Title: Hope Renewed
Author: Water Angel
Email: water_angel_amy@yahoo.com
Spoilers: Final ep of Buffy, nothing in WWE
Rating: R
Disclaimers: I own nothing, unfortunately
Pairings: Willow/Jeff Faith/Edge Matt/Lita
Summary: Willow, guilt-ridden leaves Sunnydale and meets up with Faith.
The only way to get away from everything and everyone is to be in an always-
changing environment. The WWE. And keep to themselves. Unfortunately
nothing ever goes according to plan.
Authors note 1: Willow never dated Tara, they were just good friends, but
she was torn up when Tara died.
2. The Hardy's never broke up, neither did Edge of Christian. They are all
still one big happy family.
3. Matt and Lita are still dating and Lita never got hurt.
Part 1
It was for the best; Willow thought looking up at the shabby building she was about to enter. The painting in the lobby was faded and falling off in places, the furniture was out of date and falling apart, but Willow continued on her trek, up the stairs, the elevator was broken.
Everyone would be better off without her. Without the danger of her slipping again. They all wanted it anyway. She could see it in their eyes every time they looked at her. They eyes were filled with fear and mistrust. This was the only hope. Xander was really the only one who didn't look at her that way. But with the others being like they were, forced Willow away.
Willow finally made her way to the fourth floor and she walked down the hall, barely taking in the numbers on the doors. It wasn't until she reached the end of the hall, and room 409 that she stopped. Breathing deeply she knocked on the door, and waited.
She heard someone rattling around, coming to the door. And finally, it opened.
"Faith," Willow sighed in relief.
"Red, how are you feeling?" Faith asked leading her into the room.
"Okay," the redhead responded honestly. No one would have guessed that Willow and Faith were friends, what with their past history and everything. But after Faith had gone to jail, she had written to Willow, begging for her forgiveness. Begging was not something Faith did, but she had needed a friend. The Slayer had been pleasantly surprised when Willow had responded. From then on the two girls spoke as often as they could. Willow had even gone and visited her when she had been in LA telling angel about Buffy.
But now Faith was out of jail and fully reformed. She planned on staying that way too. When Willow had called and asked if she could stay with her, Faith had been ecstatic, but sad about the reasons Willow was leaving Sunnydale. But never the less she was happy to have a friend again. It was actually a good deal; both girls could keep each other out of trouble.
"Do you want a drink?" Faith asked, trying to be a good hostess.
Willow shook her head. "Faith we need to talk,"
Faith paled slightly. "Why? What's wrong?" She was going to leave, Faith thought, she had changed her mind.
"What are we going to do for money?" Willow hated the subject. She had spent the last year in Sunnydale worrying about money; she didn't want to do that anymore.
Faith smiled a little sheepishly. "I kind of put that in the works already."
"What do you mean?" Willow asked confused.
"Well, the WWE's in town, and they need new people and well.I kind of signed us up."
"What's the WWE?"
Faith hesitated for a minute. "World Wrestling Entertainment." She mumbled.
Willow's eyes widened slightly. "World Wrestling Entertainment. You signed us up to be wrestlers!"
Faith shook her head quickly. "No, I signed up to be a wrestler. You're going to be my manager. I already went through all their training programs. But being my manager does mean."
"Means what?" Willow asked nervously.
"You might have to fight every now and then."
"What!" Willow exclaimed. "In front of people? Doing this involves going in front of thousands of people. I can't do that." She turned to Faith, her eyes wild. "You know I can't do that. Willow doesn't want to do that. The whole point of me coming here was to get away, hide. I can't do that if I'm on worldwide television. It's impossible-"
"Willow!" Faith stopped her mid-ramble. "Linda sent some videos for us to watch, so we could get the feel of everything, see some of the storylines." She walked over to the VCR and popped in one of the tapes lining the dresser. "Come on, sit down."
Three hours later Willow was still sitting on the bed, her eyes wide with shock and a touch of horror, but not for herself, she was concerned for Faith. She turned to her friend; "you're going to put yourself through that. Are you insane?"
Faith grinned. "Slayer, remember? They can't do anything to me I can't handle."
"What about them? How are you going to control your strength enough not to do any permanent damage to them?"
"Already figured that out." Faith pulled open a drawer, grabbing a bottle of pills and throwing them at Willow. "Muscle relaxers, enough should dull my strength for a short amount of time."
