Circling The Drain

The Tension gym.... Charlie used to have fun here. Workouts were just him practicing doing something he used to find fun. He used to love wrestling. The first time anyone ever cheered for him in his life was when he used to be flying through the air, executing aerial maneuvers in his first match. He recalled that match, beating a guy twice his size.

Now that was all long gone.

Even after his injury and diminished ability from maybe rushing back too soon, Charlie still loved wrestling. He had his friend Alaina there, and he enjoyed watching her come into her own. He always thought she had a high ceiling once she got enough experience. Then, there was Talia. Charlies year with her was the best of his life. When she left, part of Charlie left with her. His friends tried to cheer him up and confront him about his lack of training habits and replacing them with drinking habits.

Drunk was the only time Charlie was happy. Thats why as he trained, a rarity these days from his apathy, he had a big soda bottle that contained as much whiskey as it did soda. Even buzzed, Charlies muscle memory made a lot of movements automatic, even if they probably looked much less fluid to trained observers.

Clyde entered the gym with a few looks to his side and over his shoulder. Last time he was in the gym he ran into a girl named Belle B. Barker, some crazy broad who was obsessed with him. She was a headache to say the least. Clyde was happy to see that she wasn't around.

Belle was bad enough, but she was just added trouble on Clyde's already cluttered and fucked up life that wouldn't be so bad if he just had his Mercy back. Never having a chance to win the Tension title wouldn't be so bad if he just had Mercy back.

He was making his way to the ring for practice, nothing out of the usual. Guys and (hot) babes working out and... He passed by something. A smell, a familiar smell. The cowboy was curious and picked up the can and took a whiff, keeping his nose out of the can of course.

"Whiskey!" He beamed like he was seeing an old friend again.

Charlie worked up a bit of a sweat and sat doan, clad in his old black converse and blue shorts. He stopped drinking his beverage when he heard someone shout "whiskey" prompting him to quickly screw the top back on his 2-liter bottle. He slid it under the chair he was sitting in. It was then that Charlie realized he brought extra..... and saw a man sniffing the can Charlies just finished moments before.

"Uhhh, hey whats up?" Charlie sajd to the cowboy who enetered the room.... Was that Clyde Gastin? Charlie recalled Alaina having met Bonnie at one of Taylors functions. According to her, the Gastins were some of the nicer people AFW had to offer. Even though some things had changed for Charlie, he did enjoy conversations..... sometimes anyway.

Clyde looked up and blinked, some white dude was in the ring. He had seen him before going up against that fucker Army and The Thorns but he couldn't quite remember his name...

"Howdy." He said plainly before setting down the drink. "Sorry friend, force 'O habbit... But an old one! Haha!" If there was whiskey, chances were Clyde could sniff it out.

He extended his hang out to the dude and smiled. "Clyde Gastin." He said pleasantly.

Charlie shook Clydes hand and looked him in the eye. "Charlie Haines." Charlie looked Clyde oved, he wasn't much bigger than Charlie was. "I am guessing ya came for some training eh? I think my buddy Al....er... Alaina Sanders knows your sister?"

Charlie paused for a second and chuckled to himself. "I must be the laughingstock of Tension for how badly I choked in my first PPV appearance." He said with a shrug. He knew he essentially landed 3 moves and only existed to get hit in the manhood then pummeled by Emi. A burden to his team in his estimation. With that in mind he grabbed the big bottle of soda and took a swig.

That was his name! Charlie! Good thing too, now he wouldn't get him and Nathan Weed mixed up.

"They're friends? I mean I heard of her but I wouldn't know... Bonnie dun' tell me nuthin." But lord forbid if he didn't tell HER everything.

Clyde later cocked an eyebrow at Charlie's comment, it felt very out of nowhere. Clyde chucked along. "Man... I've had three pay-per-view matches and I've lost all three in a row!" Clyde said with a laugh, like it was no big deal.

"If yer talkin' about the Roses, don't feel bad. They cheat, ya ain't got nothin' to be ashamed about... Unless Aoi Tamazaki... Uh... Yeah..." And with that, he cleared his throat.

Charlie laughed as he finished a little more of his whiskey soda. "Its good that you can stay positive like that ya know?" Charlie said with a sigh. "Speedy people with a torn up knee usually don't last long. Makes a poor impression with the ladies too." He added with a shrug.

Now here he was.... Talia crept her way back in his mind. He gave her everything, she was his everything. She left him high and dry. Yep.... it was time for another swig.

Clyde raised his brow at Charlie's words. He was a really sour guy, or had something on his mind. Clyde wasn't too sure yet.

"I dunno man. Yer in Tension. Girls just come a' flockin'." In his case they did, and that wasn't always a good thing.

"What? Ya got yer knee jacked up and shit?"

Charlie let out a laugh. "I wish. I'm a short dude who isn't super buff. Guys with muscles get the ladies." Charlie said before he took a deep breath. "I mean there was one who I met that I thought was... ya know... THE one, but well that kinda blew up."

Charlie took another swig. "How about you? I mean, I hear about ya a bunch." Charlie said, trying to at least appear to be less downtrodden. "Do you break a lot of hearts or what?"

"You'd think..." Clyde said offhandedly before hearing Charlie mention a girl, his own expression going a sour with as an old familiar sting was described to him.

"Oh... Sorry ta' hear that, man..." He said solemnly, getting an idea of how shitty Charlie probably felt.

He felt dismissive now. "Nah." He said, not wanting to acknowledge that he was talked about, only to give Charlie an unsure look following his question. "'Spose you could say that." He said while thinking about his odd history in Tension and some of the crazy women in it.

"I've been where you're at right now though, I'll tell ya that much. And I prolly can't say I know exactly how ya feel but I've been in the same boat as you before... Might be again... I ain't even sure." He didn't know why he told Charlie that, as if telling the guy he had loved and lost would make him feel better.

"Ya can't let it beat ya up forever though." Clyde said as he thought of his past failures.