Born to Run Free

Celia and Sean walked onto the set of the local morning talk show, both trying to figure out how they could get out of doing the interview. A young, hyper woman began running towards them, a wide grin spread across her face. “Sean Avery! Celia McCall!” she exclaimed, and Celia internally groaned, not wanting to be around someone this chipper this early in the morning. “I’m Dahlia Brown,” she introduced herself, holding her hand out to both of them. “I am so excited to meet you.”

Sean laughed a little as Dahlia squealed when he shook her hand. “Nice to meet you, too,” he told her as he watched Celia give her a small smile while shaking her hand.

“Okay, well, why don’t we talk a little bit about how this interview is going to go, okay?” Dahlia asked, and they both nodded, following her into a small room where they sat down on a couch across from Dahlia. “Okay,” Dahlia began. “We’re going to start off talking a little bit about both of your backgrounds, Celia with soccer and Sean with hockey,” she explained.

“Okay,” Sean said, nodding his head.

“And, then we’ll just ask you a few questions about Reebok and just a few random questions at the end,” Dahlia continued. “But, is there anything you don’t want us to ask you?” she asked.

“Nope,” the both said at the same time, and Dahlia gave them a wide smile.

“Good!” she exclaimed. “Well, I’ll let you get into hair and makeup, and we’ll go live in about forty-five minutes,” she told them.

Celia and Sean sat in chairs next to Dahlia as she briefed them a little bit on how the interview was going to go, just as a man in front of them started counting down the seconds until they went live. “Hello!” Dahlia cried when the cameral turned on. “I’m Dahlia Brown, and I’m sitting here with soccer superstar Celia McCall and hockey bad boy Sean Avery,” she announced before turning towards the two of them, smiling brightly. “So, let’s get right to it, shall we?” she asked, and they both nodded. “Okay, Celia, why don’t you start out by telling me about how you got into soccer?”

“Sure,” Celia said. “Well, I’ve been playing since I was two. My dad played all the time when he was younger, so he thought it’d be a good idea to get me involved. I worked my way up, and before I knew it, I was playing for the national team,” she explained.

“And, you were only sixteen when you first played with the national team, correct?” Dahlia asked, and Celia nodded her head. “That’s awfully young to play for a national team. Did you even finish your education?” she questioned, seemingly looking down upon Celia now.

“I was homeschooled,” Celia explained. “And, I graduated while I was playing for the national team,” she told her.

“Oh,” Dahlia said with a bit of attitude, turning her attention towards Sean. “And, what about you, Mr. Avery? How did you get started with hockey?”

“Well, like Celia, I started out when I was really young,” he began, and Celia looked over at him, wondering where he was going with it. “And, then in the ninth grade, I dropped out of school to focus solely on hockey. And, unlike Celia, I never graduated,” he concluded, watching Dahlia’s mouth drop a little at his bluntness.

“Oh,” Dahlia said, shuffling the cards in her hand, trying to figure out where to go from there. Celia laughed a little at how flustered Dahlia was, and Dahlia looked up and glared at her before composing herself once again. “So, let’s talk about Reebok,” she said, changing subjects.

Thirty minutes later, Sean and Celia were walking off the set and to their rental car, heading off for a quick bite to eat before they had another interview later on that afternoon. “So, one interview down, only a thousand to go,” Sean said, trying to make conversation so they weren’t sitting in an awkward silence any longer.

“Yeah, let’s hope they’re not all like that one,” Celia told him.

“What you didn’t like Dahlia Brown?” Sean asked with a laugh.

“I’m sorry,” Celia said sarcastically. “I’m not a fan of stuck-up bitches who look down upon me for no real reason,” she told him.

“Yeah, I get that,” Sean told her, and the silence that Sean was trying to avoid fell between them. He started drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, trying to think of something to say, but nothing was coming to mind. They finally pulled up in front of a small diner, and both of them quickly got out, happy to be out of the confined space of the car.

They walked inside and were seated by an elderly lady, who looked at them with a wide smile on her face. “Hi, I’m Darla, and I’ll be your waitress today. And, aren’t you two just the sweetest couple ever,” she told them, and Celia opened her mouth to correct her before Sean beat her to the punch.

“We’re not a couple,” he assured her, and Celia nodded in agreement.

“Oh, well you two just wait,” she smiled at them.

“No,” Celia told her. “We’ll never be a couple,” she stated, and Sean glanced over at her to see a serious expression on her face.

“Dear, trust me,” Darla told them. “I’ve been around a long time. I know these things. And, I know that you two will be a couple soon,” she promised them.

“Can I just get a cheeseburger and fries with a water?” Celia asked, ignoring Darla’s statement.

“Sure thing, dear,” she told her with a nod. “And, what about you?” she asked, turning around towards Sean, a smile on her face.

“Same thing,” Sean told her, putting his menu back where he had found it. As soon as Darla had left the table, his attention turned towards Celia. “So, you’re pretty adamant about us never being a couple,” he observed.

“First of all, like I told you before, I’m never going to fall for you. I’m not that type of girl. We’ll never be a couple. And, what? Do you want us to become a couple or something?” she questioned.

