Post by Caleb Lockwood on Dec 8, 2012 3:35:58 GMT -6
Open on Caleb and Tiffany sitting in one of the many fancy restaurants that line the Las Vegas strip. Tiffany is wearing a beautiful black dress, and Caleb wears a dark blue collared shirt with black pants, a far cry from his normal relaxed wear. He looks around, clearly uncomfortable in his clothing, and Tiffany has to stifle a giggle as she sips her wine.
”You look so adorable when you’re uncomfortable.”
Caleb shrugs, smiling awkwardly and nervously at her.
”Heh…what can I say? I’m not used to wearing fancy clothes. Besides, I’m still getting over Mr. and Mrs. Conway’s ideas of birthday gifts…I mean, we’re not even sleeping in the same room, so Mrs. C’s gift was just…weird…and Mr. C…I don’t know what kind of person he thinks I am, but the roulette rake was NOT funny. I know what a properly motivated person can do with one of those suckers.”
Tiffany giggles again, shaking her head and smirking across the table as she watches him.
”They got me real gifts, those were mostly just to screw with us. At least that’s what I got told. Good choice of restaurants, by the way.”
Caleb nods, conveniently forgetting to mention that he’d solicited Ace’s opinion on which location to pick in order to best leave an impression on Tiffany. He smiles to himself, nodding to her.
”Glad you approve…hey, I got you something…it’s not quite as awesome as what Mr. and Mrs. Conway probably got you for real, but I thought you might like it…”
He pulls an envelope and a long, flat box from his pants pocket, sliding them across the table to her. Tiffany first opens the envelope, withdrawing two front-row tickets to Le Rêve, a long-running but still popular Vegas show. She smiles at him, and he smiles back.
”Just you and me. Get out, have a good time…clear our heads and get to focus on each other for once.”
Tiffany nods, taking the box and opening it. Within is a stunningly beautiful necklace, with the intricate silver chain culminating in a teardrop-shaped tanzanite gem, held in place by a filigree of silver and gold. Tiffany removes it from the box, admiring it in the light, and she smiles, looking at Caleb.
”My birthstone…it’s beautiful, Caleb. Thank you. For dinner, for the gifts…and for giving things a chance.”
Caleb shakes his head, smiling at her wryly, trying to cover his nerves with a veneer of smooth calm.
”By all rights I should be thanking you. You’re beautiful, you’re intelligent…you could have had any man you wanted…and it was me. I half expect to wake up from the dream any moment now…but I’d much rather believe that my dreams are starting to come true.”
She smiles, leaning over the table, and kisses him softly on the lips. Caleb smiles, returning the kiss for a moment, before Tiffany leans back. His eyes flick to her ears, where he sees the diamond solitaires that started the entire tumultuous road to his current location. Tiffany unlatches the chain, pulling the necklace around her neck, and relatches it. She lets it settle, looking back up with a smile on her face.
”So how’s it look?”
Caleb grins at her, looking her over and taking in the situation: her clothing, her jewels, the smile on his face that he’d longed for months to put there. Everything seems to be so…perfect. So he says the first thing that comes to mind: what he really feels, without any chance to filter it.
”It looks amazing. You look amazing….happy birthday, Tiffany. I love you.”
She smirks, sitting back and speaking as softly as she can while still being heard.
”I love you too, Caleb.”
Tiffany’s voice returns to normal as she glances around a bit impatiently.
”Now where’s that waiter? I swear, they must be raising the cow in the back now at this rate…”
Caleb snorts, taking a drink of his water and grinning at Tiffany. She grins back, and the two continue to lock eyes as we fade to black.
”So…y’know, I don’t know whose idea it was to set me up as the psychotic homeless bum’s first opponent, but this really isn’t funny. Not everyone who doesn’t have a home looks and acts like Cliff Clinton. We aren’t all mountain man-bearded raving lunatics. We don’t all break into people’s houses and sleep in their beds. And certainly not all of us have concocted this elaborate fantasy where we were the biggest thing in wrestling only to lose it all.”
“I gotta give you kudos, though. This is one of the most elaborate and weird acts I’ve ever seen. It takes a truly dedicated or depraved mind to come up with the stuff you have, and I salute that. See, though…there’s no way you’re really anything more than a crazy who talks to himself. And I’ve seen enough of those to last me a lifetime. You think that beating the crap out of me is going to give you some sick release for losing a life you never had? You think you can count on the rage fueled by losing everything to sweep aside what I bring to the table?”
