September 22nd, 1996
The dingy concrete hallways of gray were likely an environment unappealing to about 95% of the general population, but she ran into its embrace and felt nothing but its warmth. Its unique appeal that spoke to her in a language most were not fluent in, nor did they want to be. She stopped running when she felt as though she were deep enough inside, taking in all the decorations surrounding her. There was a new sight every place her eyes landed, and she laughed in dizzy amazement, her hands cupping the back of her head.
"Wait up, Hannah!"
Hannah looked back towards her brother Owen, where he walked beside his tag team partner—and their brother-in-law—Davey Boy Smith. They were sharing private words, eyes bemused as they watched her with something like wistful remembrance.
As if she couldn't contain the utter joy within her, she bounced back over towards them, a bundle of tireless energy compared to their steady gait.
"I just can't believe I'm actually here!" She said, her body kneeling over as if the words she spoke weighed her down as they left her lips, only to spring up straight again, as if there were a trampoline under her feet.
Owen laughed, shaking his head. "You've been here before, goof."
"Yeah, but it's different."
She didn't see the gray, didn't see the concrete. Instead, she saw the color, the brazen and bold costumes and bulging muscles. Wrestlers were walking every which way with purpose around the labyrinth of the arena, halfway dressed for the show, while backstage workers and officials ran in between them; a picture of chaos that still managed to seem orderly. Vince McMahon's masterpiece was impressive, to say the least, and unlike anything she had ever witnessed. Before, she had only been glimpsing through windows and now that she was through the doors, she was here to stay.
She was walking backwards now, laughter uncontainable, when her back hit a wall. As she turned, she could feel the smile slip off her face and her breath catch in her throat. Rather than a wall, she found herself staring wide-eyed first on huge black boots she didn't even want to know the size of, before traveling all the way up to detached eyes lined in black. They appraised her briefly, without curiosity or even a hint of respect. His dark wet hair dripped down his back and she felt a drop or two hit her shoulder.
"Watch it, kid." It was the Undertaker, and he was every bit as massive as he was on TV, his voice somehow sounding deeper. He was a prized possession here, one of the many spectacles that could stop her in her tracks immediately in pure awe.
"Sorry," She squeaked, her voice dying in her throat, before dipping her head respectfully and shrinking back and away closer to Owen and Davey, her hands clasped in front of her like a child who had just been scolded. He continued on his way without interest, walking alongside Paul Bearer whom she hadn't noticed before, disappearing into a locker room where the Undertaker had to duck under the doorframe to enter.
Hannah stared after him for a moment, before Davey's bellow made her jump.
"Like a deer in headlights, eh mate?" He grinned, giving Owen's shoulder what was supposed to be a light hit with the back of his hand. "I bet Taker scared the piss out of ya!" He teased, shaking her shoulder now. When Owen glanced towards her, he began to smile as if he couldn't help himself. Hannah stared back at the men indignantly.
"No!" She retorted, though glanced back over her shoulder. "Of course not. I just wasn't expecting him to be so…big."
"Now you know how I feel, eh?" Owen replied, patting her back to keep her moving along. "Imagine him dropping you on your head. C'mon, we've gotta talk about the plan for tonight."
"Ah! Hannah Hart has finally arrived!" A voice called before she could reply. A man with white hair and a warm smile looked her over as he shook hands in greeting with Owen and Davey. She quickly had her hand readily extended, which he grabbed and used to pull her instead, into a hug. "Do you remember me, young lady?" Many people asked her that often, and sometimes the answer would be no, which of course she would never say. This was not one of those times.
"Of course I do, Mr. Patterson. It's great to see you, sir!" She replied, giving his frame a squeeze. He held her at arm's length, a pleased beam on his face that was just another thing that made her feel at home.
"Always a family of manners." He observed, looking from her to Owen and Davey. "Please, honey, call me Pat from now on. You know, you've got a lot of hype to live up to, being the baby sister to not only Owen, but Bret, and daughter to Stu, and then you've got Davey here, and Jim..." She laughed a bit, shooting her family a sly look.
"Well, Pat, just give me a few months and they'll have to live up to me." Hannah replied, earning a bellow of appreciative laughter from Pat, along with laughter from her family.
"Well, what do we have going on here?" Hannah looked behind Pat's shoulder to see none other than Vince McMahon approaching. "Are we already stirring up trouble here, Miss Hannah?" He had a growing smile on his face with an extended hand.
This wasn't the first time they had met, rather, it was the first time they had greeted each other as boss to employee. His presence was still just as intimidating, perhaps even more so now. She concentrated on gripping his hand firmly—a must backstage for all wrestlers—though had to bite back a frown when his grip nearly crushed her hand. "Oh, no, of course not, sir. I was just telling Pat I plan to be a model employee." Pat beamed and Vince let out a laugh.
"Well, in that case, it is the utmost pleasure to finally have you here with us."
"The pleasure's truly all mine, sir." He gave her a nod, a nod so casual, yet still had enough presence to send an aware chill down her spine. Here she finally was, standing so nonchalantly in the presence of Vince McMahon himself. Hearing all the praise and thrilled talk of her from the people here in the WWF sent a special feeling of pride throughout her core, and the feeling was all she suddenly wanted, a new craving that she could get used to.
"We've got big plans for you," Vince continued. Her eyes grew wider and her heart swelled and soared at his words as visions began flickering in her head. "As a matter of fact, I think you could be one of the greatest valets of all time." The first dream bubble had been popped.
"Oh…right. Yes." Crashing from the clouds to the ground was certainly a rough landing, and she found herself blinking a few times, like waking up from a pleasant dream. Too often, she knew, she got her hopes up.
"Something wrong?" Everyone was looking at her now, but Vince was the hardest to face. His expressionless features were almost terrifying, as if at any moment he could just explode. Quickly, she put on a bright beam.
"Oh nothing at all, Mr. McMahon, I'm just so star struck—just earlier the Undertaker walked right in front of me and I mean, wow—is he tall!" The men were all back to lighthearted smiles and knowing chuckles they shared between each other and she relaxed again. "I'm just so happy to be here, it's truly an honor."
