Kate Stanton sits in her car, alone, in an empty parking lot. Next to her, in the passenger seat, is a box full of miscellaneous sundry: a red stapler, a framed picture of an older couple, a large pad of paper. Her focus, however, is on a slip of paper in her hand that she'd read over a hundred times. She reads it again, knowing exactly what it says, hardly caring anymore. Her eyes scanned over the important parts, piecing together the meaning from the phrases. "Effective immediately" and "terminated" were all she really needed anymore. With a final read of the paper, taking in nothing, she crumples it in her fist and tosses it aside. She keeps her calm for a minute, trying to keep a handle on everything racing through her head. It doesn't take long before she crashes; a short sob, a pounded fist against the steering wheel, before she's in tears. At that moment, of course, her cell phone rings. She ignores it; they'd leave a message. A few moments later, it rings again. She glances at it and sees "Mom" on the phone. The last person she was interested in talking to at the moment, but she worries it's an emergency. She clears her throat and wipes her eyes, then answers the phone.
Kate: "Hello?"
Mom: "Hi, sweetie, it's Mom."
Kate: "Hey, Mom, how are you?"
Mom: "I'm fine, how are you? You sound a little off."
Kate: "I'm just...getting over a cold, I guess. Nothing serious."
Mom: "Oh, well you should take a day off. If you work yourself too hard, it'll just get worse."
Kate scoffs and rolls her eyes, smiling ironically, with little mirth.
Kate: "Yeah, I should be able to take a few days off here. So what's up?"
Mom: "Well, I was wondering if you were making enough money, if something had happened to you."
How the hell could she possibly know already? There was no way; she had to be talking about something else. She had no intention of telling her mother she'd lost her job; it had been enough of a war to convince her that she could live by herself in a city so far away from home. If she admitted to losing her job, Kate wouldn't be surprised if she flew up and dragged her home immediately.
Kate: "Uh, no, Mom, I don't know what you're talking about. Everything's fine."
Mom: "Well, it's just, your father and I were wondering if maybe you'd taken up a second job."
Kate: "No, Mom, I don't know what would give you that idea. Same job, just one."
Mom: "Well..."
Kate sighs with audible frustration.
Kate: "Mom, what is it?"
Mom: "Well, you remember the Johnsons, next door?"
Kate: "I lived next to the Johnsons for twenty years. Of course I remember them."
Mom: "Their son, Johnny, do you remember him?"
It takes all her remaining willpower not to scream at her mother to spit it out already.
Kate: "Johnny was two years behind me in school, Mom. I know who he is. What about him?"
Mom: "Well, then, I'm sure you remember what a fan of the, um, what is it? WCZW?"
Oh. Kate suddenly knows where this is going.
Kate: "It's, uh...WZCW, Mom. What about it?"
Mom: "Well, the other night, we had dinner with the Johnsons, and they mentioned that Johnny had told them he'd seen you on their website. And we were wondering if maybe you had gotten a job with them as an actress or a model or something. And we watched the video of you with, er, a...gentleman. One those wrestler types. You were standing next to him, with your arm around him?"
Shit. Shit. She was not supposed to know about this.
Mom: "Are you still there, Katie?"
Kate: "Uh, yeah, Mom, sorry. It's...kind of a long story."
Mom: "So you did get a job with them? Well, that's wonderful, we know how much you liked acting in school."
Kate: "Well, not exactly..."
Mom: "Oh, was it just an audition then? Do you think you'll get more work from them?"
Kate: "Not...exactly..."
Mom: "Well what was it, dear? Don't tell me you're actually going out with this...what's his name? Blake? Blake Hanrahan?"
Kate: "Drake...Drake Callahan, Mom."
Mom: "Well, whatever. Johnny told us all about what kind of a character he is, drinking, staying out late, getting up to who knows what. They say he was even arrested. Of course, it's all an act, you know that."
Kate shakes her head, still not sure of how to take hold of this conversation.
