Not Quite Normal

by GallopToMe

I was your not-so-normal normal girl. 5'4", a little overweight, messed up in my teen years. If you want to know me, or my story, Seether's song describes it all real well "Fake it if you're out of direction, fake it if you don't belong, fake it if you feel like infection – Whoa you're fing hypocrite!" ...But I can fake with the best of anyone. I can fake it all.

Right, so everyone! I'm tired of those same "normal" type characters in every fanfic. So I decided to write a fanfiction about a no-so-normal girl...who is in fact very much like many real-life fans out there. Give her a chance...she may actually have a story to tell!

Notes: So yeah, I'm a photographer myself and I think it's the best occupation on earth! (Too bad you can't make much money!) I thought the song "Fake It" by Seether was SO appropriate for this story, regardless of the fact that it was the official song for No Way Out. You'll see. :)

This is the rough draft of my intro. I am planning on adding onto it ...in just a few minutes... ;)

Hi. My name's Cassie. Now I wish I had someone to tell this story in third person. Like, "she was beautiful, she was slim, she was talented and she's achieved her greatest dream. A curly blond/brunette with green/blue eyes, 5'7", when she walked she made every man backstage ache in a particular place."

Yeah right.

I'm 5'4" and about 50 lbs overweight. It all fell to the hips and thighs when I had my first baby, so while my face isn't too bad, well, my shape is somewhat like an hourglass – yeah - the inverted kind. I have gray eyes and light brown hair. It generally looks unwashed and unkempt when I let it hang naturally, so I dyed it light auburn and kept it pulled back in a ponytail behind my head. When I was out on special occasions I could Fench braid it, but it was a process was normally too long to bother with.

Yeah, like I mentioned, I have a baby daughter. She's about 6 months, and I am 19. Shocked? Okay, well, I messed up pretty bad in high school. I fell in love with this Hispanic guy I worked with and even lived with him for about a year and half. He was pretty good to me at first, but then I got pregnant and after Serena Kaleigh was born, he began to change. He was under the extra stress of feeding a baby and I couldn't work because I was in the Community College and the loss of hiring a babysitter was much more than the gain. Things just kept getting worse and even though I had by that time, truly fallen in love with him, I realized it was in the best interest for both me and Kaleigh to leave.

My father is my hero. He supported me throughout everything. He paid for the hospital bills when Kaleigh was born and he put me though school so I could graduate with a two-year degree in Photography. I lived at home on the family horse farm and practiced equine photography until graduation. My father was willing to continue paying for school so I could transfer to a University and get a Bachelor's degree, but in 2007 my family suffered some major setbacks. The severe drought in North Carolina made hay scarce and we worried about our 15 horses. My mom, who was in charge of the breeding farm, tried selling some of the horses, but to no avail. Everybody was too worried about their existing animals to purchase more, and we all knew what would happen if we sold them at auction. Even with my father's job as landscaping manager for the Alamance County schools, money was tight and I knew it was time for me to find a real job.

It wasn't easy with the realization that Kaleigh or "Leigh", as we all called her, was depending on me for both our futures. I worked for a brief time for the local newspaper, but the hours and pay stunk.

But in the Spring of 2008, just four short months after Leigh and I had begun our new life, things took a turn for the better. WWE contacted me regarding the portfolio I'd sent them the previous September, saying they liked my work and were interested in interviewing me for an open position in their photography and graphics department.

Don't turn your eyes away from the monitor yet. I just thought you'd like a little background first is all. I know you're not supposed to that – just jump into the story and tell it, but the beginning of my story, well, I don't quite know where it begins. It was real life, y'know. No big bang... just little pops and sprinklers scattered here and there. As I began traveling with the WWE, I became more educated and independent. After the first 2 weeks, I picked up my daughter from my parent's house. She would be with me from now on. It was my first and foremost desire to be a good mother, especially now that her father had failed me. There was no way I was going to drop her off with my parents and abandon her, no matter how illustrious a turn my career had taken.

It was hard, of course. My mother was completely horrified with my choice of employer, but my father eventually gave me the go ahead. After all, as he pointed out to my mother, I was now able to support myself with a well-paying steady job. Not many people could boast as much with simply an Associate's Degree.

But I think it's time for me to cut to the chase. Don't you?

It was a promotional event for the WWE. There were numerous booths selling memorabilia, as well as booths were the superstars were signing autographs. There was a raffle being held hourly, for that evening ten fans would be granted special passes to a banquet dinner where they would be able to eat and chat with WWE superstars John Cena, Melina, Randy Orton, Candice Michelle, Maria, Chris Jericho, Matt Hardy and Mr. McMahon. Jeff Hardy had also been scheduled to attend, but since he had been suspended the day before, his name had been scratched from the list.