"Ah. Yes, well." Mr. McMahon smiled with a pursed lip grin, as though he were holding in a secret. "Do you want to know the real reason I hired you?"
"I would love to." She smiled, trying to tell herself over and over not to get her hopes up. Again.
"I am well acquainted with your father, as well as your family. But, as soon as I saw your tear-stricken face as you ran to your big brother and hugged him, I felt the love you have for your family, for Bret. That night, your brother didn't even win his iron man match at WrestleMania, but you treated him like a champ. And I thought to myself, 'Dammit, it writes itself! The baby Hart, cheering her family on!' Being their prime motivator, the heart of the Harts." Owen grinned proudly and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
"Yeah, well, she's always been the little princess in our family." Owen teased, squeezing her frame. Vince laughed, nodding. Hannah smiled sheepishly.
"As your father said, the apple of his eye. Well, Hannah, speaking from the WWF as a whole, I would love to personally welcome you to this misfit family with open arms. And don't you get any jitters for tonight; the fans will be behind you and whomever you manage without a shadow of a doubt." Vince smiled as Pat nodded, both oblivious to her growing disdain. And now as she looked closer into Vince's beady eyes, she could in fact see the rumored avarice she'd heard about within them, almost as if she were a brand-new toy in his collection of expendable playthings.
"In due time, I'll bet you'll be able to manipulate the fans to feel any way you want them to feel." Pat added with a tone that was trying to illicit excitement from her. She found herself wearing a soggy half-smile.
"I can only hope." She murmured, earning pleased smiles.
"Once again, welcome on board, Hannah." He and Pat shuffled away, off to deal with other business matters. Owen turned towards her, staring at her curiously.
"Hannah, you know it's not too late to drop out right?" He told her seriously. She blinked at him, before realizing Owen always saw right through her. He teased her constantly for being an open book.
"Actually, O, she signed the contract." Davey pointed out. She took a breath and smiled at her brother, answering honestly.
"No, no—this is…a dream come true. It's a little different than I had in mind, but…I love the WWF, and I get to be with family." It wasn't a lie, not even a little bit. He smiled warmly, patting her back.
"Alright, well c'mon, let's take you to the women's locker room."
Soon, Owen was pointing out the door with that sign that read FEMALE TALENT with a clipart printed underneath of a woman's silhouette wearing heels, a feathered boa, and a feathered hat. Hannah inspected it for a moment with a tilted head. "Every area is laid out a little different, but this is where you'll spend your time most nights. Anyways, about tonight, it should be real simple. We're replacing Cornette with you for our manager, so I'll introduce you out, we'll do our thing in the ring, and you just cheer us on from ringside. Easy." She nodded patiently at Owen.
"You sure you got all that? It's a lot to take in." Davey said. She frowned a little at him.
"How hard can it be?" He laughed.
"You're telling me." At that, she kept her frown.
"It is easy." Owen reassured her. "Easy as pie. We'll come and get you after we get changed in about 20 minutes, alright?" He made sure she nodded at him. Davey offered a toothy grin as he turned to leave.
"Make some friends, not enemies!" She smiled in acknowledgement before they walked away together, and as she watched, it felt like they left her to go where she wasn't allowed, or wanted. She shook her head out of her state and turned to the door, snorting now at the clipart.
Inside, she hoped to find inside other women with like-minded goals as her, comradery she had seen shared by her brothers and their peers at the promotions they had wrestled with.
Behind the wrapping wall that kept the large dressing room hidden were just three women, and they only made the room seem bigger. They were all blonde, with identical trim, tan, and petite bodies packed with just the right amount of muscle mass to be found ideal. Adding Hannah, that made now four almost identical blondes.
"Hi, ladies." She spoke up and remembered etiquette, extending her hand after setting her bag down. "I'm—"
"Hannah Hart." The blonde that appeared closest to her in age immediately spoke up. She stared at her for a minute, caught off guard by her outspokenness, before she realized it was Sunny. They had spoken once briefly, at WrestleMania 12 backstage. Not much had been said between them, only a greeting and compliments and small-talk.
"You remember me?" She asked in slight surprise, smiling with her hand still extended. Sunny only went back to applying her lipstick.
"'Course I remember you! Not easy to forget Bret Hart's baby sister. It's kind of weird thinking I could be Bret's younger sister, you know, since we're the same age—he mentions that a lot."
"Bret's baby sister!" The smallest of the blonde's—Marlena, if her memory were correct—stood up with a warm smile. Like Pat, she took her extended hand and pulled her into a tight hug, the doting kind that rocked from side to side. "Oh, he's told us all so much about you!"
"Yeah he has." Sunny laughed to herself, smacking her lips together. Hannah looked between the women, a question on her lips, but got talked over.
"It's so nice to finally have you! Gosh, I feel like I already know you!" Marlena continued to gush, and though she liked the woman's enthusiasm right away, she couldn't help but wonder the things Bret had been telling seemingly everyone.
"Well, it's great to be here, especially being away from the men." Hannah laughed light-heartedly.
"Not as great as it is having another woman around with all these men. I'm Sable." The lavish blonde gave her an idle wave from where she sat in a chair, feet propped up on the makeup desk. She reminded Hannah of a pampered Persian cat, except the cartoon-ized ones that were made to be sultry. "You and Sunny seem to know each other; maybe you two could even start traveling together."
"Oh, I only travel with Shawn, you know that, Sable." Sunny replied with a school-girl smile.
"Oh, it's Shawn again? My bad." Sable asked her dryly, giving Hannah a shrug before going back to the magazine she had been flipping through. Sunny ignored her and continued on just as happily.
"Speaking of which, I have plans to discuss with him for our grand date tomorrow night…It's been nearly a year now." She leaned close to the mirror, trading seductive smirks and smiles at herself and checking her teeth for lipstick.
"Hasn't it only been around eight or nine months?" Marlena asked as she counted on her fingers.
"Pretty much a year." Sunny insisted.
"I thought you two weren't anything serious?" Sable added, not looking up from her magazine.
