"Hey Paul, good match man!"

Paul turned his head to see Shane McMahon trotting up behind him as he walked towards his locker room.

"You and Taker are going to tear it up at Mania," he finished, coming to stand beside him.

"Thanks Shano," Paul smiled at him then took a long pull from his water bottle. As much as he enjoyed talking to Shane, he really wanted to just get a shower and find Stephanie. He'd decided that enough was enough and was going to tell her how he felt.

"You alright?

Shane's concerned tone broke his reverie and he faked a smile. "You get chucked around the ring by Kane for fifteen minutes and see how you feel boy wonder," he joked and slapped him lightly on the shoulder. It seemed to work as Shane laughed heartily.

"No thanks! I'll leave the wrestling to you man, catch you later," he called over his shoulder as he began to walk away.

"Hey Shane!"

He turned around and noticed the slightly nervous look on Paul's face as he asked his question.

"Do you know where Steph is? She wasn't at ringside tonight and I really need to talk to her." Paul shuffled his feet nervously as he waited.

"Yeah, she was at the gorilla and then left once your match was over actually," Shane replied.

"Thanks Shane. I'll see you later." He sighed once Shane was out of earshot. He knew why Stephanie left. She didn't want to run into him after the match. He walked inside the locker room and slumped against the door, closing it in the process. He closed his eyes as he ran a hand over his weary face.

"Paul?"

His eyes snapped open at the sound of her voice. He saw her standing just by the couch, nervously wringing her hands together. She had an unreadable expression on her face and it made his stomach flip over.

"Stephanie. What are you doing here?" He walked closer to her until they were standing a few feet apart. "I've missed you," he hushed, reaching out to touch her shoulder. He caressed it gently and watched as she sucked in a breath and closed her eyes.

"Paul," she breathed as she slowly brushed his arm away.

"Don't do that," he said softly.

"What?"

"Don't pull away."

A weird silence fell over them as they stood locked in an intense stare. Finally he moved to take another step towards her and frowned when she stepped back. She saw his confused look and suddenly felt terrible for coming here. She didn't know why she even did in the first place.

"Steph?" he asked, not really sure what she wanted from him.

"Look Paul, I'm sorry.....I don't even know why I came here.....I...." she rambled, her confused thoughts spilling out into her speech. She made a move towards the door and opened it, anxious to just get the hell out of there. But her body stiffened and her eyes closed over when she felt his large frame quickly move behind her. His big hand was placed flat against the door which he pushed closed. It moved from the door and came to rest on her arm and he gently tugged her round to face him. Being this close to him was playing havoc with her senses. She could smell his faint cologne lingering around his body. Even after a wrestling match he still managed to smell great and she could never for the life of her figure out how he managed to do that. His eyes were boring into her and she wanted nothing more than to fall into his arms. But she couldn't. No matter how badly she wanted to she simply couldn't.

"I know why you came here," he said softly, taking a step back and giving them both some space. "You came here because you know as well as I do, that this being apart thing we got going on, it just isn't going to work."

She was slightly shocked by his words but at the same time, her heart beat madly in her chest. He just admitted he wanted to be with her. "Paul....."

"No. Just let me finish OK?" He continued at her nod of the head and gently took her hand. "Steph I....."

The shrill ring of Stephanie's cell phone cut him off. They both looked at each other, neither making a move until the screeching sound became unbearable and she lifted the phone from the snap on her hip. Glancing at the caller ID, a panicked expression crossed her face when she saw who it was. Oscar.

"Shit," she cursed under her breath, causing Paul to raise an eyebrow in curiosity. Just as she went to answer, the phone stopped ringing. But just as quickly it started up again and she looked at him apologetically. "Sorry but I have to take this."

Paul tried to control the anger that quickly started to build within him from this situation. He was about to bare his soul to her, didn't she see that? "It can wait," he stated firmly but it was too late, she already had the phone to her ear.

"Hi! Yes and I'm sorry. I was with a friend....."

"A friend? Is that all I am to you now?" he looked at her incredulously. How could she just stand there and have a damn phone conversation as if nothing was happening between them?

Stephanie pulled the phone from her ear and sighed. What the hell did she do to deserve being caught in the middle of a situation like this? "Paul, of course you're more than that and you know it. Gimme a break! What the hell do you want me to say?"

"Give you a break? Give YOU a break?"

"Stephanie? Are you there?" The muted voice from the cell phone dangling in her hand interrupted their heated conversation and Stephanie quickly put the phone back to her ear.

"Yes I'm here. Just give me one second alright?" she answered quickly. She turned her attention back to Paul and matched his angry expression. It wasn't her fault that she got a phone call now.

"This is ridiculous! You know what, have your damn call!" Paul fumed at her, trying his best to ignore the sound of the very male voice on the other end of her call. Despite the fact that this was his locker room, he grabbed his bag from the couch and without a second glance in her direction, he stormed out of the room.

Stephanie flinched as the door slammed shut. What the hell was he so pissed off about? It wasn't like they were in the middle of something important. No it was more like something awkward and stupid. She lifted the phone back to her ear. "Sorry about that Oscar. Yes, I'll be ready then. See you in ten, bye." She hung up the phone and slowly made her way out of the room and headed in the direction of the parking lot where she would meet Oscar and then head out for their date.

Stephanie dejectedly arrived at the parking lot a few minutes later still trying to figure out what the hell had just happened. Why was he acting like that and what did she do to make him just storm out on her?

"Stephanie?" came a slightly nervous male voice to her right.

She lifted her head to find a tallish man with short brown hair and soft blue eyes smiling back at her. He offered her his hand as she approached and she took it, smiling back at him. "You must be Oscar."

"That would be me yes," he joked, gently shaking her hand before letting go. "Marissa's told me a lot about you although she failed to mention how beautiful you are."

Stephanie bowed her head to hide the faint red glow staining her cheeks. "Thank you," she said quietly. They stood awkwardly for a few seconds before Oscar motioned to his car.

"So...you want to go grab a bite to eat?

She nodded her head and smiled gratefully. "Yes I'm starving!"

"Great, let's go," he said and placed his hand on the small of her back, leading her the short distance to his car. He stepped in towards her, closing the distance between their bodies as he reached for the door. He flashed her a grin as he opened it and she hopped in, thinking that this wasn't going to be so bad after all. If Paul wanted to act like a jackass then let him. She was going on a date with what seemed to be a nice guy and she wasn't going to let him ruin it. Even if her heart wasn't fully in it, she truly believed Marissa when she said the best way to get over Paul would be to try and date again. But as she settled into her seat, she felt her heart catch in her throat as a pair of piercing hazel eyes bored a hole through her from the opposite side of the car window. Paul. He looked like she had just spit in his face. The gym bag that was hanging over his shoulder fell to the ground as he stood there, his face displaying a hundred different emotions all at once. And suddenly it hit her. Back in the locker room, he was going to tell her something. He was going to tell her he wanted to get back together. And now he'd caught her sitting in another man's car ready to go on a date with him. As Oscar started the engine and put the car into gear, she fought to hold in her tears. The car slowly rolled past him and she couldn't bring herself to look. Instead, she looked straight ahead and sucked in a sharp breath as the car passed him by. Once they were out of the garage and safely round the corner, she let go of the breath currently stuck at the back of her throat and possibly with it, her chance to get him back.