"Believe" Part 2

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Date: Saturday, June 9th, 2018
Cameras: OFF

Click. Click. Click.

Sportscenter. Family Feud. Some Lifetime original movie. Adam Sanders shrugs his shoulders a little bit as he briefly sees the recently married Meghan Markle, now Duchess of Sussex, on the screen before hitting the power button. The West Coast Genesis wrestler blows upwards, briefly making his brown hair that flutters in the air.

Adam: “What now?”

It’s been a rough few days for the former WCG Long Beach Champion. He had to make one of the hardest decisions he’s made in the twenty-four years he’s been on the planet. He had to tell a girl he loved with all his heart that he just couldn’t do it anymore. He couldn’t take the constant complaining. He couldn’t deal with how unhappy she constantly was. He tried. He did everything he could for her. He threw away his rematch clause on his title reign when she won the title, but she kept claiming that she wasn’t the true champion. Which was hard on him for one simple purpose...

If she wasn’t the true champion and beat him, what did that make him?

Vfft vfft…

Adam: “What’s this?”

It was his iPhone 6, vibrating in his pocket in a double sequence. Apparently, he had a Twitter notification. He glances at the screen for a moment, remembering he needs to change his lock screen as a picture of him and Izzy was still staring at his face before he opens the notification.



Adam: “What...?”

He stands up from the decently comfortable bed of the motel room he was renting for his stay in Columbus, Ohio for the NGW Tag Team Trials with the plan to hang around for Dissension on Sunday and some hang out with Jessica Sears on Monday afterward. Apparently, there will be video games and ice cream...two things that are a good way to get Adam’s attention.

He pulls the curtain to the window facing the parking lot. It was hard to miss a man he’s spent so much time around, sitting inside a Toyota Corolla that he’s rented during his time. Even with the hat on his head, he can see the unmistakable blonde hair on the sides of Adrien Cochrane’s head. Adrien’s blue eyes dart at Adam.

Adam: “Okay then…”

Cochrane beckons Adam through the window, prompting Adam to grab his wallet and hotel key before exiting his motel room, double checking that the door behind him was locked. Adrien opens the passenger door of the car for Adam to enter.

Adrien: “Come on, get in…”

Adam takes a seat inside the silver sedan. He clicks his seatbelt and closes the door before Adrien switches the car to reverse to back out of the parking space. The first question Adam had was what Adrien was doing, showing up at his motel room at one in the morning. The second was where their destination was going to be...also at one in the morning. But being the quiet type, Adam didn’t say anything for a few moments as Adrien returned to the boulevard the motel was off of.

Adrien: “Hungry?”

Adam had eaten a Junior Bacon Cheeseburger from Wendy’s a few hours ago. To be honest, he could eat more. But, once again...it was one in the morning…

Adam: “I mean...what kind of…”

Adam’s sentence trails off as Adrien puts on his turn signal for a right hand turn. Adam glances out of the window and sees Adrien’s idea for a late night meal, the International House of Pancakes...mostly known as the breakfast food chain, IHOP.

Adam: “Oh, I see.”

Adrien chuckles a little bit before winking at Adam.

Adrien: “I mean, I could always eat by myself and you can just sit there and watch me do so. The choice is yours, little buddy.”

Sanders glances at the sign for the restaurant then back at the man who invested so much in his career.

Adam: “No, I’ll eat.”

The Dropkick King switches the car to park before opening his door.

Adrien: “Well...come on…”

Sanders follows Cochrane into the restaurant. He holds up two fingers to the host, locating the duo a booth for the two of them, dropping off two menus for them to look over. Adam begins studying the menu while Adrien doesn’t even bother lifting his, looking at his younger protege with a hint of curiosity.

Adrien: “Tomorrow night…”

Adam knew this was coming. Sure, Adrien spent some time giving he and Remi all the notes he could to help them prepare for facing Death Before Dishonor...also known as half of the Destroyers. He simply keeps staring at his menu, trying not to think about it.

