Getting to know you
"Yeah… I'll have a medium pepperoni pizza with extra cheese, Chuck E. fries; hum… a large Chuck E. soda… and some nachos please. Ok Brock, what do you want?" Melanie asked. Brock sighed. He was expecting a nice, quiet night out eating a nice meal while getting to know Melanie. Well, he found out one thing about his manager. She enjoys eating at Chuck E. Cheese.
Melanie laughed. "That's ok. I'm just kidding. We can split the food and the soda." Brock reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet.
"Oh that's ok Brock. A friend of mine works here part time. The food is on the house!" Melanie said excitedly. They grabbed their food and drinks and headed over to a table by the ball pit. Brock observed his surroundings. Children were screaming at the top of their lungs. There wasn't a single soul there that wasn't over the age of 12 other than the employees. Melanie however was having a great time.
"I used to love this place when I was younger! We should go through the tunnels after we finish eating!" She said. Brock rolled his eyes.
"You're kidding right?" Melanie laughed.
"Yeah… I'm kidding." She said smiling.
Just then Chucky, their mascot, came up behind Brock and offered him a lollypop. Brock looked at it as if it were a ticking time bomb.
"Oh come on Brock, take the lolly." Melanie said laughing.
"Mel… I'm not taking the frickin' lolly ok? I didn't even want to come to this Cheesy Chuck or whatever the hell this place is." He said sounding irritated. Melanie laughed as the mouse continued to offer him candy. Brock looked as if he was going to F-5 the poor creature when suddenly, a voice came out from behind Melanie.
"SMILE!"
Brock froze as a flash of light blinded him. Dots consumed his vision for several seconds before spotting Melanie holding a Polaroid in her hand. The mouse was gone… the voice was gone. All that remained was Melanie and the Polaroid. She looked up from the picture and smiled brightly. As she spoke, she revealed the picture to him. A cold shiver ran down his spine.
" I own your soul."
"Come on Mel. Give me the picture!" Brock pleaded as they left the building. Melanie no longer needed his assistance walking. She glided through the parking lot, with her head held up high, placing the picture in her jean pocket.
"Brock, I need this picture! It's valuable Blackmailing evidence." She said smirking. Brock moaned.
"I thought you were nice. Why are you doing this to me? What did I do wrong?" Melanie stopped. She turned around. For the first time, Melanie felt sorry for the guy… but this is just way too much fun. Brock caught up to her and tried to grab the photo out of her pocket. Both Melanie and Brock started laughing together as he struggled to get the picture. Somehow, they became tangled up in an embrace in the middle of the parking lot.
"Why are you doing this Brock?" Melanie whispered as she pulled away from him slightly.
"Doing what? Am I doing something wrong? Did I hurt you?" He said inspecting her. Melanie shook her head.
"Not too long ago, you were being conceited and selfish. You didn't care about me. Now ever since that re-match you scheduled with Stephanie, You've been treating me differently. Why the change of heart?" She asked. Brock released his hands from her and started walking toward the curb as Melanie followed. They both sat down together.
"I was called into Stephanie's room after I arrived. Stephanie and I had a long talk." Brock said. Melanie shrugged.
"About your career?' She asked. Brock shook his head.
"About you." He whispered. Melanie blinked. Why were they talking about her? Brock continued.
"Out of curiosity, I asked her about you. I wanted to know who I was dealing with. She told me something's about you that made me want to have another re-match." He said looking at the ground.
"What did she say about me?" Melanie asked with interest. Brock shrugged.
"You know, some stuff about you, and your past. She said you've known each other for a while. I guess when we first met; I made some assumptions that weren't true. I thought you were little miss know it all." Brock continued looking at the ground. "I guess I was wrong."
Melanie stared at Brock for a moment. Was he admitting that he was wrong? That must have been some talk. But Brock still hadn't answered her question. When Melanie asked again, he looked up at her.
"Stephanie said that you were a sweet person, that you would do anything to help the business. She said that was one of the reasons you agreed to be my manager. She also said that you… saw a lot of potential in me." Brock said softly. Melanie smiled.
"Yeah, I do see a lot of potential in you. With the right training and some experience, you could be a legend." Brock's eyes widened.
"Legend huh?" He said grinning.
"Yeah." Melanie said. "I'm talking wrestling hall of fame, custom matches that would be named after you. Brock Lesnar would be a household name. You might even be on commercials for making collect calls!" Brock laughed. Melanie enjoyed making him laugh.
"Stephanie said that you'd say that. She also says your going to help me get there." Brock said. Melanie raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"So, you're being nice to me now so that you can use me for your own personal gain? Great plan." She said jokingly. Melanie hoped she was just teasing and that it wasn't true. Brock stopped laughing and took Melanie's hand in his own.
" I have to be honest, that was the plan at first. But then we talked a little more. Stephanie says you're the most passionate person she's ever met. After thinking about the time you spent working with me that night in New Jersey, I found out that she was right." Brock said smiling. "It just took me longer to realize that."
