Post by Evan De Parker on Apr 3, 2013 21:06:55 GMT -4
“И все по-ясно виждам, че нашият свят ще загине от алчността си.”
We blink into a dark world, where the camera’s target is unclear. We can see, as our eyes adjust to the darkness, that we’re looking at a basic, wooden door... And once we reach our realization, it is thrust open with a deep groan from the hinges.
”Yo! Anybody home?”
A hand reaches out, striking a light-switch... And revealing the half-smiling face of our newly-christened APW Overdrive Champion: Evan Envi. Clad in a black Modest Mouse t-shirt and a pair of jeans, a black plastic bag clenched in his left fist, and an urban camouflage-decorated backpack slung over the same shoulder. Evan casts a doubtful look around the unfamiliar scenery, prompting our camera to do the same.
We’re in a humble single-family home, and though its occupancy remains a mystery, the question of ownership is immediately solved, as Evan makes his way into the living room, dropping the bags onto the couch-- approached by none other than one Jennifer Knite. She glances at her watch, mumbling something before she leans against the back of the couch, looking tiredly at Evan.
”I didn’t think you were gonna come by.”
”It’s a little late, I know. But... I figured I’d break the news to you in person. I haven’t seen you since the night before Rasslemania.”
”Haha... News, Evan? Come on now.”
She gives him a gentle wink before walking around the couch and taking a seat, gazing up at him.
”I know more about you than you know about you, so I’m sure it’s not news to me. What-- did you come to show me your Overdrive Championship?”
Evan chuckles a bit and shakes his head as he begins to sort through the duffel bag.
”No. I already called you about that.”
”Come here to tell me that you’re teaming with Smith for the first time in two years this Thursday?”
Evan looks up at her for a few moments without a word, but smirks and shakes his head again.
”Nah. You called me about that one, remember?”
Jenny watches Evan with a curious eye, and then quickly lowers her gaze toward the plastic bag. She reaches in without hesitation, removing a bottle of champagne and grinning a bit.
”Then what is it?”
Finally, Evan retrieves the Overdrive Championship belt from the bag, placing all of his other belongings on the floor. He sits down next to Jenny on the couch and cradles the title, looking down at it with an unmistakable fondness.
”I think it’s time to bring you in, Jenny.”
He recoils a bit as she gasps, spring up from the couch, an ear-piercing shriek following less than a second later. Evan’s eyes widen and he starts to rise-- unsure how to handle the situation-- but cries out, startled, as Jenny’s arms are thrown around his neck and he’s shoved onto the couch. For seconds, he’s unable to register that he’s being hugged, rather than attacked.
”EEEEEEE, ARE YOU SERIOUS?!”
”Ow. Shit. Yes-- I wouldn’t be here at midnight if I wasn’t serious! You know how tight my schedule is, woman.”
”I know. I’m the one that plans it.”
She says this, calmly, pulling herself off of Evan and standing up-- but shrieks again, clearly unable to contain her excitement.
”You’re seriously bringing me in?! I can-- I can be your manager?”
”Sometimes. When I need you out there...”
He trails off for a moment and then pushes himself up along with the champagne, nodding toward the kitchen, prompting Jenny to follow as he continues.
”I’d like for you to be there at the arenas from now on. To keep track of things and... And...” He trails off again for a moment, stopping once he reaches the cupboard, retrieving two glasses. He turns, handing one to Jenny and speaks in a considerably softer tone. ”It’s nice to have another pair of eyes, y’know?”
”Does Michelle know?”
POP!
Evan smiles, satisfied, as the cork flies against the wall, thudding to the countertop below.
”Hahhhh... Figured you’d ask that.”
”Does she?”
”I thought it’d be more kosher to tell you first.”
”Is that a Jewish joke?”
”Yes, kind of.”
”...Well, does she know you’re here?”
Evan begins to pour the champagne into her glass, pivoting to turn and pour some of the contents into his own as well.
”Michelle’s down in Atlanta visiting her parents for the rest of the week. She’s not keeping tabs.”
Jenny bites her lip a bit, smiling up at Evan-- who returns her look with a sigh and a somewhat exasperated glance.
