Rock The House

Kyoko noded as Clyde intoduced her and Mercy gave her a simple reply and moved on, guess she wasnt too interested. Either way with the near fight finally behind them and everyone doing there own thing Kyoko decided to just take a step back and get something to eat, no way things would flair up twice so quickly right? Moving into the kitchen she looked around for something to eat. Just trying to be quick about getting a burger or something.

Amy follwed Diana down at the bar stool next to her. "Well if you ask me your just looking for a fight, not that im criticizing." Amy spoke up as she saw Diana stare down another girl across the room. "And it looks like you found one..." She said devilishly as she approached, Amy stayed seated not wanting to miss one second of this. "Well when someones a champ eventually new faces come into the fold, why should this be any different?" Amy said to her response towards Diana.

Clyde felt like he was going to lose his lunch the moment he poured it all out to Mercy and the realization came flooding in. She did this before, a gentle let down, he knew the routine by now. But it didn't stop it hurting any less when he realized it was beyond over. Whatever they had in the past and the little hope that he had been given and hanging on to. All that was long gone.

Clyde just stood there, mouth agape, unable to say at thing at first, wishing it wasn't real but it was. "B-But... You told me ta' wait and..." He didn't want to plead or beg like a dog. He just felt like a fool who had been gripping at dust in the wend when he should have known long ago to move on.

And then she came in. Mexico's most beautiful fighter. The eye-catcher that Clyde didn't pay any mind to until he saw her hands suddenly take Mercy's and everything came together, leaving Clyde standing there, slack jawed and eyes ready to water, but he held them back with everything he had and more.

For a moment his hand refused to let go of Mercy, but eventually there was no strength. He felt limp and weak as he stared at Angel and Mercy, together, embracing as lovers. Mercy and this gorgeous goddess he could never hope to compete with. Clyde's lost expression never changed, he just stood there listening to it all and seeing it with his own two eyes. The fact he had been reduced to an after thought and wasn't good enough anymore. He loved her too much to be angry, but he felt like a fool who had been led on and waiting for an empty promise.

"....Know what would be unfair ta' Eliza?" He finally said. "Makin' her sloppy seconds." He muttered as he shut his eyes tight and turned away. He did want to get back with Mercy, but what bothered him most was why they couldn't make it work the first time after it seemed they got rid of all their problems. But now all that was gone, he didn't care anymore.

And it felt so wrong.

"Thank you fer supportin' me, Mercy. I couldn't have been champion with ya.... I hope the two of you have a nice life." Was all he said as he kept his back turned.

Diana simply took a swig of her drink which had miraculously been left untouched, the near empty case besides it the same. "Tch..." She'd simply respond to the blonde, as she gave her honest opinion in stating that the Italian seemed to be here for search of a fight. She couldn't truthfully deny or agree that the opinion was the truth; she was out for a fight, more in the hopes of eyeing up potential candidates for actual matches, rather than a party-scuffle. That been said, if someone akin to a small Scottish woman rubbed her up the wrong way, she wouldn't be placid.

She didn't know every face in the room, but something about the blonde suggested to Diana that the woman was fresh in AFW. Or atleast, fresh-er than most at the party. "And what are you here for? Thought you'd make some friendly rounds hmm? Shake a few hands, suck a few d.." She'd cut herself off from a somewhat aggressive, patronising speech, when the woman who'd been eyeing her up decided to get somewhat cosier. She was by no means pushing Amy aside by focusing her attentions on Dixie, but it didn't take a genius to see the Texan wasn't in as a friendly mood as the other blonde sat near her.

She quickly caught on to the 'game' Dixie was playing; putting off somewhat of a friendly tone and atmosphere, so that the few eyes looking their way suspicious of another fight brewing were quickly thrown off. Or maybe she was just out to urk Diana. Her tone as fake-friendly as the Texans was, with a blatantly fake smile to boot, she decided to play her game right back.

"No, no, I'm just an open invitee, you see." Her fake smile briefly growing in almost a painful display. "I'm not really brand new, but I'm not exactly seasoned her either. What about you? You look like you've been around..." The Italian simply couldn't help but insinuate what she just had, completely unable to resist her eyes briefly rolling to Dixie's legs, to further her attempt at a sly insult.

Dixie glanced at Amy, and then turned her attention back to Diana, mentally sizing up the Italian as she listened to her words. Her subtle insults didn't escape the Texan's notice, but Dixie simply smiled at them, keeping a friendly look on her face.

"Oh, ah'm one of Clyde's friends," she answered, sitting up straight in her seat, resting her hands at her sides. "Wouldn't have missed his big celebration fer nothin'. He's deserved this fer a long time. He wanted me to help keep an eye on things, anyway. He's smart enough to know there might be trouble tonight, so ah'm glad to stay around and watch the party. Ya never know when someone's gonna try to start something..." There was an unspoken threat in her words, a definite warning to Diana to not try anything.

