10-24-2020, 12:07 AM
10-28-2020, 08:07 AM
It was one thing to be prepared for what you thought was the worst, it was another matter entirely to somehow encounter something even worse that made it all for naught.
As Aaron headed into Under Attack, it might surprise some people to learn that, for as much as he was prepared to give every last ounce of his being in order to win, he was fully prepared for the possibility of losing the Chamber Match. It wasn’t a matter of doubting that he could pull it off, but more a feeling of knowing deep down that there was someone else in the match who wanted and deserved it more than he did. After all, Peyton had been the one to ask for the match and the opportunities at stake, and Aaron had been thrown in to round out the participants as a means of giving Katya a reason to try and challenge him for her own amusement. Aaron knew that he always had the Tag League alongside Owen no matter what happened inside that twisted steel structure, so he had something to fall back on where Peyton didn’t. He even said as much going in, knowing that if anyone truly deserved to earn a shot at either the U.S. or Adrenaline Title, it was her.
In that respect, his gut feeling had been right, and despite the pain he wished he didn’t need to be feeling down south courtesy of Kandis, he felt that everything had played out exactly as it should have on that night.
It was the mess that happened afterward that left him reeling.
While Peyton had been celebrating her hard-earned win, The Wonderland had decided it was necessary to literally rain on her parade as they stormed the ring and proceeded to attempt to dismantle the Chamber chain by chain, putting everyone still inside the structure in grave danger. Naturally, Aaron had pushed through the damage that had been done to him leading into his elimination from the match to join Owen and Kelcey at ringside to try and diffuse the situation, and luckily they had managed to pry Giovanni and Alice off the structure before anyone inside got hurt after the show went off the air, but the fact that anyone had even taken it upon themselves to attempt to go that far left Aaron feeling angry and disgusted as he left the State Farm Arena that night.
It was one thing to lose a match because it’s something that you knew could happen every time you stepped into that ring. It was another matter entirely for someone to be so detached from reality that they knowingly created a life or death situation that never needed to exist in the wrestling business in the first place.
Considering he had a fair amount of time before SCW picked back up again, he had a chance to truly think over the whole situation and how he wanted to address it. The fact wasn’t lost on him up to this point that through Gio’s efforts to try and destroy the Perfect Pack, Aaron was its only current member he’d never directly targeted yet, which painted a pretty clear bullseye on his chest going forward. With Cain and Alice being on the horizon in Owen and Aaron’s Tag League path, he was prepared to steel himself for whatever Gio wanted to try and pull knowing that the madman of the Wonderland had to realize this as much as he did. In situations like this, Aaron never cared what happened to him because he knew he could fight and defend himself regardless of the cost, and that alone made him ready for any sort of direct confrontation from the group that had been plaguing them for far too long now.
It was the possibility of what Gio could do to someone close to him that had his mind wandering back to a conflict weighing upon it going into the pay-per-view.
Despite knowing he would need to head out west for when SCW got rolling again, the first thing he did the day after Under Attack was make his way back to Royal Oak, Michigan to be by Liane’s side. He had to admit that it was weird practically staying in the Forte family’s home, but given how Liane was doing at the moment he was willing to do anything to be by her side again. In the wake of the entire mess regarding her brief stay at the local asylum courtesy of Nancy, the rest of the Forte siblings had been filled in on what had happened, and while they were understandably upset with their parents for their role in the conflict, most had been willing to forgive them considering they’d been used just as much as anyone else Nancy seemed to come into contact with in her delusional crusade to make a name for herself at the expense of those who had nothing to do with her self-perceived struggles. They’d frequently stuck around the house to keep Liane company, which had seemed to help quite a lot in bringing her back to her old self, though even now as the creative soul and his jester of joy were cuddled up on the living room couch, he could feel that there was still work to do on that front.
Whatever movie they’d been watching together had been virtually forgotten about at this point in his mind, because he was paying far more attention to the way Liane was clinging to him. Her hold was a lot tighter than it normally would be if couch cuddling was all they were doing, almost as if she was afraid he’d disappear forever if she let him go, but the tremors that occasionally ran through her arms and caused her grip to loosen just enough to give him that escape if he actually desired it before returning to its boa constrictor-like vise moments later told a different story altogether. His ears were no longer tuned in to whatever dialogue was being read out to progress the plot playing out before him, but rather to the quiet argument Liane seemed to be having with herself about whether or not she needed Aaron and how this felt both right and wrong to her. He had no doubt Nancy had probably had a hand in trying to direct her ‘treatment’ towards convincing her that he was only exacerbating the issues she did have, and the very idea had him ready and willing to forsake his entire wrestling career and potentially his future as a free man if it meant making this wannabe therapist experience firsthand the kind of trauma she had so callously caused.
