Apex Wins Indeed.

Chuck bursts through the curtain, walking down the hallways backstage as his music faded out in the arena. He could still hear the jeers of the fans, booing as Chuck made his exit, and Anna slowly began to recover from the spear. Behind Chuck, Kat Costick, Alison Williams, and Jason Hawk follow.

Katrina Costick: “So that’s it then?”

Chuck’s reply is barely audible, almost grumbling his response.

Chuck Matthews: “That’s it.”

Alison Williams: “She was dumb. You did the right thing.”

Chuck pauses for a moment, thinking Alison’s words over in his head. He shakes his head, and continues walking down the hall, Jason in close pursuit, and Kat and Alison having to almost jog to keep up with Chuck’s long strides. Chuck finally stops at the locker room door, clearly marked “Apex.” Chuck turns the handle, smashing his shoulder into the door to force it open. He slumps down on the sofa, and stares at the ceiling. The other members of Apex enter after him, looking at him cautiously.

Jason Hawk: “You alright?”

Chuck doesn’t bother looking at Jason.

Chuck Matthews: “Fine.”

Alison Williams: “You don’t sound fine.”

Chuck Matthews: “I said I’m fine.”

Kat circles around the sofa, stopping behind it. She leans over the back of the couch, looking Chuck in the eyes, upside down.

Katrina Costick: “You’re not fine.”

Chuck frowns, and looks away.

Chuck Matthews: “What the fuck is this, some sort of intervention? I tackled a bitch. I’ve been doing that shit for years. Why is this suddenly a big deal?”

Jason opens his mouth to say something, but doesn’t. For the first time Chuck can remember, Jason has nothing to say.

Jason Hawk: “Come on, lighten up. We got rid of Anna, and got Alison in her place. Apex is getting better every day.”

Well…easy come, easy go.

Jason Hawk: “Dude! We should celebrate. The new and improved Apex. Winning the tag titles. ANYTHING. Come on, just the four of us. It’ll be cool beans.”

Chuck Matthews: “I need to shower.”

Alison Williams: “Can I join?”

Chuck slowly turns to see Alison standing, a wide smirk on her face. She winks at Chuck, who shakes his head and walks into the showers.

Alison Williams: “Fine then…I guess I’ll go pick up Claire.”

Jason Hawk: “Where is she?”

Alison Williams: “Adam takes care of her when I’m working.”

Jason Hawk: “Can I come? I’m sure Claire would love to see her Uncle Jason!”

Alison Williams: “Yeah, let’s go.”

There’s a pause.

Alison Willams: “Kat? You coming?”

Katrina Costick: “I’m just gonna get changed and go home. It’s been a long night. I’ll meet you back at the hotel, Jason.”

Chuck sighs, listening to their conversation on the other side of the wall which separated the locker room from the showers. Kat and Alison had dated for a short time. They broke up because Alison had cheated on her with Dean Diamond…yet, here they were now, and they seemed to get along fine. Chuck could sense there was still a bit of awkwardness between them. But they were friends. Or at least, it seemed that way. Chuck though…

Chuck turns the water on full heat, ignoring the searing pain of the water scorching his body. He was lost in his own thoughts, as a million ideas, a million memories, a million thoughts raced through his mind at once.

???: “Chuck!”

Chuck groans. Part of him knew he would hear her before the night was up. You don’t just tackle a girl to the mat and expect her not to want to know what the fuck happened. Chuck snatches his towel, wrapping around his waist. He slowly walks out of the shower area to see Anna Stone standing in the middle of the locker room, her arms folded across her chest. For some strange reason, seeing her face changed Chuck’s mood instantly. Where he was contemplative, and a bit sullen before, he was now angry. Seeing Anna burned him inside, and suddenly, he was filled with some unnatural hatred for the woman, and wanted nothing more than to see her get hurt. She stares at Chuck, though he notices her steal a quick glance at his crotch, knowing fully well what sat behind the towel. Chuck smirks at this.

Anna Stone: “Well?”

Chuck Matthews: “What are you doing here?”

Anna Stone: “As if you need to ask?”

Chuck Matthews: “This isn’t your locker room anymore.”

Anna frowns.

Anna Stone: “My stuff is still here. And in any case, that’s all you have to say anyway? I took a fucking Hollywood Impact, you’ve been a dick for the past week and a half, and all I get is a ‘this isn’t your locker room anymore?’”

Chuck Matthews: “I don’t know what you expect me to say.”

Anna Stone: “An explanation would be nice.”

Chuck Matthews: “An explanation? Alright, fair enough. Would you like the ‘Alison moved, and I hit you by mistake?’ Or should I tell you the truth?”

Anna clenches her teeth, and Chuck noticed her fists clench at her sides as well.

Anna Stone: “The truth. But since you seem to have a problem with it, I suppose I should just accept your answer and leave, huh?”

Chuck Matthews: “I lied to you because I couldn’t let anyone know what I was doing.”

Anna Stone: “I was supposed to be your girlfriend. If you can’t trust me, then who the fuck CAN you trust?”

Chuck opens his mouth, then closes it. He turns around, moving towards his gym bag, and digging through it for his clothes.

