May 17th --- Los Angeles
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Off-Camera
Clarissa is sitting at the bar high top, surrounded by shot glasses, drinking a beer. Kris comes through the door of the bar, staring at the pool tables in the back, feeling the familiar pull back to them, but he stops himself, knowing that wasn’t what he was there for. He scans the bar for Clarissa, finding her sitting at the bar. He moves across to her, and places his hand on the middle of her back. He leans in and plants a kiss on the top of her head, looking at her to gauge just how messed up she was.
KRIS HALICH: What’s up, love?
She looks up at him, her eyes glossy, and with a sloppy smile, before turning back to her drink.
CLARISSA ASHFORD: Hi you…
The bartender looks up, and catches Kris’ eye, but before he wastes his time moving towards the duo, Kris shakes his head, signaling not to bother offering him a drink. He turns his attention back to Clarissa, and sits down on the stool next to her.
KRIS HALICH: How are you today?
CLARISSA ASHFORD: Peachy..
She doesn’t even look away from her drink to answer, and the single word she forces out sounds flat. He moves his hand slowly, up and down her back.
KRIS HALICH: I don’t imagine that you would have asked me to come if you were perfectly fine…
She raises the glass and takes a long drink from the tall glass.
CLARISSA ASHFORD: But… I… uh… I don’t know.
KRIS HALICH: Seriously, what’s up?
She spins the glass around on the bar, playing with it instead of directly engaging in the conversation. Kris was guilty of this himself. It was annoying to be on this side of it though.
CLARISSA ASHFORD: I am not a very good person.
She finally does look up to him, meeting his eyes. He doesn’t respond immediately, instead shrugging with a sort of blank face.
KRIS HALICH: Neither am I.. I have known you for a long while, you can’t be so bad.
CLARISSA ASHFORD: I’m… pretty bad…
She raises the glass again, pausing with the top rim of it brushing against her lips. She is hiding herself behind it. This wasn’t like her though, at least not in Kris’ experience. He tries to hide how nervous that makes him with a smile.
KRIS HALICH: What makes you so bad then?
He tilts his head, softening his expression to hopefully get her to open up.
CLARISSA ASHFORD: I don’t know…
She shakes her head, angrily and pouts.
CLARISSA ASHFORD: I JUST AM OKAY!?
The outburst draws attention to the two of them for those around, including the bartender. Kris holds up his hands to the man behind the counter, assuring him that he could take care of it on his own. He puts his free hand on her leg, and tries to catch her eye, but she again just looks down at her drink.
KRIS HALICH: I am not hearing a reason that you think that though.
CLARISSA ASHFORD: I’m.. I’m just..
She moves her hand from her glasses to a shot sitting next to it, raising it instead and knocking it down without even a bitter face.
CLARISSA ASHFORD: I’m a mess.
He cannot help but to shake his head and laugh at her.
KRIS HALICH: Ain’t we all?
She looks up from him, irritated by his laugh. When she locks his with him though, her lips turn upwards into a sort of half smile.
CLARISSA ASHFORD: I am worse than a mess, Kris.
He scrunches up his face like he is considering her words, but then shakes his head no.
KRIS HALICH: Nope! I am not seeing it. How are you so messy?
CLARISSA ASHFORD: How can you not see it? Especially in the small time that you have known me? How many times have you had to pull me out of trouble? It is always one thing or another. The whole being drunk on a playground is just as much a reality as it is a joke we always talk about.
Kris doesn’t even miss a beat with a retort of his natural wit.
KRIS HALICH: Well, in all that time, I have not seen you murder a single person, so at least there is that.
CLARISSA ASHFORD: I just have really bad luck….
This only gets another laugh, which makes the smile disappear from her face once again.
KRIS HALICH: Most of us do. Tell me what is on your mind.
CLARISSA ASHFORD: What if there's a lot on my mind?
