The feel of the laminated paper between her hands was exhilarating, and she was internally patting herself on the back for having the wherewithal to provide herself a backstage pass. She couldn't allow the festivities to go on around her without being able to join in on them, so, the night before, Stephanie wrote a new chapter of her story, which included obtaining the proper credentials to be allowed into the backstage area, and it had paid off in waves. She stood in wait near the arena door, not having seen Chris since their coffee break in the living room of his house the weekend before. He would be showing up anytime now, and she would be able to flaunt her pass and wave it in his face.

Nobody had a right to kick her out of the backstage area as long as it dangled around her neck, and she could hang out with Chris all she wanted. Though he seemed agitated with her presence on occasion, Chris was one of the most kindhearted characters she had created in the history of all her days spent as a writer, and he would eventually come around. He would realize she only wanted to be his friend, and the day he reached that conclusion, their relations would become easier from there on out. He had his guard up, no doubt about it, but some of the more cutthroat characters in the story had made him that way.

Chris was standoffish for a reason, but she hoped to crush the protective wall surrounding his heart. All it would take was one person he knew he could trust completely before he would relax and let her in. Stephanie pursed her lips and absently tossed the pass back and forth between each of her hands. The right opportunity hadn't arisen to ease herself into a supporting role as Vince and Linda's daughter in the story, but she would make the transition soon enough. There were still some loose ends that needed tying, and once that was taken care of, she could go after a more permanent role.

"What are you doing?" Chris's voice cut through her thoughts, and she glanced up to find him smirking as his eyes fell on her backstage pass. "Looks like somebody forged a document."

"I did not," she pouted huffily and crossed her arms. "I got my pass through totally straightforward means, so there," she finished, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Sure you did."

"I did."

"All right, fine," he relented, nodding his head towards the door. Stephanie fell into step beside him, and he held the door open, waving her in first.

"Such a gentleman. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Chris replied. They strolled down the hallway, Chris trying to sneak glances at her along the way, though she noticed every last one of them. He was thinking something about her, and knowing what she knew about him as a person, Stephanie inferred he had a lot of questions. If her instincts were correct, he was going to ask her to sit with him in catering so he could pick her brain. "So, I was planning on getting something to eat before the show. You want to sit with me?"

Stephanie smirked, having known all along he would ask. She knew Chris like the back of her hand. "I would love to. Just let me know if you need me to have one of the Bellas bring you another cup of coffee like last time," she said, his smile forcing itself downward as his brow morphed into a frown.

Chris came to an abrupt stop. "I thought we were done with the bullshit. Didn't we get past all that?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry."

"Look, if you're going to be saying that kind of thing, then I don't think we should eat together. I'm trying to work myself up into the frame of mind I need for my match tonight, and I can't do that if you're starting in on this whole controlling the world complex you have," Chris admitted. "Either you're a really good actress or you're a bit mental."

"I'm not mental."

"So you're an actress?"

"It was only supposed to be a joke, okay?" Stephanie covered, wishing she had never gone that route to begin with. She should have recognized the sensitivity in Chris and known that would set him off. She held her hand out to him, and he surprised her by taking it in his own. "I'm sorry. I would love to go eat with you, so let's just stick to that."

"Fine. I've got a million things to ask you about anyway."

Chris led Stephanie into catering, the slight buzz cutting to silence as almost every set of eyes in the place focused on them. Word had gotten around about what Stephanie had been saying to Chris, and everyone seemed to think she was nothing more than a sideshow freak, which made it all the more appalling to them that someone as widely respected as Chris was hanging out with her. The shock of the blow left her frozen to her spot just inside the door, and Chris placed his hand on the small of the back and led her the rest of the way into the room. They sidled up to the back of the food line, and he urged her in front, grabbing a paper plate and handing it over.

Never in her life had Stephanie loaded meat, rice, and vegetables onto a plate as hastily as she did that day. Chris followed behind her as she tapped her foot in wait and tried to distract herself from the tickling, gnawing sensation of being watched. Even with her back turned, she could feel everyone's beady eyes on her, judging who she was, despite the fact that they knew nothing about her as a person. She wanted a scapegoat, someone to blame for things going wrong in the story, but she was the maker of her own circumstances, so the only person to point a finger at was herself.

