. “I came to you to try a come clean. I came to you because I was afraid of keeping my mistake hidden from you. I trusted that I could be vulnerable with you and work things out. And you spat in my face. You miss me? Well, that sucks for you. Because the old me is gone.” As Lisa spoke it felt as she was growing taller and taller, while Damario shrank in comparison. “You told me that you never wanted to see my face again. Then get the hell out of here. ASW is my thing, and I’m not bending for you. Don’t come slithering back to me every time you throw me to the curb. We’re done. And if I ever see your face again, maybe I’ll do something to prove Ivie right.”

The chatter in the room grew louder as people were suddenly moving in a single direction. A cheetah with a camera was shouting and calling for all guest to gather in a group for a photo. Without missing a beat, Lisa stood to her feet and joined the crowd.

“Go home, Damario,” Lisa said over her shoulder. “I’m not looking back anymore.” As she spoke, she slipped her hand into her purse, took the envelope out, and placed it gently on a specifically chosen table in one smooth motion. The time for second guessing was over. If Lisa was going to move forward, she couldn’t afford to second guess anymore. When she turned back to give Damario one last quib, she had found he, too, was already gone. It worked? He left? Everything that needed to be said was said. And everything that needed to be done was done as well. That was it.