Selena Frost, Polly & Raynes Vs. Williams, David Striker & Sean Michael Prime

[SnowQueenSCW]

Villain of the Year

”Whispers in the Dark”

The Eyrie Tower
New York City, New York
July 30th, 2024
2:12am

She hadn’t made much noise leaving The Dome – or in St. Louis for that matter. Hadn’t made a fuss, screamed anything in outrage or even take note of the fans still booing her as she had quietly left the ring. Hadn’t spoken a word walking through the halls, hearing some of the jeers from her ‘peers’ as she passed them, her loss seemingly like music to their ears. Hadn’t spoken a word as she made her way in and out of her changeroom, showering and changing there quickly. Hadn’t spoken a syllable or made a sound as she had walked out of the arena, barely slowing her step to exchange contracts with CHBK, who was waiting for her outside the changeroom – as he was forced to. She had swiftly taken the contract from him – the rematch ‘failsafe’ she had kept just in case – and handed him the signed extension of her own contract, which kept her a hired superstar in SCW, and simply kept walking past him. Hadn’t spoken a word to Otrera when she had reached the ‘Believe It or Not!’ bus, merely raising her hand to politely refuse the ride, instead opting for a rented car Otrera had picked up. Hadn’t said a word as she then drove all night, taking the 15-hour drive from St. Louis all the way back to New York City – stopping only once at a 7-11 store (which even then, grabbing a pastry or two and an energy drink required no words – merely a nod and tap of the credit card).

Even as she, the next day, still in the clothes from last night, reached the Eyrie Tower, parked the car, shot a text to Otrera where she could find said car, and walked into the tower, she still hadn’t spoken a word. Silence followed her up the elevator and into the castle-suite, where the keycard (returned to her by Deanna – apparently Leslie not too happy being made the fool of regarding their ‘wager’ and not wanting the place) granted her access. She had barely made it into her room before she collapsed on the bed, the silence of sleep joining her next. How long she slept… she wasn’t entirely certain, but when she awoke, there were only a few lights on throughout her home. The night sky had come hours ago and New York City, while some parts were still very much awake, was simply dots of lights below her.

Even then, days after St. Louis, she had not spoken a word. Instead, she peeled herself out of her clothes, took a cold shower – least she could still enjoy those – changed into her favorite magenta nightgown, keeping her platinum-blonde hair free, and moved into the sitting room near the large window that overlooked the city, grabbing her cellphone and a candle, which she lit on the nearby table.

That had been about an hour ago – an hour where she sat in silence in that chair, simply watching the candlelight flicker and dance along the wick, creating dancing shadows amidst the space its light could reach, her cellphone turning in her hand.

The curse of Rise to Greatness had gotten her yet again. It was a reality that she had come to terms with some time between walking up that ramp and getting into the rented car. For the third consecutive time, she had dropped the world title at ‘The Unbelievable Main-Event’. She could only imagine the jokes and lines that would be used against her once SCW returned from its usual ‘August-Break’.

Truthfully, it didn’t sting as much this time around. Maybe she was used to it. Maybe there was a part of her that took solace in the fact that she had done what she had, truly, wanted to do. Get back to the main-event, get Aaron Demitria the RTG main-event he was denied last year for nothing more than “PPV-buys”, and, finally, lose the world title cleanly with ZERO controversy. Yes, it sucked that it was to another ‘passerby’ – a person that only had to work from Taking Hold of the Flame to RTG to get the world title off her – but at least there was nothing for her to complain about in terms of design. Her sixth reign now stood as the third longest – tied with Xander Valentine – and she was STILL the longest reigning world champion in the title’s history.

So… what was the ache in her chest that had weighed on her like stone from the moment she had realized she had lost? What was the nagging thought that had persisted in her mind as she had driven those 15 hours across multiple states?

That it hadn’t been worth it.

CRASH!

She saw the phone in her hand fly in the dark, the light just barely creating a slight glimmer across its metal and plastic frame as it sailed across the room and clattered hard against the wall before meeting the floor, breaking the silence. She had lost track of how many times in the last hour she had thrown that thing before inevitably getting up out of her seat to retrieve it before returning to said seat – a one-woman game of fetch. She did so again, feeling the device in her hands and the difference in its texture, dings and dents along it’s frame and cracks along its screen as she sat back down in her chair near the candle.

Slowly, she breathed. Inhale. Exhale. Her thoughts were quiet but numerous. Still, in the dim light, her finger easily traced itself along the screen and its cracks, the digit dancing over a memorized pattern of unlocking and then swiping, and then pressing the proper ‘buttons’ and then dialing the proper contact. She held the device to her ear, almost hearing the proper ringing, followed by a sound of connection. Of course, she would get an answering machine. It was night here and properly everywhere else along most of the states and Canada. Still, she gave herself a few seconds for an inevitable beep she knew would have come.

