Cold Blooded PPV
Smoothie King Centre
New Orleans, Louisiana
April 19th, 2020
They say that life goes around in circles, right? There’s plenty of sayings about that very same thing, when you think about it; here we go again, the more things change the more they stay the same, here comes the new boss same as the old boss, a whole host of platitudes to fit any situation or circumstance. And when all was said and done, could it really be argued that there wasn’t merit to the idea? How many people fall into the same trips, end up in the same ruts, despite swearing that they’re going to make changes, that they’re going to turn their life around or start fresh? It isn’t just limited to big problems or events either, the same applied to all walks of life. New president? Everything is going to change, we’ll fix all the problems of the previous administration, it’s a brand new day for America… and four years later, the same issues persist, guns are still a problem, healthcare is still a problem, it’s all the same. New job? You won’t get snowed under this time, you’ll speak up, you’ll be a happier person without the old stresses… sure you will buddy, but those new stresses are looking awful similar and that douche of a supervisor that doesn’t seem to like you? Well, you better not speak up, you wouldn’t want people thinking you were a trouble maker, would you… it’s basically a fact of life, rather than a convenient little idiom, it’s rare to find anyone who truly makes wholesale changes that doesn’t slip back into what’s comfortable, because it is just that. We find our comfortable place and don’t want to leave it. David Helms wasn’t ignorant to the idea that things did come around again in life, in fact his career and life in general were proof that it probably was the case that things had a habit of repeating themselves. If anything, it was the perfect metaphor for the professional wrestling business, be it problems with people, trends, gimmicks or attitudes. The universe within their profession was very circular, and what was hip or trendy now had probably been done to death and forgotten about years earlier, only for someone to drag it out of storage, dust it off and give it a fresh coat of paint. That was part of the reason why he had dropped the ‘Dangerous’ gimmick of sorts, years earlier. Did the fans suddenly think he couldn’t go because he’d stopped splashing it on merchandise or throwing it around in promo’s? Not at all. He had a laundry list of accomplishments and a back catalogue of matches that proved he could step up with the best of them… but why bother with the blatant and kinda corny advertising when it wasn’t anything new and it added nothing to the proceedings?
It was a notion particularly relevant to David, recently returning to the ring after five years away from the business, because in his twenty one years of being around wrestling even if he wasn’t always active in that time, he had seen his fair share of things repeating themselves along the way. He wasn’t of the habit of wanting retread old ground if he could help it, which was perhaps why he had both played at peace maker and also tried his best to remain out of the problems that had started brewing between his wife Regan and his best friend Tommy since the rumblings began to become evident between them, Kandis firmly stuck in the middle and the central point of the slow building drama. It was difficult to say who should accept the blame really, if he actually wanted to play the blame game that is; he already knew what both Regan and Tommy thought about the whole thing, both of them blaming each other for what was starting to become a problem in an otherwise relatively tranquil existence that David himself enjoyed. Even with his return and the problems with The Wonderland, David was extremely satisfied with his work-home balance, and while there’d been a few hiccups along the way with Regan occasionally bringing issues home with her, even those were growing few and far between until the latest installment of Days of Our Lives started to unfold around them anyway…
Either it was all Regan’s fault because she said things about Kandis in a shoot that Tommy didn’t just deem unacceptable but downright insulting, or it was Tommy overreacting to the things that Regan had said that would have been perfectly acceptable from somebody else on the roster but because it was Regan who said them it was a big deal. Dave had watched the promo, and in truth he saw both sides of the argument, because yeah sure, maybe Regan went a little - or a lot - too far in that video depending on viewpoint, but at the same time there wasn’t really anything she had said that Kandis hadn’t said about herself anyway, so was it really an insult if someone admitted to being the very thing people called them? That was kind of why David had tried to remain partisan in the whole issue… and had inadvertently made the whole thing an even bigger mess than it was to begin with if Tommy’s reaction was anything to go by. He’d accused David of picking sides while David was actively trying not to do so, saying by not admonishing Regan for her actions he was directly supporting them, when David’s intention all along had been to not tell his wife - or attempt to tell his wife - what she could or couldn’t say. Freedom of speech was an important part of the American constitution, but that didn’t automatically mean you were free from the consequences of that freedom either. Regan could say or do whatever the hell she wanted as far as David was concerned, and she knew that any consequences of that would be hers to deal with too… but Tommy had pretty much put pay to that best laid plan, when he confronted David a day or two after the incident, throwing around accusations about David picking sides and refusing to back up his best friend. The notion was ridiculous to David, but then Tommy hadn’t been making the most rational of decisions for months had he, he was doing things that David would have criticised long before if it had been anyone else doing them, but he had stuck by his friend regardless, yet he was the asshole! And then Cold Blooded rolled around…
