Chapter Four:
Fascination
Kem

April 2, 2009.
Trish's Hotel Room, Room 890.
5:58 PM.

Randy started his day off the usual way. He'd get up at nine, go to the gym and pump iron until twelve, have lunch with John and Trish until one and just play off the day until the evening. There wasn't much that he had wanted to do before the highlight of his day. He was picking up Hillary for their little so-called date to the Lyrics musical.

"Randy, look who's here all pretty for you…" Trish said as she opened the door to the bedroom and peeked out. Through the open door, little Hillary poked out a lightly made-up face and a bunch of curled brunette locks.

Randy stood up from where he sat on the couch, stretched out his jeans and polo shirt, and smiled. This little girl could brighten up his day anytime. "Hey there, Ri-ri…" he spoke softly as he knelt down and stretched his hand out. "Come out here so I can see how pretty you are…"

Hillary went back into the room and shut the door, leaving her mom standing outside and Randy blinking with a chuckle. Trish shook her head and said, "She's a little shy right now…"

"I'll go talk to her…" Randy said with a smile as he went to the door and knocked on it gently. "Ri-ri… Can Uncle Randy come in?"

"No." came the little girl's stubborn reply.

"Ri-ri…" Randy said. He twisted the knob and realized that it was open and unlocked. He pushed the door open and saw the little girl sitting on the bed with her back to him. He'd notice that white princess dress anywhere. He stepped in and shut the door quietly behind him. He walked over to her and said, "Ri-ri, what's wrong?"

"Go away!" she said and looked away from him.

"Hillary…" he said in a serious voice as he knelt down in front of her.

"What?" she said arrogantly, reminding Randy of Trish.

"Hillary, look at Uncle Randy…" he said.

Hillary turned her head and looked at Randy dead in the eyes. "Okay, now tell Uncle Randy what's wrong…"

She looked down at her lap with tears streaming down at her face before saying, "I no pretty 'nuff, Unca 'andy… No pretty 'nuff for you…"

He sighed and took the little girl in his arms. He took her place on the bed and placed Hillary on his lap. He asked, "Why, Ri-ri? You know you're always pretty in Uncle Randy's eyes…"

"Me not pretty like girl you wub… So if me not pretty 'ike her, Unca 'andy no wub me an-y-more…" Hillary said in between sniffles.

Randy smiled at her innocence and hugged her, "Ri-ri, you're pretty in your own way; and Uncle Randy loves you just the way you are. You don't have to be pretty like her. I'll love you all the same. See…" he pushed the curls away from her face. "You're really pretty… Look how your mommy made you extra pretty for me today!"

"So, you wub me, Unca 'andy?" Hillary asked.

Randy nodded. "M-hmm! Uncle Randy loves his little Ri-ri very much."

"P'omise?" she asked.

"Promise."

"'inky swear?"

He smiled. "Pinky swear."

They locked pinkies and sealed the deal. "C'mon, now… Smile for Uncle Randy." He said.

Little by little, hesitant at first, Hillary broke into a toothy smile and hugged one of her favorite uncles. Randy smiled and hugged her back tightly, as if never to let her go. "Don't ever think you're not pretty enough, ok?" he said. She nodded.

"Well, let's go then! We have a date, remember? We're going to see the Lyrics musical!" he said enthusiastically.

She giggled at her uncle and allowed him to carry her outside where they met her mom. "Momma, Unca 'andy and me gonna 'eave a'eady!" she said.

Trish smiled and walked up to them. "Well, you two take care. Randy, make sure she's home by nine, ok? She still has her bedtime to follow." She said in a motherly way.

"Yes, ma'am!" he replied and saluted to her. "We're off now!"

Trish gave Hillary a kiss on the cheek, as did the little girl to her mother, and soon, the two were off to see the musical at the local theatre. It wasn't very far. Randy drove his Hummer while Hillary sat strapped in behind the driver's seat and played with her dress. Soon enough, they reached the theatre, found a parking space and got ready to go in.

Randy carried the little girl as to not get her pretty white shoes dirty. Once they were inside and they had given their tickets to the ticket man, they found their seats and sat there quietly waiting for the show to start. Luckily, no one spotted Randy and walked up to him for an autograph or a picture. Hillary never liked it when other people took her Uncle Randy away during their bonding time.

The musical began and the little girl watched the actors and actresses with gleaming eyes…

It was a story about a writer, Jonathan, who wrote special lyrics that brought a young woman, Kelly, to life. Whenever he sings the song, the girl would be brought to life and would live a total of twelve hours. Jonathan fell in love with Kelly and spent almost every waking moment with her.

