“Well look at what the cat dragged in,”the booming voice of head trainer of the west coast branch of the AnteUp Wrestling Academy, Boston-born Matthew ‘Matty’ Stone, shouted across the room right in the middle of a class as twenty-year-old SCW star Aaron Helms walked into the building. Until recent months, it wasn’t an unusual sight to see Aaron walk into AnteUp in order to work on their skillset or simply work out on the numerous pieces of equipment that the gym had in abundance... but just recently, given the change in direction Aaron had taken with his career, and the tension between him and his adoptive father David, Aaron had either worked out at the various regular fitness gyms in the city or had made use of the expansive trails and beaches in and around the LA area. It wasn’t that he was trying to avoid his father, because that wasn’t exactly possible due to the fact that he both lived in the guest house on the property his father lived and they also had to work together now that David was the Supreme Championwhip Wrestling commissioner, but with them being in such close proximity and with things being as they were, Aaron had to get creative just to find breathing room away from the SCW Hall of Famer, so going where David was likely to be found on his days off wasn’t exactly an enchanting prospect for the former tag champion. “About damn time we saw your scrawny ass around here kid, my fat ass can’t really help these guys and dolls who spend their energy trying to leap around the ring instead of trying to stomp a hole through people,” Matty added before turning to one of the members of staff who was standing nearby, talking to another student. “Yo, Mikey,” he shouted and the guy looked up. “Do me a favour brah, take over for a few... duck, cover, roll and strike. Routine three,” he said and the guy nodded before heading towards the ring as Matty dropped and rolled out to the floor. Knowing that David wasn’t scheduled to be there that day, Aaron had taken the gamble on visiting the school, simply because he wanted to work on some stuff inside of one of the rings, and short of AnteUp his options for that were limited in the city, so he didn’t have that many options... but part of him hoped he’d be able to just go in and get his head down instead of having to really talk to anyone. He should have known that the chances of that happening were slim to none given the amount of people there that he had connections to.
“How’s it going bro?” Aaron said, holding a fist out to Matty as the Bostonian approached, and Matty pounded his against it as he reached the place where Aaron stood.
“Oh, you know how it is brah,” he said with a grin. “Overworked and underpaid, the usual shit. I should tell your old man I deserve a pay rise, but with the pittance he pays me for doing this shit, he’d basically have to start paying me first,” he said, grinning even more so before throwing an arm around Aaron’s shoulder and guiding him towards the stairs. Aaron was irritated by this, he needed to head to the locker room to get changed and if Matty was guiding him upstairs, that could only mean that he was taking him in the direction of the office. Not a good sign. “How about you kiddo, you doing good?”
“You know how it is bro, same old same,” Aaron said, not really wanting to get into how he was actually doing. He wasn’t sure Matty had enough time in the day for him to truly go into that b.s. “Just wanted to make use of the practice ring for an hour or so, you know? Can only do so much cardio or weights before you have to step through the ropes to make sure you don’t end up getting rusty...”
“I hear that,” Matty said with a nod as they headed up the stairs, somewhat grudgingly in Aaron’s case. It wouldn’t do well to cause a scene though if he could avoid it, and the last thing he wanted was another confrontation when that’s all his life seemed to be as of late. “It’s why me and Britt spar once or twice a week, once the place has shut for the night... got to keep a hand in, or you lose it...”
Aaron nodded, not really having anything to say to that. It wasn’t that he didn’t agree, he just didn’t feel in the mood to discuss anything at that point. “She enjoying working here then?” he asked. “Britt I mean.”
“You know what Britt’s like kid, she’d rather be grounding someone’s bones into dust inside of a ring but it’s a paying gig and I think she likes the idea of having a hand in creating the next generation,” Matty said as they reached the top of the stairs and walked along the mezzanine towards the office. “She’s got more in common with your old man than she realizes I think... apart from the whole difference sides of the moral line thing that basically ensure they were entirely different at the same time,” he said with a chuckle and Aaron faked a laugh too, for the look of it.
“Yeah well, you know what they say bro,” Aaron quipped. “Life would be pretty fucking boring if we were all the same, you know?”