The April pay per view was always going to be chaotic thanks to the combination of his wife competing in a damn Street Fight against Xander Valentine and his brother indulging the madness of Giovanni Aries in the Wonderland match that David would need to be prepared for in case Gio’s insane followers, Alice Ames and Cain Adams, decided to get involved too. If anything, he was glad that he himself wasn’t booked on the show, because he wasn’t sure how he would have added in more stress than he was already feeling on the night so at least he had something to be thankful for? It was one of the few things though, and he didn’t expect to end up having to get in the face of his best friend the way he had done during Regan’s match with Xander, but that had happened and a fight had nearly broken out between the two, further weakening the bond between the two friends, edging them closer to the bracket of former friends with each second that passed, and as much as David had wanted to avoid this, the actions of his ‘best friend’ had left him with an inevitable feeling, rubber stamped by the fact that Tommy had only watched and then walked away when Xander had blindsided David and kicked him in the side of the head. The rest of the match was a little fuzzy for David as he tried to shake away the stars that lit up his head. Monster wasn’t just a moniker for Xander Valentine, it was the perfect description of him, and when he hit you, you damn well knew about it. And yet when the match ended… Xander lifted Regan to her feet. She was battered, bruised and bloodied, both were in truth, but Xander lifted Regan to her feet after the bell, after he had scored the victory, and placed her in the corner to hold her up. At first, David had been convinced that Xander had other plans, and despite still being a little dazed, he hit the ring ready to defend Regan, convinced Xander was going to try and put an exclamation point on the victory… but the monster backed off and slid out of the ring, letting David check on his wife as the show cut away from the ring.
“Come on babe, let’s get you backstage.” David said as Xander disappeared through the curtains and Regan finally let the fight slip from her body. He slid from the ring and helped Regan under the ropes and down to the floor, shouldering all her weight as he helped her up the ramp.
“Tommy,” Regan muttered, Xander’s music still blaring out, drowning out the name as fans reached to touch them. David obviously loved the fans, they gave him everything he had in his view… but in that moment he wanted to slap away every single hand that reached for them, even the one’s that were trying to pat Regan on the arm, a sign of respect or commiseration in loss. It wasn’t a feeling he was proud of but one that he had nonetheless. “Dave, I… it… sorry…” she stammered, heavy breathing, exhaustion and pain clouding her thought process as she tried to find the right words to say to him. He didn’t need to hear them.
“Forget about him,” David told her as they reached the stage and headed for the curtain where David knew there would be trainers waiting for them on the other side. “Tommy wants to be an asshole, then it’s on him. My concern is for you right now, not him. I’ll deal with him when I know you’re okay…”
“He… shouldn’t have been... out there,” Regan told her husband, taking deep breaths between talking. He knew she was hurting, knew that her bell had to be ringing and the pain raging through her body, the aches would be relentless… but she was stubborn, she had been as long as he had known her and she wasn’t going to show it even if David already knew all too well it was the case. “He was goading… me…”
“Yeah well, he’s got a receipt coming,” David promised his wife, and it was a promise too, that much he had made his mind up about. Tommy wanted to accuse David of choosing sides? Then maybe he’d have to find out what picking a side actually looked like. “Come on, nearly there,” he added as they reached the curtain and David held it open for her to step through and as she did, more arms reached out to take the weight too and David looked over to see Selena slip Regan’s other arm over her own shoulder.
“Come on, we’ve got a chair waiting,” Selena Frost told Regan with such tenderness, a level of concern that few achieve for another human being that isn’t a child or significant other, but as David helped guide Regan to the wheelchair waiting for her, he couldn’t say he was shocked by the tone. The history of those two was crazy, they had put each other through hell… but they came out of it on the other side truly respecting one another and with a bond that not everybody would ever achieve. They weren’t just friends but sisters. “That’s it, nice and steady,” Selena said softly, guiding Regan into the chair that Dave knew would go straight to the trainers room as soon as Regan was settles down; concussion protocols and talent welfare had come a long way since his early days. Twenty years ago, Regan would have made her own way to her locker room, showered it off and headed home, only seeing a doctor if she decided to take herself to one. “You did great, Regan. Really great.”
