"When Darkness Falls" A black cloud climbs over a darkening grey sky. Sean looks into space, seeing stars glisten back at him for a second, soon to be swallowed by the awesome shadow. Night was falling over downtown Indianapolis faster than one could possibly imagine. It was the one cloud, devouring all in its path, leaving midnight in its wake. As another star fell under its nightly grasp, Sean looked back down into his three-quarters empty glass of Stella Artois. A rare occasion it is when this model athlete is found drinking as unhealthily as this. Ahead of him was a difficult transition though, and he could be easily forgiven for drinking his nerves to sleep. The glass stood tall on a glass-topped table, Sean sitting besides it on a wooden chair. Around him, students drank and yuppies ate in the forecourt of the restaurant. However, he had somehow managed to reserve a six-seater table for himself in amongst the busy crowds and packed walkways. It was a typical Friday night. With one last large swig, he had finished off his pint, standing and leaving the glass on the table. He tucked a leather wallet into the inside pocket of his leather jacket, revealing a plain white t-shirt underneath, and walked out, pushing his way through crowds of young drinkers, not intoxicated at this early stage of the evening. The cloud still lingered, looking down over Sean in a protective, yet aggressive manner; it was ready to close in over him and litter him in a cold, showery wind. Sean was aware of the approaching rain, stepping up his pace. It was not a long walk to his apartment, maybe fifteen minutes from the resto-bar but it could be made to seem an awful lot longer if he was saturated by the weather. As he turned the corner onto West Stevenson, his cellular rang a short tone. He picked it up and with a couple of buttons, was reading the text message that had come through. "hi
sean,how u doin?im in town 2 cu.ill Sean locked the phone and slotted it back into the pocket of his faded jeans. He smiled to himself and picked up the pace even more, desperately happy to see his girlfriend was back in town. Maybe at this pace, it'd be just five minutes before he was back at the hotel. Walking down Stevenson, Sean saw a police car, lights flashing, pull up outside a bar on the other side of the road. Beyond that, he saw two officers tussling and struggling to restrain a group of youths tearing at each other, fists pumping and feet kicking. Tutting, Sean made sure he was to stay on the same side of the road, avoiding the ruckus altogether. "Crap, that looks nasty," he commented as he got closer, seeing one lad layed out on the floor, blood streaming from his nose and a fierce cut down the side of his face. Sean neglected to relate this bloodbath to what he was about to do at the weekend. His whole career was based on violence, on the necessity for people to witness this violence and he was being paid for the same thing that he looked down on these yobs for. Was it his place to do so? He carried on, only to see another two police cars pulled up outside a bar further down Stevenson. Shaking his head, Sean refused to even look at what situation had transpired there. He was more focused on getting back to see Leyenne. Sean's increased pace had worked a treat. Looking at his diamond-encrusted watch face, he congratulated himself on making it back to the hotel in nine minutes, commenting to himself that it was the fastest yet. There she was. In front of the ten-feet high glass wall that gave entrance to the hotel, Sean's beautiful love was there, looking much more casual than she had the other night. The light glowing through the glass from inside the hotel showed off her bronze skin, Sean stopping in adoration for a short moment before walking over the road to meet her. She looked beautiful. Her her was straight, part in front of her shoulders, part behind. The brown hair was far from invisible in the evening, it shone under any light that could be put upon it. She glowed, her white smile beaming out from beneath falsely-red lips. Blue eyes, touched with tears, glistened under the streetlight. She wore a green army-style jacket, fitting her every curve perfectly. A denim skirt touched her knees, frayed at the edges and with a chain hanging out of the pocket. Her legs, tanned to a soft bronze, stood above fur-lined boots reaching her calfs. She looked every inch the superstar. Besides the lady, a Louis Vuitton suitcase sat, perched upright against a wall waiting as eagerly for Sean as she was. The rain had come, a dribble at first, so Sean didn't wait before taking Leyenne inside the hotel, resting her suitcase on the marble floor of the hotel lobby. Sean looked across to the beech wooden desk, a porter emerging from behind it