Post by Evan De Parker on Jan 9, 2013 20:39:54 GMT -4
"There is a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition..."
It’s Tuesday night at Hilltop Wine & Liquors, just like it’s Tuesday night... in many other places.
Twenty-two year old Bernie Hobbs sits idly on his stool, thumbing through the pages of a horror-movie based magazine. He whistles an indistinguishable tune to himself, glancing up every so often to see if any of the passer-bys intend on hanging a left and walking into the liquor store.
If you were to review the security tapes, you’d see Bernie pretending to have gunfights with an invisible man, or perhaps even dancing with a broom. He’d tapped into a level of boredom, previously thought to be mythical. By reviewing one of the seven (count’em, seven) cameras pointed around Hilltop Wine & Liquors, you’ll see that Bernie is anxious for any type of human interaction. Any.
A homeless person would do. Hell-- he said it himself.
Ding-ding!
”Why are we in here?”
”Cuz I’m gettin turnt up tonight! Jeezus, kid, mind your business.”
”I don’t want to be inside of a fucking liquor store, Evan.”
Bernie’s eyes swiftly drift upwards from the magazine and toward the door where his first customer in nearly an hour strolls inside.
”...Holy cow.”
Evan pays no attention to the cashier. He’s dressed in rather fancy attire-- but then again, anything to Bernie Hobbs is fancy in comparison to his not-so-vast variety of blue jeans, band sweatshirts, and gaming t-shirts. Nonetheless, Evan is dressed in a pair of slacks (creased, that slick devil), a black button-down and an obnoxious pink tie.
The little girl accompanying him, who Bernie recognizes as Chastity Weaver from several Envi vignettes, is dressed in a black dress, with splashes of pink in her wardrobe as well, from the hair-ties on her wrist to the handbag at her hip.
”Alright... What’s Michelle like? Bailey’s Irish Cream? Hmm?”
”Dunno.”
”Oooh, maybe I should turn it up a little. Some fireball whisky, haha, just the right amount of burn. Ever tried it?”
”I’m eleven.”
”This is America. I was taking shots by age ten.”
”Well, you’re also a lowlife, so I guess that correlates.”
Evan smirks and shakes his head, reaching for the shelf to retrieve the aforementioned bottle of Fireball Whisky.
”C-can I help you with a-anything?”
Evan doesn’t seem to register that he’s being addressed for a moment, but after a few seconds his eyes meet Chastity’s, and both of them turn to a stuttering, sweating Bernie Hobbs.
”Um. No? I’m good, bro.”
”Y-you’re-- I--”
Bernie freezes, his mouth agape and his eyes still wide as he looks at the self-proclaimed MegaMegaStar. Evan rolls his eyes and groans.
”Nice. Another one of these guys. Like, honestly, why the f--?”
Chastity elbows him in the ribcage.
”Remember what I said?”
”...You’re gonna have to refresh my memory. You give me a lot of information to retain.”
”Don’t be an asshole. How are we gonna market an asshole?”
”Oh, come on... You know what--”
Evan raises a hand to stifle Chastity Weaver and then turns, looking at Bernie who is still frozen in fear a few feet away from them. Evan sighs and shoves his hands into his pockets, giving the cashier a pleasant smile.
”Hello, fan. It is I, Evan Envi.”
”I-- y-- I love you.”
Evan’s eyebrows arch in amusement. He turns to Chastity, who doesn’t even look at him, but simply lowers her head and gestures toward Bernie. Evan sighs and turns back to him.
”I love you too, fan.”
”And to answer your question, no-- I don’t think we need help finding anything. We were actually just leaving.”
”No the heck we were not! Fan, would you point me in the direction of-- what in your opinion-- is your most romantic liqueur?”
”Oh-- oh, might I suggest preparing a nice peach puree and Bellavista Franciacorta Cuvee Brut? It’s... If you’ll follow me.”
Evan gladly follows Bernie (whom Evan still may legitimately believe is legally named “Fan”. Chastity groans and follows, begrudgingly.
Within a few seconds, we’ve arrived in front of a massive wine display. Bernie grabs the Bellavista Franciacorta and hands it to Evan Envi. Evan rolls it over in his palms, admiring the wine bottle.
