YOU CAN'T SEE THE REAL ME
John Cena has a problem… the dude can't dance. And for a rapper, that's BAD! So what happens when a hip-hop teacher dances into his life? Read on and find out.
A/N: Okay, I'm redoing this fic. I came back off of a hiatus from watching WWE and, you guessed it… it was John Cena that got me back into it. Damn his fineness! Anyway, I'm totally revamping this story… mainly because a lot of the superstars have changed (either, left, retired, released, etc.) and I have to replace names and junk. Hope you guys like it.
Disclaimer: I don't own a DAMN thing related to the WWE or anything else famous, which sucks, so don't even think about suing. All I own are the main character and any other unfamiliar characters and places in this story. Now, ON WITH THE STORY!
GWEN'S P.O.V.
Man! Here I am, 32 years old and WALKING to my job on a Friday morning. I mean, how sad is that? I guess I should be happy that I don't live that far. It ain't that I don't like my job; I do. I teach dance at the local studio to anyone who wants to learn. Like I said before, I LOVE my job and it pays very well, but my boss, that's a whole 'nother story. I know, what else is new right? Everyone has something about their boss they can't stand; me… *sings* I hate EVERYTHING about mine. He gets on my case like it's going out of style and since I need this job, I can't say anything back at him. So how do I take out my frustration? I'll let you know soon, but right now...it's on with the daily grind-so to speak.
The young woman walks into the M.K. Banks Dance Studio (A/N: Made it up.) hoping against hope her boss was run over by a bus or attacked by vicious dogs. Her hopes were dashed to tiny bits when she heard the one voice over the intercom she never wanted to hear at all.
"GWEN! MY OFFICE! NOW!" Screamed her boss at the top of his lungs.
"Oh, joy! I get to have a meeting with the Spawn of Satan." The young woman grumbled sarcastically to herself as she slowly walked what she called "The Brown Mile" after one of her favorite movies. After five minutes of slow walking, Gwen reaches the solid oak door that leads to the office of the quote unquote 'EVIL INCARNATE' boss. She knocks on the door dreading what was about to be said next.
"Enter." Spoke her boss from the opposite side of the door. Gwen, albeit hesitant, slowly opens the door and walks inside, closing it behind her.
"You wanted to see me, Mr. Hardmon?" She asked carefully.
"Yes. I wanted to ask you something." He said as he rummaged through his desk drawer. "Do you watch wrestling?" He asked looking at the woman with scrutinizing eyes.
"A little. Why do you ask?" "Okay, just where are you going with this?" She thought to herself.
"Well, my brother sent me these tickets to something called RAW and I despise wrestling. So, I was wondering if you would like them since you hardly take any time off."
Gwen couldn't help but blink. She'd never known her boss to be generous with anything… except pink slips so to have him offer her something that was actually good was a complete shock to her. Without another thought, she decided to accept. Like the old saying goes, "Mama didn't raise no fool."
"Uh, sure. I'll take them." She told him quickly. "Okay, who are you and what have you done with Mr. Hardmon?" She thought to herself since it wasn't in his nature to be so...giving. "Actually, I doubt the man knows what the word 'nice' means."
"The tickets are for this coming Monday at 7 p.m. That's all I need you for; you can go now." With that, Mr. Hardmon went back to doing what he did best… figuring out how to make his employees' lives a living Hell. Gwen, who was still stunned at her boss' generosity, finally snapped out of it and nodded.
"Yes, sir. And thanks." She quickly said to him before bolting out of his office.
GWEN'S P.O.V.
"Free at last, free at last! I am SO glad to be out of there! He makes going to the principal's office seem like a picnic!" So, I look down at my hands and I see the RAW tickets. "Okay, did I just enter the Twilight Zone? Did my boss just GIVE me something?!" Hey, can you blame me? Anyway, I like wrestling. But that's not really the point. The fact remains that there was NO WAY IN Hell I was gonna pass up a chance to get something from my boss for free that wasn't used or already expired.
