Wonderland [WWE] [Shawn Michaels] {Book 1}

Chapter 51: It's Off

[Shawn]

Vince brought Kat, Joanie, Paul, and I into his office once again. If it wasn't for one thing, it was for another.

"If this is about me making to 'Mania, I told you, Vin Man, I can do it. My back's not even that bad."

Kat looked at me like she wanted me to say more. Probably about how my back was pretty bad, or about how I hadn't been able to sleep, or about how much medication I had to take recently. I didn't think that all mattered too much. I was going to make it to Wrestlemania, no matter the cost.

Doctors be damned.

If I was going to have to retire at the height of my career, I was going to have one last run. I didn't care what I had to go through. Fuck it.

Besides, Vince needed me for the storyline with Austin and Mike Tyson. If he had work for me to do, I would do it.

"No, no. I have full faith in you, Shawn," he clarified.  "I wanted to show you all this," he flopped a packet down in Paul's lap.

"What's this?" Paul raised a brow and started reading it. " 'From the hours of 9 to 10 PM, only the words ass, damn, and hell shall be used.' What the fuck?"

"Let me see that," I took it from his grasp. I couldn't read over his shoulder. The rest of the paper that he didn't read was more lists of rules for Raw programming and Degeneration X specifically. "Is this from the network?"

"USA is threatening to take us off the air for your antics. These are the guidelines they sent." Vince did not look happy about it.

"This..." I trailed off, "is fucking hilarious," I told him. I waved the paper in the air as proof. "Come on, you have to let us use this!"

"Absolutely not," he shut me down. "You all could get us taken off the network. You will adhere to their rules, understand?"

" 'You all' is a broad statement, don't you think? I mean, Kat and Joanie don't have much to do with the shit we do. Mainly, you should be yelling at us." I gestured between Paul and I. The whole little speech was just to derail and distract Vince.

I caught Kat rolling her eyes at me.

Paul slapped my chest. "Dude! You can't say that word!"

"Shit!"

He slapped me again. "You're going to get us fired!" He faked a gasp and everything.

It really was a mystery why Vince still kept us employed.

"Enough. Listen to me just this once, Shawn." Vince's voice was almost pleading.

"Vince, they'll love it. Besides, we're gonna do it anyway, so you might as well give us the green light." I shrugged my shoulders.

Exasperated and knowing I was right, he caved. "Fine. Fine. But this is on you. Anything that comes from this is on your head, remember that."

I accepted that challenge willingly.

***

When it came time to actually do the skit, I was excited as hell. We had come up with the genius idea of delivering the list of rules as a Presidential address.

If the network people didn't think this shit was funny, they all had sticks up their asses.

Paul and I couldn't stop laughing when were going over it. Whenever that happened when we were planning, we knew we were onto something.

As the segment opened, the four of us approached a podium labeled with the presidential logo. I, for one, was giddy.

Paul and I took turns reading the rules and using the words we weren't "supposed to" more than necessary.

"And on a final note," I declared, "Even though many of you believe that currently the favorite pastime in the Oval Office is Swallow the Leader, I did not, I repeat, I did not sleep with that young intern." I smirked as I finished, "As a matter of fact, I was up all night!"

After the cameras stopped rolling, I high fived Paul and Joanie. I turned to Kat, but she was already walking away.

I had to jog to catch up to her. "Hey, hey. Where are you going?"

"Getting out of there before Dad rips us all a new one," she said.

I laughed in response. "You didn't think I would want to hide with you?"

"That was kind of the point. You heard him; this is on you. I don't need that association," she told me playfully. She tried shooing me away, but I wasn't going anywhere.

"You're not getting rid of me," I announced.

She sighed dramatically, taking a page from my book. "I guess I'm doomed to be yelled at too. Come on, take a walk with me."

As we wandered, we talked. I wasn't blind; I knew that our relationship had been strained lately. I wasn't going to let that get in the way.

Kat was still my support system, even when she was mad and annoyed with me.

I really didn't deserve her.

"These next few months are gonna be hell," I mentioned. So much was happening so fast. It was hard to even keep track.

"They will be," Kat agreed. "You'll have 'Mania, and back surgery, and our wedding..."

"Yeah, about that. I've been meaning to talk to you. I think it's kind of a bad time to be getting married."

"A bad time? Like the past year has just been a cakewalk."

"It hasn't, but I think with everything going on with my back, maybe... we should just call it off."

What was the point if I had to limp to my own wedding?

She looked hurt. "What? I thought you were the one that wanted this so badly! We've already picked a date and everything. We've waited this long, and now you want to push it back again?"

"Kat, don't be difficult."

She stopped in her tracks and faced me head on. "I'm the difficult one?" she raised her voice for only a moment before calming herself. "Fine. Fine, it's off."

"Kat-"

"No, no. Do what you want. I wouldn't want to be difficult." She turned on her heel and walked away from me. I wished I hadn't said that.

Whatever. Women, right?

Couldn't she see my reasons? She didn't even take the time to listen to me.

It wasn't a good time. There was too much else for me to worry about. Why couldn't she think of that?

I shook my head and headed in the other direction. If she wanted to be like that, then fine.

I packed my shit and left the arena before Vince or Kat could catch me. Either one of them would only want to yell at me more.

Why was everyone yelling at me lately?

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-A/N-
I know, I know. Not the Shawtherine wedding!