Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2017 0:05:57 GMT -5
I had done it. I won the Ascension Championship and in doing so, held two Championships simultaneously. I found myself wondering what could happen next--when I was gripped by the fact that I may just have the Resilience Championship pulled from my grasp only days later. I knew it wasn’t going to be Austin Gale, as he had already given up, but I thought that it might be Bindy Trent. I knew she had wanted the Championship since the word ‘go’ and that she wouldn’t hesitate to do whatever necessary to get it.
Like Bindy, I needed some guidance too. The only people I had been dealing with were people who wanted something from me. I mean, seriously, everyone wanted something. Tony Chu wanted my allegiance, Erica Bragg wanted my honesty, and something else I hadn’t defined. Bindy Trent, for all of the friendship she could offer--she wanted the Resilience Championship. Meanwhile, Austin Gale just wanted attention. Either way, they all wanted something and all I wanted was advice. I wanted guidance. I needed someone to get me on the right track.
I had walked so many arena floors in little over a month. Competed in nine matches and the whole time I felt absolutely alone. I mean, I was always surrounded by people, but still I felt alone. Even the one person who made me feel like I had someone had turned her back on me. When I thought about it, even before that, she and I couldn’t seem to define the elephant in the room. There was always something held back--something we couldn’t say to each other. It drove me crazy.
When Erica left, I was completely alone.
I shoved that to the side and tried to figure out how to fix it myself. I started thinking about what I needed to do to ensure that I came out of the triple threat with the Resilience Championship still in my hands. I knew I might have to change up my game plan. I knew I had started to grow stale. I knew if I didn’t make a change that soon guys like Gale would creep up on me and get the best of me. I couldn’t have that. Honestly, I knew I had to change to win the ‘rubber’ match against Bindy. I watched her change and knew, deep down, that I’d have to make some moves to keep up.
I reached out to The Dirty Dog.
Earlier...
As a result of my win, my Uncle Shane decided to spring for the Twin Turbo for the Ferrari and I couldn’t have been any happier. We were about to turn the Ferrari into a super dangerous rocket and I felt like Wernher von Braun.
“Awesome.” I said, looking at the Twin Turbo, freshly bolted in, “Like, stupendously awesome.”
Shane scoffed, “Yeah, well, don’t get too excited. We’re not quite done.”
I turned to Shane and could only wonder what he meant. Shane’s always been one to make me earn everything I get and the fact that it felt like he was giving me cool stuff out of the blue made me wonder if I had somehow gained some new achievement.
Shane nodded towards his own car, “Go grab my jacket off the hood, would you?”
Shane’s jacket has always been a kind of fixture. He’s worn it out to the ring hundreds of times. As long as I’ve known him, I’ve known him in that crimson red leather jacket. It’s his thing.
I grabbed it up off the hood of his car and walked back over to Shane and held it out to him. He took it with one hand and smirked at me.
“You know, this jacket use to belong to your grandpa. Yeah, he bought it for like twenty bucks in the late sixties. I loved it. Always wanted to wear it. The night of my first match, he handed it over to me and told me good luck.”
At that moment, I knew where it was going. It was as if Bindy’s moment with her father had foretold the event.
“And you’re going to give it to me? Wow Shane. I mean, I’m sure it will look seriously rad on me, but it’s...Wow. First the Twin Turbo and now this? Wow. I’m speechless.”
Shane took the jacket by both shoulders and I spun around to let him put it on me, but instead he put the jacket on himself.
He cackled, “What? No fucken way. I love you Dare, but this jacket is mine,” He snorted as he continued, “Really thought I was giving the shit to you? Man, you funny as shit. Like the next Bugs Bunny and shit.”
I shook my head, “Of course. I was just going with the joke. Thought it was funny.”
Crushed.
He smirked and gave me that look which always meant he was about to ‘hit me with some knowledge.’
“What I was going to talk to you about was this Bindy Trent shit. Thinking you’re on this plateau and frankly, you’re way the fuck off base. There’s no such thing as a true friend in this game. Anybody who tells you that is either trying to put one over on you or already has. It sounds cynical as fuck, but I have a better win/loss percentage than Drew fucking Stevenson, alright?”
I nodded, “Yeah. I know.”
“You just have to get in there and swat. That’s your job. This isn’t about making friends. This is about getting the win.”
“Is it though, really?”
He scoffed, “Well, maybe I don’t know, who’s the one with two Championship belts in his shitty apartment?”
I nodded, knowing what I’d have to do next, “Yeah. You’re right.”
“You’re goddamn right, I’m right. Now lock that shit up and come with me. Your aunt hasn’t seen you in fucken forever and cooked up some of that Irish slop she calls food.”
I stopped dead in my tracks, “Oh god.”
He didn’t miss a beat, “You’re going to act like you enjoy every bite.”
END.