Post by K.I.S.S. on Oct 21, 2014 22:52:51 GMT -6
“You never expected to go solo, did you?”
The question had been lingering in Ashley Kenyon’s mind all night long, ever since her older sister and tag team partner, Bethany Kenyon, had asked as they and their best friends, Nikki Peltier, Jeszika Gautier and Carrie Winter, had enjoyed drinks together at Prey, their watering hole of choice when home in New Orleans.
“You never expected to go solo, did you?”
As the night had gone on, somehow playing like normal in this place just wasn’t feeling the same as that question kept bouncing around inside her mind, picking up speed every time it bounced back to the forefront.
“You never expected to go solo, did you?”
Even as the first band, the all-female Birds of Prey, started playing, Ashley found herself standing there at the bar, that question from her older sister bouncing around and gaining momentum.
“You never expected to go solo, did you?”
Now, halfway through the Birds’ set, half an hour from the Red Hoods returning from California, Ashley just stares at the drink sitting in front of her. She swirls it around and considers tipping it back when the bartender, Stephanie Tompkins, comes walking over.
Stephanie Tompkins: Something wrong with the beer?
Ashley looks up into the eyes of the bottle brunette and shakes her head.
Ashley Kenyon: No… I just…
She pauses, biting her bottom lip and searching for the right words.
Ashley Kenyon: The Red Hoods are back in town, right?
Stephanie stiffens a little as she nods.
Stephanie Tompkins: Yes.
Ashley nods, her gaze moving back down to the booze in front of her.
Ashley Kenyon: Do you know if Billy Hawkes came back with them?
Stephanie nods again.
Stephanie Tompkins: Yeah, he did… why?
Ashley shrugs, trying to force a smile that never really makes it.
Ashley Kenyon: He’s my boyfriend…
She side eyes the stage and then frowns.
Ashley Kenyon: I think…
Stephanie’s eyes narrow.
Stephanie Tompkins: You think?
Ashley nods slowly, almost timidly.
Ashley Kenyon: We kinda had a fight over…
Stephanie nods knowingly, still stiff as a board.
Stephanie Tompkins: Heroin?
Ashley nods guiltily and Stephanie just frowns back at her.
Stephanie Tompkins: Why do you think you were wrong to do that?
Ashley sits back against the back of the stool she’s alternated between sitting on and standing in front of foe the last few hours, looking shocked.
Ashley Kenyon: What?
Stephanie shrugs.
Stephanie Tompkins: You look as if you think you did something wrong in calling him on all the bull that goes with his shooting that crap but, everybody has at some point. Jonas has been doing it for years, Carrie has, Richie, Tim and Jason all have.
Ashley nods, almost as if she’s expecting a reprimand for herself as well.
Ashley Kenyon: And you?
Stephanie nods.
Stephanie Tompkins: Yeah, I’ve yelled at him for it too. Someday he’s really gonna get hurt or…
She pauses, and crosses her arms.
Stephanie Tompkins: I guess he kinda already did…
Ashley nods.
Ashley Kenyon: Yeah, I saw that. Didn’t know what to think about it right off either.
Stephanie frowns.
Stephanie Tompkins: Saw it? You were there?
Her icy glare towards the backstage area tells Ashley all she needs to know.
Ashley Kenyon: No, I was here. Guy who did it made a video…
Stephanie frowns some more, obviously confused. Ashley quickly dials it up on her phone and plays the video for her.
Stephanie Tompkins: Hey… that guy was here and talked to Carrie…
Ashley nods.
Ashley Kenyon: He used to be married to Jeszika. Told Billy he was gonna make sure there was no more heroin.
Stephanie nods.
Stephanie Tompkins: I like him already.
Ashley sighs.
Ashley Kenyon: I didn’t... until…
Stephanie frowns.
Stephanie Tompkins: Until?
Ashley nods.
Ashley Kenyon: I don’t know that I actually like him now, but, I can’t say I hate him anymore. He tried to help Billy…
Ashley shakes her head in seeming disbelief while Stephanie stares back, her arms falling to her sides.
Stephanie Tompkins: If you hated him, why would he do that?
Ashley takes a deep breath.
Ashley Kenyon: He’s trying to make amends.
Stephanie just stares at her.
Stephanie Tompkins: For what?
Ashley fires down her drink and slams the glass back down onto the bar.
Ashley Kenyon: Being a selfish playboy asshole…
Stephanie nods as she pours another.