Chuck Matthews: “Just get your shit and go.”

Anna stares at Chuck for a minute.

Anna Stone: “You’re unbelievable. Is it even possible for you to admit that you were wrong?”

Chuck remembers the past few conversations with Anna. Her ridiculous accusations. The distrust she held towards him. Suddenly, he had gone from someone she had confided in, to someone she wouldn’t trust with telling where she got her dry-cleaning done.

Chuck Matthews: “That’s the problem, Anna. I’m not wrong. You’ve spent the last couple weeks living in this fantasy world where everything I do is some big plan to make you miserable.”

Anna Stone: “Can you blame me? First you lie to me, tell me you’ve lost your memory. Then I figure out you remembered me the entire time. Then there’s this whole thing with you and Alison-“

Chuck Matthews: “I have never cheated on you with Alison.”

Anna Stone: “You say that. Why don’t I believe you?”

Chuck Matthews: “Because you’re a paranoid bitch.”

Anna stops. Chuck thinks over what he just said. He sighs, and turns around. Anna stands there, her eyes watering.

Chuck Matthews: “Anna, I didn’t-“

Anna shakes her head.

Anna Stone: “Forget it Chuck. I guess your reasons are your own. That’s what you always say, isn’t it?”

Chuck opens his mouth to speak, but can’t find any words.

Anna Stone: “It’s fine, Chuck. You’re right, you don’t need to share things with anyone else. You can keep everthing to yourself.”

Chuck hangs his head, not sure what to say.

Anna Stone: “But I can’t be a part of something like that…so…I guess I’m leaving.”

Chuck still says nothing. Anna is silent for a moment, clearly expecting Chuck to say something. Chuck can’t find any words.

Anna Stone: “You’re a good guy, Chuck….But…”

Chuck looks at her. She seems upset. Was this as difficult for her as it was for him?

Anna Stone: “Bye, Chuck.”

She stares at Chuck a moment longer. Chuck turns, and returns to rummaging through his gym bag. Anna sighs and leaves the room, leaving Chuck alone in the locker room.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chuck Matthews: “Really?

Really?

Fuck, I can talk for hours on end, and I think we all know I would…but man, I look around, I see some of the shit that’s happened, and at the risk of sounding like Ryan Apollos, this is truly the only thing I can think to say.

Really?

Brandon Macdonald won the briefcase tournament, cashed in on Robbie Hart, and is now competing against four guys who are making their debut this week?

Really?

Stygian goes on his cute little rant about how he brought Chuck Matthews back to IWF?

Really?

I fight to a draw with Styg, and suddenly go from fighting him to a three-team gauntlet match?

Really?

Johnny has determined Dan Alexander and some mystery partner to be considered legitimate threats to Apex and our reign as tag champions of the world?

Really?

Wake the fuck up. Welcome to the Road to Reality. Welcome to a world where Brandon Macdonald is not world champion material just because he cashed in a briefcase, where someone of my talent and caliber isn’t wasted on the undercard, where Chuck Matthews comes to wrestling because I fucking can, where Dan Alexander is where he belongs, opening shows, where Kim Kardashian is another bitch wanting to ride the Chuck Matthews train, where Jay Cutler’s injury might be the best thing to happen to the Chicago Bears since Mike Ditka, where Chad Mason should never have joined professional wrestling, where Barack Obama decided to go into the fields like the rest of his family, where Charlie Sheen snorts a gram of coke and becomes the greatest actor to walk the earth.

Man, if only the world ran on realism.

Fortunately for you, that’s exactly what I’m here to fix. I’m here to remind you fuckers of exactly what the world is supposed to be like. I’m here to remind you exactly what wrestling is supposed to be like. I’m here to remind you exactly how great a professional wrestling show can be, and we can do with with, God willing, a bit of entertainment. A bit of spice to an otherwise stale, bland recipe of Dan Alexander talking about how he’s the future of this industry, Brandon still trying to cling to that spot he held in NLWF, and Corey Casey going on his latest schizo rampage.

And so, we have Apex. The best. Period. End of story. Argument over.

The Highlights of Sunday nights. The best in the world. And the two most entertaining individuals to ever step into a ring. I’ve seen Jason do shit that no other man can do. Fuck, that guy jumped off a motherfucking water tower, and lived to tell the tale. Then me…as if I need to tell you. A guy who puts on matches of the year. A guy who is talked about. Always. Fuck, I don’t even need to be on the card, and there’s people still talking about how much they love Chuck Matthews.

And so, we have Katrina, a woman whose entertained millions in her band.

So who was the wrench in that system? Oh, the woman who married the most boring man in NLWF? Yeah, she seems a good fit for Apex.

No, wait….she’s the anti-Apex. She’s just as dull and predictable as her ex-husband. So we kicked her out in place of a woman who knows far more about how to stir the pot. How to entertain. How to get people to shut up, pay attention and realize “Damn…Apex knows their shit.”

Alison Williams.

The show ain’t over yet, though. In fact…this is just the beginning. This week, a few loser tag teams are about to get rocked by Apex.

Next week, Dan Alexander suffers the same fate.

Then? Apex takes over.

The Army is forming. Are you enlisted?”