When Shawn got back to the hotel room, he had so much on his mind that he couldn't just go straight to bed. He was debating whether or not to call Hunter to discuss the current situation but the debate ended quickly as his cell phone started ringing. It was Hunter.
"Hey Hunter. What's…going on man? How's the leg?"
"I'm alright. You know how I feel about my pec but I can't dwell on it too much. I really need to focus on getting better."
"Yeah, you're right." Shawn sat down on his bed and started twirling a finger in his hair. It was a nervous reaction about the current situation that he was now in.
"Shawn what's wrong? Something's bothering you and I want to know what."
"Well…Vince is making me take your place at Wrestlemania. I guess I'm facing Cena in your place," he managed.
"Oh that's great man! That gives me a reason to show up and watch rather than watching it on Pay Per View. To be perfectly honest Shawn, I was hoping Vince would do that. No one deserves to be in the Main Event more than you."
"Thanks Hunter, but it was supposed to be your night to shine. I've had many nights to shine as we were coming up in the business. I just don't feel right anymore. Cena's a draw but his fan base is mostly young females. I just don't think I'm…"
"Shawn, you used to have women fawning all over you all the time. You still do man…and the occasional men every now and then too," he joked.
"Yeah well I don't know. Cena's too much of a pretty boy and I'm sure that since I am going to be facing everyone's hero, I'm going to hear all of the "You Screwed Bret" nonsense…yada yada yada."
"Don't worry about it," Hunter said soothingly. "You're going to be just fine. Don't let them get to you. If I was there, I'd take you for some hot mocha…or a real drink. Whichever you prefer."
"Hunter, you always seem to brighten my day…or night," he chuckled.
"That's what I'm here for. Now what else is going on? I know there must be something else. I can hear it in your voice."
"Hunter, we both know that DX is over," he said grimly.
"Yeah, I know…but that's just for now. At some point, DX will reunite…even if it's just for one night."
"Yeah, that will be great man."
"But what about DX?"
"It's not…entirely about DX. You see, Vince wants me to have a new 'friend' or 'partner' if you want to call it that. He thinks that it will be good for the company and his reasoning behind this move is so that I can get in the ring with new people…the old school mixing it up with the new school to make something 'fresh and exciting'." Shawn's voice was so full of sarcasm that Hunter almost spit up his coffee.
"Hey man. Don't talk like that!" he laughed. "I'm trying to drink my coffee!"
"Yeah well make sure you're watching Monday night because I'm about to have a new tag team partner and we'll more than likely be wearing gold sometime soon."
"You don't sound too thrilled."
"I just feel like he's making me befriend this…this kid in order to replace you and get me to move on. Our chemistry in the ring is like no other Hunter. There's no one else I'd rather be in the ring with than you." For a moment both men remained silent, neither quite knowing what to say. Finally Shawn let out a sigh. "I'm sorry Hunter. I'm just…I'm being thrown out of my comfort zone and I don't like it."
"Oh Shawn, you shouldn't feel that way. I know you may not be happy about it but whichever kid he's making you team with ought to be thrilled. You're a legend and the best in the business!"
"I think I scared him a little," Shawn added thoughtfully.
"Oh my…Shawn…you? Your scrawny butt scared the pants off somebody?" Hunter asked, clearly quite surprised. "Or maybe you charmed the pants off of somebody," he joked.
"Well…I wouldn't say that. He kept his pants on!" Shawn said hotly. "And I would never try to charm the pants off of…anybody…maybe."
"I was just making sure. People have been trying to get in your pants for a while yet you refuse to let them."
"Hunter…"
"Nothing. Never mind. Please by all means continue," he teased. "Who's the kid?"
"He's so uptight…and he's a pretty boy," Shawn added, twisting his face as though analyzing a patient. "I hate having that kind of competition. I'm going to have to stay in tip top shape so that I don't make him look bad yet I still want the few girls…and guys," he added quickly, "to fawn over me and…"
"Shawn! Focus!"
"Oh…oh yeah. So um…what did you ask me? I was trying to decide whether or not I need to wear tighter pants." Shawn had stood up and was now standing in front of the mirror looking at his butt. He started pulling the material and frowning, not liking the way his butt looked in his pants.
"Oh…Shawn…" Hunter did his best to control his breathing. The thought of seeing Shawn in tighter pants…He shook the thought completely so he could answer his friend's question without sounding funny.
"The kid?"
"Oh yeah. I'm teaming with Cena."
"Come again?" Not Cena…Anybody but Cena…Please…I didn't just hear that…
"Yeah…Cena. Vince…" Shawn got back on the bed and laid flat on his back so that he could stare at the ceiling. "Vince says it will be a good way to get to know each other inside the ring and outside. If we're partners then you know we'll have to find ways to coordinate…or not. We'll be forced to become 'friends' and yada yada yada BS," he grumbled.