“Hey… you alright?”
The question was almost out of reflex at this point, even though he unfortunately knew what the answer would be. Truthfully, it was no, but Liane could never actually bring herself to say it, or even to lie and try to convince him that everything was truly OK. Instead, she just gave him an uncertain look before trying to direct her gaze back to the TV, even though he knew her well enough by now to know she was paying attention to the film about as much as he was. He let a hand move to gently squeeze and rub her shoulder, attempting to remove some of the tension she was unintentionally producing in her body and remind her that he was here for her and would help her get through this. She squeezed him tighter in thanks, though it was a small step forward and he knew they weren’t out of the woods yet as far as this minefield was concerned. To that end, his gaze briefly moved towards the dining area of the house, where he saw James seated with Liane’s parents discussing the state of the legal red tape he was clearly fed up with when it came to Nancy’s machinations. He couldn’t quite hear a lot of the conversation over the TV, but he did pick out what sounded like the whole matter with her needing to be in the care of her parents being resolved by the end of the week, which opened the door for the two of them to be able to travel together again. The idea of Liane being able to return to her comedy career certainly opened a lot of doors in terms of her road to recovery, though another idea was also forming that pertained more to a certain holiday coming up.
“So… Halloween’s next weekend, and that means the usual Halloween party Kelcey throws every year. Since the next Breakdown’s out in California anyway-”
“I want to, Aaron… I would love that more than anything else. But… I don’t know…”
Aaron bit his bottom lip, his heart breaking purely from how small and quiet Liane had tried to make herself sound. Almost on instinct alone, he held her tighter against him, which surprised her a bit but thankfully didn’t cause her to pull away.
“We don’t have to go… Kelcey will understand. I think I heard James telling your parents that you’ll be free to resume living your life how you want to by the end of the week. From Seattle to LA and back is familiar territory for me… Breakdown aside, we could just return to our apartment and have a quiet Halloween night together.”
“You don’t have to sacrifice because of me Aaron. I know I’m… broken, and I’m not even sure if I feel comfortable leaving here yet even if I finally can. I want to be by your side, but I don’t want to burden you because…”
Liane continued on, but Aaron’s mind had stopped listening. He couldn’t take the self-deprecation from a woman who had seemed to come into his life for the sole purpose of being the light that would always stand out in the darkness when he desperately needed it. He’d seen Liane hurt and upset, but never this utterly broken, and it took every ounce of willpower to restrain himself from doing anything that would certainly feed into whatever was going on inside her head right now. Seeing what she had become after the briefest stint possible locked away in a mental institution, combined with the lingering memories of what had happened to close out Under Attack just a few nights earlier… he could practically feel his blood boiling, and the worst part was that he couldn’t figure out exactly where his rage should even be directed.
“I apologize if I’m interrupting.”
Aaron snapped out of his thoughts before they had the chance to spiral as he and Liane both looked up to see their true therapist having joined them in the living room now, looking a little guilty at intruding upon their couple cuddle session, but the creative soul just shook his head and tried to put on the best smile he could manage right now.
“Not at all doctor.”
“That’s good… I have some things I need to talk with you two about, but, if it’s alright with you Liane, I’d kind of like to borrow Aaron for a little one-on-one time for a few minutes.”
Liane’s first reaction to this was a look of pure terror as her arms somehow clung even tighter to him, but after a moment she managed to relax enough to let him go so he could stand up and follow James up the stairs where the two of them could converse quietly, though not before the artist picked up on Liane softly reminding herself that Dr. Marsh-Asher could be trusted since he was the one that got her out of ‘that hell,’ a choice of words that send chills down his spine. Once the two of them had rounded the corner and were far enough into the second floor hallway to ensure Liane couldn’t hear them, James turned to face Aaron with concern clearly painted on his face.
“I’m sorry I had to tear you away from her, but I had to ask… how are you doing, considering everything that’s happened? And please be honest with me Aaron… you know by now that I’m doing my best to actually help, despite how absurd things have been getting.”
Aaron’s mouth opened to answer, but he stopped himself once he realized he was going to lie and say that he was doing alright when it was clear that he wasn’t. James wasn’t going to buy that for a second, especially considering he had the wrestling experience and especially with SCW in particular to know that if the Liane situation somehow wasn’t bothering him, then something regarding the squared circle was. A choked sigh was all he produced at first as he turned his gaze back toward the staircase for a few moments before returning his eyes to the therapist.
