Disclaimer: I own nothing but Ellis.
In The Way
Chapter 2: Awkward Silences.
I run down the hallway, not paying attention to where I'm going. I know people are looking at me as I pass them but I really don't care what any of them think of me right now. I just want to get as far away from here, from my so called family as I can. My black mascara is running down my cheeks and I can hardly see from crying. I turn a corner and run straight into someone, a very large someone. I can't even tell who it is until they speak as they place their hands gently on my shoulders.
"Hey…what's the matter?" John Cena asks me softly as I carry on sobbing.
"Nothing" I manage to say.
"You're a crappy liar…" he says with a small smile. I laugh a little. I'm finally starting to calm down, I shouldn't have gotten so upset over something so small, Steph probably didn't even realise what she was saying but it just hurts when people talk about my mom like that. I really wish I didn't have mascara streaking down my cheeks right now, I most look so pathetic. That's when I realise John's white shirt now has a big black mark on it from me walking into him.
"I'm sorry about your shirt…" I say as I feel my cheeks turning scarlet. He looks down at the spot where my head collided with his chest.
"Don't worry, it'll come off…I hope. So…are you gonna tell me why you were crying or are you just gonna try to change the subject again?" he asks me with a questioning look. My smile fades as I let out a sigh and shake my head.
"It doesn't matter…I was just being stupid as usual" I say quietly and let my head fall slightly.
"You don't have a very high opinion of yourself do you?" John asks. I can feel his eyes on me.
"Its kinda hard to think much of yourself when no one else does…the only person who ever told me I was better than I think I am was my mom…" I say softly as I feel tears sting my eyes again. I suddenly wish John wasn't looking at me. I hate crying in front of other people.
"I have to go…I'm sorry about your shirt" I say quickly as I turn on my heel and walk away from John before he has the chance to say anything else.
I spend the next hour wandering aimlessly around the halls trying to avoid anywhere Shane and Stephanie might be. I head to a bathroom and wash the smudged make up off my face, I was right, I do look pathetic. I see a few people I know but I don't stop to talk to them. I don't want to talk to anyone, I don't want to listen to anyone either. I can't avoid Steph for much longer; she's my ride to the hotel anyway so I head back to her office.
"Where the hell have you been? I've been worried sick…" Steph says sternly.
"Yeah right…" I mumble.
"What did you say? Don't even think about starting with that smart mouth. Get your stuff, we're leaving" my darling sister snaps at me. I roll my eyes and send her a forced smile as I put the strap of my messenger bag over my shoulder and follow Steph to her car. At least I get away from her at the hotel; I'm sharing a room with Maria. Maria's sweet but she's a little bit too bubbly, I'm still glad I'm sharing with her instead of Steph though.
Of course Steph just has to make sure I don't try to run away or something before Maria gets back so she sits in my room with me. I really hate awkward silences like this…after 20 minutes of lying on my bed staring at the ceiling Maria finally shows up. I've never been so glad to see anyone in my life.
"Oh look Steph, the replacement babysitter is here!" I say sarcastically. Steph glares at me like I'm a serial killer before she gets up and leaves. I let out a long breath and smile at Maria.
"Sorry Ria, that wisecrack was aimed at Steph, not you" I say when I realise my little 'babysitter' comment might have pissed her off.
"That's ok…your sister can be a little strict sometimes huh?" she asks brightly.
"You have no idea…" I say with a smile. The brunette diva smiles back at me.
"How do you feel about having a girly gossip night?" she asks. My smile gets even wider, like I said before I'm a gossip junkie.
"Goodie!...we need ice cream though…" I say with a giggle.
"Amy's bringing that and Trish is bringing the wine…which you shouldn't have…but I won't tell if you don't" she says with a giggle of her own.
"Yay!...who else is coming? Apart from Amy and Trish?" I ask.
"Um…Ashley, Candice and Melina I think…they should be here soon" she replies.
There's a knock at the door and Maria bounces up to answer it, its Trish and Amy.
"Hi Ellis…how do you like being on the road so far?" Trish asks me as Amy chats with Maria.
"It's pretty good so far…apart from Shane and Stephanie treating me like a 12 year old…" I answer.
"That's what big brothers and sisters are supposed to do" the blonde says with a smile.
