Dedicated to the real-life Hope Slater- photographer, student, but NOT IN ANY WAY related to Heath Slater. :P
The leaves sat on the trees, swaying slowly in their golden-brown glory.
The wind was singing its haunting song in short verses.
All was quiet and still.
In Hope Slater's mind, it was the perfect day for a photoshoot.
Her friend shivered as she strummed a few random strings on her guitar. "No offense Hope, but are we getting near the end now? It's sort of, um, cold."
The aspiring photographer laughed, tucking her hazel hair behind her ears. "Yeah, don't worry. I just need one more shot..."
"You said that 15 minutes ago!" her friend reminded her as she posed one last time.
Her finger was on the button, and she was seconds away from pressing it, before a familiar country tune began playing.
I'm just one man, whoa, I'm a one man band...
"Oh god, not now..."
"Is that who I think it is?" her friend asked teasingly.
"Unfortunately." Hope replied, rolling her eyes before declining the call.
There was a call back only seconds later. She reluctantly accepted this time, knowing that Heath Slater, the One Man Rock Band, and her estranged older brother wouldn't call twice if he didn't need to talk about something very important.
"Heeeeey, sis!" the Southern voice on the other end of the phone greeted. "How's life in jolly old England?"
Hope groaned. She had moved across the pond in 2010, right when Heath had joined Nexus. Though it was only a storyline, she felt Heath, who she had been living with for most of her adult life, was becoming arrogant. So, she did what any girl would do, and moved out. Though the relocation was hard at first, she felt as if her life had become at least a little better without his overbearing presence.
"Just get to the point, idiot." she growled.
"Okay, okay. So, you know how WWE does those live tours every once in a while?"
"Yeah." Hope replied uninterestedly.
"Weeeell, how's this for an offer- you and a couple of your friends, plus free tickets to the next live show I'm at…so, whaddya say?"
Hope's first reaction was to outright refuse the offer and hang up the phone, but something was stopping the words from leaving her mouth.
A voice. That little voice inside her head, which could be, at times, even more annoying than her brother, telling her that it'd be a worthwhile experience. Not for the photo opportunities, but for something else.
She knew there was only one way to find out what it was.
"Yes. We'll go."
"Really?" Heath responded, the jubilation in his voice extremely clear. "Oh, thanks a bunch sis! I'm gonna put on the match of my life for you, I swear!"
The phone's tone changed to a long, monotonous note, and Hope couldn't help but crack a smile at her brother's dedication. Even if he was hard to handle sometimes, no one could knock that side to him.
"What did he say?" the friend asked.
"Harriet," Hope asked, not answering the question, but instead posing one of her own, "you've not got anything to do this Saturday, have you?"
"No…" she replied, feeling a little confused.
"And neither have Jake and Dani?"
"I don't think so…"
"Great!" she replied enthusiastically. "Be at my place by seven, alright?"
Harriet just nodded, as Hope turned to walk away.
"So, no final shot?" she enquired.
"I've got all the shots I need." Hope assured. "And besides, now we've got more important things to do- like planning for a night out!"
And with that, she rushed away, making a beeline for the nearest arts and crafts shop.
*half an hour later*
As she left the shop, saddled with goods, she mentally ticked off her checklist. Glue, paints, paper, glitter…yep, that's everything I'll need for a sign.
As soon as she entered the door to her home, she laid all her objects out on the table, and began making.
It was a long, laborious process, but she knew seeing the look on his face would be worth it.
The days whizzed by as she hurried to get her masterpiece ready before Saturday. Photography projects, school and other nuisances got in her way every now and again, but seeing the four tickets posted through her door on the Friday prior only made her more determined.
And so, the time ticked down, to the point where there was just an hour left. Hope figured she could do no more, and went upstairs to change.
Just as she had pulled on her shoes, there was a ring at the door.
Jake, Dani and Harriet, three of Hope's closest friends, were all waiting.
Jake, ever curious and cheeky, inquired about the roll of paper she was holding in her hand.
Though unwilling at first, she eventually gave into his wishes, unravelling the roll to reveal her creation- a light pink sign, bearing the words HEATH SLATER ROCKS!, in glittery purple form. A painted red guitar was below.
"Hope," Dani asked, after an unusually long period of shocked silence, "you know the attention is meant to be on the…." She swallowed before continuing. "…wrestlers, right?"
Hope nodded. "It isn't that big. Plus, it's not like I'll be holding it the entire time."
She handed the sign to Harriet, before holding up one of her best cameras.
Jake nodded slowly. "Er, OK. Now that's sorted, shall we get going? I'll drive."
It took them roughly 20 minutes to arrive at the arena. It was a place the four had gone before now, for concerts and other things, but the sights this time were very different.
Swarms of young children, most in green shirts and hats, flanked by parents. Some were also wearing the same green garb, but most looked as if they wanted to be somewhere else.
Most of the adults that weren't there for the benefit of any children were young women, Hope's age and older, or men, ranging from teenage to their early 30's. The outfits of the women varied, but most of the men were wearing yellow GTS shirts. The name of the wrestler they were based off slipped Hope's mind.
As they were led to their seats, Hope's friends' eyes lit up. "Wow, front row? Hope, your brother is amazing!" Jack exclaimed.
"Yeah, he has his moments." she replied with a smile, as the on-screen idents finished, making way for a flash of red pyro, and the entrance of a suited man with short black hair. Hope was unsure who he was, but clapped out of courtesy as he entered the ring.
"Good evening London! Are you ready for some wrestling action?"
The crowd roared a yes.
