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Shawn Warstein · (07-26-2020)

Chicago, Il
7:30am
July 18, 2020

Bzzzzzzz

Bzzzzzzz

Bzzzzzzz

I reach my hand out, blindly searching for my phone. As I knock a water bottle to the ground I grab the phone and silence the annoying alarm. Rolling over I throw an arm towards the other side of the bed.

Only to find it empty. I roll onto my back, staring at the ceiling fan spinning, a painful deep breath and hoarse cough forces me to finally sit up. Slowly I sat on the edge of the bed with my feet on the floor. There were some clothes piled up next to the bathroom door and a suitcase opened on the chair next to the doorway.

“Right. She’s leaving this afternoon.”

I take a deep breath and clear my throat. The taste of iron finally subsided after a night of drinking and relaxation. I crack my neck and take yet another deep breath. The pain is still there, but it is going away and should be gone by the time Sunday rolls around.

“I know that we talk and we talk a lot, but I’m failing to see the hate from you. I can’t tell if you’ve given up already or if that finally comes in your next promo. Seriously I know you’re supposed to be the good guy in all of this, but you’re laying it on pretty thick. I wanted to see the Centurion that almost won WrestleStock. THAT Centurion could beat me. THAT Centurion has Universal Champion written all over him. This one that we are all getting right now? This is the one who lost his title. This is the one that knows that he is in way over his head. This is the one who asks more rhetorical questions than are necessary.”

“How’s the pressure? How am I sleeping, right? You asked that? Well I’m sleeping in a bed, with a beautiful woman by my side this morning aside. Another title on the shelf. So I would say I’m sleeping just fine. I don’t wake up in cold sweats anymore. I’m not tweaking out sick to my stomach, and vomiting every hour from withdrawals. I don’t. Worry about where my next fix is coming from. So all in all. Pretty damn well.”

“As for the pressure?”

“Your first mistake was assuming that I’m under pressure. I’m not the one that has anything to prove. Win or lose I’m still going to be here. I’m still going to be mentioned as one of the best of all time. We are not alike in that fashion. You put all of this pressure on yourself. YOU have to win. You will never challenge again. I’m still the person you’re chasing. Since the first time our paths crossed, all the way until today, you’ve been chasing me. I don’t feel pressure to stay ahead. I don’t have pressure to win, you do. You’re the one chasing this moment in time that you’ve never had. All of your friends here are gone.”

“I wouldn’t call the current roster contemporaries, or friends. Gone are The Brand’s, the Steve Jason’s, the Jem Williams’ of the old era, because when it all boils down to it….”

“In reality it isn’t me you’re chasing.”

“It’s them.”

“You’re chasing ghosts.”

“This from nowhere crusade of yours, has nothing to do with me. It’s about you chasing everyone that left you to fend for yourself. Left you all alone. You can quote Miyoko all you want…”

“That wasn’t a compliment she gave you. She showed pity. It was an excuse for why you were never on their level. She threw you a bone and you have carried it with you all this time, just for the right moment to break it out. You’ve held onto that with everything you have. Holding out hope that they haven’t forgotten about you. That’s why you’re still here. That’s why this means so much more to you than it does to me.”

“You need this validation. You need this so when you’re around them you can finally have something to add to the discussion. I don’t. I never needed it.”

“What am I so angry about? It’s the optics of the situation Centurion. It’s the fact that you’re even here. The fact that this is, or has ever been a question. You want to know why I’m bitter?”

“It is because after everything I did for this company, everything I built….”

“I’m still just Fuzz.”

“I’m not allowed to be anything other than that am I? You still bring him up. Hell on the website it says Shawn “Fuzz” Warstein. I can’t be just me without everyone pointing out what I was.”

“Do you know what it’s like to finally cast your demons aside? Do you know what it’s like to have people constantly talk about that demon? To this day I still get emails to Mr. Fuzz. Or the pot shots on twitter “Aren’t you Fuzz’s girl?”. You want to know why I’m bitter?”

