My name is Benjamin Potter Cena, son of John and Nicole Cena, and on this day, July 21 2024, I turn exactly fifteen years old. Its summer so there was no valid excuse not to do a pool party, except when your parents are superstars and travel all the time, refusing to let you stay at home so you could spend summer with your friends. Which is normal, I'm fifteen and they're my parents, so even though I think of myself as a totally responsible and mature young man, they see me as the one and half year old who ran away from their mother after taking a bath with their underwear on their head. I don't get it, but as every parent in the world says "You'll understand when you have your own kids."
Right, because I want to have kids. The only thing I can think about right now is having kids. As you can tell, I'm a little sarcastic. Yeah, well when spend your entire summers on the road, let me know how it feels like. I'm sorry, I'm being ungrateful, but at first is really cool to travel to new places, but it gets old. Detroit, Columbus, Buffalo… I know them all. I've eaten ice cream at least once in those cities.
And the pressure sucks. Ever since I was little all WWE has done is promoting the idea of "The Cena Legacy" and my dad is no help, stating that in ten years I'll be the one holding the United States Championship. Don't get me wrong, I want to do it, wrestling is in my blood but I don't want to start right now. I'm a teenager, I just want to have some fun.
Unfortunately, today is not a fun day. We have to wake up early, go to freaking St. Louis, a place where I've been four hundred times and be there in time for the fans, the preparations, the last minute script changes and the list goes on and on. It basically sucks and all the time I'm there with my dad, people tend to want to take pictures with me as well. Apparently, besides being John Cena's kid, I'm attractive and I wear cool clothes, which is strange because I wear jeans and t-shirts, that's it. I also look a lot like my dad, same eyes, same nose and same mouth.
"Can I please just go meet Jade and Bryan backstage? I'm sick of being here doing nothing but taking pictures!" I get up from the chair to talk to my mom, who was talking to aunt Brie.
"Sure sweetie, Jade and Bryan are eating, go meet them there." Aunt Brie and answers and my mom seems annoyed.
"Brie, he was asking me, not you." My mom grunts at her sister. "Yes kid you can go." She answers and I walk out.
I walk backstage and it really is just a crazy ride. The hairdressers running around with whatever the hell they need to make the divas better looking, the superstars messing around with each other, people getting to their dressing-room, Eva Marie bitching about everything… Normal things, right?
"Hey guys." I find Jade and Bryan Jr. on the cafeteria, eating pork and lettuce. I go take a plate to myself and sit next to them.
"How's it going?" Jade asks and I just breathe in and out.
"This crap is exhausting. I'm sick of the road and I'm not even wrestling. I don't see how our parents do it." I say and start to eat my lettuce, causing Bryan to giggle.
"I love how you just ranted about this and then you attacked your lettuce like your bitch." Bryan laughs and we all start to laugh.
"But seriously, you guys are lucky you're twins. Not having someone of my age on my dad's trailer is like stabbing me three thousand two hundred and forty-nine times on my head, destroying my god damn brain." I speak and we all crack up. Being with my cousins is always the best part of coming with my parents.
"Three thousand two hundred and forty-nine times? What the actual fuck?" Jade speaks a little bit too loud, causing Seth and Roman to stare at us.
"Guys, don't act like you never said it." I shout and they laugh it out, walking away. "Hate saying this but I miss Tampa, I miss school, I miss…"
"Rodrick?" Jade interrupts me. "Have you ever told your parents about him?" She asks and I quietly say "No."
"Ben what's the big deal? Just tell your parents 'Bitch I'm bi and I have a boyfriend!' It should be easy." Bryan speaks and I close his mouth with my hand.
"You want to talk louder? Maybe while Battleground is happening, I can walk out there and give you the microphone so you can do your freaking speech about me being, you know, bisexual?" I whisper and they finally shush. "Finally."
"You're going to tell them someday, right? You're not just planning on turning eighteen and leaving?" Jade asks and I don't know how to answer. I never really gave it much thought.
"I don't know. Probably the second option. I don't think they would be okay with it, especially with their status. Having a bisexual kid wouldn't look good." I confess and they look at me incredulous.
"Ben c'mon! They would be the most accepting people on the planet. Don't you know your parents?" She asks and I know the answer, I'm just too scared to say it out loud.
"Mom! Dad! Weren't you supposed to be preparing for your matches?" Bryan asks, noticing his parents walking towards them.
"Yes, we're going to do that now but, Ben, your mom and dad need to talk to you. They're in your dad's dressing-room." Aunt Brie tells me and I walk out, in the dressing-room's direction.
"Ok kids did you know your cousin smoked?" Uncle Brian asks them, who are surprised by the question.
"He doesn't smoke." Jade's tone changes for this answer. She's always been protective and she always defends the people she loves, even if she had to stand up against her own parents.
"Look missy, we saw a photo of him on Facebook lied down on some type of dirt road with a couple friends and there was a pack of cigarettes next to them." Aunt Brie says and Jade isn't surprised that a pack of cigarettes was there, they were from their friend Jayden.
"Those are Jayden's! He's the one that smokes. He's our friend too." Bryan says and Aunt Brie's eyebrow raise.
"You're friends with someone who smokes? They are bad influences on you." She shouts and the twins get up from their chairs.
"Since when does someone who smokes means they're bad influences? You're the one who said that as long as people treat you right, you should treat them right as well. And guess what? Jayden has been nothing but a good friend to Ben, to me and to Bryan." Jade says, trying to make Aunt Brie realize that there's nothing wrong with them being friends with Jayden.
