Post by AJ Knight on Jul 25, 2024 18:51:17 GMT
It's burning...
That was the only thought AJ could form staring at the TV screen, but even he couldn't tell if he was referring to the unholy combination of Epsom salt, scalding water, and rubbing alcohol he was up to his neck in or what he was seeing on TV.
He's back... Why him? Why now?
Since he'd heard the rumors of Irvine's imminent return, he wanted to believe it wasn't true. He wanted to believe he was still in the past. No such luck. He felt something crawling under his skin. Something in all his life, he'd only ever felt for one person in his whole life.
Hate...
Suddenly his ruminations were interrupted by the voice of Bastian Krull, who was supervising his weight cut.
"You alright kid? It's been more than 5 minutes, and you haven't said a word. I didn't even know that you could be quiet for that long."
Shit... cover it...
"Just surprised. Didn't Irvine die a few years ago? Like I think I read that somewhere."
AJ's bad attempt at a joke doesn't fool Bastian Krull, but he plays along.
"No, I'm pretty sure that was a twitter hoax."
"Well then, who died a few years ago?"
"...Several people..."
AJ couldn't help but chuckle at the confusion in Krull's response.
Well ask a stupid question...
"So, there's nothing else going on? Everything's fine now that we've cleared up that Alexander Irvine is in fact alive?"
"Yeah."
No.
"Good. Because you've got a match, and it isn't with Irvine. Thunder Mask is no slouch. There's a reason those Kaminari dojo boys follow him. He may be older than he was, but the man's got some tricks up his sleeve. And given your struggles with quick, tricky wrestlers in the past, you need to be focused. Three seconds is all it takes."
"I know Bastian."
"Do you? I recall you said the same thing before HIJO last year, and the lost to a roll up in the finals."
Of course you'd bring that up you dick.
Still AJ's focus was on the disingenuous torrent streaming from Irvine's lying mouth made AJ's skin crawl. The hypocrisy of referring to Max J as "sacred ground" after spending so long railing against it had AJ seeing red.
It was never his home, he made that perfectly clear...
Maybe that was what made Irvine the only man he truly hated, but he could never be sure. For all of his talk of legitimacy, all his talk about being real, he was a liar. Nothing about him was real, or legitimate, or honest. He was a sellout, a fake, and an opportunist.
For all his flaws Eli fought for his family, and Matt, hypocrite though he was, had some ethics. And Hammerstein...
That's over... that's the past... you've moved on...
In Irvine though there was nothing good. There was nothing admirable... and nothing to forgive...
"Alright AJ, I don't want you overheating. Get out and dry off."
AJ steps from the tub, drying off he feels the cool air on his damp skin, but still...
It's burning...
That was the only thought AJ could form staring at the TV screen, but even he couldn't tell if he was referring to the unholy combination of Epsom salt, scalding water, and rubbing alcohol he was up to his neck in or what he was seeing on TV.
He's back... Why him? Why now?
Since he'd heard the rumors of Irvine's imminent return, he wanted to believe it wasn't true. He wanted to believe he was still in the past. No such luck. He felt something crawling under his skin. Something in all his life, he'd only ever felt for one person in his whole life.
Hate...
Suddenly his ruminations were interrupted by the voice of Bastian Krull, who was supervising his weight cut.
"You alright kid? It's been more than 5 minutes, and you haven't said a word. I didn't even know that you could be quiet for that long."
Shit... cover it...
"Just surprised. Didn't Irvine die a few years ago? Like I think I read that somewhere."
AJ's bad attempt at a joke doesn't fool Bastian Krull, but he plays along.
"No, I'm pretty sure that was a twitter hoax."
"Well then, who died a few years ago?"
"...Several people..."
AJ couldn't help but chuckle at the confusion in Krull's response.
Well ask a stupid question...
"So, there's nothing else going on? Everything's fine now that we've cleared up that Alexander Irvine is in fact alive?"
"Yeah."
No.
"Good. Because you've got a match, and it isn't with Irvine. Thunder Mask is no slouch. There's a reason those Kaminari dojo boys follow him. He may be older than he was, but the man's got some tricks up his sleeve. And given your struggles with quick, tricky wrestlers in the past, you need to be focused. Three seconds is all it takes."
"I know Bastian."
"Do you? I recall you said the same thing before HIJO last year, and the lost to a roll up in the finals."
Of course you'd bring that up you dick.
Still AJ's focus was on the disingenuous torrent streaming from Irvine's lying mouth made AJ's skin crawl. The hypocrisy of referring to Max J as "sacred ground" after spending so long railing against it had AJ seeing red.
It was never his home, he made that perfectly clear...
Maybe that was what made Irvine the only man he truly hated, but he could never be sure. For all of his talk of legitimacy, all his talk about being real, he was a liar. Nothing about him was real, or legitimate, or honest. He was a sellout, a fake, and an opportunist.
For all his flaws Eli fought for his family, and Matt, hypocrite though he was, had some ethics. And Hammerstein...
That's over... that's the past... you've moved on...
In Irvine though there was nothing good. There was nothing admirable... and nothing to forgive...
"Alright AJ, I don't want you overheating. Get out and dry off."
AJ steps from the tub, drying off he feels the cool air on his damp skin, but still...
It's burning...