It’s Fine

 

It’s been an interesting last few weeks for me, to say the least.

Rebecca has been acting like nothing is wrong and that I was just blindsided by her mentioning my mom.  No, it is because she didn’t reciprocate my feelings.

Of course…I didn’t actually say anything to her about how I felt.

So, yea…it’s awesome at Miracle Enterprise right now.

I have pretty much been keeping to myself as I try to figure out the next step in my life.  I haven’t given up on Rebecca and I haven’t given up on the HOW World Title.  Like, Clay Byrd has said before: I will root for one of my own but foremost is my own success.

“Oh look, the tag titles.”

I had been furiously avoiding Ellis Jackson since I lost to Christopher America, but he has a way of finding me.  It wasn’t hard to find me for someone with his supposed connections but walking out of the outpatient office from having an MRI wasn’t a time I expected to see him.

I groaned.

“How the hell did you know I was here?”

He shrugged his shoulders and stared down at my leg, “is this just precautionary because you looked fine winning those damn tag titles again.”

It kind of was.

America had made it a point to twist it and in the end it was that pain I succumbed to.  The week off before getting into it with the eGG Bandits was helpful.

I didn’t limp and the MRI was more of a mental thing for myself since even I get annoyed by all the voices talking about my knee. “I am fine.”

He shook his head sarcastically at me, “sure, sure.”

I continued to walk towards The Miracle Whip, which has been re-painted thankfully because I was not going to be caught driving that car after what Jack did to it years ago.  “Ugh, you are following me?” I stopped and turned to look at him.

“Of course, Steve.  I am here to tell you that you should be proud of reclaiming the tag titles.”

I paused.

Uh huh, I thought to myself.

I sighed, “ok, are you having a stroke?”

“Not at all.  I am just happy that you finally realized your place as a tag team champion and can stop pretending you care about the World Title.”

Oooooof.

Took all my energy to not punch him again.

He is just as bad as any member of the former Board trying to push my buttons to get me riled up.  It works sometimes and this was one of those times because what he said agitated me to no end.  Things always anger you the most when they have a shred of truth.

The truth is, I lost the big one.

Truth is, I lost focus.

Truth is, I am the greatest tag team wrestler in HOW.

Facts are facts.

Unfortunately for me, on a lot of this.

I adore my tag title, but I am not looking to settle.  I am not looking at it as the end-all be-all of my wrestling career.  I still want to stand at the top of the mountain and spit from the top of it on the good eye of Lee Best.  Does he even have a good eye?

Regardless I am not letting these out of The Highwaymen’s grasp– ever again.

“Fuck off, Ellis,” I responded as I turned back and walked towards my car again.

He laughed at me, “facts are facts…right?”

Blah.

“Are you messing with me, Ellis?  Do you honestly think you are motivating me by annoying me right now?”

His smile faded, “this is about money, Steve.”

I rolled my eyes and leaned against my car now and looked at Ellis with disdain in my eyes.  Maybe it was disdain for myself as well but at that moment I could put it on someone else.  “Money? What money are you making here?”

He nodded, “exactly, there is no money in the tag titles and unfortunately you only have eyes for them.”

The sun started going down and trust me that doesn’t help how I was feeling at that time.  “Shouldn’t matter that you aren’t getting any money from me then, right?”

His frowned at that response, “as your manager…”

I took a step off the car from leaning against it and got within a foot away from Ellis, “my manager?”

Laughter.

I continued, “you kicked a door and you walked in and started claiming stuff.  I wanted nothing to do with you, but I gave you a chance because you do have knowledge that I knew I needed to take the next step.  It didn’t work though.”

He shook his head as the last remaining sun hit his face.  He was showing some anger for once which made me smile.  “Don’t put that blame on me.  You lost focus before and during the match because some woman is more important to you than glory.”

I sighed, I have already heard this from myself, “that’s an opinion and one I cannot deny.  Again though…manager?”

With that he groaned loudly and looked at the dim sky.  He looked back down at me, “yes, I am your manager.”

“I see no contract stating that, Ellis.  Why are you acting so desperate?”

He continued to frown, “why aren’t you more desperate?”

“Nope, not an answer.  I have no money for you, and this is wrestling, Ellis.  The money now isn’t like it once was…I have already told you that.”

“I’m not some poor schmuck.”

I laughed and shook my head, “could have fooled me.  You come back and follow me around trying to supposedly help me grow as a wrestler.  What is the point?  I am sick of all these goddamn games.”

“It’s a pride thing, Steve…do you have any left?”

I rolled my eyes and cracked my left knuckles with my right hand as I turned back towards the Miracle Whip.  “Sure, I assume I should have learned how to never answer a question from you as well, huh?”