“Al-“ she coughed out, her vocal chords straining from the lack of use. Clearing her throat, Selena Frost shook her head, forcing her voice to a low whisper. “Hey…Alex…” she began cautiously. “It’s…” she sighed, the sound almost echoing in the room. “It’s me…”

Lame. Her mind mocked. The man was probably still celebrating with his ‘old buddy’ Hudson. You’d have to be blind not to see something was up with those two. How Hudson had ‘just appeared’ at the royale? How CHBK had all but paraded him around as the ‘solution’ to his ‘Selena-problem’? How the icon had constantly, and with as much subtlety as a goddamn firetruck, voiced his ‘dislike’ over Selena and her choices, despite how much money it made him and how many eyes it got on SCW when his ‘pick of champion-fighters’ in Asher, Kandis, and Simon Lyman had failed miserably!

Shaking her head, the platinum-blonde felt that pain in her chest again - It hadn’t been worth it. – before sighing again. “Sorry.” She stated simply. “Sorry I didn’t say much after the show. I didn’t figure you’d want me to. Didn’t figure you’d really want to talk. Not that I could say much then anyway. I just…” Again, she shook her head. She was struggling and she knew it, which only further frustrated her as she sat in the dark. “I…I’m sorry.”

She let the words settle for a minute, a bit of the ache in her chest suddenly relieved from her words. “I don’t know why I need to apologize to you. I mean, it was you behind the start of this at Rise last year, remember? You can say whatever the hell you want – you weren’t needed and you knew it. Aaron could have easily called that match down the middle. You and D.…” she shook her head. “You’ll never convince me that that was just some cash grab or something to get more viewers. And you behind so much shit I had to deal with. That stuff with Syren? How many times did you screw with me while you were with them? I honestly lost track! And don’t get me started on how you dropped the ball with Kandis constantly attacking me!” She sighed angrily, taking a moment to bite back on her words to try and reign in her emotions. “But…I am. I am sorry, Alex. I didn’t…” she felt her throat catch and her eyes sting in the shadows. “I didn’t mean for things to happen like this… Like…like…AH!!!”

With a yell, she had thrown the cellphone again, hitting the same area on the wall opposite her, hearing the clang and crash that came with it. Her voice felt dry, raw, but that paled in comparison to the ache in her chest, which had immediately flared up again. Her heart felt like it was made of lead, but, despite the weight, she still managed to push herself out of her chair again to retrieve her phone, slumping back into the cushioned seat as she returned. Again, she felt the device within her hands, tossing it back and forth before performing the same dance across the cracked screen as before. This time, however, the area code was different, as was the rest of the number, despite this contact also being in the same ‘A’ category as CHBK’s number.

Even the answering machine was different, if Selena remembered correctly. She gave it its proper time before the beep, but this time, when she spoke, she could hear the trembling in her voice.

“A-Aaron…” She tried, caring more that her words were properly heard over her shaky throat. “It’s…it’s me.” Again… Lame. came the familiar mockery but she didn’t let it slow her down this time. “Please don’t just delete this… I mean… I’m not here to threaten you or anything. I know… I know things were rough between us and… fuck, that’s so pathetic.” She growled to herself, looking away – anywhere – as if she could find the proper words to say somewhere amidst the shadows and the dancing candlelight. When none came from them, she merely shook her head and just…

“I’m sorry.” She whispered. “I didn’t mean for things to happen like they did. And I never meant to hurt your reputation when all of this started. All… all I wanted… was for things to be done right. For people to be proud of us – of SCW. I was just… I was so tired of controversy. Tired of everyone using shortcuts and needing interferences. Tired of-“ she felt herself opening up a little. “Tired of being hated for just trying to do the right thing. I could have done worse, you know? I could have made it mandatory to have an enforcer at ringside. Could have paid to have someone interfere and keep the title on me, you know? Why couldn’t anyone see that? Syren did it! Sienna did it! Cid did it! All I wanted, Aaron...” her voice hitched a little in her throat but she swallowed it down. “Was to just have it be fair. Just have it be legitimate. And… I don’t know… it got out of hand. I know it did. Somewhere along the way I… I got swept up in trying to just keep everything going on the right path – and as we got further and I saw that I could, actually, get us both to Rise and… But what was the point if you hate me or your reputation suffers and...” she wanted to throw the damn phone again, her fist tightening around it, ready to do it. Still, she restrained herself, focusing on trying to talk clearly into the device.

“I’m sorry. I’ll say it to you however many times as you want – as many as it takes for you to believe me. All I wanted was for you to have the main-events that you were denied. I don’t care how it’s rationalized. You deserved them, Aaron! You always looked out for me. When The Brand was trying to cheat me out of the title? When Infamous was running around? You were doing all you could to look out for me. To keep things fair. I… at least in the beginning, saw it as my way of paying you back. To help you after you’ve helped me so many damn times.”

She felt herself choke a little on her whispers, causing her to force herself to swallow what little saliva was in her mouth before she powered through. “I’m… I’m not mad that you did your job. I needed you to do your job the other night. It’s how I wanted things to end. Fair and square. I’ll deal with a rematch eventually, but…” she almost faltered on her next words. “I promise, you don’t have to worry about me anymore, okay? I didn’t make you part of my contract extension this time. You’re… you’re free to do whatever you want. I won’t refuse you being an official for my matches, but I won’t be upset if you pass them off to Hollinsworth or someone else. I’ll… I’ll understand.” She stated, though she felt her heart sink a little at the idea.