Stephanie Tompkins: That bad?
Ashley shrugs.
Ashley Kenyon: Bad enough…
She watches as Stephanie stares expectantly.
Ashley Kenyon: Caused a lot of collateral damage. Kinda got the feeling he wanted more than he got…
Stephanie cocks her head inquisitively.
Stephanie Tompkins: In what way?
Ashley stares at her newly refilled glass and then shrugs.
Ashley Kenyon: There were five of us in that suite that night and he only scored one of us…
Stephanie frowns.
Stephanie Tompkins: Doesn’t sound much like a playboy if he had five hot women in a suite and only did one.
Ashley nods.
Ashley Kenyon: I know though I kinda get the feeling he’s got a thing for my sister.
Stephanie nods as she wipes down her serving area.
Stephanie Tompkins: Doesn’t she go out with Carrie?
Ashley nods.
Stephanie Tompkins: Does she like him back?
Ashley shrugs.
Stephanie Tompkins: You don’t know?
Shaking her head, Ashley takes a swig from her drink.
Ashley Kenyon: No I really don’t…
She pounds her drink and slams the glass down again.
Stephanie Tompkins: Why not?
Ashley laughs while Stephanie fills the glass again.
Ashley Kenyon: Because I’m the hot head little sister, that’s why.
She picks up the glass and stares at it.
Ashley Kenyon: I’m the one who only gets told what I need to be told in order to keep me from freaking or exploding too early and thus fucking things up for everyone else.
She pauses to stare at the wonder liquid before her.
Ashley Kenyon: Sometimes I wonder why they ever let me on the team in the first place. Now I’m the hot headed little sister that never says the right thing, who only ever does stupid shit, who has the junkie boyfriend nobody else really likes and I’m the one getting a title shot nobody else thinks I really deserve.
Stephanie frowns.
Stephanie Tompkins: Didn’t you and Bethany just win a title shot?
Ashley shakes her head.
Ashley Kenyon: No, we just won a championship together.
Nodding slowly but clearly still confused, Stephanie cocks her head inquisitively again.
Stephanie Tompkins: So, if you just won a title, why wouldn’t you deserve it?
Grinning stupidly, Ashley sets her glass down on the bar.
Ashley Kenyon: Because it’s a solo championship and I…
She pauses, letting out a sorrowful sigh from deep within.
Ashley Kenyon: Never expected to go solo…
Before Stephanie can ask, Ashley nods, more to herself than anything else.
Ashley Kenyon: I never expected to go solo. I always thought I’d be the one to get tagged onto a team somewhere and everyone else would just take turns being the babysitter having to team with me and then when Bethy said that earlier…
Frowning, Stephanie pours herself a drink.
Stephanie Tompkins: Said what?
Ashley nods to her sister over at a table with Carrie, Jeszika and Nikki.
Ashley Kenyon: She asked me that question, that I never expected to go solo and then all but said she knew it was coming.
Nodding, Stephanie looks over at the table.
Stephanie Tompkins: Are they still dating?
Ashley glances back to the table and then shrugs.
Ashley Kenyon: I think they’re in the same place Billy and I are in, except that Bethy doesn’t have to worry about fighting a big mean violent champion on Sunday and I do.
Stephanie nods.
Stephanie Tompkins: Do you think Billy is gonna be able to stay sober this time?
Ashley turns back around and pounds her drink.
Ashley Kenyon: God I hope so…
Flipping a few bills onto the bar, Ashley slaps the wood and steps off.
Ashley Kenyon: Thanks for the talk…
Stephanie nods and Ashley walks out to the alley outside the bar. The last time she’d been out here, it had been with Billy and she’d made the mistake of not just doing heroin for the first time, but letting Joshua McBride see her do so. With that in mind, she sets up her phone and turns on the camera to film herself.
Ashley Kenyon: I have to admit, I came into this match thinking all wrong about everything. I walked into a match with Vince Jones the first time and completely underestimated what it would take to defeat him. I didn’t so much think I could just walk in and it would happen, I just didn’t really have any concept of what he was gonna be like.
She pauses, swallowing hard as she looks at the muck near her shoes.
Ashley Kenyon: Vince came into that match and made the same mistake I did. He totally underestimated me and you could tell in the look on his face at the end when he had to hit me as much as he did. He never expected it would take half the effort it did. He really thought he just had to show up and his natural physical gifts would carry the day because that’s pretty much what always happens.