“I lost,” Regan said bitterly as she sat in the chair. David knew his wife and figured she was probably bitter about that too, that she wasn’t able to walk to the trainers room under her own power, but she didn’t fight it as he grabbed the handles before the member of the medical team could and started to push the chair himself.
“Doesn’t matter,” Selena told her, falling in step with David as she put a hand on Regan’s shoulder for comfort. “The match could have gone either way, what’s important is that you stood up to him, took everything he threw at you and still walked back here on your own feet. You made him bleed, you hurt him… that’s not something to be ashamed of, just because your shoulders were the ones on the mat for the three count,” she explained, and David could see the muscles tighten in Regan’s jaw from where he was, but she didn’t argue. Maybe she was just holding her tongue, or maybe she was actually listening to what Selena said. Who knows. But he jumped in before she could, just in case.
“I don’t know what that was after the bell,” he said, thinking out loud. “At first I thought he was going to hit you again, but… the way he backed off? I think you earned Xander’s respect tonight babe…”
“I wanted to earn a victory,” Regan said before sighing heavily. “Doesn't matter. Match is over, nothing I can do about it now…”
“Let’s just worry about getting you checked out, okay?” Selena said and Regan gave a brief nod, wincing a little as she did, without saying more. David and Selena shared a look but neither said anything further until they reached the trainers room and David tried to go in with his wife but got kicked out so that they could do a thorough check on Regan without him looming over them as they did so. He could blame them really, they had a difficult enough job as it was, without loved ones making the whole thing so much more difficult than it had to be. “She’ll be fine,” Selena reassured him as they stood in the hallway, following David’s dismissal from the room, the door slam serving as an exclamation on the order that he wasn’t to come back in until he was told he could. “We both know she’s tough, she’ll be okay once she’s patched up and had a chance to rest…”
“Yeah… yeah I know... “ David said, his eyes still burning a hole into the door, as if he believed the more he glared at it, the more translucent it would become. He knew it was pointless though and eventually he dragged his eyes away from the door and looked at Selena. “And listen, I wanna say thanks,” he told her, stepping forward to give her a hug. A few years ago, that wasn’t something he ever imagined he would do, given the problems between her and Regan, but now Selena was an important part of their lives and the friendship between the two of them was pretty strong too. Selena returned the embrace before they parted again. “Not just for everything you do for Regan, but for earlier. Running Tommy off like that. If Xander hadn’t blindsided me…”
“You don’t have to thank me for that David,” Selena told him, shaking her head. “Tommy had no business being out there, and he definitely had no right to attack Regan the way he did before I got out there. I wasn’t going to stand by and watch as he interfered in the match anymore than he already had done…”
“Yeah well, I’ve got a few choice things to say to my ‘friend’ when I fucking find him, I know that much,” David told the blonde, his knuckles clenched by his side as he did; he could feel his anger rising again now that he’d got past the fact that he had to look after his wife. Knowing she was in the hands of the medical team, it was as if his mind was allowed to concentrate on everything else now and he found that his rage was beginning to rise again. “I have half a mind to go find that fuck right now and find out what the hell he thought he was playing at!” he admitted, the muscles in his jaw tightening as he clenched his teeth.
Selena shook her head. “Dave, you need to think clearer than that,” she advised, frowning. “I know you’re angry right now, but emotions are running high in general and Tommy is your friend, even if you don’t understand why he’s doing the things he is, right now. Do you want to let your anger force you to do something you may come to regret?”
“I don’t know whether I would regret it,” He replied, catching her by surprise at the admission. “After everything he’s said to me lately, after every accusation he threw at me or insult… he’s basically forced my hand, Selena. He’s going after my wife personally after she said some stuff he didn’t like in a promo when you guys faced them. It’s ridiculous, but he’s so short sighted where that bubble butt bitch is concerned that he’s thinking with his pecker instead of his actual head!”
“He’s a man, of course he is,” Selena joked, hoping to diffuse some of the tension that was building, but David didn’t rise to it. He may not have even heard the joke, or saw it as one. He scoffed and shook his head.
“Nah, he’s thinking like Tommy Valentine, that’s what he’s doing,” David told her, his fists clenching once again and a shooting pain ran up his left hand from his knuckle; he didn’t know if he’d hurt it during the street fight somehow, or it was the pressure now placed on his hands from how tightly they were clenched, but the pain ran all the way to his elbow and he shook his arm out a little before turning and punching the wall in frustration. “This is how he fucking is,” he said, rounding on Selena and gesturing off vaguely to wherever Tommy was hiding. “He gets an idea in his damn head and he loses focus on everything else, because he doesn’t realise that the world doesn’t fucking revolve around Thomas Valentine! He’s an arrogant piece of shit when he gets like this and now he’s attacking my wife?! He’s supposed to be my best friend!” David raged, glaring down the hallway beyond Selena, as if he could actually see Tommy, wherever he was.
