Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or real people portrayed in this
fic. They belong to themselves, and their characters belong to Vince
McMahon and WWE.
~
He was going to tell her. He was actually going to tell her. He had been harboring these feelings for her for so long, and it was time to let them out. He just couldn't keep it in any longer, it was too much. He wanted her to know how he felt, wanted her to know how much she meant to him.
He had loved her for so long, though she'd never realized it. He just wanted her attention so badly, and unfortunately, it came in the form of teasing. He didn't mean to tease her at first, but it just turned out that way. And the crowd had loved it so he went with it.
He hated seeing her unhappy, and he knew his words made her unhappy. Most of the time he just wanted to let it out, to tell her and the whole world that he was in love with her. But he never got the chance. He never quite reached the level of bravery he knew had to come with such an admission.
And then there was her damn husband. He was always hanging around her, as if he owned her. He didn't own her, he never had. You couldn't own somebody, but he seemed to think that she was all his, and only his, and she couldn't even be friends with other guys. He would never have treated her that way.
The day he found out they were getting a divorce was the happiest day in his life so far. He finally felt like he had found that opening. That opening that would lead him straight into her heart. And she came to him, she came to him because she needed him.
Ok, maybe she hadn't needed him per se. She used him, she used him for revenge, and he let her. Of course he let her, he loved her. He let her walk all over him, let her boss him around because he loved her. Every so often he would look in her eyes, just to see if the flame that she fueled in his eyes could be matched in hers. It never was.
It was hard to look into her eyes and only see revenge. That's all she cared about, not about him, not about them, just getting revenge on the husband who had betrayed her. He wanted to tell her on a number of occasions that he could be the one to bring happiness to her eyes, he could be the one who showed her what love was meant to be about.
But he was such a chicken he was never able to do it. He'd look into her cold eyes and chicken out. So many times he'd opened his mouth to say it, to say the words that he were burning in his heart. But they never came out, the only things that came out were the polite responses to her every request.
And then she was gone, she had to leave. He had apologized and she had actually smiled at him. She had never truly smiled at him, and he felt the warm sense of contentment wash over him as she flashed him a genuine smile. She had forgiven him, said she needed time off, and this was just a way to get it. Then she had hugged him. A platonic hug, but a hug nonetheless. And that was it.
She came back, and the feelings surged through him even greater. She hardly gave him the time of day the day she came back and that hurt. All the hopes he felt since the last time they had seen each other crumbled as she refused to hug him. In that one moment, his hope was shattered. And like the wuss he had become around her, he had fled to the safe show. Fled away from her, away from the feelings that plagued him, that kept him up at night, that haunted him.
He tried to forget her. He really truly did. He actually went out with Trish to try to get over her, but it failed miserably. He wanted Trish to be her, wanted to be on a date with her. But it was never her. Except for his dreams, it was always her in his dreams.
But today, at the Pay-Per-View, he was telling her, he was going to tell her everything he had been feeling. Maybe, just maybe she felt the same way. Maybe she pined for him just as much as he for her. Hey, anything was possible right? It could happen.
"Just tell her you moron," he said to himself. He looked at his reflection.
"It won't be hard, you just tell her, and then she'll know...And she'll reject you, kick you out of her office, and you'll blow any chance you have with her," he sighed.
His roommate walked into the room. Kurt looked at him looking at himself and wondered what was up. He had been broody for a while, and wanted to know why.
"Hey man, what's got you so down?"
"I'm telling her today," Chris said.
"Whoa, you're actually going to tell her?" Kurt asked.
"Yup, I'm actually going to tell her, I'm telling her everything."
"I can't believe it. Ten bucks says you chicken out."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence."
"You are a huge pansy where she is concerned. You'll never be able to tell her."
"Well, today I am. I'm getting her flowers and everything."
"Ooh, going all out are we?"
"You bet. I want to impress her."
"You'll have to do a lot of impressing."
"Whatever Kurt, leave me alone. I have to prepare."
"Prepare?"
"Psych myself up, I'm nervous."
"You're always nervous where she's concerned. Just don't screw this up man."
"Trust me, I won't."
********************
Chris walked out of his locker room, flowers in hand. He was truly going to do it, he was going to tell her everything about his feelings, his hopes for them, his love for her. He smiled nervously and took a deep breath before walking down the corridor. It was do or die time.
