Chapter 17

"Guess by now you heard about the move," Brian said.

"I'd have to live in a cave not to," Briana nodded. "I'd been following the whole draft thing."

"I'll be honest, when I got the call this morning telling me to cancel my flight overseas, I was scared. When I heard Zeke got moved to ECW, I was terrified. I thought I was going to lose my job right then and there, Bree."

"Because you and Zeke were split up?"

"Yeah, that's it. But when I got a call telling me to pack my shit because it was time to get RAW, my confidence SOARED! RAW, Bree! Holy shit!"

She raised an eyebrow. "This should be fascinating."

"Highest rated, most viewers, bigger paycheck, TOP SHOW! RAW!"

"Well, I'm glad for you," Briana grinned. "Way to go. So what do they have in mind for you?"

"Not sure of that yet, but Jesus, Bree, Raw!"

She had to laugh. "Come on, Bri, it isn't like that's the first time you were on that show. You were there last year before you came back to Smackdown."

"Ahhh, someone has been doing her research."

"Of course. I'd like to have some idea for whom I'm working," she smiled again. "Have you talked to Paul since the big news?"

"Not yet. I'll call him later."

"I'd really think he'd rather hear it from you than reading it online. He's been your best friend for how long, you know."

"Of course, which is why I'll catch him later. Right now I have some shit to pack for my next big career move."

Briana looked as he headed toward the locker room, sighing, wondering if she too was about to be blown off and left behind. Well, she guessed Tina would be getting a phone call letting her know Briana would be coming home soon after all now that her present boss was in the big leagues.

A few hours later:

"Yeah, he called," Paul snorted when Briana talked to him that afternoon, "three hours after I read about it."

"I'm sorry, Paul," she said. "I told him to get hold of you and all I got was 'I'll call him later.' I didn't realize how much later it would be."

"Well, Bree, he's a big VIP on Raw now; I guess peons like you and I don't matter anymore. You've been working on that mop on his head for how long now and I've been his best friend for how many years; what the hell do we know, right?"

"I'd figure you'd be the last person he'd blown off. I feel terrible."

"Don't, senorita. I guess the character is morphing into real life after all."

"I guess so," Briana sighed. "Maybe I should prepare to get my own walking papers and head back home to my old job. He just turned out to be like everyone else after all."

"Knowing him now, that may be a smart idea," Paul agreed. "More than likely, he's hitting up on the Raw divas as we speak without giving either of us a second thought."

That evening:

Briana sat, worried. Primo had called her saying Brian had gone out wheezing and talking about quitting after a phone call. The news worried her, but she had to step out for supplies.

Briana scribbled a note before she left in the event Brian should return before she did:

What's happening? I was just told you went out wheezing a bit ago and you want to quit! Let's chat when you get back. –Bree

He still hadn't returned half an hour later when she had come back. Now clearly annoyed, Briana was beginning to wonder if Paul was right

"I'm here," Brian announced when he finally returned forty five minutes later.

"Okay," she said icily.

"Well, when you want to start that 'chat', let me know."

Gee, thanks for thinking so well of me, Mr. VIP, Briana thought, and then turned around. "What's this about you wanting to quit?"

"Wow, Primo knows how to keep shit on the downlow. Quitting, you know, what people do when they don't want a job anymore."

"Well, my apologies for being concerned, Mr. VIP," she snapped.

"I'm sure."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, first you were happy about me going to Raw, then right before I go off with some of the guys, you do a 180 on me. Of course, I should have put two and two together after I found out you had a chitchat with Paul, who has been taking some verbal cheap shots at me on his own, by the way."

"I didn't know there was a law against talking to your best friend."

"Jesus, Bree, will you cut the sarcasm? You know, I figured you'd be excited for me, just like I thought maybe Paul would be too. But today was supposed to be a great day for me and now it's just all gone to SHIT."

"I warned you about this to call him, not three hours after the fact. As for being excited, you know I was at first, but well, don't take offense at this, but when the whole pay thing was brought up and all the big names, it came across as kind of arrogant. It was like the Pauls and Brianas of the world didn't matter, that we were just peons to you now."

"It's not arrogance, it's excitement, a bigger paycheck WOULD be nice, and yes, so would new competition. But instead I get to hear about your fucking depressed rants about how I'm JUST like everyone else, and no matter what you say, I know I'm not like everyone else. Paul matters, you matter, yes, but if I can't get some kind of support from either of you in this, what's the point in caring what you two think about it?"

Briana stopped short. "Honestly? You're not feeding me a bunch of bullshit?"

Brian shook his head. "You'd be the last person I'd do that to, Briana."

"I'm sorry. Me and my stupid conclusions," she sighed.

"Well, it just got to me, like I thought you were one of the few people who understood who I am, why I am this way, my outlook on life, and to say I'm 'just like everyone else' was such a big insult to me, really."

"Yes, me and my big mouth talking without thinking."

He thought a moment, as if something had come to him. "Bree, is there something else? I know about your husband being killed in that accident and Tina filled me in on how good he was to you, but why do I have the feeling now that something else happened to you before Gary and then I walked into your life?"

She was confused. "What do you mean?"

"Something tells me you were hurt and hurt bad by someone and you'd gotten some trust issues because of it."

"It was a long time ago," Briana nodded. "I don't really like to discuss it much, but yes, some recent things brought it back and I took it out on you. Again, I'm sorry."

"Guy was an asshole, huh?"

"You could say that."

"Want me to track him down and poke his aorta with an icepick?"

Briana broke out laughing. "No! He isn't worth you going to prison for, mister."

"No, but you are. With that, you want to hear something else that will make you laugh?"

"Try me," she nodded.

"I was flirting with Candice for character. Me and her were in a private conversation laughing at it the entire time. I should've let you in on it, but we were bored and we both are pretty good at making up cheesy flirt lines, so I figured, since I somewhat stay in character, why not make some people mad at me? So to piss a few people off, we sat there flirting. Some guy kept asking me about it constantly and yes, it was mean to find other people's confusion or annoyance funny, but I don't know, I think of weird shit when I'm bored."

"All right," Briana said, not yet totally convinced.

"I just spent time explaining this to Paul because someone told him, so I figured since you seemed annoyed with me earlier, I'd explain it to you, too. And by the way," Brian added with a reassuring grin, "your job here isn't done by a long shot. You will still be my Bree and your work won't be over until I say it is!"

That had driven it home. She believed him now. Any other questions in her mind were already answered.