Post by chaos lite on Sept 30, 2012 19:59:37 GMT -4
nothing personal.
sep.30.twelve
The scene opens to a close-up of Aubrey J. Parker’s face. It’s not hard to discern the winding road visible through the glass behind her. She’s seated in the backseat of a Nissan that she would estimate to be around ten or eleven years old. It’s nothing to write home about, but a completely acceptable car. As Cassandra said before they got into it, it’s “low key.”
Aubrey recalled smiling at Cassandra’s implication of security but part of her didn’t want “low key.” Actually, a quite large part of AJP wished for something that would stick out so the fans would have no choice but to pay attention. Cassandra was going about APW Meltdown’s trek to Green Bay the entirely wrong way... Any and all opportunities for free publicity were being swiftly avoided. She insisted on staying at her grandparents’ house, which was roughly 45 miles outside of Green Bay. While the fans and paparazzi would be at the hotel, Aubrey would be in some hick town where the people were too timid to take the half hour out of their day and drive into the city.
Cassandra McPherson sits in the passenger side of the front seat, opposite of the driver, Bobby McPherson. For much of the ride, which began at the airport, the two were engaged in their own conversation, catching up. Aubrey tunes herself out since she had virtually no memory of Cassandra’s family.
Tunes herself out until Cassandra forcefully brings her back into the conversation with a sharp slap on the thigh.
”What?” Aubrey rubs her now-stinging thigh with mild annoyance.
”What are you, high? I asked if you wanted to stop anywhere and get lunch.”
Aubrey gives Cassandra a very thoughtful look but not to take her offer into consideration... She admires how excited and youthful the girl looks this afternoon. Cassandra seldom got to see her family in Wisconsin outside of the winter holidays and it quickly became obvious that weekend how ecstatic she was at the occasion. Aubrey tries to suppress a smile, but is unable to.
Cassandra arches her brow. ”So you ARE. You’re grinning like an idiot.”
”I just like seeing you smiling instead of smirking. You don’t look like such a bitch when you’re happy.”
Cassandra gasps, feigning shock. ”I don’t look like a bitch ever!”
”So... Food, guys?” Bobby glances up at Aubrey from the rearview mirror.
”I’m not too hungry. You guys can go ahead though.”
”I don’t want to go sit down somewhere just so you can watch me eat. You’d better eat something.”
”Ha, I’m good--”
”You’d better fucking eat something.”
Cassandra threateningly shakes her fist and Aubrey laughs again, with her cheeks quickly growing pink at her friend’s faux threat.
”Well, you guys know the area better than I do. Where’s a good place to get food?”
”I’m glad you asked.”
Bobby grins up through the rearview mirror at Aubrey again before accelerating, pulling onto a road that looks like it could lead into a county named Bumfuck Nowhere, Wisconsin. Aubrey gazes out at the fields which stretch endlessly on either side.
”Aubs is gonna go into full health-freak mode tomorrow, so if we’re gonna take her to the diner we need to do it tonight.”
”I’m one step ahead of you.”
Cassandra turns around in her seat again and looks back at Parker.
”You know we couldn’t let you stay at that hotel. We’d be bad friends if we did.”
The comment catches Aubrey off guard. She looks up at Cassandra in confusion and then glances at Bobby for his reaction, but the young man’s eyes remain on the road.
”What do you mean?”
”We couldn’t just let you stay at whatever hotel Logan’s staying at. I know how you think, and you’d forget everything we talked about this week.”
Aubrey crosses her arms defensively. ”Excuse me! I would not.”
”If you stayed at one of the hotels APW had rented out, you’d be in Logan’s room, exchanging strategies and completely exposing yourself before your match. He’d know what you’re about to do before you even did and he’d destroy you JUST to teach you a lesson.”
”Maybe you should’ve let her do it. It’s kind of like letting your kid graze the burner on a hot stove.” He winks humorously at Parker through the rearview. ”Let ‘em get burned once and it never happens again.”
Aubrey rolls her eyes. ”I’m not that stupid. I doubt Logan would even let me get far enough to put myself at that kind of disadvantage.”
”Why wouldn’t he?” Cassandra shrugs. ”He wants the North American Title, probably as much as you do. What’s he going to earn from protecting you going into the match?”
”If you’re stupid enough to give him the advantage, he’d be hurting you to not let you know it. It’s kind of like when I’m playing Checkers with my son. If he has an opportunity to jump me and he doesn’t, I give the kid hell.”
