After a few weeks of rest following his hellacious battle with Fallen at Art of War, he was finally feeling back to his usual self again. He thought about the match with Fallen a lot and the risks he’d taken. His climbing of the rising steel cage and his shooting star press 45 feet in the air had gone viral. All over X, Facebook, Instagram, there were clips of him doing it, from people filming it themselves in person on their cell phones or from HWA official footage. On one hand, it made him feel like a superhero, seeing him soar through the air like that, no fear on his face. But on the other hand, he thought about the pain he’d felt afterwards and the look on Michelle’s face afterwards. Was it worth it? He knew he wasn’t going to make a habit of doing stunts like that and he was confident in his own abilities to perform high-flying moves like shooting stars, 450s and the like.
Michelle herself had been very specific about warning him about taking too many blows to the head and taking unnecessary big risks. Anyone else saying that and he wouldn't have even given it a second thought and dismissed it immediately. However, since Art of War, Michelle had been more empowered and confident in her approach to certain situations. And she certainly didn’t need any second invitation to warn him about the risks the doctor had spoken to him about after his concussion in Florida.
Nevertheless, it was great to finally put that chapter of his life behind him. And although Michelle probably would never fully heal from the emotional scars he’d left on her, it was great seeing her smile properly again and not concealing her pain. Sean had thought about the time he’d spent with both her and her parents. It was clear they were still getting used to him as her boyfriend. He could see the frustrated glances and not-so-subtle groans of displeasure emanating from Mr Learner when he saw them holding hands. Mrs Learner to be fair to her was at least trying, minus the odd faux pas here and there. They had agreed, right before they’d left Salt Lake to come back to California, to stay in touch and visit more. It made him proud that Michelle had stated academically that Sean was not going anywhere as her boyfriend and that the two of them were in love, pretty much telling her father more than anyone else to get used to Sean being around her. As he continued his run, he made another mental note to ask Michelle what her father was interested in. Maybe they could do something together? Like fishing or something? Sean remembered going fishing a lot when he was a kid and he, Butch, and his cousins Jake and David would often take fishing trips when they were all back home in Scotland.
He thought about what had transpired at Havoc with CM Punk. It had still baffled Sean why Butch had even considered hiring him in any capacity after what had transpired in London. It had felt good to unload on him the way he did after what had happened at the end of Havoc too. Butch and Wisdom had enough going on with Cody Rhodes without having Punk swaggering around the place like Billy Big Baws. He had half-expected some sort of email or phone call from HR telling him he’d been suspended or that Punk’s lawyers had been in touch but so far nothing. He’d deal with it if and when he had to.
Adorned in an Under Armor rashguard, a pair matching-branded and coloured black running shorts and finished with a pair of Cloudflow running shoes, he was sprinting around the running track that surrounded the main Academy building in Santa Monica, California. Wrapped around his wrist like a little snake was an Apple Watch Series 8 with a light blue strap and nestled in his ears were a pair of white-colored Apple AirPods, the metalcore-like tones of Killswitch Engage keeping him in the zone. Sean took a brief look at his watch. He’d done just under eight laps of the track so far, the equivalent of just under two miles. He slowed the pace of his run down to a jog and finally came to a stop after crossing the finishing line, his watchface flashing to indicate he had passed the two-mile milestone. He lets his breathing return to normal and low woosh escapes his lungs, leaning over and placing the palms of his hands atop his thighs. He grabs the bottle of Lucozade Sport he’d left at the start of the track and squirts the orange liquid into his mouth, replenishing his electrolytes. He leans one of his legs forward, balancing it on his heel, bending the knee of his other leg, feeling the tell-tale stretch on his calf muscle. After holding the stretch for about ten seconds, he swaps legs and repeats it before shaking both legs and makes his way back to the main Academy building.