Willow nodded. "So when do we meet up with these wacko's?"
"About now."
"What? What do you mean now?" Willow asked in disbelief.
"They're staying at the airport Hilton. Linda said we should meet her there at about three o'clock, so we better get going if we don't want to be late."
"That's why your stuff's packed," Willow realised looking at the suitcase by the door. She turned back to Faith, everything finally sinking in. "We're really doing this. We're leaving to go to the WWE." She grinned suddenly. "Xander would love this." Her grin suddenly faded as she remembered she would most likely never see him again.
Faith walked over to her and put her arm around her shoulders. "Willow, it'll get better I promise. If you want to, you can call him." She nodded to the phone on the nightstand.
Willow shook her head. "I can't. Not now anyway, maybe in a little while." She walked over and picked up her suitcases. "Come on, let's go."
**********
The hotel the wrestlers were staying at was beautiful, and very expensive. Willow and Faith looked around in awe, neither had ever been in a place so beautiful before.
"I guess this is one of the perks of always being on the road." Faith commented.
Willow just nodded.
Faith snapped out of her daze and dragged Willow to the elevator. "Come on, Linda's on the top floor, in the penthouse."
Willow rolled her eyes. "Rich people, they're always in the penthouse."
Faith just laughed.
It only took a few minutes to reach the top floor and another one to get to the door. Both girls stood outside nervously before Faith bit the bullet and knocked on the door.
"Just a moment," was said from the inside.
A few seconds later the door was opened to a commanding blonde woman on the phone. She smiled at the two girls waving them inside and pointing to some chairs near a desk.
Willow and Faith sat down, and waited for Linda to finish her phone conversation. About ten minutes later Linda hung up and moved to the other side of the desk.
She smiled at the girls. "Sorry about that, our next venue was complaining about the number of people that are going to attend. Now, I assume that you watched the tapes and still want to join our little family." She turned to the redhead. "You must be Willow, Faith has done nothing but rave about you every time we talked to her."
Willow smiled at Faith before turning back to Linda. "I don't mean to be rude, but why would you hire me if you were just going by Faith's opinion?"
Lind smiled, she like the fact that Willow stood up for herself, she could tell that this girl wouldn't back down from anything. "I didn't just go by her opinion. I made a few checks on you." She pulled out one of the numerous files on her desk. "In your junior year a major computer company tried to recruit you. You turned them down, saying you wanted to finish high school. Also in your junior year you were knocked unconscious and fell into a coma, you pulled through and from then on proved to be a very strong woman. Those are the kind of people we need in this business."
Willow flushed at the remarks. "Thankyou," she mumbled.
Linda smiled again. "But down to business, we're going to New York in two days, so you have those days to meet your co-workers and familiarize yourself with the storylines. Most of the people are extremely nice, but there are others you should avoid. You'll find those people are pretty quick. You're first match Faith, will be on Smackdown! on Thursday against Molly Holly. Most of the wrestlers should be at the arena training, so you'll be able to meet them. Any questions?" When neither girl spoke up Linda stood. "Well, you better get going, and I have to get back to work." She handed them two room keys. "You're in room 812, next to Lita and Trish, they're lovely girls."
"Thankyou," Faith said as she and Willow headed to the door. "Thankyou so much."
"It was my pleasure," Linda said.
Willow and Faith left the room and made their way back down to the eighth floor. They found their room rather quickly and eagerly entered. They stopped in admiration, while the room wasn't as beautiful as Linda's; it was the best hotel either of them had been in. They both looked at each other before dropping their bags and running to jump on the beds.
"This is fantastic!" Willow cried. "If this is my reward for going on stage, I'll do it."
Faith laughed. "It's good to know that it only takes and room to get you on stage. But don't forget about the money, you'll never have to want it again, you'll have enough."
Willow nodded seriously. "Good, that's something I never want to have to deal with again." She pulled put the contact they had signed in Linda's room, her eyes widened at the salary, "This is how much we get paid?" She whistled.
Faith nodded. "Do you know what the first thing I'm going to buy is?"
"A car?" Willow joked.
Faith shook her head. "A house, well not a house, and apartment first. I want a home." She said looking up at the ceiling.
