Post by The Circle Television Network on Oct 20, 2018 21:07:45 GMT -5
“THIS IS GONNA BE SO AWESOME!”
Sarah Grey-Lacklan screams in glee as she pulls her long-suffering wife into the Halloween costume shop. Dressed in a idiotically puffy dress given the brutal heat of the Texas sun, and holding one of her many parasols that match her prescription sunglasses to give her shade, the Blood Princess has a look of sheer joy on her pale face. Kenzi, dressed far more appropriately in jean shorts and a plain tanktop that “innocently” shows off the sixpack of abs she has worked hard on all summer and regained, and a pair of sunglasses which thankfully do NOT need the bottom of Coke bottles to see well like Sarah, shakes her head and laughs. Both of the Grey-Lacklans had already decided on what they were going to be for their first-ever massive Halloween party, though each was keeping it a surprise for the other until the reveal at the party on the 27th, but they loved picking out costumes for the other to try on just for the shiggles, especially if it was a “sassy” or “sexy” version of something.
“HURRY UP GUYS!”
Sarah’s high-pitched Londoner accent gets gobbled up as she and Kenzi go through the door, but the targets of the cry know to not take too long. Roxy Cotton, stands on the curb of the street and looks up into the sky, her bronze skin sucking up the sunshine, and has a smile on her face. Keeping her face to the sky, she looks down through the sunglasses which take up half of her face, and watches her best friend forever, Angie Vaughn, take WAY too long flirting with the Uber driver. The driver WAS cute, so no one could be mad at Angie for “unknowingly” flirting with him, but it was starting to get pretty blatant. She idly wondered if SHE looked at Vinnie the way that Angie looked at cute boys.
“C’mon, baby. You are going to burn out here. Get his digits already.”
Angie’s face turns rosy as she blushes, but she heeds her not-quite-as-tall-as-her friend’s advice. She has been living in Texas for many months now on the IGADP Ranch, but her pale skin was still in danger of going into lobster territory. Not in as much danger as Sar’s unnatural moonlight skin, tobvs, but still far more than Roxy’s golden skin, or Kenzi’s caramel, for that matter. Angie says thank you to the totes cute Uber driver for the seventh time and, wistfully watching him drive away, turns to her friend.
“I hope they have a cute kitty costume!”
The Cool Kids went their separate ways inside the sprawling costume store, each of them seeking out the perfect one for their upcoming party. Few 'holidays' got the attention from the girls that Halloween got. It would be a night of fun and laughs for the four, and the addition of having the best costume of the night would be icing on the cake. However, as fun as it was going to be, it getting to that point wasn't without incident...
“She MUST be a slut.”
Sarah’s head pops up from her totes SWEET Windows phone. She adjusts her dreaded, though tobvs cute as all hell glasses on her nose, and takes her attention from her texting instructions to Legion Employee Number Seventy-Five, an old cheerleading buddy who was helping with Project: Get Ang a Cute Boy, and gives it to the two woman working at one of the counters. One was pretty chunky (Sar mentally names her “Whaley McFattystein”) and the other was more her size (Sar mentally names her “Not Cute Enough to be Legion”). Sar liked giving people names.
“She totally is a slut. Just LOOK at her.”
Sarah turns her red-eyed gaze to the person they are talking about, and sees Roxy trying on a Sexy Parole Officer costume. The bimbhoe’s breasts were pushing the costume material to its absolute breaking point, and even the short skirt was threatening to fail under her surgically-crafted badonk. Sarah nearly throws up in her mouth as Roxy bends over, because, unlike her wife, she actually DIDN’T like blondes.
“No one who looks like that isn’t a slut.”
“Yeah, I bet the only reason she owns anything is because she puts out for random guys.”
Sarah turns back to face the two workers and her eyes narrow. Only SHE got to make jokes about how Roxy probably slept with three guys on the way from the Uber car to the costume store, thank you very much. Besides, its not like Roxy actually WAS a skank, or anything. She’d be embarrassed to hear it be said, and would probably deny it, but when she looked at Vinnie, her eyes lit up like Sailor Moon’s when looking at Tuxedo Mask...or even better, when Lenore was looking at Papi! Ahhh...Vexx! When would Kenzi finally come around to enjoying that wonderful television program?!