“Honestly? I’m trying my best not to show it, but I’m frustrated and pissed off. I’ve been pondering this prior to Under Attack, and what happened regarding the aftermath of the Chamber didn’t help matters. I’m just… I’m getting so sick of the people I care about getting hurt time and time again, and I’m torn between wanting to be angry at the people who cause it and throwing away everything that makes me who I am if it means finally forcing them to stop and being angry at myself that I can’t seem to prevent it from happening at all. Liane didn’t need to end up the way she is now, my brother didn’t need to end up dead and my family tormented for months after the fact, Owen, Kelcey and now Peyton don’t need to have their well-being constantly endangered by a man that I’m surprised hasn’t been arrested yet, let alone fired from SCW for half the things he’s pulled. I can protect myself… but I’m getting fed up with not being able to protect the ones I love.”
As Aaron vents to James about what’s been sitting on his mind and returned with the full force of a hurricane even when he thought a ‘conversation’ with his fallen brother had given him the clarity to forge ahead in the wake of Gio’s antics at the pay-per-view, he can’t help but turn away and hammer his fist against the wall, fighting internally to try and restrain himself from blindly lashing out right now as he can literally feel his frustrations beginning to make his blood boil to the point of melting through his flesh. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see James just nodding his head, letting him get it all out of his system before he makes any move, knowing that any premature attempts will see him be targeted. After a few deep breaths, the doctor’s hand ends up on his shoulder as he slowly begins to calm down even slightly.
“Believe me when I say this kid: I know how you feel, more than you might think. And that’s exactly why I’m here for you. When I had that same problem growing up, I didn’t have anyone to turn to, aside from the one person that I was trying so hard to protect. I was willing to throw everything away at a moment’s notice to protect her, and when I couldn’t and was left all alone… that’s when Thirteen became the terror I and many others saw him as for most of my life. In you, knowing that you have a head full of demons all your own, I almost feel like I’m rewatching a part of my past, except this time I can do something about it. Always remember that you have people to turn to Aaron, and they will always have your back. Like it or not, you can’t always protect them, just like they can’t always protect you, but the moment you lose sense of who you are because all you care about is revenge, then they win. That’s exactly what they want, and I’ll be damned if I let someone else walk the same road to Hell I had to.”
Aaron turned to nod to James, feeling a sense of strength from the determination of the man who had clearly taken far more of an interest in the creative soul than either could have first predicted when they had their first session quite some time ago. Even still, he couldn’t shake the fury of simply wanting to throw it all away if it meant he sacrificed it protecting the people that meant something to him, and while he couldn’t say for sure if that was a feeling being fueled by a certain stress-personified monster lingering in the depths of his imagination or if his cracks were starting to become too deep to continue holding himself together, he could at least hold on to the thought that he was lucky enough to have a lifeline that others, like James, never had until it was too late.
In that regard, maybe the risk was the absolute worst case scenario if it meant throwing that lifeline away for the very reasons he was willing to fight to hang on to it.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news for a lot of you out there, but I’m still alive and kicking.
I apologize if that seemed a bit morbid, but in all fairness, the holiday of horror itself is this weekend, and you have to admit, it kind of fits the tone.
In all seriousness, though, anyone who was hoping to not see my name on this upcoming Breakdown card because of being a part of the Chamber at Under Attack should really know better by now. It’s going to take a lot more than some hellacious structure to do me in, and like it or not, I’m still going to be standing by Owen’s side as we look to keep building from our first win in the Tag League last Breakdown and maintain the pressure on every other team in our block. A 1-1 record isn’t grounds to write us off yet, after all. And while I’ll be honest and admit that it sucks walking away from that match having not won the title opportunity, I was one hundred percent upfront when I said going into that structure that Peyton deserved it more than I did, and I’m glad that she was the one who ultimately prevailed. Congrats Pey… I know that whoever you challenge is going to have their hands full in trying to keep you from being where you deserve to be. Don’t worry about me… as I said, I have the Tag League with Owen to focus on, and I’m a firm believer in the idea of those that are patient and diligent in their progress ultimately being rewarded when the time comes. Even if it’s not now, I’ll have my moment soon enough, no matter how much farther I have to keep pushing.