Selena’s mouth tightened, and she wasn’t sure what to say to calm David down, not at first. She hadn’t seen him this angry in a long time, so it was obvious that she had to say something to try and soothe things, otherwise they may get out of hand. “David, please,” she said, putting her hand up to touch his shoulder, trying to distract him from glaring off into the distance. “Your wife is in there right now, probably getting stitched up, and your brother is god knows where fighting that lunatic Aries. They haven’t even made it back to the arena yet and he’s going to maybe need you too. Calm down okay?” she said, and David looked at her for a moment and she thought he was going to listen… but then he shrugged the hand from his shoulder and took a step to the side.
“There’s not exactly much I can do from out here, Selena!” he told her, gesturing to the door. “The damn doctor won’t let me in!” he shouted, hoping the voice would carry through the door, before turning back to Selena again. “And Jason doesn’t want me involved unless Ames and Adams are, and from what I’ve been told they’re not even in the building… but my douchebag of a best friend probably still is, and that I can do something about!”
Selena already knew which way the wind was blowing before David even moved a muscle and she tried to step in his way, for what good it may do. “Just calm down David, think clearly for a minute,” she told the New Jersey native, hoping that he would see sense. “Regan is going to need you when they’re done, so is Jason when he gets here. Think about them, not the things Tommy Valentine has said and done…”
“And let him think he got away with what he did?!” David asked, incredulously, but Selena shook her head.
“Let him get away with it for now,” She told him. “He’s not going to disappear from existence if you don’t go and find him right now, is he? You have to work together, run AnteUp together. And that’s more reason to think about what you’re wanting to do right now, David… this is going to affect more than just your friendship with Tommy…”
It was. These issues were going to have way more of an impact than David liked to think… but Tommy was the one who chose the path they were on now, and after what had gone down only minutes ago, Tommy had made the choice for both of them, and now the consequences were firmly going to lay at his door. “It’s already gone beyond the point where this isn’t going to happen, Selena…” David said, his voice stiff and devoid of any emotion; he was at boiling point, so angry now that he didn’t even appear angry, but numb. “He’s made his bed, now it’s time to lay in it.”
“And that doesn’t need to be tonight!” Selena stressed, a hint of pleading in her voice now as she looked at David, worried he was going to do something stupid. David had always worn his heart on his sleeve and he hadn’t necessarily made the best choices when his emotions got the better of him and Selena was concerned this was going to be one of those moments where it was the case again. “Just let it go, for one night. You don’t need to go after him, he’ll be there whenever you want to confront--”
But Selena’s words were in vain, and David cut her off, turning to look at her as he gave her an empty smile. “You’re absolutely right, sweetheart,” he told her, his eyes hollow despite the smile playing across his mouth. “And what I want is to go do that right now...” he added before brushing past Selena to start heading down the hallway. Selena tried reaching out to grab him, but he brushed off her attempt with ease and marched down the hallway full of resentment and determination, fuelled by a desire to slap the smug right off of his friends face.
He didn’t even hear what Selena shouted after him as he strode off down the hallway, and he thought he maybe heard footsteps and wondered if Selena was following him, but he rounded the corner and they were gone. Selena stood watching as he disappeared from view and turned to the door of the trainers room, taking a step towards it before hesitating and thinking twice before lowering the hand that had already started to grab at the door handle. “Damn it!” she said, before turning away, trying to figure out what to do, before rushing off herself, in the opposite way to David.
She didn’t have the same sense of purpose as David though. While Selena had rushed off, not really knowing where she was headed, Dave at least knew what he was about to do. Okay, maybe he wasn’t one hundred percent which locker room Tommy and Kandis would be in, but he knew the general location of all the locker rooms, so finding them shouldn’t be that hard. And with them being tag champs, David knew he only had to find the door with their names on it, which made the process much easier. He didn’t even have to go to those lengths though, to find where Tommy was hiding. As he rounded another corner, Tommy was right there, one bag thrown over his shoulder and the handle of a roller case in his other hand, having just stepped out of his locker room. David’s pace increased as he almost jogged over to Tommy, shoving him hard in the back and nearly sending him flying. “You’re a fucking son of a bitch, you know that?!” he yelled as Tommy stumbled, letting go of the roller, which skidded away slightly as he caught his balance against the wall and turned to look at who’d shoved him. Not that he needed to look, he obviously knew David’s voice from anywhere, but as he straightened up he wanted to look his friend in the eye.