“Because even when I try to distance myself from the past, it always comes right back to the forefront. I am trying to be something greater than just the guy who used needles. I’m trying to be more than just a one trick pony. I’m not content with my legacy. Not while I can continue to grow it.”

“Yet it’s always right there in my peripheral. Over the entire time I’ve been here in the XWF, I’ve always been the guy to come in and win. Get my titles and disappear into the night. This time something changed. I felt myself distancing myself from HIM. That gets us to Leap Of Faith.”

“You want to know why I’m angry?”

“It’s because YOU are the last person standing. You are the last person with ties to Fuzz. Every time I see you it reminds me of what I’ve gotten away from. You need to be removed for the equation. You bring back memories of a time that I would much rather forget. YOU are the reason why I’m so bitter and filled with resentment. Sure I may be making up people who think that you’re better than me. Shawn is better than Centurion. It’s the people that say Fuzz isn’t better. They are still around. They still have this conviction. They can’t get over the past.”

“I’ve tried so hard to be just ME. Everyone wants something from me.”

“Well on Sunday I’m finally going to put myself first.”

“If I lose, I lose. I move on. I’ll be able to wake up on Monday with no regrets.

“You did say one thing that made sense. I should adapt the mentality of not caring what other people think. It would serve me good… Horseshit. You’ve made an entire career out of caring about what people have thought, just because you’ve aged doesn’t me you don’t care. We all know that on the surface you may not care, but just below the surface you’re begging for their acceptance. If you never cared about what people thought about you, being called boring would never get to you. Yet it does. Every time someone says that, a fire begins to build. Slowly over time it engulfs you.”

“For one night, all the fire that’s built up inside of you. Nineteen god damn years worth of frustration. All bubbling to the surface, ready to explode. You only need to be better than me for one night.”

“For one night you have to be the best you’ve ever been. And then you need to be the best you’ve ever been the next night. And the next night, and so on. You don’t have The Juice to go the distance.”

“You sit there wishing for the fairytale ending. The good guy gets the girl and everyone lives happily ever after. You finally get your validation. The final merit badge. You’re standing in the middle of the ring, confetti falling from the ceiling. You’ll look over to her, smile and say ‘I finally did it!’. The crowd is going crazy chanting your name, as the tears begin to well up in your eyes.”

“Then it happens. Your eyes open. At that moment you begin to realize what has truly happened.”

“There are no fairytale endings for you.”

“Not this time.”

I quickly get dressed and head downstairs to the kitchen, where Noah is sitting at the table eating a bowl of cereal Sick Cunt-o’s to be precise.

“Morning cunt.” A quick head nod from Noah.

“What are you doing up this early?” Reaching for the coffee pot which is still warm and only half full.

“Well you said you’ve got those two meetings today, so I figured I’d tag along… I don’t have anything better to do anyways.” I take a sip of my coffee and sit at the table with Noah.

“You don’t have to come if you don’t want to.” Noah nods as he pours more cereal into his bowl.

“I know but I need to keep myself occupied. If I don’t then I’ll just keep thinking about…” He trails off in his words and a dour expression comes across his face. “Just need to keep busy.”

“I get it man. Things will turn around.” Noah just sits there staring at the back of the cereal box in front of him. “Where’d Atty go?”

“Oh yeah, I forgot.” He looks up from the back of the box and thinks for a second. “When I woke up and came down here she was on the phone.”

“So.” Noah raises a hand to shush me.

“She was arguing with someone. I couldn’t understand it.” I nod quickly and sigh.

“Probably Osira.”

“I dunno, but as soon as she saw me she ended the call.” A puzzled look comes across my face. “Then all of a sudden she had to go for a run. That was about an hour ago.”

“Alright I’ll give her a call in a little bit, but we’ve got to head out soon. So finish up so we can get going.” Noah gives a quick thumbs up as I head back upstairs. Once in the bedroom I grab my phone off of the bed and check for any messages.

Nothing. I can’t believe that this is happening.

Come On….

Stop!

You know you want to…

Shut Up!

You need me….You’ll fail otherwise.

I grab my phone and throw it across the room as it shatters on contact. One visceral scream later, there’s a knock on the door.

