Disclaimer: I own Ella, Addie, and Nia. And that's it. I don't own anything WWE, or anything else you recognize.
Author's Note: Hello again! Updating once more. Thanks for the reviews... as always. Enjoy!
The next morning, Shannon awoke Ella in time to start her job at the pizza shop. They didn't talk at all, but she did allow him to drive her to the shopping center and said she would see him when she got off at three. He could only sigh and agree, deciding since he was already there, he might as well take on some paper work at Gas Chamber Ink.
It was crazy though. Since the moment he dropped her off, he wanted to talk to her again. He wanted to make her understand that he was truly there for her best interest and wasn't trying to hurt her. He knew this girl was extremely hardheaded, yet still ached for her to understand.
Several times, he almost walked over to Arthur's. But he also didn't want to start a scene with her and get her fired. While Arthur was a friend of his, she was already on thin ice there and if somehow, her boss fired her on the first day, he had a feeling he would be the blame of this, even if it was not his fault.
Meanwhile, Ella was learning the ropes of her new job. Arthur still scared her, and he also expected her to learn a speed she could not keep up with. Maybe it was because she spent her night tossing and turning in a foreign bed, or maybe it was because she was in a whole knew place together, but she couldn't pick this up. Each time she would do something wrong, Arthur would raise his voice and scream at her, saying he did not owe her this job.
Much to her surprise, she wished Shannon was there to at least help. She knew if he was there, her boss would not be as tough on her. It was remarkable how easily he had gotten her the job back, yet once she was alone with Arthur again, he had turned back into a rude and unforgiving man. Could she do this without him? There was no way that her boss would keep her if she didn't pick this up quickly.
"STOP!" he barked, slamming his hands down on the counter. "Oh dear God, just stop. Take a break. Take as long as you want! I can't take this. I can't believe I hired you."
Ella backed away from the angry man. "But…"
"Just GO!" he yelled. "For the love of God!"
She did as she was told and stepped into the North Carolina air, finding herself unable to breathe. She gasped for breath and dug her fingers into the fabric of her jeans, determined to keep it together. She could not fall apart now; she had no where else to go. This job was her key to survival and she was blowing it. Never did she imagine being the girl in the shelter at night, but it looked as if this may happen. There was no way she could stay with Shannon forever, nor did she want to. But if Arthur let her go, what choice did she have?
Ella blinked back some tears and looked over at Shannon's shop. He was huddled over some papers, his face covered by a hat. It took her a minute to decide whether or not to go up to him. She didn't want to rely on him to keep her job, but Arthur seemed so unreasonable. Sure she said she could learn quickly, but she wasn't going to learn at the pace he was throwing at her!
Finally, she gave up and stepped inside; taking in what was Gas Chamber Ink.
Shannon looked up as she entered, faced with her crumbling face and shaking body.
"Ella?" he muttered quietly. "What's the matter?"
"I can't do this," she whispered as she collapsed to her knees, breaking down on his floor. He rushed to her side, unsure of what to do. Hugging her wasn't the best idea, especially since she was so unwelcoming to his presence the night before. "I just can't do this."
"Do what?" he asked gently. "What happened?"
Even though he knew there was a less protected girl beneath her attitude, it was slightly scary to see her breaking down in front of him. She was sobbing, her entire body shaking in his grasp.
"I'm never going to get out of here," she cried. "I can't do this."
"Can't do what?" he asked again. "Try to calm down and talk to me, Ella."
She sniffled, rubbing her nose with her palm. Then, she slowly stood up, and as if there was still a part of the tough girl inside of her, she grabbed his pack of cigarettes from his pocket and pulled one out. "I need this," she explained and walked outside.
He didn't follow her, but watched as she smoked, seemingly at ease. When she came back inside, she seemed to be less upset, even though she still had tears in her eyes. "He is horrible," she explained in a quiet voice. "He keeps barking these orders at me and he's just… horrible."
"Do you want me to talk to him?"
"No."
"Then what?"
Ella sighed, sitting down in a nearby chair. "I don't know anymore. Why is this happening to me?"