Stephanie was the one who created each and every one of the people in the room as they were and was finally feeling the downfall of making her characters so strong-willed and assertive. She could sense the assumptions forming in their minds, each of them probably trying to figure a way to get her away from Chris long enough that they could dig for information. They were undoubtedly gearing up to tell Chris all the reasons he needed to ditch her and find a way to ban her from the backstage area altogether. It was as if she could feel their judgments, and it was both off-putting and infuriating.

She had more of a right than anyone to be there, considering she made the damn place. "I can't believe this," she muttered.

"Ignore them," Chris said, putting the finishing touches on his plate.

He must have felt the tension as well. It permeated every inch of the room until it became stifling enough that she couldn't take the pressure anymore. She couldn't handle her own characters. Before Chris had time to react, Stephanie dropped her plate to the floor with a thud and felt the blood rush to her cheeks as she bolted out of the room, actually running to the door and storming out. A buzz followed after her, and before the door clanked shut entirely, she thought she even made out some hushed laughter.

Chris was coming for her, though, and that much she knew, so she waited near the doors, pacing with her arms folded until he showed his face. She couldn't tell whether he had dropped his plate as well or sat it down somewhere, but the most important thing was that he was concerned enough to follow through with a gracious show of support. He brought a hand to her shoulder to stop her pacing. "It doesn't matter what people think of you."

"That's easy for you to say," Stephanie jabbed, regret washing over her face as soon as the sentence was complete. "I'm sorry. I'm really not trying to be a bitch today, but, seriously, what's their problem? I've never done anything to those people."

"They just don't know what to make of you, that's all," Chris supplied, leaning back against the wall. "You've been hanging around here, and nobody knows you, so a lot of rumors have spread."

"Well, you should go eat. I'd come with you, but I can't go back in there. Everyone's staring at me like I'm some worthless idiot, and I don't want to deal with it."

"Hey," he stopped her, "you shouldn't talk like that. You're not worthless and definitely not an idiot. Who the hell cares what other people think anyway? Now that I'm thinking about it, I passed a nice restaurant on the way here. Let's just go eat there."

"Really?" Stephanie's eyes lit up.

"Sure, why not?"

"I don't know, I was just thinking you barely know me so you wouldn't want to take me out and waste your money or anything."

"It'll be anything but a waste," Chris smiled, pushing off the wall and guiding her towards the arena's exit.

Chris couldn't place his finger on what exactly it was, but he felt attracted to Stephanie. There was something about her beyond the superficial that made him feel as if they were connected, and maybe that was why he was so quick to let her hop into his rental car. It wasn't in his nature to pick up a girl he had only known for a matter of days and dish out the money for her to have a nice meal, but with Stephanie, he didn't mind. Plus, he would get to find out who she was, where she came from, and what it was that merged their paths so suddenly to begin with.

The drive was little over 15 minutes, and when they were seated and perusing their menus, Chris started in on his questioning. "You're one of the most mysterious women I've ever met," he announced, peeking at her over his menu. "I feel drawn to you, and I don't know why. What is it about you?"

"I don't know," she shrugged, but her knowing smile suggested otherwise.

"Did we know each other before or something?" Chris asked. "Is this like your test to see if I can remember you?"

"Nope."

"Then who are you?"

"The name's Stephanie," she replied.

"No, I already know that, but I mean in the greater sense. Where did you come from, why are you here, and why can't you ever answer a question straight?"

"I'd try, but you would probably never believe me," she said, picking her glass up and taking a sip of iced tea.

"Try me," Chris challenged.

Stephanie sized him up, watching him over the rim of her cup as she sipped through her straw. There was definitely a right and a wrong way to respond to his questions, but she wanted to try the truthful one. Her gut told her it wouldn't go over well, if his reaction earlier in the day was any indication, but she had to give it a shot. She couldn't continue looking herself in the mirror if she played with Chris's life without telling him what it was really about. He wouldn't want to believe her, but it was easier to relay the facts than to make up bits and pieces. Luckily, she knew a roundabout way to be up front with the reality of the situation.

"I'm a fan of yours," she said. "Huge fan."

A smile began spreading across Chris's face, and his eyes danced. "I should have guessed. So that's why you've been hanging out around the arenas. How'd you get your backstage pass?"

"We'll keep that our little secret, but I can tell you honestly that I didn't forge it. I went about getting it the right way."