Adrien: “You feel like you’re ready?”

Adam wasn’t exactly sure what to respond to that. He could give Adrien the answer he wants to hear, but both of them knew that wouldn’t be true. It’s true...Adam’s mind was elsewhere. And there was no way he was going to be able to slip that lie past Adrien. Adrien notes Adam’s silence and speaks again.

Adrien: “Do you need to talk about Izzy?”

This question got Adam’s eyes to dart up from the menu to Adrien’s eyes. There’s a momentary flicker of sorrow and regret. All those doubts and troubles and despair running through Adam’s mind the past couple of days flashes in his eyes for just a half a second, but it was enough for Adrien to recognize.

Adam: “It had to be done…”

Sanders closes his eyes for a moment before glancing back at the menu. He felt his voice tremble a little bit as he tried to say those simple five words. He takes a deep breath before looking back up at Adrien, trying to fake as much composure as possibly can. It wasn’t fooling Adrien.

Adrien: “Had to be done or not, I’m sure that was one of the hardest decisions you’ve probably ever made.”

Voice: “Can I get you boys started on something to drink?”

Adam feels a bit of a relief that their waitress showed up when she did. He needed a moment to gather his composure once more. Of course, he had an entire car ride to do that and it did almost nothing for him.

Adrien: “What kind of hot teas do you have available?”

Waitress: “Black and green.”

Adrien gives a surprised blink, hoping for something a little more specific than that. In the interest of remaining polite, he smiles back at the waitress before replying.

Adrien: “I’ll take a black tea, please.”

Adam has lived with Adrien in the past. He’s well aware Adrien’s tea of choice is earl grey. Adrien was just going to hope for the best, rolling the dice on whatever flavor of tea they give him.

Adam: “Sprite, please.”

Waitress: “Alrighty, I’ll get those ready for you. I’ll be back to take your orders in a moment.”

Just as suddenly as she appeared, the waitress left their booth and disappeared behind the wall after making a right hand turn. This, unfortunately, left Adam back to his conversation with Adrien.

Adrien: “You still love her.”

Adam’s eyes widen. That was one of the hardest things about being mentored by Adrien was the fact that he learns to read people very well. Adam wasn’t exactly a difficult person to get a read on in the first place, but the fact Adrien can hold an entire conversation with Adam without Adam saying a word was something that had its pros and cons.

Adrien: “It’s normal, whether you realize this or not. I’m sure you still love Kenzie. Hell, you think I just feel nothing towards Stacy, Becky, or even Adrianna? No. That’s not how it works. You don’t stop loving someone. You really don’t. Not if the love you had for them was real.”

Adam simply turns the page on his menu to see what kind of foods they offered other than pancakes, glancing up to see if Adrien’s blue eyes had diverted from him yet. Which the answer was no, they hadn’t. Adrien still hasn’t even opened his menu.

Adrien: “You felt like the relationship was making you miserable. I get it. You felt like everything she said invalidated everything you tried to do for her. You had a good reason to pull the trigger when you did, Adam. I know you blame yourself, but you really shouldn’t. This wasn’t your fault. And in reality, I’m not even going to say it was hers.”

Adrien takes a deep breath as chooses his words wisely. Adam was paying attention, even if he was still reading the menu as Adrien’s words were echoing in the back of his mind.

Adrien: “Some puzzle pieces just don’t fit as well as we’d like them to. That’s what happened with me and Stacy, and that’s what happened with me and Jessica Matthews. Both fantastic people who did nothing wrong. It just wasn’t the happy ending that was meant for me. The happy ending I feel like I might find with Everalda. And perhaps it will be the one you will find with whoever you end up with next.”

Adam didn’t even want to think about dating anyone else right now. But he sees where Adrien was coming from. Everalda entered his life when he wasn’t thinking about dating anyone. It just sorta happened.

Adrien: “Remember that time you were hiding in my car when I was driving to Mandeville back when we were in #FSociety?”