"Why is what happening to you?"
"Everything."
Shannon looked at her sadly. "Ella, this is life. Stop feeing sorry for yourself."
"Have you met Arthur?" she challenged angrily. "I think I deserve a break."
"You do," Shannon agreed. "But to get there, you're going to have to fight for it. I have a friend. His name is Matt and he's had his fair share of problems in life. But you know what he does each time something knocks him down? He gets back up and puts everything he has on the table. And you know what? That's what you need to be like. When you want something in life, just talking about it isn't going to get you there. Same with wanting to make something better. Either deal with him, or get another job. There are plenty around here. You don't need to put up with people like him."
Ella ran hand over the other. "What if I can't find a job?"
"You will," Shannon insisted.
She sighed. "Okay."
-
Addie couldn't stop smiling each time she thought of Matt. She wanted to see him again, to really show him how confident and fun she could be. Sure, the night before hadn't ended badly, but she should have kissed him. He was probably used to getting laid on first dates, and she left without even a peck on the cheek.
When she told Molly this the next day, her best friend was close to throwing a huge bag of dog food at her head. "How could you not kiss something that damn hot, Addie?" she yelled, sending a hamster flying into the air. The gray hamster looked at the two employees, deemed them harmless and flopped back down onto it's bedding.
"Because I was nervous!" she yelled back. "He's famous!"
"Why does that matter?"
Addie shrugged. "I don't know. What if…"
"What if what?"
"I don't know," Addie admitted. "He just makes me so nervous. He's cute and funny, totally confident and he knows what he wants. I know what I want, but my confidence is near the empty button most of the time."
"So, let's fill you up!"
The redhead just stared at the girl. "What?"
"Put some gas into you," Molly explained. "But … not gas. As in clothes, make-up. Make you feel wonderful so you can act confident."
"I don't need clothes to make me look confident."
Molly shrugged. "Then what's the problem?"
"He's famous. That scares me."
"Why?"
"I don't know," Addie insisted.
"We are not getting anywhere." The two girls walked to the back of the store, dropping some of the dog food onto it's shelf. "I don't see why you can't be confident."
"Maybe because I'm shy?" Addie wondered. "It's not that hard."
"So it shouldn't be that hard to make you confident."
Addie glared at Molly, who was already looking at the door near the front. "What are you looking at now?"
Her best friend let a graceful smile slide onto her face and she turned the redhead to the door direction. "Look who is coming to see you." She nearly felt herself redden at the sight of Matt. He always looked so put together. Looking down at her frayed jeans, and ugly work shirt, she felt kind of out of place. She would look so much better if she had on some of her nicer clothes. Like last night. He seemed to like that.
Wasn't that confidence?
And why did she need so much of the stuff? She liked the way she was. Addie didn't always have to listen to Molly. Matt seemed to like her just the way she was.
He walked into the store, making his way toward her. She let a small smile come onto her face, and she walked forward, ignoring her best friend for once. Then, she tucked a strand of hair from her face, looking him clearly in the eyes. Just as he went to open his mouth to talk, she shook her head.
"What's the matter?" he wondered.
"Nothing," she whispered. "I'm just picking up where we left off last night."
Addie leaned forward, the small smile becoming a wide, excited smile as she felt their lips touch. When they broke apart, she looked down at her feet, then back at him. "What was that for?" he whispered.
"Something I should have done last night," she explained. "Sorry I didn't."
"That's… okay," he laughed. "I think you just made up for it."
Molly was standing beside them, her mouth open wide. "Do you mind?" Addie whispered into her friend's ear. "I think he wants to talk alone…"
"OH!" she yelped, nearly tripping over something. "I'm going to go… check something. Yeah. See y'all later."
Once she was gone, Addie looked back at Matt, who was laughing over the departure of her best friend. She motioned for him to follow her to the register, and then leaned on the old piece of crap. "So, what are you doing here? I don't think your dog needs something else."
Shannon is gonna be a big help to her. And Addie... well, she is going to have some fun in an upcoming chapter... you'll see. Anyway... Read and review!