She nods, moving her gaze back up from, the ground to the camera.
Ashley Kenyon: I gotta admit, Vince, I didn’t expect you to hit me that often or that hard. I thought I’d felt that kind of impact when I had to get in the ring with Fraser Freeman and Joshua McBride but I should have known better. Joshua was just playing and Fraser was only competing and you were doing neither of those things. I should have known from that look in your eye that you were playing for keeps on a whole different level. That’s on me, that was my mistake and I admit it.
She pauses and swallows hard again.
Ashley Kenyon: I also admit the real reason I made that mistake.
Nodding, she looks away in shame.
Ashley Kenyon: I was afraid, Vince. I never expected to get this chance. I never expected to go solo and be in the position to win a championship all by myself. I never expected that if I lost, I would get to keep this opportunity no matter what. I was afraid, Vince, I was afraid of you, what you could do to me and what everyone else in Arsenal might think of me when you did it. I was afraid they would truly see me as that little hot headed tag along sister…
She shrugs and looks back to the camera.
Ashley Kenyon: And who knows, maybe I am that but I don’t have to only be that anymore, Vince. I took your best shot and got back up. I took your best shot and watched you be shocked enough to almost shit your pants that you hadn’t put me down yet. You got me on the next one but that doesn’t change the fact that I know I can get back up if you hit me with your big bad move this time, Vince. So what happens if that happens again and the little girl you never expected to be able to, survives your big shot again? What will that do to your rep on the streets when they look at you and say, “There goes V, the guy who couldn’t put down some stupid little party girl from New Orleans.” What are you gonna do when they go, “Yo, Jonesy, you mean you hit that bitch and she got back up… and you didn’t even really hit that, dog?”
She nods slowly, sure of herself now.
Ashley Kenyon: What are you gonna do if something else you never expected to happen… happens and you have to go back to your boys and tell them, not only could you not put that little bitch down… but she got you?
She nods as she walks up the phone.
Ashley Kenyon: What are you gonna Vince, if you get your ass kicked by a girl… and you didn’t even pay for the privilege?
She nods and leans down.
Ashley Kenyon: I never expected me to be here either, Vince, but shit happens sometimes and now you gotta deal with what happens if the unexpected happens all over again.
The question had been lingering in Ashley Kenyon’s mind all night long, ever since her older sister and tag team partner, Bethany Kenyon, had asked as they and their best friends, Nikki Peltier, Jeszika Gautier and Carrie Winter, had enjoyed drinks together at Prey, their watering hole of choice when home in New Orleans.
“You never expected to go solo, did you?”
As the night had gone on, somehow playing like normal in this place just wasn’t feeling the same as that question kept bouncing around inside her mind, picking up speed every time it bounced back to the forefront.
“You never expected to go solo, did you?”
Even as the first band, the all-female Birds of Prey, started playing, Ashley found herself standing there at the bar, that question from her older sister bouncing around and gaining momentum.
“You never expected to go solo, did you?”
Now, halfway through the Birds’ set, half an hour from the Red Hoods returning from California, Ashley just stares at the drink sitting in front of her. She swirls it around and considers tipping it back when the bartender, Stephanie Tompkins, comes walking over.
Stephanie Tompkins: Something wrong with the beer?
Ashley looks up into the eyes of the bottle brunette and shakes her head.
Ashley Kenyon: No… I just…
She pauses, biting her bottom lip and searching for the right words.
Ashley Kenyon: The Red Hoods are back in town, right?
Stephanie stiffens a little as she nods.
Stephanie Tompkins: Yes.
Ashley nods, her gaze moving back down to the booze in front of her.
Ashley Kenyon: Do you know if Billy Hawkes came back with them?
Stephanie nods again.
Stephanie Tompkins: Yeah, he did… why?
Ashley shrugs, trying to force a smile that never really makes it.
Ashley Kenyon: He’s my boyfriend…
She side eyes the stage and then frowns.
Ashley Kenyon: I think…
Stephanie’s eyes narrow.
Stephanie Tompkins: You think?
Ashley nods slowly, almost timidly.
Ashley Kenyon: We kinda had a fight over…
Stephanie nods knowingly, still stiff as a board.
Stephanie Tompkins: Heroin?
Ashley nods guiltily and Stephanie just frowns back at her.
Stephanie Tompkins: Why do you think you were wrong to do that?