Speaking of pushing… Gio, I know you’re probably listening to this, if for no other reason than to try and continue ‘spying’ on those you’ve deemed your enemies to see if you can find anything worth using. You just keep pushing your luck for reasons that truly only make sense to you, because any sane man in your position would’ve been smart enough to give this a rest. Yeah, maybe that sounds rich to you, coming from a guy who has his fair share of people on this roster that he’s never been able to overcome, but there’s a significant difference in our positions Gio. When I find myself in that spot, I didn’t intentionally pursue it and it just so happened to be how things came together, and it’s always been after some time has passed to allow me to learn and adapt. What you’re doing now, intentionally continuing a war that you’ve lost at every turn and so soon after this should have been put to bed, only proves that you’ve developed an unhealthy obsession that’s only going to destroy you the longer you chase after it. Kind of ironic when you think about it, considering you’re slowly coming undone by the very same obsession you constantly accuse everyone around you of having. True, maybe there’s no gold in your sights, but the method to your madness is the same story you’ve tried to fit all of us into at one point or another as justification for your actions.
What Gio did at Under Attack crossed a line, and there’s no validation for any of it. He seriously endangered the well-being of someone close enough I’d consider them family at this point, as well as an official and another competitor who, personal issues with her conduct and how she felt it necessary to eliminate me aside, still didn’t deserve to be caught in that kind of crossfire. And why? Because the idea of someone from our little group earning the right to pursue the championship gold he condemns week in and week out makes his skin crawl, serving as a sign to everyone that we are in the right simply by trying to go about our business and he’s in the wrong for attempting to destroy everything that SCW is. Consider this the only warning I’m going to give you Gio: let this go and walk away, because the more you keep pushing, the less you’re going to have left when all is set and done, and you’ll have only yourself to blame.
Right now isn’t about him, though… Owen and I will deal with The Wonderland when that point comes in the Tag League and put this matter to bed once and for all then. Right now it’s about other Tag League business, which for me does happen to involve someone I crossed paths with on that fateful Sunday not that long ago. First off Jake, now that we’re here and the Chamber isn’t the name of the game… I’m sorry about what happened to Jason. Owen and I would’ve loved to be able to throw down with him again and see how different your guys’ chemistry would’ve been compared to when we battled him and David. Jason, get better soon man. Of course, this does leave a rather interesting challenge in front of us, because as of this moment, Owen and I have no idea who’s going to be taking his place as your partner Jake. Maybe you know and are trying to keep it under wraps to surprise everyone, maybe you’re just as blind about this as we are. Still, if what I’ve had to deal with over the past few months is any indication, I’m always down to test my creativity against the unknown and see what happens. Whoever your partner is, I hope they’re ready for what we’re bringing to the table, because I can promise you that the Perfect Pack isn’t quite like any challenge they’ve had to deal with before.
The one thing we do know for sure is that you’ll be standing across the ring from us, and there’s a huge difference between facing off inside a structure built from thousands of pounds of steel and facing off with nothing but our natural talent to do all the talking for us. What happened between us inside the Chamber is only a small taste of what I think we can both expect from each other Jake, and from that alone I know full well that you’re not the kind of veteran who’s going to take the idea of letting a couple of ‘kids’ overtake you too kindly. You don’t get to become a Supreme Champion and earn a spot in the Hall of Fame by backing down from a challenge, after all, and something tells me the idea of letting Owen and I walk out of this match with two more points to our name, regardless of who your partner is now, is all you need to give us a harsh reminder of exactly who Jake Starr is.
Honestly, as weird as this might sound, your passion is probably the thing I admire most about you Jake. I know that I’m probably in the minority on that one, considering SCW over the years has been full of people who would rather classify your passion as ‘egotism,’ but regardless of how you’ve been viewed by those around you, the one thing you’ve always stayed is true to yourself, and in a business like this where people always feel like they need to reinvent themselves or stab people in the back and get new ‘friends’ as a way to keep trying to get ahead of everyone else, you’ve proven that it’s very much possible to succeed in SCW without having to compromise who you really are. That’s exactly what I want to be when, not if but WHEN, I finally have my moment that everyone keeps saying is still just out of my reach. Once I can finally stop listening to people taunt me over this proverbial ‘brass ring,’ I will do so as the creative visionary that I know I truly am, and nothing else. After all, if I already have everything I could ever actually want, then why should I have to compromise and throw it all away just to get ahead?
Many people in this business don’t understand that concept… but you do Jake.
That, in and of itself, is the biggest reason why I’m looking forward to this match. Not just because of how accomplished you are or the mystery surrounding who will be taking Jason’s place as your partner going forward, but because I know that I’m going to be in there against the one hundred percent authentic Jake Starr, and in return you’ll be getting the real Aaron Blackbourne, doing what he does best alongside his best friend fighting for a little more progress towards the top of the leaderboard in this competition.