I walked through the hallway to my classroom to finally begin the first of my classes-Hip Hop Basics; my advanced class wasn't until that afternoon. What I love most about my job is teaching kids. Well, there's that and the fact that I LOVE to dance. Put on some music and I'm gone. What most people don't know about me is that there is a deeper reason why I dance, but that'll be explained later. Right now, I can't get my mind off of the tickets. Maybe something mind-blowing will happen to me come Monday. Who knows?
Later that day…
After a long day of dance classes, Gwen walked out of the studio and back to her apartment which was only a few blocks away. She opened her door and walked inside. It was a modest apartment and it suited her needs just fine. Despite her love of teaching dance, she was happy to be home and someone was also happy she returned. The second she threw her purse onto the couch, a small bark was heard coming from behind it.
"Awww, did you miss mama?" She cooed. "Come here."
A small Yorkshire Terrier bounced over and yipped up at his master happily.
"Good boy. You're always happy to see me, huh?"
(A/N: I'll post a link to the pic of Gwen's dog in my profile.)
Her little dog just licked her face in response and managed to get a giggle out of the young lady.
"Hey, I have something to show you." Still holding her dog, Gwen put down her dance bag and picked up her purse. "Okay, now I'm gonna have to put you down for a second, Thunder." Gwen, with both hands free, opened up her purse and began her daily scavenger hunt for the tickets.
"Gotcha!" Gwen scanned the front of the tickets in question when she noticed where she'd be sitting. "Front row? Nice! And I know just the person to take with me." The young dancer went back into her packrat's paradise called her purse and felt around for her cell phone. Once she found it, she dialed her best friend's number. "I just hope Dee-Lo's home."
DEE-LO'S P.O.V.
I was just kissing my man before he left my place when my cell rang. The ringtone was "Run the World" by Beyonce' so I started shakin' my groove thang before I realized that I needed to answer my damn phone before whoever called me hung up.
"House of Beauty, This is Cutie." I answered in my usual way. When I heard "oh, brother", I rolled my eyes because I knew exactly who it was. Girl never could appreciate my phone swagger.
"Hey, Dee-Lo. Whassup?" I heard her ask. She and I have been best friends since first grade so I can always tell when something was going on with her.
"The sky, duh!" I thought to myself, trying to be smart. "How the Hell should I know, girl? You tell me." I said back to her giggling.
"What would you say to going to RAW with me this Monday?"
Is she serious? She knows how big a wrestling freak I am! She better not be playin' me!
"I'd say the day you got tickets to go would be the day I do the funky chicken stark fuckin' naked in front of that studio you work at." I said back.
"You know you'd do that ANYWAY. But for real, I got two tickets for this coming Monday. And I was gonna ask you if you wanted the extra one, but since you wanna act like that, I'll just call someone..." I heard her say.
"You finish that sentence and I'll come over there and give you a whole new meaning of SMACKDOWN!" I yell in my head. "GIRL, DON'T PLAY! YOU KNOW how bad I wanna go!" I practically shouted.
"I know! I just wanted to make ya sweat a little. So, you in or what?" She stupidly asked me.
"Try and stop me! I'll be at your place Saturday!" I practically screamed.
"Why so early? RAW is on Monday!"
"You forgot where we live, didn't ya?" I think she did because we live in a little no-name city where cool shit like this NEVER happens! If we want fun, we'd have to go out of town… which reminds me… "Hey, which city is this gonna be because you know it ain't gonna be here."
"Man, I didn't even think of that! Hang on!"
I just shook my head. I swear, this girl can be so… out to lunch! I mean, HOW can you get tickets and not know where the event's gonna be!? She worries me. After a few seconds of hearing little Thunder barking in the background, Gwen comes back.
"It's in Memphis."
"And it's on Monday… girl, it's a LIVE show!" I screamed.
"And… that changes things… how?"