“No,” Sean said instantly, shaking his head. Celia narrowed her eyes at him, wondering if he was telling the truth or not. “Besides, it’s blatantly obvious that you’re not that type of girl,” he said, and she looked at him curiously. “What?” he asked. “You’re not a relationship type of girl. I mean, you’re not even a one guy type of girl. Last night for instance,” he began.

“What about last night?” Celia immediately jumped in. “Are you jealous?” she finally asked.

“Of course not!” Sean exclaimed. “I could care less who the hell you fuck.”

“You keep telling yourself that,” she said with a small smirk as their food arrived.

“Here you go, dears,” Darla told them, setting the food in front of them. “Have a lovely meal.”

“Thanks,” they both muttered, turning to their food and not saying a word to each other, letting their previous conversation die.

An hour later, they were getting ready to do the next show. This one, however, was not a live interview, but instead was for a local sports television program. The host, Leon Miner, joked around with the two of them beforehand, and Celia immediately took a liking to him. “Have either of you ever seen this show before?” Leon asked them.

“Sorry,” Sean said, and Leon nodded his head, looking at Celia for her answer.

“Nope,” she said.

“Okay, I didn’t think so,” Leon admitted. “This is pretty much only for the Seattle area. But, anyways, this is more of a laid back program. We like seeing the other side of celebrities, the humorous side,” he told them. “And, if you two are okay with it, we’d like to play a little word game between the two of you,” he added.

“What kind of word game?” Celia questioned.

“Oh, well, we’ll give you a word, and you pretty much say the first thing that comes to mind,” he explained, and both Sean and Celia nodded their heads in approval.

***

“We’re here with U.S. Women’s Soccer star Celia McCall and the New York Rangers’ forward Sean Avery,” Leon announced into the camera. “The first thing I want to know is what do you think of working with each other. Have either of you two worked together before, and how did you two get to work side by side for Reebok?”

“Well, I don’t know about Sean, but I didn’t even know about working with him until I arrived in New York. My agent called me up and said I’d be the new face of Reebok, and that was that. When I got to New York, I found out that I’d be working with Sean,” Celia told him.

“And, what about you, Sean?” Leon asked.

“Pretty much the same,” Sean said. “I don’t think I found out that I would be working with Celia until that morning. My agent pulled me aside and said ‘oh, you’re going to be doing this with Celia McCall.’”

“And, if you could have had your choice of anyone else to work with, who would you have chosen and why?” Leon asked.

Celia looked at Sean, who motioned for her to answer first. “Well, I’d have to pick Sergio Ramos,” she answered, and she glanced at Sean to see a look on his face that clearly showed that he had no idea who Sergio Ramos was. “He’s a Spanish soccer god,” she clarified.

“And, why would you have chosen him?” Leon asked.

“Because he’s a Spanish soccer god,” she repeated with a laugh.

Leon laughed while looking over at Sean. “And, what about you? Who would you have chosen?”

“Hmmm,” Sean hummed, thinking about it for a moment. “Megan Fox, and I don’t think you need to ask me why,” he added with a low laugh, while Celia rolled her eyes at him for being so shallow.

“Good answer,” Leon smiled. “Now, onto a little game we play with all of our guests,” he announced. “We’re going to give you a word or phrase, and each of you are going to say the first thing that comes to mind, okay?” Celia and Sean both nodded, and Leon said, “Okay, let’s begin. First, Reebok.”

“Good clothes,” Sean replied.

“Great company,” Celia said, earning a laugh from Sean, who knew that wasn’t what she had really wanted to say. Celia glared at him while listening for the next word from Leon.

“Seattle.”

“Rain,” they said simultaneously, causing Leon to laugh at them.

“Idol.”

“Hugh Hefner,” Sean smirked.

“I don’t have one,” Celia admitted.

“Okay,” Leon said, not knowing how to respond to Celia. “I have one more left for each of you. For Sean, Celia McCall.”

“Probably the most independent, stubborn, conceited, sexy woman I have ever met,” he said, looking over at her as her lips suddenly turn into a straight line.

“Okay,” Leon said, raising his eyebrows. “And, for Celia, Sean Avery.”

“The most arrogant, hard-headed, self-centered man I have ever met,” she stated.

“Who she finds sexy,” Sean added with a laugh, watching as Celia turned towards him ready to scream.

“And, that’s all for us tonight folks,” Leon announced before Celia could say anything. “Join us next time when we’ll be talking to New York Yankees’ player Nick Swisher. Thanks, and I’ll see you then,” he said as the cameras stopped rolling. He turned around to Celia and Sean saying, “Thank you two for doing this. I had a great time, and this is definitely one of the funniest interviews I’ve ever done.”

They both said a quick thank you and goodbye to him before Celia turned towards Sean, narrowing her eyes. “You think I find you sexy?” she questioned.

“Come on, admit it. You know you do,” Sean told her. “And, I don’t know why you’re getting so upset. I mean, I said you were sexy, too,” he reminded her.

Celia rolled her eyes. “God, I need to find a bar,” she mumbled.

“You know what,” Sean said, and Celia looked up at him, wondering what he was going to say. “I think I’ll go with you tonight.”

“Oh joy!” Celia exclaimed sarcastically as she walked out of the studio with Sean closely following her.