Willow smiled sadly. Faith had never really had a secure home, this was giving her the opportunity to give her that. Willow was glad that Faith was finally getting that. She sighed at got off the bed. "Come on, let's go mingle with our fellow wrestlers. And you need to teach me some wrestling moves otherwise when you get in the ring of Thursday I'm in a loop."
Faith laughed snapping out of her thoughts. "You'll pick it up in about an hour. This'll be easy compared to living on the Hellmouth."
Willow rolled her eyes. "Oh joy."
Part 1
It was for the best; Willow thought looking up at the shabby building she was about to enter. The painting in the lobby was faded and falling off in places, the furniture was out of date and falling apart, but Willow continued on her trek, up the stairs, the elevator was broken.
Everyone would be better off without her. Without the danger of her slipping again. They all wanted it anyway. She could see it in their eyes every time they looked at her. They eyes were filled with fear and mistrust. This was the only hope. Xander was really the only one who didn't look at her that way. But with the others being like they were, forced Willow away.
Willow finally made her way to the fourth floor and she walked down the hall, barely taking in the numbers on the doors. It wasn't until she reached the end of the hall, and room 409 that she stopped. Breathing deeply she knocked on the door, and waited.
She heard someone rattling around, coming to the door. And finally, it opened.
"Faith," Willow sighed in relief.
"Red, how are you feeling?" Faith asked leading her into the room.
"Okay," the redhead responded honestly. No one would have guessed that Willow and Faith were friends, what with their past history and everything. But after Faith had gone to jail, she had written to Willow, begging for her forgiveness. Begging was not something Faith did, but she had needed a friend. The Slayer had been pleasantly surprised when Willow had responded. From then on the two girls spoke as often as they could. Willow had even gone and visited her when she had been in LA telling angel about Buffy.
But now Faith was out of jail and fully reformed. She planned on staying that way too. When Willow had called and asked if she could stay with her, Faith had been ecstatic, but sad about the reasons Willow was leaving Sunnydale. But never the less she was happy to have a friend again. It was actually a good deal; both girls could keep each other out of trouble.
"Do you want a drink?" Faith asked, trying to be a good hostess.
Willow shook her head. "Faith we need to talk,"
Faith paled slightly. "Why? What's wrong?" She was going to leave, Faith thought, she had changed her mind.
"What are we going to do for money?" Willow hated the subject. She had spent the last year in Sunnydale worrying about money; she didn't want to do that anymore.
Faith smiled a little sheepishly. "I kind of put that in the works already."
"What do you mean?" Willow asked confused.
"Well, the WWE's in town, and they need new people and well.I kind of signed us up."
"What's the WWE?"
Faith hesitated for a minute. "World Wrestling Entertainment." She mumbled.
Willow's eyes widened slightly. "World Wrestling Entertainment. You signed us up to be wrestlers!"
Faith shook her head quickly. "No, I signed up to be a wrestler. You're going to be my manager. I already went through all their training programs. But being my manager does mean."
"Means what?" Willow asked nervously.
"You might have to fight every now and then."
"What!" Willow exclaimed. "In front of people? Doing this involves going in front of thousands of people. I can't do that." She turned to Faith, her eyes wild. "You know I can't do that. Willow doesn't want to do that. The whole point of me coming here was to get away, hide. I can't do that if I'm on worldwide television. It's impossible-"
"Willow!" Faith stopped her mid-ramble. "Linda sent some videos for us to watch, so we could get the feel of everything, see some of the storylines." She walked over to the VCR and popped in one of the tapes lining the dresser. "Come on, sit down."
Three hours later Willow was still sitting on the bed, her eyes wide with shock and a touch of horror, but not for herself, she was concerned for Faith. She turned to her friend; "you're going to put yourself through that. Are you insane?"
Faith grinned. "Slayer, remember? They can't do anything to me I can't handle."
"What about them? How are you going to control your strength enough not to do any permanent damage to them?"
"Already figured that out." Faith pulled open a drawer, grabbing a bottle of pills and throwing them at Willow. "Muscle relaxers, enough should dull my strength for a short amount of time."
Willow nodded. "So when do we meet up with these wacko's?"
"About now."
"What? What do you mean now?" Willow asked in disbelief.
"They're staying at the airport Hilton. Linda said we should meet her there at about three o'clock, so we better get going if we don't want to be late."
