A/N- Should I say Happy early birthday or Happy early Valentines Day? This is for one of my favorite sharks, Kait!
It starts off slow and suckish, but I feel that it picks up after the first few paragraphs.
For some reason...this is quite long...
It was always the quiet people that had the last laugh.
But she never laughed.
She would accompany the crew out to the clubs and the bars each week, but she never drank. She always kept to herself and no one bothered her. Wrestling and drinking went hand in hand with each other, and the current wrestlers kept that saying alive. They would all go out together, but when the night was over, they all left separately. They were all too drunk to worry if anyone else got back to the hotel room safely, but thankfully, they always did.
Kait always sat back and watched it all unfold. And when the night was over, she was left to keep an eye on people. She'd call cabs for them, make sure they had everything, and made sure they weren't with people who potentially had STDs. She couldn't count the number of time she stopped Jericho from leaving with some man.
But for the past few months, there had been one man she was helping far more than she was helping anyone else.
Jay.
He seemed to be drinking himself into a downward spiral of depression as the weeks wore on. Of course, she was the only one who noticed. She'd always stay long after she wanted to, and would help him back to his room, often staying there until he fell asleep. She was worried about him. She'd see him the following day and he didn't acknowledge her or remember anything that happened the previous night.
The thing about it was that he was a complete ass.
She'd stare at him sometimes when they were both in catering. She was trying to figure him out. But she never could. He could catch her staring, and then talk loudly to usually Adam.
"Why is she looking at me? Does it look like I want her to look at me?"
"No, Jay. Maybe she likes you." Adam would tease, loving how Jay got mad so quickly.
"Well I don't like her."
Kait often wanted to stand up and scream at him, "I bet you'd like me if you knew what I did for you," but she always sat there, quietly. If she wanted to, she could expose all of his secrets. He told her more things about him than she cared to know. But she'd never use it against him. She wasn't like that.
"Can't even eat in peace anymore. I hate fangirls." Jay would continue his complaining.
And that's when she decided.
She was done helping him.
For two weeks she did just that; stopped helping him. She just stopped going out with the everyone else after shows. It was quite easy to do. Now the only only hard part was not feeling guilty when she'd hear stories about what happened to him or what he did long after everyone else left.
"Did you hear what happened to Jay last night?" Kait shook her head and continued eating her lunch. This girl in front of her -whose name she didn't know- didn't seem to take the hint that she didn't want to talk.
"He got drunk and wrecked his rental last night. Nothing serious, he just hit the guardrail."
"That's what he gets for driving while drunk." Kait cringed. That a little harsh. But she didn't care. If he wouldn't have been an ass to her, she would have been there to stop him from driving.
"I didn't know you were such a bitch. You could have a little compassion for the man." The girl stood up and left. Kait watched her leave.
"I figured I'd be the bad guy." She mumbled to herself.
"You're too pretty to be the bad guy."
"Fuck you, Jericho."
"In your dreams."
"In your dreams I'm a man." Jericho stomped off whining, as usual. Kait rolled her eyes and went back to the food in front of her.
"How stupid are you." Kait's eyes shifted to the pair sitting at the table across from her.
Adam and Jay.
"It was a mistake. Lay off."
"Don't you think you should maybe lay off the booze for awhile? Adam suggested. Kait played around with her food pretending she wasn't listening to every word they said.
"I'm not a child, Adam."
"Just an alcoholic."
"I'm not that bad."
"YOU WRECKED YOUR CAR BECAUSE YOU WERE DRUNK!" Adam screamed at him, trying to make his point.
"YOU SLEPT WITH AMY WHILE YOU WERE MARRIED." Jay threw back at him.
"Whatever Jay. Kill yourself for all I care." Kait heard Adam walk away, and she hesitantly looked at Jay.
That's exactly what she was worried about.
Him killing himself.
A few of the girls talked her into going out a few weeks later, and she found that nothing had changed since the month she last went out with them. She sat isolated in a corner booth, just watching and observing her co-workers. She honestly had no idea why she even came. Social outcast? Yeah, that was her.
"Move over."
"Get another table."
"Or you could just move over."
"Or you could just get another table."
"Kaitlyn!"
"Jericho!" She mocked.
"I'm going to get a drink, but I will be back. Count on it." Kait laughed as he walked away. He was her only source of entertainment these days.
"You're the reason he is on blood pressure medication." Kaitlyn was forced to slide over when a body sat down next to her. She didn't answer him. She did have one question floating around her mind, though.
What was Jay doing sitting beside her?
Sober?
"Why are you always so quiet?"
"Why are you always such an ass?" She shot back. Jay just smirked.
"Quiet and feisty. Who'd have thought?" He was in a good mood. That much was obvious.
"Shouldn't you be taking shots by now?"
Jay leaned back and looked at her, his eyes wide.
~Four weeks ago~
The bartender had refused to give him another drink. But that didn't stop him from arguing.
"Just one more." Jay held up one finger to make his point.
"Look, you're the only one left in here. We close in ten minutes, why don't you just get out of here?" The bartender was ready to get rid of him. He was used to men like this overstaying their welcome. It was usually when something bad in their life happened and they wanted to forget about it. He learned along time ago never to ask what was wrong.
"Just give me another shot!" The bartender was about to have one of the bouncers escort him out when a girl appeared beside him.
"Come on, Jay, lets get you back to the hotel." She put her arms around his shoulders and led him away from the counter.
"I just wanted one more." He told her, as they exited the bar. It was already past two, and Kait was beyond tired.
"I know. Here, lets get in my car and I'll take you back to the hotel and help you to your room. Sound good?" One thing she learned was that drunk men wanted babied and he was no different. The more she babied him the better he complied with what she told him to do.