Okay, I need to school this bitch on the WWE. Out of the two of us, I'm the go to gall when it comes to this stuff.
"Forgive her, Father. She is totally clueless!" I say as I look up. "It means, we could be on TV! Now, I want you to look at the tickets. Where are we sitting? And before you ask, yes, this is important, too!"
I hear my girl mock me and I just chuckle. It only took her a second to say the two words that would send me into a screaming fit.
"Front row."
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Yeah, baby! I'm a screamer! After telling some concerned bystanders that I hadn't lost my mind… completely… I calm down enough to talk to my girl again. "Okay, see THIS is why I said Saturday! We need to make signs, shirts, all sorts of crap for this show! If we're lucky, we could be on that side where the cameras always shoot! Oh, man this shit's big! I'm coming over tomorrow morning!"
"Morning? Says the girl who usually wakes up at the crack of NOON on weekends?" I hear her laugh.
"This is different! I actually have a good reason!" I can't believe she'd throw that in my face. "I'm generously offering my services to you, girl! Be nice to me!"
"Alright! I'm sorry." She chuckled.
"Much better. Now you just get your autograph book and camera ready." I say to her, ready to scream.
"Fine. I'll see yo black ass Saturday."
"You got that right! Bye, girl!" I squeal before I hang up.
GWEN'S P.O.V.
"That girl is a mess!" I laugh as I hang up with Dee-Lo. Thunder barked in agreement. I got up off the couch and went into my small kitchen to fix myself and my dog some dinner. I put out Thunder's dog food and, I dunno why, but I was in the mood for Italian so I made spaghetti and meatballs. After I ate, I took a shower and got ready for bed. I put on my favorite red pajama bottoms and a white tank top before I climbed into bed and Thunder crawled into his little bed next to mine. Normally I'd say my prayers before I went to sleep, but it was the same prayer every night and I didn't think it would ever be answered so I stopped. I guess Thunder sensed something was wrong and he got out of bed. He propped himself on his hind legs and licked my face with a cute whimper.
"I'm okay. Really." I said as I scratched him behind the ears. "Why don't you get some rest."
Thunder yipped and went back to his bed. It didn't take long for me to drift off, but before I was completely out, I whispered..
"I don't want to go through life alone."
The next morning…
I was up at 5 a.m… yes, I said 5 A.M. Don't ask. I've been getting up at this hour since I was a little kid. Anyway, after showering and brushing my teeth, I go to the kitchen to make myself a bowl of cereal. I fix Thunder's food and go to my laptop to do some research.
"Okay, , here I come." I say to myself.
So I log on to the site and spend the next couple of hours scanning through every video and pic there. Thunder hopped up onto the couch with me as I scroll through the roster and my cursor stops on one particular Superstar. What can I say, looks like his just grab you and his always do when I watch him on RAW. I was startled out of my daydream when I hear a loud knock on the door. Thunder let out a bark and I knew who it was.
"Girl, it's Dee-Lo! Open up!"
I hung my head down because I knew I was gonna get calls from my neighbors. I was lucky enough to get this place because it allowed pets and Thunder wasn't much of a barker unless something was really wrong. So, before she caused an even bigger scene, I shout.
"Girl, get in here before you get me and my baby thrown out!"
Dee-Lo rushes in and looks at me like I'd lost my mind.
"Your 'baby'?" She asked. "Who? Who'd you hook up with and WHY didn't you tell me!?"
I just rolled my eyes at the girl.
"Me? Hook up with someone? Yeah, that'll happen." I think bitterly. "No, I'm talking about Thunder."
"Your dog?"
"Yes, my dog." I sighed. "He's the closest thing to a kid I'll ever have so… yeah. He's my baby."
Dee just shook her head in shame.
"Girl, you need help. No, you need to get laid… AND you need help." I was about to say something but the Dee started again. "You realize you're 32 and…"
"Do not go there." I cut her off. "Can we change the subject, please?" I guess Dee figured out that she hit a sore spot and nodded. She usually doesn't feel bad about what comes out of her mouth, but she does when she says something that hits a nerve with me.