"Jericho!" he heard someone yell behind him. He turned to see Kurt running down the hallway frantically.
"Hey Kurt, I'm going to go talk to her."
"She's not there Chris."
"What do you mean she's not there? She hasn't arrived yet?"
"She's not arriving."
"What, she can't skip a Pay-Per-View."
Kurt looked at Chris, "She was in a car accident."
Chris's hands became limp, and the bouquet of pink roses fell to the ground lifelessly. Chris gasped, unaware that he had even done so. He stared blankly at Kurt, hoping that Kurt was playing some joke on him, some stupid joke to get him to calm down.
"How-is she...." Chris's voice trailed off.
"I didn't hear the details, but it's not good man."
Chris felt tears welling up his eyes. He couldn't move, he was frozen in this spot. His body wasn't functioning properly. It wasn't functioning at all. He felt like collapsing, but his body remained rigid and taut.
"Where? How? When?" The questions poured out.
"I don't know, a little while ago, she was blindsided, apparently the guy wasn't looking and slammed into her."
"Where is she?"
"I'm not sure, I think I remember, but I'm not sure."
Chris grabbed Kurt by the collar, "Where is she!?!"
"I think they send County Medical."
Chris let go of Kurt and ran out of the arena without looking back. He got into his car and drove blindly to the hospital. If you asked him, he couldn't even tell you how he got there. He parked hastily and ran inside.
"Stephanie McMahon," he said breathlessly to one of the on-call nurses.
"Excuse me?" she asked.
"Stephanie McMahon, where is she?"
"Hold on sir," she checked her database, "She's in the ICU, 4th floor."
Chris was already running towards the elevator. He tapped his foot impatiently as the elevator lurched upwards. As soon as the elevator arrived, he was out of it. He looked around quickly, and saw Vince and Linda sitting down, both with tears in their eyes. They looked up and saw Chris Jericho standing there.
"Chris, what are you doing here?" Vince asked.
"I need to see her, please," he said.
"But, why?"
"Please Vince, I'm begging you," Chris pleaded.
Vince glanced at Linda, who nodded slightly, "Go ahead, but don't upset her in any way."
"Is she awake?" Chris said hopefully.
"No, she's in a coma. They don't know if she's going to make it," Vince managed to choke out.
Chris winced at the words, "Thank you for letting me see her."
Chris walked away and slowly made his way into the room. Stephanie was hooked up to a million different machines. Her face was covered in black and blue, he could barely make out her face. She looked like she was sleeping, but Chris knew better. He sat next to her and took one of her lifeless hands in his.
"Hi Stephanie, it's me Chris. I bet you're wondering why I'm here. You couldn't have picked worse timing could you?"
He felt tears starting to roll down his eyes. The only other sound in the room besides him was the rhythmic beeping of one of the machines she was hooked up to. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and continued.
"Steph, I love you. I was going to tell you today, but then you had to go and land yourself in the hospital. But I love you. I've loved you since before I started teasing you. I've loved you through everything. I've always been in the background making sure that you were ok. I know you used me Steph, I know you didn't care about me, but I love you. I love everything about you, good and bad. I was willing to look past everything for you, willing to do anything for you."
She lay still, and he pressed on further in his speech.
"You mean the world to me. You made work worth going to, just to see you. You made every beating, every sledgehammer shot worth it, just to see a smile on your face. You made everything in my life worth it just by being there."
He wiped some tears away again, and grasped her hand tighter.
"Please don't leave me Steph, I don't know what I'd do without you. I went to Raw, and I hate it there, I hated being away from you. And I was such a wuss, I couldn't tell you how I felt because I feared you would reject me. That's why I left. Not because of you, but because of my own fears. You just never paid any attention to me unless you wanted something."
He stood up and peered down at her. Her eyes closed peacefully, and her lips turned up into what could be construed as a dreamy smile. If it weren't for the deep bruises and stark white of the bandages adorning her head, he would think her taking a nap while having a beautiful dream.
"But now you may never get to know how much I love you. And I love you Stephanie, please hold on, please use all your strength to hold on. I need you, I need you so badly."
He brushed away a stray lock of hair that was covering her face.
"Please don't go," he whispered painfully.
It was then that the rapid beeping started, and the doctors pushed him out of the room.
He took one last look at her.