Sarah’s eyes twinkle as Whaley McFattystein takes a call. She stands up, grabs a random costume, and walks over to Not Cute Enough to be Legion and gets her attention.
“Hey there! I need some help getting my squat booty into this thing. Think you can give me a hand?”
NCEtobeL does a double take. Most people did when they saw an albino, and especially Sarah. Standing only 5’2” and with the ubes rarity that made even her eyes lack most of their melanin and made them shine red, she was even more of an oddity for people when they saw how jacked her arms and shoulders were.
“Um...sure. Yeah. There is a changing room-”
Sarah begins walking away before NCEtobeL can finish what she has to say, and the worker follows her. Into the changing room they go and, just as Sarah turns around, her eyes go wide and she points behind the worker.
“Oh em gee! Is that Salsa, the wrestling bear?!”
NCEtobeL turns around to see what Sarah is talking about, and the probs legit psychotic Blood Princess drops the costume, leaps off her right foot, and jams her right fist into the back of the woman’s head with a Cop Killa supergirl punch. With a small scream, NCEtobeL goes down in a heap, but Sarah gets a double fistfull of her hair and pulls her back to her feet. She then slams the woman into the wall of the changing room, seeming to make the entire structure shake, and then throws her back to the ground on her face. She steps on the woman’s back, grinding the heel over her obscenely expensive shoe into the small of the woman’s back, and leans down close to her head.
“No one makes fun of my Bully Sister but ME!”
She rears back and kicks the woman in the head, sending her off into dreamland. Sarah looks over at her handwork, smiles, and exits the changing room while humming to herself.
Kenzi watches as Roxy and Sarah giggle at one another as they take turns holding up a sumo wrestler costume and mocking Kem. While she loves her wife and best friend immensely, she would never be on board with as much as they revel in making the poor girl the butt of as many jokes as they did. She lets out a huge sigh and slips off to find Angie instead. After a few moments of searching she finds Angie, predictably wearing a fluffy kitty costume as she poses and preens in front of the mirror. Angie looks at Kenzi in the mirror as she approaches, smiling from ear to ear.
“Hey Ken, is this like TOTES the bestest?”
Kenzi grabs the tail of the costume and bonks her in the back of the head with it.
“AWE!”
The leggy blonde exclaims, not so much out of actual pain as much as general hurt over the fact that Kenzi doesn’t feel quite the same as her about the OBVS awesome kitty costume. Kenzi stands beside her much taller friend, shaking her head as she looks at her in the mirror.
“Halloween is about stepping outside yourself and being something different Ang. Maybe you should try being a dog this year.”
Angie’s face contorts into a mask of utter discomfort that seems to come from the lowest pit of her spirit. She turns to Kenzi, taking up the tail as she returns the bonk on the head.
“This costume is abords Ken! Why would I want to go as a dog? Drooling and sniffing themselves? Dogs, while some MAY be cute, are gross in general and NOT amazeballs like totes adorbs kitties! Like ME!”
Angie turns back to mirror, spinning around and actually gyrating her behind as she gets the tail to spin all on it’s own. Kenzi can’t help but to stealthily turn on the video feature of her phone and preserve this moment for posterity. As soon as Sarah got this video of Angie twerking, it was definitely going up on the Match.com profile that they had made for her to land a cute boy. Angie stops suddenly as she realizes that Kenzi is filming her. She posts her hands on her hips, narrowing her gaze...looking exceptionally more feline as she does.
“After the rumors floating around about you and a certain video…maybe you’re gonna wanna cool it on the hidden camera gimmick.”
Kenzi blushes visibly as she turns off the camera and tucks it away, feeling duly chastised for her actions. Angie starts to slip out of the costume, eyeing Kenzi as she does.
“What’s the dealieo with that anyway? I saw the news story from that creepoid FAQ guy, but he said the video was missing. I mean, is it real or what?”
Kenzi smirks, not really feeling much like getting into such a serious topic of discussion, but feeling comfortable with Ang, despite the sensitive subject matter. She takes a deep breath as she tries to explain it, as best she can.
