Post by Evan De Parker on Jun 9, 2012 19:12:01 GMT -4
Friday, June 8th 2012
10:02 A.M.
Evan Envi is awakened to the smell of pancakes. Homemade pancakes. Homemade chocolate chip pancakes.
It smelled delicious. Evan, still encompassed by his dream-state is partially aware that he’s not at home in Baltimore, Maryland, and he’s not still in high school, and his mother is not making chocolate chip pancakes in the kitchen… He’s aware that he’s in the master bedroom of his childhood friend Andre Savi’s Atlanta guest house. He’s aware that he’d fallen asleep with the television on so maybe he was having some trouble distinguishing dream-world from reality. He’s aware that he fell asleep beside a beautiful woman for the first time in about two months, and he’s aware that there’s only one person that’s physically able to ruin this moment right now.
And that one person just happens to be the only other person that Evan knows to make chocolate chip pancakes.
That one person is Evan Envi’s slightly elder sister, Sienna Harrison, who was supposed to be about 35 miles away in Lawrenceville with a man-friend from her college days until Sunday morning. Yet, here we are, bright and early on Friday morning and Sienna is in the kitchen, cookin’ away.
Evan is hesitant to open his eyes for several reasons. The first includes the 10:00A.M. Atlanta sunshine that pours into the bedroom through the blinds Evan never thought to close in his partially-intoxicated two-in-the-morning stupor. The second includes the reality that he’s going to have to will himself out of the warm king-sized bed and out into the cold, cruel world so he could cuss a bitch out. Sigh.
”Mmmm, smells good.”
Evan smirks a bit at the slightly sarcastic remark of Michelle Weaver, a twenty-one-year-old college student entering her final year of studies. He’d first encountered her during her shift at S.R. Happy’s-- one of the twenty-plus restaurants owned by the Savi family. Evan spoke to her for the first time shortly after her shift, casually making himself a prominent figure in the parking lot and offering to take her out for a drink. To Evan’s relief, she accepted immediately.
However Evan Envi would never tell you that he had a doubt in his mind. Not a shadow of a doubt. He knew she’d say yes, because why wouldn’t she? He was gorgeous. He was rich. He was famous, athletic, had the APW North American Title, and he was accessible, being a close friend of her boss.
”Thought you said there wasn’t gonna be anyone here all day.”
Michelle says this in a muffled voice, turning her head to bury her face in the pillow. By this time, Evan is already out of the bed, pulling pajama pants over his boxer-briefs. He yawns and stretches, preparing to make the first of many journeys for the day.
”Yeah, well… That’s what I thought to.”
With that, Evan makes long strides to the kitchen, yawning every step of the way. Sure enough, Sienna Harrison is sliding pancakes onto a large plate, casting Evan a smile as he walks into the kitchen.
”Well good morning, sunshine.”
”Whyyyyyy are you here?”
”Nice to see you too, little brother. My flight was fine, how was yours? Jet-lagged any?”
Evan finds little humor in his sister’s sarcasm and gives her an unpleasant glare though most of it is due to his exhaustion. He notices fried potatoes next to the pancakes and reaches for one, though his hand is immediately slapped.
”Not with your hands!”
”Why are you here?!”
”Because Rebecca and I are having girl-time later today. Jesus, why does it matter to you so much?”
”Because I thought you were hanging out with that British, sucky indy-wrestler dude. The one from your college.”
”Well that ‘sucky indy-wrestler dude’ is a high school teacher--”
”He’s a SUBSTITUTE!”
“”--and also in med school. They don’t get to just dip out in the middle of the spring like the little girlfriend you brought home.”
A look of pure horror crosses Evan’s face.
”Ew, were you home the whole damn time?!”
”Bahahaha, ew, no. Rebecca happened to glance out the window when you guys got back to the guest house I guess. She recognized the chick as some twenty-year-old that’s been working for Dre since she was like… sixteen. Does that make you feel creepy?”
Evan hushes Sienna, signaling for her to keep her voice down. He wasn’t sure that the running appliances in the kitchen were enough to prevent Michelle from hearing whatever Sienna was talking about.
”First of all, she’s twenty-one. Second, stay out of my business. Third, no, it does not make me feel creepy and why should it?”
”Cool your jets, man. I was just poking fun. You were poking fun at my love interest, were you not?”