“Well look who finally gave enough of a damn to want to have a conversation face to face,” Tommy sneered as he put his gym bag down on the floor and folded his arms across his chest, leaning against the wall. “Did I finally touch a nerve and get through the shining armour that Regan’s favourite white knight wears, huh? Or was it because I watched you get kicked in the head and did nothing about it that prompted this little outburst? What’s a matter bro, is your pride a little dented? Or is it the ego?” he asks, mocking Dave with the smug grin that was plastered across his face. That was the grin right there that David wanted to slap from his features, and that desire was growing with every word that came from his mouth. “Cat got your tongue, brosef?” he asked as David took another step forward. “Woah, you gonna hit me Dave? That’s not very righteous of you…”
“I should hit you,” David told his ‘friend’ through gritted teeth, his every muscle aching to swing for him, one good left to the chin to put him flat on his ass right there in the hallway. But he countered the instinct to do so, trying to keep calm enough to not resort to those levels. “I should knock you the fuck out for what you did out there, you know that, right?!” he asked, and Tommy scoffed.
“What I did out there?” he asked, rolling his eyes theatrically before looking back at his friend again. “How about what your bitch of a wife has done for weeks, huh?! Or what about you, picking her over the guy who’s been there for you for the last decade and change?!” he added, his voice rising with his temper. “Do you think you’re an injured party in this, brosef? That you’re an innocent bystander in somebody’s else’s problems?!”
“I think you’re playing the fucking victim if that counts?!” David shot back at him. “I think you made a mountain out of a molehill and now you’re running out of oxygen because the air is so thin up there, that’s what I think! The hell is your problem, bro?!”
“What’s my problem?” He asked, mockingly. “Did you really just ask me that? I told you what my problem was weeks ago, and how did you respond? By telling me you’re not going to tell your wife what she can or cannot do, refusing to take sides. You ducked the issue, that’s what you did!”
“I hoped that you’d act like responsible adults and settle your fucking problems,” David spat back at Tommy, who only laughed.
“That’s real funny,” the North Carolina native said, chuckling before bringing a hand up to rub at the stumble on his chin. “It’s real funny that you think we can just talk it out after your bitch of a wife said the things she said about Kandis…”
“You call my wife a bitch one more time bro, and--” David started to say before Tommy cut him off.
“And what, Dave?” he asked, eyebrows raising it waiting for the answer. “What are you gonna do if I don’t stop, huh? See, this is what it’s like on the other side of the fence. Here I am, calling your wife a bitch, and you’re getting angry about it… but I was supposed to just suck it up when Regan said what she said, wasn’t it?! Because practically perfect in every way David fucking Helms said I should be a grown up and realise that it was just cheap points for her promo,” he said before laughing, though it didn’t sound like it was filled with any humor what so ever when he did so. “Well here’s a newsflash Dave, you don’t say shit about people in your life regardless of whether it’s for a promo or not, unless you mean it! And when I said your wife is a bitch just now… I wasn’t just scoring points, I meant it. She is one. And if she wasn’t before tonight, Xander sure made her one when--”
The rest of the sentence didn’t make it from Tommy’s mouth because David pushed him again and Tommy stumbled back another couple of steps before regaining his footing. He only laughed as David squared up to him. “Once more bro, I swear…”
“You already made that threat and then refused to follow through with it dude,” Tommy said, still laughing to himself. “Making it again just makes you look afraid to act… if you’re gonna throw threats around, you’ve got to be ready to follow up with them Dave or you just come across as looking weak,” he said, shaking his head before bending down to grab his bag. “I’m done wasting my time here, it’s obvious who’s side you’re on. Least I know where I stand now…” he said before Dave grabbed the bag from him and tossed it aside with the roller case.
“We’re not done here, not by a fucking long shot, Tommy!” Dave spat at his best friend, spittle flying from his mouth as he yelled and Tommy shifted his weight backwards to get out of the range.
“Jesus… say it, don’t spray it, brosef,” He said mockingly as he used the sleeve of his jacket to wipe at his face. “But we’re not done? Fine. Out with it, whatever the fuck it is you’re so desperate to say, just spit it out… figuratively, not literally. We already did that part. Just making it quick; Kandis is waiting for me with the car, I only came back to get the bags, we’ve got some extra celebrating to do after retaining our titles earlier tonight if you catch my meaning...”