”It’s not some sort of romantic gesture, I promise you.” He shrugs. ”This is a celebration.” He raises his glass. ”To a new business relationship... To the Overdrive Championship... And to the future. Our future.”
She smirks and taps her glass against his. Both of them sip, but Jenny’s eyes never leave Evan’s. She only lowers her glass once he lowers his.
”You know Smith isn’t going to like me being out there.”
”...And why the hell should he care?”
”He doesn’t trust you.”
”I’m aware of this.”
”So, by default, he doesn’t trust me either.”
Evan looks at her inquisitively for a moment and turns to swiftly snatch up the bottle of champagne and begin a trek toward the living room once more.
”A.C. Smith doesn’t trust anybody except for A.C. Smith. If he had a dog, I guarantee, he’d be on-edge, sleeping with one eye open, waiting for the conspiracy.”
”And you don’t think you’re partially to blame for that?”
”Wha--!” Upon reaching the couch, Evan pivots and looks wide-eyed at Jenny. ”What are you talking about?”
”He trusted you... Like... I don’t see where the confusion comes from. He trusted you. And you turned on him, years ago. You were best friends and--”
”I never turned on A.C. Smith. A.C. Smith left me. I was unemployed, and sick, and hurt, and he never ONCE reached out to me. And we were supposed to be best friends. We were supposed to be...” He looks down as he says it, and-- though Jenny Knite is often mistaken-- she would swear to you that she witnessed a hint of sadness behind his words. ”But it’s fine. We’re past that.”
”He’s past it. You-- you damn-near started a war over it. Remember?”
”I felt like I had to. I don’t feel like that anymore.”
”Because you’re a better person, or--?”
”Yes.”
”--Or because you need him this week?”
”...Goddamn, you must think I’m the most spiteful son of a bitch ever.”
”I think you might be.” She giggles a bit. ”But I never had an issue with that. It’s intriguing. It’s... Colorful.”
”You might be right. Maybe the only reason I’m putting up with A.C. Smith this week is because I don’t have a choice in the matter. And if I’ve convinced myself that we’ve buried the hatchet, then-- damnit, let me have that. I REFUSE to lose to Buckson Gooch and Shadow. Not after this.”
Evan slaps the nameplate of the Overdrive Championship to emphasize what “after this” means.
”But does any of that really matter in the grand scheme of things?”
”Depends where you’re going.”
”We’re.” He leans back on the couch, finishing his glass. ”It’s where we’re going. You. Me. And...”
Again, he slaps the nameplate of the championship, but more affectionately than last time.
”It does matter, by the way.”
Evan groans and rolls his eyes. He begins to pour more champagne into his glass, never raising his eyes to meet Jenny’s again. He doesn’t need to respond... She takes the bottle from him before he can place it back on the floor and shifts herself on the couch, casually throwing her legs over his lap as she smiles up at him.
”He’s not just a random tag team partner. And if I’m gonna be a part of this-- this quartet this week-- then I need you to be honest with me, and be honest with yourself. No matter where this goes at Overdrive, you and Smith will NEVER be finished. There’s always going to be those questions that you need to answer-- and you know as well as I do that... That the hatchet wasn’t buried deep enough.
“Your egos are huge. Your accolades? Bigger. You’re supposed to be unstoppable in the ring together, and you always have been. And I understand how easy it is to hide feelings, and push them off into the dark-- and pretend they don’t exist.” She sighs. ”Trust me on that one.”
Evan glances at her, briefly, but turns his attention back to his glass.
”This is gonna come up again. And again. And again. And eventually, you’re gonna face it, and do something about it.”
”Jenny.”
”Yes?”
”You’re my agent. You’re my manager. You’re not my life coach. Maybe you should stick to what you’re being paid for.”
”I’m trying to be your friend.”
Evan looks down into the golden contents of his glass. He distracts himself by the surfacing and self-induced obliteration of the bubbles as they bounce around the glass, finding himself entranced for seconds-- drowning out the sights and sounds of the world around him.
”You’re a history buff, right?”
”I’d like to think so.”