As he made his way through the main atrium of the building, he glanced up at several of the big Ultra HD 4K screens that were dotted about the walls. Some of them had loops of the HWA Network, playing new promos, videos of recent Havocs, interviews and the like, others had music videos playing to help training students concentrate. One of the screens had a “Breaking News” announcement plastered across it. The new Havoc card! Sean took out his AirPods and placed them in one of his pockets. His eyes scanned the words on the screen detailing the matches announced for when Havoc would be taking place in Portland:
Moda Center in Portland, Orgegon
Jesse Draconis vs. Hans von Richtoven
Official Main Roster Tryout Match
Legion vs. Kratos
Official Main Roster Tryout Match
Stu-E Price vs. Sean Parker
Maniac vs. Jeremy Branson
Matt Miller vs. Fallen
Alexis Rose vs. Briar Blackthorne
Lumberjill Match
w/ Erica Martinez - Liliana Blackthorne -
Michelle Learner - Sarah Callahan
His eyes momentarily widened as he automatically spotted his own name across from Stu-E’s.
Sean: Oaft!
As his eyes tracked away from the TV screen and spotted a camera crew making their way towards him. He rolls his eyes with a wry smile on his face. They always knew how to pick their moments.
Sean: Lemme guess, you want the gossip? The dirt after what happened at Havoc? My thoughts on the new card and us finally going back to Portland? Well, first of all, no, I am not suspended - I know some dirt sheets and X pages were making up their own stories, alleging to be in the know saying that I’d been arrested, that Punk was suing both me and HWA…
Sean scoffs.
Sean: As you can see, I’m still here and I’m not going anywhere. I won’t question my uncle’s booking or business decisions but I’m sure we can see from what happened in Salt Lake why CM Punk is a cancer on professional wrestling and it gave me great pleasure to be one to put the beating on him he so rightly deserved….
Sean stops for a moment, taking another drink from his sports juice before he continues.
Sean: As for this coming Havoc, I’m buzzing. As you can see, I’m all healed up from Art of War, I feel good and I’m excited for the rubber match with Stu-E. Stu-E, I’m not sure what to say that we’ve likely not said to each other a million times before in the build-up to our previous two matches. We both have the utmost respect for each other as both men and as professional wrestlers. Let’s just hope that the outcome to this one will be free of any controversy or outside interference.
Sean extends his index finger, holding it up to the camera.
Sean: The first time, our match had the makings of being a banger but Fallen decided to interject himself and the rest is history that isn’t worth repeating.
Sean holds two fingers up this time.
Sean: Second time, I won’t lie, my head was all over the shop and I was hurting, both physically and mentally and we both still managed to take each other to our physical limitations, pretty much knocking each other out.
Sean grins and holds up three fingers, his middle, ring and pinky fingers. He looks at them before looking back at the camera.
Sean: And here we are…Sean versus Stu-E Three! I told you back at the Press Conference for the pay-per-view that even at 50%, concussed out of my tits, you still couldn’t put me away and now ... .here we are and I’m back at full-strength. No injuries hindering me, no outside distractions stealing my gaze and focus. In Portland, Stu-E, you’re getting the best version of Sean Parker you could probably hope to get. Now, I know that’s the version you’ve always craved facing but believe me, with everything that’s happened these last few months, I’ve learned a lot about myself and what I’m actually capable of. I’m not the same Sean Parker I was yesterday, let alone the one you first faced all those months ago.
But don’t think I’m ignorant to think that, whilst I’ve been progressing, honing my craft, bettering myself, that you’ve been stagnant. Your match at Art of War was one of the best triple threat matches I can remember seeing for a long time and if you ask me, you were unfortunate not to leave with the victory. And you went from strength-to-strength beating Legion the other night too. I know how damn good you are, Stu-E and that you’re not a man to suffer fools and that’s exactly what I would be if I went into this match underestimating you, a fool. So why don’t we both go out there, veteran and rookie, because let’s face it, whilst I’m not green, in comparison to you, I know I’m still a rookie ... .and let’s do what we’re both capable of doing and that’s steal the whole freaking show! No doubt I’ll be hearing from you well before we roll into Portland on the twenty-fourth but until then, I can’t wait!
Sean winks at the camera before walking out of frame as the scene fades to black.
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