“You okay?” No I’m not I’m breaking slowly.

“Yeah…” Noah looks at me and then at the phone on the ground. “I need an upgrade anyways.”

“Right…” Noah looks suspiciously at me. “I’ll just text her to see when she’ll be back.”

“Thanks.” Noah closes the door behind him as I sit there breathing heavily.

What the fuck was that?

You know what it was.

But why?

You know why…

I don’t need you...You need me…

Keep thinking that…

The door opens up as a sweaty Atara walks in. Immediately making a b-line for the bathroom, without even acknowledging that I was there. She quickly comes out with a towel and is drying herself off.

“Morning.” A quick side smile, as she sits on the chair next to her suitcase.

“Yeah.” That's not the reaction of someone who just talked to her sister. She looks towards me and smiles. “Sorry for heading out so early.”

“It’s fine. Everything ok?” A short huff from her as she comes over and sits next to me. Gently she placed her head on my shoulder.

“Yeah...No… Maybe.” I reach my arm around her and pull her in closely.

“Anything I can do?” She looks up from me and smiles.

“Have you given it any thought of coming with me?” I did. It’s a bad idea. I know what they will think.

“Yeah… Atty I can’t.” As I look off into the distance.

“Well why not?”

“You know why.” She knows why. If her family listens to Osira for even a second, I’m public enemy numero uno in that family.

“You don’t know that.”

“Listen. I know how this goes. Nothing good is going to come from it.” That’s the truth that we both know. I know that she’s being overly optimistic, but I just can’t.

“That’s not fair to assume. You know how much they mean to me….”

“Yeah I know….”Dammit.

“Then why won’t you come?”

“Fine. I’ll go. Only because it means a lot to you.” I give her a quick kiss on the forehead. “Now go take a shower, you stink. Noah and I will be back later.” She playfully hits me in the shoulder as I get up from the bed and leave her to finish up her routine. When I reach the bottom of the stairs Noah is standing there waiting for me.

“Ready to go?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re driving.” I toss Noah the keys and he snatches them out of the air.

—-Breaking The Rules—-

There is a promo that I put out that is the first meeting. I will not post it here, but go to my twitter and you’ll find it. I’m just trying to keep everything in the same story as best as I can.

——Back to the Adventure——

Chicago, Il
11:37am
July 18, 2020

The car pulls up to our second destination.

“Noah, I’m going to need you to stay in the car for this one.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m not sure what’s going to happen or be said.” Noah blows raspberries and nods. I shut the door as Noah pulled off into the parking lot.

I walked into the building and was greeted by the receptionist. She took one look at me and her jaw dropped. I just smiled and continued on my way. Offices lined the hallway, and as I passed each and every room the murmur grew. At first it was quiet but slowly everyone was watching as I walked down the hall. Once I reached the doorway at the end there was no hesitation as I opened it.

Not a single soul was in the large office. I walked around the desk and sat down. I spin the chair around and stare off into the skyline of Chicago. Waiting for what is about to happen next.

This is a bad idea.

I agree. This is a driving force for you.

But I can’t allow it to be… not anymore.

You think this will help? You’re wrong as usual.

Shut up. What do you know?

I know this won’t make her love you…

What I can’t do this for myself?

If it was for yourself… you would’ve done it a long time ago.

The door opens and footsteps can be heard approaching the desk.

“You can’t be in here, I’m going to have to ask you to leave my office.”

“No. I don’t think that I will.” I spin the chair around and am met by the glare of Jules. The cocky expression on her face drops at the sight of me. “Have a seat won’t you. We’ve got to talk.” Jules hesitantly sits down.

“What’s this about Shawn?” A quick smile comes across my face.

“Well you see recently I’ve had a few stumbles. Both personally and professionally. So I had some free time to think about everything.”

“Is there going to be a point? Or should I call security?” As she reaches for the phone.

“I wouldn’t want you escorted out of the building. Remember I still own the majority of this company that I allow you to run.” She slowly pulls her hand away from the phone and crosses her arms. “Continuing on. So when we got divorced something stood out to me. Well not then but now that I have a clear head.”