“What do you have to lose at this point?  You are stuck in tag team limbo again while Clay Byrd takes his place as the leader to win the belt off America.”

I didn’t turn around this time.

I knew this already. This is in the playbook everyone uses who faces me.

Clay is the leader.

Clay makes the decisions.

Clay doesn’t care about you.

Shrug.

Unlocked the door.

Tossed up the deuces out the window and drove away.

I looked in the rear-view mirror and Ellis stood there shaking his head at me.

I shouldn’t care.

Shouldn’t

Shouldn’t

Shouldn’t

Sigh.

 

—

 

 

Oh, wow a Tag Title defense a week after winning them.

Give me a minute to let the surprise wash over me.

Heh.

Lee Best putting his hand back into a hat for match ideas.  This time though he is handicapping his chosen boot licker Jace Parker Davidson with Scott Stevens as his partner.

This is where I laugh right, Jace?

It is amazing in the sense that you would never expect Lee to do this to you.  On the other hand, do you think I spend any time thinking about you and Scott Stevens that this would make me laugh so hard whiskey comes out of the nose and burns the hair?

Yea?

There have been jokes in the past about Lee Best ignoring Scott Stevens’ devotion, but it isn’t funny anymore.  If his piety to Lee Best hasn’t been regarded then why is he receiving his fourth title shot in the past two months?

Jace…you aren’t the favorite.  You are only in this match because of Scott Stevens getting another shot because his prayers are being answered by a crippled blind pervert who is surviving off the smoke Stevens continues to blow up his ass.

You are a team of malcontents who do not like each other and that is somehow more viable for the Tag Titles then a great team of Steve’s?

It isn’t.

It is just the desperate cries of Jace Parker Davidson so we can give him even more attention.  Nobody ever said you didn’t work your ass off, Jace.  The problem is we all should have told you to stop trying so hard.  Nobody is impressed with you leeching off STRONK and continuing to do so.  Nobody wonders at night when they will hear from Jace again.

Yea, go watch Elon Musk burn Twitter to the ground and while you are at there is a cringy wrestler called Jace Parker Davidson posting ridiculous nonsense and trying to pick up AI’s he thinks are real people so maybe he can get a tit pick in his DMs.

There’s Jace again.

The real surprise is if someone said they NEED more of you.

The only thing that should get more of you is a toilet because you are full of shit and vomit the same word salad boredom every promo.

Do you have any new things to say about me?

I am an asshole?

Me… not you?

Sure.

I mean is there anything to go from there, Jace?

Is this your greatest hits or just a redo of what you always say towards me?  Maybe you should run this by Christopher America since at least you would get advice from someone that has pinned or submitted me this year.

You haven’t.

You won’t.

You can’t.

Especially if this is the heat of the fire you are playing with: an almost dead mini lighter can’t even light Jack Marley’s roach.  But it seems like that is only thing you have in those dirty jeans of yours.

Heh.

Well roach to a cockroach and that can be said of Jace or Scott Stevens.

I don’t care if you like me and if you don’t like me that means I am doing something right in life.  That is why you are so successful though, right?  You don’t trust anyone, you don’t like anyone, but damn right you will use anybody’s success to get your name out there.  Have you found STRONKS old rhyme book yet, Jace?

It is the only way to push you forward because nobody is clamoring to see you, Jace.

Scott Stevens is more interesting than you even if he is incomprehensible most of the time.

I love how you think you are some sort of savior for titles.  You brag about the LSD title reign but who have you even defended against?  You lost to Conor Fuse but of course it wasn’t for the title.  Conor Fuse is a crybaby murderer as well.

You beat Carey?

Um…ok.

Scott Stevens?

WHAT!

Again, it must be nice always hiding being STRONK, but those times are now over and a lot more over than your opinions on…anything.

I lost count how many Tag Titles reigns I have had now and if you think NEVER losing them myself is not something to brag about then you must have skipped every accomplishment you have ever had.  The titles have been retired because I have had no competition.  Instead of blaming the champs, blame wrestlers like you who carried no threat to them.

Losing them and winning them, who cares anymore?  I never lost them and that is all that matters, bud.  The Highwaymen have gained them back to keep them and not hand them over to you two annoyances.

Freebird Rule, check that off Jace’s every promo checklist.

Fuck out of here, Jace.

You are so fucking predictable, and this is getting tiresome.  Do you ever listen to yourself and think hmmm…maybe I say this too much?

No?

Are you also color blind on top of being deaf?

Tone deaf as well, you walking and talking sexual harassment lawsuit waiting to happen.