Angel slipped an arm around Mercy's waist, squeezing her lover in return as the pinkette did the same to her. She listened silently to what both Mercy and Clyde had to say, fully expecting the cowboy to get upset, to blow up, to do something. It was almost disappointing when he didn't, but that was good. The smoother this went, the better.

She waited a few seconds after Clyde stopped talking, then gave Mercy another squeeze, looking down at her. "Come on, chica," she said in a soft voice. "We should probably go, yeah?"

Mercy turned her head when Clyde spoke. She blushed uncomfortably, but when she felt Angel's squeeze she was relieved.

"Yeah." She breathed to Angel. She then looked at Clyde. "Uh, yeah... See ya, Clyde..." Mercy muttered. "Um, thanks again..."

She didn't know why she said it, but after she did, she turned with Angel to leave.

Jay walked back to the .ca to get another peice after some was smeared on his jacket. He passed by Ryan and gave him a small nod to acknowledge him. He had already cleaned himself off, but Ryan was on his way to do that now. And after getting the next slice, Jay turned around to see Ryan's....Friend was it? Or tag tem partner?

Anyway, he asked about about cake and any opinions he had on it. "Well, if I came back for a third slice its definitely good. Although some of it got on me, so this is really the second slice Ive gotten..." Jay shot a glare at Duffy. Though it was short, as Jay didn't want her to see it. Cause if she did there'd be trouble...

"You ever been commissioned for cakes and bakes?"

Meanwhile, Juniper finishes drinking a soda, sitting at the bar. She watches Clyde leave to go outside. And Eliza went out a different way. Sheesh dint think much of it, choosing no to pursue it much.

Clyde lowered his head as Mercy agreed it was time to go. It felt surreal knowing it was over, even though he knew he should be used to this by now. He screamed at himself to say or do something but he knew it would be in vain. It was over and it was time to accept it.  

"You won't..." He thought to himself before finally speaking. "Goodbye." He said solemnly, waiting for them to leave the patio before he sighed a shaky breath, sniffling through his nose and wiping his face with his arm before he took a death breath, feeling like he could smash the screen door or kick over the BBQ pit.  He really wanted to just dissapear right now and be forgotten. But he knew he was supposed to be this center of attention and he had guests. The best he could do was be a man about it. Be a professional.

Clyde walked back into the house, paying no mind to anyone as he went over to the couch, opening a cabinet that continued the world title before resting it over his shoulder before he went to grab a beer, his first one in a very long time.

"....'Scuse me. Everyone! Attention please!" He said as he took a deep breath.

"I wanna thank all y'all for comin' here to tonight. Friends and... Whatever the hell rest of ya are!" He said as he looked around the room at everyone, the people that loved him, the strangers, the ones he loved.

"Yer support means everythin' to me because well... I'm pretty sure I hate where I work... I mean... Heh!" Clyde started to actually smile, it was wide and accompanied with a pair of very open eyes.

"I've fallen over twenty feet off ladders! I've bled all over the mat! I've nearly been killed by guys in masks too many times to count! I get jumped and beat up all the damn time! I've been raped by a chick who wanted me to be her baby daddy even! Like... Fuck! 'Why me?' I ask all the damn time! Why do I stay here and when is this going to pay off? When is my boss going to stop screwing me over!?" He exclaimed with his arms out before he looked at the golden world title and patted it affectionately.

"This... This hunk of metal tells me it was all worth it. It's proof I defied the odds and beat Reira Kirishima, Melissa's favorite pet. That for everything I won and then lost... It's okay because I'm the best now! I ain't even got a real education and this here belt means I'm The Best. And when I look at everyone here in this room! I realize WHY I'm the best! It's because of the people in my life! The ones that pick you up when you're down!  My Sister, Duffy... Eliza... Mer-" He blinked rapidly but his expression never changed.

"...All you guys! Thank you. All of you. Because If it's one thing I've learned in life through AFW... Is that when the world is kicking your ass... It's the people you love that pick you up and push you to do better! And you'll push yourself just for them. You'll go the distance and beyond. Without them... You ain't shit!" He said cheerfully as he pushed the bottle to his lips and took a big swig.

Glug.

Glug.

Glug.

He stopped drinking and looked at the room, scowled and shook his head. "I thought titles made you but I was wrong... You ain't worth a damn without the people in your life." He muttered solemnly.

"You can all leave now."

---------------------

Bonnie's smile had drooped when she saw Angel and Mercy walking out. She realized what happened and bit her lip, it wasn't her place to judge or say anything about matters she wasn't involved in, but when she saw her brother come in and make his speech, she knew it was time to go.

"Alright y'all. You heard the man, lets go."