“True dat brah, true dat,” Matty said with a nod as he opened the door of the office and stepped inside, letting Aaron follow him. “Glad you turned up really, I’ve got some paperwork I really have to get sorted before an appointment later and I basically used you as an excuse to delegate to Mikey down there... Britt’s off today and Dave’s got something else on his plate for the foreseeable so it’s me myself and I in charge until Tommy gets in for the evening class...”
“Busy day then?” Aaron asked, not really interested, but he was desperate to keep the topic away from whatever it was that Matty really wanted to talk to him about. Aaron wasn’t a complete idiot, he knew that there was going to be some ‘serious talk’ soon enough, otherwise Matty would have shot the shit with him down in the main hall, rather than dragging him upstairs to the office so they could talk in private.
“You could say that,” the Bostonian replied, sighing as he dropped down into the big comfy leather office chair and kicked his feet up onto the desk. “Got a bunch of new students to register on the system before tomorrow’s new beginner class, and somehow I drew the short straw with one of the problem students that Dave likes to take on too... you know, the people similar to Harmony’s backstory, taking them on as a way of straightening them out, that kind of thing...”
“Oh yeah?” Aaron asked, half-interested but only in a passing way. If he could keep the conversation going then all the better though, which is why he pressed the subject. “So what’s his deal?”
“Hers actually,” Stone replied with a sigh. “And to be honest, I just don’t think she’s cut out for the place... I mean, it’s not that I don’t think we can make something of her if she applies herself, but... I just don’t think she can shake her old life, you know?” he asked and Aaron nodded his head. He knew the type. “Most of these cases are the same, they take the deal because it gets them out of more serious punishment, young offenders or jail time, but they find it hard to avoid the stuff that got them in trouble in the first place... this chick is no different,” he said, reaching over to the side of the computer to grab a file that sat there. “Bella Downing, various arrests to her name before they sent her here. Nineteen years old and has a rap sheet as long as my arm... drug possession, fighting, petty theft, auto theft, shoplifting, the usual stuff...”
“Not like you guys to give up on a cause though,” Aaron said, and this one he meant. Usually, it was the state that gave up on these students, deciding that it wasn’t working out or that the person in question had violated the terms. “You normally keep going until the very end.”
“I know brah, and I don’t like giving up on any of them unless I have to,” Matty said, tossing the folder aside again. “But last Friday, one of the students came to see me and Harmony about her... she’s been offering steroids to the other students in the locker room, claiming she can get them cheap if they’re interested. Far as I know, nobody took her up on the offer, but that’s not the kind of thing we want going on under the roof, you know?”
“Gotcha,” Aaron said, and he couldn’t say that was any great shock either. That went against everything the school stood for and even if Aaron wasn’t as in love with the place anymore as he used to be, he wouldn’t have stood for it either. “So have you confronted her yet?”
“Nah, that’s to come when she gets here,” Matty told him, and it was obvious that he wasn’t looking forward to the prospect. “I mean, I can’t say we’ve given up on her yet, and if she admits it, I’ll give her the talk and maybe we’ll sort it out on the spot... but I ain’t holding my breath on that one. I already know she’s gonna deny it, she’s the type. We found a couple bottles in her locker though... it always amazes me that people don’t just know we have a master key for the whole set up back there...”
“Damn,” Aaron said, puffing out his cheeks before exhaling. “Well, I should probably leave you to it then, if she’s gonna be here any minute,” he went on, hoping that he could use this as the perfect excuse to get away from the office and just get on with his workout, but Matty waved a hand before he’d even got more than six inches off the chair he was sat in.
“Not so fast kiddo,” Matty said, cutting Aaron off in his tracks and Aaron re-took his seat again, wishing he’d just gone back to Gold’s again to get a regular workout in. “Look, you know I don’t like sticking my nose in where it isn’t wanted,” the Bostonian continued and Aaron sighed heavily now that the conversation had gotten around to what he was expecting form the moment they started to head to the office in the first place. “No, hear me out kid... I ain’t about to lecture you, alright? I just want a quiet word and because I’m on the outside, I figure I’m in a decent position to do so... five minutes?” he asked and Aaron rolled his eyes before shrugging and nodding his head once. “Appreciate it kid... I know it can’t be great being you right now, all things considered and if I was in your shoes, the last thing I’d want would be a lecture at every turn.”
