Chapter 1

Stephanie McMahon stepped into the catering area of Monday Night Raw and looked around, looking for him. After a few moments of just scanning the room, she spotted him standing alone by a cooler full of bottled water. A smile crept to her lips as she observed him, just taking in every little detail of his appearance, from his long, straight hair to his awesome smile and that fantastic body he had. Lord, does he have an awesome physique, she thought as she watched him. His body is so sexy and muscular... It just oozes sex appeal!

"Why haven't you talked to him yet?" came an inquisitive male voice right in her left ear.

"Chris, you know why," she sighed, turning to face her best friend. "He makes me nervous and-"

"I know, I know," Chris Jericho interrupted. "When you get nervous, you get tongue-tied." The blonde man folded his arms across his chest as he observed his best friend, who had turned back around to look at the guy she had been crushing on for quite some time. "Look, why don't you just start off slow and go say hi?" he suggested after a moment. "If you just say hi, that could start the conversation, and then everything else will go smoothly."

"I can't," she said, wringing her hands nervously.

"And why not?" he demanded, eyeing her critically. "All you've got to do, Princess, is walk over there like you're getting a bottle of water and say hi. It's simple."

"It's not simple at all," she disagreed. "Because I can't even move my feet right now. My legs are shaking like Jell-O!"

"Oh, you big wimp," he said, and he scooped her up into his muscular arms.

"What are you doing?" she shrieked, putting her arms around his neck and burying her face against his shoulder. "Where are you taking me?"

"To say hello to your man, duh," he said as he carried her across the room. He knew that people were looking at them, but he didn't care. People were always staring at them because they were always doing something crazy when they were together. "We're getting close to the cooler, Steph," he taunted in a singsong voice. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to kick your ass tonight at the hotel," she vowed. She put her arms a little tighter around his neck and leaned up a little, so that her lips would brush against his ear. "On second thought, I might just squeeze you to death right now."

"Save it for later. We're here," he whispered, putting her down. He waited for her to say something, and when she just stood there speechless, he decided to speak instead. He walked the short distance to the water cooler, pulling her along, and casually grabbed a bottle of water. He opened it and took a swig, then turned to the muscular man standing next to him, the object of his best friend's affection. "Hey, Hunter," he spoke.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley turned around and smiled. "Hey there, Chris," he replied with a smile. He looked behind Chris and his smile got noticeably wider. "Hi, Stephanie," he said in a softer voice.

"Hello, Hunter," Stephanie replied in a low voice. She smiled shyly up at him. "What are you up to today?"

"Nothing much. I'm just about to go to the gym and work out a bit," Hunter replied. He flexed his muscles for her and grinned. "See, I have to work out to keep this awesome body of mine."

"Dude, what planet are you from? No one works out in the gym anymore," Chris teased. "I mean, check out my awesome body. Think I got it in the gym?"

"You mean this awesome body?" Stephanie joked, wrapping her arms around Chris from behind and feeling his stomach. "I think I feel a little pudge here, Mr. Awesome Body."

"Really?" Chris asked, putting his hands on top of hers. He slowly started to push them down. "Go a little lower and you won't feel a little pudge... You'll feel a big bulge."

"Perv," she laughed, pulling away from him.

"But you love it," he reminded her, turning to smile at her. "And you love me."

"Of course," she said, shaking her head at him. She looked at Hunter, who was regarding them with one eyebrow raised. "See, Chris here doesn't have many other friends to love him, so I took it upon myself to befriend him and love him," she explained. "You know how that goes. It's kind of pitiful, isn't it?"

"Well, if I didn't have any friends, I wouldn't mind it if you befriended me," Hunter said with a shrug. "If you ask me, he's a lucky man."

"I am, aren't I?" Chris said with a grin. "I'm smart, I'm sexy, I'm a huge rock star... But most of all, I have this woman as my best friend, and that makes me the luckiest man alive." He put his arm around Stephanie's shoulder and pulled her against him.

Stephanie leaned against Chris and poked him playfully in the side. "I guess you forgot to mention how much you suck in the ring," she said in a mock serious tone. "Because you do...suck, that is."

"Steph," Chris gasped, putting one hand up to his heart. "I'm wounded!"

"You two are nuts," Hunter said with a laugh. He finished his bottle of water, then tossed it into a recycle bin. "So, I'm going to get going. I have to do my workout and everything, you know?"

