Still going, so that's something.
Shout out to KyriaEternal who praises all this nonsense. (No seriously, I'm honored!) If you haven't, please check out her stories Bullet to the heart and its sequel, Book-keeper, reaper, demon. They're a rip-roarin' romp through the old west featuring several of your favorite Attitude and Ruthless Aggression era stars.
Of course, thanks to Idcam for the review of the last chapter. In regards to that, I had second thoughts about writing Kev like that. Not in feelings, but in actions. His actions were definitely shitty and I'm not making excuses for that, but he is still rather conflicted and stubborn. His ego kind of took over there as he is really not used to not getting what he wants. So yeah, he was throwing a rather large hissy fit there lol. As for Sean...well go ahead and read...
It took Heather a considerable amount of consoling to be in a condition to have the desire to perform her role that evening. The chief of it came from Jeremiah himself after he had mostly recovered from the reprimands and threats dealt by the girl's father. Amy, Matt, and Jeff also did their best to brighten her spirits. Even Reves had sprung up from her chair and demanded Mark leave them be. Her outcry did not go over too well with their father, but she wasn't any stranger to arousing his ire, so she took it with a grain of salt. Despite all the cheering her friends attempted to give her, while they were marginally able to perk her up, she still carried a melancholy disposition throughout the rest of the day.
For his part, Kevin couldn't lay eyes on her without feeling like a reprehensible piece of shit. The sulking expression that marred her beautiful features was like a punch to the gut every time he had to look at her. Her bubbly manner had been stolen by his infantile spite. He would have given just about anything if he could reverse his impulsive deed from earlier. If only he could attempt to improve her mood, which is exactly what he would have done had he not been the cause of her grief. Yet, it wasn't as if he could let her know that. It certainly would have been a marvelous confession. Hey Little One, it's all my fault your old man went berserk on you, because well, I was acting like a selfish douchebag for no good reason. You're welcome.
Still, his inability to mollify her left him feeling heavy-hearted. He thought back to that night at the rest stop when he saved her from a horrendous fate. He had assured her that he would never let anyone hurt her and he himself had inadvertently caused her suffering. He had been no better than Mark in that regard.
His remorse was heightened by the fact that Jeremiah wasn't half bad at all. He had spoken with him for a few minutes between segments once he had managed to let go of some of his bitterness. The kid was sharp and actually kind of funny. He had to profess, he could see why Heather was taken with him, although his envy was not completely resigned. Even Reves appeared to tolerate him and she, in essence, detested most people, save a select few.
It wasn't until they were stationed at the gorilla later that evening, that Nash could bring himself to speak to her. "So, what does your little boyfriend think of all this madness?" he inquired, endeavoring to reconcile his covetousness.
Heather paused and craned her neck, staring up at him in wide-eyed bewilderment as her face flared. "My b-boyfriend?" she repeated slowly as if she had never heard such a term in her life. She had not. Not as it pertained to her, at any rate. "You are quite m-mistaken. Miah and I are simply dear friends." She continued to gaze at him as if he were some extraterrestrial being. He had scarcely acknowledged her existence the majority of the day and this is the subject he chose to address? What cause would he have for such a belief?
A couple of feet off, a snort was expelled from Reves. "Huh, you two were practically making out. It doesn't matter to me, but I don't see why the Deadman should have gotten his panties all in a twist. He's a giant freaking hypocrite," Reves said in her usual tactless manner.
Heather gasped at her sister's words that caused the crimson hue on her face to brighten in mortification. "We did no such thing!" she promptly retorted and biting her lip, dropped her head with a sense of shame. It was evident that everyone thought her actions were cause for humiliation. Had she truly portrayed such abhorrent behavior as to garner such scrutiny from those around her?
A scowl came to Nash's face, though he didn't direct it towards the blonde girl as he would have like to do. There he was, trying to make amends in his own way and she was exacerbating the situation. Either way, she had a point that the skittish creature was too naive to recognize the allure she had over her supposed dear friend.
The large man shook his head. "Little girl, it's not my place, but let me just say, the way he looks at you, the way he plays. Guys don't want to just be your friend when they behave like that," he told her. Fuck. He just couldn't help exasperating the scenario. He questioned if his statement was to give her clarity as to the young man's attraction to her or to quell his own ego.
"Oh yeah. He really likes you," Sean added with a strange sort of melancholy in his voice.
Heather's eyes glanced at Sean for a moment, but her gaze was drawn up to Kevin, where it lingered. Jeremiah was the first person within memory that she could be so candid and at ease around. Was she to conclude that he had a particular devotion to her that went beyond platonic? She had never given thought to such musings. Why would Kevin inform her of this in such a blasé approach? As she contemplated further, a sensation of confliction tightened in her chest. He appeared indifferent to this designation which rendered her with a sense of dejection if she were being frank. She couldn't be certain, but she had a perception of loss in regards to the goliath's fondness towards her if such a thing ever truly existed. These revelations left her with many issues to ponder as they whirled around her head in a great tumultuous storm.