He shrugs with a smile on his face and she seem reluctant but eventually her poker face disappears. She tries to stand up quickly, wobbling in her heels trying to stand straight.
CLARISSA ASHFORD: I make a lot of stupid decisions and think without thinking. I turn to alcohol for everything. That whole situation with thrill... It was all my fault. That's only some of it.
She looks in his eyes for judgement but doesn't get any. She reaches for her drink and he makes no move to stop her.
KRIS HALICH: Everyone has a drug of choice. Legal. Illegal. Prescription. Sex. Everyone has something.
CLARISSA ASHFORD: Why do you even think I am a good person?
KRIS HALICH: You haven't given me a reason not to.
CLARISSA ASHFORD: I don't feel like it at all.
KRIS HALICH: Then spit it out.
CLARISSA ASHFORD: I can be selfish. I can be stubborn. I have a temper that I try my best to hide but if pushed just enough it will come out. I spend way too much time trying to hide my flaws when in reality I have so many it's hard to hide them all. People see this sweet southern girl but the real Clarissa? She's not sweet all the time. I just get scared if that side comes out. If it does....
She looks down at the floor.
CLARISSA ASHFORD: You'll run....
He shakes his head, not buying it at all.
KRIS HALICH: Show me then.
CLARISSA ASHFORD: Oh you will come face to face with it sometime.
She isn't looking up to see him again shaking his head.
KRIS HALICH:Its like youre trying to scare me off but not actually saying anything.
CLARISSA ASHFORD: I'm not trying to scare you off. That's the last thing I want.
KRIS HALICH: Then what do you think is so bad about yourself? Tell me something, anything, that makes you so bad. Because from where I'm sitting, you are just fine.
CLARISSA ASHFORD: I used to steal and lie and cheat to get myself ahead in regards to work. I used to steal a lot growing up and when I finally got caught and could have been in major trouble, I blamed my cousin and she got the blame. We haven't spoken since and she was like my sister.....
Kris shakes his head at her and opens the jacket of his suit, pulling his right arm out and raising the sleeve of the shirt inside to show the track marks that have scarred him.
KRIS HALICH: You see this? I lie to everyone to do this and I have done some serious shit in order to keep doing it. In the ring, I wear sleeves and blow off the facts when people throw them in my face. I have done sick things Clarissa, and I did them of sound mind and body. You sound like a girl that just made a mistake once. I am a bad person…
She looks at his arm and then back at him, kind of surprised. He looks around to make sure that nobody was paying attention and then slid his sleeve down and put his arm back into the jacket.
CLARISSA ASHFORD: You… you did that to yourself?
He laughs loudly.
KRIS HALICH: Hey, they don’t call me an addict fuck up for no reason. I am surprised that you hadn’t picked up on it. You know, you have been with me through some of it last year. I would be a dick one minute, and then lazy and quiet a minute later. I am irate and then calm and complacent, and sleeping an entire day.
She looks at him and shrugs, taking another drink of her beer.
CLARISSA ASHFORD: I can’t judge. I only feel normal, calm and collected when I drink.
He leans forward and catches her eye.
KRIS HALICH: My point is that you are just like every other person. There is nothing bad about you. You fuck up. You drink. I don’t see you sucking random dicks in alleys and then stabbing hobos after. I think you’ll be alright.
She doesn’t break his eyes away from his.
CLARISSA ASHFORD: I guess. You promise you still aren’t going to leave?
He smiles.
KRIS HALICH: Absolutely not going to leave. Unless you try to seduce and then murder me in an alley.
She slaps his chest playfully and smiles. She leans closer, hugging him and putting her on his chest just above the spot she slapped.
CLARISSA ASHFORD: Never…
He wraps his arms around her, and kisses the top of her head.
KRIS HALICH: You’re pretty awesome, you know?
She looks up and bats her eyes, now smiling wider.
CLARISSA ASHFORD: Not as awesome as you are.
She only gets a shrug from him.
KRIS HALICH: I am alright I guess.