”It’s called a Bellini after it’s mixed.”
He gives Bernie a satisfied nod.
”You’re a genius. Chastity, grab that whisky! Don’t think I forgot!”
”If I pick up that bottle, I’m smashing it over your face.”
”Is that-- is that any way to talk to me? Come on, kid. You’re starting to sound like John Dionysus.”
Evan sighs and moves back toward the whisky to retrieve the abandoned Fireball. The pair make their way to the counter, where Bernie is already standing behind it, staring at Envi with that blank and awe-struck gaze that had apparently found a nice home for itself on his face.
”So... Gonna have a little party before you fly off to Liverpool for Overdrive?”
”Something like that. Party for two... Maybe I’ll crush up some painkillers and put it in the kid’s food so she goes to sleep early, am I right?! HA HAAAAA!”
With a hand loosely over his mouth, Evan casually turns and eyes Chastity out of the corner of his eye. She returns his look with a shocked expression, followed by a gaze.
”...I heard every fucking word you said.”
Bernie scans both of the bottles and places them in a brown, paper bag.
”Big match this week, right?”
”Yeah.”
Evan’s tone suddenly goes serious and he locks eyes with Bernie for what seems like the first time since he entered the liquor store. Bernie pauses for a moment as he meets Evan’s gaze.
”That’ll be seventy-eight dollars even.”
Evan hands Bernie four twenty-dollar bills, almost robotically. Bernie opens the register, beginning to peel through the one-dollar bills to fetch Evan’s change.
”It’s gonna be a good one. Some friends and I sit around every Thursday night since it’s our night off and we put $5 in a little jar and hold bets on the matches. Whoever gets the most points is the winner at the end of the show, and this week I bet--”
”Surely, you didn’t bet against me.”
”Bernie, actually. And no... No, I didn’t.”
Bernie hands Evan his three dollars in change and smirks up at him, possibly not even aware that he was doing it.
”But I’m the only one that didn’t.”
The newfound confidence floods Bernie’s body almost immediately as Evan leans forward after retrieving the money. Bernie’s eyes widen and he takes a single step back. Evan laughs a bit at the reaction and shrugs.
”Well, you’re a smart guy, Bernie.”
”I didn’t th-- think that they were kidding around when they said that 2013 is gonna be your year. I think it is. I-- I’ve followed you and... And your career ever since 2007. I always thought it was-- I thought you were cool. I thought you were good, even when you weren’t doing so good. I hope I-- you-- I...”
Bernie pauses and clears his throat, taking a deep breath before he continues, searching for that voice and that conviction that he had a few moments ago.
”I think you can beat Biggs. I know that’s not what the popular opinion is, but if there’s anything I’ve learned from watching you, it’s that the-- the p-- the popular opinion doesn’t matter.”
Evan is still hunched over the counter, but slowly retracts himself after hearing everything. He blinks a few times and slowly nods at Bernie.
”Thanks.”
”Hah. Thanks...”
Bernie laughs and slaps a hand over his face as if Evan had just said the funniest, or perhaps the stupidest thing in the world.
”No, thank you. You gave me something to talk about, for once.”
”Yeah, I tend to do that.”
”So... Can we go now?”
Evan looks back at Chastity and holds up his pointer finger, motioning for her to wait one second.
”Do me a favor on Thursday night, Bernie.”
”Y-- yeah! Of course! What is it?”
”After I do something that I’ve never done before-- and beat Biggs cleanly in the center of the ring, I want you to...
“Do nothing. I don’t want you to rub it in anybody’s face. I don’t want you to celebrate and scream and cheer. None of that. I want you to sit there, quietly, because it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I was able to do it. It should be expected. In 2012, that would be considered an upset, but in 2013, I want to make something like this... The norm. Understand?”
”I understand.”
”But once your friends are all gone-- feel free to celebrate.”
Evan winks and reaches over the counter to pat Bernie on the shoulder.
”Now can we go?”
”Yes, you little gremlin. Now we can go. Carry my whiskey.”
”Eat shit.”
Bernie watches, slightly amused, partially bewildered as the duo make their way out of Hilltop Wine & Liquors.