When the static glitch of white noise broke Heather's thoughts, causing her to jump, her time of reflection was over. The nWo music was her cue to slip on the mask and allow her strings to be pulled taut as she enacted her marionette dance. It still took an excruciating effort on her part, but she was slowly acquainting herself with the puppetry she was expected to perform.
After Hall and Nash cut a promo, Ric Flair appeared on the stage and barred everyone from ringside involving the six-man tag match between Hall, X-Pac, and The Big Show versus Bradshaw, Austin, and Taker. The remaining members, Nash, Reves, and Heather grudgingly trudged back up the ramp with an air of defiance. When they reached the stage, Reves gestured with Hall's spooky fingers and stuck out her tongue at the legend while Heather clung to her sister and laughed. Following after them, Nash sized up Flair who stared up at him unflinchingly. Running a hand through his hair in his signature style, Nash carried on through the curtain.
As soon as they were backstage, a camera was on them and Nash said to the young women, "You know what to do," in his booming bass voice and the two of them nodded in understanding and grinned mischievously as the camera cut off for a commercial break.
Midway through the match, the two sisters crept to the ring via the side of the stage. Slowly they approached as if the cameras were not right on them and everyone in the audience and watching at home could not see them. They received a mixed crowd reaction as they appeared and crouched beside the ring apron. After surveying the in-ring action they gave a nod to one another and they were sure JR was on commentary bringing up their recent shenanigans.
Reves ran around to the other side of the ring, catching the referee's attention. As he was busy with Rev, yelling at her that she was not allowed to be ringside and telling her to leave, Heather was charged with the arduous task of the in-ring work. This was not something she was overly ecstatic about as she had to come head-on with her father. His words from earlier in the day still had her shaken and up until this point she had carried out her duty with what she hoped was at the very least mild sufficiency. She stood, staring up at the battle in the ring, until Reves waved at her as subtly as she could and her brows furrowed together, telling the younger girl that she needed to get moving.
Expelling a shaky breath, Heather grabbed a steel chair from beside the announcer's tables. The chair was heavy and she wished at the moment that she had not been the one tasked with this ordeal. She stepped forward sluggishly but knew that she needed to pick up the pace as Reves could only hold the referee's attention so much further. Heather slid the chair into the ring and climbed inside. She stood up and then froze momentarily before picking up the weapon. It was weighty as it were, however, her trembling didn't help her in gripping and holding it aloft. Waiting for the right instant she squeezed her eyes shut, poised at the ready. When she sensed the individual rushing towards her, she clutched the chair and swung. The sound of the thud caused a lump in her throat. Eyes snapping open, she dropped her weapon on the mat with a clang as her hands came to her head and her eyes burst with shock. At the last moment, Undertaker had reversed and whipped X-Pac into her line of fire.
The Deadman stood staring daggers at her, knowing full well what she had attempted to do. As frightening as he was in everyday life, he was that much more menacing in character and Heather nearly neglected to consider where she was at the moment. The crowd popped and Heather trembled, thinking for an instant how unaware they were to her present dread. At the very least, it helped her sell and that was the goal. She cautiously sank to her knees and Reves reached in and yanked her from the ring as Taker took his first step towards her. Heather fell to the floor outside and helping her up Reves dragged her towards the ramp as they both looked on stunned by their narrow escape.
Austin and Bradshaw took care of Hall and Show, bringing the fight to the outside, while Taker delivered a devastating Last Ride to an already unconscious X-Pac in order to pick up the victory. Leaning over the ropes as his theme music played, Taker glowered at them with a deadly expression. The sisters stared at the scene with alarm. They had mucked everything up and it was not going to go well for them. It was not meant to be known that they were the offspring of The Undertaker. Only a handful of marks knew, thanks to the internet. According to kayfabe, they were just a couple of insolent girls who happened to arouse the ire of The Phenom. It was not a favorable position to be in.
The next scene had brought them to the nWo locker room following the match where X-Pac was airing his grievance about his loss. "She cost me the match!" X-Pac cried pointing a finger angrily at Heather while rubbing his skull with the other hand. "She had one job and she couldn't even do that."
"Don't blame her. It's not her fault you can't wrestle your way out of a damn wet paper bag!" Reves defended the younger girl who was clinging to her seeming frightened.