"Yeah, well, who knows…maybe he's the one." Sunny said dreamily, winking at Sable in the mirror before turning to Hannah. "You. You're gonna be Owen and Davey's new manager, right?" Hannah nodded. "Thank God. Now I don't have to deal with that crusty Cornette anymore, he just won't leave me alone. Okay, what's your thing?" Hannah blinked.
"Uh…Well, I'm their sister, basically." Sunny nodded dismissively as she walked around her in a circle.
"Their baby sister. Owen and Davey need a face for them, and that's going to be you. You're the cute and innocent girl-next-door. Play that up to the crowd, you know sweet little debutante, bright eyes and smiles. What are you wearing?" Hannah looked down at her outfit, before looking back up at all the women. They were larger than life, just like the men outside, she realized. Characters, dressed in showy sparkles, or in Sunny's case, like a cowgirl to match the Smoking Gunns. Hannah, in comparison, was wearing long denim overalls, and a pink t-shirt.
"Um, well, this, I guess. I didn't bring anything else. I mean, does it really matter all that much?" Sable scoffed.
"I wouldn't be wearing vinyl out there every night if it didn't. Your image is your most important asset." Marlena nodded in agreement, and Hannah watched her slip out of her sweats into a slinky gold dress. Of course, she knew looks in wrestling were highly important, but this line of business, managerial duties, she had never given much thought to. Of course, she realized, looks mattered. When did they not in wrestling?
Sunny was still frowning at her.
"Toss me the scissors, Sable." The blonde raised her eyebrows before she stood and walked the scissors over.
"What…what are you…?" Sunny said nothing as she knelt down. Without any warning, she began cutting into Hannah's jeans. "Hey, wait!" She protested quickly, no stranger to ribs in this business.
"Relax." Sunny replied calmly and as she continued her work. "You've got legs, you gotta use them. Besides—you look like you belong with the Godwinns right now. You know, you can keep this look up—it'll set you apart from the rest of us gals and leave the audience drooling and pining after the sweetheart. We can even go shopping together, I've been needing new date night dresses." She droned on as she talked, before she finished and grinned at her handy work. "Why don't you take a look, sugar?" Nervously, Hannah approached the full-length mirror and did a 360, taking in her new overalls. They were just short enough, nothing that would give her family a heart attack and left enough to the imagination. She smiled at Sunny in the mirror who smiled back. "You like it?"
"I was afraid you were ribbing me at first," She admitted as she turned, earning a laugh. "It looks so good! Thanks!"
"Don't mention it." She grinned and gave a slap to her butt, making Hannah jump. "See ya in the ring, Hart!" The door slammed behind her and Hannah laughed a little to herself before going back to the mirror.
"What do you girls think? Do I have a look now?" Sable smiled as she looked up from the magazine.
"Adorable." Sable commented.
"Sunny sure does have her tricks." Hannah admitted.
"She's got such a mind for this business. Oh, I just can't wait for you to take off like her! A girl like you though, that shouldn't take long." Marlena grinned sweetly. Hannah looked towards the remaining two blondes.
"So, do you two ever wrestle?" She asked, unable to keep the hopeful tone out of her voice. Marlena's eyes stretched and Sable laughed outright.
"Not a chance in hell." Sable was still laughing. "I manage my husband, Marc. When he got the job, he brought me here too. Vince couldn't stop talking about how beautiful I was." Sable rolled her eyes. "But, hey, it's a paycheck and I get to be with Marc."
"I'm my husband's valet too." Marlena added. "Dustin. Sometimes I have to stop myself from cringing, watching him take all those falls. I couldn't even imagine doing what they do out there." Hannah chuckled and looked down.
"Yeah, I guess not." She checked the clock on the wall, realizing only a few minutes had passed and there was still so much to see that she hadn't. "Ladies, it was nice meeting you. I'm going to go to catering for a bit." They didn't ask any questions, and their goodbye blended into one as she took her first venture out of the women's locker room.
Outside in the hall, the venue felt differently than the solace of the women's dressing room. Feminine reassurance and perfume dissolved together and gave way back to the gray reality of the world of man. Hannah wondered for a moment if those worlds could ever mix and blend.
As she began the process of adjusting to new surroundings, the sound of giggling caught her attention. She didn't want to be nosy, but at the same time she couldn't help but peer down the darker hallway she stood by. There was a man standing with dirty blonde hair in a ponytail with his back to her, blocking the company he was conversing with. She could hear chains and trinkets jingling ever so slightly every time he moved. The giggling erupted again, revealing Sunny as his mystery friend.
"…whatever you want, baby, wherever you want." She heard his voice promise her. It was deep and raspy, yet smooth like velvet all at once. "Now, I gotta go get ready for my match," he tried turning to walk away from her, and Hannah ducked her head out of view, but she relaxed when she saw him get pulled back towards Sunny.
"No!" Sunny protested, another fit of giggles bouncing off the walls. Her laughter muffled before it disappeared completely as their lips assumingly locked.
"Really, it takes time to look this good and it's a state of mind." The male voice said as they broke apart. Hannah didn't know whether to laugh or roll her eyes.
"Will you watch my segment at least? You'll be in for a treat."
"Yeah, yeah. Sure." She heard a loud smooch again, and then silence. Hannah frowned, leaning cautiously around the corner only to run smack into someone. It was the man, who she quickly realized wasn't just any other wrestler as the WWF title slipped from around his waist to the ground.
"Oh!" She gasped, jumping back a little, frozen in place as Shawn Michaels looked down at her, a picture of annoyance and an already open mouth about to tell her off. She waited to get chewed out, but instead the anger on his face dissolved as they locked eyes. She swallowed, bending down to pick up the title, and looked for Sunny hopefully for back-up, but the blonde had long disappeared. "This is the second time I've run right into someone tonight. I thought the Undertaker was bad—I'm so sorry." She said as she stood back up, realizing his eyes had never left her. Her stomach fluttered as she extended the title back towards him, but he ignored the gesture.
"…Don't sweat it." He was staring so hard at her it felt like there were answers written on her face. "How come I've never seen you around before? You new?"