Parker frowns. ”Isn’t your son three years old, Bob?”
”The point is, you’re a threat to Logan. Act like it. Distance yourself until the match tomorrow.”
Aubrey shakes her head slightly. ”Logan and I are going to walk out to that ring as a team. Until that bell rings, we’re a team. And when the match is over, we go back to being a team. That’s just how it is.”
”But what about up until then? What have you thought about doing if it comes down to you and Logan? What if he’s vulnerable and you have to take him out to win the match. Do you do it?”
Cassandra looks Aubrey right in the eye but Aubrey doesn’t say anything for a moment.
”If the only thing standing between you and the win is Logan, what do you do?”
sep.29.twelve
We plunge a day backwards in history where Aubrey J. Parker sits by herself in front of a camera attached to a tripod in front of her, located in the backyard of her home in Pleasanton, California.
She is dressed in black spandex leggings, with a violet-colored sports bra hugging her upper torso. She’s seated in the grass, leaning back on her palms as she waits for the image to come into focus, then leans forward to address the viewer.
”You know, it’s funny.
“M&M came into APW with our intentions pretty clear; we wanted to win the Tag Team Championships, but if the opportunity to compete for more gold came up, we couldn't fault the other for chasing it. We defeated the number one contenders for the Tag Team Titles, then beat Comikaze. We went to Overdrive to see the Tag Champions in action up close and personal...
“From there, things got a little messy.”
Parker shrugs slightly, looking up toward the setting sun to hide a look of guilt from the camera.
”I cost Logan his first singles’ match in almost two years against Snake Boy of all people. I got involved after he told me not to and it backfired. From there, I guess Johnny Diamond took a liking to the idea of having Logan and I become rivals or something.
“For a second let’s bar the fact that we’re opponents in a Fatal-4-Way this week in Green Bay. If anybody was taking the time out of their Monday evening to look at Meltdown last week, you had the opportunity to hear the biased commentary of the oh-so incompetent Shane West, who will be addressed this week. However, he said something interesting... He mentioned that my tag team partner Logan Alexander couldn’t be happy that I earned a spot in the North American Title match at One Night in Hell.
“It may not be the most compelling thing to hear, but Logan and I aren’t going to let M&M be destroyed by the green-eyed monster. Logan supported me before, during, and after my match. If the roles had been reversed, I’d have done the same.
“I understand how easy it is to see things that didn’t happen and throw some bullshit information out there on the fly for the sake of a story, and that’s what makes this Fatal-4-Way so interesting. People love to see friends bickering and disputing. People would love for Logan Alexander to attack me in some sort of jealous rage, claiming his spot in the North American Title match.
“Or on the other hand, the same sadists want me to be the one to knock Logan off so I wouldn’t have to face him again at One Night in Hell.
“That’s a damn good idea though, isn’t it?
“I don’t want to have to face Logan once, let alone twice so early into my career.”
Aubrey, who had been looking away the whole time finally looks back at the camera. A look of sadness is traceable behind her eyes.
”It’s not ideal, and I can’t say for sure that if it came down to me and Logan--”
She stops and closes her mouth. She gives the camera a semi-embarrassed glance and shakes her head, brushing some hair out of her face with her hand.
”But we aren’t the only two people in this match. We have Ryan Collins and ‘The New Black’ James Noir to worry about. I have a basic idea of what Collins is about, and I’m excited to step
into the ring against him and finally see if he can back up everything he claims to be...
“But Noir? Who the hell knows about him? Who knows anything about him?
“From what I’ve come to understand, Noir prides himself on being a man of mystery. Try asking him where he comes from... I’ve tried asking several people he’s talked to backstage; interviewers, staff and crew members, other Meltdown Megastars, and I couldn’t find any consistent answers. If the guy is trying to cover his tracks, he’s doing a great job. I have no idea what he’s really accomplished, or why he’s here in APW. I don’t know if he’s going to present a challenge on Meltdown on Monday night, or if he’s just like every other person that comes in here claiming to be the next BIG thing...
“Here long enough to stick their foot in the water, decide it’s a little too hot, and then leave. Done. Replaced with a new one within a week.
”No, I get nothing like that. I barely get the basics. As far as I know, he’s from New York City. Millions of people pass through residencies in New York so it’s difficult to establish whether that’s true or not-- but there’s one thing I can confirm and it’s that he’s an arrogant son of a bitch.”
She laughs softly.
