Post by chaos lite on Oct 6, 2013 0:59:41 GMT -4
oct.4.thirteen2:13pm
”I didn’t go to my dad’s funeral.”
My name is Aubrey J. Parker.
”I know.”
He’s Norman.
”Did you go?”
We were in my Pleasanton, California home… I had a few guesses as to how he found me. Tyler had probably tipped him off. It didn’t matter to me at this point. I stood there, at the window of my upper deck, gazing out upon the hillside, looking at the vibrant, lush world beneath us, almost in pure contrast to Norm, who sat, smothered in shadows just a couple of feet away on an only half-occupied loveseat.
”Of course. I told you I would. Why else would I be all the way out here?”
”I thought maybe you would’ve backed out.”
”Why would I do a thing like that?”
”I dunno. Nerves.”
”Ah. But we don’t share the same fears. I had no reason to miss it. I was there to support you and Trey.”
I turned to glance at him out of the corner of my eye from over my shoulder.
”Trey… Trey-- how was he? Is he--?”
”He’s mourning, Aubrey.”
Dissatisfaction. I slowly turned, setting my gaze on the outside world again.
”Yeah…”
”It was a beautiful service. There must have been over a hundred people there.”
”He had a lot of friends.”
”So do you. I saw some of them there. I recognized a few of them from pictures… your friend Josh was there… your friend Madeline… Tyler… Cassandra…”
Alarmed, my ears perked upward. I angled toward him, but didn’t bother to turn all the way. I kept my gaze outside of the window, fixated on nothingness.
”You didn’t talk to them--?”
”I abide by a very strict code. Anything I could’ve said would’ve been uninteresting to them.”
”Oh. Right.”
”Yeah… don’t worry… I didn’t break their hearts by telling them that the Undisputed Championship was your priority.”
I wanted to sarcastically recite my relief to him, but the desire just wasn’t there. Again, out of my peripherals, I saw him push himself up from the loveseat. Brushing off the gray-colored suit he’d worn to the funeral, he made his way toward me and placed a single hand on my shoulder.
”Don’t let it consume you, Aubrey. I’ve seen what things like this do to people… I just… want you to call me if you feel like things are getting out of control.”
”Out of control?”
”Out of your hands.”
He received a curious leer for his comments. I was used to seeing him give me these cure, omniscient smirks. I was used to feeling that there was always a reason behind even the slightest smile, but this one seemed different. For everything I’d said to Norman, and put him through, his words seemed genuine. I don’t think I said anything to him after that. He patted my shoulder once more and backed away, offering me a short wave.
”You’ll call.”
And he was gone.
And he’d be right.
oct.4.thirteen4:44pm
”What you do or don’t do outside of the ring isn’t my business.”
Tyler sat against the doorframe on the back patio, placing a cigar between his lips. A small, sick part of me wanted to laugh at the irony. Tyler was always the guy that was eager to pull out a celebratory cigar-- for any reason he could find to celebrate, whether it was a childbirth, or the purchase of a new laptop, he was ready. In fact, he took such a ridiculous drag from the thing, that I briefly forgot he was in the middle of speaking.
”...but don’t you think it might’ve looked better… you know… on the public relations side of things if you DIDN’T blow off your dad’s funeral?”
”I didn’t ‘blow it off’, Tyler.”
”I just think it makes us look a little scummy.”
”Us?”
”You’re a direct representation of me. When you look bad, we look bad. If I had known you weren’t gonna show, I would’ve made something up, like--”
”I can’t be around that. Not now. Not during a week like this.”
My voice lowered. I didn’t realize how quietly I’d started to speak. Tyler turned to me with an eyebrow perked in interest.
”Haha, bad vibes?”
”I guess you could call it that.”
His eyes drifted toward the elongated driveway of the estate. He held the cigar between his pointer and index finger, drumming it against the base of his knee, and I watched as the wind captured tiny pieces of ash, whisking them away into the air… but my eyes adjusted, away from the wisps of smoke and the embers, toward the black Jeep that hummed and growled as it made its way, slowly, almost somberly up toward the front of the house.
”Before Talon gets out of that car, and walks up here, I just thought you should know something.”
I turned to Tyler, but his eyes never came off of that Jeep.
”What is it?”
”It’s really important that you win this match.”