“Let me run back down the list, pal. I’m the premier high-flyer in NCW today. And yeah, I’ve got a lot to live for. I have people who are here for me. And I sincerely hope that you find people that’ll be there for you, Cliff. Because nobody deserves to be alone and on the street. I lived that life, and I got sick of it. NCW was my salvation. It saved me from the darkest parts of what I could become. In essence…it saved me from being you. Old, washed-up, a shell of a man…I found purpose here. I found a calling here. I found family and the woman that I love because I signed on that dotted line. And who knows? Maybe, just maybe, you’ll find what brings you peace too.”
“But given that you’ve shown about as much predisposition towards patience and rational thought as Casino shows towards quantum mechanics, I’d be more willing to bet that you’re just going to try to make an example with me, like so many people attempt to do. Y’know, first match, gotta make an impact. Remind the people who you are and what you can do. And here’s this pissant who you outweigh two to one, he does all this flippy crap and he’s got people that are important to him. Well, screw him! You’ve got granddaddy issues!”
“I could rant and rave about how mind-numbingly stupid you are, but that’s kind of your gimmick and I don’t want to take up the Homeless Ranting quota for the week. It’s funny. We seem like polar opposites in the ring, even though, in a lot of ways, we’re two sides of the same coin. You remember having it all and then losing it all. I’ve lived the journey of getting what you dream about. You’re wrestling for yourself. You’re doing this to inflict pain. I’m doing this because I know I have to. At our core, I believe we’re both wrestlers. We both love what we do. But you love the damage it causes. I love the adrenaline it brings. Again, similar, but different enough.”
“I know I might not get what’s up with you. And I freely admit that. But Cliff, you’re a stereotype. You’re a dark reminder of a past I want buried. And me…I’m young, I’m agile, and I’m in good shape. As far as I’m concerned, this match is going to go one of two ways: either you throw me around like a ragdoll and I score a fluke roll-up or I show you why Nighthawk and so many others are being forced to respect me. Cliff, times have changed. Even if what you said was real, wrestling isn’t the same as it was 26 years ago. It’s all different. So, for the sake of instruction…don’t blink. You might miss something.”
”You look so adorable when you’re uncomfortable.”
Caleb shrugs, smiling awkwardly and nervously at her.
”Heh…what can I say? I’m not used to wearing fancy clothes. Besides, I’m still getting over Mr. and Mrs. Conway’s ideas of birthday gifts…I mean, we’re not even sleeping in the same room, so Mrs. C’s gift was just…weird…and Mr. C…I don’t know what kind of person he thinks I am, but the roulette rake was NOT funny. I know what a properly motivated person can do with one of those suckers.”
Tiffany giggles again, shaking her head and smirking across the table as she watches him.
”They got me real gifts, those were mostly just to screw with us. At least that’s what I got told. Good choice of restaurants, by the way.”
Caleb nods, conveniently forgetting to mention that he’d solicited Ace’s opinion on which location to pick in order to best leave an impression on Tiffany. He smiles to himself, nodding to her.
”Glad you approve…hey, I got you something…it’s not quite as awesome as what Mr. and Mrs. Conway probably got you for real, but I thought you might like it…”
He pulls an envelope and a long, flat box from his pants pocket, sliding them across the table to her. Tiffany first opens the envelope, withdrawing two front-row tickets to Le Rêve, a long-running but still popular Vegas show. She smiles at him, and he smiles back.
”Just you and me. Get out, have a good time…clear our heads and get to focus on each other for once.”
Tiffany nods, taking the box and opening it. Within is a stunningly beautiful necklace, with the intricate silver chain culminating in a teardrop-shaped tanzanite gem, held in place by a filigree of silver and gold. Tiffany removes it from the box, admiring it in the light, and she smiles, looking at Caleb.
”My birthstone…it’s beautiful, Caleb. Thank you. For dinner, for the gifts…and for giving things a chance.”
Caleb shakes his head, smiling at her wryly, trying to cover his nerves with a veneer of smooth calm.