I had been in love with Jeff for about 4 years. Although I knew he had a girlfriend, I couldn't help what I told myself was a petty schoolgirl crush. He seemed like the exact opposite of my ex-boyfriend and after a difficult breakup, that looked pretty good.

At any rate, today's event was running on an indefinite schedule. I hated these events because I considered them boring and it was hard for me to be able to give the hotel babysitter a given time when I would be able to return. At one table, Beth Phoenix was signing autographs beside Maria. I liked Maria. She had an innocent expression and was completely cute. But I also admired Beth Phoenix. While I knew most of the divas on the roster resented and even despised her, I was glad to see a woman with some muscle and real talent back in the ring.

I snapped some pictures of the divas before I wandered toward the raffle area. I loved candid shots and the faces of the participants when they realized they'd won. When John Cena made his appearance, the expressions of adoring fans made me laugh.

But now the event was over and the last fans were filing from the building. In an hour and a half, the special banquet would start and I would have to return, making myself as inconspicuous as possible while still capturing the occasion.

I sat down at a vacant table and powered on my laptop. Hooking up my camera memory, I began to review the pictures I'd taken, sorting and filing the best ones in a separate folder. The next step would be to upload them to the Internet and the database where all the photographers' submissions were stored.

I took a sip of my diet cola and glanced around the building. Once the superstars had left, I would be able to leave too. However, as long as any were in site, I needed to be on hand to capture any unexpected moments.

John Cena was talking with Vince McMahon. The two both had serious, thoughtful expressions and they were deep in conversation. I caught the words "Money" "Bank" and something that sounded like "Hardy". I made a deduction that they were probably talking about Jeff Hardy's lost position in the Money In The Bank ladder match at Wrestlemania. I carefully positioned my camera without lifting it. Although live view was not enabled on digital SLRs, I had learned how to take a reasonable guess and capture my subjects without looking 90 of the time. I made sure the settings were correct and pressed the button. The lens whined as it focused, then quickly clicked. Whala!

"Sneaky, aren't we?"

I jumped at the voice behind me. Spinning in my I was shocked to see Randy Orton sitting on the temporary wall behind me.

I nodded, not sure of my reply – or my voice. It was the first time any of the superstars had taken notice of me, much less spoken to me!

"I saw you limping around earlier," Randy continued. "What happened?"

I cleared my throat and forced myself to get over my shock. "I took a fall several years ago while horseback riding and injured my knee, my shoulder and my wrist. I guess I never fully healed. I don't know, I never had time to get it checked out."

"You just got used to wearing a knee brace?" It wasn't really a question.

I nodded. "Mostly."

"Well if you ever want to regain full use of it, it's better to get it checked out sooner," Randy advised. "It gets worse with time."

"Yeah, I've been told that." I agreed. "I just – I have a 6 month old daughter and between her and my job, I often forget the time of day. But I will...as soon as I get a vacation."

Randy chuckled. "Well, if you're really working for the WWE, don't count on a vacation."

I smiled. "That's something else I've heard."

"You say you have a daughter?"

I hesitated. "Yeah."

"What's with the pause?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. It seems like it turns most people off. I'm 19 years old – when I say I have a daughter I guess it makes me sound like someone I'm not."

"A whore."

I glanced up quickly, shocked that he'd actually said the word.

Randy seemed to study me for a moment. "You're not a whore."

"Excuse me? How do you know?"

"You would be trying harder to get my attention right now."

"Oh."

"Should be."

"Huh?"

"You should be."

I squinted at Randy. "I'm not sure what you're getting at."

"Would you like to go to the bar for an hour before the banquet starts?"

"I'm nineteen." I reminded him.

"Fuck, I forgot. You drink coffee?"

"Most Americans do."

"The café?"

I hesitated. I didn't want to get involved with another man for a long time – especially a man who was going to use me. Again.

I pushed painful memories away and stored them away in a small corner of my mind. I was not going to sleep with him. And how many girls could say they'd been out with the legend killer?

I swallowed nervously...and nodded. "Ok."

I cursed my voice for whispering.

"Meet me outside when you get done here. I'll be waiting."

Randy stood and walked away.

(Responses to recent reviews on my other story):

jada951: No! That was the first I'd heard of it! MAN! Poor Jeff is just having a horrible week, no? I have lost a dog before (hit by a car) and I know how painful it can be...:(

That is a very good idea by the way...I really do like Brian Kendrick so maybe I will go with him for my other story...however, I've kind of got writer's block on it due to the fact that Jeff is not on RAW hence no inspiration! lol