"Tonight's my first night, actually. And I'm trying really hard not to make a bad impression…" She trailed off hopefully. Finally, a slow-building grin graced his face, and she felt the corners of her mouth pulling up too.
"I don't think that's possible." He said, his eyes very blatantly traveling down her body. "What's your name?"
"Johannah." She replied, for a moment remembering that she was having a conversation with the current WWF champion. Every other time she had seen him before in a backstage setting, she had always been much too intimidated by him. "But everyone calls me Hannah."
"Hannah." He repeated, as if he were trying on clothes to see if he liked it. He grinned at her. "Well, Hannah, I'm—"
"Shawn Michaels." She replied, fighting a smile as he raised an eyebrow. "I know who you are." She pressed the title towards him, to which he finally seemed to notice, and chuckled.
"Right, of course." He said, a tinge of pride floating back into his tone. His hands touched hers as he grabbed the title, but didn't put it back on. Instead, he only looked at her, his eyes glinting. "What are you doing here anyways?"
"Huh? Oh, er, just…I was…uh, heading to catering—I wasn't listening to you and Sunny talking or anything." She blabbered, swallowing again and chuckling nervously as he snorted.
"I mean, what's your job? Are you another valet?" His words implied she was just like the rest of the women she had met tonight, but the way his eyes stayed on her, like a fly caught on honey, made her believe otherwise.
"…Yeah." She admitted reluctantly, and waited for him to continue on his way dismissively. Instead, an even bigger smile than she had ever seen grew on his face, as if he were listening to a building joke. She watched curiously as he lifted his title and placed it onto her shoulder. It was heavier than she expected, but he raised his eyebrows promptingly, and she raised her hand to hold it in place. He stepped back a little, tilting his head. Her finger stroked over the raised lettering that spelt his name, but for a moment, she pretended like it was hers. The thought made her laugh.
Shawn was grinning, a touch of superiority in his tone. "How does that feel?" She looked back down at the title.
"How does it look?" He took a moment, before he stepped closer again, unexpectedly.
"I'd say good, but I can name something that would look better." Hannah backed up, blinking. "If it doesn't work out with whatever shmuck you're managing, I think the three of us would make a great team." She couldn't tell if he was serious or not. Her stomach was in a flurry, like she had just been dropped from a rollercoaster, and it made her shove the title towards him and herself take a panicked step back. Shawn lost his smile too.
"D-Don't you have a match to get ready for?" He chuckled, appearing amused. "I mean, I'm just guessing, anyways…you've never really faced anyone like Mankind before. You should probably be getting focused." Suddenly, Shawn's eyes narrowed and he snatched the title from her hands before shouldering it almost aggressively.
"What's that supposed to mean? I already know I'm going over." His chin was raised ever so slightly, a hard and challenging glint in his eyes.
"Sure, but you still have to have a good match. I'm just saying Mankind is a little more…" she looked him up and down, taking in his shiny and glitzy ring apparel with matching earrings and hat. With every move he made, he sparkled and jingled. "Hardcore. Compared to you." She could've sworn she actually heard Shawn huff, and she raised her eyebrows bewilderedly as he marched up to get in her face, this time with a different intention in his eyes.
"Listen here, sweetheart, I have this title for a reason, and it's because there's no one else in this company who can carry it single-handedly other than me. Nobody else's name is anything in comparison to Shawn Michaels!" She had clearly struck a nerve, if his sudden yelling was anything to go off of, but for some reason, she didn't exactly feel threatened. Instead, she just shrugged nonchalantly.
"Until Bret comes back, anyways." Shawn was rendered silent for a moment, but she saw his eyes flash.
"And how do you know Bret's even coming back? Last I heard, no one knew anything for certain."
"I don't, you're right. He might get a better deal at WCW." She shrugged. "He's a hot commodity right now, that's for sure." Though she remained nonchalant, she could tell by the way Shawn's jaw was clenching she was only digging some kind of hole, and she thought back to Davey's words. "…Anyways, um…good luck tonight." She murmured, offering a half-smile as she backed away.
"Yeah, well I don't need it!" He snapped, and he turned and walked away, hurrying faster as he called after her. "And I hope you're watching too so you know what I'm talking about!"
Hannah's heart was still fluttering the further she got from Shawn, but she wasn't quite sure why. Not once was she scared during their interaction, but she couldn't believe how much electricity had passed between them. It was like whiplash, and she felt like she had spent an hour and nothing with him, their conversation had tried going so many directions.
For some reason, talking to Shawn Michaels felt more surreal than anything else so far. All she could remember was sitting front row at WrestleMania 12, watching Shawn zipline down to the ring in grand pageantry, so much larger than life. Watching her brother Bret and Shawn stand nose to nose before their iconic hour-long match, watching Shawn collapse to his knees and hold his first WWF championship and feeling nothing but envious.
"Joey, hey, everything alright?" Owen called and she jumped, quickly turning to see Owen and Davey approaching, Jim Cornette in tow. Davey appeared perplexed.
"What happened to your pants?" He asked, as if she had down a magic trick.
"Sunny got to me. Said I looked like a Godwinn" She said, making her family laugh. Jim remained neutral, and she turned her full attention to him. She smiled politely and stuck her hand out, growing confused when he only stood looking at her, before putting his hands on his hips. His critical gaze had quickly soured to an annoyed scowl.
"Now I see why they replaced me." He muttered. "Vince found a goldmine with this one."
"Well, gold is what they're winning tonight." She joked weakly, eyeing his disdain with uncertainty. Davey laughed appreciatively, though Owen rolled his eyes in distaste, shaking his head. Jim though, had been her intended audience, and it seemed as if she had earned his approval, as well as a handshake and a much more pleasant expression on his features.
"You better do them some good, young lady. But, with a face like that, taking the spotlight from Sunny should be as easy as taking candy from a baby." Hannah faked a pleasant laugh and kept a smile on her face.
"Ready?" Owen asked her once again, looking at her carefully. "You understand what you're supposed to do?" She smiled, and he seemed pleased without her even needing to give a reply, but she did anyway.