Kate: "Okay, Mom, listen. It isn't all an act; I thought it was, too, but I've been hanging around for a little while and it's real. And Drake...I...I am going out with Drake. He...he's my boyfriend, I guess."
There's a silence on the other end of the phone, before her mother breaks up laughing.
Mom: "Oh, Kate, you're so funny sometimes. Okay, I get it. I guess you needed a little money to make rent and took a job that you're a little embarrassed about, huh?"
Kate grits her teeth. Do I just lie to her? Damn it.
Kate: "...Yeah, Mom, sorry. Yeah, I just took a little bit of short term job with them. Just playing a character, you know? You might see me pop up every now and again. It doesn't take a lot of my time and it makes ends meet."
Mom: "Well, I'm glad you're doing so well out there. Remember, you can always ask us if you ever need help."
Hey, Mom, I just lost my job and I'm dating a drunk wrestler, can you help me out? The idea of springing that on her mother was almost enough to make her laugh.
Kate: "Thanks, Mom, but everything's fine. I have to get going, alright?"
Mom: "Okay, sure thing sweetie, I'll talk to you soon."
Kate hangs up and sets her phone aside. She puts her head in her hands and the tears start up again. Lost job. Mom thinks my relationship is an act. Can't afford my rent anymore. Will be on the street soon, probably have to move back to Seattle... She headbutts the steering wheel in frustration and is rewarded with a mildly satisfying blast of the horn, and a less satisfying red spot on her forehead.
She looks over at her phone again, considering what to do next. Go pack to her apartment and pack everything up, she supposed. But, on the other hand...
She grabs her phone and flips it open. She hits 2 - her first speed dial, when had that happened? -and pushes call.
Voice: "Good afternoon, this is Pizza Hut, may I take your order?"
Momentarily confused, Kate wonders if her dials had gotten switched up. But it sounded oddly like him.
Kate: "Um, I'm sorry, I guess maybe I had the wrong number?"
Voice: "Wait, Kate? I was just testing to see if your recognized my voice. I have to make sure that an imposter hasn't stolen your phone."
Kate briefly considers pointing out that he'd now revealed himself without any verification of her identity, but decides against it. She hasn't got the strength.
Kate: "Sorry, Drake, I'm not feeling that hot. I was wondering if you were free? I was hoping I could come over."
Drake: "Oh! Well, I was just building the world's tallest peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but it fell over, so no, I guess I'm free."
Kate: "Okay, great, so I'll be over in twenty?"
Drake: "Sure thing! Can you pick up some dinner on the way? I don't think that the sandwich is going to be edible anymore, what with it being all over my floor, and all."
Kate smiles a little.
Kate: "Okay, yeah, I'll grab something on the way. See you soon."
She hangs up and runs her hands through her hair. She checks herself in the mirror. Her mascara is ruined, of course. She cleans herself up as best she can and takes a deep breath before turning the key in the ignition and pulling out of the lot.
----
Drake is on his hands and knees in his apartment, scrubbing away at the last remnants of peanut butter and jelly on the floor when the doorbell rings. He gets up and makes his way over to the door. He looks out the eyehole and sees Kate with a bag full of Styrofoam containers. He rubs his hand on his chin and narrows his eye.
Drake: "Password?"
Kate: "What? Drake, just let me in."
Drake: "I'll need the password, or failing that, the secret knock. You failed the phone test, after all."
Kate: "Drake, please, I'm not in the mood."
Drake: "No can do, Kate. Ever since Roswell, I have to be on the lookout for the FBI."
Kate: "Damn it, Drake, come on!"
Drake's face falls a little and he makes the lock. He opens the door to find Kate standing there, looking almost in tears.
Drake: "I'm sorry, Kate, I was just trying to have a little fun..."
Kate makes her way in and ducks aside from an attempted kiss as she puts the foot on the table.
Kate: "I know, Drake, I'm sorry. It's just been a bad day."
Drake makes his way over to her and tries to put his arms around her, which she again shrugs off.
