There were roadblocks in people's lives. This goes without saying. They are the challenges that define your character, the literal definition of 'sink or swim.' You either come out the other side triumphant with a fresh burst of confidence, or alternatively you get tossed around like dust and thrown to the wayside. The latter occurred for young Jakob Davis recently, being bitchslapped out of Doctor D'Ville's Rumble match for the X-treme Championship, and this has overall brought Jakob's confidence back down to Earth. Sadly for him, he's still to face Michael McBride for his newly acquired X-treme Championship this Savage, and Jakob still had a long way to go to get ready.

This led Jakob to where he was now-- the streets of Boston. At the recommendation of his childhood friend Gavin Taylor, Jakob was on his way to a local gym that would assisst in beefing him up for his match to come.

Small puffs of air escaped through Jakob's mouth, trying to keep himself warm as he made his way through this bitter landscape. Looking over to his left, he could see a group of protestors shouting and complaining about the recent Presidential Election. Jakob grimaced; he wasn't one for politics, but it was clear as day that this nation was royally fucked. So long as President-elect Donald Trump kept his face out of the pro wrestling circuit then Jakob would try to limit his problems with the failed casino owner-- however with the apparent news that Donald Trump was also running for the "Championship President" of the XWF told Jakob that he would be seeing a lot more of Donald Trump.

Jakob shook his head at the protestors and trudged on, taking a look at the crumpled piece of paper in his pocket--

695 Atlantic Avenue 02111 Boston Sports Clubs

695 Atlantic Avenue, Jakob repeated in his head. He tried drilling the location into his mind, and a quick look and calculation on the Google Maps function on his phone told him that he was only 10 minutes away.

"I hope Gavin's right about this place," Jakob muttered to himself as he continued to walk, a slight shiver beginning to form due to the hellish cold.

While Jakob continued to walk, he allowed his mind to drift. Another X-treme Championship match, so early in his career too. It was actually somewhat amazing that although he was receiving title shots up the ass, he remained relatively unknown throughout the XWF. Hell, the people who mentioned him in the lead-up to D'Ville's Rumble-- if fhey even bothered to mention Jakob-- basically said they didn't know who the hell he was. Jakob knew he had to fix that problem somehow...

He certainly didn't do himself any favors during the actual Rumble match, getting dispatched by Peter Gilmour easily before Jakob could even do a damned thing. In a way, that's what made this match even MORE important to Jakob. He needed to solidify his position here, he needed to prove himself, he needed to become a title holder.

Jakob then suddenly paused, chuckling to himself. It was only a few months ago Jakob was dreading his debut, a plan developed by his father for Jakob to live his old man's hopes and dreams, and yet his mind almost seemed to magically change. He was more concerned with proving himself, he wanted to go for his first major title victory. Most importantly, he didn't leave XWF for good as soon as he left his father.

Continuing pn, Jakob knew he had to devise a plan for himself. The next Pay-Per-View for the XWF, Wild Card Weekend was about to come soon, and knowing Jakob's recent history with being booked, he was almost positive he was going to get booked. Almost figuring out what to do after Wild Card Weekend passed, Jakob unwittingly bumped rudely into the back of a fellow pedestrian.

"Oh, um, sorry..." Jakob managed to say before the pedestrian moved on, her own icy glare staring daggers into Jakob's soul. Gulping, Jakob quickly looked around before realizing something-- he made it to the gym, the rather ugly Boston Sports Clubs logo being a dead giveaway. Double checking his address scribbled out onto Gavin's paper once more, Jakob found that this was indeed the location he was supposed to be at. Taking a deep breath, Jakob stepped inside and hoped for the best.

He was quickly disappointed.

Immediately as soon as he walked in, he was greeted with the pungent smell of perspiration. Now of course to most viewers, they'd expect the interiorof a gym to smell heavily like sweat, but it wasn'tthe standard kind of sweat. No, this was the kind of smell of sweat from wearing the same pair of dirty gym socks for a solid month, using them to dry your body, and then proceeding to lock them in a safe with thr sweat hanging in the air for months. It was that kind of sweat.

Trying to stifle his gags, Jakob put on his most forced smile in a looong time and proceeded to put on his most forced smile ever as he walked to the front desk. There, he found a bored-looking teenager with enough pimples to make his face look like a pepperoni pizza. Trying to now ignore both the scent and the sight before him, Jakob asked, "Excuse me? Hi, my friend recommended me this gym to use, but I'm only passsing through and won't be staying for long. Is it possible that I can get a trial membership?"

The teen looked up at him, bored fixture still seemingly permanently glued to his face. "Sorry dude. We don't do trial memberships here. Them's the breaks."

Jakob looked back at the teen, awestruck. "What the hell kind of a gym doesn't have a trial membership option?!"

"Hey man. Don't shoot the messenger. I'm just doing my job," the teen responded.

Jakob groaned. He was about to do possibly one of his least favorite things ever- using his status to get what he wanted. It was scummy, yes, but with Savage coming up soon Jakob needed every minute of time. Taking a deep breath (and quickly regretting it due to the wretched air), Jakob said, "Hey, listen. You watch XWF, right?"

The teen suddenly perked up. "I don't, but my girlfriend does! Wh-what about it?"

Jakob smiled-- things were going his way here. "Well, what if I told you that you get to show me, an XWF star, off to your girlfriend? You know, we take a picture together?"

"Wow, tha's great, Mister...." the teen tried to come up with Jakob's last name, prompting Jakob to come in.

"Davis."

"Yeah, Davis! But uh... I'm doubting that you'd be doing this out of the goodness of your heart."

"Well, you see here, we make a deal. We take the picture after my match later this week, and in exchange, you give me a trial membership for this gym."

"It's a deal!"

On the outside Jakob Davis flashed a model-like smile, trying to remain confident, but on the inside he couldn't help but feel guilty as he was taking advantage of the kid.