"Oh…well maybe it won't be so bad. Um…Cena doesn't have many friends so I'm sure it won't be too hard to get him to cooperate about certain things." Not to mention the fact that everyone knows he's sweet on you…The way he cuts his eyes at you when you walk by…
"But Hunter, you're not mad at me are ya?" Shawn had absolutely no idea why he was being such a baby. He also had no clue why he was being so protective and loyal. He guessed it was because he'd always respected Hunter and deep down, it had always mattered what Hunter thought.
"No Shawn. I could never be mad at you." Especially since I've been sweet on you too since we were young so technically I can't really blame Cena…
"I…thanks Hunter. I guess I'll sleep a little bit better tonight. I'm glad you called."
"And I always will."
"I'll check in with you after the show. I want your feedback on the match and I have decided I am getting tighter pants. I refuse to be second best to just a kid! Cena's got a pretty face but my ass will be the main attraction!" Hunter just laughed. Shawn was so random and his mind was constantly wondering elsewhere.
Yes, Cena did have a pretty face but Shawn had no idea how hot he was. A lot of the guys backstage were always checking him out and it's a wonder Shawn hadn't picked up on it. As for Shawn's ass, well, his tight little rear was always a distraction. The tighter pants were only going to send the testosterone driven males insane. He'll be alright…The guys backstage know he's off limits…
"You and your vainness," Hunter laughed. "Alright. Tighter pants it is. I'm sure the fans will appreciate that." In more ways than you know…
"You know me. Always looking for the brighter side of things. Anyway, H, I'm going to bed now."
"Alright. Sleep good and I'll be watching for the new pants."
"You bet. Night."
"Night."
When Hunter hung up the phone it was all he could do not to throw it across the room. He couldn't believe that Vince was making Shawn team up with Cena. The worst part about it was that although most people believed Cena was straight, Hunter and some of the other guys suspected that he had a thing for Shawn. Shawn had never been one to openly express his sexual preferences. In fact, no one quite knew which way Shawn was swinging but that was alright with Hunter. No one dared approach Shawn backstage for fear that Hunter would beat the hell out of them…Except for Mark.
Mark had always had a thing for Shawn too but no one in their right mind would pick a fight with Mark, not even Hunter if it could be avoided. Then there was Cena who was just like Mark in many ways. The only thing that pretty much separated the two was the age difference. That's why Hunter was so pissed about the Cena thing. He knew that if Mark ever got the nerve to approach Shawn…but it was highly unlikely. Cena on the other hand, might be a little bolder than Mark. He was young, built, strong, and had a pretty face like Shawn. The two of them together was every gay man's dream come true. Things were definitely starting to get interesting. He couldn't wait to see what happened next even though the sick feeling in his stomach was saying otherwise.
C--H--C--H--C
When Cena arrived back at his hotel room, he was a bundle of nerves. Normally he would just shake it off and deal with it but this was different. Of all the big names he'd been in the ring with, none of them scared him more than Shawn and he'd fought many big stars in the business. Batista, Hunter, Angle…but none of them compared to HBK. For starters, he had grown up watching him, admiring him, and imitating him. He could remember as a child walking around the house in cowboy boots and really bad chaps, cutting promos like the Showstoppa and superkicking his brothers to the face. Now his dream of coming face to face with the Icon was about to come true. He should have been jumping for joy and completely restless about his match but he wasn't. It was what Vince said next that made him so damn nervous.
Starting Monday night, you two are going to become best of friends for a very long time. In fact, let's just say there's going to be a shakeup in the tag team division…
The two were about to become an official tag team which meant they would be spending an awful lot of time together. Not only did Cena admire Shawn's athleticism but he admired him as a person as well. Cena didn't have a lot of friends. In fact, he didn't recall having any since he left Smackdown. Shawn and Hunter were the only two people that would speak if he was around. Cena's thoughts were broken by the sound of his cell phone. He looked down to see that it was Maria. Oh damn.
"Hey sweets…what's up?"
"John sweetie. Are you alright? I thought you and I were going to hang out tonight?"
"Oh I'm sorry sweets. Vince called me in for a meeting tonight to talk about Mania."
"Oh goody! Who are you facing now?"
"Shawn."
"Oh wow! Yay!" she exclaimed. "Well I'll let you get some rest. How about we go for coffee tomorrow night after Raw?"
"Uh…sure. We'll go if I'm not busy."
"Oh ok. Bie!"
"Bie." Cena groaned as he hung up the phone. When he first started going out with Maria, he was very excited. For starters, she was fine as hell so who wouldn't want to be with Maria? Now he wasn't so sure. They had only been dating for a few weeks and during that time, he was just happy that someone noticed him enough to wanna hang out. She was someone to talk to and although a little slow, she could be really fun most of the time. Maybe I'm just over thinking this. Cena quickly got a shower and then jumped into bed. He was so exhausted but after the exciting news from Vince about Shawn, he knew he'd never get to sleep anytime soon. I hope these weird feelings about Shawn go away soon…