And really… does it need to be anything more than that sometimes?
As Aaron headed into Under Attack, it might surprise some people to learn that, for as much as he was prepared to give every last ounce of his being in order to win, he was fully prepared for the possibility of losing the Chamber Match. It wasn’t a matter of doubting that he could pull it off, but more a feeling of knowing deep down that there was someone else in the match who wanted and deserved it more than he did. After all, Peyton had been the one to ask for the match and the opportunities at stake, and Aaron had been thrown in to round out the participants as a means of giving Katya a reason to try and challenge him for her own amusement. Aaron knew that he always had the Tag League alongside Owen no matter what happened inside that twisted steel structure, so he had something to fall back on where Peyton didn’t. He even said as much going in, knowing that if anyone truly deserved to earn a shot at either the U.S. or Adrenaline Title, it was her.
In that respect, his gut feeling had been right, and despite the pain he wished he didn’t need to be feeling down south courtesy of Kandis, he felt that everything had played out exactly as it should have on that night.
It was the mess that happened afterward that left him reeling.
While Peyton had been celebrating her hard-earned win, The Wonderland had decided it was necessary to literally rain on her parade as they stormed the ring and proceeded to attempt to dismantle the Chamber chain by chain, putting everyone still inside the structure in grave danger. Naturally, Aaron had pushed through the damage that had been done to him leading into his elimination from the match to join Owen and Kelcey at ringside to try and diffuse the situation, and luckily they had managed to pry Giovanni and Alice off the structure before anyone inside got hurt after the show went off the air, but the fact that anyone had even taken it upon themselves to attempt to go that far left Aaron feeling angry and disgusted as he left the State Farm Arena that night.
It was one thing to lose a match because it’s something that you knew could happen every time you stepped into that ring. It was another matter entirely for someone to be so detached from reality that they knowingly created a life or death situation that never needed to exist in the wrestling business in the first place.
Considering he had a fair amount of time before SCW picked back up again, he had a chance to truly think over the whole situation and how he wanted to address it. The fact wasn’t lost on him up to this point that through Gio’s efforts to try and destroy the Perfect Pack, Aaron was its only current member he’d never directly targeted yet, which painted a pretty clear bullseye on his chest going forward. With Cain and Alice being on the horizon in Owen and Aaron’s Tag League path, he was prepared to steel himself for whatever Gio wanted to try and pull knowing that the madman of the Wonderland had to realize this as much as he did. In situations like this, Aaron never cared what happened to him because he knew he could fight and defend himself regardless of the cost, and that alone made him ready for any sort of direct confrontation from the group that had been plaguing them for far too long now.
It was the possibility of what Gio could do to someone close to him that had his mind wandering back to a conflict weighing upon it going into the pay-per-view.
Despite knowing he would need to head out west for when SCW got rolling again, the first thing he did the day after Under Attack was make his way back to Royal Oak, Michigan to be by Liane’s side. He had to admit that it was weird practically staying in the Forte family’s home, but given how Liane was doing at the moment he was willing to do anything to be by her side again. In the wake of the entire mess regarding her brief stay at the local asylum courtesy of Nancy, the rest of the Forte siblings had been filled in on what had happened, and while they were understandably upset with their parents for their role in the conflict, most had been willing to forgive them considering they’d been used just as much as anyone else Nancy seemed to come into contact with in her delusional crusade to make a name for herself at the expense of those who had nothing to do with her self-perceived struggles. They’d frequently stuck around the house to keep Liane company, which had seemed to help quite a lot in bringing her back to her old self, though even now as the creative soul and his jester of joy were cuddled up on the living room couch, he could feel that there was still work to do on that front.
Whatever movie they’d been watching together had been virtually forgotten about at this point in his mind, because he was paying far more attention to the way Liane was clinging to him. Her hold was a lot tighter than it normally would be if couch cuddling was all they were doing, almost as if she was afraid he’d disappear forever if she let him go, but the tremors that occasionally ran through her arms and caused her grip to loosen just enough to give him that escape if he actually desired it before returning to its boa constrictor-like vise moments later told a different story altogether. His ears were no longer tuned in to whatever dialogue was being read out to progress the plot playing out before him, but rather to the quiet argument Liane seemed to be having with herself about whether or not she needed Aaron and how this felt both right and wrong to her. He had no doubt Nancy had probably had a hand in trying to direct her ‘treatment’ towards convincing her that he was only exacerbating the issues she did have, and the very idea had him ready and willing to forsake his entire wrestling career and potentially his future as a free man if it meant making this wannabe therapist experience firsthand the kind of trauma she had so callously caused.
