norman n. nemo

[chaos lite]

july.20.thirteen3:43pm

”I won’t lie... I’m a little surprised I was able to meet with you today.”

”All you have to do is ask, Norm.”

”Ha. Right. If it were that simple, I wouldn’t have to make such frequent calls to Cassandra to make sure everything’s in order...”

My name is Dr. Norman N. Nemo. Perhaps, by now, we’ve been acquainted. If not, allow me to briefly refresh your memory.

I’m a New York-based psychiatrist, and to date, one of the most influential cases I’ve come across is Ms. Aubrey J. Parker. I do most of my work with athletes and entertainers... to be honest, a lot of that has to do with the money. I found myself in a lucrative position, so I take advantage of it. But if you were to ask me if I’d trade it for anything else for a mere fraction of the pay, I’d quickly tell you no. I wouldn’t get to meet these larger-than-life human beings.

I wouldn’t get to tell you this story.

I’ll cut to the interesting part.

”So how’s your uh... relationship with the Lustral going?”

She’s on the couch. I’m in my chair. My chair has wheels. Note.

”I mean, I’d say it’s pretty rad. I started taking it at the end of June like you asked-- and since then, I haven’t had any outbursts... I haven’t been getting into any trouble at work... Everything’s fine.”

She was lying. She didn’t look like she was lying-- but I knew it. I know she was.

”I guess it’d be time for a refill pretty soon, huh?”

Her eyes flickered up toward mine and her lips curled into a small smirk.

”Four more days, doc! You know that.”

”Hm. Very good.”

”Did I tell you what I wanted to do at work, last time I saw you?”

I had to take a moment to consider it and recollect the memory. Usually, I was excellent at remembering our encounters...

”Well?”

”You wanted to fight two people at once. You wanted a handicap match... against the Tag Team Champions, right?”

She smiled at me, and it seemed genuine enough-- yet, I know better.

”That’s right. And I got it.”

”Really?”

”Really!”

”Can I ask you something? Or-- rather, can I get you to ask yourself something?”

”...Norm, you can ask me anything. Anything.”

Cold.

”Why would you put yourself in this situation before what you described to me as the biggest match of your life? These are two young men that presently carry around trophies that tell the entire world that they’re the best at what you’re asking them to do on Sunday. It’s not like a time before where you and your partner were able to overcome-- it's just you.”

For a long time she stared at me, and I began thinking I should apologize. I studied wrestling because, by default. I had to, but perhaps I was overstepping my boundaries-- it wasn’t my profession. I was sure she would tear into me, any second.

”It’s supposed to be a challenge. It’s not supposed to be easy. It’s supposed to hurt, a lot. The only thing I’m not supposed to do is win, but I will, because fuck them. NOBODY thinks that I can win the Undisputed Title from Terry at Shockwave, but they have absolutely no idea what I’m even capable of. No one.”

”So this is all to prove something to Terry?”

”Everybody.”

”What about yourself?”

She smirked.

”I knew I could do it all along. Everybody else is playing catch-up. Sounds like you are too, Norm...”

”I’m--”

”But that’s okay! Haha, I built my entire career on spite, and doubt, and YOU CAN’T DO IT. And then I shock them. Every time.”

”Shock value... ha, it’s a powerful tool in the entertainment business.”

She didn’t say anything. Aubrey removed a stray strand of dark brown hair from her face, but she never broke eye contact with me, silently encouraging me to continue.

”You know, after awhile, you get used to the shock. Know what I mean? People get used to something, and in their mind, they convince themselves that they should expect something... and you know these greedy people... they want more than the bang for their buck. So let’s say you defeat the Dying Breed this week-- next time you’d have to up the ante, yes?”

For a while. she stared at me across the room from the couch, and her face was blank. Her lips were parted just the slightest bit, but her eyes brightened and she smiled.

”...yes.”

”And it'd have to culminate in the successful capture of Terry Marvin’s championship. But that’s a lot of pressure, and I think that it’s something you could do without.”

Her face fell. She looked almost saddened by my words for a moment, which left me with something to consider-- but then her face reflected frustration. Annoyance, maybe.