”I wouldn’t say that. I was poking fun at his inability to properly apply a basic headlock though. I’m glad he’s sticking to trying to be a nurse.”
”Orthopedic surgeon.”
”Is that even a real thing?”
”How did you even get your diploma? Dumbass.”
Evan glares at Sienna as she makes this comment. His anger approaches and abandons him in the same five-second period as she turns away from him. She makes her way to the stove, turning the heat off before turning to him again, an inquisitive look on her face at this point.
”Not getting distracted or anything are you, baby brother? Big match in a few days. And we’re all gonna be at the arena so we don’t need you to choke, dude.”
”Ha. Hasn’t happened yet.”
”I dunno, man. Six people in one match? Got the bitch that’s trying to take your title on your team-- you’re gonna have to turn your back to her at some point, you know. And chicks are spiteful, Ev.”
”Yeah. I would know. I grew up with you.”
”I wasn’t too bad.”
”Jeff told you Santa wasn’t real. Consequently, he walked with a limp throughout his entire three years of middle school because of it. And you have the audacity to sit here and tell me that you’re not spiteful.”
Sienna feigns an innocent smile, but her eyes light up a bit in fascination at something in the background. Evan’s heart skips a beat and he turns around, ready to intercept the potentially awkward conversation-starter, but before he even sees Michelle standing at the head of the kitchen’s island, ”hey” has rolled out of Sienna’s mouth.
”Well good morning. You must be Sienna.”
”That I am. And you…” Sienna briefly trails off, catching the nervous peripheral glance from her little brother. She pauses so briefly that it was possibly only noticed by Evan. ”You’re one of Evan’s friends, I’m assuming. He was saying there were a lot of people I should meet in Atlanta.”
Michelle smiles warmly and gives a small nod. ”Michelle Weaver.”
”Yes, ahhhh, we’re all acquainted. That’s fantastic. And Sienna, you were saying something about having a ‘girl day’ with Rebecca---”
”Oh my God, look at your nails! I love them!”
Sienna was referring to Michelle’s crimson-painted nails which featured small print on them. The print was so fine that it would take a magnifying glass to distinguish them, but before Sienna could ask exactly what it was or before Evan could muster up the energy to give a shit--
”Thanks! Haha, the words are the first two scenes from the script of Scarface.”
Sienna turns and gives Evan a look that suggests disbelief. She turns back to Michelle, a half-smile written across her face.
”Why didn’t you tell me your friends were so cool?”
”Well, she’s actually only one person. Singular. And you’re not even supposed to be in Atlanta right now so I didn’t really think to shoot you a text and tell you about the first girl-- er-- person I met here.”
Both of the ladies give Evan a look with arched eyebrows. Sienna rolls her eyes while Michelle laughs for a few seconds.
”Sassy.”
”Right? Calm down, litle brother. I’m only here for the day then I’m out of here til Sunday. Then you can have your private, big-ass guest house back. Jeeeeez. It’s not just yours, you know.”
Evan opens his mouth to retort, but quickly closes it again. He refused-- absolutely refused to have this argument in front (as he started to say earlier) the first girl he’d met in Georgia. Sure, he was only going to be here for a few days, but it would be nice to be there for a few days with someone to share the “big-ass guest house” with. Somebody that wasn’t a psychotic wrestling fan just desperate to make contact with the naughty parts of any of so-called “MegaStars”. Somebody that wasn’t disease-ridden and addicted to some sort of hard drug, having sex with celebrities and stealing their belongings to sell on the internet. Instead, Michelle was down-to-earth and took Evan’s mind off of why he despised 98% of the general public.
”No comment? Good. Now… Who wants pancakes?”
”Chocolate chip?”
”Yes.”
”I think I just fell in love.”
Evan, to this moment in time, isn’t sure how it happened. It seemed to go so fast, but in the same breath it went by in horrific slow-motion. He was just sitting there, watching with little interest as Michelle and Sienna chatted for upwards of fifty minutes over breakfast before finally, the subject of work had come up. Sienna explained that she was living off of savings (and Evan would be the first to tell you, despite the money Sienna had, she lived very modestly-- but a different story for a different day) as well as booking the occasional indy appearance whether as a wrestler or the more typical role of valet/special ring announcer.