"I guess…it just gets a little suffocating sometimes. I don't like people watching me every second of the day…it's like they're expecting me to get into trouble…" I say quietly.
"Aw don't worry sweetie, I'm sure they're just trying to protect you. How did you manage to get thrown out of school anyway?" Trish asks.
"It's a long story…" I say with a small smile.
"And a funny one" Amy says as she sits next to me on the bed.
"Oooooh I wanna hear it" Maria giggles. I take a deep breath.
"Well you know I went to a boarding school…it was an all girls school but there was a boys school just across the lake…" I say with a smile at the 3 eager faces before me.
"One night we decided to have a little party in our dorm and someone invited some of the boys….the part was fun, everyone was dancing and laughing and stuff…then one of the teachers must have heard the music. Now parties weren't against the rules but having boys in our dorm was. The boys used a little boat to get across the lake and I got the job of making sure they got back to their boat without the teachers seeing them…and to cut a long story short I ended up going head first into the lake. And just because I already had a reputation as a trouble maker I got the blame for everything…." I say with a shrug.
"whose idea was the party?" Maria asks.
"Well…I guess that was kinda my idea…but I didn't invite the boys. And I didn't mean to call Mr. Clark a jerk…even though he was. And I absolutely didn't mean to break the window when I was sneaking the boys out…" I say sheepishly.
"Sounds like kinda harsh punishment for that though" Trish says. Me and Amy exchange a look.
"Well…I did kinda sorta…blow the science lab up the week before…" everyone bursts into fits of laughter, including me. I guess it is pretty funny. There's another knock at the door and Ashley and Candice arrive.
"Where's Melina?" Maria asks the 2 divas.
"Apparently Johnny wanted to take her out to dinner…" Candice replies.
"She's lucky she saw Johnny before I did…he's kinda cute" I say with a smirk.
"Whatever floats your boat…he does nothing for me" Trish says with a laugh.
"I like Paul Burchill too…the pirate look really works for him…there's something kinda sexy about a guy wearing eyeliner…" I say with a dreamy smile. Everyone looks at me for a few seconds before bursting into giggles again.
We carry on talking and laughing for a while until I start to yawn.
"We should get going, it's getting late" Ashley says as she sees me fighting to stay awake.
"Yeah come on bitches get your asses moving" Amy says with a giggle before she hugs me.
"Don't worry too much about Steph, she'll lighten up a bit eventually" the redhead whispers to me.
"Thanks Ames, goodnight" I say brightly with a smile. After everyone leaves I get changed into my cute tigger pj's, yeah I like tigger. I hop into my bed and pull the covers around me as Maria brushes her hair.
"Ria…what do you think of John Cena?" I ask quietly. Maria smiles.
"So you like John huh?" she asks with a giggle.
"Maybe…kinda…" I reply sleepily as Maria turns the light off. For the first time in a while I fall asleep with a smile on my face.
I wake up next morning to the sound of Maria singing softly along with a song on the radio. I throw the covers off and get out of bed with a yawn.
"Morning Ellis…what are you up to today?" the little brunette asks me.
"Mornin' Ria…I dunno what I'm doing today, its up to Steph and Shane I guess" I reply with a shrug.
"What time is it anyway?" I ask.
"8.30 I think" Maria answers.
"Ugh…I hate getting up so early…" I whine.
"You'll get used to it kiddo" Maria says brightly. I hope not, I really don't want to get used to getting up at such an inhuman hour. I get dressed in a little black skirt, black knee high boots, pink fishnets and a black vest top with a pink mesh top over it. I put on my usual rings and tie my hair back in a ponytail. I throw some bits and pieces into my bag, say goodbye to Maria and head off to Steph's room. I slouch into the room and sit on the bed with my arms crossed in front of me.
"Its Raw tonight so I want you on your best behavior…dad is gonna be around to keep an eye on you today" she says like I'm supposed to care.
"Goodie" I say in a bored voice and roll my eyes. I have to spend the whole day with daddy dearest watching me like a hawk…that would test anyone's patience. Steph finishes getting ready and we grab some breakfast before heading to her car and off to yet another arena. Being in a new place everyday is kinda weird, I'm not the sort of person who enjoys being moved around so much.