"I'm telling you, man, there are other ways to keeping a great body, and they don't involve going to the gym..." Chris's voice trailed off as a thoughtful expression appeared on his face. "Actually," he said, tapping his chin. "I think it would be ok if you went to the gym, just as long as the woman doesn't mind the kinkiness of the situation... You've never minded, have you, Steph?"

"Chris!" Stephanie exclaimed, shoving him.

"Are you two going out?" Hunter asked curiously, looking at the two friends before him.

"Depends on your definition of going out," Chris said, smiling at the man standing in front of him. "I mean, if your definition of 'going out' includes hanging out all the time and sharing a bed sometimes when we're lonely... Then yeah, we're definitely going out."

"We are not," Stephanie said, glaring at Chris. "We're not an item, Hunter, we're just good friends. Really good friends."

"Yeah, really good," Chris agreed. "I know her inside and out..."

"Interesting," Hunter said. "Well, I'll see you later, Chris. Later, Stephanie."

"Have fun at the gym!" Chris called cheerfully as Hunter began to walk away.

"Bye," Stephanie called after him as well. She sighed as she watched him walk away, thinking of how glorious his body looked. When he disappeared from her view, she turned to Chris and glared at him. "What was up with all the insinuating comments?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked innocently. "I wasn't saying anything bad, was I?" She frowned at him then, and he pouted. "Steph... You know I didn't mean any harm, and besides, I told the truth about everything. We do hang out all the time and we do share a bed when we're lonely."

"But not that way," she said, trying to stay mad at him, but it was impossible. He was just too charming, and she found herself smiling at him. "Why do I put up with you?" she asked as she started to lead the way out of the catering area.

"Because you love me," he said cockily. "You love me and you'd never be able to live without me. We're going to get married someday, Steph, because you won't be able to stand being apart from me..."

"In your dreams, Monkey Boy," she said, laughing at him as they reached the hallway.

"In yours, Sugar Pie, or shouldI say up yours?" he countered, throwing his arms around her and starting to tickle her.

"Hey, no tickling in public!" she squealed, breaking out of his embrace and starting to run down the empty hallway.

"No one's around now," he pointed out, chasing her. "So there's no one to come to your rescue and save you from some merciless tickling at my hands."

"Wow, that was long-winded," she laughed, still running.

"I'll show you long-winded!" he promised, getting ever closer.

She made a sharp turn around a corner and ran smack into someone, another woman. They both fell down, and then Chris turned the corner and tripped over both of them.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Stephanie exclaimed, reaching over to make sure the other woman was ok. "Are you ok?" she asked worriedly.

"Of course I'm ok! I'm Mickie James, and I'm like elastic! I can bounce back from anything, anytime, any place!" Mickie James said, bouncing up onto her feet. She seemed bubbly with excitement, even though she had just basically busted her ass. She held out her hand to help Stephanie up.

Stephanie looked at her for a minute, before cautiously taking her hand. "Whoa there," she murmured as the young woman quickly pulled her to her feet. She reached over to help Chris up, but Mickie already had her hand out, and he was looking at her in the most weird way...

"So are you just going to sit there, or are you gonna let me help you up?" Mickie asked, smiling at Chris.

"I'm going to let you help me up," Chris said, sounding awestruck. He held his hand out and then stood up. "What's your name again?" he asked her, cocking his head sideways to look at her.

"Mickie. Mickie James," she said. "You want me to spell that for you? It's M-I-"

"Mickie. I got it," Chris said, shaking his head at her. "Are you ok, though?"

"I'm fine. Perfect. Never been better," Mickie said with a grin. She looked at her watch. "Oh! I have to go! I have to meet Trish for lunch! Catch you guys later!" She skipped away down the hall, her short skirt flying up a little to expose some of the skin beneath.

"What the hell was that?" Stephanie asked when Mickie disappeared. When Chris didn't reply, she looked over at him. "Chris? Are you ok?"

"She's fascinating," Chris said absently. "Very fascinating."

"I think weird would be a more fitting word to describe her," she said, laughing as they started to walk again.

"Weird," he agreed. "But cute..."

A/N: Don't ask where this story came from, because I have no clue, but here it is! Chris and Steph... I love 'em! And Mickie James is wacky, but cool... I know she's currently supposed to be "hating" Trish or whatever, but hey, it's fiction!