”What are you talking about?”

”I just don’t think you should put that kind of stress on yourself. This is your career, and you could damage it by hurting yourself.”

”I’m not.”

”You’re choosing to wrestle two men that have every problem in the world with you, and are legally able to do nearly anything they want to you in the confines of a wrestling ring in a week. You put yourself there, and I can’t help but feel that it’s a potentially damaging situation. I suggest, for the sake of your health, that you don’t recreate this.”

”So you don’t have any faith in me either...”

”I’ve seen your state of mind when you’re hurt, and--”

”I’m not going to get hurt!”

I sighed looked at Aubrey over the top of my rectangular frames.

”I won’t document that as an outburst. I understand why you might’ve felt provoked, so I’m taking it upon myself to apologize.”

”I forgive you.”

I chuckled softly, casting a gaze downward. It was amazing that I was getting the “sweet” Aubrey today, but not amazing in the sense that one might imagine... I was just astounded at the acting chops. She was trying to get rid of me. She was trying to prove that she no longer needed “someone to talk to”, and then I’d have no influence. No contact... And there was a soft lump in my throat at the thought. Heartbreakingly brilliant, she was.

”I appreciate your concern.”

I looked up, meeting her eyes once again.

”But there’s no need for concern. I think this is the best career move I’ve ever made. And I don’t think wanting this match makes me crazy or stupid-- I think it makes me...”

She trailed off, but she still didn’t break eye contact. While her lips formed several possible words, she eventually stopped and giggled softly, raising a hand to her cheek.

”I dunno! I’ll have to think about that.”

The smile was enchanting.

Toxic.

”I’m sorry for insinuating that your confidence was something else... I’m happy for you.”

”D’aw, thanks, Norm!”

”Of course. Oh, I wanted to ask you...”

At this point, I began to push myself backwards in my chair, wheeling toward my desk to reach for my laptop when, for reasons I cannot explain and never saw coming, two of the wheels from the chair were crushed. The chair jerked backwards and I fell from it, the back of my head colliding with the edge of the desk. I felt a cooling sensation immediately and rolled to the ground, feeling the pressure building in my nose... feeling my breaths shorten. I heard Aubrey’s voice, which was soothing at first, and then increasingly louder, and more panicked. I can’t remember what she was saying, but I remember looking out, and just seeing whirls of color. Blurs. Flashes.

And then they were gone. Her voice faded. I saw the distorted pattern of her figure turn and move away from me, swiftly. Now I panicked in this serene state. I felt myself falling, and falling, and the pressure in my nose becoming so much more apparent, and the cooling sensation in the back of my head becoming a freezing one.

Aubrey’s voice returned, but only briefly. Another woman, and then a man-- maybe two men-- were with her. I could wrap my head around that, at least.

They didn’t touch me. They didn’t lift me. They didn’t leave me, but my vision went black.


july.23.thirteen12:05pm

SUBJECT: Parker, Aubrey Jessica

DIAGN: Dissocial Personality Disorder, ASPD (diag. May 4, 2013) low speculation

DIAGN: Bipolar II Disorder, BP-II (diag. June 28, 2013) high speculation

DIAGN: N/A

MEDIC: Sertraline hydrochloride “Lustral”

NOTES: Patient has shown no signs of improvement. Outbursts are frequent. Emotional. Unstable. Original diagnosis of dissocial personality disorder may have been incorrect-- patient shows signs of “sociopathy”, which could arguably be confused with periods of hypomania, a result of a secondary diagnosis-- Bipolar II. Patient will need to remain on medication. Patient will need to remain in my care for an indefinite period of time.



july.23.thirteen6:15pm

”Today I told a lie.”

every step you take
i’ll be watching you...

july.23.thirteenunspecified

”I love that we get to do this.

You guys both get to stand across the ring from me, and I don’t have anyone to tag... anyone to hide behind. This is a chance for all of us to get A LOT OF THINGS off our chests! Right? Bails? Jair?