Drake: "You want a drink?"
Kate: "Is that your solution to everything?"
Drake grins a little weakly, taken aback by her snappish tone.
Drake: "Well..."
Kate shakes her head in disgust and sits down.
Kate: "No, Drake, no, I don't want to get drunk. It's not going to help me and it isn't going to help you."
Drake scratches the back of his head as he looks puzzled. He takes a seat opposite of her.
Drake: "Kate, what's up? Did I do something?"
Kate: "No. Not directly, anyway. It's just..."
She throws her hands up and then buries her head in them. Drake looks at her uncomfortably. He takes a look at the bag of food and surreptitiously grabs the top container, which to his delight contains a corned beef sandwich. He takes a stealthy bite as Kate remains deflated. She raises her head a little and opens one eye to look at him.
Kate: "Seriously? No words of comfort? No rushing to my side? Instead, you eat?"
Drake shrugs as he takes another bite.
Drake: "I can't do much unless you tell me what's up. In the meantime, I'm hungry."
Kate looks incredulous for a moment before she begins to chuckle wryly. She sits up and shakes her head.
Kate: "I'm supposed to be the practical one in this relationship."
Drake: "It's cool, I can fill in when needed."
Kate sighs deeply and grabs the other container, containing an identical sandwich. She looks at it for a moment while Drake continues to eat. She then looks up at him and meets his eyes.
Kate: "I got fired today."
Drake slowly finishes chewing and swallows. He sets the sandwich down.
Drake: "Oh. That...sucks."
Kate snorts a little, choking back laughter.
Kate: "Yeah, tell me about it."
Drake: "What happened?"
Kate: "The usual. Downsizing, outsourcing, layoffs, whatever, the usual bullshit."
Drake: "I, uh, I don't really know what that means. Most guys in my line of work get fired for losing a match or something."
Kate: "It doesn't matter. Just a lot of corporate crap that doesn't matter. The important thing is that I have no income and no money in the bank, which means soon I'll be out food, out of an apartment, out of everything, and then it's back to Seattle for me."
Drake mulls it over for all of half a second before shrugging and taking another bite.
Drake: "So move in with me."
There's a long silence to which Drake is totally oblivious, while Kate stares at him shocked.
Kate: "Are...are you serious?"
Drake: "Sure, why not? You didn't even think about it?"
Kate: "I...no, I guess I hadn't."
Drake: "Well, come on, you're my girlfriend. I'm not going to let you move back home. Stay with me for a while. If you get another job then you can move out again if you want to, I guess."
Kate: "I...wow. Drake, thanks, but...this is a pretty big step for our relationship."
Drake: "Well, I guess it is, but we're ready, aren't we? It's been a few months, I like you, you like me, we're happy. You're on the road with me more often than not these days anyway."
Kate: "Yeah, but in separate hotel rooms."
Drake: "Well, we'll just save money on that then. It's a win-win."
Kate pauses for a few moments longer.
Kate: "I've never...uh...lived with a boyfriend before."
Drake: "I've never lived with a girlfriend before, but I imagine it'll be a lot like a sleepover, and sleepovers are awesome. Therefore, us living together? Probably awesome."
Kate: "I can help out with rent...I mean, I'll collect some unemployment and I'll get another job as soon as I can..."
Drake: "Don't worry about it. Things are going pretty okay on my end. I've actually been thinking about buying something. Real estate is an excellent investment, you know."
Kate: "Uh...you thought that up on your own?"
Drake: "Okay, technically it was Joe's idea, but you know, I think my idea was pretty good too."
Kate: "What was your idea?"
Drake: "Renting a castle! I mean, come on, there's probably like a billion of 'em just sitting around in England, they're probably desperate to rent them out. I could probably get one for twice what this place costs."
Kate looks around at the apartment.
Kate: "You've got a kitchen, a living room, a bathroom, and two bedrooms. Sure, that's half a castle."
Drake: "Just the one bedroom, actually."
