AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey devoted readers. And I wish you all a happy new month!
It's another chapter almost 4 days after I posted the previous one. I'm trying to commit to this book once again cause I really have plots, twists and aa lot of storylines in my head but the time to put it all together is what I'm lacking a bit with stress from school and all but oh well.
I hope you all enjoy this chapter.
WARNING: This story may contain triggering scenes and strong language not meant for all audiences. Viewer discretion is advised. (I love to get that outta the way)
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these characters except my OC Kendra and other OC's I might have forgotten to mention. This story is a pure work of fiction (hence its written on) and most of the events and facts are completely made up so... I guess that's it.
Chapter 24 - ...Reaction
Four days later...
Kendra was quite astonished at how fast the past few days had gone by because soon enough, it was Monday and Raw was holding that night.
It was also the day her fate in the WWF was to be decided. The joy.
To say that she wasn't anxious, scared or discomforted would've been the absolute lie of the century! Besides the fact that during the weekend she had frequently been contacted by Sable, Shane, Shawn and hell even Steve Austin (I just noticed all their names begin with an S. What a coincidence!) who requested that they hung out a bit before the show. She was a bit skeptical due to the fact that she wanted to spend these few hours before the show alone but she decided to do so seeing no harm in it.
So that's how she found herself at the hotel bar of all places but knowing Austin, she wasn't really surprised as it was no news backstage that he loved his beer.
"Hi Steve" She said as she finally located him.
"Weird girl, didn't know if you were coming or not. But nonetheless take a seat" He said motioning to the stool next to his which she gladly sat on. "How've you been holding up?"
"Good. I'm lowkey just waiting for this day to come to and end already but at the same time, I wish it would go slower as well" She said with a sigh. "How've you been?"
"I'm good but remember today isn't about me, it's about you." He said. She gave him a small smile.
"Yeah I guess it is" She said with a sigh. "Shane texted me yesterday. He said Mr. McMahon wants to see me in his office tonight after the show."
"Alright, that's... progress. But why the hell do you look like a nervous wreck?" Blunt as always Austin. "You look uneasy as hell, you're fiddling with your fingers and you're shaking like a freaking tambourine."
"Way to cut a promo on me"
"I'm serious. You're kinda tense like almost half of the time I see you. Relax a little, have a beer" He said passing one of the four unopened cans of beer over to her.
"Sorry Austin, I don't drink" She said handing it back to her. Austin looked really puzzled but shrugged.
"Alright. I sure as hell don't get that but I will respect you. Michael!" Austin yelled grabbing the bartender's attention. "Any non-alcoholic beer?"
"We don't sell th..."
"Screw you." He said. Kendra couldn't help but laugh as she looked gave the bartender a look of pity.
"Be nice Steve. He's not the owner at least"
"God knows what I'd do that sorry son of a bitch once I get my hands on him. Fucker" He said taking a sip out of his beer. "Where was I?"
"Right. So as I was saying, you're tense like literally half of the time and the other half you're an annoying bitch." He said in such a nonchalant manner which slightly shocked Kendra. She knew that if it were anyone else, she might had taken offense but in the case of Steve Austin...
"You love my annoying self. And God knows that annoying you is one of life's greatest pleasures" She said with a grin.
"Clearly you've never been laid"
"Steve!" She said hitting his arm and the Texan couldn't help but laugh and soon enough they were both laughing.
"But all in all you're a weird... but cool chick. And I hope all goes well tonight. If not for anything, but for the fact that you're the one responsible for my sudden push. Like I wouldn't have expected it in my wildest dreams. And now there are talks backstage about having me feud with Bret which is mind-blowing" Steve said in awe. Kendra giggled. It was a fun sight to see him act with such disbelief and excitement. The man clearly didn't see the potential she saw. "I'm guessing that was one of your ideas"
"Yeah... well initially I thought of Undertaker but it didn't fit right. I'm thinking of something else for him." She said wheels turning in her head.
"Well good for me. And for you" Austin said sounding a bit impressed that such a young girl would have such big ideas. But of course he'd never tell her. "So, does Bret know?" And immediately he noticed how she tensed up.