That was, until in one particular set of twelve hours, the wicked wizard Carlo kidnapped the girl and the lyrics. He also took away Jonathan's voice. He tried to make her fall in love with him but he couldn't, for she disappeared before he could force her to say yes to his marriage proposal. He tried singing the song, but couldn't get the notes right, so he was stuck with a piece of paper and no girl.

He thought to himself that if he couldn't have Kelly, no one should have her. So Carlo burned the only copy of the lyrics and left Jonathan to lie in misery. He had lost the love of his life. He had lost his voice. He couldn't do anything more.

Still, he tried to break the curse and tried to sing. He screamed at the top of his lungs but nothing came out. One night, he looked out his window and saw a shining star. He wished hard on the star and asked for the love of his life. A fairy came out and said that he should first kill Carlo, then he would get his voice and Kelly back.

Jonathan defeated Carlo in a battle of swords and sabers. There was no magic allowed in the fight. Once, Carlo was vanquished, the fairy appeared in front of Jonathan and beckoned him to sing. She used her magic to recreate the burnt paper with the lyrics, so Jonathan opened his mouth and sang every note.

Kelly came to life and soon, the two lovers were united. The fairy said that thanks to their undying love for each other that crossed the borders of life, inexistence and sacrifice, she would permanently allow Kelly to live and love with Jonathan.

Randy saw the actress who played Kelly and noticed that she was RC under layers of make-up and fancy clothing. It was her again. To him, she looked as beautiful as ever. She acted so well and portrayed her character even better. In the midst of his trance, though, Hillary suddenly sat on his lap and snuggled up to him because she was scared of Carlo and his magical mayhem.

The musical ended and the cast took their final bows. The audience gave a standing ovation to the artists. The curtains were closed and the lights were turned on. Everyone started leaving their seats, including Randy and Hillary. The two walked hand-in-hand to the lobby and went outside. Randy, deciding that he wanted to congratulate RC, bought three pretty daisies from the flower vendor nearby and waited for RC and the others to come out.

While waiting, Hillary had fallen asleep in Randy's arms. The little girl lost all her energy awing at the musical. Soon enough, the entire cast stepped out of the theatre and Randy, with the little girl in his arms, sought RC. He found her standing near the edge of the sidewalk waiting for a cab to come by.

"RC!" he called out. She spun her head to see a familiar man walk up to her with a kid in his arms.

"Hey, Randy! What brings you here?" she asked, her hands still stuffed in her trench coat.

"I came to see the show with this little princess over here." He answered.

"Aaw. The little girl's asleep. Must've tired her out. Is she your daughter?" she asked, admiring the sleeping angel's face.

"Nah. She's the daughter of a friend of mine, Trish. Trish Stratus. I promised the kid I'd take her to see the show." He replied.

"I see! Well, you better get her home already! I'm thinking she wants to be in bed with her stuffed animals now." she joked.

He laughed. "Yeah, I guess I should. But I wanted to wait out here for you. I wanted to say congratulations on a great show! I never knew you acted or sang!" he said and smiled at her.

She chuckled. "Well, not many people take me for an artist."

There was a brief moment of silence before Randy remembered the daisies he had bought. "Oh! Uhm… Here! These are for you." He said and handed her the flowers.

She accepted them and smiled. "Thank you! Aaw. They're so pretty!" she replied.

"Just like you…" he said with a sweet smile.

It was fascination. I know.
A passing glance. A brief romance.

She blushed and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Thanks…"

Little Hillary woke up and rubbed her eyes. "Unca 'andy… Are we home now?" she asked.

"Not yet, Ri-ri. But look, I've got someone I want you to meet…" he said and turned so she could see RC. "Her name is RC. She's the one who played Kelly, remember?"

Hillary tilted her head and scanned RC's face. "You 'ook 'ike girl in picture…" she said.

RC chuckled. "Hi there… Ri-ri, was that?" she said.

"'illary." Little Hillary said. "Only Unca 'andy can call me 'i-ri."

"My bad, Hillary. Well, my name is RC. Nice to meet you, Hillary." RC said with a smile.

"'ice to meet you, too. You like my Unca 'andy?" Hillary smirked.

"Okay!" Randy said before RC got to say anything. "You know what, Ri, we've got to get you home! Your mommy's gonna scold Uncle Randy already! Now, let's get you strapped up in the car, okay?" he said and shoved the kid into the backseat of the car. He strapped her in and shut the door.

"Forgive her. She tends to say things out of context." He said to RC and smiled innocently.

RC laughed and patted him on the head. "You two are so darn cute!" she said. "Well, like you told Hillary, you'd best get home now. It's past her bedtime and her mom might scold you. I'd best head home now, too."

"Wait! Uhm… Maybe I could give you… a ride home? It isn't really safe around here at this time of the night." He said and gave off his best innocent smile.