”He referred to the talent on Meltdown as ‘piss poor’ last week and I felt a little smile on my face when I heard that. I like to know that there are ignorant people out there that doubt me, and now I know that Noir is one of them. If he’s the superb talent that he says he is, he should have no problem breezing through Logan, Collins, and myself on Monday.
“But he isn’t.
“I don’t need to watch the footage of Noir versus Shanell to tell you that he’s not as good as Aubrey J. Parker. All Noir needs to do is take one step in the wrong direction and he’ll find his leg bent in some of the most undesirable positions known to mankind. I’ll break his leg if it keeps him out of this match. The odds are stacked against me enough and the last thing I need is another addition to the North American Title match.
“Like myself, he prides himself on a technical-based wrestling style. Like myself, he knows how important it is to wear the opponent down. To negate the size of some of the bigger men in this business, and neutralize the agility of the smaller competitors.
“But Noir has his goals set too high, too quickly. He says-- or rather, he writes-- that he wants a title match but he hasn’t even gone through me. And to be frank, he won’t. There will be no James Noir in the championship picture at One Night in Hell.”
Parker’s expression becomes hardened for a few moments at the thought of “The New Black” defeating either herself or Logan to go onto participate in the North American Title match, drifting away from the camera briefly, however they return to the lens when she reaches her next topic.
”And then there’s Ryan Collins, a man who just a few weeks ago declared himself to be the ‘smartest man to ever be born’. With statistics like his, it’s difficult to argue. Like myself, he’s undefeated in APW.”
She smiles with a slight undertone of bitterness.
”And for one of us, that changes on Monday evening. Both of us are 3-0, and Collins does have a slight advantage here. After all, he accomplished something I haven’t yet been able to! He beat the North American Champion.”
Aubrey laughs to herself, giving the camera a wink.
”No one else would ever dare say it, so I’ll go ahead and do so. The record states that Collins DOES hold a victory over Michael Lively, regardless of the technicalities.
“The record states that Collins DID earn his way into the North American Title match on October 28th, regardless of how easy it was for him to get there-- and considering his opponent, I imagine it was quite easy.
“So let the record state than regardless of who gets pinned on Monday, Ryan Collins will suffer his first loss to Aubrey J. Parker.”
One more, Aubrey stiffens at the mere implication that anybody in that match could be pinned, or would have to be pinned in order for her to stay true to her claim... Anybody, including Logan.
”It won’t be the last time though. He’ll lose to me again at One Night in Hell. He’ll have to because I’ll need to beat everybody to win the North American Title. In all actuality, Ryan really doesn’t have to win another match between now and One Night in Hell to ensure that he’s going to get his title shot. He doesn’t have to compete on Monday. He has nothing to lose.”
She shrugs again.
”But if he can’t hold his own in a Fatal-4-Way, he has no chance at beating nearly half the roster at the Tokyodome on the 28th. I guess Monday night is where we all learn a lot about ourselves. We find out how ready we actually are for a match like this.
“In Ryan’s case, he and I get to wrestle and get a preview of what to expect from one another.”
She leans back on her palms once more and smirks.
”He’s in for a rude, rude awakening. Prepare to witness the first blemish of Collins’ APW career.”
Once more, her features stiffen.
”...And if it comes down to myself and Logan...”
Parker’s voice grows softer and more distant with each passing second.
”I...”
sep.30.twelve
”HELLO?”
Aubrey snaps out of her trance and looks across the table of the diner at Cassandra. Honestly, Aubrey barely remembered walking in with Cassandra and Bobby. They had pulled off into the lot roughly twenty minutes ago, after a few wrong turns and profanities directed toward a few rowdy locals that developed an inability to drive.
”Stop avoiding the question!”
”What question?”
Cassandra groans and Bobby laughs loudly, garnering the attention of a few gentlemen at the diner.
”She’s on drugs, Cass. I know it. She can’t stay focused for more than a second!”
Cassandra ignores her brother’s laughter and leans forward, looking into Aubrey’s eyes.
”What do you do if you have to take Logan down and win this match, Aubs?”
”Cass, I don’t know. I--”
”You NEED to know. You need to know that he’s not going to hesitate to take you down if that’s what’s stopping him from winning!”
”I know. He wouldn’t want me to hesitate either.”
”Then DON’T.”
”Okay! Okay... I won’t.”
”Promise me. No, promise yourself.”
Bobby interjects. ”Promise Logan.”
Aubrey looks between the two and then sighs, reaching for her glass of water on the table.
”I’ll do my best.”
end.