”I…”
I heard the door of the Jeep open and close again. I saw that Tyler never flinched. He never moved.
”I know, Ty.”
”It means a lot, to a lot of people, and I, uh… we just wanna see you be okay, you know? Just wanna see you be happy.”
”...Yeah… I know…”
My lips continued to move, prepared to say something else. I felt like I should have said something else, but nothing else came out. Tyler, still seated, rocked back and forth on his heels, cigar still resting gently beneath his index finger.
”And is that what it’ll take for you to be okay?”
”The Undisputed Title?”
”Yeah.”
I nodded, looking downward. I didn’t have to say it. He knew the answer, and I knew… I would say ”yes”, and I would nod, politely, and I would wait for him to accept it, give me that reassuring smile, and move on, but it just didn’t happen that way.
”Even if you win it… things aren’t gonna be the same, are they?”
This time, I had to glance over at Tyler. He blew one more puff of smoke out into the air, and I never got the opportunity to ask what he meant. Six-plus feet of sun-kissed, pleasant, successful, Talon Wilkinson was standing in front of us now, and temporarily, everything Tyler said went to the wayside. I smiled up at my boyfriend and pushed myself up off of the porch, nearly squealing in delight as I jumped into his arms.
”Hey, baby!”
I pretended I didn’t feel Tyler’s eyes, watching, as I pressed my lips against Talon’s. I pretended that he wasn’t sitting there, averting his gaze down into the pavement every now and again, but I finally turned to him, breaking from Talon once Tyler got to his feet.
”I’m gonna head out.”
”You sure, bro?”
I glanced nervously between the two, and watched as Talon gave Tyler a small smile that was nearly indistinguishable. It could’ve been innocent, though, I’m certain Tyler took it anyway but.
”Yeah. I’m sure. I do have a house I need to tend to. A girlfriend I need to fuck. And so on.”
”Ew, Tyler…”
”Yeah. I know. Earmuffs.”
He began to walk away, and I’m pretty sure his eyes never met Talon’s. It’s tension that I never understood… but my imagination was vivid.
Tyler did stop, raising one finger in the air to pivot, pointing a finger toward me, stopping just a few inches short of his Escalade.
”It’s important, Aubs.”
And with that, Tyler left.
And then it made sense.
Nothing would ever be the same. It took him walking away-- it took him just climbing into the driver’s seat, for there to be clarity.
oct.5.thirteenunspecified
”Just because you scream something the loudest doesn’t make it true.
I am sick and tired of listening to you.
I’m tired of hearing you running around, screaming like an idiot, and these people just FEEDING INTO IT because you tell them to. And… it’s impressive that you were able to establish such a following. It’s AMAZING that you were able to help build Action Packed Wrestling into what it is today. I respect you, Terry Marvin. I respect the fact that you’re the greatest champion in the history of APW, but… when has respect ever gotten anybody an Undisputed Championship around here, hm?
This isn’t the business you get into when you’re a nice person by design. I’m a cold-hearted, manipulative, calculative bitch, Terry, and I’m much more self-aware than a lot of people would be willing to give me credit for.
One thing, however, that I’m not, is desperate.
You are.
And it-- like-- it all makes sense, all of a sudden. I watched you today, and at first, I was absolutely crushed. I watched you say that we weren’t friends. I watched you tell me that I had nobody in this world that I could go to. You told me that I couldn’t be normal. You told me that I’d be alone.
And you got angry with me. After everything we’ve gone through over the past month… with every step we took to make the New Sindicate, and our friendship whole again, I thought we were really onto something. I thought we-- WE-- were going to be the holy grail of the wrestling world, but that was never really your choice. You never REALLY wanted to rule alongside me, and I’ll give you one thing-- it’s really easy for you to play the part of the good guy right now. After all, I’m the one that tried to break your neck and take your head off with twenty pounds of gold. That was me. That was my bad, ha.
Thing is, though, you kept me close, and you sucked it up, and to this MOMENT, you allow the New Sindicate to exist. And I wonder why? Why?
And I really, really thought about it, and it didn’t take long to put all the pieces together, Terry; you know that I am the only person on this roster, and the only person in that Chamber that has a snowball’s chance in Hell of defeating you. And it’s uh… I think it left me in a tricky situation for a long time, because you’ve made it VERY CLEAR that the moment that Undisputed Championship leaves your waist, you’re out. You’re turning your back on this company the moment you can, and if you had it your way, you’d take that Undisputed Title along with you to Sin City Wrestling, just to show the world that NOTHING… is bigger… than Terry Marvin.