"Not exactly"
"Not exactly? I asked a question, yes or no?"
"No"
"Hmm interesting. Owen?" Austin asked. She shook her head no.
"It's not really easy for me to tell him about the whole thing. And I was gonna tell Bret but... I got sidetracked and Shawn got inserted into the picture." She shrugged. "It was equally hard for me to tell you too. But you kept pushing so..."
"I can understand. And I can tell you're not really close to Bret" Austin said.
"Well..." Kendra's phone buzzed in her purse and then Mr. Perfect's theme song played faintly. Saved by the perfect one. "...I gotta take this" Austin gave her a puzzled look but nodded as she stood up and made her way to an isolated section of the bar.
"Hey stranger" Curt's voice boomed from the phone.
"Hi Mr. Perfect. Cause I don't really have any other line that parallels stranger"
"Charming as always Kendra Hart" Curt commented sarcastically as the par shared a laugh.
"How are you Curt? How are the kids and Leonice?" She asked. He had taken a 5 week time off and had been gone for about week. During this time, he decided to spend it with his kids and his ex wife Leonice in Minnesota.
"They're all okay but while I'll send my regards, you know I'm not here to talk about my kids. I'm here to talk about you" Curt said. Kendra chuckled a bit. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing. You just sounded a bit like Austin"
"Austin? Like the way I talk or..."
"No, just that he said almost the exact same thing to me not too long ago."
"Oh I see. Well how are you holding up? This night's the night. I honestly wish I could be there to provide moral support" Curt said. Kendra smiled.
"You've devoted way too undeserved time on me and my issues. You need to recover now Curt. You can't risk your body for me"
"I can and God knows I would have done it in a heartbeat" Kendra was touched by that she felt her eyes tear up a bit.
"You're an awesome friend Curt. And don't worry, I have faith that all will go well tonight" Kendra assured.
"That's my girl. So anyways, what are you up to now? It's about...6:38, you're at the arena right?"
"No I'll prolly get there soon. I'm at the hotel bar with Austin just chilling. I'm kinda nervous about tonight but..." Curt caught her off midsentence.
"Austin?" Curt asked unable to hide his surprise. "That's new"
"Curt..."
"No it's cool. I won't judge you. Just be careful" Kendra would've laughed out loud if Curt's voice didn't sound so... unconvincing, unreal and strange. She'd never hear him use that tone with her. Ever.
"Relax. I'm not dating him or planning to by the way. And you giving me dating advice feels so unnatural. Yuck. So weird" Curt laughed.
"Hey, it's a work in progress babe. I have to look out for my favorite girl at the end of the day." Curt said and she could bet all of her life savings right now that he was winking on the other side.
"Hmm, well bad news for your mom, sisters and daughters then" She joked.
"Haha. But in all seriousness, WWF wrestlers... wrestlers in general are dangerous. You know that right. You grew up around many of them" He pointed out.
"That's a stereotype and a very bad statistical analysis. You're alright and so are my brothers and some others"
"All in all be careful Kendy and good luck tonight" Curt wished.
"Thanks and I wish you a speedy recovery. Say hello to everyone for me"
"Will do sweetheart, bye"
"Bye" Call ended.
It was always nice to hear from Curt.
"What in the hell weird girl? Twenty five minutes on the phone?!" Austin yelled making her roll her eyes.
"We barely even talked so shush" Kendra said bringing her finger up to her lips in a 'shushing' motion.
"I could give you a stunner right here but I won't cause I'm a civilized gentleman"
"Hell could freeze over twice and that still won't be true" She said. He flipped her the bird. "Real mature Steve"
"Whatever. Let's get your ass in my rental. We need to get to the arena like pronto" Austin said as he downed one last can of beer. Kendra stared at the other three empty beer cans.
"Isn't there a rule about going to work intoxicated?" She asked.