The smirk on Tommy’s face was winding David up to no end and Tommy knew exactly what he was doing too, because he showed no sign of quitting, even as David got in his face. “You know how much of a fucking hypocrite you are, bro?” Dave asked, prodding Tommy in the chest with an outstretched finger. “Remember when me and Zoe were together? You tore into her every fucking chance you got, you were relentless… and now here you are, pissed off, because Regan said some shit you didn’t like in a promo? You said that shit to my face back then, only to apologise for it once you’d pulled your head out of your ass down the road… and now you get indignant because Regan points out the same things that every fucking fan has been saying for months?!”
“The fans are idiots,” Tommy said with a wave of his hand, taking a step back from David to avoid the finger that Dave had prodded him with. “And bringing up the Zoe shit? Really?! Ancient history, and if I remember rightly, we both came out of that situation looking like crap, so don’t throw stones, your glass house may get damaged.”
“The fans know what’s right in front of their fucking nose though, dude!” David said, losing his cool again. His temper was taking control and he wasn’t sure he was going to like where this would end up going, but he was too enraged to care anymore.
“And what the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Tommy asked, angrily. That was the first time he’d shown genuine anger since David first pushed him, his smug coolness dropping.
“My turn to hit a nerve, huh?” David asked, scoffing. A slither of a smirk played across his mouth as he pressed home the point. “I’m saying that there’s no smoke without fire, bro. Are you angry because of what Regan said, or are you angry because what Regan said was true, huh?!” he went on, pushing the questions. He could see Tommy’s demeanor starting to crack right there before his eyes, the smug expression fading by the second. “I call a spade a spade bro, and while you can say that Regan shouldn’t have said those things because it’s your girlfriend that she was talking about, family loyalty doesn’t mean ignoring the blatant fucking truth in front of your eyes! You may be the guy who has the magical snake that charmed the snake charmer to get her off the market, but Kandis has had more cock than a henhouse and she’s damn proud of the fact, she’s played to that fact, so don’t you dare get pissed off because you can’t handle the fact that your girlfriend is a--”
He didn’t get the opportunity to say what Kandis was, the punch hit him square on the chin and Tommy’s uppercut knocked him backwards off his feet, landing in a heap on the ground. David was fortunate not to hit his head on the floor as he landed, and as clean a connection as the punch was, he was already scrambling to get back to his feet before he truly hit the concrete and if security hadn’t appeared there and then, it would have turned into a fight rather than a suckerpunch. “Not like this you don’t,” A voice said in David’s ear as arms appeared around his waist, dragging him back and David turned his head to the side, struggling to break free as Dean Black shook his head and held on tight. “Reign it in, this is not happening right now, regardless of how strongly you think otherwise,” the agent said, dragging Helms back as he struggled, but even with the grip, Dave managed to plant his feet on the floor and drag Black a foot closer to where Tommy was also swamped by security personal.
“Get the fuck off me, I’m gonna kill him!” Tommy spat as he struggled to try and break free too, managing to throw off one guy before two others took his place, holding his arms.
“You’re gonna kill me, huh?!” David yelled at his… friend?... desperately trying to break free as a bitter laugh escaped his mouth, that looked more like a sneer than anything. “Good fucking luck with that, asshole! You’ve never had my fucking number Tommy, and you know it!” he yelled as Dean and the two members of the security crew managed to drag him back again, despite the thrashing and pulling to get to Tommy. “You think one punch is enough to get me to back off, you prick?! That punch was the nail in the coffin of this friendship!”
“It was already dead and buried, you arrogant fuck!” Tommy spat back, strain on his voice from struggling with the crew members that had a hold of him. “DEAD AND BURIED!” he yelled again, emphasising the point.
“Just remember bro, this was all you!” David yelled, resigned to the fact that Black and his security goons weren’t going to let David get anywhere near Tommy now. “I didn’t start this bullshit, you did… but I’m sure as fuck going to end it!” he yelled as security started to drag Tommy back further.
“Get him out of here!” Dean yelled at the security team and the supervisor nodded his head before turning to the others to get them moving.