And you’re a really polarizing character, you know. It’s really hard to come up with all these fancy reasons as to why I’m going to beat you this Sunday, because over the past thirteen months, ha… Terry, you forgot how to lose! I don’t think you quite know what it feels like to have your shoulders pinned to the mat for three seconds. I don’t think you remember what it’s like to have another wrestler pulling and ripping at your leg while you beg for mercy-- while you crawl for freedom-- while you TAP. OUT.
YOU DON’T REMEMBER.
See? See? I can scream. I can raise my voice, too.
And I’m gonna scream during our match… I’m gonna scream while I’m driving your skull into the canvas with the Makeunder, or with Suspiria, or with the Teardrop-- I dunno, I haven’t decided yet-- and I’m gonna scream while the referee counts…
One…
...two…
THREE!
Or-- or better yet. Maybe I’ll scream ASK HIM! and he will, Terry, and you… well… let’s be honest here… you’d probably be willing to take the broken leg instead of tapping out. Because after what you’ve said-- after saying, that after spending the past five months together that I’m not special, you’re in no position to lose tomorrow. You told me how you really feel. You told me that I’m no different than any other wrestler… any other clone that’s faced you.
I guess working alongside you, learning from you, figuring out how to crawl inside your head and convince you that I was your world, baby-boy-- I guess that wasn’t impressive enough for you. Whatever happened at Shockwave, even if you say I took you to your ‘limit’, it must not have impressed you much, Terry. I must have never impressed you.
So for that, I apologize.
If you thought for a moment that I wasn't able to get the job done on your side, and you think that I won't be able to get the job done tomorrow night... then...
...then...
...then fuck you, Terry Marvin. I'm sorry that we couldn't be something more. I did love you, and I always will. I'll always remember you as one of the most influential people in my career. I'll remember you as the one that never gave up, until the end. You'll always be my first.
My first World Championship... hmmm...
I love you, Terry. But nothing will ever, ever be the same."
fin.
”I didn’t go to my dad’s funeral.”
My name is Aubrey J. Parker.
”I know.”
He’s Norman.
”Did you go?”
We were in my Pleasanton, California home… I had a few guesses as to how he found me. Tyler had probably tipped him off. It didn’t matter to me at this point. I stood there, at the window of my upper deck, gazing out upon the hillside, looking at the vibrant, lush world beneath us, almost in pure contrast to Norm, who sat, smothered in shadows just a couple of feet away on an only half-occupied loveseat.
”Of course. I told you I would. Why else would I be all the way out here?”
”I thought maybe you would’ve backed out.”
”Why would I do a thing like that?”
”I dunno. Nerves.”
”Ah. But we don’t share the same fears. I had no reason to miss it. I was there to support you and Trey.”
I turned to glance at him out of the corner of my eye from over my shoulder.
”Trey… Trey-- how was he? Is he--?”
”He’s mourning, Aubrey.”
Dissatisfaction. I slowly turned, setting my gaze on the outside world again.
”Yeah…”
”It was a beautiful service. There must have been over a hundred people there.”
”He had a lot of friends.”
”So do you. I saw some of them there. I recognized a few of them from pictures… your friend Josh was there… your friend Madeline… Tyler… Cassandra…”
Alarmed, my ears perked upward. I angled toward him, but didn’t bother to turn all the way. I kept my gaze outside of the window, fixated on nothingness.
”You didn’t talk to them--?”
”I abide by a very strict code. Anything I could’ve said would’ve been uninteresting to them.”
”Oh. Right.”
”Yeah… don’t worry… I didn’t break their hearts by telling them that the Undisputed Championship was your priority.”
I wanted to sarcastically recite my relief to him, but the desire just wasn’t there. Again, out of my peripherals, I saw him push himself up from the loveseat. Brushing off the gray-colored suit he’d worn to the funeral, he made his way toward me and placed a single hand on my shoulder.
”Don’t let it consume you, Aubrey. I’ve seen what things like this do to people… I just… want you to call me if you feel like things are getting out of control.”
”Out of control?”
”Out of your hands.”