“Hey… you alright?”
The question was almost out of reflex at this point, even though he unfortunately knew what the answer would be. Truthfully, it was no, but Liane could never actually bring herself to say it, or even to lie and try to convince him that everything was truly OK. Instead, she just gave him an uncertain look before trying to direct her gaze back to the TV, even though he knew her well enough by now to know she was paying attention to the film about as much as he was. He let a hand move to gently squeeze and rub her shoulder, attempting to remove some of the tension she was unintentionally producing in her body and remind her that he was here for her and would help her get through this. She squeezed him tighter in thanks, though it was a small step forward and he knew they weren’t out of the woods yet as far as this minefield was concerned. To that end, his gaze briefly moved towards the dining area of the house, where he saw James seated with Liane’s parents discussing the state of the legal red tape he was clearly fed up with when it came to Nancy’s machinations. He couldn’t quite hear a lot of the conversation over the TV, but he did pick out what sounded like the whole matter with her needing to be in the care of her parents being resolved by the end of the week, which opened the door for the two of them to be able to travel together again. The idea of Liane being able to return to her comedy career certainly opened a lot of doors in terms of her road to recovery, though another idea was also forming that pertained more to a certain holiday coming up.
“So… Halloween’s next weekend, and that means the usual Halloween party Kelcey throws every year. Since the next Breakdown’s out in California anyway-”
“I want to, Aaron… I would love that more than anything else. But… I don’t know…”
Aaron bit his bottom lip, his heart breaking purely from how small and quiet Liane had tried to make herself sound. Almost on instinct alone, he held her tighter against him, which surprised her a bit but thankfully didn’t cause her to pull away.
“We don’t have to go… Kelcey will understand. I think I heard James telling your parents that you’ll be free to resume living your life how you want to by the end of the week. From Seattle to LA and back is familiar territory for me… Breakdown aside, we could just return to our apartment and have a quiet Halloween night together.”
“You don’t have to sacrifice because of me Aaron. I know I’m… broken, and I’m not even sure if I feel comfortable leaving here yet even if I finally can. I want to be by your side, but I don’t want to burden you because…”
Liane continued on, but Aaron’s mind had stopped listening. He couldn’t take the self-deprecation from a woman who had seemed to come into his life for the sole purpose of being the light that would always stand out in the darkness when he desperately needed it. He’d seen Liane hurt and upset, but never this utterly broken, and it took every ounce of willpower to restrain himself from doing anything that would certainly feed into whatever was going on inside her head right now. Seeing what she had become after the briefest stint possible locked away in a mental institution, combined with the lingering memories of what had happened to close out Under Attack just a few nights earlier… he could practically feel his blood boiling, and the worst part was that he couldn’t figure out exactly where his rage should even be directed.
“I apologize if I’m interrupting.”
Aaron snapped out of his thoughts before they had the chance to spiral as he and Liane both looked up to see their true therapist having joined them in the living room now, looking a little guilty at intruding upon their couple cuddle session, but the creative soul just shook his head and tried to put on the best smile he could manage right now.
“Not at all doctor.”
“That’s good… I have some things I need to talk with you two about, but, if it’s alright with you Liane, I’d kind of like to borrow Aaron for a little one-on-one time for a few minutes.”
Liane’s first reaction to this was a look of pure terror as her arms somehow clung even tighter to him, but after a moment she managed to relax enough to let him go so he could stand up and follow James up the stairs where the two of them could converse quietly, though not before the artist picked up on Liane softly reminding herself that Dr. Marsh-Asher could be trusted since he was the one that got her out of ‘that hell,’ a choice of words that send chills down his spine. Once the two of them had rounded the corner and were far enough into the second floor hallway to ensure Liane couldn’t hear them, James turned to face Aaron with concern clearly painted on his face.
“I’m sorry I had to tear you away from her, but I had to ask… how are you doing, considering everything that’s happened? And please be honest with me Aaron… you know by now that I’m doing my best to actually help, despite how absurd things have been getting.”
Aaron’s mouth opened to answer, but he stopped himself once he realized he was going to lie and say that he was doing alright when it was clear that he wasn’t. James wasn’t going to buy that for a second, especially considering he had the wrestling experience and especially with SCW in particular to know that if the Liane situation somehow wasn’t bothering him, then something regarding the squared circle was. A choked sigh was all he produced at first as he turned his gaze back toward the staircase for a few moments before returning his eyes to the therapist.