"Why are you talking to your mom like that? You're fifteen, a child and we're the adults! Do not, and I repeat, do not disrespect your parents!" Uncle Bryan yells, causing Jade and Bryan Jr. to walk away from their parents.
"They really stood up for Ben." Aunt Brie comments and Bryan gives her a small kiss on her forehead. "I feel bad for fighting them over something I knew they were right."
"You were the one who had the crazy idea to isolate them, so that John and Nicole could confront Ben about the Facebook photo." Uncle Bryan says.
"I know I know, but I'm just thinking. Even if that kid, Rodrick, did upload a photo of him and Ben kissing, were we on the spot to help John and Nikki set Ben a trap? How are we capable of forcing a fifteen year old to come out?" Aunt Brie asks him and herself. She couldn't contain her disappointment on herself.
While this happened, in my dad's dressing room, I could feel the tension rising as I walked in. My dad was sit down on the couch and my mom was sit down on the chair. As soon as I walked in, I noticed my mom was having a hard time not to cry and my dad had his "I don't know how I'm supposed to feel" face.
"I'm kind of scared to ask what's wrong." I giggle but shut up fast, noticing no change in their facial expressions.
"We're not here to judge, but hum, can you explain this to us?" My mom picks up her phone and shows me a photo that I just didn't anybody to see. The photo was taken out of Rodrick's phone. It had the black and white effect and it showed me and him kissing. God, the things that are coming out to my mind would get me arrested for attempted murder. I told him to erase the photo, but a month later after the photo is taken, he decides to put it up on Facebook, tagging me and saying "It's been a month since you went on the road and I miss you like I never thought I would. Love you. #March32015". Who does that? I want to strangle the guy!
"We're here Ben. Talk to us." My dad says, lowering his voice.
"Mom, Dad, I'm bi." I admit and I immediately notice my parents are shocked.
"Wait, you think you're bisexual? You're not gay?" My mom asks.
"Well he sure is half-gay." My dad says and I get up from the chair where I had sat on.
"No! I'm bisexual. Not half-gay and not half-straight. Bisexual. Also, before you asks, I'm not experimenting, I'm not curious, I'm really bisexual. And if you can't accept that…" My dad grabs my arms to calm me down.
"We don't care, so calm down. We're not here to judge and we don't care who you date, as long as you're happy." My dad says.
"I don't buy it." I say and force my arms out of my dad's hands. "If you are so cool with it, how are you almost crying?" I kneel in front of my mom, who comes face to face with me and I notice a tear coming out of her eye.
"Ben it's not that all. I love you no matter what." She gets me up from my knees and hugs me. "Why didn't you tell us before?"
"Have you seen who you are? You two are celebrities and every time you reminded me of how much YouTube subscribers, Twitter followers and Facebook likes the company had, I just thought that it would ruin your image to have a bisexual son." I confess and they look at each other, not knowing what to say.
"We don't give a shit about our image if it hurts you." My dad says and I laugh, for the simple fact that they never swear around me. "Now, go, go meet your cousins. Go have fun with them, as long as we don't hear Alicia complain about her clothes missing."
"Dad, we were twelve years old. And it was pretty cool to see her walk around with only a towel wrapped around her. Also, Jade wanted to steal Randy Orton's so I guess you kind have to thank me and Bryan for wanting to see Alicia without clothes." I walk away, hearing them laugh and then kiss. After that I just walked the hell away.
It is taking me a while to find Jake and Bryan. I checked the catering spot, because that is our usual spot but they weren't there. I walk around backstage, passing the camera crew, walk a bit more and then, suddenly, felt two hands cover my eyes.
"Bryan really?" I grab his hands and turn around. It wasn't Bryan.
"Hey." It's Rodrick. He says hi like nothing happened.
"What are you doing here?" I ask, my voice in the coldest tone possible.
"Nice way to treat your boyfriend. Remember? The guy you love." He smiles and tries to kiss me.
"Why did you put up the photo we took the day before I left? That was supposed to be private!" I shout and his face goes blank.
"Ok…First, we had five people around us. Second, we're dating and everybody in the real world knows. The only people who don't know are your parents. What's wrong anyway?" He asks and I laugh.
"You seriously thought that my parents wouldn't see the photo? They're not ancient! They saw the photo! And, they weren't happy that I didn't tell them." I say, noticing him not caring too much "Rod, this is serious. You completely betrayed my confidence!"
"Where are you going with this? What are you trying to say?" He asks and I lower my head.
"I'm saying that you shouldn't have come here." I say, getting my head up and looking at him in the eyes, noticing a certain sadness and also a certain anger.
"I flew from Tampa to here." He says.
"You shouldn't have! Because from where I stand, you posted that photo on purpose, wanting my parents to see who I was dating! You were sick and tired of my parents not knowing about us, in fact you have always been, ever since we started dating." I start, a tear falling from my left eye.
"Ben! Why would I sabotage our relationship? These past four months have been the best of my life, you have been the best thing that ever happened to me." He says and my hands just go rapidly to my face.
"I know, I know." I say, uncovering my face that shows tears coming out of my eyes. "But I have to think about this, about us. If I want to be with someone who put me on the spot with my parents like you did. I'm sorry." I walk away, letting him think for his own. I reach my dad's dressing-room, notice he and my mom are already out of it, probably facing some last minute changes with management, so I had the whole room for me. I quickly dry my tears off with some napkins, which were placed on top of the fridge, and sit down on the couch, turning the TV on.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Battleground." I say, quietly imitating what the ring announcer would say.