“And what’s that?”

“Well I couldn’t remember if you divulged the fact that you were sleeping with MY lawyer. It would explain how you got away with basically murder on the settlements, but who are we kidding? I was stoned out of my mind. That stuff would all hold up in court today…” I begin to wag my finger. “That is if you told the courts… right?”

“I told them.”

“I thought you did, but I had to be sure. So I had my new lawyer go through all the paperwork again.” A shocked smile comes across my face. “You know what he found? That you did in fact tell the courts…”

“I told you I did, you never believed me then and now.” A cocky grin covers her face.

“You did. Two years after the fact. So I’m doing what my lawyer said I should. I’m refiling our divorce papers. With a few new additions.”

“I won’t sign them. We are already divorced.”

“You’re right, but by refiling them and refusal to sign them will automatically take away everything from the old one, with the exception of the divorce itself.” I kick my feet up on the desk and lean back. “So that means no more money. None of the properties. Everything you’ve grown accustomed to will be gone. And take this as blackmail… but you’d be jobless too. And do you know what courts think of parents of divorce that don’t have a job? Well they would permanently put the child with the parent better suited to care for them.”

“You wouldn’t dare…” I get up from the chair and begin walking towards the door.

“Well I’ve got an adult son who would love nothing more than to spend time with a brother he didn’t know he had until seven months ago. So the choice is yours Jules. Sign the papers…. Or lose everything. Dignity included.” I throw up the deuces and walk out back into the hallway. “Get back to work.”

Everyone shuffles back into their offices as I walk out, suddenly the door from the office bursts open. Jules is standing there furious.

“Did your Whore tell you to do this!?” She screams across the office. I stop in my tracks and drop my shoulders.

“Actually, No she didn’t. But if I were you I’d watch how loudly you say that. If she hears that, I won’t stop her next time.” I smile and open the front door and head out towards the parking lot. Noah notices me standing there and pulls the car around.

“Everything good?” He said as I sat down in the passenger seat.

“Yup. Everything went according to plan.” Noah and I pull off into the street and begin our journey home.

Chicago, Il
3:42pm
July 18, 2020

Carrying far too many bags down the stairs I stumble on the last step but catch myself before breaking my face. Noah looks at me from the couch with a look of bewilderment as I walk past him and put the bags by the front door.

“That’s a lot of bags for one person.”

“Yeah, I forgot to tell you…” Breathing heavily as I turn back into the living room. “I’m going with her.”

“Cool. Just leave Noah alone by himself….” Noah rolls his eyes and picks up the remote to the TV. “...Again. Well you have fun getting judged for a week while you’re there.”

“Noah, it’s important.” Atara comes walking down the stairs and looks at both of us for a moment.

“Is everything alright?”

“Yeah. Just he’s being a little bitch about me going with you.” Atara smiles deviously. Maybe deviously is the wrong word, maybe gleeviously? Yeah I’ll go with that.

"We will bring Noah with us! You can't be without your bestie and hey, he can keep Osira from trying to strangle you!"

"Neat, right Noah?" A fatherly grin as I look at Noah who looks to be fuming.

“Pass.”

“It’ll be nice for you to clear your head for a bit. Just go pack a bag and I’m sure Shawn will take care of everything else while we head to the airport.”

“Yeah.” “No.” Noah and I look at each other.

“What?”

“I’m sick of all of this. I get it dad you’re finally happy. Your little family is all together again…” Noah stands up and gets right in my face. “Well what about my family!? Huh? Why don’t we ever make any trips to Vita!? Huh? Why haven’t you seen my mum? Huh? You’re so concerned with yourself that you don’t even realize that I’m fucking devestated?”

“Well then come with us. You don’t have to spend time with Osira….”

“Fuck your pity invite.”

“Calm down. Maybe you shouldn’t come…”

“Ya think you stupid cunt!” Noah begins to storm off as Atara looks at me and then nods towards Noah.

Why are we chasing him? He’s an adult.

