Mark Calaway was extremely happy. He was happy that his career had picked back up without missing a beat, he was happy that he was back in his hometown, and he was happy that Rose had finally had her seventeenth birthday.
He was also happy as he rode down the road towards her school on the biggest and nastiest of all his bikes. He was going a little overboard on the theatrics, he thought. The bike was beefier than almost all of the others he owned & made an ungodly amount of noise as it powered down the road. The trenchcoat billowed over the back of the bike and blustered around in the wind like a cloak. The shades he wore made him look like a sinister enigma as he rode. All that seemed to be missing was the heavy metal soundtrack and the dark night.
But it was 3:30PM, and he was heading toward the school where Rose was. It would have been stupid to go there at night.
He pulled into the fence-enclosed parking lot near the schoolyard and brought his bike to a stop. He looked around, and sure enough, there was Rose. Surrounded by a gaggle of girls who were laughing and poking fun at her. Rose stood in a huddle, hugging her books and her bag close to her, trying to protect herself by making herself small.
Mark looked at the bullies. He felt sick. "Time to give them a taste of their own medicine."
He pulled the bike's throttle. A piercing roar emitted from its massive engine. Everyone nearby turned to look. Some of them recognised him and gasped, completely disbelieving that the Undertaker was at their school. None of the teachers had told them about this!
Mark slowly rode up to the parking bay in front of where Rose was standing. He turned off the bike, pocketed the key and dismounted. He walked slowly, vindictively, toward the little group of sixteen-year-old girls.
"So you must be the people who have been causing my Rose a few problems," he said, exaggerating the drawl. He was totally in character. The girls backed off to reveal a tearful Rose lewis.
"Mark!" she gasped, and ran straight to him, hiding herself in his trenchcoat and hugging him tightly. Rose looked up at him, relief etched onto her face. Mark looked down at her through the shades, one arm around her, and said, "it's okay, squirt, I'm here."
He looked at the little group, statuesque in the same formation they had been before he arrived. He told Rose to wait by the bike, and walked slowly up to them. He owned this schoolyard just like he owned the ring.
"You know something?" he said, taking off his glasses to glare at the girls, the tallest of whom was over a foot shorter than him. "I don't like bullies."
None of the girls moved. No-one but Mark moved. "And i especially don't like it when they try something with my friends...or my family."
He knew exactly what effect he was having on them and he was careful not to overdo it in any way.
"So listen," he said, fiercely. "You keep your jealousy, your problems and your hands to yourself. Because the next time I hear you've been picking on or beating on some innocent person, I'll make sure your parents know exactly who's to blame."
He stared at the scared little women near him for a few more seconds, for extra dramatic effect. Then he turned to go back to Rose.
"Come on, let's go," he said, replacing his sunglasses.
"Like you'd do anything," one of the girls bitched. "You're away all the time, and besides, we all know wrestling is fake."
Rose, still standing in front of Mark as he froze, grinned widely and laughed a little. "Ooh, she's gonna regret that..."
Mark turned around, slowly, head facing the ground. He walked right up to the girl, whose cockiness disappeared in an instant. She shook more with every step.
Mark knelt down to face her, looked over the rim of his glasses with a piercing stare, and said, "boo."
The girl screamed and ran. Mark stood up, sniggering. He walked back up to Rose. She could see the smile on his face.
Rose stood there laughing at the comical grin that had appeared on his face, he walked up to her and gave her hug. Not caring that everyone at her school saw him.
"Mark, people are watching.." Rose told him, thinking he may want to keep his reputation as the 'American Badass' intact.
"So im not at work. It can't get worse by giving a hug."
"Actually if you kissed me then it would make things worse."
"Hmmmm?" Mark stood in front of her, stroking his goatee like he had an idea. Rose suddenly became a little worried, it didn't show on her face as she was laughing at the pose he was doing.
"Mark get that idea out of your head."
"Which head?" he laughed. When he saw Rose blush he laughed even louder. He took her books and her bag out of her hands and put them in the side bags on his bike. Rose just stuck her tongue out at Mark after making her blush, Mark just laughed.
"So apart from the little incident just there, how was your day at school?" Mark asked her.
"It was good, how was your day?" she repiled.
"It was okay, was bored for the most of the day until i came to see you. So what do you want to do tonight then?"
"Haven't you got a show to do?"
"Nope, im free. So what do you want to do?"
"Go to the mall."
"So what do you want to do?" Rose laughed at the cringe on Mark's face. She leaned into him to balance herself on the back of the bike. "You're taking me to the mall bigfoot, that's an order," she said, still laughing.
"Yes ma'am," Mark replied. "...The things i do for people I care about."
"No, it's the things you do for the people you love," Rose replied. "Which reminds me, why did you give her such a huge shock?"
"Always wanted to do that to someone," Mark replied with a shrug.
The ride to the mall was short and sweet. Eventually they arrived and they walked over to the mall's entrance.
"I'm warning you," Mark said. "Don't buy anything big, I dont have much room on my bike for carry-ons."
Rose laughed and slipped her hand into his. "Come on, brother, let's go shopping."
"You got money?" Mark replied.
"No," Rose said innocently. "But you do."
Mark laughed. "Alright, I'll get you something. One present to make you feel better."
"Only one?" Rose said with the same cutie accent.
"Now you're just being greedy," Mark replied.
At the end of their trip Mark had trouble steering. Rose was keeping her balance well enough on the back, but it was the sheer amount of shopping on the bike's sidebags that was giving him a headache. He'd never drove so slowly. Not even during Driver's Ed.
"I can't believe you tried to dress me up in shorts, with a surfboard!" Mark said as they pulled up to Rose's home. She laughed. She had cheered up infinitely. "Your dad's going to kill me for how much money I've spent on you."
Rose lay in bed that night, feeling happy, feeling cheerful. She couldn't believe that Mark had actually done what he had to those other girls. He had been completely in-character. No one would believe the stories she could tell about him "behind the scenes" when he wasn't in character. She was glad to have Mark in her life.
Mark lay in his own bed that night, glad that Rose had cheered up. He cared for her and didn't like to see her upset, and he had been glad that she was feeling better. He also decided to keep in contact with her as much as he could.
Mark laughed. He felt like a dark angel.