"They won't know the difference. Now let's move"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Most people who knew Shawn Michaels really well could easily tell that the showstopper seemed a little agitated on this very night. Donning his his trademark red attire, he pranced around around backstage seeming very restless. He also seemed to be glancing at his phone a lot which definitely caught the attention of his best friend.
"Shawn, hey... you seem on a little on the edge. Everything alright man?" Hunter asked. Shawn didn't respond as he kept scrolling through his phone. "Earth to Shawn" No response. Well this was unusual. "Shawn!" Hunter yelled and almost immediately the Heartbreak Kid snapped out of his daze.
"Oh what's up Hunter? Did you say something?"
"Yeah, I've only been calling your name for the past minute! What's up with you? Did you hit your head on a tree again?" Hunter asked. Shawn rolled his eyes.
"No. That only happened once and you know it" Shawn said. Hunter raised his hands up in mock surrender.
"Alright. Alright. But are you alright? I know you well enough to know when something's bothering you" Hunter said. Shawn stared at him blankly for some moments. Since that minor misunderstanding that he had with Kendra (Chapter 13-16), he hadn't really brought her up that much to either Hunter or X-Pac, or even to his other best friends in WCW Scott Hall and Kevin Nash.
He felt that it was one teeny tiny secret he saw no harm in keeping to himself. And when the time was right, he would spill the tea. But for now, no.
"I'm fine Hunter. I am." Shawn reassured. "On a totally unrelated note, I'll be right back" Hunter stared at him as he picked up his title and headed straight for the door.
"Where are you running off to man?"
"Sable" He said quickly and left the locker room in a dash of wind.
"Something's up. I can feel it. But Shawn knows better than to chase a married woman right?" Hunter thought to himself. "Nope, he doesn't. Be careful Shawn"
Meanwhile Shawn pranced around once more backstage, walking significantly faster than he normally did in order to make his way to meet the blonde bombshell whom he found just a few seconds later having a conversation with Marlena otherwise known as Terri Runnels.
"Shawn hi" Terri said with a smile as her eyes sparkled with adoration. Shawn found it quite adorable but now wasn't the time.
"Hi Terri, do you mind if I can get a minute..."
"Sure no problem. I'm right here" She said eagerly as she cut him off. Shawn almost laughed.
"I think he meant with me hun" Sable clarified looking quite amused. Terri calmed down a bit after that and just gave a silly laugh.
"My bad, sure you can talk to Sable. I better run off to Dustin. See you both around" She said as she ran off to meet her husband Dustin otherwise known as Goldust.
"Does it ever get old for you when ladies, and even married ladies go gaga over you? Or does it continue to fuel your already oversized ego?" Sable asked with a smirk.
"The latter" He said simply as he winked at her. "And even at that there are rare times I don't strike out. Like with your friend for example" Shawn said. Sable stared at him questioningly. This was gonna be an interesting conversation.
Flashback (Four Days Prior)
"Your health comes first Kendy. If you're mentally exhausted then the only thing you should be doing is resting. We'll have plenty more days to hang out and drive each other crazy"
"Yeah. You're right" She replied. They sat in silence for a while until they were through with the mani-pedis. "Alright we should get going"
"Yeah, just gimme a minute or two. I need to make a call" Sable said. Kendra nodded as the blonde walked away to another part of the spa.
Sable was extremely worried about the state of her friend's mental health at the moment. She seemed to be out of it today and it scared her more when she realized that she herself couldn't crack Kendra. She didn't blame or resent Kendra for the way she acted but rather she wanted to be of help to her. And boy was she desperate.
She hurriedly flipped through her phone contacts until her hands stopped at a particular number. Hesitantly she pressed call.
"My my, Sable. I guess there's a first time for everything. What's up?" Shawn's voice asked from the other end.
"Now's not really the time for fun and games Shawn, something's up with Kendra!"
"What? What is it?" Shawn asked completely dropping his teasing tone. "Is she hurt?"