“Do you remember last year? That whole fiasco about me already being married and it invalidating my marriage to Sarah?”
Angie’s eyes light up and she starts to babble, almost incoherently.
“OH!! LIKE IN THAT EPISODE OF VEXX WHEN THE DAUGHTER OF THE DEMON KING FOUND OUT HER MARRIAGE TO THE AMBASSADOR OF EDOR...”
Kenzi palms her face as she can only shake her head in an effort to tune out the talk about that dumb television show that she and Sarah were totally taken with, She sighs, looking at Angie through eyes that made it clear that she didn’t want to hear another word about Vexx.
“Ang, I’m serious! Do you remember or not?”
Angie seems disappointed that Kenzi would completely disregard a show with such good character development and top notching acting, but she just chalked it up to professional jealousy.
“Yeah! The thing that AMC helped you get out of with the church. She got them to annul the marriage. I remember that. Not sure how she did it though.”
Kenzi smirks a bit as she folds her arms and looks away. A bit of shame colors her cheeks as she does.
“Yeah? Well, I know how she did it. She was there when I got married in Vegas, totally blitzed out of my mind! She filmed us in the hotel room and she showed it to the church tribunal and whatever they saw convinced them that I couldn’t have been married to Colin…not really married. I think…I think that tape shows me and her…well…you know…”
Angie stares at Kenzi blankly, clearly not getting what her friend is putting down. Kenzi leans in, whispering to Angie under her breath…
“…having sex with AMC…”
Angie’s cheeks instantly blush as her eyes grow wide, making her look all the more comical in her cat costume.
“OH MY GOODNESS! Errrr…but wait, you’re not a lesbian Ken.”
Kenzi turns and stares a burning hole right through Angie.
“I’m being serious! AMC wouldn’t tell me what was on the video, but she did confirm that there WAS sex! I mean, I know that this was well before I even met Sarah, but it’s kinda embarrassing to have people talking about it, you know?”
Angie put a fur covered, but reassuring paw on Kenzi’s shoulder.
“I saw that reporter talking about how the video had come up missing. Maybe it will never come out and then you won’t have to worry about anyone seeing it, especially Sar.”
Kenzi let out a hard sigh.
“Actually, Sarah knows right where the video is. She had Jet Somers steal it and bring it to us. We have had it for a while now…we just didn’t know what to do with it. I wanted to just get rid of it, but…maybe we need to look at it, for closure.”
Angie as silent for a few moments.
“Closure can be a good thing. I mean, I know that you don’t want any of the totes weirdness of Sarah seeing you with someone else, but you guys have kept that video this long for a reason. Maybe you just need to watch it and get it over with, you know?”
Kenzi stares at Angie, then rolls her eyes as she bursts out laughing.
“I’m sorry…I just find it weird to be taking advice from a 5-foot 10-inch cat!”
Angie looks down at her costume, then sticks out her tongue at Kenzi. Kenzi elbows her playfully as she turns the topic of conversation.
“Eh, instead of worrying about that, maybe we need to be focusing on our match on Monday against Zane Scott.”
Angie scoffs at this, with annoyance clearly written all over her face. She rolls her eyes in a gesture that was eerily reminiscent of Sarah. In that moment the two could have easily passed as relatives.
“Do NOT get me started on that! It’s not fair! It’s not competition! What are they doing booking a match like that? I don’t even want to take part of it. Frankly, I’m a bit surprised that you don’t have an issue with it Kenz.”
Kenzi shrugs and seems a bit torn.
“I do have my issues with it, but stuff is kinda complicated with me right now. Us ganging up on Zane isn’t my idea or a great match, but neither is me being accepting of taking a draw against Maggie on Chill when I obviously didn’t win. Neither is me basically losing every match on Chill, but having things manipulated in my favor, time and time again. This is all my mother’s doing and this ridiculous stuff with Ichabod. I don’t understand any of this Ang, but I’m stuck…that’s all there is to it.”
Angie contemplates Kenzi’s words as she finally extricates herself from the furry cat suit, making a mental note of it as one of her top picks. She turns to Kenzi, putting a hand that was not covered in fur on her shoulder this time.