with a gold-plated luggage rack. He placed the suitcase in it's cage-like structure and wheeled it towards the escalator, holding the door for the couple. Sean looked at Leyenne, she had been staring at him for the last minute. Her eyes were still welled up. Sean: You came? Leyenne: I'm not here to stay, baby. Sean looked confused as he wrapped his right arm around her shoulder and walked her to the escalator. She put her left arm around his waist, using his left hip as a rest. Leyenne: I wanted to see what you left me for. I'll watch you on Sunday but I've already booked a flight back to Vancouver. I'm sorry Sean...I really can't just leave my life there. Sean: I know, I know. It's hard but I appreciate you can't. I'll keep in contact though. I'll be back up there in a few weeks to see you. I don't know how long- Leyenne: You stay as long as you can, baby, I don't want you to come back and give this up. You've already given up FWA for me. No more, please. By the time they had reached the escalator at their snail's pace, the porter had a bored expression on his face, pressing the 8th floor button as soon as the couple had cleared the entrance. Throughout the journey an awkward silence transpired, the porter not daring to speak and Sean and Leyenne wanting to leave their conversation until they were alone. Once out, the porter went ahead and wheeled the luggage to Sean's room, one of the largest suites in the hotel. He let the couple in before leaving, along with the luggage tray. Leyenne sat herself down on the fabric sofa, Sean fixing them both a drink. He poured himself a Jack Daniels, topping it up with Coke and for the lady, a Malibu. She smiled as he handed her the small tumbler before sitting himself down next to her. Sean reached to place his hand around her back but Leyenne leant forward, insisting this was not them getting back together. Leyenne: I'm here as your friend, Sean, not your partner. Really, I don't see it happening. We're hundreds of miles apart whilstever you'll be on the road and you shouldn't have a problem finding someone to keep you company. Sean: Leyenne, you're not just somebody, okay? You're right though. I'm glad you've come down here, I appreciate all the effort you've made. Hope I can impress you enough whilst you're here. Have you seen the card? Leyenne: No, it's not public yet. Do you know who you're playing? Sean: Playing? Hah. I'm fighting Priest. He just hit me up on the cell yesterday asking if I wanted an exhibition match with him. He says he's always one to take on the new kids to No Limits. Leyenne: Best way for him to progress his win record, surely? Sean: Yeah sure it works like that. I don't see it happening against me though. Since my injury, I've put months into this. Two years of training and nothing to wear myself out. I'm ready to exert myself once again and this is going to be it, this is my big one Ley. Dya know what I saw tonight? I was walking down Stevenson and saw a couple of fights out there. It got me thinking, dya reckon I promote that sorta violence when I fight? Leyenne: No. The bars promote that violence by selling them alcohol. You don't need to worry about it. When you fight on Sunday, look into the crowd and you'll see just how many kids and youngsters are in that arena. You just think that if you weren't fighting there, and those kids didn't come to see it, they'd be out there on the streets, not knowing what to do. Sean: You're right. But it just feels like, for instance when I kick Priest's 'already-dead' ass, maybe someone would emulate that. Maybe someone out there wants to be me. Hah. Priet has warned me about his mind games. I'm on a whole different level to that though. I've elevated my game beyond getting riled and working myself up, y'know. He's not gonna affect me, no matter what he thinks. It's when we're in the ring that matters and I know that I can take on anyone in this federation in the ring. Anyone. Hell, I don't even need to be in the ring. Leyenne: You're suggesting hardcore? Now that's the sorta fighting that does promote street fighting. If they see you use a chair over someone's head, they'll do the same in a bar. You just keep your ass-kicking in that ring where it belongs, honey. They both took a sip of their drinks, looking out of the window over smoky Indianapolis. Leyenne: They got you a good view there! Hehe. You can see how the whole steelworking industry works from up here...how are things Sean? Are you alright here? Sean: I'm fine. This is only temporary remember. I don't have to stay in this grubby excuse for a city for long. I'll be out of here in a week and on the road with the boys. That's what keeps me going. Oh, and the ass-kicking. Haha. With another sip of their drinks, the couple carried on speaking. |
