I have decided to change the title of this story from "I Strongly Dislike You" to "Paying the Price". I just thought it suited the plot better. But anyway, judging from reviews I got from the last chapter, you're really wanting to know what happens next.

So, here it is(:

Critical

I had been calling her non-stop for the past week. No answer, no voicemail. Hell, I hadn't even seen her around for the past week. Not in the hotel, not on the plane. It was almost like Maryse had dropped off the face of the Earth. But of course she hadn't. She was still here.

And that's exactly why I had been strolling around the halls of the arena for the past hour.

After stopping by the locker rooms, I had saw her bag, but she had been nowhere to be seen. One could only guess she was with Ted. I was completely repulsed by the thought. Refusing to give into the urge to gag, I turned another corner, only to walk right into a group of a rather chatty Bella Twins. I jumped at the opportunity.

"Brie, Nikki, hey!" I plastered a smile onto my face, hoping it didn't look too fake.

They smiled back, "Hey."

"Have you seen Maryse around tonight?"

They exchanged glances quickly. It showed they knew something, but didn't think they were supposed to tell me.

"Well?"

"Well… we heard Maryse doesn't like you anymore, and we were told by her, not to tell you, where she's at." They bit their bottom lips, almost in anticipation of what I was going to reply.

The sudden urge to cry washed over me, and I immediately excused myself from the conversation.

Sure, me and Maryse hadn't been getting along, but since when weren't we friends anymore? And why did everyone get this memo but me? I slumped against the wall dropping my head into my hands, sighing.

My life was basically falling apart. And the worst part was that I hadn't even done anything wrong. I hadn't played apart in anything. It was all Cody's fault.

Cody.

His name suddenly swept into my mind giving me an idea. Cody and Ted were best friends, meaning he would know everything about what's going on with Maryse and Ted. But then of course, my brilliant idea suddenly burst into flames when I realized Cody would never just tell me. He would want something from me. Something I definitely wasn't planning on giving to him.

Sighing once again, I continued on with my journey for Maryse. I had a high doubt of ever finding her. For all I know she's probably with Ted in his locker room. I immediately cursed myself for having thought that, when the thought of what they might be doing in there became a mental image I would have rather lived without.

A sudden buzzing came from my pocket, and, what has seemed to become a reflex over the past week, whipped my phone from my pocket at lightening speed. Anxious to see who was calling, I quickly glanced at the call ID, being immediately disappointed when I noticed that it wasn't Maryse, but Mike, that was calling.

Mike.

According to Cody, Mike only wanted to go out with me to make Maryse jealous, and if that was the case maybe he knew where she was. I pressed the talk button on my blackberry's keypad.

"Hello? Mike?"

"Kelly, hey." He sounded nervous, though there was no reason for him to be.

"Um, this might seem kind of random, but have you seen Maryse?"

There was a slight pause on the other end of the line. "Maryse?"

"Yes, Maryse. You seen her?"

"Actually, no, I haven't. but look Kelly, there's something I need to…" His voice faded from my mind as I heard a distinct French-Canadians voice just around the corner of the next corridor.

"Um, Kelly?"

I glanced down to the phone in my hand, completely confused as to what he had just said. "Mhm, sure. That's interesting. Look I gotta go." I pressed the end button before he could even reply, and moved in the direction the voices were coming from.

Rounding the corner I caught sight of the platinum blonde of hair of my.. Ex-best friend?

She was standing with Ted ranting in French, and I'm sure he didn't know one word she was saying. Which, for a fraction of a second, caused me to crack a smile. Coming back down to reality rather quickly, I shook my head, the smile disappearing from my features.

I tried to play cool, and keep calm. I planned to be nonchalant, and to act like the fact Maryse hated me now didn't bother me. But, sadly, I failed miserably.

A sudden anger passed over me as I suddenly screamed, "What the fuck is this?" at the top of my lungs.

Maryse twirled, her brown eyes locking with mine. Hatred flickered in her eyes, but before it was truly recognizable, it was gone. She rolled her eyes, scoffing in disgust.

Ted was the first to speak, "It's Maryse and I, standing here, having a conversation, that you so rudely interrupted."

I glared daggers at him, wishing he would just disappear. I pointed a tan finger at him, and through clenched teeth, "I wasn't talking to you."

Maryse was quick with a response, smacking my finger away. "Don't you dare talk to my boyfriend like that!"

Had I been drinking something, it would have been splattered all over her face right about now. "Boyfriend?" I was completely incredulous. Since when were they an item? "What about Mike?"

Maryse scoffed. "He's yours now, remember?" She paused for a moment to roll her eyes at me. "And besides, I don't know why you're so hung up on me and him. We had sex. I was drunk. It meant nothing."

"Maybe not to you. But to Mike it did mean something"

She let out a low chuckle, as did Ted. "Now that's his problem now isn't it? And I could honestly careless about him."

Though she sounded completely genuine, I knew otherwise by looking into her eyes. She did care, maybe not as much as he did. But she cared. I wasn't sure why, either. But I noticed one thing about my former friend. Ted had changed her from a gorgeous, caring woman, into a cold, heartless bitch. I shook my head, "God, you're such a bitch."

One moment I had been bashing my ex-best friend, the next I was holding my face in pain, gawking at the woman in front of me. I rubbed my left cheek gently, trying to ease the pain where her hand had just made contact.

"No one calls me a bitch, and gets away with it." and then she was gone. Ted in tow.

My mind suddenly went blank as I slumped against the nearby wall, my eyes welling up with tears. I tried to hold them in, but soon they erupted, and my face was streaked with running mascara.

I was in a critical emotional condition, and I was positive that if one more bad thing happened, my life would surely fall to bits. Sitting there whimpering, sobbing, and sniffling, I had mainly blocked out all other sounds. But it was nearly impossibly to ignore the thuds of footsteps coming towards me.

I didn't even need to look up, to know who it was that was now at my side.

Review, please?