I bounced my knee up and down nervously. I was sitting in front of the office that Paul and Stephanie had set up in tonight's venue. It was a few hours before RAW and I was anxious for a number of reasons. 1, I didn't know why the hell Paul and Steph wanted to see me. It felt like I was sent to the principal's office and was going to get scolded for doing something bad. 2, I really wanted to spend my final hours before the show doing something exciting. I'll admit that I skipped training today to do some shopping and to visit the 9/11 Memorial Area. I wanted to pay my respects to my mother and talk to her for a bit. Well, talk to the area surrounding her. It was the only "grave" I could sit down and put flowers on and pray that she could hear me wherever she was. 3, With all the heavy emotions I really wanted to kick back in the city and party or do something. I had got wind of a local metal show at a club further downtown and wanted to go. It wasn't Roman's scene so he didn't want to go and Dean wanted to relax. He said he would go but I didn't want to push him. I had called up a few of my old friends and they were excited to hear from me and catch up for a bit. So they were my entertainment for the evening at the club.
Waiting to get scolded wasn't on my list of fun things to do tonight. Just when I was about ready to explode. Stephanie opened the door and greeted me. "Come on in Leena. Glad you stopped by." She smiled.
Did I really have a choice? I simply nodded and walked into the makeshift office , taking a seat on the plush leather couch. Paul sat across from me on another couch, scrolling through his IPad and finishing up a phone call. He greeted me with a nod and set down his electronics. I prepared myself for the worse.
"You did amazing at Wrestlemania. The crowd really responded well. I mean Twitter blew up, your match and Roman and Brock's match were two top trending topics of the night. You're match has also been blowing up the 'Give Diva's a Chance' hashtag. People are liking that we're giving the divas more air time and that you had a main event quality match. With that being said we have a few plans for you and your future here at WWE."
"Oh?" Was really all I could say. Plans? What did they mean by plans? Like firing plans?...No that couldn't be it...could it? It didn't sound like it but my mind always rushed to the worst of things.
"We're creating a new special on the network called WWE 24. They're small 30-minute specials that focus on a person or an Event like Wrestlemania. You might remember that we did one for Booker T awhile back. Anyway, Roman is set to have a special chronicling his day at Wrestlemania with some background information and family interviews, things like that. We would also like to do the same for you. We want to create as much Divas content as possible, going farther than Total Divas. We had cameras all around for Wrestlemania so we can splice together relevant interviews and things that happened with you on that day but we need your help for the background story." Paul said.
"You mean...family stuff and all that."
The couple nodded.
"Oh. Well it might be a bit of a problem. My mother, actually died during the event at 9/11. My sister is in the military so I don't really get to see her often. Plus we had a little bit of a fallout the last time she was here. I'm not sure if she wants to be on camera though. My dad lives in Puerto Rico with my grandparents. And my maternal grandparents live on an Indian reservation in upstate New York. We're kind of all over the place. My dad doesn't know too much about my wrestling career since he's been out of the picture for a bit. My sister was the one that took care of me until I applied to vet school. I'm not sure if there will be enough people to interview."
"That's alright." Stephanie said. "We can figure something out and hopefully your sister will want to record with us. You can explain things in a voice over and perhaps if you have pictures of you when you were younger we can show those as well. We're going to start with Roman's special first so there will be some time to collect things and think things through a bit more."
"Ok, thanks. Was that all you needed?" I was still waiting for the nail in the coffin and the way Steph and Paul were looking at each other said there was something more they wanted to say.
"We're planning a bit ahead, looking towards the next couple of pay per views and we were thinking of setting you up for a title shot at Money in the Bank, in the first ever Diva's Money in the Bank match. Naomi and Paige have the beginnings of their feud going on and Nikki's the champion so she'll be thrown in there from time to time but we thought we would expand the contenders a bit more. And with the way you're headed you could be an amazing candidate to break Nikki's championship streak.
I stared at them, mulling over how exactly I was going to say , this was going to make me sound like an asshole. Oh geez. "Paul, Stephanie...I'm so so so flattered. I really and truly am. I cannot thank you enough for the opportunities you've given me but I...the Diva's title doesn't hold as much weight and prestige as it did before. I know the girls are working their asses off to get better, I know I'm trying to help them and I know we're trying to bring the Diva's division out more but to be honest I don't feel like a match with Nikki would bring the best out of me. That sounds horrible I know. I'm not saying it because I think I'm better than her-" Lies. "But I was thinking of going for another title."