THE END...
Unless you want me to continue. :)
~
He was going to tell her. He was actually going to tell her. He had been harboring these feelings for her for so long, and it was time to let them out. He just couldn't keep it in any longer, it was too much. He wanted her to know how he felt, wanted her to know how much she meant to him.
He had loved her for so long, though she'd never realized it. He just wanted her attention so badly, and unfortunately, it came in the form of teasing. He didn't mean to tease her at first, but it just turned out that way. And the crowd had loved it so he went with it.
He hated seeing her unhappy, and he knew his words made her unhappy. Most of the time he just wanted to let it out, to tell her and the whole world that he was in love with her. But he never got the chance. He never quite reached the level of bravery he knew had to come with such an admission.
And then there was her damn husband. He was always hanging around her, as if he owned her. He didn't own her, he never had. You couldn't own somebody, but he seemed to think that she was all his, and only his, and she couldn't even be friends with other guys. He would never have treated her that way.
The day he found out they were getting a divorce was the happiest day in his life so far. He finally felt like he had found that opening. That opening that would lead him straight into her heart. And she came to him, she came to him because she needed him.
Ok, maybe she hadn't needed him per se. She used him, she used him for revenge, and he let her. Of course he let her, he loved her. He let her walk all over him, let her boss him around because he loved her. Every so often he would look in her eyes, just to see if the flame that she fueled in his eyes could be matched in hers. It never was.
It was hard to look into her eyes and only see revenge. That's all she cared about, not about him, not about them, just getting revenge on the husband who had betrayed her. He wanted to tell her on a number of occasions that he could be the one to bring happiness to her eyes, he could be the one who showed her what love was meant to be about.
But he was such a chicken he was never able to do it. He'd look into her cold eyes and chicken out. So many times he'd opened his mouth to say it, to say the words that he were burning in his heart. But they never came out, the only things that came out were the polite responses to her every request.
And then she was gone, she had to leave. He had apologized and she had actually smiled at him. She had never truly smiled at him, and he felt the warm sense of contentment wash over him as she flashed him a genuine smile. She had forgiven him, said she needed time off, and this was just a way to get it. Then she had hugged him. A platonic hug, but a hug nonetheless. And that was it.
She came back, and the feelings surged through him even greater. She hardly gave him the time of day the day she came back and that hurt. All the hopes he felt since the last time they had seen each other crumbled as she refused to hug him. In that one moment, his hope was shattered. And like the wuss he had become around her, he had fled to the safe show. Fled away from her, away from the feelings that plagued him, that kept him up at night, that haunted him.
He tried to forget her. He really truly did. He actually went out with Trish to try to get over her, but it failed miserably. He wanted Trish to be her, wanted to be on a date with her. But it was never her. Except for his dreams, it was always her in his dreams.
But today, at the Pay-Per-View, he was telling her, he was going to tell her everything he had been feeling. Maybe, just maybe she felt the same way. Maybe she pined for him just as much as he for her. Hey, anything was possible right? It could happen.
"Just tell her you moron," he said to himself. He looked at his reflection.
"It won't be hard, you just tell her, and then she'll know...And she'll reject you, kick you out of her office, and you'll blow any chance you have with her," he sighed.
His roommate walked into the room. Kurt looked at him looking at himself and wondered what was up. He had been broody for a while, and wanted to know why.
"Hey man, what's got you so down?"
"I'm telling her today," Chris said.
"Whoa, you're actually going to tell her?" Kurt asked.
"Yup, I'm actually going to tell her, I'm telling her everything."
"I can't believe it. Ten bucks says you chicken out."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence."
"You are a huge pansy where she is concerned. You'll never be able to tell her."
"Well, today I am. I'm getting her flowers and everything."
"Ooh, going all out are we?"
"You bet. I want to impress her."
"You'll have to do a lot of impressing."
"Whatever Kurt, leave me alone. I have to prepare."
"Prepare?"
"Psych myself up, I'm nervous."
"You're always nervous where she's concerned. Just don't screw this up man."
"Trust me, I won't."
********************
Chris walked out of his locker room, flowers in hand. He was truly going to do it, he was going to tell her everything about his feelings, his hopes for them, his love for her. He smiled nervously and took a deep breath before walking down the corridor. It was do or die time.
