Entwined-chapter 5
Chapter 5: Cornered
Author’s note: Time warp-late 2001-right before the nWo returns. Shawn Michaels never left the WWE, never got hurt.
Stamford, Connecticut: Titan Towers, WWE Headquarters
I’ve been back home for almost a year now. Home in the WWE. I had no choice but to come back. We all saw the end of WCW coming. Things kept going progressively downhill, everyone was unhappy and unsure about the future. WCW had turned into a huge clusterfuck. Kevin was so unhappy; he got himself ‘retired’. So, I was alone on the road. No Kevin, no Sean, no Scott.
No Scott.
After I was beat up, my feelings toward Scott started to change. Now that I look back, they started to change even before that, I just wasn’t aware of it. I started thinking differently about him while Kevin was off having knee surgery for the umpteenth time. It was just Scott and I on the road trips between shows. We talked about life, love and a zillion other topics in the car. I knew him well before, but I got to know him even better during our time alone. I never voiced the change in my feelings to anyone. I was afraid to. I wasn’t sure how it would affect the group and I wasn’t sure if he felt differently about me. So, I hid my feelings. Or I thought I was hiding my feelings. But I forgot about the eagle eyes of Kevin Nash. The man who sees everything. And one day, he called me on it.
The group had got together for a weekend at the beach. Ah, Florida. Gotta love it! All of us in one place at one time; a miracle in itself. We had a great day of sand, surf, and sun. I ended up riding back from the beach with Kevin. Alone. He had me cornered.
“It was a great day, Kevin,” I said, watching the sunset reflect off the ocean.
“Sure was. Good friends, good food. Life doesn’t get much better.”
“That’s the truth. Plus, I’m glad we could do this before I go back to work for Vince. I’ll get to see Paul and Shawn all the time now, but not you, Sean and Scott.”
“Yeah. Speaking of Scott, what’s going on with you two?” he asked, looking at me.
I shot Kevin a confused look. “What do mean ‘what’s going on’?”
“Well, let me clarify. What is going on with you?”
“You’ve completely lost me, Kevin.” Oh crap, I thought, he knows. This man is way too smart for his own good.
“Don’t play dumb with me, Songbird. I’m blonde but I’m not blind or dumb. I see how you look at Scott. If you want me to spell it out for you, what is going on with you and the way you feel about Scott?”
My mind started racing, trying to think a way out of this conversation. “I think you got too much sun, Big Man. You’re obviously hallucinating. My feelings for Scott aren’t any different…”
“Catherine Alexandria Anderson, don’t even try to talk your way out of this! I saw how you looked at him when he got out of the water. If the rest of us weren’t there, you’d have him stripped and down in the sand in ten seconds flat.”
“I didn’t…”
“Songbird, be honest. Do you have feelings for Scott? Feelings that are more than friendship?”
Sighing, I covered my face with my hands. “Kevin, please, don’t ask me this. Don’t make me…”
“What are you afraid of?”
“Everything. How I feel. Him not feeling the same. What it would do to the group if it went bad. It’s not right. It wouldn’t work.”
“Why the hell isn’t it right? Why wouldn’t it work? And don’t use the Kliq as an excuse. That’s crap.”
“You’re not supposed to fall in love with your friends.”
“There are no rules in love. The heart wants what it wants. And I think your heart wants Scott. Right?” he prodded.
“I don’t know…yes, oh hell. Dammit Kevin, why do you have to see absolutely everything?”
“I see all, I know all.”
“I love you guys so much; I couldn’t stand it if I lost all of you.”
“You won’t lose any of us. And you could gain so much more with Scott. Take the chance,” Kevin said, looking at me pointedly.
“I don’t know, Kevin. Besides, he doesn’t feel that way about me. So, it really doesn’t matter.”
“Have you talked to Scott?”
“Well, no,” I admitted.
“Then how do you know he doesn’t feel the same way you do?”
“I don’t I guess.”
“Do you want me to talk to him?”
I almost jumped out of my seat. “Kevin Nash, don’t you dare.” I could just imagine what he’d say to Scott. Subtlety is not always Kevin’s strong point. There are times he’s about a subtle as a Mack truck.
“If you don’t, I will,” he threatened, grinning evilly at me. “I think you two would be perfect for each other.”
“Just leave it alone for now. Please,” I begged. “I’ve got to get adjusted to being back working for Vince. You know, actually being able to work without tripping over people who have no idea what they’re doing,” I joked.
He chuckled. “Okay. I’ll leave it alone for now, but not forever…”
I jumped when the knock at the door startled me out of the memory. “Come in.” Great Songbird, daydreaming in the corporate office.
Vince and Linda walked into the temporary office I was using. It’s a little disconcerting when both of them come into your office. Gee, am I in trouble? I wondered.
Vince smiled and handed me a folder. “Here are the still pictures of the new wrestlers debuting at No Way Out. I thought you could dig out their old entrance music and videos from WCW and update them.” He and Linda sat down in the chairs in front of my desk.
“Okay. So who do we have now?” I asked as I opened the folder. My jaw dropped as I looked at the photos.
Vince and Linda started laughing. “I take it you’re surprised?” Vince asked.
“I don’t know what to say,” I stammered. Inside the folder was a new picture of Hogan. And Kevin. And Scott. All decked out in nWo black and white. They were coming home. “I’m gonna smack those lyin’ little shits. They told me you hadn’t talked to them about coming back.”
“Now, don’t be too hard on Kevin and Scott. I swore them to secrecy. And they wanted you to be surprised. So, any problem getting things together?”
“Absolutely not!”
“I didn’t think so. Now, you know the five of you have to behave yourselves out on the road, don’t you?” Vince teased.
I looked at him innocently. “Us? We wouldn’t ever be bad. We’re angels when we’re together.” Vince and Linda laughed and shook their heads as they walked out the door. Vince stopped as he got to the door. “Remember, this is a secret.”
“My lips are sealed, Vince.” He nodded and shut the door.
I opened the folder back up. I couldn’t help but smile. The Band Was Back Together. Almost. All we needed was Sean. Something told me he wouldn’t far behind. I looked through the pictures in the folder. I smiled at the photo of just Kevin and Scott. My Outsiders. Solo shots of Hogan. Solo shots of Kevin. Boy, gonna have to tease him about that gray hair showing. My heart skipped a beat when I saw the pictures of Scott. He looked…breathtaking. All those carefully controlled feelings welled up inside me. Suddenly, I decided Kevin was right. What did I have to lose? If Scott felt the same way, I was gonna be with him. But would I have the nerve to take the first step? I wondered.