Ding-ding!
”...He’s my hero.”
Bernie turns and looks up at the security camera closest to him.
”Note to self: steal these tapes so everybody believes me.”
Darkness.
***
”What do you MEAN you can’t come until the morning?!”
”Evan, I’m sorry. I thought I’d be able to leave Delaware by this afternoon but we’re still working on this proposal. It’s the United States Government, Ev, it’s not like I can just leave in the middle of these meetings. I want to be there--”
”Michelle, I see your eleven-year-old niece more often than I see you. I’m home three or four days out of the week, tops, and I see you for maybe one or two of them. What kind of bull is this? Do you know who I...?”
He stops, cutting himself off. Michelle’s voice comes in, coolly through the phone.
”Do I know who you are? Is that where that was leading?”
We blink into a world of color. Evan Envi is sitting in an undisclosed room in his Baltimore house. The sounds of That 70’s Show can be heard coming from the television in the living room, followed by young Chastity Weaver’s occasional laughter.
Evan is no longer dressed in the shirt and tie that he’d been seen in earlier, but is instead donning a pair of plaid pajama pants and a black #Nightmarefuel t-shirt. There’s a look of pure contempt written across his face as he leans back in an oversized bean-bag chair.
”Yes, Evan. I know exactly who you are. You’re Evan Envi-- and I say ‘Envi’ because apparently you’re too good to go by ‘Harrison’ unless you’re signing a damn check. You’re the MegaMegaStar. You’re the best. Right? That’s who you are.”
”Your sarcasm isn’t really needed.”
”No sarcasm, babe. That’s who you are. You’re everything you say you are. You’re Evan Envi. You’re the MegaMegaStar. You’re the Rising Star of 2012. You’re the guy that’s gonna beat Biggs. You’re everything you’ve always wanted to be, and I couldn’t be happier for you.
“But I don’t want to talk to Envi all the time. I didn’t decide to date Envi, and you know that. You know it... So when my boyfriend, Evan Harrison, decides he wants to talk, then let me know and we’ll arrange something.”
”You know what, if you didn’t like what I did for a living then you could’ve told me this-- oh, I dunno-- eight months ago when we started dating, perhaps?”
”I’m not saying that.”
”You have always looked down on me for what I do. You don’t like that I’m a wrestler and I’ve accepted that. THAT I will accept, but I will NOT let you keep on pretending and pretending like this is some sort of show, or game, Michelle. I don’t want to end up like Biggs and Ellie. I don’t want to end up like Kurt and Amy. I--”
”THIS is what I’m talking about, Evan!”
”What?”
”EVERYTHING revolves around that ring. Everything! It’s not healthy! You’re comparing us to the Nobles. You’re comparing us to Ellie and Biggs. I mean-- Evan, for God’s sake, we’re not even married. We haven’t made that kind of commitment, so how can you compare us to something like that? What the hell do you think of us?”
”I think you’re looking for excuses to let my career tear us apart and you’re skirting around the issue, pretending that’s not what you’re doing, but it is. You don’t want to date a wrestler. You want me to quit and--”
”We are not Ellie and Biggs!”
There is a tense silence for a few seconds between the two.
”But you know... It speaks wonders to me, to know that you think that this has to be one extreme or the other. It’s really interesting to discover that you think you need to choose between me and this.
“Have you been enveloped in this wrestling gig for so long, Evan, that you’ve forgotten how to interact with people outside of the business? Did you watch what happened to Ellie and Biggs in August and decide in your own little twisted head that every relationship was doomed to end that way? Because that’s pathetic. And that’s sad. And risking sounding like I care about the result of this Thursday’s match... You’re not going to beat that man if you’re thinking just like him. Biggs knows how he thinks, and he knows all his own moves. So perhaps you should try being yourself.
“Hint: I don’t mean Envi.”
There are another few seconds of silence and Evan speaks into the phone in a considerably milder tone than before.
”You know... When I don’t see you... I worry. About you. About us. I worry about everything that I’ve worked for outside of the ring.
“I know that wrestling is spiteful. She’s cunning. She has a nasty temper.