Michelle explained her desire to become a pediatrician, which suckered Sienna into a conversation about medical careers. Sometime between Evan’s fifth pancake and his third glass of milk, Michelle had mentioned enjoying that she didn’t work on Fridays and Saturdays. This is where Evan paid attention. This is where everything happened so quickly that Evan literally found himself flustered.
Sienna, with no hesitance, invited Michelle to join her and Becca for their “girl day.” Evan’s heart sunk. It was like he was doomed from the beginning.
Becca, Andre’s longtime girlfriend (and now newlywed wife), knew Evan very well. When the Savi family moved to Georgia in 2002, Evan and Sienna would fly there for five or six weeks at a time during the summer during high school to vacation with them. For as long as Evan could remember, Becca had always been a part of the picture. She knew Evan almost as well as Andre. And now she along with Sienna was going to tell this girl that Evan barely knew every embarrassing fact about him. Great.
And there was nothing he could have done to prevent it. An excited Michelle wasted no time saying ”yes.” Within two hours, the ladies were on the road for a day of shopping and sight-seeing.
And shit-talking, no doubt.
So all Evan could do to take his mind off of it was go to the gym. He went for hours, staying as long as he could before word of his presence made its way around the town. Over a dozen people showed up just to say hello or get an autograph… And the bastards were out of luck because Evan wasn’t in the Hancock-making mood. Before the crowd could increase, he made his way to his rental car as quickly as he could.
Friday, June 8th 2012
4:18 P.M.
The front door of Andre Savi’s house swings open. A pleasant smell, a familiar smell accompanied with the obvious presence of smoke pours out of the house. The smell is an interesting mix of pine, and possibly even mild skunk. He simply smirks as he sees Andre’s hazy eyes.
”I see you made haste getting home from work.”
Andre laughs loudly. Perhaps much louder than he should’ve.
”Shit wasn’t gonna burn itself, Evan. You going to come in? Becca’s out with--”
”With Sienna and Michelle. I know.”
Andre coughs and motions for Evan to step inside, which he does immediately. Andre clears his throat and repeats Evan as he leads his friend through the living room and toward a section of the house Evan was sure didn’t even exist when he was last there in the fall.
”Michelle? Weaver?”
”Hah. Yeah. Sienna thought it was a fantastic idea to invite her along when she barely even knows her. Chicks. I swear.”
”I mean…”
Andre leads Evan into a study. As suspected, it’s not finished. There are still rough sketches of blueprints attached to the walls which display unflattering, unpainted wood. The floor is finished and covered in a dark carpet, though a the sections nearest to the wall are covered in plastic. A single couch sits in one corner, adjacent to a computer chair, desk, and Macbook. While Evan is caught up in observing what was sure Andre’s handiwork, Andre continues, leading Evan to the couch.
”It’s not like Sienna’s got too many friends here besides me and Becca. How often do you guys really come down to Georgia?” Andre laughs lightly, reaching beneath the couch to retrieve a large book as he goes on. ”And when you are, she’s up that British dude’s ass in Duluth, so I don’t think you have to worry about this happening too often.” Andre opens the book, revealing a perfectly hand-rolled “cigarette” which was clearly anything but a cigarette. ”And really, you think it’s a good idea to get involved with Michelle when you live nowhere near her?” With this, Andre places the joint between his lips, lighting it carefully.
”It’s a nice little fling. I don’t see why everybody’s so concerned about it.”
”Well, for one, you’ve got a big tag match coming up. I’m gonna assume Sienna’s already given you shit, so I won’t.”
By this point, the burning stick of ivory had been passed back and forth between the friends four times. Evan coughs wildly, throwing a hand over his heart and leaning back in his seat with a heavy sigh.
”You know, I really think I hate people sometimes. And I don’t understand why.”
”Are you saying you hate your own sister?”
”No. That’d be too easy. I love Sienna but if I could hit her with a kick right in the side of the head, I’d do it. Trust me. But I just mean there are so many people out there that just-- they just overcomplicate things. And maybe it’s because I’ve been on television consistently week-in and week-out since I was a kid, basically. I’ve been exposed to so many people that think they know what’s best for me… Or they pretend to, so they have an excuse to talk to me. And they have an opinion about every decision I make.