X-Pac lurched forward but was blocked by Nash's hand on his chest. "Woah. Woah. Let's everybody calm down," he instructed. Nash was standing between the three irate men and the two females. "Way I see it, you're all a bunch of incompetent morons. You two couldn't help him because you were too busy letting Austin and Bradshaw kick your asses."
Hall glared crossly at his long-time friend while Show scoffed at being admonished like a bitch.
"And you two," Nash continued his reprimanding as he turned to the two females with a sour expression. "Kid's right. You had one job and you failed. This isn't some cutesy game. I know you're going to avoid any mishaps in the future unless you want to go back to your previous circumstances. You don't, do you?"
He stared down at them in an overbearing manner and Heather shuddered, tightening her hold on the side of her sister's shirt. She may have been more equipped to handle his feigned rage had she not received the relentless tongue lashing from her father earlier in the day. She found herself repeating the words, It's a work. It's a work. It's a work, over and over inside her head like a mantra. She could scarcely remember to breathe.
Reves on the other hand pursed her lips in dissension. She absolutely hated that last bit. He made it sound as if they were a couple of homeless hookers he had picked up off the streets. Yet that is what old Pervy Mac wanted him to say. Nevertheless, both girls shook their heads in desperation.
"Good. I expect more from all of you next time," he groused at them as a collective.
The cameraman killed his shot and the scene was through.
Heather's shoulders wilted as she ejected a heavy sigh of relief and a few unrestrained tears slid down her cheeks. As she thought better on it, she didn't know if she would ever overcome this nerve-wracking sensation that accompanied her every time she was placed in front of an audience or the camera.
Kevin gazed down at the fainthearted girl. He knew this whole day had been overwhelming and draining for her. Just as he was about to applaud her on her courageous effort, Jeremiah popped out of nowhere and captured her in a bone-crushing hug.
Lifting her up, her feet left the floor. She gasped as she hovered a few inches above the ground for a moment or two. "That was amazing, Snow! I knew you had it in you," the boy praised her.
"Thank you," she giggled meekly. "It was certainly an agonizing chore if I do say so."
"Nah, you're a natural. Ya just gotta trust yourself."
Spying them closely through narrowed eyes, Nash felt some of his irritation dissipate at the boy's words. His words at length were undoubtedly true and he couldn't be pissed off at that.
Jeremiah released her and after an awkward pause she unexpectedly turned to Sean and spoke in all of her bashfulness, "I…I hope I did not cause you any h-harm due to that chair shot."
A bit of a dazed expression came to Sean's face. "Oh. No. You couldn't hurt me. It felt good – I, I mean my head feels okay!" he blurted out.
Heather's cheeks seeped with a crimson glow as she responded, "I am glad to hear it."
Nash's face twisted with indignation as he silently observed the exchange. Now Kid? No way in Hell! His mind had to be playing tricks on him. He was not afforded time to think on it longer, as Mark burst into the room at that moment.
The giant man lingered uncomfortably for a moment before announcing, "Well girl…that wasn't half bad, I guess."
A thousand twinkling stars burst forth from Heather's eyes and she mumbled timidly, yet eagerly, "Th-thank you. I, I attempted with a great deal of e-effort to get it r-right,"
Kevin didn't know which elated or pained him more: the look of astonishment and pure joy on her face or the fact that was as close to a compliment or word of affection that she had probably received from Mark in a very long time.
Reves stood without uttering a word, a sneer painted on her visage. Of course, he would only mention Heather. Damn, it wasn't like she did any of the work. It wasn't like she was the one that was carrying their gimmick. In truth, she felt little to no disparagement towards her sister, but would it kill the man to give her a nod as well?
Mark cleared his throat. His visage that had softened for a moment was again hard as steel. "Well, let's hit the shower, so we can get out of here," he commanded firmly.
The Calaways and Jeremiah bid farewell to the rest of the nWo members and set about preparing to clean up and finally leave the arena.
The rest of the week was less restrained to the teens. They spent part of the week in New York City. While the sisters did have a scheduled photoshoot which Heather dreaded beyond all else, they were at times left to their own devices. Mark himself had a busier agenda than usual, which was filled with appearances, interviews, and a couple of photoshoots.
Heather had been mildly astounded as Reves had accompanied Jeremiah and herself on a trip to Time Square, as well as to see the Statue of Liberty and the viewing site at Ground Zero where they stood in silent contemplation of the events that had happened just some months prior.
Sooner than either Heather or Jeremiah had been keen on, his time with the Calaways had come to an end and he was due to return home to Houston. Although their journey had come to an end for a while, there was a strengthening and a greater intimacy in the bond they shared. When they departed, they vowed to keep in contact all the more often and Heather was held to the promise that she would visit Jeremiah at his home as soon as she had returned for some time off. With that, they saw her friend off and Heather couldn't help feeling rather dejected for the remainder of the day.