"Ready."
"You know, it was brought to our attention that our manager, Jim Cornette, just hasn't been getting the job done lately." Owen was speaking into the mic beside Davey in the ring as she waited backstage in Gorilla position, watching from a monitor. Sunny and the Smoking Gunns were in the ring as well, watching Owen cautiously. "Bulldog and I are moving on and moving up, and we need someone to take us to those new heights, and I have just the person in mind to do that. She's a better manager than that lousy Cornette, and definitely a better manager than Sunny—" Sunny began circling her team, crying out in outrage at Owen's insult. "—she's our good luck charm…she's my baby sister, Hannah Hart!" Owen's theme played as hers, and she took a deep breath, trying not to think about the fact that she had always dreamt of this exact moment.
It was almost surreal to see the fans face-to-face after watching them from the monitors in the back, or TV's from home. Eager faces peered and strained to get a look at her, and she took in each one, examining their features. By the time she had made it to the ring, she had a good flood of cheers going. She waved one last time before taking the microphone from Owen.
"You know, Owen, I couldn't be prouder to represent you and my brother-in-law, Davey Boy Smith, and I'm confident that we'll be walking out with the WWF Tag Team Championship tonight!" The crowd cheered and ate up the words of earnest confidence, and she smiled wider at the sound of it. She took a step closer to Sunny, who was pouting. "Oh, and Sunny, I know how you like your attention. We didn't forget about you, honey!" Hannah pointed upwards, and a large poster popped out from the ceiling, revealing Sunny with hand-drawn doodles, courtesy of Owen himself, which included a mustache. The three of them laughed and pointed as Sunny threw a tantrum, and the Smoking Gunns tried to appease her, and then finally the match was underway.
From ringside, she never lost focus of her character, but then, it wasn't too hard cheering for Owen and Bulldog. Like Bret always said, playing a character that was close to home wasn't an act. It wasn't long before Davey hit a running powerslam and the match ended with a clean pin. Just as the bell sounded, she jumped up into the air and quickly ran to retrieve the titles to present to her team. They took them proudly, smiles of pleasure and zeal, and the two of them hoistered her onto their shoulders, where she perched as they held the titles in the air. Together, they walked in glory backstage, but the glory ended right as they stepped back through the curtain, and the next set of wrestlers walked out. Hannah blinked several times—it was like walking into a dark room after being out in the sun—and did her best trying to calm the biggest hit of adrenaline she'd ever experienced in a wrestling setting.
"That was great! Oh, all those people out there, did you hear them?" She exclaimed in excitement when the feeling hadn't calmed. Owen laughed with her, sharing the jubilation of the moment.
"You got us those cheers." Owen encouraged, skin shining with sweat, eyes still flashing from their match.
"Are you kidding me, you were both so incredible!" She was nearly overwhelmed with the rush and hugged them both, not caring that they were sweaty, making even the air around them thick with heat.
"You always had a way of inflatin' my head, JoJo." Davey told her, probably referring to the times when she was younger and cited him and Dynamite as her favorite wrestlers. He always called her his favorite sister-in-law. "But I don't think anyone out there was payin' Owen and I any mind."
The plethora of emotion that attacked her made her cling to them for a long while. Reality was trying to click in her head as she realized she had the opportunity now to travel with her family, to spend time that had been lost over the years with them.
"It only gets better from here," Owen promised, as if he could tell exactly what she was thinking. She nodded her head eagerly. The only direction from here was up.
"Hey, you hear about the newest Hart?" One of the Smoking Gunns asked Shawn as they dressed in the locker room. Shawn raised a quizzical and half-caring eyebrow, first wondering why a member of a jobber tag team thought they could address him before asking his second thought aloud.
"Good God, there's another?"
"The youngest, apparently. Younger than Bret by fifteen years, or so I heard. A real head-turner though." Shawn snorted.
"One fucked up family." He replied without caring who heard. He pushed through the men dressing, trying to find Hunter. "Hunter!" He called out in annoyance. There was no answer. He crossed his arms in annoyance; Hunter was never late.
"Hey, Shawn, Sunny's looking for you." The same guy from the Smoking Gunns, or maybe his partner, told him as he passed. Shawn didn't know, he didn't care enough to tell them apart, but he knew one thing for sure; he didn't like his hushed tone and smirk, like he was doing him a favor. He didn't care enough to offer a reply either, and instead finished getting dressed before finally strapping the WWF title around his waist.
He fastened it and felt almost possessive. Tonight, he would be defending it against Mankind, and although he knew he was retaining, he heard what everyone was saying. That he was the reason the ratings were crashing, that he couldn't take the heat, that this match would mark the descent of his championship run. He shook the thoughts from his head gruffly and took one last look around the locker room. He caught the eyes of Owen right before he left the cramped space, and Shawn couldn't help but chuckle to himself as he thought of the newest news of the Harts.
Owen wasn't bad, Shawn could deal with Owen. In fact, he'd rather deal with two Owens instead of Bret. Bret Hart, the biggest mark for himself in the entire company of roided up egomaniacs. Sure, he was decent in the ring, the veteran and whatnot, but he had an exaggerated sense of self-importance that drove Shawn crazy. No one else, as far as Bret Hart was concerned, was better or could ever surpass him and his achievements. As the current WWF champion, Shawn hoped Bret wouldn't be resigning a contract with Vince. The talk of this newest Hart made him wary now, and almost eager to see how unimpressive he was.
"There you are!" A high-pitched voice called as soon as he turned down the dim hallway by the women's dressing room. Someone jumped on his back and covered his eyes, letting out a giggle. "Guess who and if you guess right, you'll earn the night of your life."
"Now, it couldn't be the hottest thing in the WWF, my girl Sunny, now could it?" She laughed again and pressed her lips against his cheek, undoubtedly leaving red lip prints.
