You Just Beat Alex Winter, What Are You Gonna Do Next?
Nov 11, 2020 20:22:45 GMT -5
The Madness Menagerie and mystifyingoracle like this
Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2020 20:22:45 GMT -5
Thanks to Jess and mystifyingoracle as always.
Ade didn’t pay much mind to Davison’s parting shot. She knew what she was doing. The show was over, the adrenaline rush subsided. Her body ached all over from Winter’s blows and attempts to maim. Limping through the backstage area, she avoided all eye contact with the crew working busily to wrap up another episode of Chaos. At this point, she didn’t want to talk to anyone. Her backpack was slung over her shoulder but she had yet to change out of her jumpsuit and boots.
Her expression remained neutral as she approached a restroom. Pushing the door inwards, she peeked inside.
“H-Hello?” She whispered.
No answer.
Her boots squeaked against the tiles as she slipped inside the stall and locked it behind her.
Nudging the lid of the toilet down with her boot, she then sat down.
Alone.
Away from the responsibilities. The expectations. The people that looked up to her.
Away from all of that, her strength fleeted.
Seeping in was every toxic word that she so artfully deflected. Alex Winter gave voice to those who had spent years terrorizing her with the same sentiments. She could block, delete, and ignore but Winter had made that impossible. He could feel his anger and rage as he did his best to replicate those nightmares in Clearwater.
Ade hated him.
And by the end of that night, she wanted to hurt him.
She wanted to shut him up forever. Wanted to knock his teeth out.
Sniffling, she did her best to keep quiet.
Adrienne felt pathetic. Ashamed that she debased herself that low. That she let that little boy get to her.
Gasping her air, her sobs were out of control. Her breaths were short and abrupt.
The silence held for a short while, broken only by the sound of Adrienne’s crying, until something else broke in- a bright, female voice singing.
I hear your heeeeart beat to the beat of the drums
Oh what a shame that you came here with someooooone
Her phone vibrated along to it, lighting up in her pocket. After all, Sylvia Gould had promised to call, and she hadn’t broken her word yet.
Wiping away her tears, she answered the call, “Hello?”
“Hey!”
The voice on the other end was vivacious and sparkling, bubbling with enthusiasm.
“I watched every second. You shut that dickbutt up and I never doubted it for a second, but then you stood up to the world champion? Refusing to play Davison’s game like it was nothing? Ade, have I told you lately that you are the absolute coolest?”
Doing her best to subside the pain, Ade tried to smile through the compliment.
Hearing Silvie’s voice tonight only brought her back to that night. Not too long ago. And while it wasn’t technically the first, Adrienne knew what was coming. Welcomed it.
Enjoyed it.
And through this last week, she had to come to terms that she wanted Silvie.
“Not as cool as you are,” Adrienne said with another sniffle.
“Hey, are you okay?”
The effervescent tone immediately gave way to concern- one could picture Silvie furrowing her brows, her lips pouting slightly in worry.
“I thought you’d be elated. Did something happen?”
“...I’m happy.”
Maybe happy was the wrong word but she was certainly relieved that she was able to overcome such a dangerous man like Winter.
“It was just a lot. He made me feel like dirt. Like I was nothing. And I was so angry, Silvie. So freakin’ angry.”
“I don’t blame you. I’d be concerned if you weren’t angry. I was angry for you. Which made every blow you landed on him feel really really cathartic, and that was just me watching. I can’t imagine how it felt for you.”
“...I wish you were here,” Ade’s voice trembled.
“Well. I have something that’ll definitely make you feel better on both counts then.”
A mischievous lilt crept into her voice.
“I made you a promise, didn’t I? I told you I was gonna tell you what my secret was. You wanna hear it now?”
In the late hours of the night, they had both tested boundaries of who they were to each other. Asking questions. Telling secrets. Ade longed to see Silvie again. Devastated by the distance between them. Still struggling that the current leadership had ignored her pleas for contract negotiation, she had no means to see her again. As kind as her friends were, she was hesitant to outline her intentions.
...she was so lonely.
In a way that Adrienne couldn’t explain. Surrounded by friends and people that cared for her, she desired what she had never had.
“...yeah.”
“Well, you guys have your really big show coming up soon, right? I was thinking about coming over there to see it, if you wouldn’t mind having me.”
That mischievous tone was still coating Silvie’s words, a little giggle as she spoke. Almost as if there was something she was dying to get out.
Ade almost dropped her phone from the sudden excitement.
“Really?”
It would only be a day or something, but who needs sleep? They could stay up all night, watching Disney. Maybe they could kiss again…
“I’d love that, Silvie.”
“So would I. But wait, there’s more!”
Her excitement was practically exploding in every word now.
“I was thinking after… I checked you guys’ event schedule and I know you have a break. And I just so happen to have a buttload of vacation days I need to use up before the end of the year. And I’ve been saving up for something special. So I guess what I’m asking is…”
There was a pause. A long giggle, full of excited nervousness.
“...do you want me to whisk you off to L.A. after the show? Spend the holidays at my house? And spend a week at Disney? I miraculously managed to get a room at the Grand Californian. Park hopper tickets for Disneyland and California’s Adventure.”
She giggled again.
“That’s it. That’s the secret. If you wanna do all that, I mean…”
Ade’s response was, of course, to start crying again.
“Hey. Are you okay?”
Pause.
“Is… that a yes?”
Ade nodded, forgetting that this wasn’t a video call. Her sobs were mired with a levity that she only seemed to feel around Silvie.
“Yes.”
The door to the bathroom opened and Ade realized that her time was up here.
“I’m gonna call you when I’m not hiding in a bathroom, Silvie. Is that okay? But, yes, I want to go. More than anything.”
“And I want you to come more than anything. I’m so happy you said you wanted to. Gosh, if you said no I’d just be in a fancy hotel room at Disney all alone, and that’s no fun.”
Silvie laughed again, sighing happily.
“Okay, go on home. Let Buster lick all over your face. Man, am I jealous of that dog.”
Pause.
“Kidding! … Maybe.”
Ade laughed nervously as someone’s throat cleared outside the stall.
“Later.”
Adrienne ended the call. Bursting out of the stall, she gave the stadium worker as she waited.
“Sorry!”
Nearly tripping through the bathroom door, she maintained her balance by pure luck. Running for reasons she wasn’t so sure of, she passed by her good friend Silvio Leon without even stopping.
“I’m going to Disneyland!” Ade called out to him.
As Adrienne raced past him, Silvio spun to watch her, beaming as she made her announcement. Heading back to California already with that level of enthusiasm? No multinational media conglomerate could inspire that degree of joy in his friend no matter what intellectual properties they owned.
Good for you, Ade.
Calling back to her, he waved. “Aw, sweet! Eat all the Dole Whip! And bring me back some mouse ears!”