“You’ve got that right,” Aaron said petulantly. He was growing tired of people feeling like they could talk down to him lately, and he was hoping this wasn’t going to be another one of those days.
“Yeah well, I ain’t no idiot brah, I know how it feels to be in your shoes,” the Bostonian said, and he genuinely didn’t sound like a lecture was coming, but that didn’t settle Aaron down any. Those kind of talks could strike at any time, even if you didn’t see them coming! “I ain’t looking to give you advice kid, I just want to make sure you’re doing alright that’s all,” Matty went on, and that did catch Aaron off guard. “I mean, the change in hair color, the new bad attitude, the disappearing act from this place and the whole thing with avoiding your old man... it’s not like you kid, that’s all. And far be it from me to chastise you for that, you know? I just wanna check in and make sure you’re doing alright, despite all the shit that’s going on in your head...”
Aaron’s shoulders sagged as Matty spoke; he didn’t want to have the convo but he couldn’t really avoid it. All he could do with be selective with what he told the Bostonian and hope that it would get the conversation over with quickly if he made it look like he was sharing. “I’m fine bro,” Aaron told him, trying to sound convincing. “I guess you can just look at it as the honeymoon period being well and truly over now, if that makes sense?” he asked and Matty nodded his head. “I had two years where I dealt with a lot of shit, but I kept the head up, you know? But everything you guys teach us here, about how the business can eat you up? It doesn’t actually do it justice, how heavy the pressure can lie on your shoulders... so I guess I gave up trying to put on a brave face, that’s all. I stopped trying to be Mr. Optimistic every time something went wrong, because honestly? I couldn’t keep it up any longer if I tried. And it was this or quit. And where the fuck am I gonna find a job anywhere else that pays me the same as what SCW is giving me, huh?!”
“I feel ya,” Matty replied, nodding his head. “You’re talking to the guy who came out of retirement in order to try and provide for his kid, so I know the financial appeal... could always teach here though, or out at the New York school?”
“You said yourself bro, that this place pays you peanuts,” Aaron said and Matty grinned. “It may have been a joke at Dave’s expense, but comparing it to SCW, it really does pay you sweet fuck all. Swapping SCW for a job here or New York wasn’t an option even if I thought I should consider it... so I made the only logical choice I could make for the good of my family, I chose to stop being a yes man and try and force the direction my career went instead. D. didn’t like it, neither did the board... and now it’s Dave who doesn’t like it, but I can’t keep doing things because others want me to, either. I have my daughter to think about, Scar too. They’re what matter the most to me, and they dictate every choice I make now...”
“See, I get that, I do...” Matty replied, once again nodding his head in understanding. “And given I was never the straightest of straight laces in the ring myself, I don’t really disagree with what you’re doing in there either,” he added, once again catching Aaron off guard. “I just think you should think about the grudge you have against Dave right now because he took the commish job that was offered to him. No, gimme a sec,” he said, holding up a finger as Aaron went to object. “I get why you’re pissed off brah, I really fucking do... but you realize he did it to save Regan’s career, right? And not because SCW wants to control her career and he agrees with them?”
“He took the job despite knowing that SCW were offering it him to get to her, bro!” Aaron objected, once Matty gave him the opportunity to.
Matty though, simply shook his head. “Not true brah,” he said without any uncertainty in his voice what so ever. “He took the job because he knew that Regan would keep pushing the envelope if given the chance to do so... you know what she’s like when she thinks she’s right, you’ve had plenty of problems with her yourself until recently. It didn’t start with D. trying to make her face you, this started months before that,” Matty said, swinging his legs down from the desk and sitting up straighter in his chair. “Regan has been pushing her luck for some time, and her attack on Olek, that was kind of the straw that broke the camel’s back in a way. Dave took the commissioner gig because he knew that it gave him the opportunity to stop her from getting canned, it’s that simple! If Regan continues on the path she is, it’s only heading one way, and if there’s anyone on this planet that can save her from that, it’s your old man. He loves her brah, he wants to protect her as best he can... which means putting himself in a shitty situation in order to do so. That’s why Jason isn’t angry about the whole thing, because he gets that...”
“Or he’s too busy getting something else in Nola to care,” Aaron said, feeling only slightly guilty for saying it.
