La Pantera

Ch. 53 Can't Be Tamed

TW: small use of cocaine, nothing graphic. Mentions of AIDS crisis, per 80s social issues.

Song for Chapter: Crazy Bitch by Buckcherry

Before going home for the evening, Stevie had to do an important radio interview. Riding off the successes of her last movies, it was important to keep appearances. The spotlight was more on her after performing with The Crüe as well, which meant one wrong move and everything could tumble down. Having forgotten some coke in her room  to help soothe her anxiety, she was going in bare back, a cold sweat forming as her breathing picked up. She walked in, the two hosts of many she'd met by now greeting her and shaking her hands. They were probably a big deal, but it wouldn't matter since it was hard to remember things lately. She sat down with her headphones on, giving a nervous smile.

"Very nice to have you here! We've been dying for a one on one interview with El Pantress.", the first host, Gus cheered. "El Pantress?! What the fuck is that?", Stevie laughed with some annoyance, finding fthe nickname to be rather stupid. "It's his dumbass nickname he thought would catch on.", the other host Harvey snickered. "Come on now, you know that's not my shit.", Stevie giggled, relaxed on her chair and looking them both in the eyes. "Well it's true..everyone's got a name for you these days.", Gus commented. "I guess they do..it's interesting what they come up with. I like most of 'em.", she mused, hand messing with the armrest of her chair. "Okay so I guess we got to start off with, how did you know you wanted to get into being an actress?", Harvey asked her. "Good question. I uh...it wasn't something I obsessed over. But I knew since I was a kid, I definitely wanted to be some sort of hot shot entertainer, growing up with Elvis and all that on the fuckin' TV. And as I got older, I wanted to be one of those people who had something to say with their work. Acting seemed like I could tell whatever story I chose, so it became more interesting and an escape from my life. Then I'm approached on the street for Rumblefish and the rest is history.", she gave a sheepish laugh at the end.

"It's very interesting. Like yeah we got other outspoken women in the world of Hollywood, but you stand out for many other reasons. You're very forthright and brash, and it's pissing people off, which means it's working.", Gus laughed which caused her and Harvey to laugh. "Yeah yeah I definitely get it. I've never had a problem with being the bad guy. You get treated like one, you become one.", she shrugged with a smirk. "So let's talk about the Stockton visit that got a lot of attention. You'd mentioned some key stuff there that took many people by surprise, like going to juvie, lesbian friends being beaten, and your ex dying from brutality. I guess my first question is what was juvie for?", Harvey asked her.
"Fuck..youse are right on the game today.", Stevie laughed with some hesitation. "It was jail actually. They didn't care to put me in juvie. It was a long time ago, I was a younger teen. A cop was harassing these two kids outside the corner store. Callin' 'em all sorts of racist shit. I just walked over and threatened to beat his ass if he didn't stop. Didn't listen to me, so I tackled him and proceeded to beat the living shit out of him before I was arrested. I was only let out after several months because of some blackmail my friend Mateo's mom had on the cop. I was very lucky.", she shook her head with a tense breath.

"Jesus Christ that's intense..what made a young girl like you seek all that trouble out?", Gus inquired. "Come on guys, this isn't fuckin' therapy. I had a shitty hand dealt to me, not much of a promising future. Do what I can with it.", her voice sneered, starting to feel cornered. "Well we're just trying to explore some of that stuff you talked about. I mean the cop killing your ex, that's some tough shit for any kid to deal with. Does it impact your choices today?", Harvey pressed a bit. "Oh it absolutely does. I despise cops with my whole goddamned being. There's so much they've done to me and others I love you'll never know. I-...I want this world to be a place for everyone to live equally. We can't do that if we're beating black people, killing all sorts of racial groups in the world, you fuckin' name it. Letting people die from AIDS cuz it's a "homo disease"?... it's so fucked up how this world works.", she spat with venom, fire in her eyes as her arms crossed over her chest.