Sunny wasn't bad either. He could take her in low doses, mainly because being on the road was so lonely and so hard. She had a good mind for the business and she was alive, she made a joke out of everything and helped him pass the time. She made him feel alive. But that was only in small doses, otherwise she drove him nuts. Lately she had insisted they travel together, stay together every waking moment. He didn't like her hints of her ring size, or telling him about the housing markets in San Antonio. He just wanted her attention so he didn't have to think so much.
"So, what do you have planned for tonight?" She asked expectantly as she came into his line of vision. She took his hand and began pulling him to their hallway spot, the dark hallway by the women's dressing room. Normally this was because the moment it became empty, it became theirs to do whatever they pleased.
"It's a surprise." He told her. Truthfully, he hadn't given a thought to it. Her pout told him she wasn't happy with that response.
"Well, what about we pay a visit to downtown? They've got a nice restaurant, a steakhouse, right next to this little jewelry store…" And there she went, at it again, without fail lately. Shawn displayed a poker face as he looked at her, staring right through her as though her words made her dissolve.
"You know we'll do whatever makes you happy. Whatever you want, baby, wherever you want." She broke out into a childish beam and Shawn too smiled, to himself. If needed, he could escape with Hunter, have some drinks, crash in Hunter's room. Somehow, amazingly enough, Sunny still didn't understand he'd tell her whatever he needed to get what he wanted.
And this all happened without incident, like any other night he was used to.
Until he met her.
Shawn threw the door to the men's locker room open harshly, a little bit of him satisfied as it hit the wall with a bang. No one inside paid any attention however, and he walked through the throng of them grumbling under his breath, finding something about each one of them that annoyed him even further than he already was.
"Not hardcore enough...I'm the only legitimate talent around this dump." Her words echoed in his head. Until Bret comes back. He huffed in anger, feeling hard lines in his face weighing it down.
Shawn went back to the dressing room and pushed to a spot by the monitor, electing to distract himself with proof that he was the most talented guy in the locker room. Coincidently, he found Hunter lacing his boots. He gave him an annoyed swat on the back.
"I've been looking for you." Shawn told him irritably. Hunter put his hands up indifferently, going back to lacing his boots.
"Sue me. I was in catering. What's wrong?" Shawn let out a dramatic huff as he sat next to him.
"Women!" He grumbled.
"Yeah, well I've told you about Sunny 'til I turned blue and you didn't want to listen. Did you forget that time she thought you were flirting with that waitress at Waffle House and keyed your rental before she left with those bikers? And now she wants you to put a ring on it?" The thought of it almost made him sick, and his annoyance pushed at the sound of amusement in Hunter's tone.
The concept of marriage, being tied to one person…that was the absolute last thing his mind wanted to think about. He'd been married before and he didn't want a redo. It was something his parents had wanted out of him, but he wasn't living to please anyone else anymore. Shawn didn't want to marry again, especially not now when his life was supposed to be so limitless, vast and unbounded by any commitment.
Hunter usually knew what was best, Shawn knew that, but if he didn't have Sunny, who would he have? Hunter was great company—his best friend after Nash and Hall had jumped ship—but he couldn't exactly fuck him.
"Wait a minute, did you say women? Who are you badgering now?"
"More like badgering me. There's a new girl here, her first night." Hunter blinked at him slowly, waiting for Shawn to explain further, but he didn't want to remind himself of her words that stung a little too much. Hunter resorted to smirking with mild amusement.
"Let me guess; you were hitting on her and she turned you down?" Shawn snorted angrily, before he waved his hand with dismissive aggressiveness. He saw Hunter shrug out of the corner of his eye.
After sitting in silence for a moment, Shawn spoke up again; he could never stay mad around Hunter and he'd probably go mad without him.
"I almost forgot, I heard something earlier—fucking hilarious." He changed the subject, remembering the interesting tidbit he had learned previously. But his train of thought was soon lost completely as his eye caught the monitor.
"What?" Hunter asked, though Shawn hardly heard.
Like magic, she was on screen now, right in front of him. He wasn't sure why the sight surprised him so much—she had told him she was a manager. But it was like he was looking at her for the first time a second time.
She stood in between Owen and Davey—the team she managed, he guessed—pointing and laughing at a poster of Sunny. Really, if they didn't bother, it would almost be difficult to tell the other three valets apart. Sunny, Marlena, and Sable were all blonde and beautiful, and so was Hannah, but somehow she was just different. She was glowing—her smile made his heart clench, just like in the hallway when she held his title on her shoulder.
It was as if he and the camera man were sharing the same thoughts as it zoomed in for a close-up, nothing but her and the fans clapping behind her. The camera loved her, she had one of those faces meant to be plastered all over something. Something took flight in his stomach as her full lips formed the prettiest smile he had seen in years, the smile of one woman that surely could motivate a thousand artists of different avenues a lifetime's worth of inspiration. The kind of woman wars started over. Shawn was enthralled again before he realized it, and then he remembered all over again what she said, and he was annoyed again.
"What?" Hunter repeated, pulling him back to earth.
"Her. She was the one who mouthed off." Shawn said, waiting for Hunter to look up and growing annoyed when he didn't. "Hey," He hit Hunter, trying to get his attention. "Hey, are you even listening?" Hunter finally looked up from his boots, annoyed.
"What, Shawn? You're going a million directions tonight, I don't even know what we're talking about anymore!"
"I'm trying to show you the girl who said I didn't have what it takes to go against Mankind tonight!" He snapped, before Hunter stopped and started chuckling. Shawn crossed his arms, despising his amusement. "She also said Bret was gonna take the title when he comes back, and she was very confident about that."
"Why are you letting it bother you, she's just another blonde with boobs. You know how high management is on blonde valets right now, thinking that's gonna be our way out of this problem. What does she know?" Hunter snorted before beginning to tape his knuckles and wrists. "What were you trying to tell me earlier?" Shawn continued watching the screen, wishing they would show the blonde up close more often, if anything so he could sulk more. He'd never watched a tag team match so closely.
"Apparently they just signed a new Hart." Shawn muttered, now indifferent to the old news. Every so often, Hannah would pop up on the screen, and it only made him more thoughtful. As soon as he saw her, it was like his head had been trying to unlock some distant memory—she just looked so familiar. That smile and twinkling eyes, he could have, and would have, bet his life that he'd seen her somewhere before. Regardless, he was sure she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen in his life, hands down.