"Yeah, girl. So…" She began. She walked around behind me and looked over my shoulder. She saw I was on the WWE site and smirked. "I see you're going the brainiac route."
"What? So I wanted to do some research."
"And you couldn't wait on me? I said I was coming to school you." She asked me faking like she was shocked and hurt.
"You and mornings aren't exactly the best of friends." I smirk. Dee just flipped me the bird and laughed as she went into my kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee. She soon came back and plopped down next to me and looked at where I was.
"Okay, you trying to catch up? I know you've been out of the loop for a couple of… years." She said.
"Are you here to help me or criticize me?" I ask her.
"Both. That's one of the perks of being a best friend. It's in the official code!" Dee laughed. "And as for you not being up on everything WWE, you need to be ashamed of yourself."
"Why? Blame Family Guy and TBS." I laughed. Hey, I like the show.
"No, I'm blaming you. How can Peter Griffin compare to…" And she scrolled through the entire male roster as if trying to prove a point. "…all this masculine sexiness? Honestly, how they cram it all into just 3 hours… and yes, Raw is 3 hours now… is beyond me."
"Okay, when you're done drooling all over my laptop, lemme know." I said as I rolled my eyes.
"Killjoy! Anyway, I know there's someone on there you got your eyes on. How can you not?" Dee asked me.
I really don't know why she keeps pushing the issue of me having eyes for someone. I mean, yeah there are some good looking guys on there… and of course, Dee sees my eyes lingering on the screen. Great...
"How about him? Randy Orton?" Dee was practically salivating over this guy. "He can RKO me anyday!"
"I guess he's okay." I say. Yeah, he's good looking, but he doesn't… spark anything for me, ya know?
"'Okay'? Just okay?! Girl, you need your glasses checked!" My best friend just sighed as she flipped through to another guy. "How about C.M. Punk?"
"I like the whole Straight Edge thing… but…"
"Still nothing? Are you sure you're not…"
"Can we move on, please?" I asked. I was starting to get annoyed with Dee. Yes, she's my best friend, but I kinda wish she'd stay out of my business when it comes to my non-existent love life. I hear her sigh as she clicks through and stops on another Superstar.
"Okay… how about this guy-John Cena?"
I didn't say anything. In fact I just turned away to hide the smile on my face… and with Dee around, that never works.
"Hallelujah! So there IS someone you like! There's hope for you yet!"
"Okay, ya got me. He is fine." I admit.
"'Fine' does not describe him, girl. I need to call Webster's and tell them to invent a word for his brand of fine!" Dee-Lo laughed. "There's nothing wrong with crushin' on him."
"I guess…" I just let out a sigh and closed my laptop. I was so excited about going and now…
"Girl, what's wrong? You trying to tell me you don't have a thing for him?"
"Yeah, but…"
"But what? What's wrong with crushing on a hot guy?"
I just put my laptop away and looked ay Dee.
"Nothing's wrong… except when they don't ever crush back." I said sadly. And now Dee feels like a total heel.
"Aw, don't say that." Dee tried to reassure me, but I knew better. "There are lots of guys who like you."
"Name one!" I challenged. If there were any guys interested in me, nobody gave me the memo.
"Well... well there's... uh... there's..." Dee-Lo stammered.
"My point exactly. I'm fine with it, really." I said as I looked out the window. "I've completely accepted the fact that I'll never find anyone. Life sucks then you die, right?" I thought to myself. I guess Dee knew what I was thinking so she came over and gave me a hug.
"Gwen, I know you've heard this a million times before, but I'm gonna make it a million and one. There's someone out there for everyone." Dee-Lo stated.
"Everyone except me." I thought. "That's easy for you to say, Dee-Lo. You have a man. I'll believe it when I see it." Gwen said as she frowned. "Let's not talk about hooking up anymore, okay? I just wanna enjoy this weekend before we leave for Memphis."