“Maybe so...” Matty said with a shrug. “But I talked to him last week, when he was out here working out. And he said the same as what I’m saying to you now, that he understands why Dave did what he did, because it was a last ditch attempt to stop Regan from going too far... and for every fault Regan may or may not have, one thing you can’t say about her is that she isn’t proud of her career... but she’s thick headed at times kid, you have to agree with that,” he said, almost pleadingly. “What happens when she loses her temper and goes too too far, gets canned? She has to go someplace else and start again... but what if that someplace else won’t take the risk? What does she do, go to some tin-pot organization for no money or worse, get back into that underground fighting shit again?”
“Christ, I hope not...” Aaron said, thinking about how that place affected Regan when she was still heavily involved.
“Exactly,” Matty said, leaping on the look on Aaron’s face and the tone of his voice. “Now put yourself in Dave’s shoes... that’s his wife. And last time Regan truly went down that rabbit hole, they nearly divorced. That’s the last thing he wants, so he took an impossible decision in the hope that he could ensure it didn’t get to that point again... that’s all I want you to understand,” Matty said, holding his hands up defensively. “Again, not trying to make you do anything or change your mind about anything, I just want to make sure you’ve considered all the angles, you--”
Before he could finish what he was saying, someone knocked on the door and instead of waiting for an answer, barged into the room and immediately started speaking. “Yo, Sir Matty, Mikey said you want to s—oh... shit, sorry, didn’t know you had anyone up here with you,” the brunette said, and Aaron looked at Matty before turning to look over his shoulder at the woman who had just burst into the room. This was evidently the woman that Matty had been telling him about a few minutes earlier. He could see what Matty meant; she looked like an attitude problem on legs, from the expression on her face that countered any apology she gave, to the way she was dressed. This girl was basically trouble personified. “I’ll just, ya know, wait out here...”
“I’d appreciate that doll,” Matty replied but Aaron shook his head, standing up.
“Nah, that’s fine,” Aaron told her before turning back to Matty. “Listen bro, I know what you’re saying alright... and I’ll think about it, I promise. But you’ve got this place to run, so do what you gotta do and I’ll catch up with you before I leave, alright?”
“Just make sure you do think about it, alright?” Matty asked and Aaron nodded his head before holding his fist out again, and Matty once again bumped his own against it before Aaron turned and headed towards the door.
“He’s all yours,” Aaron said, as the brunette stepped aside to let him out of the door.
“Thanks, I guess?” the chick replied, watching him leave before turning and heading into the office. Aaron heard the door close behind him as he headed for the stairs again, making his way towards the locker room so he could get changed out of his street gear. He wasn’t sure whether the talk with Matty had done him any good in the long run, whether it really changed his mind about being angry that David had taken the bait laid out in front of him by SCW... but maybe he had judged him a little too quickly without considering all of the viewpoints. Maybe he was indignant because he believed this was an attack on Regan, but if Matty and Jason were right, that wasn’t entirely true? He wouldn’t ask Dave, he knew what his response would be, but maybe the right thing would be to at least talk it over with Regan. He hadn’t even taken her view into consideration before getting angry – that was probably the anger that he was now having everyone reminded that he wasn’t his father doing the decision making there – but if she saw things differently to him too, no matter what she did see, then maybe he was in the wrong after all. It wouldn’t fix things overnight, but was there any harm in at least finding out? Probably not. He coul at least ask, anyway... it was the only way to really know.
