"Friends come and go but I wouldn't have thought you'd be one of them." –Dorothy Parker

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Shawn Hero: “Didn’t even break a sweat.”

Shawn smirks as he walks out of the backdoor of the XWF arena, carrying his equipment bag and a white towel.

He had done it. He had won his debut match, not to his surprise. Though he expected nothing else to happen, the emotions were bubbling. He missed it. He missed the pride, the feeling you get when you have your hand raised at the end of the match. He missed flashing his cocky smile right before he delivers a match-ending Blackout. He missed looking down at his exhausted, unconscious opponent at the end of the match. He missed it.. and he loved it.

No matter how hard you try to erase emotion from your life, it’s pointless. You can try all you want to be as heartless and hard as you can.. But there is always something that can flood in the emotions. For Shawn, it was stepping back into the ring again and dominating.

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-THE NEXT DAY

Right Direction Incorporated..

One of the biggest mental health institutes in the city of Durham, North Carolina. It was now the place where Shawn Hero’s old friend, Vile, was located.

Shawn smirked as he stepped out of the car and walked up to the doors of the establishment. He walks through the front doors and up to the front desk where he is eagerly greeted by a middle-aged, blonde lady sitting behind the desk.

Lady: “Hello, welcome to Right Direction, where we only head to the right direction.”

The lady turns her head to the right and back to Shawn with a big smile.

Shawn: “I see what you did there. Anyway, I’m here to see a friend of mine.”

Lady: “Our patients absolutely love getting visitors. What’s your friend’s name?”

Shawn: “Vile.”

The lady doesn’t even flip through the patient list but instead gives Shawn a puzzled look.

Lady: “We don’t have a patient by that name.”

Shawn: “Oh right, no his name is Kyle.. Kyle Miller.”

Lady: “Ah, Mr. Miller. Right this way, please.”

The lady turns on her heels and Shawn follows her. As he follows the lady, Shawn looks into different rooms, some that are barred shut because of the maniac that lives inside of them. As he walks, Shawn passes by a room with a little girl inside. They catch each other’s eye for the split second that Shawn is in the doorway and the girl flashes Shawn an eerie, yet adorable smile, which makes her look like a Barbie Doll.

Shawn: “What kind of people are sent here?”

Lady: “What do you mean?”

Shawn: “The people that are in here.. What did they do?”

Lady: “Oh, we don’t like to discuss the details of our patients. We take the worst people and bring out the best in them.”

Shawn: “That girl back there in that room. Why is she in here?”

Lady: “Mary? Well that’s her own personal business, Mr. Hero. I will tell you though, she’s our most.. skeptical patient. Her mind is a maze and you never know what’s around the corner.”

Shawn: “Ah, well can you at least tell me why Kyle is still in here?”

The lady stops by a red door labeled ‘Room 213’ and turns around sharply, with a grim look on her face.

Lady: “If you’re his friend, then you should know the answer to that question..”

The lady opens the door slowly, and they both step inside. Inside is Shawn’s old friend, Vile, laying down on his bed, studying his worn knuckles, from years of violence. Vile slowly turns his head, acknowledging the two.

Vile: “How you doing, Miss Williams?”

Vile flashes her a quick wink along with a charming smile. Shawn is surprised that Miss Williams stares on at Vile, unaffected.

Miss Williams: “I’m quite alright, Mr. Miller. Do you know this man?”

Vile turns his attention to his old buddy. He studies Shawn up and down, staring as if he were unfamiliar before showing a familiar smile and nodding his head softly.

Vile: “Yes, I know him. This man’s saved my life, more than once.”

Miss Williams turns and looks at Shawn approvingly before nodding at the both of them and walking to the door.

Miss Williams: “I’ll leave the two of you alone.”

As she walks out, she whispers to Shawn.

Miss Williams: “There will be an officer here, soon. He will stand outside the door.

Shawn simply nods as the door closes behind her. He turns around and looks at his old friend with a smirk.

Shawn: “Vile, I’ve missed you, man.”