I don’t go around claiming to have all the answers.  I lost to Chris and have had things in my life not line up the way I wished for.  This doesn’t mean I will ever take advice from you, Jace.  This doesn’t mean I care about how you view my personal failures.  Taking you on face value is something an ignorant child would do.  You literally contradict yourself every five minutes to the point that I sometimes just think you are a parody of yourself.

STRONKUMMS

Forever ICON Champ.

Yep…I never called myself FOREVER Tag Champion, nope not at all.

You are a joke, Jace and the punchline is you getting way too much screen time and people still not giving a shit about you.

Your originality is nonexistent, and your creativity was buried in whatever coffin STRONK was tossed into.  I hope he was cremated so you cannot grave rob and steal his body. I guess a STRONK bone puppet would be another thing you would overexpose so much that it begins to be a time for everyone to brush their teeth and go to bed.

You punch down because you are a mental midget.

I am going to punch every direction your cowardly body tries to run to and then leave my knee imprint on that soft skull of yours.

No Miracles are needed when it comes to beating you in a Tag Title match.

It is just what I always do.

 

—

Chicago, IL

November 11th, 2022

 

 

“It’s fine,” the loud voice of Steve Harrison says.  He moves his leg up and down as he points to his knee.  We are a few days away from Chaos where The Highwaymen would be defending the newly returned Tag Titles against the odd coupling of Jace and Scott Stevens.  The small gym at the Hotel Steve has decided to call home for the next few weeks because of Lee Best wanting to stay at home until Iconic where he currently sits down after finishing some leg curls.  The Doc has pulled up a chair and has started checking the once injured knee and one that America went after at Rumble at the Rock.

“Should have done this before you decided to wrestle last week.”

Harrison stopped moving his leg and looked up at The Doc, “I was fine in that match and already had an MRI. What are you going to say that is any different?”

The Doc smacks the knee and looks back up, “small things can lead to big things, Steve you should understand that better than most these days.”

Harrison frowned angrily at The Doc smacking his knee but let it fade after taking a moment to listen to what The Doc said afterwards.  “Sure…and?”

The Doc rubs his chin and nods slowly, “everything looks to be ok.”

Harrison jumped off the bench, “told you.”

Doc pointed back at the bench, “sit back down, we are not finished here.”

The Miracle Man moves his neck backwards, surprised at how Doc said that to him.  “Whoa…what now?”

“I am not done. This is for your own good.”

Harrison sighs and then plops back down on the bench and crosses his arms across his muscled chest. “Make it quick, I need to get cardio done…guess I did learn something from Ellis.”

“Don’t let him hear that,” The Doc responds quickly with a small grin even showing up for once on his usual stoic face.

Harrison watches as Doc checks out each ligament and muscle in his surgically repaired leg.  “So… Rebecca hired a private eye to find my mom.”

The Doc stops checking the leg and peers down to the floor instead of up at Steve, “Oh?”

“Yea, Sandy said something to her and now I have that to deal with.  I went from hoping to have fun to trying to remember what that woman even looks like.”

Doc pauses as he continues to not check on the leg, “what is Sandy after?”

The Man who made Milk popular again shrugs his broad shoulders, “power, respect, money…I don’t know, man.”

The Doc stands up slowly and gives Steve a small nod.  “Good to go on the knee but what are you going to do about Rebecca?”

Steve flexed his leg once more and then back.  He jumped up again and responded, “it isn’t what I want but she is doing it from a good place.”

“You aren’t going to stop this?”

“What do you mean?”

The Doc cleared his throat, “I mean…do you want this…like uh, what do you want?”

Harrison shrugs again and walks over to the treadmill, “I don’t know, Doc.  I have no details since I didn’t take it well to begin with.  I have barely said two words to Rebecca since then and as you all say I lose focus too easily.  I need to focus on these tag titles and leave Chaos with them still in hand.  Could you imagine Scott Stevens holding a title in 2022?” Harrison shudders, “I don’t want that blamed on me.”

“Oh…well keep me in the loop.”

Steve gets on the treadmill and turns back toward The Doc with a confused look on his face, “why do you seem to be interested in this anyway?”

The Doc stammers for a bit and then replies, “it isn’t just your physical situation I need to be worried about.  Your mental state is just as much a responsibility of mine.”

“Uh huh.”

The Doc pulls his cell phone out of his jacket pocket and looks down at it, “I will see you later.  Don’t push yourself too hard because like you said Chaos is just around the corner and we don’t need you giving Jace and Stevens a layup.”

Harrison turns his back and begins pushing buttons on the treadmill, “those assholes cannot even grab the net.  I am going to take pride in leaving them looking like Russell Westbrick in wrestling boots.”

Doc takes that as his queue and walks swiftly from the gym as he types furiously on his phone.  The treadmill begins moving as Steve begins with a fast walk as the scene fades.