He looks at her inquisitively though, kind of concerned for her well-being at this point.
KRIS HALICH: Do you need a ride home? Or are you going to throw up in my car if I try to drive you?
CLARISSA ASHFORD: I don’t throw up… but I can walk home from wherever here is…
KRIS HALICH: I am happy to drive you. It is kind of on my way.
CLARISSA ASHFORD: Its okay, I feel bad enough already. Plus, you have plans. I don’t want you to be later than I have already made you.
KRIS HALICH: Hey, I enjoy spending time with you, and with Ripley riding shotgun there is no chance for road head… or at least zero chance of GOOD road head. So I am happy to push him off an hour or so. It’s not like he is going to care to go a little later. I just want to make sure you get back okay. No parks. No public intox. No having to bail you out later.
She laughs lightly at the list of their previous adventures together when they worked for the same company in Nashville. She leans up and kisses his lips gently.
CLARISSA ASHFORD: I’ll be fine, I promise.
She steps back, almost falling over when reaching to grab her sweater. He quickly moves forward and catches her by the arm.
KRIS HALICH: Clarissa, let me take you back, you leaving her alone isn’t going to turn out well one way or another. I would just end up feeling bad. Plus, I would just be worrying about you all night anyways.
She looks around the bar with her eyes glossy, shaking her head in disagreement still. She starts to put on her sweater, with Kris moving his hand to her hip to stabilize her.
CLARISSA ASHFORD: It’s okay. I promise. I will be fine. I feel bad that you’re already late.
KRIS HALICH: I am sorry if I gave you the impression that no was a possible answer. If I have to I will carry you out of this bar kidnapping style and put you in the car. I will even put on the child locks.
She crosses her arms in front of her chest and looks at him defiantly.
CLARISSA ASHFORD: You wouldn’t dar---
He doesn’t let her finish before he leans forward and picks her up. With one arm cradling her back, and the other under the back of her legs, and lifts her up to her chest without too much effort. He immediately turns towards the door, with no person in the bar even moving to stop him.
KRIS HALICH: So, you can’t say I didn’t warn you.
CLARISSA ASHFORD: KRIS!
She smiles, and it does get a little attention from the bar trash before the look away, seeing the smile and playful tone in her voice.
CLARISSA ASHFORD: This is so illegal!
KRIS HALICH: You refused to just come with. You’ve forced my hand manager girl!
She tries to wiggle away, giggling when he turns his back to the door and pushes it open with his back. His car was right outside, in a fire lane with the flashers on. The bouncer give him a nod and holds up his keys, which gets a friendly nod from Kris.
KRIS HALICH: Thanks for watching the car man. I told you it wouldn’t take but a second to get her out of there.
The bouncer moves around to the passenger seat of the car in front of Kris and pops it open. Kris places her on the seat inside and closes the door gently. He turns to the bouncer and reaches into his pocket and pulls a few bills from his money clip handing it to the man and patting him on the back. The man trades him the keys for the money and heads back towards his door. Kris moves around and sits down in the driver’s seat and puts the keys in the ignition. He turns to her with a smile.
CLARISSA ASHFORD: You’re both kidnappers! I am going to get that guy!
KRIS HALICH: I told him that you would try to talk your way out of it. Turns out he is an SCW fan. He knew exactly who we were and wasn’t going to stop us no matter what you said, so you be quiet best friend!
He reaches over and kisses her on the cheek, but she pouts. He reaches around the seat and grabs the seatbelt, pulling it across her and buckling it before he even notices the look on her face.
CLARISSA ASHFORD: I am not just your best friend…
Her words are almost indistinguishable with the slurring of her speech, but they cut him pretty deep either way.
KRIS HALICH: I didn’t say that you were just my best friend… I said that you were. I also called you manager girl a little bit ago.
CLARISSA ASHFORD: I… I don’t remember that….