“Honestly? I’m trying my best not to show it, but I’m frustrated and pissed off. I’ve been pondering this prior to Under Attack, and what happened regarding the aftermath of the Chamber didn’t help matters. I’m just… I’m getting so sick of the people I care about getting hurt time and time again, and I’m torn between wanting to be angry at the people who cause it and throwing away everything that makes me who I am if it means finally forcing them to stop and being angry at myself that I can’t seem to prevent it from happening at all. Liane didn’t need to end up the way she is now, my brother didn’t need to end up dead and my family tormented for months after the fact, Owen, Kelcey and now Peyton don’t need to have their well-being constantly endangered by a man that I’m surprised hasn’t been arrested yet, let alone fired from SCW for half the things he’s pulled. I can protect myself… but I’m getting fed up with not being able to protect the ones I love.”
As Aaron vents to James about what’s been sitting on his mind and returned with the full force of a hurricane even when he thought a ‘conversation’ with his fallen brother had given him the clarity to forge ahead in the wake of Gio’s antics at the pay-per-view, he can’t help but turn away and hammer his fist against the wall, fighting internally to try and restrain himself from blindly lashing out right now as he can literally feel his frustrations beginning to make his blood boil to the point of melting through his flesh. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see James just nodding his head, letting him get it all out of his system before he makes any move, knowing that any premature attempts will see him be targeted. After a few deep breaths, the doctor’s hand ends up on his shoulder as he slowly begins to calm down even slightly.
“Believe me when I say this kid: I know how you feel, more than you might think. And that’s exactly why I’m here for you. When I had that same problem growing up, I didn’t have anyone to turn to, aside from the one person that I was trying so hard to protect. I was willing to throw everything away at a moment’s notice to protect her, and when I couldn’t and was left all alone… that’s when Thirteen became the terror I and many others saw him as for most of my life. In you, knowing that you have a head full of demons all your own, I almost feel like I’m rewatching a part of my past, except this time I can do something about it. Always remember that you have people to turn to Aaron, and they will always have your back. Like it or not, you can’t always protect them, just like they can’t always protect you, but the moment you lose sense of who you are because all you care about is revenge, then they win. That’s exactly what they want, and I’ll be damned if I let someone else walk the same road to Hell I had to.”
Aaron turned to nod to James, feeling a sense of strength from the determination of the man who had clearly taken far more of an interest in the creative soul than either could have first predicted when they had their first session quite some time ago. Even still, he couldn’t shake the fury of simply wanting to throw it all away if it meant he sacrificed it protecting the people that meant something to him, and while he couldn’t say for sure if that was a feeling being fueled by a certain stress-personified monster lingering in the depths of his imagination or if his cracks were starting to become too deep to continue holding himself together, he could at least hold on to the thought that he was lucky enough to have a lifeline that others, like James, never had until it was too late.
In that regard, maybe the risk was the absolute worst case scenario if it meant throwing that lifeline away for the very reasons he was willing to fight to hang on to it.
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I hate to be the bearer of bad news for a lot of you out there, but I’m still alive and kicking.
I apologize if that seemed a bit morbid, but in all fairness, the holiday of horror itself is this weekend, and you have to admit, it kind of fits the tone.
In all seriousness, though, anyone who was hoping to not see my name on this upcoming Breakdown card because of being a part of the Chamber at Under Attack should really know better by now. It’s going to take a lot more than some hellacious structure to do me in, and like it or not, I’m still going to be standing by Owen’s side as we look to keep building from our first win in the Tag League last Breakdown and maintain the pressure on every other team in our block. A 1-1 record isn’t grounds to write us off yet, after all. And while I’ll be honest and admit that it sucks walking away from that match having not won the title opportunity, I was one hundred percent upfront when I said going into that structure that Peyton deserved it more than I did, and I’m glad that she was the one who ultimately prevailed. Congrats Pey… I know that whoever you challenge is going to have their hands full in trying to keep you from being where you deserve to be. Don’t worry about me… as I said, I have the Tag League with Owen to focus on, and I’m a firm believer in the idea of those that are patient and diligent in their progress ultimately being rewarded when the time comes. Even if it’s not now, I’ll have my moment soon enough, no matter how much farther I have to keep pushing.