Because that’s what family does.

We never had a family. It was always just us.

Well we do now, so just shut up.

We don’t need him…. or her.

You might not, but I do.

Coward.

“Hey man. Calm down. We are just trying to help..” I catch up to Noah in the kitchen. Noah shakes his head and scoffs as I enter the room.

“Then help her.”

“Fine. What do you want me to do?”

“I don’t know.” Tears begin to well up in his eyes as he covers his face with his hands.

“We will figure this out. I’ll fight for you. I’ll fight for her.”

“I know. Just go. I need time to myself.” I reach a hand out and hover it over his shoulder, then pat him a few times. Well this day can’t possibly get any worse.

“SHAWN! Someone’s knocking on the door.”

“What the hell?”

I leave Noah in the kitchen and head out to the front door. I pick up all the bags and sling them on my shoulders.

“It’s probably just the driver letting us know he’s here.”

“What about Noah?”

“He’s half Warstein, he’ll be fine. We just gotta give him some space.”

Atara opens the door for me and steps to the side. I look up and it’s as if I’ve seen a ghost. I drop the bags in my hands to the ground.

“Long time.”

A man from my past is standing in my doorway. Me frozen in place. Atara picks up the bags and begins to walk out of the door.

“Come on Shawn. We don’t want to be late.”

Words couldn’t form from my mouth. I stood there looking at a man that I was told was dead.

“He’s….. Not the driver…”

The man looks at Atara, he sees the bags in her hands.

“I don’t want to hold you guys up…”

The man begins to walk away, down the long winding driveway until he reaches the street and disappears from our sight. Atara is busy putting the bags in the car that had arrived already with the help of the driver. In a daze I walk to the car and set the bags down. I hop into the backseat as Atara cuddles up next to me. Still in shock I just stare straight forward.

“That was weird. Who was that?”

I didn’t know what to say.

“I...it…..that was….”

I can’t believe that I’m about to say this.

“That….that was my... Dad.”

…….

…….

…..

Static covers the screen. Jumping wildly as a figure appears on the screen with their back turned.

Keep Knocking On That Door….

Someone Just Might Answer…

“Boo!”

Shawn quickly turns around and leans his face right into the camera, but something is different, a ski mask is covering his face. You can see a glossy look in his eyes. His pupils are dilated, as he sways back and forth, before cutting his attention back to the camera.

“This what you wanted right?”

“You wanted to make a deal with the devil?”

“This is what everyone wanted since April right? Shawn this… Shawn that.”

“He was better under the stupid name. At least this way we wouldn’t feel bad for him when all the shit comes bubbling up to the surface. It’s easier to hate someone when you don’t feel for them or have any compassion right?”

“Right?”

“Yet this is what everyone wanted. You got the big bad bully to show his face, once more. Well you get your wish. For this one moment in time, you get everything.”

“I hope it’s all you’ve ever wanted.”

“You see I didn’t want to dig down into the well. No. I wanted to allow the world to see me for more than just one thing.”

“But that’s all you ever cling onto isn’t it Centurion? You can’t get over yourself. You need me more than I’ve ever needed you. You have always needed your great foil. You’ve always cared what I was doing. You need this. You need that. You can’t get over your past failures so you decide to harp on mine, there’s a problem though isn’t there? Whatever SHAWN has done, Centurion hasn’t. Shawn has accomplished more than you in less than six months.”

“But Fuzz on the other hand….”

“Has done the same, except you’ve beaten Fuzz haven’t you? You’ve pinned me right square in the middle of the ring. Something that you can finally hang your hat on in this matchup. You have the upper hand.”

“Taaa Daaa!”

“Well had…. You see while I’m no longer in control, but the viciousness is still there. It never left. The lack of empathy for my opponents is still there. The blatant disregard of everything that comes out of your stupid fucking mouth.”

“Is still there.”

“All those words that pour out of your mouth, hurt my last feeling that I have. Usually I hear everything, but the worse the wrestler, the more they hate it that I’m on top. I allowed Shawn to take back control, and look where it’s gotten us. To this point. To my breaking point.”