He received a curious leer for his comments. I was used to seeing him give me these cure, omniscient smirks. I was used to feeling that there was always a reason behind even the slightest smile, but this one seemed different. For everything I’d said to Norman, and put him through, his words seemed genuine. I don’t think I said anything to him after that. He patted my shoulder once more and backed away, offering me a short wave.
”You’ll call.”
And he was gone.
And he’d be right.
oct.4.thirteen4:44pm
”What you do or don’t do outside of the ring isn’t my business.”
Tyler sat against the doorframe on the back patio, placing a cigar between his lips. A small, sick part of me wanted to laugh at the irony. Tyler was always the guy that was eager to pull out a celebratory cigar-- for any reason he could find to celebrate, whether it was a childbirth, or the purchase of a new laptop, he was ready. In fact, he took such a ridiculous drag from the thing, that I briefly forgot he was in the middle of speaking.
”...but don’t you think it might’ve looked better… you know… on the public relations side of things if you DIDN’T blow off your dad’s funeral?”
”I didn’t ‘blow it off’, Tyler.”
”I just think it makes us look a little scummy.”
”Us?”
”You’re a direct representation of me. When you look bad, we look bad. If I had known you weren’t gonna show, I would’ve made something up, like--”
”I can’t be around that. Not now. Not during a week like this.”
My voice lowered. I didn’t realize how quietly I’d started to speak. Tyler turned to me with an eyebrow perked in interest.
”Haha, bad vibes?”
”I guess you could call it that.”
His eyes drifted toward the elongated driveway of the estate. He held the cigar between his pointer and index finger, drumming it against the base of his knee, and I watched as the wind captured tiny pieces of ash, whisking them away into the air… but my eyes adjusted, away from the wisps of smoke and the embers, toward the black Jeep that hummed and growled as it made its way, slowly, almost somberly up toward the front of the house.
”Before Talon gets out of that car, and walks up here, I just thought you should know something.”
I turned to Tyler, but his eyes never came off of that Jeep.
”What is it?”
”It’s really important that you win this match.”
”I…”
I heard the door of the Jeep open and close again. I saw that Tyler never flinched. He never moved.
”I know, Ty.”
”It means a lot, to a lot of people, and I, uh… we just wanna see you be okay, you know? Just wanna see you be happy.”
”...Yeah… I know…”
My lips continued to move, prepared to say something else. I felt like I should have said something else, but nothing else came out. Tyler, still seated, rocked back and forth on his heels, cigar still resting gently beneath his index finger.
”And is that what it’ll take for you to be okay?”
”The Undisputed Title?”
”Yeah.”
I nodded, looking downward. I didn’t have to say it. He knew the answer, and I knew… I would say ”yes”, and I would nod, politely, and I would wait for him to accept it, give me that reassuring smile, and move on, but it just didn’t happen that way.
”Even if you win it… things aren’t gonna be the same, are they?”
This time, I had to glance over at Tyler. He blew one more puff of smoke out into the air, and I never got the opportunity to ask what he meant. Six-plus feet of sun-kissed, pleasant, successful, Talon Wilkinson was standing in front of us now, and temporarily, everything Tyler said went to the wayside. I smiled up at my boyfriend and pushed myself up off of the porch, nearly squealing in delight as I jumped into his arms.
”Hey, baby!”
I pretended I didn’t feel Tyler’s eyes, watching, as I pressed my lips against Talon’s. I pretended that he wasn’t sitting there, averting his gaze down into the pavement every now and again, but I finally turned to him, breaking from Talon once Tyler got to his feet.
”I’m gonna head out.”
”You sure, bro?”
I glanced nervously between the two, and watched as Talon gave Tyler a small smile that was nearly indistinguishable. It could’ve been innocent, though, I’m certain Tyler took it anyway but.
”Yeah. I’m sure. I do have a house I need to tend to. A girlfriend I need to fuck. And so on.”
”Ew, Tyler…”
”Yeah. I know. Earmuffs.”
He began to walk away, and I’m pretty sure his eyes never met Talon’s. It’s tension that I never understood… but my imagination was vivid.
Tyler did stop, raising one finger in the air to pivot, pointing a finger toward me, stopping just a few inches short of his Escalade.
”It’s important, Aubs.”
And with that, Tyler left.
And then it made sense.