Adam remembers. Adrien was set to face Kenzie. Adam tried to appeal to Adrien about how he wanted to support Kenzie but not anger Adrien. Not exactly the most pleasant conversation the two of them have shared, but Adam is sure Adrien has a point.

Adrien: “I told you that things are going to change. I know they don’t seem positive right now. I get that. But you have to understand that just because these changes don’t feel like they are positive things now, it could be what’s best for everyone in the long run.”

Adam remembers. Probably the best part of the conversation since it wasn’t about what Kenzie had said about Adrien leading up to their match, and Adam trying to smooth things over as best he can between the two.

Adrien: “That applies here, little buddy. Sure, you’re not going to be picking up Izzy from her classes anymore or playing video games with her till the wee hours in the morning like about this hour. But you will have it replaced by something else. And then that will become your routine. And soon, you will feel comfortable doing that. It might be with another girl or it could just be something you do yourself. Shouldn’t ever be afraid of change, little buddy. Sometimes it allows better things to happen in our lives.”

It was always funny that Adrien Cochrane, someone who stood at an even six feet tall and weighs a buck ninety, calls Adam Sanders, someone who has another two inches and forty-five pounds on him, “little buddy”. Mostly because of the age and type of relationship they have, but it was still a little ironic to Adam. The waitress arrives with their beverages. She places Adam’s Sprite in front of him and a kettle of hot water and mug for Adrien’s tea. Adrien looks at the tea bag and sees that it’s English Breakfast. Not his first choice, but it will be good enough.

Waitress: “Are you two ready to order?”

Adam noticed Adrien still hasn’t touched his menu. But that doesn’t stop Adrien from looking up to the waitress with a smile on his face with his order.

Adrien: “Yes, I’ll take a triple stack of your buttermilk pancakes and four slices of bacon. My young friend here will also take a triple stack of your chocolate chip pancakes with a hash brown on the side and two slices of bacon.”

Adam’s eyes widen. That was exactly what he was thinking about ordering. Adam begins wondering how Adrien knew that. His wondering became audible.

Adam: “How did you…?”

Adrien: “I did make your breakfast for awhile. Not to mention you kept tapping those three items on your menu.”

Adam glances back down at his menu. His index finger was resting on the chocolate chip pancakes.

Adrien: “You going to be okay, Adam?”

At this point, Adam was going to have to respond. Even if Adrien is scanning Adam’s body language, he’s not going to settle for that. He wants Adam to tell him straight up the answer.

Adam: “Maybe once I have time to put this behind me.”

Cochrane immediately imitates the sound of a buzzer.

Adrien: “Wrong answer. You ARE going to be okay. You will stand tall again Adam even if I have to prop you up myself.”

Adam says nothing for a minute or two. Adrien doesn’t break eye contact though, even when the food arrives. Without looking, he begins to nibble on the first piece of bacon before speaking to Adam again.

Adrien: “What impresses me, honestly, is the fact that you’ve had so many people come out of the woodwork to be there for you. Obviously, I have. Remi and Jessica were to be expected. Tasmin isn’t exactly surprising when you consider proximity and the fact that girl is sweeter than cane sugar. Anastacia surprised me a little bit because I didn’t know how much you two stayed in touch. The moment Betsy finds out about this, you know she won’t leave you alone so you better be preparing yourself for that one. I will say that I was not exactly thinking Rebecca Saint or literally your ex-girlfriend Kenzie would be in your mentions to make sure you were okay, but they were.”

Adam chuckles a few times as Adrien was talking. He was eating his hash brown, realizing all those names Adrien mentioned have reached out to him.

Adam: “I know.”

Adrien: “It’s what helped me when me and Stacy split. Jessica wanting to constantly check on me. Jazmyn literally spent a night in your old bedroom so I wouldn’t be alone in my house. It’s going to be hard for an undisclosed amount of time until you begin to move on. And you’re going to need to at least temporarily move on because you are literally facing the Destroyers tomorrow...errr...later tonight.”