"Nah, I'll be fine. I'm used to it. I'll just catch a cab and be home in no time."

"No, I want to." He insisted. "Please? We can drop the kid off at Trish's hotel room then… I don't know… I was kind of thinking we could chill and hang out or something… like… friends?"

She thought for a minute and said, "Well, if you're insistent, maybe yeah, we could do that." before smiling.

"Great! Well… Hop in!" he said and opened the driver's passenger seat door for her.

She got in and looked behind her. Hillary was knocked out. Randy got in the driver's seat and chuckled at the sight of the knocked out little girl. "Guess she's really tired." She said.

They drove to the hotel first to drop Hillary off at Trish's hotel room. They parked the car and went up to Trish's room. Randy was carrying Hillary and RC was just there to accompany him. Trish opened the door and chuckled, "I see she got herself tired."

Randy handed the sleeping girl to her mother and said, "Yeah, she enjoyed the show a lot."

Trish then turned her attention to RC. Trish looked like she had just seen a ghost. "Uhm… I'm sorry, but do I know you from somewhere?" she asked politely.

RC smiled and said, "I'm not sure, but for the record, hi, Trish, my name's RC…" as she stretched out her hand for a shake.

Trish shook it and then turned to Randy, "She looks awfully familiar, doesn't she?"

"Yeah, she kinda does. She was the teacher who brought her whole class to my autograph signing for their field trip, sang down at the lounge and performed at the Lyrics musical. So, yeah, she looks familiar to me!" he said and laughed wholeheartedly.

Trish smiled at the sight of Randy laughing. It's been long since he heard him like that. "Well, I'd best get this little girl to bed. I'll see you in the morning, Randy! And, RC, it was a pleasure meeting you." the former WWE diva said.

"Same to you!" RC replied. Trish then closed the door and left the two standing outside. RC turned to Randy and asked, "How come you guys seem to know me already?" and laughed.

They started walking to the elevators as Randy said, "Beats me! Hey, I know this great place we could go to get some late night ice cream. It's good stuff!"

"Don't tell me… It's… the Dairy Queen down the street?" RC said and smiled.

"Hey, how'd you know?"

"I live in St. Louis, Randy. I think I'd know where to find good stuff to satisfy a sweet tooth like mine." The two laughed and made their way to the Dairy Queen. They didn't take Randy's car that time. They just walked to the shop since it was just a couple of blocks from the hotel.

"So, tell me, Randy…" RC started. "How come Trish is with you guys? Didn't she resign two years ago?"

"Well, she wanted to travel the world again and she wanted to experience being in the WWE again. So, for the past year or so, she's been traveling with us. Good thing for her is that her daughter's still young. Trish helps out with the costume department and helps around with the divas. Hillary, on the other hand, loves playing with her uncles and aunts." He explained and smiled at the last part.

"I see. Well, then, where's her husband?"

"He comes by every now and then, but he stays at home and works most of the time. They've got the best long distance relationship I've ever seen. I admire them, you know. But enough about them! C'mon, I want to know who is this RC I've been talking to." He said.

"Well… I've got answers if you've got questions." She said.

"For starters… What does RC stand for?" he asked.

"Raia Cathleen."

"And… where exactly do you live?"

"Left on the third street from here. Then, second house on the left." She said and pointed it out to him.

"No kidding! I live on the first house on the left!" he exclaimed.

"Seriously? So that's why no one's ever there!" she said. "Wait, what was happening over there last night? I got home from my shift at the lounge and it was all dark and creepy. But there was someone inside…"

"Oh, uhm… That was me. I was sort of out of it last night so I… Yeah, that." He explained and looked down. "I'm sorry if I creeped you out or anything. I was just… out of it. I didn't want to cause a fuss at the hotel so I went home and did it there."

She nodded. "That's ok. I understand. But cut down on the crash and burn sounds, okay? I wouldn't be surprised if the police suddenly raided your house on the thought that someone broke in." she said and smiled.

He laughed. "Yeah, I'll keep that in mind the next time I do that."

They got to the Dairy Queen and stepped inside. Randy offered to treat her to her favorite sweets and she accepted the offer. They each got a cup of their favorite Blizzard ice cream and then went back outside to continue their walk. They were going to the nearest park and playground so they could just chill and sit there.

At the playground, they sat on a swing each and continued their little chat.

"So, how come you're teaching kindergarten, singing at the lounge and acting at the theatre at the same time?" Randy asked as he ate his ice cream.

She gulped down the ice cream in her mouth and replied, "Well, I needed the cash. So, I made ends meet and worked out a schedule where I could take on four jobs and still keep my sanity in check."

"Four?"

