Road to Ruin [AEW Oneshots]

a good place to start

Just what exactly was one supposed to say to someone they hadn't spoken to in over half a decade? As Pac stared down at the message he'd received on Twitter, he felt himself almost overwhelmed with memories of the past.

From: @SamiZayn

Hey man, it's been a while, huh? I know you're not on here too much but I was wondering if you wanted to meet up and grab some coffee tomorrow morning? I'm gonna be in the city over from where you guys are running this week and I would love to see you!

I know it's EXTREMELY last minute and I understand if you've already got plans with your girlfriend or your friends. But hey, if you're free, hit me up!

How the hell did Pac respond to that? Or would he be better off just leaving Sami on read, as he had done so many times before?

The message had been the first Sami had sent Pac in quite a while. Scrolling upwards, Pac noticed that his last text from Sami had been during Pac's feud with Kenny and Orange Cassidy for the AEW World Title, where Sami had wished him luck and said some nice words about how he'd always been one of the best.

As he thought back to it, Pac remembered the way he had felt upon first seeing that message.

He'd been frustrated by Sami's continued efforts to once again step into his life. Pac hadn't been able to understand just why Sami was so goddamn persistent; couldn't Sami see that Pac didn't need his help or encouragement? That he was better than the words of someone so happy in the company that had made Pac's life a living hell?

Thinking back to it now, even Pac realized how selfish and unfair that way of thinking had been. Perhaps Elizabeth had been rubbing off on him, if only a bit.

Pac sighed and raised a hand to slick his hair back against his scalp, his eyes locked on his phone.

This was not what he had expected to deal with this morning.

"Everything okay, Pac?" Elizabeth's concern wasn't enough to tear Pac's gaze away from his screen.

"Yeah, yeah, it's all fine. Just..." Pac wasn't entirely sure what he should say. "Don't worry about it."

"You saying that only makes me worry that much more," If Pac had to guess, Elizabeth was frowning at him. "Please don't tell me someone died."

That was enough to get Pac to look at her. In fact, Pac whipped his head up so quickly that his neck ached in protest.

"Why the fuck is that your first assumption?!" Pac asked incredulously. "No, no one fuckin' died."

"What the hell am I supposed to think when I come in here and you're looking at your phone like that?!" Elizabeth's tone was defensive but the expression on her face was one of pure embarrassment.

"I..." Pac stared at his girlfriend for a long moment before shaking his head. "An old pal just messaged, that's all."

He wasn't entirely sure what had caused him to refer to Sami in such a way, though the words had slipped past his lips before Pac had been able to put much thought into them. Elizabeth had mentioned Sami to Pac on a few occasions in the past, but the conversation had never lingered on him for too long.

"Should I be worried about this old pal of yours the way you worry about Will?" Elizabeth was teasing him, unable to keep a playful smile off her face. Pac rolled his eyes but he had to admit that her making light of his dislike for Will was a welcome change from her getting mad at him over it.

"Unless you've been reading those stories Leva writes, ya don't have a reason to worry about him," While Pac knew that Leva created fanfiction stories about their co-workers, he had never read one of them for himself. He also had no interest in doing such a thing. "It's just..."