"Jericho!" he heard someone yell behind him. He turned to see Kurt running down the hallway frantically.
"Hey Kurt, I'm going to go talk to her."
"She's not there Chris."
"What do you mean she's not there? She hasn't arrived yet?"
"She's not arriving."
"What, she can't skip a Pay-Per-View."
Kurt looked at Chris, "She was in a car accident."
Chris's hands became limp, and the bouquet of pink roses fell to the ground lifelessly. Chris gasped, unaware that he had even done so. He stared blankly at Kurt, hoping that Kurt was playing some joke on him, some stupid joke to get him to calm down.
"How-is she...." Chris's voice trailed off.
"I didn't hear the details, but it's not good man."
Chris felt tears welling up his eyes. He couldn't move, he was frozen in this spot. His body wasn't functioning properly. It wasn't functioning at all. He felt like collapsing, but his body remained rigid and taut.
"Where? How? When?" The questions poured out.
"I don't know, a little while ago, she was blindsided, apparently the guy wasn't looking and slammed into her."
"Where is she?"
"I'm not sure, I think I remember, but I'm not sure."
Chris grabbed Kurt by the collar, "Where is she!?!"
"I think they send County Medical."
Chris let go of Kurt and ran out of the arena without looking back. He got into his car and drove blindly to the hospital. If you asked him, he couldn't even tell you how he got there. He parked hastily and ran inside.
"Stephanie McMahon," he said breathlessly to one of the on-call nurses.
"Excuse me?" she asked.
"Stephanie McMahon, where is she?"
"Hold on sir," she checked her database, "She's in the ICU, 4th floor."
Chris was already running towards the elevator. He tapped his foot impatiently as the elevator lurched upwards. As soon as the elevator arrived, he was out of it. He looked around quickly, and saw Vince and Linda sitting down, both with tears in their eyes. They looked up and saw Chris Jericho standing there.
"Chris, what are you doing here?" Vince asked.
"I need to see her, please," he said.
"But, why?"
"Please Vince, I'm begging you," Chris pleaded.
Vince glanced at Linda, who nodded slightly, "Go ahead, but don't upset her in any way."
"Is she awake?" Chris said hopefully.
"No, she's in a coma. They don't know if she's going to make it," Vince managed to choke out.
Chris winced at the words, "Thank you for letting me see her."
Chris walked away and slowly made his way into the room. Stephanie was hooked up to a million different machines. Her face was covered in black and blue, he could barely make out her face. She looked like she was sleeping, but Chris knew better. He sat next to her and took one of her lifeless hands in his.
"Hi Stephanie, it's me Chris. I bet you're wondering why I'm here. You couldn't have picked worse timing could you?"
He felt tears starting to roll down his eyes. The only other sound in the room besides him was the rhythmic beeping of one of the machines she was hooked up to. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and continued.
"Steph, I love you. I was going to tell you today, but then you had to go and land yourself in the hospital. But I love you. I've loved you since before I started teasing you. I've loved you through everything. I've always been in the background making sure that you were ok. I know you used me Steph, I know you didn't care about me, but I love you. I love everything about you, good and bad. I was willing to look past everything for you, willing to do anything for you."
She lay still, and he pressed on further in his speech.
"You mean the world to me. You made work worth going to, just to see you. You made every beating, every sledgehammer shot worth it, just to see a smile on your face. You made everything in my life worth it just by being there."
He wiped some tears away again, and grasped her hand tighter.
"Please don't leave me Steph, I don't know what I'd do without you. I went to Raw, and I hate it there, I hated being away from you. And I was such a wuss, I couldn't tell you how I felt because I feared you would reject me. That's why I left. Not because of you, but because of my own fears. You just never paid any attention to me unless you wanted something."
He stood up and peered down at her. Her eyes closed peacefully, and her lips turned up into what could be construed as a dreamy smile. If it weren't for the deep bruises and stark white of the bandages adorning her head, he would think her taking a nap while having a beautiful dream.
"But now you may never get to know how much I love you. And I love you Stephanie, please hold on, please use all your strength to hold on. I need you, I need you so badly."
He brushed away a stray lock of hair that was covering her face.
"Please don't go," he whispered painfully.
It was then that the rapid beeping started, and the doctors pushed him out of the room.
He took one last look at her.
THE END...
Unless you want me to continue. :)