"Not physically, but she just seems unusually down today. I've tried cheering her up but I haven't gotten any results. I feel the girl might need a male touch. Curt's not around now so I thought you may be the next best thing" Shawn was offended. If not for the fact that this was for Kendra, he wasn't a fan of being the "second choice". Especially not to Mr. Perfect. "Sorry, that sounded kind of rude. I'm just worried about my friend"
"What makes you think I can cheer her up?"
"Cause you're obviously crushing on her hard..." Shawn was speechless.
"How...?"
"She didn't tell me zilch. I figured it out. I noticed the way you talked to her, the stares and the icing on the cake was last week when she took a week off. You were acting like a lost puppy" Shawn rolled his eyes. It sucked that he was that obvious. "But crushed aside, you seem like a decent guy Shawn. Outlandish and degenerate behavior aside"
"What a perfect combination of an insult and a compliment" Sable giggled. "But I'm a nice guy, so I'll take up the task. Just text me her hotel room number"
"I will. I pray this works"
"I'm the showstopper. It has to work" Shawn said cockily.
"Doesn't being a showstopper legit means you'll screw this up?"
"Goodbye Sable!" Shawn said hanging up.
End Of Flashback
"Yeah, tough break I guess. By the way thanks again on her behalf, what you did was cool. Know I'm lowkey rooting for you" Sable said with a grin.
"Hey, it was nothing. She is my friend after all. And hey, even if we never become more than that I'm content with that" Shawn said resulting in him receiving a knowing look from Sable. "What?"
"Nothing. Just watching you lie to yourself that's all. The fact that you look so distressed right now points to the fact that you're worried about why she's not here yet"
"Alright. You got me." Shawn admitted with a laugh. "But do you have any idea where she is?"
"Yeah, we texted earlier. She said she was going to be a little late and that she was coming with Steve" Sable said. Shawn blinked. He knew Steve's minor involvement in this whole case but he didn't know that she and Steve hung out outside of work considering the fact that he himself hadn't hung out with Kendra since that day he paid her a visit.
"Okay. But at least she's okay." Shawn breathed out.
"It's cute how much you worry about her. But Kendra's a strong girl, she'll pull through all of this. Let's just wait for tonight to end alright" Sable said. Shawn nodded.
"Alright. Well, I've got a show to prepare for I guess. But I'll see you later hopefully" He said as he walked away.
"Bye Shawn" Sable said. "God that guy has it bad. For his sake I pray all goes well tonight"
Meanwhile...
"That is the absolute last time I'll ever allow you to do the map reading" Steve yelled as he and Kendra dashed into the arena.
"Me? You were the one who was driving around in circles before I finally read the map. Don't go around pinning this one on me" She said flipping her hair over her back. "If you don't mind me, I'm going to pay Shawn a visit."
"Sure whatever. I have to go find out how I'll prepare for the show which is starting in fifteen damn minutes!" Kendra smiled innocently.
"You'll manage. Toodles" She greeted as she skipped away. It was always fun to annoy Steve Austin and while she could do that everyday. She had bigger fish to fry this night. Today rounded off the 7-day ultimatum Vince Russo had given her before she would be out of the company. Granted she had a backup plan which she'd worked on with Shawn, Shane and Steve but... naturally, she had the right to doubt if things would go according to plan or not.
As she made her way to Shawn's locker room she passed by a lot of stage hands, costume and makeup personnel and the tech guys paying all of them greetings in form of smiles, hi's and waves. It sucked if this was her last night in the WWF, one of her greatest joys was walking around the backstage area and seeing everyone so busy putting the show together and whatnot. It ached her heart a little.
As she walked further, she caught a glimpse of Bret chatting with Gorilla Monsoon, paying no attention to him she exchanged greetings with Monsoon and went on her way. Not too long after that she arrived at Shawn's locker room door. She knocked softly.
"Come in" Shawn called from inside. She smiled and opened the door. Shawn's eyes glistened as he ran up to her and hugged her tightly.
"It's nice to know I'm missed" She giggled. "How are you Shawn?"
"I'm great. Great. Happy to see you that's all. I was a bit worried earlier."
"Yeah, Sable told me. I'm sorry if I made you worry. I was with Steve and we got lost and..."