Evan nods. ”Then history should tell you what happens when people get too close.”
She doesn’t respond to the statement-- and she knows that there’s no need to. Instead, she lowers her own glass and gazes at Evan with a look of seemingly misplaced satisfaction.
Determination.
Our scene snaps to black.
*****
”I have a good feeling about this.”
We slowly blink into color, and Evan Envi is sitting in front of us in the basement of Ms. Jennifer Knite. He is seated in a stereotypical director’s chair, with the Overdrive Championship laid over his shoulder.
”I did exactly what I said I was going to do at Rasslemania. I slaughtered one of the pigs. I took the Overdrive Championship from Mark Mania. I INHERITED... The ring. I did it with style. I did it with finesse. Hell... I had-- I had this whole scene planned out in my head, and I brought it to life. This journey-- this storybook ending-- it all happened because of me. This wasn’t an accident. This wasn’t a coincidence.
“This was always how things were supposed to end:with my hand in the air, and the belt over my chest.”
Evan smiles a bit and leans back, resting his hands on his knees.
”Wanna know how this week is supposed to end?”
He pulls the title from his shoulder and places it on his lap, still looking down at it with a warm smile. It takes a few seconds for him to address us again.
”It ends predictably. And I’m sorry if that disappoints anybody. I’m-- I’m sorry to the fanboys sitting at home at their computer desks, blogging about how-- how great of a wrestler, and how passionate Buckson Gooch is. This isn’t his week. Just like most weeks.
“Being Gooch fans, I’m sure you’re already used to disappointment. How many times can a man reach for the brass ring, only to fall flat on his face? How many opportunities can one man receive with absolutely NOTHING to show for it by the end of the day?
“And how long can we be expected to keep waiting? Huh? Answer me that, fans. ANSWER ME THAT, Buck. And-- I’m not knockin’ you. You know damn-well that I think you’re one of the best wrestlers, pound-for-pound on the Overdrive roster-- but you also know damn-well that you’re in over your head this week.
“You’re teaming with Shadow, a man who has GONE ON THE RECORD IN THE PAST to say that he is an untrustworthy person. He’s admitted to being a disappointing tag team partner-- and if you don’t believe him, then ask Slade Craven, the man he buried alive at Rasslemania. THAT is where your fate lies this week, Gooch. In Shadow’s hands.
“You can complain all you want about the things A.C. Smith has said to you, but there are three people in that ring that don’t CARE about your feelings. Your partner is one of them. Don’t worry about the things Smith said. Don’t you worry about his character.
“Worry about his threats. His claims. Worry about whether you and your partner have ability to stop him.
“...And you guys can be buddy-buddy, buy each others’ dinner, hold each others’ hands while you take a shit-- whatever it is you need to do to convince yourself that you’ve got a fighting chance this week, but I’d be doing you a disservice if I told you that you did.”
Evan holds the Overdrive Championship up for the world to see.
”I ruined a man’s life to get this.”
He turns and gazes into the nameplate with a half-smile, allowing those cold words to sink in.
”I took everything. His friends... His comfort... His faith... His business-- EVERYTHING. And I liked him.
“Gooch? Shadow? I can’t stand the two of you.”
Evan throws the belt back over his shoulder, shrugging it into a comfortable position.
”And I’m not the only one. Shadow, you’ve got enemies around every corner these days, and it’s your own fault. Every time you eat a loss, or somebody insults you, you make an arch-nemesis out of ‘em-- because you haven’t learned to handle failure.
“Instead of digging deep and trying to figure out what it is about you that makes you suck, you point the finger at everybody around you.
“Shockwave 2012.
“You beat Steve Stryker in a lackluster match to capture the APW Xtreme Championship, and Jeff was left disappointed, so he elected to give you a REAL challenge. Jeff decided that you’d face the winner of A.C. Smith vs Evan Envi. Me. Obviously.
“And I handed you your ass.
“I did my job. I did as I was told-- and I took that belt right off your waist, minutes after you won it. That was me, by myself. This week, my partner is the 275-pound Xtreme Champion. And you? You’re by yourself. Not because Buckson Gooch can’t get it done, but because THAT is who you are, Shadow. You’re never satisfied with doing things the easy way-- it’s not your scene, but it’ll be your undoing.