Because truthfully, she meant it.

She had never desired for the senior official’s reputation to be so constantly under-fire. CHBK? She couldn’t care less about him or his ‘image’. The man had done more than enough in his career to earn a ‘don’t completely trust ever!’ reputation. But Demitria? His record had been spotless – so spotless, in fact, that it squeaked – and because of one little error in a match, that had all gone to shit.

But still…

“It’s… it’s my fault.” She heard herself whisper into the phone. “I should have fought harder to explain what happened against Kandis at Retribution. I should have taken more of the blame – something to absolve you – but it just…” she gazed outside her window, seeing the city lights below her. “Sometimes… they can be more than I can take, Aaron. The fans… the SCW Universe. No matter what I say, they scream louder and drown me out. No matter what I tell them, they will believe the opposite – just because it’s me that’s talking. That’s… that’s why I wore the damn Keitaro mask in the first place.”

It was the first time in over a year and the last time she had been applauded. The End of the Year Invitational – she had wrestled the same as she always had – same as she had this entire year. Cleanly, with skill and determination. And because no one had known who she was thanks to her disguise, the SCW Universe had ate it up, applauding and chanting names and assumptions. In short, standing in that padded outfit and mask, there had been no denying the applause and support she had gotten from the fans – yet as soon as she removed the mask and revealed herself…

She felt her jaw clench angrily. She remembered it as clearly as if it were yesterday. No amount of ‘skill’ or ‘fair play’ or ‘integrity’ in the world could change the fans from hating her – shifting in a second to the loudest of jeers… simply because she was Selena Frost. Even blasting a jackass like Asher Hayes with a superkick – initially praised by the fans – was met with scour and disdain once they knew it was her that had done it. But if Hudson or Kandis had done it?

“Sometimes…” she whispered into the phone. “And lately… Sometimes and lately, I’ve wished I could just be… someone else. Doesn’t matter who. Just as long as I didn’t have to be ‘Selena Frost’ – even for a little while…” she felt her eyes sting a little again, and not from the smoke from the vanilla-scented candle. “Like if I put on another mask, you know? Then I wouldn’t be judged. I could wrestle happily… Wrestle because I love the damn sport….” She growled a little. “Fuck, now I sound like Hudson!”

Again, the phone went flying and again, and, again, the wall took the brunt without a single complaint. The new world champion – fuck, she could still hear the condescending tone in his voice. How he had monologued about wanting to ‘save SCW’ and ‘help Selena’ – same shit she had heard before for years. As if simply coming and going in and out of SCW like a bad cold for 20 years made him an expert. As if beating her in the ring was all he needed to do to ‘save her’ and ‘save SCW’. She scoffed at the very idea. Typical of Josh Hudson – someone of the same ilk as Adam Allocco and Kandis. One win and they thought they ‘knew better’ and were ‘the best in SCW’.

The arrogance… she felt the familiar growl from her devil-mind. A single win at RTG didn’t change the fact that her accolades dwarfed Hudson’s. Her match experience did the same and she could only imagine her personal life was leaps and bounds above his – his only ‘saving grace’ being some fling with Bree Lancaster.

She actually wanted to call him next. Let him hear her laugh at his little ‘fun’. To share the little secret only she and CHBK knew. And lastly, to be the one to tell him where the power truly lied. It sure as hell wasn’t with him. She had seen this road before. With Adam…with Kandis…

It wasn’t her that would be ‘crushed by the weight of her own delusions’ as Hudson had arrogantly predicted in his RTG promo – oh no. She had survived those losses and had ALWAYS come out on top, taking advantage of every opportunity, just like she would this one… assuming she was placed in the Trios Tournament.

But Hudson?

She could not help the wicked grin that came to her lips in the shadows – the first and only moment of actual joy she had felt since leaving St. Louis. The reality she knew that Hudson was just one loss away from having it all crash down on him. It had happened to Adam. It had happened to Kandis. Soon as the world title was taken from them, they had never recovered. Their ‘vision for SCW’? Their ‘promises’? Never fulfilled. Never kept. Inevitably, the world title would return to her as these ‘betters’ or ‘future of SCW’ fakes ran out of steam, unable to maintain the pressure and standard she continued to perform at year after year. It was only a matter of time.

But that was why she wanted so desperately to be in the Trios Tournament. Scratch that! Why she wanted to win it! She had usually struggled with this tournament due to an incompetent team – a weak link in the chain. Such things were beyond her control and the odds of her not only getting into the tournament but also have a solid team she could work with to victory was small. Even so… she knew she could win this time around. And she needed to. SCW probably were placing bets on her leaving the company again as she had last year…

A clear message would need to be sent… something more than just “I’ve got a rematch clause.” Something that screamed “I have the power – Hudson only has a belt!”.

That was needed.

But first… her eyes moved down towards the cellphone lying against the wall on the other side of the room, her spark of excitement and joy over the possible future dampened down once more by the crushing reality of her stronger, prevailing thought.

The thought that none of this had been worth it.

With a sigh, the former world champion picked herself up to retrieve her cellphone once more. First, I’ve got one more phone call to make…