“I may not be behind the wheel, but bet your fucking ass Andy, I’m still riding shotgun. Everything he said is true. You can’t deny that. From falsely claiming victories over me, to the blatant thought that you were even close to me in any way, shape, or form.”

“Your right. I talk a lot about what other people say, and when your name is brought up near mine, I cringe. I cringe so fucking hard because they don’t really know the whole story. They see the optics of everything and draw a straight line comparison. They don’t account for the highs and lows.”

“My lows were rock bottom, and every time I climbed back out of that hole it was for one reason only. To prove everyone wrong.”

“There’s a reason why I never went into MMA, regardless of what you think you’ve seen. It never happened. That was Atara, not Shawn. I wouldn’t last one minute in the cage. Not because I’m a pussy, because in a fight like that I wouldn’t hold back. I wouldn’t be able to. So wherever you thought I fought an MMA fight, you’re mistaken. You old age has once again failed you.”

“Dementia is a mother fucker.”

“But that’s okay. I know what this match means for the both of us. We’ve both been over it ad nauseum. Your legacy… Yadda yadda yadda. My ego… yadda yadda yadda. This match is the culmination of everything. From the first time all the way to this. The last time. I know you think you’re at peace with whatever happens, but you're not. That’s a lie that you tell yourself. It’s a lie that you have to say out loud so many times that maybe one day you’ll believe it, and people will parrot it back to you. Just for that brief moment of solace. I don’t need that. I hear what everyone says.”

“I don’t have to make up fabrications of events.”

“I don’t have to lie to myself.”

“I’ve always known what I am.”

“It’s no secret what everyone says about me behind my back. I’ve never hidden what I was. I felt it was necessary for everyone to see everything. Yet even the times I was clean it was always the same thing.”

“He’s a junkie.”

“He’ll relapse.”

“You don’t know what it’s like to constantly fight upwards? To always hear that, no matter how hard you try, you’ll never be considered as an equal. Even when I’ve reached the top, the questions were always still there. That all lasts to this very day. Deny it all you want, the same questions that are always asked are still on the forefront of everyone’s mind.”

“When is he going to just disappear?”

“How much longer does he have?”

“That’s why I did what I had to do. I had to starve out the questions. I needed to change the narrative. And I thought that’s what I did….”

“Until everyone kept picking at the scab.”

“All of you just couldn’t let the wounds heal. I was sooooooo close to finally getting out.”

“You just couldn't let the past die.”

“Fine.”

“At Leap of Faith. I’m going to end you Centurion. Physically. Mentally. Emotionally. I’m going to break you down to the very essence of everything you stand for. I’m going to bury you so deep that Jimmy Hoffa is gonna say ‘Damn ain’t no one gonna find him.’... This isn’t going to be pretty. This isn’t going to be fun.”

“The fun left a long time ago.”

“This time…. I’m going for the jugular. I’m going to stomp on everything you hold near and dear to your heart. I didn’t want to do this. I wasn’t going to do this. You provoked this.”

“I’m going to burn your career to ashes.”

“There will be no rebuilding like a phoenix. There will be no great return. You will be nothing more than a faded memory in this world.”

“They will not look upon me fondly in the history books. I will be perceived as the villain who slayed the hero. Right? That’s what you’ve always thought of yourself as? The hero? The man with the moral compass that was as straight as they come?”

“I’m okay being the villain.”

“I’ve been one the entire time I’ve been here.”

“Regardless of my actions. Regardless of what I do. I will not let you stop my growth.”

“If I have to end you to move forward…”

“Then I will.”

“I don’t want to.”

“I have to.”

“Sunday is the last time we will see the great Centurion in the ring with ‘Fuzz’.”

“Get your house in order.”

“Say your goodbyes.”

“The clock is ticking”

Fuzz tilts his head at the camera as he slowly lifts off the mask. All that is seen is an empty stare into the camera and right before abruptly cuts to black the faintest of smiles comes across Shawn’s face.

Threaded Mode \| Linear Mode Not all Fairytales have a happy ending.
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