Nothing would ever be the same. It took him walking away-- it took him just climbing into the driver’s seat, for there to be clarity.
you’re my friend
we’ll stick together til the end
we’ll stick together til the end
oct.5.thirteenunspecified
”Just because you scream something the loudest doesn’t make it true.
I am sick and tired of listening to you.
I’m tired of hearing you running around, screaming like an idiot, and these people just FEEDING INTO IT because you tell them to. And… it’s impressive that you were able to establish such a following. It’s AMAZING that you were able to help build Action Packed Wrestling into what it is today. I respect you, Terry Marvin. I respect the fact that you’re the greatest champion in the history of APW, but… when has respect ever gotten anybody an Undisputed Championship around here, hm?
This isn’t the business you get into when you’re a nice person by design. I’m a cold-hearted, manipulative, calculative bitch, Terry, and I’m much more self-aware than a lot of people would be willing to give me credit for.
One thing, however, that I’m not, is desperate.
You are.
And it-- like-- it all makes sense, all of a sudden. I watched you today, and at first, I was absolutely crushed. I watched you say that we weren’t friends. I watched you tell me that I had nobody in this world that I could go to. You told me that I couldn’t be normal. You told me that I’d be alone.
And you got angry with me. After everything we’ve gone through over the past month… with every step we took to make the New Sindicate, and our friendship whole again, I thought we were really onto something. I thought we-- WE-- were going to be the holy grail of the wrestling world, but that was never really your choice. You never REALLY wanted to rule alongside me, and I’ll give you one thing-- it’s really easy for you to play the part of the good guy right now. After all, I’m the one that tried to break your neck and take your head off with twenty pounds of gold. That was me. That was my bad, ha.
Thing is, though, you kept me close, and you sucked it up, and to this MOMENT, you allow the New Sindicate to exist. And I wonder why? Why?
And I really, really thought about it, and it didn’t take long to put all the pieces together, Terry; you know that I am the only person on this roster, and the only person in that Chamber that has a snowball’s chance in Hell of defeating you. And it’s uh… I think it left me in a tricky situation for a long time, because you’ve made it VERY CLEAR that the moment that Undisputed Championship leaves your waist, you’re out. You’re turning your back on this company the moment you can, and if you had it your way, you’d take that Undisputed Title along with you to Sin City Wrestling, just to show the world that NOTHING… is bigger… than Terry Marvin.
And you’re a really polarizing character, you know. It’s really hard to come up with all these fancy reasons as to why I’m going to beat you this Sunday, because over the past thirteen months, ha… Terry, you forgot how to lose! I don’t think you quite know what it feels like to have your shoulders pinned to the mat for three seconds. I don’t think you remember what it’s like to have another wrestler pulling and ripping at your leg while you beg for mercy-- while you crawl for freedom-- while you TAP. OUT.
YOU DON’T REMEMBER.
See? See? I can scream. I can raise my voice, too.
And I’m gonna scream during our match… I’m gonna scream while I’m driving your skull into the canvas with the Makeunder, or with Suspiria, or with the Teardrop-- I dunno, I haven’t decided yet-- and I’m gonna scream while the referee counts…
One…
...two…
THREE!
Or-- or better yet. Maybe I’ll scream ASK HIM! and he will, Terry, and you… well… let’s be honest here… you’d probably be willing to take the broken leg instead of tapping out. Because after what you’ve said-- after saying, that after spending the past five months together that I’m not special, you’re in no position to lose tomorrow. You told me how you really feel. You told me that I’m no different than any other wrestler… any other clone that’s faced you.
I guess working alongside you, learning from you, figuring out how to crawl inside your head and convince you that I was your world, baby-boy-- I guess that wasn’t impressive enough for you. Whatever happened at Shockwave, even if you say I took you to your ‘limit’, it must not have impressed you much, Terry. I must have never impressed you.
So for that, I apologize.
If you thought for a moment that I wasn't able to get the job done on your side, and you think that I won't be able to get the job done tomorrow night... then...
...then...
...then fuck you, Terry Marvin. I'm sorry that we couldn't be something more. I did love you, and I always will. I'll always remember you as one of the most influential people in my career. I'll remember you as the one that never gave up, until the end. You'll always be my first.
My first World Championship... hmmm...
I love you, Terry. But nothing will ever, ever be the same."
fin.