Ashley sits back against the back of the stool she’s alternated between sitting on and standing in front of foe the last few hours, looking shocked.
Ashley Kenyon: What?
Stephanie shrugs.
Stephanie Tompkins: You look as if you think you did something wrong in calling him on all the bull that goes with his shooting that crap but, everybody has at some point. Jonas has been doing it for years, Carrie has, Richie, Tim and Jason all have.
Ashley nods, almost as if she’s expecting a reprimand for herself as well.
Ashley Kenyon: And you?
Stephanie nods.
Stephanie Tompkins: Yeah, I’ve yelled at him for it too. Someday he’s really gonna get hurt or…
She pauses, and crosses her arms.
Stephanie Tompkins: I guess he kinda already did…
Ashley nods.
Ashley Kenyon: Yeah, I saw that. Didn’t know what to think about it right off either.
Stephanie frowns.
Stephanie Tompkins: Saw it? You were there?
Her icy glare towards the backstage area tells Ashley all she needs to know.
Ashley Kenyon: No, I was here. Guy who did it made a video…
Stephanie frowns some more, obviously confused. Ashley quickly dials it up on her phone and plays the video for her.
Stephanie Tompkins: Hey… that guy was here and talked to Carrie…
Ashley nods.
Ashley Kenyon: He used to be married to Jeszika. Told Billy he was gonna make sure there was no more heroin.
Stephanie nods.
Stephanie Tompkins: I like him already.
Ashley sighs.
Ashley Kenyon: I didn’t... until…
Stephanie frowns.
Stephanie Tompkins: Until?
Ashley nods.
Ashley Kenyon: I don’t know that I actually like him now, but, I can’t say I hate him anymore. He tried to help Billy…
Ashley shakes her head in seeming disbelief while Stephanie stares back, her arms falling to her sides.
Stephanie Tompkins: If you hated him, why would he do that?
Ashley takes a deep breath.
Ashley Kenyon: He’s trying to make amends.
Stephanie just stares at her.
Stephanie Tompkins: For what?
Ashley fires down her drink and slams the glass back down onto the bar.
Ashley Kenyon: Being a selfish playboy asshole…
Stephanie nods as she pours another.
Stephanie Tompkins: That bad?
Ashley shrugs.
Ashley Kenyon: Bad enough…
She watches as Stephanie stares expectantly.
Ashley Kenyon: Caused a lot of collateral damage. Kinda got the feeling he wanted more than he got…
Stephanie cocks her head inquisitively.
Stephanie Tompkins: In what way?
Ashley stares at her newly refilled glass and then shrugs.
Ashley Kenyon: There were five of us in that suite that night and he only scored one of us…
Stephanie frowns.
Stephanie Tompkins: Doesn’t sound much like a playboy if he had five hot women in a suite and only did one.
Ashley nods.
Ashley Kenyon: I know though I kinda get the feeling he’s got a thing for my sister.
Stephanie nods as she wipes down her serving area.
Stephanie Tompkins: Doesn’t she go out with Carrie?
Ashley nods.
Stephanie Tompkins: Does she like him back?
Ashley shrugs.
Stephanie Tompkins: You don’t know?
Shaking her head, Ashley takes a swig from her drink.
Ashley Kenyon: No I really don’t…
She pounds her drink and slams the glass down again.
Stephanie Tompkins: Why not?
Ashley laughs while Stephanie fills the glass again.
Ashley Kenyon: Because I’m the hot head little sister, that’s why.
She picks up the glass and stares at it.
Ashley Kenyon: I’m the one who only gets told what I need to be told in order to keep me from freaking or exploding too early and thus fucking things up for everyone else.
She pauses to stare at the wonder liquid before her.
Ashley Kenyon: Sometimes I wonder why they ever let me on the team in the first place. Now I’m the hot headed little sister that never says the right thing, who only ever does stupid shit, who has the junkie boyfriend nobody else really likes and I’m the one getting a title shot nobody else thinks I really deserve.
Stephanie frowns.
Stephanie Tompkins: Didn’t you and Bethany just win a title shot?
Ashley shakes her head.
Ashley Kenyon: No, we just won a championship together.
Nodding slowly but clearly still confused, Stephanie cocks her head inquisitively again.
Stephanie Tompkins: So, if you just won a title, why wouldn’t you deserve it?
Grinning stupidly, Ashley sets her glass down on the bar.