"Okay. But I still don't think you should just give up." Dee said. Bless her for trying to keep me positive. Some days, she's the only thing keeping me from… well, I won't get into that. "Anyway, today, we shop for poster board, paints, and I got my man hookin' us up with some tight airbrushed shirts. I'll let him know to make a special Cenation t-shirt for you." She said with a wink.
"Now that sounds like fun." I smile. I grab Thunder's leash and the three of us go out shopping. That afternoon we worked on our signs and Dee gave me a crash course on any WWE facts and gossip she felt I needed to know. Some of it didn't surprise me, some… it's times like that I think she's the Wendy Williams of the WWE. How the hell does she KNOW all this dirt? Sunday, I spent picking out clothes. I was thankful that I had a week off so I decided to use some of my vacation days. Time flew and it was Monday morning. Dee had family in Memphis so a place to stay wasn't a problem. All I had to do was go through my checklist.
"Okay, camera… check. Autograph book… check. Money for souvenirs… check."
"HEY, GIRL! READY TO ROLL OUT!?" Shouted my best buddy who, all of a sudden, starts singing Ludacris.
She is just too much!
"Loudmouth black chick telling me she ready to go… DOUBLE check!" I laugh to myself. "Okay! I'm coming!"
With Thunder and my bags in tow, I say so long to my hometown for a week and hello to Memphis.
Later that night…
(A/N: This is still Gwen's P.O.V.)
We'd arrived in Memphis that afternoon and got settled in. Dee's Aunt Sophie was really sweet to let us stay with her and she loves Thunder. Now we're at the Pyramid Arena where we show the usher our tickets. We had our signs and we wore our shirts Dee's boyfriend made for us. I gotta admit, this is pretty exciting. While Dee was going crazy buying up merchandise, I let her know that I had to use the bathroom.
"Okay, I'll meet you at our seats." She said to me. I just gave her a quick wave because I REALLY had to go. It didn't take me long to do my business, so I decided to do some exploring. It was my first time even IN the Pyramid so it was all new to me. And that turned out to be a bad thing because… the next thing I knew, I had gotten myself lost. Okay, really? How… boneheaded can one person be?
"It's a good thing the show doesn't start for another 45 minutes; because I have a feeling I'm never getting out of here. I KNEW I should have brought a compass or some crap like that." I said to nobody in particular as I fished inside my bottomless purse for my cell. After an unsuccessful five minutes, I resorted to the all out purse dump. Yeah, that helped.
"Oh, shit! The ONE time I forget my cell phone. This is just perfect! What else can go wrong?" I ask myself as I wander through the halls looking for ANYONE who can help me out.
-RAW Locker Room-
It was forty-five minutes until the start of the show and in the locker room, a few of the RAW Superstars were getting ready when Randy Orton entered. John Cena looked up and was the first to greet him.
"Whaddup, Randy? Where ya been?" John asked his best friend.
"Not much. Just got back from checking out the ladies filing in." The 3rd generation Superstar said with a grin on his face.
"Any hotties tonight?" Chris Jericho wondered out loud.
"You even need to ask? This place is gonna be full of them. Maybe you guys'll get lucky. Maybe even you, John." Randy smirked.
John, who was lacing up his pump sneakers, looked up when he heard his name.
"Ha ha! That's real funny." John shook his head. "It hasn't been that long since my divorce and you're already trying to hook me up. Need I remind you of the LAST time you did that?"
Randy just cringed because the person he hooked his best friend up with… was his now ex-wife.
"Hell, how was I supposed to know? I'm just a matchmaker. After I hook people up, they're on their own!" Randy said with his hands up in surrender. That earned him flood of towels being thrown at him. "That's it, don't come crying to me next time you guys need love advice."
"Don't worry. We won't." Rey Mysterio laughed. Randy was about to run after him but Mr. 619 proved to be too quick.