“TAKE REAL GOOD CARE OF THOSE BELTS, BRO, BECAUSE I’M TAKING THEM FROM YOU PERSONALLY!” David shouted after him as the security team dragged Tommy away, with Black and his crew dragging him in the opposite direction. “I’VE ALWAYS HAD YOUR NUMBER TOMMY! I’VE ALWAYS BEEN THE BETTER WRESTLER! YOU’RE - get the fuck off me dude - YOU’RE THE ONE WHO BROUGHT US TO THIS COMPANY IN THE FIRST PLACE AND YET I’M THE ONE WHO BECAME A FUCKING LEGEND! SUPREME CHAMP, HALL OF FAME… HOW’S THAT HURT, HUH?!” he screamed at his ‘friend’ as they dragged him around the corner out of view, one of the security team returning to grab Tommy’s bags before disappearing again, and the fight fled from David’s body as Tommy disappeared from sight and Black and his guys dragged him away in the opposite direction, putting some real distance between the two before even contemplating letting him go.
“Alright, let him go,” Black said, once they’d moved far enough that he could be sure David wouldn’t immediately go tearing after Tommy in the parking garage. “I’ve got it from here… you’re not gonna give me any more problems, right David?” he asked, brow raised. Dave thought about saying something sarcastic but in the end, only shook his head and the security let him go before backing off. Black waited a moment to make absolutely sure that David wasn’t planning anything but happy that he wasn’t, he waved the security away and started to walk back towards the trainer’s room. “Alright, come on… your wife is asking after you, you don’t want to keep her waiting…” he said, his back already turned on David as he walked and Dave sighed before falling in line with the road agent. “So what the fuck was that all about, huh? Last thing I know, I’m getting an update from the chase car about what your brother and Gio are upto and the next thing I know, Selena Frost rushing me, wailing about a fight about to happen. I’d expect that from your brother, but not you Dave… what the hell?”
David shrugged but didn’t answer the question, instead jumping on something else Black had said. “How’s Jason doing?” he asked, showing concern now that the cloud hanging over him caused by his anger had started to dissipate. “Is he hurt?”
“They’re almost here, from what the producer in the chase car tells me,” Dean confirmed as they rounded a corner. “But you’re not answering my question. What the fuck was that about?”
“You saw what he did to Regan, bro! All the shit they’ve been slinging at each other, I could ignore that, but him attacking her mid match?!” David said, throwing his arms up in frustration. “I can’t ignore it when he makes it fucking physical!”
“And so you get into a fight backstage?” Black asked, looking forward in the direction they were walking. He didn’t want to pile on when he had a feeling David would calm down and end up feeling pretty embarrassed anyway.
David didn’t reply at first, he knew no matter what was said he wouldn’t come off looking great, but he wasn’t sure whether he cared anymore. “He’s the only one who threw a punch bro,” David told him, going with the facts rather than excuses.
“And if we’d got there ten seconds later, you’d both be throwing them,” Black said, also sticking with the facts. “I expect this kind of stuff from some of the roster David, but I expect better from guys like you… I shouldn’t have to say this but you guys were out of line and I’m gonna have to mention this in my report to Sasha later…”
It was a fair point and David wasn’t looking to get him to change his mind. If Sasha wanted to fine him, so be it. He’d take it. But he’d rather be fined than let that asshole do as he pleased and attack his wife without facing the consequences of his actions. “You’ve gotta do as you see fit bro,” David said before changing the subject. “How’s Regan, is she okay? Did the doctor find anything during his examination?”
“Regan is fine,” Black said, finally looking at David again. “She’s had a few stitches to close that head wound, but it doesn’t go much beyond just being pretty beaten up…” he said as they reached the Trainers room where David had already been while talking to Selena. “But you can see for yourself. Selena’s in there with her, I think…”
David looked at the door before back to black and he said nothing else, just nodding and offering his hand to Dean before turning and heading inside the trainers room. Inside, he was happy to find Regan sat up, a bandage on her head from the stitches, while Selena sat next to the bed on a chair. “Oh thank fuck,” Regan said, trying to stand but Selena was quicker and pushed her back down to where she was sitting before trying to move. David walked over to her and looked her in the eyes before giving her a kiss. Her eyes closed and she inhaled deeply before David broke it off. “I was worried… Selena said you tore off, and I didn’t want shit started backstage with nobody around… what happened? Are you okay?” she asked and Dave’s hand instinctively went to rub his jaw before he nodded.
“I’m fine,” he told her, lowering his hand again. “Dean Black got to us before it could get out of hand,” David told his wife before turning to Selena. “You finding him stopped things going further than they did. I should probably thank you for that, huh?” he asked, though Selena could tell there was a bit of anger in his question.
“I know you probably feel like you shouldn’t thank me really, but I’m glad Dean got there just in time,” Selena told him, giving him a nervous smile. She was sheepish, reluctant to do so, but she also wanted to try and keep things cheery if possible.