It was two in the morning at this point.

Adam: “I know. Remi is confident.”

Adrien: “He seems to always be confident. That’s a good quality. It’s what people tend to like when they work with me. You, on the other hand, try to be a realist. And I’m here to tell you...don’t.”

Adam makes his trademark bug-eyes. He’s almost surprised at Adrien’s response.

Adrien: “You were there in the front row in the RIMAC when the first time I uttered the word ‘Believe’ to everyone. Anyone can win any match, no matter the opponent. That even applies to John Blade. If you give your best, you have a chance. I don’t care if your opponents are Matthew Shields and Jack Tillman...which they are…”

He pauses and winks at Adam, who is starting to eat the pancakes at this point.

Adrien: “If you give this match everything you got, I believe...yes, believe...you have as good a chance as anyone else. I will warn you though, do not take that discus clothesline/v-trigger knee strike combination from them. That will end a match.”

Adam remembers watching that move. Jessica Sears was about to get hit with it. Considering the state her spine was in, it would have been career ending. Adrien shoved her out of the way to prevent that from happening and took the move himself. He, at least, had to be checked on from the medical staff after. The Dropkick King notices Adam eating his pancake and not really responding.

Adrien: “Even when you don’t believe in yourself, Adam, I always will.”

Adam nods his head.

Adam: “I believe in you too.”

Adam watched Adrien win two of his three World titles. He’s going to to be watching him try to capture number four in about a month.

Adam: “Johnny Maverick.”

Adrien smiles as he takes a bite of his pancakes. Adam was always surprised when Adrien does this without any syrup on them. Just spreads the butter a little bit on them.

Adrien: “What about Maverick?”

Adam: “He’s your friend.”

Adrien: “Yes. Yes, he is. A friend who doesn’t see eye to eye with me on a lot of things. But he is a friend.”

The nerdy wrestler immediately begins thinking of Magneto and Professor Xavier in X-Men before shaking his head to keep himself focused.

Adam: “He seems to be almost indestructible. And the words he said…”

Adrien: “I’m not worried about the words he said. I’m an upcoming opponent. He’s going to say a lot of things about me. He’s probably going to trash Jazmyn in a few hours to send a message to me. That entire match against her will probably be a message to me. He feels threatened by me because he has to defend his title against me. And even though he is very confident in his abilities and has a victory over me already...he’s worried.”

Adam: “Worried?”

Adam inquires as he finishes his second piece of bacon. Adrien finishes his third.

Adrien: “He doesn't want his reign to end. Lined up after me is Jack Tillman. He’s going to be constantly looking over his shoulder, wondering who will be the one to take that championship from him. Believe me, I want it to be me. I’m confident it can be me. But we won’t know for sure until that bell rings.”

Adam: “Just like your next match.”

Adrien: “When you don’t really know your opponent, it certainly complicates things. It’s just one of those times where...El Leòn Azul...Blue Lion...a baby lion...is a cub...a young cub...sorry, ignore that, Adam. When you don’t really know who your opponent is, it becomes an outright crapshoot.”

The small tangent Adrien just went on confused Adam to no end. He simply finishes his pancakes as Adrien takes the final bite of his, sipping the last drop of his tea as well. Without even having to ask, the waitress arrives with their ticket. Adam begins to reach for his wallet.

Adrien: “Don’t you dare even think about reaching for your wallet, Adam.”

He turns to the waitress.

Adrien: “Do you have it all on one ticket?”

The waitress smiles before handing it to him.

Waitress: “Yes, sir. Just take it to the counter and they will ring you up.”

Adrien grins as he takes the ticket.

Adrien: “Thank you, dear.”

The waitress walks away once more before Adrien turns back to Adrien. He reiterates to him something he said earlier in their talk. He smiles to try to make sure he knows Adam is confident in the statement.

Adrien: “You’re going to be okay, Adam. Even if I have to prop you up myself.”

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