"Yeah, well I kinda wanna enjoy my new bachelor lifestyle for a while." John said as he looked for his green Cenation t-shirt.
"Oh, yeah. I almost forgot. Vince wants to see you, Rey and me before the show starts. Something about some last-minute changes. John, he said you were still good to go." Kofi Kingston explained.
"Aight. See y'all later. Hey, we still on for clubbin' tonight, right?" John asked the guys.
"You know it! As far as I know, we're all going." Randy nodded.
"Cool. Let's just hope we survive AJ's first night as RAW GM." John and the other superstars just shuddered at the thought of such a fruitcake running things.
"I almost rather have Hornswaggle continue being the Anonymous GM." Kofi said and that earned him a few raised eyebrows from his comrades. "I said ALMOST!"
"Let's not think about that. Good luck!" John shouted.
After everyone left to check in with Vince McMahon, John had unwrapped a peppermint candy he had gotten from his bag and began eating it. He was sucking on it when a noise startled him. He jerked and as he did, the candy got lodged in his windpipe. He clutched his throat and tried in vain to cough up what he was choking on. He started to panic and his eyes began to water as his life flashed before his blue orbs.
GWEN'S P.O.V.
I was wandering around the locker room area, still hopelessly lost. I saw a few guys come out of the hallway and turn the corner. I guess they didn't notice me because none of them said anything. I don't know WHY I didn't speak up and ask them for help.
"Smooth, girl. Real smooth! Now whatcha gonna do?" I say to myself. I was about to just give up when I thought of something. "Wait. Maybe there's someone left back there that could tell me where the Hell I am."
It was worth a shot, right? I mean they're not like us women who ALL go in and ALL come out together… at least, I hope not! Wherever those guys came from, I figured there had to be someone still there. I walked down the hall when I heard what sounded like someone crashing into a locker and gagging. Being the nosy chick, I was, I decided to follow the noise until I reached the men's locker room. I peeked inside half-hoping I wouldn't see anyone undressed. Well, just my luck, there weren't any naked or even HALF naked guys around. What I did see was someone kneeling down on the floor with his hand on his throat. He was choking! Oh, my God! Men's locker room or not, this guy needed help and I was the only soul around. Without thinking, I ran in, wrapped my arms around his waist and gave him the Heimlich Maneuver.
"Come on! This has to work!" I say as I kept going. "Please work!" After about five thrusts, the candy flew out of his mouth and he coughed and gasped for air. I saw the color returning to his skin and I put my hand on his broad shoulder. "Are you alright?"
He just nodded since he hadn't caught his breath yet. It wasn't until he started to breathe that I noticed him dressed in baggy blue jean shorts, green wristbands and pump sneakers.
"Now where have I seen this outfit before?" I thought to myself as he started to stand. "Stand? Okay, I'm outta here!" I don't know what came over me; I just bolted out of the locker room before he could thank me and ran to anyone who could take me to my seat.
JOHN'S P.O.V.
"Damn, that was close! That's it; no more hard candy before a match!" I said, my voice still really hoarse.
I don't think I ever came closer to death since that time I got stabbed. When they say your life flashes before your eyes, they weren't kidding! I finally stood up, ready to thank this person for saving my life and I see her run out like a bat outta Hell. I got up and shouted: "Hey, wait!" But it was too late. She was gone just like that. I didn't get a good look at her but I did manage to catch long, black hair and a crescent-moon shaped mark on the back of her right shoulder.
"She must be here for the show." No shit, Sherlock! Why else would she be here? I just stand there in the doorway wondering who this girl was and why she was back here in the first place. All I know is, before this night is over, I'm gonna thank her for saving me.
END OF CHAPTER ONE
Sorry, I didn't describe Gwen any further. I will in the next chapter. Like I said, I'm revamping this entire fic. I originally wrote this fic over 7 years ago and never finished. Mostly because I didn't like where it was going. Hopefully, this time, it'll work out a bit better. So please show me some love! Peace!