Eyes on Fire

[chaos lite]

i'll seek you out, flay you alive
one more word and you won't survive
...and i'm not scared of your stolen power
i see right through you any hour

jan.7.thirteen7:26am

My name is Aubrey J. Parker. I suppose you’d think that after winning the APW Suicidal Championship that I would be overjoyed right now... and don’t get me wrong, I nearly cried when my hand was raised in victory after I beat Kash, despite how it was accomplished. After the match, things got a bit odd though. I felt like I was being watched.

I didn’t like the feeling of being in an arena without Logan there, let alone a different continent. My nerves were a mess but I smiled as Logan’s room number ‘228’ popped into view. I lowered my two bags and knocked on the door before picking them up again. It was only a matter of seconds before the door swung open and I looked up into Logan. It was quite evident that he'd only been up for a few minutes.

"Morning!"

To my amusement, Logan yawned in response, covering his mouth as he did.

”Excuse me... Come on in.”

He stepped aside and motioned into the main room of the hotel. I smiled and moved inside, plopping both bags down in front of Logan’s couch.

”I can’t check into my room until noon... I guess I forgot to read the fine print. Sorry to get you up so early.”

I winked.

”But it’s worth it. Feast your eyes...”

Logan closed the door of the hotel room and I laughed slightly, reaching into the bag to retrieve my newly won APW Suicidal Championship. It bore little resemblance to the Suicidal and Pro Life Titles of before, and was covered in hearts, faux-flowers and glitter. Logan started to laugh, a hand resting over his lips.

"Are you serious? Did someone put you up to that?"

"I told Kash that I was doing this if I won. I couldn't go back on my wor-"

Suddenly, there was a rapid knock at the door. Both of us sharply turned our attention toward it.

"Isn't it a little early for room service? Ha."

God... There's that paranoia, creeping back.

"I'll say it's early for room service... I don't generally order in hotel food. And I certainly didn't since I woke up."

He went over to the door to look out through the peephole. He remained silent for a few moments and I anxiously got up to my feet. Whoever came up with the phrase “silence is deafening” was deathly accurate.

”Who is it, Logan?”


jan.7.thirteen8:25am

It was that bitch, Rose Alwell; the interviewer, the one that looked at me with those eyes I didn’t like.

Logan and I stalled for almost an hour. We got cleaned up, we discussed Meltdown’s events amongst ourselves, and we pondered why Rose was there in Winnipeg with an APW production crew ready to roll.

I was nearly shaking with rage. Okay... maybe not shaking, but I was-- no, I was definitely shaking. Logan obviously noticed, giving me a small nudge as we made our way down to a hotel suite that had been reserved for Rose Alwell. It was MUCH nicer than mine was. And with the words that came out of her mouth, I immediately figured out why.

”Ms. Harrison sent me here as a personal favor for you guys before your big tag team match tomorrow.”

”Fuck you.”

Logan gave me a sharp look and I threw a hand over my mouth, my eyes wide... but not as wide as Rose Alwell’s. She looked taken aback, but not surprised. There’s no way she was shocked by that.

”So I guess we should skip the small talk and cut right into it then.”

Rose glanced at some cue cards and looked at me for a moment with invasive eyes before she turned her head to Logan.

”If that’s okay with you guys.”

Logan rolled his eyes.

"Well since mom sent you, I'm sure this will be peachy. Just be careful what you ask on her behalf. As you might suspect, anyone who comes to see us at her behest generally don't have much leeway with us."

”Let me ask you guys a question.”

”Just one?”

”Let’s start with one.”

She looked from me to Logan.

”When you guys are standing across the ring from Kaylyn James Evans and Christian Kane tonight, are you going to be seeing them? Or are you going to be seeing Alexander Duvall and Sienna Harrison?”

”I’m going to be seeing Kaylyn and Christian, and we’re finally going to get to do exactly what they’ve been begging us to do for the past month... and fight back. Sienna and Duvall know better than to approach us physically, which Sienna found out a few weeks ago, so they have Christian and Kaylyn do it. The thing people fail to realize though is, it probably didn’t take a lot of persuading.

Christian’s a prick, and Kaylyn has always craved the limelight in the worst, worst possible way. This would’ve happened anyway. This tag team match was going to happen one way or another.”

Rose gave me this coy smirk that made me want to jump out of my chair and tackle her. She turned to Logan and arched a brow.

”Logan?”

Logan considered the question.

"I'll see Evans and Kane. If I wanted to see mom and dad, I'd go find the cubbyhole they're hiding in, but I have no reason to. Their proxies are tha ones I'd rather get my hands on. Sienna merely got what she deserved a month ago. Now... Kane and Evans get the same... well, Evans gets more of the same. They picked the wrong two people to come after. I've played nice, but only because it suits my purpose. When I decide to step things up to the same degree as those two have, they're going to wish they'd never crossed either of us."

Rose looked amused at the response and slowly turned back to me.