"Yeah, the bastard was probably drunk right?" Shawn said as they both shared a laugh. "How are you?" Kendra sighed.
"Nervous, agitated, a bit scared but holding it all together with the belief that everything will be fine. Shane said Vince wants to see me after the show so hopefully all goes well" She said with a nervous smile. "Will you come along?" She asked biting her lip.
"No. Not because I don't want to but I want it to be all about you. This is your chance to get rid of Vince Russo for good and you're gonna do it all by yourself." Shawn said.
"But you gave me the courage to go ahead with it. I... I don't know if I can do it alone, albeit with Shane" She admitted looking down. "Please?" She asked as she looked back up at him with sad brown eyes. Shawn sighed. Fuck!
"Kendra look" He said cupping her cheeks with both hands. He felt her flinch slightly but calm down which meant one thing; she was getting more and more comfortable around him. "You don't need my help. I know you don't. It was your brilliant idea to record Vince in the act and you did it so smoothly that he didn't suspect a thing. I only provided moral support"
"Yeah but I dunno..." She said as his hands dropped slowly from her face. "...you're right. I'm in over my head aren't I?"
"Yeah you are. But still pretty cute doing it. As always" He complimented. She smiled as they locked eyes. Neither of them said a word to each other. Kendra could feel Shawn subconsciously leaning closer to her. Her heart began to race as she couldn't completely process what was going.
But whatever would've happened didn't happen as...
"HBK you're up in 5. You need to be at the curtain now" A producer called from outside snapping them out of...well whatever the hell was going on.
"Yeah. That's my call" Shawn said coolly as he pretended as if nothing happened. "Good luck tonight Kendy." He said opting to give her a kiss on the cheek as he grabbed his title and walked out of the door leaving a stunned Kendra standing there.
Shawn was lucky this wasn't the biggest fish she had to fry this night as soon enough she would forget about this moment... for now.
2 hours Later...
Shane and Kendra waited patiently outside Vince's office. The show had ended a few minutes ago and according to Vince, he wanted to see them immediately after the show so there they were.
"You're shaking" Shane noticed. "Relax, it'll all be fine."
"I know. And thanks for doing so much and helping me with so much but it's Mr. McMahon" She stated. Shane laughed.
"Yes and you're Kendra Hart. Big deal. Just go in, say what you wanna say, show him the evidence and you're good to go" Shane said. "It might not even take up to 10 minutes" Shane stated. Before Kendra could say another word, Paula, Vince McMahon's assistant stepped out of the office.
"He's ready to see you too now" She informed the pair. They both nodded as Kendra took a deep breath. It's now or never. These next few minutes could determine her future in not only the WWF but wrestling as a whole.
"I'm ready" She announced. Shane smiled and opened the door for her.
However, when she got into Vince's office she saw something quite unconventional... His office was transformed into a makeshift court room and Mr. McMahon donned a black robe and a wig. Talking to him was Vince Russo who smiled evilly at her when he caught her gaze. She rolled her eyes. Son of a bitch didn't know what was coming.
The biggest takeaway from this was the fact that Tatanka, Gerald Brisco, Pat Patterson, The Brooklyn Brawler, Luna Vachon and a few other guys she recognized as part of the creative team were all seated on chairs which were arranged court room style. In addition, Howard Finkel stood next to Vince holding some papers.
"Be patient and take a seat everyone, court will soon be in session" Howard announced.
"What in the blue hell?" Kendra asked Shane.
"Just go with it. Russo must have brought up some incredibly outrageous claims in order for Vince to set up Wrestler's court. Just stay calm and deal with it" Shane said.
This was gonna be a long night.
Did I go a little overboard? No. Vince is legit written to be an insane person so deal with it.
But that's a wrap for Chapter 24. Stay tuned for the next chapter: The Trial Of The Decade. Don't miss it.
Once again thank you all for the support over the past year. Please endeavor to continue with it. Also, y'all should know that the story is far from over. I plan on getting 60 chapters out of this so stick along for the ride.
Continue to stay safe. See you all in the next chapter :)