“Ken, I don’t know what is going on between you and your mom, but you don’t need to blindly follow her lead just because she is your manager. If my manager asked me to do something I didn’t want to, I’d tell her ‘NO!’ That’s what you need to do!”
It was good advice, if circumstances were different. Kenzi was in no position to tell her mother ‘No’ to anything. She had given her word that she would do as her mother directed for the next three years. She owed her that much and she would repay that debt. If that meant that she would have to go to Synergy on Monday and take part in a beat down on Zane Scott...then that was what was going to happen.
Kenzi tosses her arm around her tall #CoolKid buddy, giving her a generous squeeze to thank her for the advice; some she could take, some she couldn’t. She would talk to Sarah about the video tonight...maybe they did need that closure Angie talked about. As for Zane Scott, whom Kenzi liked well enough, that wasn’t her call. If Lord Hastings wanted Zane to take a beating, that is what was in the cards for him...like it or not.
LATER THAT DAY...
Shopping with the girls for Halloween costumes had been a blast, but it was my talk with Angie that had been on my mind the remainder of the day. She had told me that Sarah and I had kept video and not destroyed it because we needed closure. Tonight was as good a night as any to get it. I was nervous as I played with the disc Jet had liberated from Bordy. It felt hot in my hands as I stared at it...wondering what was on it. The existence of this thing had haunted me for months and now that I had it, I dreaded the thought of whatever was on it.
...my greatest fear was that I’d be in there in an alcohol induced state ‘getting it on’ with AMC...
There had been a time before when my feelings for her were really confused. Neither of us acted on them and we had stayed friends. However, if this video showed something happening between us...I wouldn’t know how to react. I didn’t want my relationship with AMC to change, but how could it not?
I looked at Sarah, wondering if she was thinking the same thing I was. “Maybe we don’t have to look at it.”
Sarah chews her lips in thought and fiddles with her glasses. "We don't." She nods to herself. "But we should. Does that make sense?"
It did...but my fear was that there was something on the video. Not that it was something that had happened while we were together, but I didn’t want her seeing me ‘actually’ be with someone else. We had both had a weird enough time seeing each other in a film acting with other people...but this was real. Still, I felt like I had to see it for myself...and to tell her she couldn’t would be like cheating in a way. If THAT made any sense.
“Yeah...” I made my way over to the player and stuck the disc into the player. I didn’t bother going to the couch as I reached for Sarah’s hand as I stood in front of the television. The screen came to life and the undeniable sounds of sex could be heard and my heart immediately sank. I put one of my hands over my face. “Oh my God! Tell me Jet didn’t watch this!”
Sarah's face flushed and she clenched Kenzi's hand...but then her face fell to confusion. "Um...Beloved..." A giggle slips out of her. "Well, if he did, I doubt he got much more than half mast. At MOST."
I was confused at first until I mustered the courage to look at the screen. It was definitely AMC and I on the screen in a hotel room together...and there was sex going on, but none of it involved the two of us. My ‘husband’ Colin was passed out on the pullout bed behind us and we were sitting on the couch completely engaged in watching one of my favorite pornographic movies; "Coast to Coast with Liz Smalls"
The two of us were critiquing her acting...as if we knew anything about the raunchy action going on in front of us. I turned to Sarah, a broad smile on my face as I threw my arms around her and kissed her face. “WE DIDN’T DO ANYTHING!!!” I wrapped my arms around her, squeezing her so hard that my arms hurt.
Sarah squeezed her back just as hard. "Thank the LORD!" She kissed Kenzi back but then nipped her lip. "We have been over the whole 'yeah, we have fucked people before we met' thing, but the less people I know the better! Now I can look AMC in the eyes without wanting to rip her face off!"
As I held my wife, elated at the thought that there would be no more tension between her and my mentor I heard the tell-tell sounds of giggling and drunken merriment coming from the television. I looked over and found that AMC and I had apparently moved on from Coast to Coast with Liz Smalls and to my horror there was something even more heinous going on...
“OH MY GOD!” I scrambled for the remote to turn off the terrible image that now assailed my eyes, but it was too late...