Melanie wasn't used to complements like that. She never really handled them well, mostly because she was never praised by anyone very often.
"She also says you got a lot of heart." Brock said suddenly. Melanie laughed.
"Yeah well, Stephanie's got a big mouth." She said. Melanie couldn't remember having a nicer conversation in a while. It was getting late, so they decided to head back to the hotel. When Melanie told Brock she was staying at a Motel 6, he instantly bought her a hotel room right next to his own at the Hilton.
Melanie and Brock spent their days following their dinner date together. Mostly, they would talk about their childhood and how they got into the business. On Thursday night, Smackdown was in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Brock and Melanie were walking around town trying to kill time before they had to report to the arena.
"So that's basically what I did most of my childhood. I enjoyed working on the farm from an early age." Brock said as they strolled down the sidewalk. Melanie nodded. She enjoyed listening to Brock talk about his life. His normal childhood. Her thoughts were interrupted when Brock placed his arm around her.
"Melanie," he said, "We've been talking for almost a week now. We've been up and down this road about eight times. We were rambling on about how great the weather is and about my childhood. But I haven't heard anything about you. I'm getting sick of hearing my own voice." Melanie sighed. She had hoped she wouldn't have to explain her past to him.
"Oh you don't wanna hear about me. My life is pretty boring." Melanie said sluggishly. Brock shook his head.
"I doubt a former singing sensation, a multiple time Grammy winner and the daughter of one of the greatest entertainers of all time doesn't have a story to tell." Brock said. Melanie was shocked. How could he have known all these things? Brock saw the look on her face and decided to explain.
"I knew I remembered you from somewhere. You were in a bunch of movies. I know of some of your songs." He said. "I guess I didn't recognize you. Your usually…" Melanie stopped him.
"Yeah… that was a weird phase of mine. Not to mention the pressure I had from all the producers." She said. They sat down on a bench to rest.
"So." Brock Began. "How about your start from the beginning.
"Alright. I guess so." Melanie agreed.
"Ok, well I was born in New York City. My mother was Selina Halliwell. My father was Cole Turner. I'm the youngest of five. Three girls and two boys." She said fidgeting with a rose pedal she found by a flower shop earlier that day.
" After I was born, my father moved his family to Puerto Rico. I think my parents just wanted to get away from the press. A lot of publicity was surrounding my birth. I guess my dad just got sick of it." She said shrugging.
"What was your upbringing like?" Brock asked. Melanie sighed.
" When I was about four, we moved back into the states. Then we settled into a farm, a lot like the one you described living on. Only it was in New Jersey. My mother got this tire and attached it to this huge tree in our backyard. Me and my sisters would always fight over who would get it for the day." Melanie said smiling. "Of course I was the youngest, so I almost never got it. Sometimes, my mom would send my two older sisters out, just so that I could have a few hours on the swing to myself." Brock laughed. It sounded like a nice upbringing. Melanie continued.
"Of course, that was my mom. Whenever she wasn't involved with wrestling, she was singing. I used to sing her songs in the shower. When my mom heard my voice, she decided to give me singing lessons. She would always tell me that she loved to sing, but it was nothing compared to wrestling." Brock tilted his head.
"Your mother was a wrestler?" He asked. Melanie laughed.
"Sometimes. Most of the times, she would accompany my dad to the ring. I think her reputation was more of a classy, sophisticated 'lady of wrestling'." Melanie said. "This was something new to the wrestling world because wrestling was a 'man's sport'. But my mom wrestled men occasionally. And she would win. I think she really changed the face of wrestling to pave the way for superstars today." Brock nodded. Melanie went on.
"When I was six. My mother died." She said quietly. Brock's smile vanished.
"What happened to her?' He asked sympathetically.
"Well depends who you ask and how you look at it. If you ask anyone on the street, they'll tell you she committed suicide." She said lowering her voice even more. " There was only one witness to her death." Brock moved closer to Melanie.
"Who?" He asked. Melanie looked down at the rose pedal and dropped it on the ground. Her hands were cold and clammy.
"Me." She whispered. Brock's eyes widened.
"Of course after her death, there was a trial. I was asked to testify. I told the court what I saw and who did it. Needless to say, nobody believed a six year old with a wild imagination." She said choking back tears. "I told them my father killed her. No one believed me." Brock sat back in his seat, shocked.
"After that, my dad abandoned us in the house we grew up in. He left us with no food. Eventually, the heat, electricity and water were gone. My oldest brother Leo, who was 13 at the time, took us all to New York City to look for a place to live. We never found a permanent home. We only spent the holidays with the McMahon's. It was like that for about five years." She said.
"There were a few other things that happened too. I never got over the fact that no one believed me but eventually, I got a college scholarship, and found money to buy my own home in Jersey." Melanie said. Brock leaned forward.
"Mel, I don't think your mother committed suicide." He whispered. Melanie smiled sadly.
"Me either."
4
