"You wear your sin like it's
some kind of prize
Too many lies" -Sheamus.

The return to the arena was an akward moment for the boy.

Not olny because he didn't felt like giving into the bright eyes of Shane McMahon, but also because he had met Bret Hart while he was training back in Texas and it wasn't a pleasant sight for neither of them, and The Hitman being accompanied by David Hart Smith wasn't good either. He knew soon everyone would found out who was his trainer, and, even if it wasn't completely his fault, he still felt guilty about having his trainer discovered after all the work he had hiding himself.

The hallways were empty at the arena, everyone was preparing for the matches or were hanging at the break room. Still everyone seemed not to notice him, but it was alright. John Cena had greeted him once and told him that his match had been good. But actually no much else had been said. Well, they could have had a nice decent conversation if John's boyfriend, Randy, wouldn't have shown up and glared daggers at Aldo like the possesive Apex Predator he is. Hm... Like John Cena were that handsome.

For a moment he thought about going to the locker room, but his match was scheduled to be the second and not even the first had yet started... He'd already did his workout, changed into his ring gear, adjusted his mask and gone to the bathroom (innecesary info, huh?... Sorry) so he was ready to go whenever he was asked to start his match. His theme song still needed some changes since half the time it took him like over two minutes to listen to it. Well... He could as well head to Vince's office to discuss about that and kill boredom in the process.

"Hey, kid!" A manly voice called from behind on the hallway. Suspecting nothing, Aldo turned his head around to find David Hart staring straight at him from the locker room door.

"W- Mr. Hart!" He felt like his legs were giving up under the weight of his hundred-five pounds, shaking, blushing and sweating like 5 hours on a treadmil.

"Just leave it in David, boy." David walked closer to the boy, wearing a black dress shirt with a pink stripe on the right side and some jeans. With pink sneakers, of course... "So... You training with 'Mister Montreal' huh?"

"No i... He rather be called 'Mr. WrestleMania'... But yeah... Listen, David? Can i ask you something?... I would like to ask you not to te-"

"Pffts... Mr. WrestleMania? Like fuck he deserves that title!" An accusative finger pointed towards the younger boy's chest, while a pair of fierce eyes pierced through his own blue ones. "He shouldn't be called anything other than 'liar' after what he did in 97. Of course, you wouldn't know. You were probably crying in a hospital blanket when that happened..." And after a brief full-body eye scan, David Hart found the courage to ask what the McMahon had been wondering since day one: "How old are you anyways?"

A frown crossed briefly the young face of Aldo, who took a step front and opened his mouth to respond the bitter remarks David made. And just as he was about to speak, a hand ran through his shoulders, the soft scent of Givenchi Pi cologne filling his nose.

"David, lay it off on the kid, would ya? He's not your size and it's out of your leage. And I believe you have a match with Tyson Kidd in a while more. So i would sugest you to head and practice NOW." The Hart man was watching with suspicious eyes the hand that lingered on top of the blushed boy's shoulder, but said no more, afraid to say something and lose his job. "You and me will have a talk now, Aldo... So please... Let's go."

Shane's voice was calm, even though his words were firm and a little too harsh to the Hart man and the tone was threatening to the youngest rising star.

Both walked towards Shane's office, while David Hart Smith mumbled something about 'all Michaels being the same', Aldo turned his head slightly to watch David leave, falling into the realization that maybe that was the reason why he was treated different by the roster...

x~**~x

Inside Shane's office, the air felt thick, heavy, and... Well, plain sweet smelling for Aldo's nose.

"My father is out on a business trip." He sighed after he said that and placed his hands on his chin, palm to palm, like his father did. "I want us to have a plan set up for when he returns and the locker gossip reaches his ears. So tell me... Is David telling the truth? You are training with Shawn Michaels?"

The entire room went silent, almost like an old black and white movie being played in slow motion, he saw his past, present and future, and dramatically enough he saw himself being stigmatized, labeled as a liar, hated by the Hart Dynasty... Abandoned by Shane McMahon, the only man he'd ever...!

"Aldo! Christ sakes..." The yell brought him back to the reality he was facing now, there in a cold office in front of the son of Vince McMahon, who's pleading eyes were too much to bare at that moment... He felt like just jumping over that desk and...! "Please. Just, answer me. I can see the fear in your eyes, but there's nothing wrong with you training with him. Only the fact that you lied to us."

"No, i didn't lied! I told half truths, and well... That's pretty much the same... Well, look... I am training with him, i've been since i was 14, no one in my family knows! I... Just... I don't want anyone to know. He tried so hard to hide from everyone!... The only moment when he was not there for me was on the Montreal show we had a few days ago. Just... Tell Mr. McMahon that it's all a lie, that i was introduced to Mr. Michaels that day, that Bret saw us..."

"Hey, Chill, kiddo... We're saying that, yes? I'll call Shawn and ask him to come and we'll meet with my father and you'll say 'oh yeah, i met him a few days ago' and we'll be free." Aldo's lips instantly formed a small smile, just listening to the reasuring way of speak that Shane had was enough for him to feel great from one minute to another.

x~**~x

And so, as soon as Vince came back, Shawn presented to speak with him about... Whatever he just made up at that moment, and then Vince called Aldo in a hurry, asking Shawn not to go anywhere while The Heartbreak Kid and Shane smiled at each other. As soon as Aldo was inside, Vince told him that he would like him to meet someone. "This is the man that i've been talking to you about. He looks a lot like you when you started, don't you agree, Shawn? He's so tiny and agile and..."

"We already know each other. I met him during a Mission Manhood trip, Vinny. Good boy you've got here. Something perfect for this... Era you created, huh?"

Vince went silent for a moment. And then, like lightning, his eyes started to shine with one of those mischievious ideas he got sometimes. He asked Shawn to stay inside the office with him and dismissed everyone else... He would be the "new" trainer for Aldo. Everything was alright 'till then, and after that, Vince closed the drapes and locked the door. To make the story short... Well, then the conversation took an unexpected turn for... The best, or the worse...

Depending on wether or not you like the PG era.