“So you’re telling me that I should be happy about being dragged into someone else’s bullshit list of hopeful victims?” an annoyed Aaron Helms said as he sat against the desk in his uncle’s home office in the Hollywood Hills. He was once again ready to step in front of the camera and talk about an upcoming match in Supreme Championship Wrestling and not that the chip on his shoulder wasn’t big enough already as far as his booking had been concerned, he once again had another reason to be annoyed with the choices being made about his own direction… only this time, it wasn’t that he didn’t think the company should be booking the match in question on loyalty grounds or family connections, he simply saw it as a waste of his fucking time! “I don’t give a fuck how arrogant it makes me sound bro, I’ve got better things to do with my time than face some asshole that I don’t owe anything to…”
Jason Helms, who had been busying himself with setting up the camera on it’s tripod, looked up at his nephew and sighed; it wasn’t that he didn’t see where the kid was coming from, but at the same time, given the direction things had gone for Aaron lately, Jason wondered exactly how much more the board were going to take before they decided to cut their losses and wash their hands of him. “I get it kid, I really do,” Jason said, turning his attention back to the camera, checking the shot was in frame one final time before standing up straight again, satisfied with his handy work. “But that doesn’t change the fact that you’ve given the board enough headaches already over the past few weeks… the last thing you can afford to do right now is annoy them even more after that bullshit with the potential match against Regan,” he told his nephew, trying to be as sympathetic and yet as reasonable as he could; Aaron had gone to him originally, because he wanted Jason’s guidance, given how unhappy he was about the shape of his career… and the trick for Jason at least, was finding the right balance between honest critique and rational advice. It wasn’t an easy feat. “Its not D. calling the shots anymore and that’s probably a good thing given his vendetta against Regs, but your old man is the one booking the shows now kid, and he obviously thought that David deserved to get the matches he wants if he really is calling it a day after this run… you really gonna throw a hissy fit over this?”
“What, so I’m supposed to blow smoke up people’s asses, just because he’s come crawling out from whatever rock he’s been living under for the last year or so?” Aaron asked, scoffing at the idea. “I stopped doing that, remember? In fact, it was you who put the fucking idea in my head in the first place bro, so who are you to judge, huh?” he added, smirking and his uncle rolled his eyes before shaking his head.
“That might be true,” Jason said, nodding. “But there’s a difference between being a jackass to wind people up and just being a douche bag… I thought you were starting to see the difference with that one but maybe I was wrong.”
“Let’s just get this over with, alright?” Aaron said, frowning at his uncle’s comment. It was him who put the ideas into Aaron’s head, he was the one who gave him the guidance that Aaron clearly needed in order to try and take control of his own career and now he was complaining? What the hell kind of bullshit was that?! Sitting on the desk, his legs folder underneath him like he was meditating, Aaron threw up the hood of his jacket so his face was slightly shrouded in shadows - the emo look, Jason had taken to thinking of it by this point - before nodding at his uncle and Jason silently moved back to the camera to hit the record button, deciding against pushing the issue any further. Aaron sat there, waiting for the little red light to appear on the front of the camera, before finally starting to talk.
[[RECORDING UNDERWAY]]
“Do you guys remember a time where I started these things with a great big grin on my face, just chomping at the bit to get talking about my upcoming matches?” Aaron asked from underneath the hood, the camera barely able to see his face even though he was looking right at the camera as he spoke. “It almost seems funny now, thinking about the kind of person I used to be… that naive as fuck kid, all full of piss and vinegar, standing in front of the camera, virtually begging you guys to love me. Man, I was a fucking idiot back then… no, I really was! I know a few of you liked me because of the whole standing up for what’s good and just stuff I used to peddle, though saying I peddled it does do me an injustice in a sense because I did actually believe there was hope back then, but what do you expect from me, huh? Honestly bro, ask yourself that question, truly think about what you expected from me when I came into this business as young as I did and had to learn the rope in one of the biggest companies on the face of the planet. Did you honestly think that I wouldn’t end up jaded by this business? And don’t get me wrong, the fact that a bunch of you stuck by me despite the change in attitude, there’s a lot of appreciation for that fact guys, even if I don’t show it like I once did… and in truth, I’m surprised I didn’t get a lot more hate mail than I actually did when I stopped trying to be the new shadow of hope or whatever the fuck you want to call my own naivety… it’s not like I can deny it, is it? It’s not like I can say I wasn’t trying to be the next incarnation or next regeneration of David Helms when I first turned up, it was unavoidable in a lot of ways I think. I grew up watching his matches, fucking idolised him when I was a kid, and then he adopted me and I had all these opportunities open up in front of me. I started training at his gym, he personally trained me and taught me everything I know, along with guys like Tommy and Matty… and then he got me a gig in the company he retired from, a company he’s in the Hall of Fame of, a company he’s now the commissioner of… I guess you can say I was destined to believe I had to follow in his footsteps, more or less…” he went on before throwing his hood back to reveal his short mess of blonde hair before jumping off the table and making his way over to the little ‘x’ made of tape on the carpet that indicated the middle of the shot.