"Another title? What are you talking about, another title? There are no other titles for Divas. That's why we wanted you to be the head of the pack. Besides we have amazing plans for you girls." Paul said.
"I'm sure you do. I know I'm probably overstepping my boundaries here but have you guys thought of maybe having another woman as the Intercontinental Champion?"
"Leena, you seem to forget that we know exactly what's best for business. Leave the creative stuff to us and you just do your job as a wrestler, ok? A Diva's revolution is in the works and you'll be a part of it. Now leave." Stephanie stepped in. I could tell I had pissed her off. And I'll admit acting like a spoiled brat who wasn't having her way wasn't the best way to approach things but hell even Rick Flair was a Diva. If men could get away with dumb shit like that why couldn't I? Nonetheless, for fear of me being fired, I shut my mouth and got up from the office chair.
"Oh and Leena, have fun taping Total Divas all day today."
6 hours later, over 100 takes, and a few staged scenes I was finally free. I was having a shit day and was just ready to head off to the club, jump in a mosh pit and call it a damn night. A few beers would be tossed back, I could catch up with some old friends and listen to the heavy beat thumping against the stereo system in such a small space. My ears would be shot and I wouldn't have a care in the world. I could just get away. From business, from love, from life. I was about to get turnt!
My friends and I met up somewhere in Brooklyn and headed towards the small-ish venue. Heavy guitar riffs were already making the walls pound and I could feel the music in my veins. We tossed back a few shots and started the night off right. it wasn't long before we were tossed into the pit, flopping back and forth, running in circles, and dodging limbs whenever we could. It made my body worse but no more than training and being in the ring did. The music was overwhelming me and I was screaming my lungs out. It wasn't until I was thrown into a foreign body that my party stopped. I turned to apologize but there were those deep brown eyes that held me in place.
A stunned silence passed between us and amidst the chaos of people we seemed to stand still. I couldn't really think of anything to say, instead my anger got the best of me and I shoved with full force. I watched as Seth stumbled and almost collapsed into people behind him. He brushed it off and regained his composure. I wondered if he would strike back but instead I was the one who was shoved into him. I felt those familiar arms wrap around me, preventing us from crashing onto the floor.
"Get off me!" I screamed over the music.
"What are you doing here?!" Seth yelled back. I wasn't sure if he couldn't hear me or if he was just ignoring what I had said. his arms remained around me holding me tight as people danced and moshed around us.
"I don't have to tell you anything! I should be asking you that! You following me or something!" I yelled right into his ear this time, wanting to me sure he knew that I didn't want to be around him. Little white lie.
"Hell no! I wanted to come see the show. I wanted to do something before the smackdown taping. How are things...you know, with you?"
I shook my head. I wasn't drunk enough to deal with this shit and there was no way i was just going to let him back in so easily. What the hell did he want with me now? He's little side chick wasn't enough for him? He wanted to go back to the real deal? Ohhh he made me so damn frustrated. I was mad, mad as all hell and seeing red. But still there was a tiny part of me that wanted to become putty in his hands. And that just pissed me off even more.
"What do you want, Seth?"
"Nothing! I just came here to have a good time. It's a coincidence. What more do you want from me?"
"What do I want from you?! I want you to stop being such an asshole! I want to like you. I want to trust you again but it's not happening!" i pushed myself away from him and crossed my arms over my chest. I wasn't going to cave in.
"Leena, you and I both know that there's nothing I could say or do to change what happened. I fucked up. I fucked up big time. I'm just trying to move on from my mistake." He said flatly. "You're not going to accept my apology so there's no point in really saying one. I'm ok with you not wanting to be with me, I just can't stand the thought of you hating me. I don't want you to hate me."
And there they were. Those big beautiful brown puppy dog eyes that always let him get his way. I didn't even think he was aware of what he could do to people with those eyes. I didn't want to hate him and to be honest I didn't. I was mad, angry, upset, disappointed, and hurt, as well as any other negative feeling you could throw in there. Seth meant a lot to me but he was selfish...or maybe I was greedy. Having these three men pitted against each other because I loved them all and couldn't decide on just one. Man, this was supposed to be my day off. What the hell was I doing mulling over mistakes and shit.
"Look, Seth, I could never hate you. Believe me I tried. It's just not going to work. But I am mad at you. I don't need to deal with this foolishness right now. I want to drink and I want to listen to good music."
"Could we do that together? As friends?" Seth extended his hand out for me to shake. I stared at it for a moment contemplating my next move.
"Friends."