"Oh, okay."

"I've seen what you do in the ring, and I like it, so I thought up a way to get backstage," she said, conveniently ignoring the part about being the person who single-handedly pieced his career together with the assistance of her own overactive imagination. "I'm not officially a part of the company, but I'm a writer, and I thought hanging around with you and the other guys might give me some inspiration. You can never have too little of that when you're a writer."

"I guess I can understand that," Chris said. Stephanie was pleased he seemed to be biting. "What about you, personally, though? Do you have a family of your own?"

"Nope, not yet. I've just got my parents, but I hope to get married and have kids at some point. You know, the whole shebang."

"I'm sure you will."

The waitress interrupted their talk to take their orders, and Stephanie was left with her swirling thoughts. She was doing Chris and everyone else an injustice by showing up without an explanation and expecting them to integrate her into their lives and accept her with open arms. She was an outsider coming into a world she wasn't entirely sure she understood herself, regardless of the fact that she was the creator of it. The people in their world were all circles, and she was the square, attempting to come in and fit where she didn't belong.

The difficulty was in the unknowns. The reason real life worked so well was because there was a solid plan in place and events played out just as they were meant to. The key to Stephanie's fantasy world playing out had everything to do with the completion of it, because once it was written in its entirety, not fate nor temptation would be able to change it. The events of the life she wanted with her characters and the friendships she hoped to build with them had to be set in stone before they could start to form. Her appearance in their world was premature.

In essence, she had to finish writing the story before she could enter their world and have everyone enjoy her presence all the way around.

The waitress scuttled away after taking their orders, and Stephanie caught Chris watching her, so she saw the perfect opportunity to see where his head was at, having made her final decision. "We might not see each other again for a long while."

"Why not?"

"I don't think I'm coming to any shows in the near future. Today will probably be my last for a while."

"Oh," he said. Stephanie thought she detected disappointment in his tone, but she couldn't decipher whether it was actually there or if she was only wishing it into existence. She liked to think Chris would at least miss her somewhat, even if they didn't know each other well at all. "Well, I wish you luck in whatever you decide to do in life. Maybe you can go get some wrestling training and be in the ring the next time I see you."

"Yeah, I'm sure that'll happen," she laughed.

Of course, the possibilities for her were endless, so it could come to fruition at some point in the future, but not before she finished the narrative in question. She was supposed to be someone important and close to Chris, and she would get there someday, but not without putting in the necessary effort to complete the plot of such a tale. She could be his friend, his girlfriend, his wife, anything she wanted, but it would require her absence in the fantasy world until she penned the full story in her real world. It was an easy trade-off to not see Chris for a long while when she reminded herself that she would have plenty of time to spend with him once her thrilling novel was concluded.

All that was required was some more work and effort on her part, and she was willing to put it in if it meant the happy ending she had been hoping for since as early as she could remember. She'd always been a hopeless romantic, and no man she would meet in her real world would ever compare to her handiwork in crafting Chris. For months on end, she would put pen to paper, and her happily ever after would come when it was meant to. She had also discovered the need to make the supporting characters a little softer so that the next time she ended up backstage, no matter how far into the future it was, the other wrestlers and divas would go a little easier on her. No more spilling plates and running away.

"Maybe we can exchange numbers," Chris's voice interrupted her musings.

"I'm sorry, what?" Stephanie asked, shaking free of her thoughts.

"I was just saying maybe I could call you sometime, just to keep in touch," he repeated, and she thought she detected the faintest of blushes coursing through his cheeks. "We don't have to, but it might be nice. That way, I can keep up with what's going on with you until you eventually come to a show in the future, if that's what you even end up deciding to do."

"Please don't take this the wrong way, but I'm going to have to pass on that offer," Stephanie said. It was hard to do, but it would all be for the best in the end. "It's not you, though."

"Oh, now I'm going to get the famous 'it's not you, it's me' line?" he smiled.

"No...well, yeah, sort of, but I actually really mean it when I say it's me. I've gotta focus on my writing, and when I finish the story I'm working on, I'll come back to hang out."

"Is that a promise?" Chris asked, a hopeful hitch in his voice. Yes, she was going to have him wrapped around her finger when the time came.

"Absolutely," Stephanie responded. "We'll definitely meet again someday."