"A new Hart? I thought Bret was joking when he said he was trying to get Bruce hired?" Hunter replied.
"No, no, the youngest one." Shawn said, feeling his eyebrows pull together.
"But I thought Owen was the youngest one…?"
"It doesn't matter! Blonde valets don't matter and neither do any of the Harts!" Shawn snapped before he huffed. "Look, after your match be ready to go, I want to get out of here fast. Sunny wants to do something and I don't, so we need to go, got it?" Hunter watched him in slight amusement.
"Oh. I see, now you want to travel with me again." Shawn sent him a threatening glare and Hunter merely chuckled. "Fine, whatever." Hunter replied with a tone that sounded the way someone shrugging looked, before he walked away and began to stretch. Shawn wasn't too worried, however; Hunter always had his back.
"Hunter! Hurry up!" Shawn yelled outside the door of the locker room. He was fuming, barely changed out of his own attire after wrestling in the main event, and yet Hunter, who opened the show, still wasn't ready. Of course, he had forgotten that even though Hunter was on time to everything, he was also late when leaving. "Fuck." He groaned as he watched the stream of wrestlers leave. Two more minutes and my ass is outta here, Shawn decided. If he had to hitch a ride with one of the referees, he would.
When he heard laughter, high-pitched and unabashed, he froze, until he remembered Sunny always sounded boisterous and rowdy, and this laughter sounded almost melodic. Of course, naturally, it was that Hannah, walking behind Owen and Davey. He felt defiance raging inside him as he wondered if she watched his match, and he was even about to march up and ask her until Owen reached behind him to take her bag.
"We'll bring the car around, alright?" He heard him say, and watched her flash a bright smile.
"Calm down, I'm ready." Hunter's voice appeared beside him. Shawn pointed towards the trio.
"And I thought Owen really was the only faithful husband in this business, look at his new squeeze. I guess the temptation really does get to everyone." Hunter looked to where he was pointing, and his eyes widened.
"That's…." He stopped with a shake of his head, before he veered away from Shawn straight towards Hannah, who was now waiting alone with her arms crossed behind her back, like a school girl. "Hannah?" The blonde's head snapped to the direction of Hunter, and her eyes stretched a bit. She looked as though she were caught red-handed.
"Paul…hi." She greeted him with a shy smile before she hesitantly wrapped her arms around his frame, and Hunter just stood there. Shawn stood still frozen in his spot, bewildered at what was unfolding in front of him. It had been years since he heard anyone call Hunter by his real name. Finally, he moved to stand behind Hunter's shoulder, waiting for Hannah to notice him.
"What are you doing here?" Hunter asked her.
"Er," Her eyes flashed, and she glanced behind her towards where Owen and Davey had disappeared to. "Just leaving…actually, Owen and Davey should be here any minute, we can catch up later, alright?" Shawn listened to her voice, how soft-spoken and high-pitched it was, her words rushed and worried.
Shawn knew there was something else going on here that he didn't understand. Even still, he almost didn't care and instead found himself fantasizing about her, even just her voice. It was almost addicting, like he wanted to hear her read a telephone book. To say his name, hell, to just notice him now. Almost, he almost didn't care, but it was obvious he was playing second fiddle here. Just standing and being ignored, it made him grow impatient and he began scowling; she never took her eyes off of Hunter. It was the opposite of what he was used to.
"Whatdya mean later, did you get signed? After—"
"I'll find you tomorrow, okay?" Her voice was growing desperate, her eyes gleaming apologetically. "I can't—"
"Hey," Owen had pulled up and opened the car door. He took in the two men neutrally, before he turned to Hannah. "Do you know them, Hannah?" Hannah looked jumpy.
"Oh, uh, before, you know…at a show, I think. Backstage." She mumbled quickly, and Hunter frowned at her quizzically. "I just saw them and wanted to tell them great job tonight." Shawn raised an eyebrow.
"Well, we're waiting." Shawn spoke up, and he watched as her eyes shot back to him, almost incredulous. She pursed her lips, and Shawn laughed to ease the sudden tension, to which Hunter snorted, and Owen finally chuckled. Hannah still said nothing, only continued to stare at him almost stubbornly.
"Well, Hunter, Shawn," Owen began, and though he was smiling at the two of them, Shawn could see wariness in his expression. "This is my baby sister and the Fed's newest signee, Hannah." Shawn felt his eyebrows raise in shock as he took in the woman in front of him. Beside him, Hunter seemed just as stunned.
Hannah had frozen, and for some reason she was looking only at Hunter with a look of someone who had reached their judgement day. Her eyes were big and full of a silent plea.
"It's nice to meet you, Hannah." Hunter spoke up evenly after a minute, keeping his eyes on Hannah as though they were having a different conversation through mere look. She looked helpless and Shawn looked between the two in confusion, before deciding for the moment, he didn't care what was going on between them. He would be damned if he left without her acknowledging him though.
"So, you liked my match?" Shawn pressed, smiling as he waited for her to respond, smirking and expecting her to deny it. But while she hesitated, she responded in a way he didn't expect.
"…It was a very good match." She said, and he felt his jets cooling as she gave him a pleasant unassuming half-smile. He almost felt lost without a fight to fight. Straight-forward honesty wasn't anything he was used to when he spent so much time with Sunny playing games.
"Just good?" Davey had gotten out of the car and joined them, laughing. "You said it was the best match you've seen this year, you wouldn't shut up about it. You jumped out of your seat!" He laughed again, and Shawn raised an eyebrow at her, watching as pink dismay flooded her face.
"Well, well, well, is that so?" He teased, watching her turn her blush to him now.
"There were a lot of good matches tonight!" She replied with defensive nonchalance, shooting another mortified look at Davey when he laughed again. Before Shawn could continue, Hunter cleared his throat beside him.
"Any chance you'll be getting in the ring yourself, Hannah?" That took her gaze away from him again, frustrating him to no end. A genuine and delicate frown grew on her face.