Ashley Kenyon: Because it’s a solo championship and I…
She pauses, letting out a sorrowful sigh from deep within.
Ashley Kenyon: Never expected to go solo…
Before Stephanie can ask, Ashley nods, more to herself than anything else.
Ashley Kenyon: I never expected to go solo. I always thought I’d be the one to get tagged onto a team somewhere and everyone else would just take turns being the babysitter having to team with me and then when Bethy said that earlier…
Frowning, Stephanie pours herself a drink.
Stephanie Tompkins: Said what?
Ashley nods to her sister over at a table with Carrie, Jeszika and Nikki.
Ashley Kenyon: She asked me that question, that I never expected to go solo and then all but said she knew it was coming.
Nodding, Stephanie looks over at the table.
Stephanie Tompkins: Are they still dating?
Ashley glances back to the table and then shrugs.
Ashley Kenyon: I think they’re in the same place Billy and I are in, except that Bethy doesn’t have to worry about fighting a big mean violent champion on Sunday and I do.
Stephanie nods.
Stephanie Tompkins: Do you think Billy is gonna be able to stay sober this time?
Ashley turns back around and pounds her drink.
Ashley Kenyon: God I hope so…
Flipping a few bills onto the bar, Ashley slaps the wood and steps off.
Ashley Kenyon: Thanks for the talk…
Stephanie nods and Ashley walks out to the alley outside the bar. The last time she’d been out here, it had been with Billy and she’d made the mistake of not just doing heroin for the first time, but letting Joshua McBride see her do so. With that in mind, she sets up her phone and turns on the camera to film herself.
Ashley Kenyon: I have to admit, I came into this match thinking all wrong about everything. I walked into a match with Vince Jones the first time and completely underestimated what it would take to defeat him. I didn’t so much think I could just walk in and it would happen, I just didn’t really have any concept of what he was gonna be like.
She pauses, swallowing hard as she looks at the muck near her shoes.
Ashley Kenyon: Vince came into that match and made the same mistake I did. He totally underestimated me and you could tell in the look on his face at the end when he had to hit me as much as he did. He never expected it would take half the effort it did. He really thought he just had to show up and his natural physical gifts would carry the day because that’s pretty much what always happens.
She nods, moving her gaze back up from, the ground to the camera.
Ashley Kenyon: I gotta admit, Vince, I didn’t expect you to hit me that often or that hard. I thought I’d felt that kind of impact when I had to get in the ring with Fraser Freeman and Joshua McBride but I should have known better. Joshua was just playing and Fraser was only competing and you were doing neither of those things. I should have known from that look in your eye that you were playing for keeps on a whole different level. That’s on me, that was my mistake and I admit it.
She pauses and swallows hard again.
Ashley Kenyon: I also admit the real reason I made that mistake.
Nodding, she looks away in shame.
Ashley Kenyon: I was afraid, Vince. I never expected to get this chance. I never expected to go solo and be in the position to win a championship all by myself. I never expected that if I lost, I would get to keep this opportunity no matter what. I was afraid, Vince, I was afraid of you, what you could do to me and what everyone else in Arsenal might think of me when you did it. I was afraid they would truly see me as that little hot headed tag along sister…
She shrugs and looks back to the camera.
Ashley Kenyon: And who knows, maybe I am that but I don’t have to only be that anymore, Vince. I took your best shot and got back up. I took your best shot and watched you be shocked enough to almost shit your pants that you hadn’t put me down yet. You got me on the next one but that doesn’t change the fact that I know I can get back up if you hit me with your big bad move this time, Vince. So what happens if that happens again and the little girl you never expected to be able to, survives your big shot again? What will that do to your rep on the streets when they look at you and say, “There goes V, the guy who couldn’t put down some stupid little party girl from New Orleans.” What are you gonna do when they go, “Yo, Jonesy, you mean you hit that bitch and she got back up… and you didn’t even really hit that, dog?”
She nods slowly, sure of herself now.
Ashley Kenyon: What are you gonna do if something else you never expected to happen… happens and you have to go back to your boys and tell them, not only could you not put that little bitch down… but she got you?
She nods as she walks up the phone.
Ashley Kenyon: What are you gonna Vince, if you get your ass kicked by a girl… and you didn’t even pay for the privilege?
She nods and leans down.
Ashley Kenyon: I never expected me to be here either, Vince, but shit happens sometimes and now you gotta deal with what happens if the unexpected happens all over again.