“...But as looooooong as I’ve lived, I’ve never known her to turn her back on me. It’s everything outside of the ring that does. It’s the people on the outside that judge and ridicule me and-- and I get that I’ve let things in APW follow me home and affect our relationship, and Michelle, I apologize. I’m sorry.”
Evan sighs.
”But that’s just how it is sometimes.”
For a few seconds, Michelle Weaver doesn’t say a single word on the other end.
”But that’s just how it is sometimes... Very nice. Very articulate.”
”Look, I didn’t mean to--”
”Hey, I’ve gotta run. We need to go down to the conference room for another meeting in fifteen minutes and I need to prep. I... Can’t go down there all stressed out.”
Evan shifts the phone to his other ear and sits, looking rather dejected in the bean-bag chair.
”Right.”
”Tell Chastity I love her, and I’ll try my best to be there before you have to go to the airport tomorrow. Okay? I’ll call you after my meeting.”
”Yeah.”
”I love you, Evan Harrison.”
Evan cringes. He visibly cringes at the way she says his last name, but after a brief hesitation, he responds.
”Yeah... I love you too.”
Click.
Evan lowers the phone and groans, looking up. He is taken aback, but not entirely shocked to see young Chastity Weaver standing before him. She’s migrated away from the living room in lieu of a commercial break and is leaning in the doorway, an all-knowing, but mildly saddened look on her face.
”Michelle’s not coming back home tonight, is she?”
”Nope. Looks like it’s us, kid.”
He looks up at her again, prepared for some sort of verbal tongue lashing or insult, but it doesn’t come. Chastity just stares at him, seemingly blankly for a few seconds before she responds, completely straying from the subject Evan’s initiated.
”Do you think Biggs is happy?”
Now Evan is really taken aback, evident by his expression.
”What do you mean?”
”I mean, his love life isn’t what he’d want it to be-- but he got his career back on track. I mean, that’s what the most important thing is supposed to be when you’re grown up, right? Career-- and then love.”
”Who taught you that?”
”You did.”
”Hah... Chastity, I’m sure I’ve never said th--”
”It’s not something you have to say.”
Evan narrows his eyes and looks at her for a few seconds in deep, deep thought. He tosses his phone from hand to hand, studying Chastity for a moment and then nods, slowly.
”That’s not a very marketable trait, is it?”
”No. It isn’t.”
He smiles faintly.
”Well, hell, kid. If you wanna know the truth... There is no choosing. There’s no point in choosing between your life, and your love. Because at the end of the day, there’s not really much of a difference. Both are spiteful. Both make you feel great, and both make you feel like dirt. It’s not something you can really escape.
“The only difference is... Life can turn you into an angry person. But love can turn you into an evil person. Only love can do that.”
He smirks and looks up at Chastity.
”But this whole thing? Wrestling-- life-- whatever you wanna call it...?
“It’s just a love story.”
Darkness.
***
We fade into color once more. We’re still in the same room that our previous scene had taken place in. Evan Envi looks more-or-less the same, though he looks much more tired and riddled than before. The sounds of the television from the living room still echo through the hallways and bounce into the open area. Evan leans back on the multi-colored bean-bag chair and looks straight up into the ceiling.
For seconds, this is our shot. There is no action from Evan Envi until...
”I know it’s easy to write me off. I know better than anybody how easy it is to do that.”
With a little groan, Evan sits up and faces the camera.
”It’s easy to look at a young person in the wrestling business... Someone that might not’ve gone through the same hardships and road-bumps that the veterans have... And disregard a big match by saying you’re not ready. And, hahaha, don’t tell me it’s not true, because I’ve seen it. I’ve lived it.
“As a matter of fact, it’s my opponent this week, Mr. Biggs that has taken it upon himself to remind me that I’m not where he is on the totem pole.
“The last time Biggs and I were in the ring was during a triple threat match involving Level One. Biggs pinned me in that match, and it stung because throughout the entire week, I was written off and disregarded as a potential threat. I had Biggs and Lester tell me that my JOB in that match was to take the fall. My JOB was to hold my own just long enough to make them look good, but not long enough to make everybody watching at home think that they couldn’t get it done.