Sarah's eyes go wide with mad delight. "YAS!" Sarah hops up and down on the balls of her feet. "Oh em gee, I hope it's the episode where the Ambassador of Edornua bent the knee to the Demon King and asked for the hand of his daughter. It's the first time we see Lenore in a nude scene!"
I stare at the two drunken faces illuminated by the light of the television as they both seemed to be mesmerized by the shitty Vexx show. Part of me actually started to wish that this was a sex video...that would have been easier than have video proof of me watching that crappy ass show!
I rolled my eyes and headed for the bedroom. “I AM NOT WATCHING THAT HORSE SHIT!”
"IT IS AN AMAZING SHOW AND YOU ARE JUST MAD THAT YOU CAN'T UNDERSTAND IT!" Sarah squeals in delight. "IT'S THE ONE WHERE THE UNICORN MATES WITH THE BLACK STALLION CENTAUR!"
“UGGGGH!!!”
Hello, Zane.
Last week, before I was so RUDELY interrupted by the BLATANT SUCKATUDE of the technological capabilities of the Coalition (I blame a lot of that on Ooley’s influence), I told everyone that while I wasn’t going to do it right THEN, I WAS going to explain the HOW and WHY of that whole “I’m going to be the next World Champion” thing. Now, as I said, I will NOT be explaining the WHY of it until I’m ready to talk to Vain, but I CAN talk a bit about the HOW of it.
YOU deserve to know HOW it happened.
So Donovan has his...lets go with “associates”...pop by my sweet-ass apartment/hotel/whatever I live in with Ken in Beverly Hills, right? These were two BIG OL’ BOYS, let me tell you. And it was “encouraged” that I attend this “conversation” with my kinda/sorta Outlast teammate, right? Now, as I told Donovan when I saw him, that it’s a good thing Kenzi wasn’t around at the time, because that whole “I know! Lets KIDNAP SARAH” idea probs wouldn’t have gone over well. Now, he and I get to talking about stuff, and he does the blithely unaware thing, end I do the “Check ME out!” thing, right? But after the camera goes off?
He REALLY shows me his hand.
“To be the World Champion, to hold the premier championship in this business, just how far exactly are you willing to go?”
That whole “win at any cost” thing isn’t just a slogan. It isn’t just a gimmick. It isn’t just something to through on a t-shirt by a marketing team. It is a tenant of the House of Lacklan. And do you know what that means for you? What it MEANT?
That I would help destroy #DonoZane, a coupling I publically and loudly fangirled over, without question.
I knew about the cinder block.
I knew about what might well happen to you in the finals.
I knew everything.
I will admit that I did NOT expect this match. Donovan and I didn’t exactly hash out deets or anything (you know how he is!), but I had assumed I would spend this week in some kind of crazy tag match with Vain on the other side, or perhaps one of those main event multiperson matches that EVERYONE KNOWS is going to end in a “Fuck it! Just ring the bell!” no contests. Mind you, I didn’t exactly expect Mags (love you, bestie!) to be all “I WANTZ MY PRECIOUS” and engage Vain in the LONGEST MATCH IN HISTORY, so I can’t exactly be blamed for this match.
Please don’t take any of this personally, Zane. Angie? Wants nothing to do with this. Kenzi? Wants little to do with this. Roxy? Won’t say no to a winner’s check. And me?
It’s not personal.
It’s business.
And my business?
Fucking people up.
From the moment I first introduced myself to the Coalition on June 1st of last year, I told everyone that this is what I was BORN to do. And not just in one of those “I live for this!” moments, but literally BORN to do. Sired by a hall of fame world champion. Trained by a hall of fame world champion. Surrounded by friends who epitomize all that glitters as we are covered in gold. And in just a few moments, for the first time, you will discover what that means in a very visceral way.
Everyone knows what is about to happen, Zane. You are at the end of your rope while I am making my ascension, and every person facing you in the ring, every member of that impossible handicap match, is not only a highly-decorated champion, but are all current or recent champions within THIS company. Even IF some of us may lack the heart for what must be done tonight, you will have no chance of walking out with anything but a severe and complete beatdown.
What is about to happen?
Its inevitable.