Another long silence ensues to which Drake is totally oblivious. He finishes his sandwich and starts poking around for more food, eying Kate's jealously. He looks imploringly at her eyes and notices the odd stare.
Drake: "What?"
Kate: "You only have one bedroom?"
Drake: "Well, yeah, what more do I need?"
Kate: "So...if I move in?"
Drake: "I'm still not following."
Kate: "Jesus, Drake, are you proposing we sleep together?"
The various pieces of the situation fall into place in Drake's head.
Drake: "Oooooooohhhh."
Kate looks mildly exasperated.
Kate: "Yeah."
Drake: "Well, I guess I can sleep on the couch for awhile, if you're not ready to go that far."
Kate: "I'm not going to kick you out your bed in your own home, Drake."
Drake: "I've slept in a lot worse places than a couch. I'll get used to it."
Kate: "...Are you absolutely sure?"
Drake beams at her.
Drake: "Of course I am. I'm here to help you out, Kate, don't worry about it."
Kate suddenly leaps out of her chair and embraces Drake tightly.
Drake: "Oh, well. Thank you."
Kate, unexpectedly, kisses him deeply.
Kate: "No. Thank you."
They smile at one another for a moment.
Drake: "Kate?"
Kate: "Yeah?"
Drake: "Can I have your sandwich?"
Kate laughs and shakes her head.
Kate: "Yeah, of course you can. I'm so not hungry."
She gets off and returns to her seat and shoves her sandwich toward him. He digs in at it. They sit quiet and happy for a moment before Drake's cell phone vibrates. He grabs it and reads a text. He grunts and sets down his sandwich.
Kate: "What's up?"
Drake: "Got my match for Meltdown this week."
Kate: "Who is it?"
Drake clears his throat and heads over to the fridge, grabbing, surprisingly, two sodas. He tosses one at Kate absentmindedly as he sits back down.
Drake: "Barbosa."
Kate: "Oh. Wow. That's a pretty tall order."
Drake cracks open the can and takes a deep drink of it.
Drake: "You're telling me."
Kate: "But it's a pretty big opportunity, right? I mean, he's a former world champion, and he's in a number one contender's match this week, right?"
Drake looks at her a little surprised. She blushes a bit.
Kate: "I've been reading the website a lot. Sue me."
Drake: "Well, yeah, you're right. If I can take down Barbosa...even if I don't win King for a Day, it'd be a pretty big accomplishment, especially if he wins at Kingdom Come. If he's the Eurasian Champion after Kingdom Come and I beat him this week, it's a pretty good case for me getting a title shot. And if he's the number one contender..."
The implications of the match weigh down the mood for a moment, before Kate gets struck with an idea.
Kate: "Hey, I have an idea. Remember, Joe asked me to set you up on Twitter?"
Drake: "What's a Twitter?"
Kate: "It's a social media website. You log on and post messages that are 140 character or less, and all your friends and the whole world gets to read them."
Drake: "I don't get it."
Kate: "Well, you can tell the whole world about what's going on with your life."
Drake: "Why would want to do that?"
Kate raises a finger and opens her mouth before reconsidering.
Kate: "Um. Well. I guess...I don't know. But I do know Joe wants you to do it. Do you want to make him angry?"
Drake: "God, no."
Kate: "Fine, then, give me your phone."
Drake suspiciously hands her his phone. He goes back to his sandwich and grabs a pen and paper and begins jotting on it while Kate sets things up.
Kate: "Okay, let's do this. What do you want your handle to be?"
Drake: "What am I, a teapot?"
Kate: "Hilarious. No, it's like your nickname, online."
Drake: "Can I be Batman?"
Kate: "No."
Drake: "Spiderman?"
Kate: "No."
Drake: "Su-"
Kate: "So help me, if you're about to say Superman, I'll throw this phone at you."
Drake sheepishly looks down and thinks it over.
Kate: "I mean, you could just do...WZCW_Drake, or something."
Drake: "But it's so boring."