Jair! Jair, this is the time for your ugly ass to step up and do something worthy of your semi-celebrity status, and not only defeat-- but completely destroy the number one contender to Terry Marvin’s Undisputed Title. You had a... a pretty lousy performance at Test for the Best, and I’m not even sure if I would say I could be proud of it if I were you-- but I know how you like to hold onto things like that and use them as learning experiences...

...and maybe you did! Last Sunday, you and Bails had a classic tag team performance and you, for the THIRD TIME won a triple threat tag team match and you kept your titles. I applauded from my locker room. I loved it. I LOVE that you won, because now this match means so much more, for the both of us.

You and I both have momentum. Maybe if you win, you can show everybody that what happened at Test for the Best against A.C. Smith was a hiccup, and you can convince everybody, including Mr. Raab himself, that you deserve a shot at the Undisputed Title instead of me.

I doubt it though. When it comes down to it, the idea of success scares the fuck out of you, so the only time you achieve it is when Anthony’s holding your hand, and Anthony-- Anthony, I respect the hell out of your team loyalty because you, Jair, and William have a lot of it. I like that about you guys, because it means when one of you falls, you all go down as a unit. When one of you hurts, ALL of you feel it.

I mean, except for the time Jair almost died and you guys had no idea about it, which seems a little fishy to me... But that’s... that’s not my business.

Point is, a team is only as strong as its weakest member, and since Williams is nowhere to be found, that leaves one of you, and ONE of you is going to get beaten, clean, in the center of the ring on Sunday night and you’re going to look bad, because you’re the APW Tag Team Champions. You’ll both look bad, but whoever takes the fall is going to be known as the weak one-- as the one that just doesn’t know how to capitalize on a golden opportunity when he sees it.

I wanna know which one it’s gonna be. I wanna see you fucking cover for one another when the inevitable happens! I wanna know how our beloved Dying Breed reacts to being upstaged by the bane of their existence, Aubrey J. Parker, hahaha...

Sure, you guys will bounce back from this though! You have ambition, and charisma, and raw talent, but even when you guys are put together, they’re no MATCH for my shit! M&M proved that in a straight-up wrestling match back in January, and I proved it in a Suicidal Championship match against Bails in March. You guys have gotten lucky. You guys have stolen some right out from under me, even! And damnit, you guys are good. You’re good enough to take those Tag Team Championships higher than anybody that’s ever held them in APW, but you... are not... ABOVE ME. NOBODY IS. That is a FACT.

I’m the greatest wrestler to step foot in an Action Packed Wrestling ring, point blank, period. I’ve made mistakes in the past, and boy I know this looks like a big one, but TRUST ME when I tell you that I’m going to absolutely humiliate you on Sunday night, and in what could be one of the greatest spectacles in wrestling history, in a redefinition of handicap matches, I will emerge victorious.

I will stand tall over two broken Tag Team Champions, and don’t think for a moment that I can’t do that! Remember, I’M THE ONE that took all three of you out at the same time by myself! I’m the one that drew first blood!

AND YOU NEVER SAW IT COMING!

And th... hahaha... and you guys are fuckin’ good. You guys got the best of me, and Logan, and you made it... so we can’t get another shot at the Tag Team Titles while you guys are the champions, and I think you’ll be champions for a long time.

I also think that the entire tag team division is going to look at you differently when I WIN on Sunday night Raab-a-Mania and the entire WORLD is going to look at me... like the star that I am. LIKE THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN.

And I didn’t just choose you because you were the Tag Team Champions, or because Bails is a former World Champion-- although those were part of it.

No, no...

I did this because I hate you.

Because... there are no two men finer to take this fall. No two men that I would rather hurt. You guys are perfect, and I FUCKING HATE YOU and I HOPE one of you has an accident on Sunday! I hope you come out of it crippled! ...Haha, and you guys are going to realize, that there is absolutely nothing, NOTHING AT ALL, that comes before Aubrey J. Parker in this business, and I’ve let-- I’ve let the masses get confused, and that’s just not... okay... so we’re gonna fix it.

I’m gonna beat the Tag Team Champions.

I’m gonna beat... hm, Terry...

And then I’m gonna beat everybody that told me I couldn’t. By any means necessary.”


fin.