"Okay! Onto our first bout, this is a tag team match set for one fall!"
Hope heavily expected this would be her brother's match, and took her sign from Harriet accordingly, but was surprised when, instead of the country song she was accustomed to hearing, a rock song rang throughout the arena.
We're a three man band…
Hope could do little more than lower the sign, as, emerging in front of her and the crowd, were three men. Only a mop of strawberry blonde hair made Heath recognisable, under his sunglasses, hat, and leather jacket and trousers, a set of clothes which his three accomplices were wearing too.
"First, they are two thirds of the 3MB, accompanied by Jinder Mahal, Heath Slater, and Drew McIntyre!"
As Heath kneeled to play a disturbingly good air guitar, while two of the members stood above him, clapping, Hope examined their faces. One, with long, dark hair, was tapping his foot. Hope guessed this was Drew. The other was a darker skinned male, wearing a red turban on his head. She figured him to be Jinder.
After quickly snapping a picture for future reference, she held it up again, but with only half the vigour she had originally held it with, if that.
It caught Heath's eye like Hope had intended, and she gave a sheepish smile, but, wait a second…was he whispering something?
Even as their opponents, The Uso Brothers, came out with their unique Siva Tau battle entrance, Hope couldn't shake the feeling that Heath had messed up, once again, in a way only he could have done.
Nevertheless, she tried to remain happy for everyone's sake, grabbing some great moments throughout the match, including when Heath hit his finishing move, the Smash Hit, to pick up the win.
After her brother and his friends left the ring, as did their adversaries, the evening would move on, with more matches. Hope continually took her mind off Heath's actions earlier on by taking more photos, which worked up until the end of the night.
As Hope, Harriet, Jack and Dani were leaving, 3MB appeared out of nowhere, Heath sporting his trademark goofy grin.
"Guys, wait for me outside." Hope instructed. "This could take a long time."
After each of them gave her a pat on the back, presumably for taking up such an awkward task, they left through the door.
"Sis!"
The word snapped her back to face her brother, and his friends. She plastered a smile onto her face as they approached.
"Guys, this is my little sister, Hope. Hope, this is Drew and Jinder, they're my bandmates."
"Um, hi." she greeted nervously, shaking their hands.
"You have a sister?" Drew asked, a Scottish accent leaping from his voice.. "Wow, there's some news."
"Yeah, we don't see each other face to face that often. You know, because we're halfway around the world from each other."
Drew nodded, a smile crossing his face.
"Nice accent." Jinder joked, his own Indian accent prominent in his words.
"Ain't that right?" Drew countered wittily.
A Scotsman, an Indian and a Southerner forming a band? Hope mused. Sounds like the lead-up to one of those really bad jokes. Talk about a group of misfits…
"Yeah," she explained. "I moved to England two years ago-"
"2010!" Drew cut in. "That was right when Nexus started, wasn't it?"
"I think so." she replied uncertainly. "Though, I'm not too much of a geek when it comes to wrestling. I have to admit, I haven't been following Heath's exploits throughout the past year."
"Well, you're pretty lucky." Drew remarked. "He's spent most of 2012 jobbing to the Legends…"
"Shut up!" Heath hissed, crossing his arms and pulling an almost-pout that made Hope giggle.
"And there was that match you had with Lita." Jinder continued, smirking.
He blushed, bright red. "That match was a fluke!" he protested. "The APA was there! Bradshaw gave me a Clothesline from Hell! I've still got bruises from that!"
Hope threw her head back, still laughing, despite not knowing half the terms the group were using.
"OK then!" Drew interjected chirpily. "Now that we've established what your brother's been doing-"
"Just get on with it!" Heath barked angrily.
Drew continued. "Now that we've established that, we've gotta know- how much better are you doing at your job?"
Hope was slightly taken aback at the wording of the question. It was actually rather complex- to figure out how much better she was at photography than her brother was at wrestling; it was like the old-time favourite of comparing chalk to cheese.
"Well," she answered shyly, "I'm actually a photographer. Freelance, I've got my own little company, but it's a fun little job. I've even taken a few photos of you guys…"
She got the photos up on the screen, and waited for a response, but all the band members seemed transfixed on something else.
"Guys? Is something wrong?"
She turned around, and standing tall behind her was a man in a grey suit, with grey hair and a face which seemed to portray a sense of wisdom and extreme power.
"Why, hello there." he said, in a gravelly voice. "Vincent Kennedy McMahon, WWE Chairman." He held out his hand, and Hope shook it slowly, not quite knowing why such a high-powered person would want to waste time on her.
"H-hello." she replied bewilderedly.
"So, you're Heath's sister?" he chuckled. "You know, I always thought that was just an old locker room tale, another silly rumour, but-"
He stopped dead, his eyes turning towards the camera screen. "Is that your camera?"
Hope nodded.
"May I have a look at it?"
She nodded again.
Vince carefully took hold of the device, and, as he cycled through the night's photos, his eyes grew wide.
"Wow. These photos are simply stunning."
Hope had to try hard to keep herself from breaking into a grin.
"I'll tell you what- how about you go backstage with the boys, whilst I prepare…a little something for you."
He smiled, and turned to walk away, before quickly turning the other way. "Oh, and, boys? I want to see her taken care of back there, understood?"
"Yes, Mr McMahon." they chorused dully.
Once he had fully left, Hope allowed herself to smile, linking arms with her brother. Maybe that inkling was to be trusted after all…
A/N: My first story involving an OC...like all my stories, I hope it didn't suck. :P
Wishing you a happy life (and Christmas/Hanukkah!)
Blaze x