“Biggs defeated me that night, and it stung. It hurt me. After that match, I heard the usual garabage.
”Nice job.
“You’ll get ‘em next time.
“This kid’s going places.
“Envi almost had him!
“It was so close! You could’ve--
“You should’ve--
“YOU WOULD’VE--”
Evan reaches for a proverbial brass ring that seems just out of his reach. He swipes for the invisible trophy, but his fingertips evidently fall just short. He slowly lowers his hand and shakes his head, looking back up into the camera.
”When I debuted on Overdrive, I struggled for a long time to find my niche. I came to Meltdown with all this hype and I ended up stinkin’ up the place. I will be the very first to admit that.
“Just like you’ll be the first to admit that I’m a bigger threat than you’re willing to let on, Biggs, and you’re gonna have one heck of a time putting me away when Level One isn’t there to do all the dirty work. I know how good you are, but I’ll never forget the first time we faced off. I ended up winning the match by count-out because you came to the realization that you weren’t going to be able to pin or submit me in the ring on your own accord that night.
“All things considered, you should’ve gone down for the three count in the ring that night, but you fled. You were able to save face and cheapen what should’ve been a momentous victory in the Evan Envi catalogue.
“And unfortunately, I’m sure that the same garbage is likely to happen this week. I’ll come within a second of putting you away, once again, and Lester will stick his nose in his business. He’ll clock you with a right hand and you’ll drop because you have a glass jaw-- and then when I do what any self-respecting wrestler would do and capitalize, you get to cry foul. You get to save face and once again cheapen a DEFINING CHAPTER in the career of Evan Envi.
“Let’s cut the crap! You wouldn’t stop that from happening even if you wanted to, because people like you always look for an emergency exit.
“People like you.”
Evan chuckles and taps his head.
”I’m talking about the stale, monotonous talent that’s been saturating the main event scene since before I came into this place. Noble, Gates, Marvin, Lester, Biggs, I mean-- where does it end? When does somebody else get their time to shine without every ego on Overdrive feeling the need to GET THEM SOME to steal another few seconds in the limelight?
“People like you rejoice when matches end in countouts or disqualifications or no contests because YOUR career has already been defined, and it is BEYOND the point of a win-loss record. You don’t need a victory over Evan Envi to define yourself Biggs. NOBODY is going to pat you on the back five years from now because you beat me. Nobody. Because you’re doing what you should be doing.
“You’re proving why you were in the Elimination Chamber at One Night in Hell instead of me.
“You’re proving why you’ve been given opportunities at the Undisputed Title while I’ve been forced to sit back and watch from the sidelines like I’m some kind of developmental talent.
“Why did Yarmouth, somebody that actually busted their ass to get better and earn their name in this company get pressured right out the front door, yet you’re still here, hogging main events, cutting the same generic promos, getting all the glory...
“All the praise.
"Why is Delikado being forced to lower himself to 'try-out' matches against Roy Speede when the fans have made it clear that they want the boss in the spotlight?
"Why do people like M&M have to continue wrestle in gimmick matches and pander to the fans, just because President Jeff is afraid to let them be the morbid, killing machines they want to be?
“Why is it that people like A.C. Smith and Slade Craven can kick your ASS like nobody’s business, yet they’re still treated like rookies while you’re heralded as some sort of God because of how long you’ve had your name attached to APW, yet the most impressive thing you’ve done in the past ten months is get featured in a hype video for Christmas Chaos.
“Meanwhile, Smith crushes competition for the Xtreme Title and Craven is going leaps and bounds to reinvent himself on Asylum, but neither of them will EVER get the respect they deserve as long as people like you are in APW. NONE of us will.
“NONE of us.
“What the hell makes you more important than me?”
Evan’s eyes narrow and he looks down over his nose at the camera.
”I’m gonna make it. I’m gonna break through that glass barrier, because I’m better than that. I’m better than being below the main event.
“We’re gonna fight, Biggs, and one of us is gonna prove something to each other and to these people... And to ourselves. I’m not backin down from this fight, Spaceman.
“...I hope you enjoyed your flight.”
The camera pans in on the cold eyes of Evan Envi.
”It's time to come back down.”
Darkness.