”By all rights I should be thanking you. You’re beautiful, you’re intelligent…you could have had any man you wanted…and it was me. I half expect to wake up from the dream any moment now…but I’d much rather believe that my dreams are starting to come true.”
She smiles, leaning over the table, and kisses him softly on the lips. Caleb smiles, returning the kiss for a moment, before Tiffany leans back. His eyes flick to her ears, where he sees the diamond solitaires that started the entire tumultuous road to his current location. Tiffany unlatches the chain, pulling the necklace around her neck, and relatches it. She lets it settle, looking back up with a smile on her face.
”So how’s it look?”
Caleb grins at her, looking her over and taking in the situation: her clothing, her jewels, the smile on his face that he’d longed for months to put there. Everything seems to be so…perfect. So he says the first thing that comes to mind: what he really feels, without any chance to filter it.
”It looks amazing. You look amazing….happy birthday, Tiffany. I love you.”
She smirks, sitting back and speaking as softly as she can while still being heard.
”I love you too, Caleb.”
Tiffany’s voice returns to normal as she glances around a bit impatiently.
”Now where’s that waiter? I swear, they must be raising the cow in the back now at this rate…”
Caleb snorts, taking a drink of his water and grinning at Tiffany. She grins back, and the two continue to lock eyes as we fade to black.
”So…y’know, I don’t know whose idea it was to set me up as the psychotic homeless bum’s first opponent, but this really isn’t funny. Not everyone who doesn’t have a home looks and acts like Cliff Clinton. We aren’t all mountain man-bearded raving lunatics. We don’t all break into people’s houses and sleep in their beds. And certainly not all of us have concocted this elaborate fantasy where we were the biggest thing in wrestling only to lose it all.”
“I gotta give you kudos, though. This is one of the most elaborate and weird acts I’ve ever seen. It takes a truly dedicated or depraved mind to come up with the stuff you have, and I salute that. See, though…there’s no way you’re really anything more than a crazy who talks to himself. And I’ve seen enough of those to last me a lifetime. You think that beating the crap out of me is going to give you some sick release for losing a life you never had? You think you can count on the rage fueled by losing everything to sweep aside what I bring to the table?”
“Let me run back down the list, pal. I’m the premier high-flyer in NCW today. And yeah, I’ve got a lot to live for. I have people who are here for me. And I sincerely hope that you find people that’ll be there for you, Cliff. Because nobody deserves to be alone and on the street. I lived that life, and I got sick of it. NCW was my salvation. It saved me from the darkest parts of what I could become. In essence…it saved me from being you. Old, washed-up, a shell of a man…I found purpose here. I found a calling here. I found family and the woman that I love because I signed on that dotted line. And who knows? Maybe, just maybe, you’ll find what brings you peace too.”
“But given that you’ve shown about as much predisposition towards patience and rational thought as Casino shows towards quantum mechanics, I’d be more willing to bet that you’re just going to try to make an example with me, like so many people attempt to do. Y’know, first match, gotta make an impact. Remind the people who you are and what you can do. And here’s this pissant who you outweigh two to one, he does all this flippy crap and he’s got people that are important to him. Well, screw him! You’ve got granddaddy issues!”
“I could rant and rave about how mind-numbingly stupid you are, but that’s kind of your gimmick and I don’t want to take up the Homeless Ranting quota for the week. It’s funny. We seem like polar opposites in the ring, even though, in a lot of ways, we’re two sides of the same coin. You remember having it all and then losing it all. I’ve lived the journey of getting what you dream about. You’re wrestling for yourself. You’re doing this to inflict pain. I’m doing this because I know I have to. At our core, I believe we’re both wrestlers. We both love what we do. But you love the damage it causes. I love the adrenaline it brings. Again, similar, but different enough.”
“I know I might not get what’s up with you. And I freely admit that. But Cliff, you’re a stereotype. You’re a dark reminder of a past I want buried. And me…I’m young, I’m agile, and I’m in good shape. As far as I’m concerned, this match is going to go one of two ways: either you throw me around like a ragdoll and I score a fluke roll-up or I show you why Nighthawk and so many others are being forced to respect me. Cliff, times have changed. Even if what you said was real, wrestling isn’t the same as it was 26 years ago. It’s all different. So, for the sake of instruction…don’t blink. You might miss something.”