“You know, when I was dating Maria back in AWA, everybody criticized me because of the physical danger she was put in. On two occasions, she was assaulted. Hell, I let her put her contract on the line in a match against my arch-fucking-nemesis and I lost. Around the same time, we discovered she was pregnant. So I got criticized and judged for letting my pregnant fiancée get touted around by a guy with a history of hitting women, and I legally had no control over it. Even after I got her out of that mess, we were followed around by so many cameras and had so many microphones shoved in our faces that I think we forgot how to be a normal couple. We started hating each other because our relationship was being judged by millions every single day. And to this day, it’s awkward when we see each other.
“When I dated Aubrey, for over three years I traveled the world with her. She was my everything, but the moment we went to ACW-- the moment I got back in a big organization-- people were telling me to dump her. There were rumors being made up every week. We were the subject of constant speculation… And we couldn’t handle it. I couldn’t handle it. We broke up at least three times before I called it quits when I came to APW… Because I didn’t wanna go through it again. Ya know? Having everyone judge me and fuck up our relationship.”
By this time, the joint was reduced to less than half of its original size. Evan passes it back to Andre, who had a silly smile plastered across his face at this point. To guess that he was cognizant of it would be incorrect, however.
”So aside from all that, I guess I’m trying to say I hate what the general public has done, or tried to do to my love life. I’ve heard all their crap for five years. I don’t need to hear it from Sienna, and I don’t need her and Becca fillin’ up Michelle’s head with shit, ya know? I want here, and my home, and anywhere private to be just that-- private.”
”Bahaha, you think they’re gonna try to make you look bad, dude? You were paranoid before you even smoked, I see.”
”Sienna doesn’t realize she does it. She’s worse than my mom.”
Andre laughs again. Definitely louder than he should’ve this time.
”I don’t know, man. Your mom was real quick to whip out the naked baby photos whenever you brought a girl over for dinner, remember? Ahahaha, runnin’ through the sprinklers and shit. What were you, nine? Way too old for that, but still, hi-larious.”
Evan returns Andre’s obnoxious laughter with a deadpan expression.
”So. You really think I’m dumb enough to let a bitch distract me going into a main event?”
”Now? Who knows. Maybe not. But historically, you’ve done some pretty gnarly shit for the ladies, my dude.”
”I’m a lover, Dre.”
”You’re something.”
And with that, Evan considered-- truly considered Andre’s words. The man knew him better than anyone outside of his family. Evan is sure of this.
He knew Andre wasn’t joking when he mentioned that Evan did “gnarly shit” for ladies in the past. Evan had historically changed the face of his career in an instant because of a girl in his life, whether it was for better or for worse. Action Packed Wrestling was supposed to be the one place that Evan didn’t let that get to him. The North American Champion vowed to not make the same mistakes now that he’d made in the past… And he didn’t fear that he was going to risk that with Michelle. As for surrounding himself with the same company?
Well, Evan didn’t have the best luck with that in the past either. He’d had “friends” that were just there because they wanted to advance themselves, leeching onto Evan and his success. He’d encountered egomaniacs that couldn’t bear to let Evan have his moment in the spotlight. He’d encountered people that claimed to care, and simply couldn’t care less about him. Evan had really seen it all.
As the joint burns down to a roach, Evan hardly notices that his paranoia has subsided.
Instead, it’s been replaced by a feeling of mild annoyance. Evan finds himself wishing that at some points on the road, he could have someone to crawl into bed with that would massage the sores and bruises sustained from Monday nights in the ring. If he wasn’t so damn good, he could even have someone to sooth him and tell him that everything would be okay… Someone to pick him back up, even when he hadn’t quite fallen yet.
But every day, it seemed that these people-- even some of the ones closest to him-- didn’t truly want Evan to be happy. They wanted Evan to be exactly what they always wanted to portray him as. In the case of the fans, it was the villain. They wanted Evan to be the bad guy. They booed him and heckled him because he had the nerve to speak the truth and tell them the harsh reality-- something most people just don’t want to hear. Ever.
In the case of Sienna? She wanted Evan to be her little brother. The boy that looked up to her for approval for every step he took, and the one that wanted to tag along and do exactly what she was doing. But now Evan was an adult. Now he was doing his own thing, and was more successful than Sienna had ever dreamed either of them would be. And Evan was positive that she didn’t like it as much as she let on.
And here’s where that good ol’ fashioned resentment kicks in.