Speaking of pushing… Gio, I know you’re probably listening to this, if for no other reason than to try and continue ‘spying’ on those you’ve deemed your enemies to see if you can find anything worth using. You just keep pushing your luck for reasons that truly only make sense to you, because any sane man in your position would’ve been smart enough to give this a rest. Yeah, maybe that sounds rich to you, coming from a guy who has his fair share of people on this roster that he’s never been able to overcome, but there’s a significant difference in our positions Gio. When I find myself in that spot, I didn’t intentionally pursue it and it just so happened to be how things came together, and it’s always been after some time has passed to allow me to learn and adapt. What you’re doing now, intentionally continuing a war that you’ve lost at every turn and so soon after this should have been put to bed, only proves that you’ve developed an unhealthy obsession that’s only going to destroy you the longer you chase after it. Kind of ironic when you think about it, considering you’re slowly coming undone by the very same obsession you constantly accuse everyone around you of having. True, maybe there’s no gold in your sights, but the method to your madness is the same story you’ve tried to fit all of us into at one point or another as justification for your actions.
What Gio did at Under Attack crossed a line, and there’s no validation for any of it. He seriously endangered the well-being of someone close enough I’d consider them family at this point, as well as an official and another competitor who, personal issues with her conduct and how she felt it necessary to eliminate me aside, still didn’t deserve to be caught in that kind of crossfire. And why? Because the idea of someone from our little group earning the right to pursue the championship gold he condemns week in and week out makes his skin crawl, serving as a sign to everyone that we are in the right simply by trying to go about our business and he’s in the wrong for attempting to destroy everything that SCW is. Consider this the only warning I’m going to give you Gio: let this go and walk away, because the more you keep pushing, the less you’re going to have left when all is set and done, and you’ll have only yourself to blame.
Right now isn’t about him, though… Owen and I will deal with The Wonderland when that point comes in the Tag League and put this matter to bed once and for all then. Right now it’s about other Tag League business, which for me does happen to involve someone I crossed paths with on that fateful Sunday not that long ago. First off Jake, now that we’re here and the Chamber isn’t the name of the game… I’m sorry about what happened to Jason. Owen and I would’ve loved to be able to throw down with him again and see how different your guys’ chemistry would’ve been compared to when we battled him and David. Jason, get better soon man. Of course, this does leave a rather interesting challenge in front of us, because as of this moment, Owen and I have no idea who’s going to be taking his place as your partner Jake. Maybe you know and are trying to keep it under wraps to surprise everyone, maybe you’re just as blind about this as we are. Still, if what I’ve had to deal with over the past few months is any indication, I’m always down to test my creativity against the unknown and see what happens. Whoever your partner is, I hope they’re ready for what we’re bringing to the table, because I can promise you that the Perfect Pack isn’t quite like any challenge they’ve had to deal with before.
The one thing we do know for sure is that you’ll be standing across the ring from us, and there’s a huge difference between facing off inside a structure built from thousands of pounds of steel and facing off with nothing but our natural talent to do all the talking for us. What happened between us inside the Chamber is only a small taste of what I think we can both expect from each other Jake, and from that alone I know full well that you’re not the kind of veteran who’s going to take the idea of letting a couple of ‘kids’ overtake you too kindly. You don’t get to become a Supreme Champion and earn a spot in the Hall of Fame by backing down from a challenge, after all, and something tells me the idea of letting Owen and I walk out of this match with two more points to our name, regardless of who your partner is now, is all you need to give us a harsh reminder of exactly who Jake Starr is.
Honestly, as weird as this might sound, your passion is probably the thing I admire most about you Jake. I know that I’m probably in the minority on that one, considering SCW over the years has been full of people who would rather classify your passion as ‘egotism,’ but regardless of how you’ve been viewed by those around you, the one thing you’ve always stayed is true to yourself, and in a business like this where people always feel like they need to reinvent themselves or stab people in the back and get new ‘friends’ as a way to keep trying to get ahead of everyone else, you’ve proven that it’s very much possible to succeed in SCW without having to compromise who you really are. That’s exactly what I want to be when, not if but WHEN, I finally have my moment that everyone keeps saying is still just out of my reach. Once I can finally stop listening to people taunt me over this proverbial ‘brass ring,’ I will do so as the creative visionary that I know I truly am, and nothing else. After all, if I already have everything I could ever actually want, then why should I have to compromise and throw it all away just to get ahead?
Many people in this business don’t understand that concept… but you do Jake.
That, in and of itself, is the biggest reason why I’m looking forward to this match. Not just because of how accomplished you are or the mystery surrounding who will be taking Jason’s place as your partner going forward, but because I know that I’m going to be in there against the one hundred percent authentic Jake Starr, and in return you’ll be getting the real Aaron Blackbourne, doing what he does best alongside his best friend fighting for a little more progress towards the top of the leaderboard in this competition.
And really… does it need to be anything more than that sometimes?