"Wouldn't that be a sight? I doubt that, huh, JoJo?" Davey teased, elbowing her side. She gave a weak chuckle. "Vince just wanted her to be a valet."
Shawn nodded his head a little, not surprised. Go figure, he thought.
"I can see why." He replied. Hannah looked back to him quickly, only it wasn't with the expression he wanted. The wide-eyed sweetness he had gotten glimpses of was gone and replaced with narrowed steely eyes. It wasn't what he was expecting, but he had her full attention now. He quickly smiled. "I saw you out there tonight. You did a helluva job, that crowd was at your mercy. You're a very beautiful girl." The line didn't get much of a reaction, only another soft half-hearted cardboard chuckle.
"She'll be traveling on the road with us now," Owen murmured slowly, as though he hated to disclose the information. Hannah had now resigned herself to staring down at her shoes, appearing to not want to be there at all. More importantly, she still didn't seem interested in him. He was baffled—most women were all over him at this point. He couldn't figure her out.
"Hey, perk up, dollface. You've got the easy job here." Shawn earned laughter of agreement from Davey and he grinned as he slid a finger underneath her chin, trying to make her look up at him and smile again. One smile, a giggle, he would even take a chuckle—something. It was a game he wasn't used to losing. "Standing around and looking pretty—" Suddenly, she jerked her face away and pushed his hand off.
"Well, I'd say you already do a pretty good job of that, boy toy." Her eyes were sparking despite the pleasant smile on her face, and it was there he saw the first sign of real emotion on the blonde. It was like a switch had been flipped; all of a sudden, she was almost a character. "I mean, I haven't even been offered a magazine cover yet." She looked to the other men in the group, and suddenly Shawn felt alienated. Owen was trying to stifle his laughter, unlike Davey who just laughed outright. Even Hunter was smirking, but cleared his throat as Shawn threw him a look.
He didn't quite know what to say for a minute; he could just feel his chest beginning to burn with indignance, but he did his best to keep his cool. He smiled at the blonde as though nothing were wrong.
"Oh, so you've heard?" His voice was edged with tension, and Hannah too seemed to be more tense, he could see her jaw clench and her eyes fluttering as though she were fighting the urge to roll them. Regardless, she replied in the same easy-going soft tone.
"Who hasn't?"
"Well, it hits the stands next month. I can sign one for you if you want. Anything for a fan."
"That's a really hard thing to turn down, but I'm afraid I'll have to say no. I don't think I'm Playgirl's intended audience." She said, giggling a little and gaining another round of laughter. And like their first interaction, he never really quite knew where their conversation was going, but he knew he hated feeling so…unwanted by her.
"Alright, we better get going. Can't miss room service." Owen broke in, and he and Hannah exchanged somewhat of telepathic smiles. Shawn waited for her to say something to him, to look to him one last time just so he could look away, but she didn't. She did, however, glance at Hunter again, her gaze faltering as she did so.
"Nice meeting you," Hunter called as the doors to the car shut and finally drove away. He didn't move for a moment, staring after it with a hard expression. Shawn snorted again.
"You see what I mean? If I had known she was Bret's sister, everything would've made sense all along." No, it wouldn't've, he realized. It actually made less sense, she was too…unlike any of the Harts. Unlike any other woman he had met. He had never been so rattled and entranced by one woman. Hunter was still staring after the long-gone car, chewing his gum thoughtfully. "And you. What the fuck do you two have going on? Clearly you two know each other."
"Let's just go. I'm hungry." He murmured abruptly, picking up his bags again and walking away quickly without looking back. Shawn frowned in confusion and followed behind.
"Hey—Hunter, I'm talking to you!" They made it all the out to the rental without Shawn getting an answer. Hunter, still refusing to answer, was standing outside the driver's door, fumbling with his keys as he stared thoughtfully towards the ground.
Shawn hit the passenger side door in annoyance. "Hey, when you're done with whatever mental crisis you're having, could you kindly unlock the door and maybe stop trying to ignore me?" Silently with a frown, he did so. Shawn stared at his best friend as he put the car in drive, a deep frown still on his face. "Well?" Shawn asked. Hunter glanced at him as if he'd been dragged out of deep thought.
"Nothing. She just looks familiar." Shawn raised an eyebrow before he settled back in the seat.
"I got the same feeling." He admitted, almost reluctantly as he thought back to his initial feelings. The sight of her, it made his heart flutter. He had never let himself get that heated, he always had the last laugh and the lasting satisfaction, but there were times when he genuinely didn't feel so high and mighty when he spoke to her.
"What? Why? How would you know her?" Hunter asked, almost eagerly. Shawn raised an eyebrow at him now.
"Woah, there. Down boy." Hunter now rolled his eyes. "Why so eager? You wanna get in her pants? Is that it? Or is she already a ring rat, am I missing something? Did I have some sort of drunken one night stand with her? Did you?" Shawn was already growing almost possessive, and he wasn't sure why.
"No, Shawn." Hunter sighed as though Shawn were being childish. Maybe he was.
"Are you saying you wouldn't?"
"I'm sure you would, but I mean, you might be a married man soon." The barb was Hunter's way of trying to shut him up. Shawn frowned as he looked out the window, snorting under his breath—sometimes it worked.
"I'm not marrying Sunny." He grumbled under his breath. Sometimes it didn't.
"Anyways, I think you're forgetting not only is she Owen's baby sister, she's," Hunter sighed as though he were having trouble wrapping his head around the idea. "She's Bret's baby sister. Stu Hart's daughter."
"Yeah, pretty sad that for such a legendary family," Shawn jeered, wriggling his fingers. "She's out there being eye candy." Hunter was silent once again.
"Yeah. It is sad." They were both silent; Shawn didn't know what else was on Hunter's mind, but he didn't bother, now that the memory of Bret was brought up again. His impending return was coming sooner than Shawn liked, and it also likely meant his days as champ were numbered, just like Hannah had said. He'd be damned if he was gonna lay down for any Hart, certainly of all Bret.