Vile: “The feeling’s mutual. Alright, enough with the BS. I’ve been in here for months, you haven’t visited me once so I know this isn’t just a casual visit. So spit it out.”

Shawn’s jaw drops as he stares at the face of his friend, staring back at him. This hostility was new from his old friend.

Shawn: “A guy can’t visit his friend now?”

Vile: “No, hotshot. You think you can disappear for months and just waltz into here like nothing’s happened? That’s not how it works anymore, Shawn. I mean, where were you man? You call yourself my friend, but where were you? Where were you when they took me away? Where were you when they dragged me in here? Where were you when they tazed my a** and threw me in a room with a little psycho girl who’s just about done every crime to man and tried to kill me in my sleep? You weren’t here, that’s for sure.”

Shawn: “Vile, it’s not like..”

Vile: “It’s Kyle, now. Not that you would know that ‘cause you weren’t here.”

Vile turns his back on Shawn, and stares at the turned-off television across the room. It wasn’t right. Shawn was bewildered by the behavior of his old friend. This wasn’t the Vile he had grown up with. This wasn’t the Vile he had fought alongside with for years. This wasn’t the Vile that he knew.

Shawn: “Come on, man. What was I supposed to do? I have a life too, man.”

Vile: “Oh, I know you do. We all know you do. We see you on Wednesday Nights, talking like you’re the mother[bleep]ing man. Walking around without a care in the world. One of those cares should be about me man. I’ve been your boy for life. I’ve been there for you since Day One.. When that gang from L.A. was coming after you, who stood up to them and fought with you?”

Shawn: “You did.”

Vile: “And when you got thrown off that boat and almost [bleep]ing drowned in the Rollingview Marina, who the [bleep] jumped in there and got you out?!”

Shawn: “Vile, it was you but-“

Vile: “Exactly! It was me.. And who was there, fighting with you in that d*mn fire, trying with all of his might to rescue the cousin of his best friend?”

Shawn heard a voice crack and looked up at Vile, who was now facing him with teared-up eyes.

Vile: “I’ve been there! It was me! I’ve always had your back man, even when you’re [bleep]ing world was crashing down, I was there trying to help you raise it back up!.. But when my world crashed, you were nowhere to be found.. But that’s my mistake. I made the mistake of calling you my brother years ago. My family’s gone. My house is gone. I’ve lost my daughter, and you know what.. I don’t even care anymore. I’ve accepted that my life’s over. But you.. Mr. Showtime here. You got a lot going for you. You just joined one of the best federations, went right in and won your debut match. Everything’s just going your way.”

Vile turns back around and looks at the black TV screen again.

Vile: “So go ahead. Go on and be successful and just forget about every friend that you’ve ever made who has helped you along the way. You never cared about anyone anyway.. ‘Cept for Alyssa, but she’s dead now, so I guess you don’t give a [bleep] about anyone.”

Shawn: “Vile..”

Vile: “Go. Leave my room. Go out there, go win another match, get money and girls and fame. And you know what?.. Don’t come back. It’s obvious that good ol’ Vile isn’t good enough to ride the Shawn Hero train anymore. It’s fine, my ride is done anyway. I’ve had my fun. Looks like you’re still having yours.”

Vile turns on the TV screen, and there is an image of Shawn Hero standing with his arms raised in victory over World-1 International. There is a huge grin on Shawn’s face. Vile clicks off the TV and chuckles to himself. He then lays down and faces the wall, turning away from Shawn, and building up a wall that would forever stay between the two.

Shawn slowly turns around, and shuffles his feet to the door. He opens the door and walks out of the room, shocked beyond explanation. The police officer standing beside the door stands aside as Shawn walks past, with the same shocked expression on his face. As Shawn walks to the front door of the establishment, the emotions finally hit him and he gets choked up.

He had just lost the very last person he had, and that hurts worse than any Blackout that anyone could ever receive.

RECORD:
4 WINS
2 LOSSES
0 DRAWS