Jason had to move the camera slightly to keep Aaron in the shot as the twenty year old slid his hands into the pockets of his hooded top and looked directly at the camera again. “Thing is… you come to a point where it’s just too hard to keep fighting it, you know? You can keep it up for so long, you can say no or refuse to back down or whatever and usually spin it out for a quite a while, but the sad fact is that every time you have to say it, your will gets a little weaker, your conviction loses some of its strength... it gets harder with every time you have to say no or with every time you try and rise above the B.S, it gets harder to keep going in the same direction knowing that you’re losing the will to fight! And I cracked...” he said, shrugging his shoulders but without a hint of remorse on his face, a hint of a smirk even playing across his features. “I cracked... and with it, lost my smile. And can you blame me? I’ve gone through the fucking ringer over the past couple years, whether it’s SCW screwing me over by not stepping in to bullshit situations like the crap with Lexi, to using me to get at other people like the situation with Regan, blackmailing me, bullying me... and all the while, I tried bro, I fucking tried to keep smiling and grit my teeth, but you start to wonder why the fuck you should even bother after a while. It’s bad enough that you’ve got all the assholes on the roster causing problems, but when your fucking employer because part of the problem too, why bother to try?! And you know what? Weight off my fucking shoulder! No, seriously, I feel better about things now than I have done since the day I first walked through the god damn door of this place, and if all it took was for me to say ‘fuck it’ then I’m fine with that! I feel like I’m almost free at this point, that I’m unburdened by being selfish... I once wanted to do things in this company because I wanted to help maintain the legacy, help promote how amazing this industry is... now?” he asked before starting to chuckle to himself. “Fuck it... no really, fuck it. Why should I bend over backwards for a business that clearly doesn’t give a damn about its talent, beyond a basic duty of care to ensure they don’t get their asses sued in a court of law!”
Shrugging, Aaron turned and rubbed the stubble on his chin for a moment before starting to pace up in down, just about reaching the edge of the camera’s field of view before turning and walking back, talking to himself almost as he paced. “I’ll let you guys into a little secret right now, because I’m in a sharing mood, I guess... before the camera that I’m talking to right now started rolling to film this video, I was in the middle of a bit of a heated debate with my uncle Jason, he’s actually standing behind the camera watching this right now, feel free to say hi if you’re dumb enough to forget he can’t hear you,” he said with a smirk to himself before pushing on. “See, I guess in a way, you’ve got him to blame for me turning out the way I am... I mean, I’m not trying to portion out any blame right now, that’s not what I’m getting at. But I came to him at the start of the year, pretty much broken down by the business and how it was making me feel, practically pleading with him to help me, because I saw how he basically had no fucks to give about anything but doing his own thing and I wanted that... I didn’t just want it, I needed it I guess you could say, because fuck it, anything was better than how I was feeling at the time, it really was... and seeing the mess I was, he agreed to help me. He agreed to give me a few pointers, open my eyes is the cliché people go for at times like this, right? And that leads us here, via a convoluted route where Mr. Douche proved that he more than lived up to that particular moniker, along with other incidents that are widely publicized... and truthfully bro, I feel like a new guy almost. I mean, heh, I guess I am a new guy right now, the blonde hair and all, but I’m not talking superficially here, I’m talking about feeling like a new person! Only, the funny thing is, Jason over there,” he said, pointing beyond the camera without actually looking in the right direction before lowering his arm again, continuing to pace as he spoke. “I think he may regret showing me the light for want of a better expression... because now all he seems to want to do is tell me that I shouldn’t be saying the things I want to say. Funny really, when you think about it; the monumental jackass of SCW telling me not to upset the apple cart... there’s something almost poetic about that, don’t you think? Like I said though, we were in the middle of a debate before the camera started rolling, because I wanted to stand here and tell you that Breakdown is a huge waste of my fucking time,” he said as he came to a stop right around the middle of the shot, turning back to face the camera with a smirk on his face.