"That's why your stuff's packed," Willow realised looking at the suitcase by the door. She turned back to Faith, everything finally sinking in. "We're really doing this. We're leaving to go to the WWE." She grinned suddenly. "Xander would love this." Her grin suddenly faded as she remembered she would most likely never see him again.
Faith walked over to her and put her arm around her shoulders. "Willow, it'll get better I promise. If you want to, you can call him." She nodded to the phone on the nightstand.
Willow shook her head. "I can't. Not now anyway, maybe in a little while." She walked over and picked up her suitcases. "Come on, let's go."
**********
The hotel the wrestlers were staying at was beautiful, and very expensive. Willow and Faith looked around in awe, neither had ever been in a place so beautiful before.
"I guess this is one of the perks of always being on the road." Faith commented.
Willow just nodded.
Faith snapped out of her daze and dragged Willow to the elevator. "Come on, Linda's on the top floor, in the penthouse."
Willow rolled her eyes. "Rich people, they're always in the penthouse."
Faith just laughed.
It only took a few minutes to reach the top floor and another one to get to the door. Both girls stood outside nervously before Faith bit the bullet and knocked on the door.
"Just a moment," was said from the inside.
A few seconds later the door was opened to a commanding blonde woman on the phone. She smiled at the two girls waving them inside and pointing to some chairs near a desk.
Willow and Faith sat down, and waited for Linda to finish her phone conversation. About ten minutes later Linda hung up and moved to the other side of the desk.
She smiled at the girls. "Sorry about that, our next venue was complaining about the number of people that are going to attend. Now, I assume that you watched the tapes and still want to join our little family." She turned to the redhead. "You must be Willow, Faith has done nothing but rave about you every time we talked to her."
Willow smiled at Faith before turning back to Linda. "I don't mean to be rude, but why would you hire me if you were just going by Faith's opinion?"
Lind smiled, she like the fact that Willow stood up for herself, she could tell that this girl wouldn't back down from anything. "I didn't just go by her opinion. I made a few checks on you." She pulled out one of the numerous files on her desk. "In your junior year a major computer company tried to recruit you. You turned them down, saying you wanted to finish high school. Also in your junior year you were knocked unconscious and fell into a coma, you pulled through and from then on proved to be a very strong woman. Those are the kind of people we need in this business."
Willow flushed at the remarks. "Thankyou," she mumbled.
Linda smiled again. "But down to business, we're going to New York in two days, so you have those days to meet your co-workers and familiarize yourself with the storylines. Most of the people are extremely nice, but there are others you should avoid. You'll find those people are pretty quick. You're first match Faith, will be on Smackdown! on Thursday against Molly Holly. Most of the wrestlers should be at the arena training, so you'll be able to meet them. Any questions?" When neither girl spoke up Linda stood. "Well, you better get going, and I have to get back to work." She handed them two room keys. "You're in room 812, next to Lita and Trish, they're lovely girls."
"Thankyou," Faith said as she and Willow headed to the door. "Thankyou so much."
"It was my pleasure," Linda said.
Willow and Faith left the room and made their way back down to the eighth floor. They found their room rather quickly and eagerly entered. They stopped in admiration, while the room wasn't as beautiful as Linda's; it was the best hotel either of them had been in. They both looked at each other before dropping their bags and running to jump on the beds.
"This is fantastic!" Willow cried. "If this is my reward for going on stage, I'll do it."
Faith laughed. "It's good to know that it only takes and room to get you on stage. But don't forget about the money, you'll never have to want it again, you'll have enough."
Willow nodded seriously. "Good, that's something I never want to have to deal with again." She pulled put the contact they had signed in Linda's room, her eyes widened at the salary, "This is how much we get paid?" She whistled.
Faith nodded. "Do you know what the first thing I'm going to buy is?"
"A car?" Willow joked.
Faith shook her head. "A house, well not a house, and apartment first. I want a home." She said looking up at the ceiling.
Willow smiled sadly. Faith had never really had a secure home, this was giving her the opportunity to give her that. Willow was glad that Faith was finally getting that. She sighed at got off the bed. "Come on, let's go mingle with our fellow wrestlers. And you need to teach me some wrestling moves otherwise when you get in the ring of Thursday I'm in a loop."
Faith laughed snapping out of her thoughts. "You'll pick it up in about an hour. This'll be easy compared to living on the Hellmouth."
Willow rolled her eyes. "Oh joy."