What he didn�t like most was the fact that the man had decided to spend time in hotel lobbies instead. Wrestlers spent enough time in hotels as it was, being there on their own accord should not happen. Phil watched in amusement as Kendrick plucked a grapefruit from his bag, placing it on the table in front of him and staring at it. He watched as, after a minute or so, Kendrick grabbed a sharp knife and slit the thing in half. Both halves were glistening in the light of a nearby lamp, and Kendrick continued to simply stare. Edging closer, curious as to what exactly this meant, Phil stopped next to his friend�s table.
�What the hell are you doing, staring at a grapefruit?�
The chuckle he heard surprised him, mostly because the look on Brian�s face had been nothing but gloomy.
�Oh, I don�t know, staring at tables gets old?�
It was obvious that the guy had meant it as a joke, but it was also clear that he didn�t feel like joking much. These things happened after a break-up, especially one so unexpected, and Phil scowled somewhat at the defeated tone in the blond guy�s voice.
�True, I guess,� he muttered as he pulled up a chair and sat down.
Brian continued to stare at the grapefruit, occasionally poking it with a finger, as if there was some sort of story there. Phil felt the urge to steal the fruit, perhaps take a big bite out of it in spite, but something about Brian�s expression told him that he better not.
�Okay, Spanky, out with it, what�s with the fruit?�
The blond man cocked his head to the side, pushing his hair back as it fell forward. It was strange to see a normally bubbly and happy guy down like this, especially over something no one had expected. Everyone knew that Paul and Brian had had something going on, though no one knew exactly what, and the sudden rift between them had come as a big surprise to all.
�Did you know that a lot of grapefruit is imported from Israel?�
Phil blinked. No, he didn�t normally care about the origins of the things he ate, so he didn�t know. Besides, he wasn�t that fond of grapefruits anyway. He wasn�t sure where Brian was going with this either, and he had a feeling that this wasn�t going to answer his question, or at least be very vague.
�No, I didn�t know that.�
�Paul told me.� A pause, one of those meaningful ones, in which people reflect about their previous relationships. Bore. �This one might have journeyed through several countries and across seas and oceans to get here. Probably not, though, seeing as they grow them in Florida and Texas as well.�
�That�s nice. What does this have to do with you and Paul?�
Okay, so he wasn�t exactly subtle. He�d never been very good at it, and simply sitting here doing nothing but babble about a silly grapefruit made him feel equally as silly. Who talked about grapefruits anyway? It was better to just get to the point, and he was sure that the break-up between Paul and Brian was that point. The look on the smaller man�s face confirmed it, because Phil could see that the question had been expected.
�Paul wanted to be like the grapefruit.�
Eyes narrowed at the laughter that left Phil�s throat. Brian didn�t think what he�d said was funny, but Phil sure did.
�What? Be like a grapefruit? Has he been reading some of Rob�s books again?�
�No.� Brian sounded annoyed. �He meant he wanted us to grow, evolve, travel, be happy, those kinds of things. I was content where we were, but he wasn�t.�
�Ah, so you weren�t compatible. Fuck, Spanky, you could have said that before starting this whole grapefruit business. Besides, how do you know grapefruits are happy? Do they turn yellow? Speak to you in weird voices? I swear, the both of you have been spending time with Rob and his secret stash. Become the grapefruit; wait for it to talk to you. That�s hilarious!�
�This isn�t funny, Punk.�
Punk, he was being called Punk. That usually meant people were getting annoyed with him. He had a habit of annoying people, either by his directness or his sense of humour, but at least an annoyed Spanky beat a gloomy Spanky.
�Cheer up, buddy. You and London just didn�t mix in the long run. You can sit around and mope, or find yourself someone more compatible, your choice. It�s obvious that you two make a great team, but aren�t made for each other. Deal with it.�
Phil relaxed in the chair, laughing at the surprised look on his friend�s face. He�d figured people had been dancing around the subject, not wanting to upset poor Spanky. It was obvious that that approach hadn�t worked. Besides, he�d always been straightforward. Why stop now?
�What you need is some good old fun, and not with all the serious faces of the WWE. Why don�t you wait for ECW to finish tonight and I�ll take you out for a drink? Non-alcoholic on my part, of course. I heard Joe�s in town; perhaps we can ask him to join us as well. You know how crazy Joe�s parties can get.�
He grinned, still amused by the odd facial expressions, and dropped an arm around the smaller man�s shoulders. He leant in slightly, and all he could do was chuckle as Brian gave a startled huff.
�Relax; I�m not hitting on you. I would, but right now I wouldn�t measure up to London, anyway. He�s a great guy, but just not the one for you. These things happen, man. Come on, people will think all wrestlers are crazy if you keep staring at this thing for much longer,� he muttered, examining the grapefruit before taking a good bite out of it. Not bad, if a bit dry. How long had Kendrick been carrying this around?
Brian nodded slowly, obviously not quite sure what to do with Phil�s sudden fascination with his well-being. That and there�d been some sort of declaration of interest on his part, something else that was no doubt confusing the guy. No, this hadn�t been one of the smoothest rescue attempts Phil had ever executed, but at least it seemed to work. The blond wrestler was eying the other half of the grapefruit with something akin to distaste. Agile fingers grabbed it, eyes searching for the nearest waste bin, and dropped it unceremoniously. He received a pat on the back and a one-armed hug for that, though Phil made sure that nothing about it could be explained as unwanted advances. Dropping his own piece of fruit in the bin, he ruffled Brian�s hair and led him out of the lobby. The night was young, and Joe was no doubt getting drunk. There was much fun to be had.