“Oh come on, you can’t say you’re shocked...” Aaron asked, sighing and shaking his head. “Are you really going to sit there at home, shaking your heads at the screen like I know a lot of you probably will be right now, simply because I decide to be honest and open about how I feel? Would you rather I lie and blow smoke up your ass about how honored I am to be on the list of people that Justin Davis wants to face on his attempt at trying to round out his career as not being a complete waste of time and energy?! Do you want me to tell you that I’m going to walk out there and give him my gosh darn best and whatever happens, I know you guys will enjoy the show? Why bother even trying to spin this as anything it isn’t, because it sure as fuck isn’t more than a pity show as far as I’m concerned! We fucking get it, okay Justin; you want to get your hands on Hudson and tear him a new one because of some melodramatic Days of Our Lives bullshit that no one but you cares about! Good for you... wanna really make an impact if he did what you said he did? Go to his home and beat the ever living crap out of him! Make him pay for what he supposedly did and make damn sure he knows you’re not going to stand by and continue to be the little bitch that he made you look! What you don’t do is sit there and think “you know, this guy fucked my girlfriend... I should return out of anonymity, stop hiding behind the rock I’ve lived under since my last retirement, and demand a one on one match with this guy because that’s how you get even with somebody”, it’s pathetic! And what makes it worse, for me at least, is that it’s so fucking obvious that this whole thing is my old man basically pandering to you; he’s heard the sob story you’ve played out on national television where all the most private of matters go, obviously, and he’s said ‘fair enough, welcome back bro, here’s a contract and consider your list approved, regardless of what anyone on it thinks about the matter, BANG’ and all that good stuff! He’s pandering to your every whim, just because you asked! It’s pathetic! You’re back... again... bully for you bro, congratulations, does it feel nice for people to give a fuck again? Make the most of it, because it won’t last. The interest or your next round of ‘retirement’ most likely, but mostly that interest in you... it never does! You’ll be interesting for a while, then you’ll get your match with Josh and then what? Have you thought about that, Justin? Have you thought about what happens once it’s over? You’ll fade away again, and then what? Live a happy life? Ha. You can’t have that in this business, because just like every time you’ve returned, you’ll find another reason... and even if you shock us all and that doesn’t happen, do you really think you’ll be happy having scored a victory over Hudson in that ring? He stole your other half according to you, do you really think it’ll all go away with one win, that it’ll heal that wound?! Christ, and people call me naïve...” he said, shaking his head in despair, glaring at the camera.
“And do me a favor before any of you at home start up with giving me shit for saying any of that,” he added, raising a finger and waving it at the camera in a “no-no” motion. “Don’t start lecturing me on having no sympathy or compassion or any of that B.S, okay? Respect is supposedly a two way street in this business, if you’re to believe what people like my old man preach at every opportunity... you heard him on Breakdown man, you heard everything he had to say before he went into his wonderfully rehearsed sob story that he claims is true down to every last detail. His whole attitude stinks where this list of his is concerned... and I know I’m one to talk, but seriously! “In many cases, I think I’m better than them”... well now that makes it all different, doesn’t it, that changes fucking everything! Well you know what, Justin? Go fuck yourself! No, seriously... I mean, if Josh did steal your girlfriend, I guess that’s your only option anyway, right? But seriously, get fucked you douchebag! You think you can swan back into the company like an alpha male and start labelling yourself as better than a good majority of the roster and get away with it?! You might have beaten the Lizard Queen recently, but I’m telling you now bro, you think you’re gonna get off lightly every week you compete?!” he asked, glaring at the camera, looking more than just slightly offended. “I don’t care what you’ve done here in SCW bro, I don’t care what the record books say you accomplished; while you’ve been having a cry-wank at home about how much your life sucks, the rest of us, those little people on that list of yours that you think you’re better than, we’ve been working around two hundred shows a year, fighting week in week out! This roster hauls it’s ass around the country, around the world, fighting four nights a week with training on top of that! And I don’t care if you’ve spent six months working out twenty four hours a fucking day, do you really think you’re going to walk back in here and be able to compete?! You’re a fucking moron if you do! But hey, who am I to tell you what to do or not do, I mean it’s not like you’d listen anyway, is it? You clearly have your head jammed firmly up your own ass, so you probably can’t even hear what anyone else says... I’m surprised you heard Spirit’s questions last week, the vacuum up there must have made it very hard of hearing for you man, so props for that one... but I’ll make this nice and simple, just in case you are struggling with understanding plain English this week Justin. This Wednesday? You can hand out all the receipts to Josh Hudson you like, but me? Dave may have pitied you and given you the matches you begged for but I don’t share the sentiment, and this Wednesday I’m giving you a receipt for wasting my time, my energy, and everything you said last week that I took exception to! Welcome back Justin... I hope it’s everything you fucking wanted and more. BANG!” he finished before Jason stepped forward and tapped the stop button on the camcorder.