As different as all these arenas look on the outside they're all identical on the inside, always the same boring colours. Steph takes me to the locker room that dad's got setup as his office and for the first time in over 3 months I lay eyes on my father.
"Ah you're here…" he says when he looks up from his work for half a second. As usual it's a completely underwhelming show of fatherly concern. I think you can guess that I'm not exactly a daddy's girl. I sit myself down and pull my ipod out of my bag. Steph talks with dad for a bit, I don't know what they're talking about and I don't really care. I'm already bored and I've only been here 5 minutes.
Steph leaves and dad looks at me.
"So…how are you finding things so far?" he asks.
"Okay I guess…" I answer with a shrug.
"Everyone's making you feel at home?" he asks with a smile. I shrug again.
"Yeah…" the only thing I hate more than awkward silences is awkward conversations and this is definitely one of those. Dad goes back to whatever he's working on and I put some music on. I never thought I would actually miss school but right now I wish I was back there. I start twirling one of my rings again; I do that a lot when I'm bored.
There's a loud knock at the door, I know its loud cause I can hear it over the music blasting from my earphones. The door opens and John Cena walks in, he flashes me a smile and I smile right back. I turn down the volume on my ipod so I can hear what they're saying without taking my earphones out cause I'm nosey like that. They aren't talking about anything interesting so I'm just about to put my music back on when John looks at me out of the corner of his eye and winks at me.
"I've got some stuff to do and I could use some help…maybe Ellis could help me? If you don't need her for anything…" John says to my dad. I can see dad thinking it over for a second.
"I don't see why not, there isn't anything for her to do here anyway…" dad says as I pull my pink earphones out of my ears.
"You're to be on your best behavior Ellis" he says in a warning tone. Why does everyone keep saying that to me today?
"Yes dad…" I say as I roll my eyes and follow John out of the door.
"Thanks" I say quietly as we walk down the hall.
"No problem…you looked like you needed savin'…and now you get to spend the whole day with me" he says brightly.
"Damn, I knew there was a catch…" I say with a giggle.
"Hey, a lot of people would pay to spend the day with me ya know" he says with a smile as we walk into catering. I laugh and roll my eyes.
"You never did tell me why you were crying yesterday" he says seriously as we sit down.
"That's cause it was nothing…I was just upset. Why are you so interested anyway?" I ask.
"I dunno…I jut don't like seeing girls cry I guess" he says with a shrug. I can feel my cheeks turning red, why does this always happen around him?
"How's the title chase going?" I ask in an obvious attempt to change the subject.
"Its going good…I'm looking forward to Summerslam" he says with a grin. Wow, his dimples are beyond cute…I really have to stop thinking about him like this, I'm way too young for him and I hardly know him.
"Orton told me you're here cause ya got kicked outta school?" he asks with another cute smile.
"Yeah but it's a really long, boring story…" I reply with a small shrug.
"I like long boring stories…" he says as he leans back in his chair. I take a deep breath and launch into the whole 'party, boys, lake' story. He burst into fits of laughter when I finish.
"Hey its not that funny…" I say as I playfully punch him on the arm.
"Ow…that hurt. You've got a mean right hook there ya know that?" he laughs as he rubs his arm.
"I had no idea you were such a whimp Cena" I say with a giggle.
"Ya must get that mean streak off your dad…what about your mom anyway, what's she like?" he asks. My smile drops and I look down at my hands.
"She died last year…" I say quietly. I look up and see the same look in his eyes that everyone seems to get when they find out, that 'poor little you' look.
"Sorry…" he says softly.
"Its ok…" I shrug and try to hold back a few tears.
"How did it happen?" he asks me in a whisper.
"She…a drunk driver hit her when she was coming home from work" I say quietly. I wipe my tears away with the back of my hand.
"I'm sorry…I shouldn't have asked you about it…" he says as he takes my hand. I get goose bumps when he touches me.
"No…its just…kinda hard talking about it sometimes" I say as I force a weak smile on my face.
"How about we go and bug Orton for a while? That always cheers me up" he says brightly. I could use some fun right now so I nod and follow him out the door towards Randy's locker room…
ok so i know this chapter kinda sucks big time but my brain was doing weird stuff while i was writing it (dont ask lol) i hope ya liked it anyway :) revew plz hunnies.