"Sure thing." She wanted to laugh, but didn't. The drive back was silent, and she was thankful the hotel was less than ten minutes away. The last thing she wanted was to drive a far distance with an annoyed drunk man in her car.
When they arrived, she helped him out of the car and into the main lobby. After coaxing out of him which floor he was on, she took them up to the fifth floor. He immediately fell onto the bed when they entered. She took off his shoes and unbuttoned his coat.
"My wife left me. Six months ago. No one knows." He mumbled to her.
"You don't have to tell me anything."
"Apparently I'm not a good husband. I'm never around enough."
"You're a wrestler. She can't expect you to be home 24/7."
"Try telling her that."
"You're better off without her." Kait stopped. What was she doing? Soothing him? Making him feel better about his crappy situation? That wasn't like her.
"Thanks, Kaitlyn." Before she could respond, he was passed out.
~End~
"Why are you staring at me? You're the one always going off about me staring!" Jay just continued to look at her.
Her?
HER?
She was the one who had been helping him? The one who he could vaguely remember the next morning? She was the one who he had been telling Adam about? Adam had called him crazy and delusional, but Jay knew that wasn't the case.
"Why do you come out if you don't drink?"
"Why do you come out knowing your going to drink?" She countered, not sure what game he was trying to play.
"Do you always answer a question with another question? I was just trying to make small talk."
"I'd prefer if you didn't." Kait slid over further, not wanting their arms to touch. Jay stared again.
~Five weeks ago~
He was outside trying to catch a cab. He wasn't aware that the cab service shut down at midnight. That didn't stop him from waving down random cars trying to catch a ride. He just left the club everyone had went to, and was ready for bed. Actually, he had been kicked out for picking fights. Now he was outside, and all of his friends were inside.
"Hey, I'll give you a ride back." Jay turned and looked at the woman standing behind him. He smiled at her as his body swayed back and forth.
"Want me to drive?" His words were slurred, but she was able to make them out.
"I think I can handle it. You staying at the Holiday INN with everyone else?" She asked and he nodded.
"You know, you really shouldn't drink so much. You're going to end up hurting yourself." She lectured.
"Mhmm hmm." He mumbled, laying his head against the cool window. He was passed out by the time she got him to the hotel. She allowed him to put most of his body weight on her as they walked to the elevators. Do you know what it is like having a barely conscious 225lb wrestler lean on your 120lb frame? It's a bitch. They went through their usual routine of her getting him settled into bed.
"I'll thank you for this tomorrow." He mumbled, his words getting lost in his pillow.
"I'd prefer if you didn't"
~End~
He was more than sure that she was the one. So now that only left one question.
"Where were you the night I wrecked my car?" Kait looked at him, confused.
"Probably sleeping."
"You weren't there to stop me." Kait was amazed at how different he was sober than when drunk. She definitely preferred him drunk.
"I wasn't aware it was my job to follow you around and keep you out of trouble." She rolled her eyes at him, trying to play it cool. She really didn't want him to know what she had been doing for him, but she was almost positive he had figured it out.
"It has been for the past five months. Why'd you stop?"
Yeah, she'd take a guess and say he figured it out.
"Look, Jay. It's not what you think. I don't have some mad crush on you or anything. I had just watched you drink yourself into a slump, and no one was around to help you. I just made sure you made it back to the hotel alright."
"Kaitlyn, you saw me in my boxers, I told you secrets, that's not nothing. You could blackmail me and I'd have no choice but to comply." She shrugged, trying not to think back to him in his boxers. When Jay was drunk, he loved to strip because he was hot. That was something she learned rather quickly.
"I'll save it for when I need something."
"I'm sure you will."
"Speaking of your recent habits, why aren't you drinking tonight?" She asked. It was rather odd to see him in a club sober.
"Papa Adam made me promise to lay off for a while."
"Does anyone know about...you know...the divorce, yet?" She asked, hoping she wasn't overstepping her boundaries.
"No. I'll tell them though. Soon."
"I suppose that's good, then." Things were back to being awkward.
"Okay, I have one question for you. Why do you stare at me in catering?"
"You had me worried for awhile, and I figured the best thing to do was keep an eye on you. Of course you had to say the wrong thing and piss me off which resulted in me saying fuck it. Then you wreck your car and I'm getting bitched at for not being compassionate enough. Can you believe that? I mean, yeah, I could have asked how you were or something, but I knew you were fine because I had seen you earlier in the day." She took a deep breath when her Gettysburg Address was over.
"Want to dance?" Was his response.
"I don't dance."
"Me either. But it's KISS." Kait shut up and listened to the song playing. He was right, it was KISS. Cold Gin was blaring throughout the place.
"Okay, but just this once." He led her out to the dance floor among what had to be at least a hundred other people.
One dance turned into three. Then five.
"Want to make sure I get back to my room safely, tonight?" He asked, pulling her closer so she could hear him over the music.
"I don't think you need my help."
"Just in case."
"You're right. Better safe than sorry." She agreed. They grabbed their stuff and promptly left.
They both lay on the bed, panting, trying to catch their breath. A thin sheet was slung over them, the perspiration causing the sheet to stick to their naked bodies.
"I definitely think you need to make sure I make it back here every night."
"I'll see what I can do."
Silence consumed then for the next several minutes, each content just laying there. All silence must be broken at some point or another.
"Ew, Jay that's fucking gross!" Kait screeched, rubbing her arms on the sheet.
"Never heard that one after sex." Jay joked, looking down at her.
"Your cheap ass tanning spray rubbed off on me."