“I don’t like you.
“I don’t respect you.
“And I don’t give a good God Damn about who you buried at Rasslemania. I don’t need a shovel to put your ass in the dirt-- but I hope you held onto it, so you can go fuck yourself with it after the show, you miserable piece of work.
“And I wish-- I WISH it had been you instead. I wish you were the one that had to gasp for air, and scream, and suffer, and writhe in pain, and wait for the officials to drag you out from the dirt because maybe I wouldn’t be in this situation this week. Maybe we’d all be better off, if Slade had finished the job.
“I know I could’ve.”
He smirks and runs his fingers along the face of the championship, still staring straight ahead at the audience.
”It’s not a matter of arrogance, though. I mean, let’s be real... Shadow knows me by now. He might look in my eye and know exactly what I’m about to do, and I could say the same about him. Shadow hasn’t beat me-- but he knows me. He thinks he can beat me. He thinks he can beat us, and as long he thinks that... Then it’s a possibility.
“So make no mistake, Mr. Gooch... A.C. Smith and I will be looking to dismantle your team this week, and the odds of us failing are slim.
“We’ve never failed.”
Evan chuckles and perks his eyebrows at the camera.
”People tend to forget this, but before APW, A.C. Smith and I were a hot commodity-- not only as individuals, but as a unit. Before he...”
Evan stops himself, his smile fading for a fraction of a second before he seems to force it back into place.
”We’ve never lost.
“But you two? You and Shadow? You two barely know one another. You two haven’t wrestled alongside each other, and against each other for the past six years. You just haven’t.
“Hell-- I would much rather be teaming up with Delikado to take you both on, but this is the hand we’ve been dealt, and BELIEVE-YOU-ME, Evan Envi will prevail. Just like always. Except this time, for one night only, I’m doing it alongside A.C. Smith.”
He grins.
”Can you spell it?
“D... O... O... M.”
Evan runs his hand through his hair, with his gaze set down as our camera inexplicably begins to pan away.
Dark.
*****
”How long did you know that this was the plan-- before you decided to tell me?”
We blink into color, where Evan Envi finds himself seated on the edge of a bed-- clearly not his own. His phone is on speaker, and he sighs loudly as he listens to the voice of Michelle Weaver ringing through the other side.
”I just wanted to tell her first.”
”Evan, she’s in love with you. This isn’t about... Ugh. You didn’t even tell me.”
”I didn’t... Honestly think it was your business. I never HAD to tell you.”
There are a few seconds of silence.
Uncomfortable silence.
”I’m just-- I’m distracted. I have to team with Smith this week to take on Shadow and Buc--”
”I’m gonna go to bed, Evan.”
He sits there, still holding the phone tightly in his grip. With another sigh, he responds with, ”See you Saturday?”
”...Yeah... Good luck this week. Good luck with Smith.”
”Thank you.”
”Let Jenny know I said hello.”
”Will do.”
”Goodnight.”
”Night. I love y--”
CLICK!
Evan blinks rapidly, staring down at the blank screen of his phone.
CALL ENDED.
He lowers the phone down onto the bed once again and groans...
”Everything okay?”
Jenny crawls across the bed behind Evan, resting her chin on his shoulder, staring down at the blank phone. Evan starts to pull away-- but looks exasperated, and frustrated. Overwhelmed.
”It will be.”
”Let’s hope.”
She says it with an odd coldness that goes undetected by the Overdrive Champion. She looks down at his phone again and then allows herself to fall back onto the bed, never taking her eyes off of him.
”She doesn’t know as much as she thinks, you know.”
Evan doesn’t respond.
”No one does. No one knows what I know.”
Evan sighs again. He turns, glancing at Jenny out of the corner of his eye, before he pushes himself back into the bed as well. With one more hopeful glance toward his phone, and a tired, but warm gaze toward the Overdrive Championship, he reaches to his side, switching off the light to the lamp, plunging the room, and the scene, into darkness.