“Yeah well, I think it was too late regardless of him getting there just in time if I’m honest Selena,” David told her before turning to his wife, who looked concerned. “But fuck Tommy, how are you doing? Dean said you had stitches but no lasting damage… you feeling okay?” he asked Regan, taking in a better look of her now.
“I’ll be fine,” Regan told him, but refusing to let him change the subject so easily. “But forgot about that, what do you mean it was too late? Did something happen between the two of you?” she asked, concerned radiating off of her as she looked him up and down, like it was him who’d been in a war rather than her with Xander.
“He got one shot in,” David said with a shrug, managing to avoid touching his face this time. “I got several, though they weren’t physical… but that’s not what I’m talking about when I said it was too late. I’m not talking about mine and Tommy’s argument or fight or whatever you want to call it, that’s irrelevant now.”
“Then what are you talking about?” Regan asked, no idea what the hell he was talking about, but David only grinned.
“It’s too late because now this has to happen,” He said before turning to Selena and she managed to mostly conceal the flinch at the look on David’s face as he looked at her. The mild mannered man had gone for a moment, and the rage that had filled him earlier almost seemed to have twisted his features until Selena blinked and it was the normal regular old David that stood there. “It’s too late, because it’s made my mind up about something and I’m sorry to say this Selena, but I’m going to have to steal your tag partner,” he told Frost, nodding his head for emphasis before turning back to Regan. “Because you and me babe, we’re taking those fucking tag titles from Tommy and Kandis, if it’s the last god damn thing we do!” he told her flatly, giving her a look of such confidence that Regan found she was nodding before even realising what she was doing and she backtracked.
“Wait, hold up, back up there babe,” she said, waving a hand as if erasing the nod she’d just given him. “Selena is my tag partner, your tag partner is out there somewhere fighting Gio right now… what the fuck are you talking about?!” she asked, and looked over at Selena to gauge her reaction but Selena remained silent as Regan looked back at David.
“I’m talking about doing what we should have done the minute you decided to chase down those last two belts on your list,” David told her, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “You and me, tag team titles… I’m not letting that asshole get away with criticising you anymore, and I’m definitely not letting it slide that he fucking attacked you. So Frozen Hell and Handsome Devils Club be damned, David and Regan Helms are going after The Jackass and Big Ass connection and if they’re still the champs after Fatal Fortunes then I’m making sure we bring those things home with us if it’s the last thing I do as a fucking wrestler,” he told her, grabbing her hand and gripping it tightly. “Thomas Valentine can go to fucking hell at this point, he told me to pick a side and I have done. Yours. He can have his bubblebutt bitch girlfriend on his, there won’t be many others… fuck them. We’re winning those belts, hopefully from those two, but if not, we’ll give them a shot when we do win them just so I can slap the fucking taste out of Tommy’s mouth as champion. I’m not taking no for an answer. Sorry.” he finished, somewhat lamely, but he meant what he had said, he wasn’t going to take no for an answer, and Regan could see that.
She turned to look at Selena, and Selena simply shrugged as David turned to look at her too. “You can borrow her,” she told David with a grin. “But I mean borrow her, David. She’s my tag partner, even if she’s your wife… and I’m going to hold tag gold with her too at some point before you two crazy kids think about the next big landmark of your marriage. Just remember that.” she added, smiling. Regan looked shellshocked, she had expected Selena to say no, and she hadn’t expected her to mention the idea of her taking time off to have a baby either, but David simply nodded.
“Deal,” he said, reaching out with his right hand to offer it to Selena to shake. And she did so, nodding before David released his grip and turned back to Regan. “You ready to do this?” he asked and Regan looked unsure but eventually nodded, even if it wasn’t exactly enthusiastic.
“I guess I am…” she admitted, even if she wasn’t sure that she was. But David didn’t care if it wasn’t even quarter-hearted let alone half, she had agreed, and even if they would have a similar conversation again a week and change later, when Regan would go on to defend the SCW Television title against Kandis where Regan expressed her concerns, David refused to budge on the idea that anyone but him would help Regan to Supreme Champion now. He wanted Tommy’s head on a plate and wanted Regan to be the one with him when it was delivered. Because he had chosen a side. He’s chosen the side of the woman who he planned to spend the rest of his life with, not the guy that had already turned on him way before David himself had realised what sort of position he was in. He wasn’t stuck between a rock and a hard place anymore, he was left with an easy decision. It was Regan. It had always been Regan. Just as it had years earlier when he was still dating Zoe Sperling. Regan Street… Now Regan Helms. It was always her. And much to Tommy’s chagrin, it always would be.