Eliza couldn't believe what she had heard, had her efforts to help Clyde been for naught? Was she to blame at least partially? The dancing passion didn't know what to think at this point, though Eliza had to consider that she hadn't really known who Mercy was. She didn't inquire much about her to Clyde, out of respect for him. Ms Harenwood bit her lower lip, Eliza had heard enough. She didn't want to hear anymore, again due to respect. But also because the dancing passion couldn't believe it.

................. Eliza was quiet as Mercy would depart, if the girl noticed Ms Harenwood was there she'd simply avoid looking at her until she was away. The dancing passion wouldn't know what to say anyway.

Wordlessly the British woman slinked back into the house, trying her best to look normal as possible. Eliza didn't want to be near that situation, she needed to find solace. Not with Clyde though, not this moment. The dancing passion saw Ryan was still in the kitchen, finally having gotten his jacket relatively clean now. She quietly walked in and placed herself next to him, politely coughing to her ex. There might have been some irony in this. Ryan turned his head, where he saw Eliza's expression had become dismal.

"Huh? Eliza? What's wrong?" Ryan asked softly, the British woman wasn't normally like this. She usually had a small smile on her face, he knew that. Eliza simply breathed deeply without making eye contact with the paragon.

John meanwhile smirked at Jay's comment, he'd heard about the guy from his boss. And it seemed that his opinion was spot on as always. Zokaro inquired about commissions from the master of creation, to which Mr Carnaby chuckled and said "Funny enough I actually do commissions, as an artist. Though with the belts I ain't doing any new work right now."

Still Clyde was speaking now, with a big announcement. Eliza looked at the cowboy while biting her lower lip slightly, the tag champs listened in too. Something seemed to have happened, and Clyde was going into a bit of a rant covering his time in Tension. Mr Knight could respect the part with the fact that it wasn't the belts that was the important thing, it was the folks around you. Indeed it was impossible to talk about Ryan's time here without mentioning Anampo for example.

And Mr Gastin requested that everyone depart, well it was about that time anyway. Ryan tilted his head a little but nodded after it, he motioned for John to get ready also. "Right then, I'll leave the cake here though. Sayonara folks." the artist stated with a little salute from his forehead. As Ryan made to go though, Eliza remained where she was.

"I.....think I ought to stay Ryan, I'll be fine going home on my own." Ms Harenwood softly muttered, Ryan had an inkling as to why.

The paragon of Britain simply nodded with a lifted eyebrow, he could respect that. John was already on his way out, giving a wave to Clyde before going of course. Ryan would cough politely before saying "Well see you around Clyde, your a good man. I hope for all the best for you." Ryan would then exit, getting into the limo that was driven by his tag partner.

The dancing passion would move close to the door, though her expression indicated that she could remain if Clyde requested it. She'd heard pretty much everything, though Eliza was more concerned with the champ. Given what just happened.

What appeared to be somewhat of a tense situation forming between the three, akin to a Mexican standoff albeit Amy taking somewhat of a spectator role, was quickly diffused as the party came to an abrupt end. Eyes not quitting their gaze on the cowgirl before her, Diana opted to simply stand, her fake smile again briefly growing. "Well. Nice to meet you." She'd mutter, her tone as fake as ever as she directed the statement both towards Clemets, and partially Amy, who she seemed sceptical considering her earlier interest in the Duffy/Diana face off.

With that, she'd make her way into the small exiting crowd that had gathered near the door, composed of the UK elite, somewhat rudely opting not to give a direct goodbye to Clyde. She'd already been asked to leave, a goodbye given in any way whatsoever would be just seen as the Italian further mocking him for the fact she stayed. She'd somewhat smile as she made her way out alongside the tag champions, having came to the night completely unbeknownst what to expect. Now leaving the night, she now had a small list of certainly 'interesting' characters she'd aim to meet again.

"Well..." Jay took a forceful of the dessert. "You should think about doing this stuff as well. I cant cook to save my life sometimes..." He then hears Clyde. "Uh...See you around. Tell Ryan to contact me some time." Jay both listened to Clyde speak and navigated the crowd to find Juniper. By the time he got to her, Clyde had finished talking. The redhead frowns upon hearing him. He didnt sound well.

"Shall we go? " Jay asks.

"H-Hang on a sec. Meet me at the car." Juniper left Jay and pushed past the crowd to walk up to Clyde. She could tell he was irked by something. She wanted to link it to Eliza somehow. But Juniper didn't want to think it was. She pushed a hand on his shoulder. "Sleep easy tonight. Im there for ya if you need me. See you later, Cowboy."


Jay and Juniper got in the car. A turn of the key caused the engine to roar to life. "I hope he's okay." Jay says aloud.

"He will be. Wether or not its an easy road is up in the air. He's gone through a lot to get that belt. And it was just worth it enough. You gotta think if its ever."

Jay made a small frown and sunk in his seat, thinking about his own brush with trying to go for a belt. "Yeah...Just uh...Take us outta here."