Kate: "Yeah, you're right, that is boring. Hmm."
They sit for a few moments and ponder. Suddenly, Drake looks up with a spark in his eye.
Drake: "I've got it! Give me the phone."
Kate suspiciously hands it back over. Drake punches in the name and laughs to himself madly. He hands it back, beaming.
Kate: "...Not_A_Clever_Pony?"
Drake: "Eyup."
Kate: "...If you're sure."
Drake grins widely.
Drake: "Absolutely."
Kate shrugs and finishes entering the information. She writes a small description and finishes it up. She hands the phone back.
Kate: "Congratulations. Welcome to the Twitterverse."
Drake: "That sounds...ominous."
Kate: "What is your first message to the masses?"
Drake thinks it over for a second and then types something in, posting to the world. He hands it over to Kate, who reads it quickly.
Kate: "Your first message to the world is about corned beef?"
Drake: "It's what was on my mind."
Kate: "I thought maybe you'd have something to say about Barbosa. That's kind of why I did this."
Drake: "Ohhh! That makes a lot more sense now. I had some thoughts on Barbosa on this paper, though. Joe told me to do this. See?"
He hands over the paper and Kate looks at the assorted scribbling.
Drake: "Joe told me to write down all the weaknesses I could think of, then all the strengths I can think of, then all of my weaknesses he could exploit."
Kate: "And...you came up with this?"
Drake: "I think it's pretty good!"
Kate: "Weakness one: Barbosa. Thinks he is four people (?). Maybe has an identity where he sucks."
Drake: "It's a legitimate possibility! Maybe one of his personalities is Doug Crashin. I could bring that one out, maybe."
Kate: "Weakness two: Easily distracted by shiny things."
Drake nods sagely.
Drake: "Shiny things are very distracting. It's a weakness we share. I was thinking of bringing some tin foil and tossing it in his general direction."
Kate looks back at the paper.
Kate: "That's it?"
She looks at him disapprovingly.
Drake: "I...am not a clever pony?"
Kate tosses the paper aside.
Kate: "So. Your plans are to, what, mess with his head?"
Drake: "I guess. I just think it's boring to go on and on and analyze what I'm going to do to every new guy I wrestle. I don't know Barbosa from a hole in the wall. I'll just go in and beat him up. Maybe Joe will show me some tape, I dunno."
Kate: "I get the feeling you don't take this seriously."
Drake: "No, I'm just laid back. There's a difference. I don't need to be the guy who looks at every week like, 'This happened last time, this is happening now, this happens next.' It gives me a headache just thinking about it. Actually, I could use a..."
He starts to look over toward the fridge but shakes his head.
Kate: "What? You want a beer?"
Drake rubs at his head for a moment.
Drake: "No...I've been taking Joe's advice. Been trying to lay off. I'm working it down to two a day, and I've already had two, so..."
Kate smiles and grabs his hand.
Kate: "Drake, that's wonderful. I'm glad you're trying to kick it, or at least being reasonable about drinking."
Drake smiles back weakly, trying to hide the pain in his head.
Drake: "Yeah, thanks. I'm working on it."
Kate sits back and nods approvingly. She checks her watch.
Kate: "Alright, I guess I'm going to head back and start packing up. I can probably be ready to get my stuff in here before you head out for Kingdom Come, if that's alright?"
Drake smiles and nods. She gets up and collects her things. She kisses him on the cheek on the way out and heads out the door. Drake puts his head in his hands as soon as she leaves. Part of the problem with kicking the drinking was these damn headaches. He figured it was just a withdrawal symptom that would pass eventually. He just hoped it wasn't going to be a problem when he was trying to wrestle.
A sudden sharp, stabbing pain causes him to grunt and grab the table hardly. It passes to a dull throb and he gets up, intending to go lie down. On his way, he takes a look at the paper and grabs the pen. He jots something down and heads into the living room. The scribble words on the paper read:
Drake, weakness one. Drinking not enough. Head hurts. Head always hurts.