She shakes her head and looks at him, batting her eyes and watching the cars go by. He steps hard on the gas before stepping on the clutch and shifting into first. The wheels spin, and squeal as he jets off, shifting down again to merge into the traffic, and then again to make a light about to turn red.
KRIS HALICH: How would you define us, Clarissa?
CLARISSA ASHFORD: I would like to describe us as… uhh.. ummm…
She yawns loudly and looks out the window. She seems to lose her train of thought, and quickly gets bored looking at the sights out her window. She leans over sideways and rests her head on his shoulder while he drives, slowly starting to fall asleep.
KRIS HALICH: …. I just know I love you.
He says the words in a whisper, not wanting to stir her. She already knew he felt that way anyways.
CLARISSA ASHFORD: I love you, Kris…
Her words are whispered softly, slurring even more now, as she cuddles as close to him as possible, wrapping her arms around his shift arm, a smile crosses her lips before she falls completely unconscious.
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First Class International Flight
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On-Camera
I am not sure what the point of this is Drexel. Honestly? I mean weren’t you just in a match for the SCW Championship? How is it that you going from being one of the two challengers to the top prize, to a guy fighting the dude that came up short of a Roulette Championship for a second consecutive time on Pay Per Views he was booked on? How does that happen? I told everyone in the world what he had to feel like for the Roulette Champion to had to face an unproven rookie, with only two matches under his belt in the company. That, in my opinion was insulting. Never did I think that there was going to be a time that I was in a match more insulting to my competitor than that one was. Drexel, you have topped that. You went from a main eventer, to a lower midcarder in the course of a week off. That has to just get under your skin.
I can’t imagine how pissed you must be. You know what that means for me though? It means that you are an easy target. See, people in the crowd, and the announcers even, seemed to be on my side at the Pay Per View. Everyone wanted the champ to lose because they think he is a cock. They didn’t want me to win because I am likable. They didn’t want me to win because I was the more talented. I was the lesser of the two evils. This time it isn’t going to be the case. Nobody is going to cheer for me if I knock out the referee. Nobody is going to be on my side when I put my legs on the ropes to pin you in a roll-up. Everyone in the house is going to boo when I low blow you when the referee isn’t looking. See, like I told everyone from day one, I am not likable, but not only am I unlikable, I really don’t give a shit what people think about me.
I am here for one person, and one person alone. That is me. I get to go out and go something that I am good at for twenty minutes or so, get a fat paycheck, and then go home. I don’t play politics like the rest of the people in this building. I don’t pick sides. Hell, Amy Marshall likes me, and so do most of the Mean Girls. I am neutral when it comes to things that happen to others, but definitely not so much when it comes to what I am going to do to take you apart. If you aren’t cheating you aren’t trying. If you have a problem with that? Too bad. I don’t need to slap hands of fans on the way down the ring. I don’t need to hype them up at all, and waste time. I just get to do my thing and they can all go to hell.
The only thing to your advantage in this match, is that it is Roulette Rules bullshit. It is the biggest challenge that I have faced. Every one of those matches that I have been a part of, I have lost. Not only have I lost, but I have gotten beaten and embarrassed. I have been beaten by the Roulette Champion twice in front of sell out crowd and in front of more pay per view buys than I can count. These matches haven’t gone my way. Mainly the problem is that all of those rules I talk about breaking, may not even exist depending on what that wheel says. I haven’t ever gotten the benefit of it. I have never had it come up with something that I can translate into a win.
Here is me saying that this time is going to be different. Here is to me saying that if you beat me I am going to make sure you still don’t leave the arena at the end of the show. The likelihood of there being a dumpster for you to toss me into and be discarded inside is small. There is a slim chance that could happen back to back times. So hopefully there won’t be some bullshit that will stop me from being able to take an unfair advantage. The only thing that I hate more than losing is having people not understanding what all I am about. I don’t get cheered. I don’t get the commentators applauding me. I get what is best for me. Nothing more. Nothing less.
You’re going to lose. Because I really need a win.