”Was it you that went on the record to say that you wanted to hurt or injure Kaylyn James Evans and Christian Kane?”

”Yep.”

”So you’re willing to put the careers of two Megastars at risk because of your own-”

”Don’t you fucking dare.”

She looked at me, blankly.

”After everything they’ve put us through, they deserve what happens to them on Meltdown. They’ve attacked me, they’ve attacked Logan, and they might’ve cost us the Tag Team Titles. So...”

Remembering what Logan said earlier, I paused and sighed a little.

”We’ll settle business first, especially with the Tag Team Champions at ringside. And then-”

”And then you guys... what... sink down to their level?”

She grinned as she saw me glare at her, but Logan spoke up before I could have another outburst.

"Perhaps...

I think that after the attack on Aubrey at the Supershow, some retribution is deserved. We're not the ones who keep escalating this conflict. We're not attacking them as a group. We're not ambushing them with weapons. We've both been the targets of unprovoked attacks that aren't stopping. Being passive isn't stopping this, now is it? Some people only understand violence."

I think I might’ve smiled when I heard that. Could it be that Logan finally saw things the same way I was seeing them?

”How violent is too violent? How far are you two willing to go to prove this point? One has to think that if you knock down Kaylyn and Christian, Sienna and Duvall would find somebody else to send after you if they really are the masterminds behind these planned assaults.”

”If you keep hurting them, they stop coming...

And yes. I’ll keep hurting anybody that fucks with me or my partner. I’m so tired of playing the victim, Rose. It’s so 2012. And I’m so tired of everybody overlooking Logan. This is our year.”

Still, she didn’t have anything to say. She looked at Logan as if looking for confirmation.

"How violent is too violent? Go ask Jason Kash. He went out of his way last night to assault Aubrey's wrist that Evans and Kane went after. He was malicious. I don't go to that level. I don't need to."

He stared coolly at Rose.

"I don't attempt to cripple my opponents. I've had bones broken by my opponents so I know what it's like, but I'd rather leave my opponents functioning and able to compete, but that doesn't mean I won't leave lasting marks on them. I hurt Aubrey in a match two months ago. I wasn't doing that out of spite or malice. She was limping for most of a week afterwards though. Now... I get to do the same to Kane and Evans, in the ring, legally. No weapons, no cheap shots, but I will hurt them regardless."

”We’ve never had to cross a line like that to win a match or send a message to any of our opponents... Maybe we should, though. Maybe stuff like this wouldn’t happen.”

To emphasize the “this” I flashed the new brace that was wrapped around my hand and wrist after mine was disposed of by Jason Kash. I lowered it and met Rose’s eyes.

”You wouldn’t know when to stop, would you? Logan’s the logical wrestler and you’re the emotional one. Logan knows when to stop from what I’ve gathered, but your reckless attitude could most likely cost you any Tag Team Title match.. right?”

She smiled at me and again, it took Logan stepping in to stop me from lashing out.

"Aubrey knows when to stop. She's not out of control as you're suggesting... Emotion carries great competitors. Why do you think everyone pays attention to Aubrey in the ring? Why do you think people try so hard to cut her down?”

I didn’t know where this was going, but I was thankful that he was speaking... not me. I turned and looked at Logan, but his eyes were interlocked with Rose’s.

”Because she’s great. Passions can take you over the edge, but has Aubrey done that? How many people has she hurt? ...I think you're tossing accusations at the wrong person.”

Rose put a hand to her forehead and laughed loudly.

”Accusations? I haven’t tossed out enough! I could accuse Aubrey of using Shane Borderland to win the Suicidal Championship. I could accuse Aubrey of using Michael Callahan to try to win you guys the Tag Team Titles at Christmas Chaos, because that’s how things look right n-”

”I’m done. I’ll be upstairs, Logan.”

I had to leave. If I didn’t, Rose would. In a stretcher. I stormed out of the hotel suite... and Rose turned, giving Logan a confused look.

”Poor choice of words?”

"Stupid choice. She could have given you a firsthand demonstration of losing control. But she stopped herself... and you get to walk out of here as a result. I recommend you never show up unannounced again... for your own safety."

Logan turned and walked out of the suite without another word.


jan.7.thirteen8:49am

I had to look at myself... really look, standing in front of the mirror in Logan's hotel bathroom, back at my red eyes. I had been fighting back tears for a few minutes, and my lip was nearly bleeding from how hard I'd been biting into it.

"They could beat you. Kaylyn or Christian could do more than hurt you. They could... beat you out there. Christian just proved what he could do last week... and then what? Fuck."

I buried my face in my hand and took a deep breath.

"Remember why we're here... remember what they're capable of..."

I gasped as a pain shot through my wrist. I grabbed the brace and cursed in pain.

"Remember what they did."

"Aubrey?"

As Logan entered the main room, I wiped my eyes and looked at myself in the mirror for one long, cold moment. I searched myself.

Hate to tell you this, but I don't know if I found anything yet.

fin.