"Oh, uhm, I work part-time at Hyperfusion on Saturday nights. They give good tips there, especially when there's a huge event."

"You do? My friends threw me a party there last night. Wasn't exactly the best, but I'm thankful they remembered."

"Why? What was the occasion yesterday?" she inquired.

"It was my birthday, actually."

"Oh, well… Happy Birthday!" she said.

"Thanks."

"And because it's your birthday, well, was, I'm going to get to sing you a birthday song!" she said and giggled. "C'mon, c'mon… Maybe you've got a request or something! It's gonna be my late gift for you!"

He shook his head and said, "Nah. It's okay… You don't have to sing…"

"I want to! Please? I'd regret it if I didn't get to sing you a birthday song!" she said.

"Fine…." he said and smiled. "Maybe you could sing… that song back in the musical? During the part when Jonathan and Kelly were reunited. I liked the sound of that one."

"Alright, well, here goes. I can only sing Kelly's part." She said.

"It's ok." Came his reply.

RC stood up and started to sing for Randy.

I yearn for your touch, your soft sweet kiss
I'll hold your hand in mine just like this
And we'll hold on. We'll always hold on.
Until I'm in your arms again

I don't know how long I've really loved you
I'll stand here, right in front of you
No matter what happens, whatever gets in the way
We'll always see the day

Tell me you'll always love me
That you'll never really need to see
Why you fell over and over again
And tell me it's never the end of our forever
It's never the end of forever
As long as I'm in your arms with your love
And your sweet kiss

We'll be alright, simply alright
It'll all be alright
For you and me…

Randy applauded for her magnificent performance and gave off a huge smile. "That was amazing…" was the only thing he could say.

She curtsied for him and chuckled a little. "I'm glad you liked it." she said and sat back down on the swing.

The rest of the night, they talked more and more about themselves and inquired more about each other. They talked about their professions, their bosses, sports, what they do during their free time and basically almost all the basic stuff of the "getting to know each other" stage.

At the end of their little outing to the playground, they both decided to walk back to the hotel to grab Randy's car and drive home. The playground was near the hotel anyways. They hopped into his Hummer, drove to the third street and turned left. Randy parked his car in his driveway first before hopping out to accompany RC to her house.

And I might have gone on my way empty-hearted.
My fascination. Ooh.

At her doorstep, he asked, "I'm wondering if it's too much to ask… But, I don't really like calling you RC… So maybe, if you'd allow me… Maybe I could call you Raia instead?"

She nodded. "Yeah, it's okay. I'm alright with it."

"Alright. Cool. Well, we'd best get some sleep. Tomorrow's probably another long day. So… You've got my number already, right?"

"Yeah, you gave it to me two days ago in the strangest of ways." She said and chuckled. "I'll just send you a message then…"

"Yeah. Thanks for, you know, letting me treat you and hanging out with me…"

"Thanks for offering. Are you going back to the hotel?"

"Nah. I'll crash here at my place. But I'll probably head back to the hotel tomorrow morning for a workout."

"Alright. Well, I had a great time with you tonight."

"Same here. I'll talk to you tomorrow, then?" he inquired.

She nodded and said, "Sure. Tomorrow."

"Bye. Have a nice sleep. I promise I won't crash things around the house this time." He joked.

She laughed and said, "You better not."

The two went their separate ways and entered their own houses. RC, or now preferably called Raia, changed her clothes and lay down on her bed. She sent him a message before drifting off into wonderland.

Randy, on the other hand, changed into his nightwear and sat on his bed thinking about the night's happenings. He got his phone and saw a message from an unknown number. He opened it and it said:

Hey. Raia here. Thanks for tonight. I really appreciate it. See you soon! G'night.

He smiled and replied to her message before flipping his phone closed and placing it on the night stand. He saw the scrapbook Hillary made sitting there on the stand so he took it and flipped it open. There were a lot of pictures of him and Riz. It'll all be alright for you and me… the line of the song repeated itself in his head.

Suddenly he realized that that night, Riz hardly passed his mind. It was as if Raia made him forget all about Riz. Not completely, but enough to detangle him from his web of questions. He smiled, lay down with the scrapbook beside him and whispered before falling asleep:

"I love you, Riz. I'll never ever forget you. But maybe, just maybe, this is letting go."

My fascination, ooh, my, my fascination turned to love.

Alright! So, reader, did you like this chapter? I myself love how Randy's slowly moving on. Do you have any suggestions or comments? If you do, or even if you don't, please review and share your thoughts.

In the meantime, there's a poll up on my homepage for Final Touches. If you're interested in that story, please vote for what you want to happen. Who knows, it may just be what really happens in the story. Thanks!

-veracruzortongal