[[/RECORDING STOPPED]]
Unzipping his hooded top, Aaron pulled it off and tossed it onto the couch before pulling his iPhone from the pocket of his jeans, skimming over twitter notifications as Jason shut down the camera. It was obvious from the expression on his face that he had something on his mind though, as he turned to look at his nephew and he stood there simply waiting for Aaron to actually look up and notice that something was amiss... which took a few seconds, as the twenty year old was lost in his phone. “What?” he eventually asked, looking puzzled. “Oh don’t tell me you’re still wanting to give me shit for speaking my mind?!” he asked again, looking disgruntled at the idea. “Bro, we went through his--”
“No, you brushed my opinion aside and did what you wanted anyway,” Jason interrupted, cutting Aaron off mid-sentence. “But you’ve filmed the fucking thing now, so you can shut your mouth and actually listen to what I have to say for two god damn minutes, okay?!” he added, his voice leaving no uncertainty about the fact that it was clearly an order rather than a request and Aaron sighed before walking back to Jason’s desk, hopping up onto the edge of it as he waited for the lecture to come. “Listen kid, I know what you said in that was probably true, that I’m more than just slightly to blame for you being like you are now, but are you sure you want me to upload that video?” he asked before raising a finger to stop Aaron, who was about to respond. “Let me finish... I want you to think about it okay, because I know you wanted to add a little edge to things, but you’re starting to slip over it now. It’s like you’ve seen where the line is, and you started tentatively edging towards it... but then at the last second you took a great big fucking leap over it, and I’m genuinely starting to worry about you kid, worry that you’re going to start making dumb decisions because of the chip you’ve carrying around on your shoulder...”
“What chip?” Aaron asked flatly, his voice devoid of any emotion. “Bro, you heard me just now; it’s like a weight’s been lifted from my shoulder, not added to it! You think I’m acting like the world owes me something? Fine, you’re entitled to your view Jase, but why should I have to settle for whatever life throws at me if I think it isn’t what I deserve, huh?!” he asked, and genuinely sounded like he wanted the answer to that, even if he didn’t give Jason the opportunity to give it right away. “Seriously bro, I shouldn’t have to settle for just accepting the shit that I’ve had thrown at me over the last two years, not when I know I’m worth more than that! And if SCW thinks I’m slipping then fuck it, I can’t go down in their estimation any more than I already clearly have, can I? So whatever... they want me to prove myself, I’ll give them what they want. It just isn’t going to be the way they imagined, but hey, sucks to be them, right?”
Aaron shrugged his shoulders as he finished talking, and Jason wanted to say so much more, he wanted to argue his point, argue Aaron’s points, tell the kid he was taking this the wrong way entirely... but what would be the point? Maybe this was what Aaron actually needed, to get this out of his system and then figure out how to fix things later? And it wasn’t as if he was a nice guy when he first arrived in SCW, was it? He took every opportunity he could to give people hell and in many ways he still did, even if the fans liked him now for whatever reason. “Alright,” Jason said, sighing. “I just hope you know what you’re doing kid, because it’s not gonna get any easier...”
“I do,” Aaron said with a nod, jumping down from the desk and walking to his uncle, patting him on the shoulder. “And if it backfires then what the hell, not like I was doing great before I developed my ‘attitude problem’ was it? But hey, great talk dude. Appreciate it,” he said, patting his uncles shoulder again before going to leave the room. Jason watched him leaving before simply shaking his head. That wasn’t how he’d expected the talk to go, he hoped to make Aaron see some sense and maybe even convince him to re-shoot the video once the kid had heard him out... but evidently Aaron had listened too closely to those early lessons from Jason, and it may be too late to get him to pull his head out of his ass now. He just had to hope that it didn’t come back to bite Aaron in the ass in the end. Though he wouldn’t hold out too much hope with that one..
