A/N Thanks to; Christina89, Tenshi no Koneko, Abiha, Souless666 and JenniferRayne for reviewing the last chapter. Much appreciated, as always and I love you guys :D As always, apologies for taking so long to update, I am trying, I promise.

So, on with the show!

"Are you even listening to me?"

"What? Did you say something, Cody?"

"Tahni! This is important." Cody shook his head in exasperation, then stood up. He moved to crouch in front of Tahni, taking her hands gently in his and looking up at her, "I know what you're thinking, but don't. Everything's gonna be fine." He stood up, pressing his lips lightly to her forehead as he did. "Come on; let's go show our faces, shall we?"

Tahni wrinkled her nose at him but stood up. She adjusted her brown, combat dress and shook her bright blue hair from her eyes. This was the first night that they were going out as an official couple in public. Tahni actually felt a little sick with nerves, but she wasn't about to tell Cody that. He seemed utterly un-fazed by this.

"Alright, alright. Let's go."

"If I didn't know better, Cauldwell, I'd think you didn't want to go out with me." He nudged her playfully and she rolled her eyes at him, but said nothing as he lead her out of the hotel room and down to the bar below.

"Glenny!"

"Tahni, hey! How are-"

"Save me!" She whispered to him loudly as Cody grabbed her hand and dragged her away from Glen again. Glen just stared after her as she smiled politely at the people surrounding the newly announced couple. Even from here he could tell she was faking it and badly at that. She really was a terrible actress. He shook his head and wandered over. "Cody, would you mind if I stole Tahni for a minute?"

Cody looked surprised, having never been personally addressed by Glen before. He was mute for a moment, before nodding. Glen put an arm loosely over Tahni's shoulders and led her away towards the bar. She sighed in relief and lightly slapped her hand against his stomach, "Thanks, big guy."

"Tahni, what the hell are you doing?"

"Ordering a beer. Want one?"

"I meant with Runnels."

"Beer, please. We're dating, Glen. What does it look like?"

"It looks like you're put on a really bad show of being into him."

"I like Cody."

"Not like that, you don't."

"Sure, I do. He's cute and funny and sweet."

"Tahni."

"Ooh, beer. Thanks. He's paying." And just like that, she disappeared again, leaving Glen to pay for her beer and ponder the fact that she was definitely hiding something from him. That in itself was unusual. Tahni usually told him everything, even when he didn't want to know about it. He sighed and leaned on the bar, watching her again. There was no denying that she and Cody were a cute couple and they obviously got along very well, there was no awkwardness between them, but there was no chemistry either. They were friends, potentially great friends, but nothing more.

"Ah, shit. Here's trouble." Glen groaned as Randy walked into the bar. Why? Why did he always have to show up? Why could he and Tahni not just avoid each other? It was like some mischievous fate was playing with everything and having a good laugh over the chaos created when they were in the same room.

Tahni smiled in response to something one of Cody's friends had said. She recognised the young man, but couldn't place him. He must have worked for the company, but she simply could not remember his name. She could feel the gentle pressure of Cody's hand on the small of her back, keeping her close to his side and she leaned lightly against him, not uncomfortable with his touch. It was then that she felt a kind of heat in her mind and the sensation of being watched. She frowned a little and turned her head just a fraction, feeling a kind of magnetic pull. She knew, without knowing, what she would see and she was not disappointed.

Randy was stood at the bar, seemingly alone and his eyes seemed to be trying to burn right through her skin. Their gazes locked for a moment and she felt almost trapped. Her breath caught in her throat and she quickly looked at Cody again, "Excuse me a minute, I need some air."

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Cody. Just a bit warm in here." She smiled reassuringly at him and then quickly left his side. She slipped out of the door into the gardens outside and took a deep breath. She reached down and yanked her low heels off her feet and then pressed one of her hands to her forehead, shutting her eyes. Her right leg was still braced, but she made no attempt at hiding it, everyone knew about her injury. She sighed and let her hand fall from her head. This was getting ridiculous. She shouldn't be running away from him. He was only one man and a man she didn't even like. He was annoying and rude and obnoxious. She had absolutely no reason to feel anxious when he was around.

With her resolve set, she turned to go back inside and almost screamed when she turned to find Randy stood a few feet away, watching her. One of her hands flew to her chest and she glared at him, "Stop creeping up on me!"

"It's not my fault you're deaf as a post." His voice was silky and deadly. He walked towards her and she skittered back and down a couple of steps. He smirked at her and slowly followed, taking his time as he walked down the steps. "What's wrong, Imp?"

"I don't trust you."

"Is it me you don't trust? Or yourself?"

"You. Definitely you."

"I'm hurt."

"You'll survive." She moved back a few paces as he continued to walk towards her. He stopped and watched her closely before speaking, "You and Cody look happy."

"We are."

"Liar."

"I'm not lying."

"Why'd you run as soon as you saw me, then?"

"I didn't run! I walked and it was nothing to do with you. I needed some air."

"You're lying."

"Prove it."

"That's mature."

"So's your stench."

"Oh, we're back to insults now?"

"Why change a tried and tested method?"

"I thought we were beyond this." He walked towards her again and she jumped back, holding out her hands protectively in front of her. "Stay where you are! Not one more step!"

"Or what?" Randy lifted an eyebrow at her and she looked around, spotting the pond. She reached in and grabbed a handful of gooey, green weeds from within the water. "I'll chuck it at you."

"You're gonna chuck pond weeds at me?"

"Yes."

"I don't think you will." He took half a step closer and Tahni pulled her hand back threateningly. "I'll do it!"

Randy clearly didn't believe her and carried on moving towards her, so it was a shock when he felt something cold and disgusting splatter against the front of his pristine, white shirt. He stared down at the green mess on the starched fabric, then lifted his shocked eyes to Tahni, who looked at surprised as he did. There was a long silence between then, before Tahni suddenly turned and ran as fast as she could. Randy followed, scooping a load of weeds from the pond as he passed.

He pelted her with the stinking, gooey mess as she squealed and tried to duck out of the way. This caused her to put all of her weight onto her bad leg and send her crashing to the ground. She squealed and held her hands out to brace herself. Randy abruptly dropped what was left of the pond weeds and ran to her side.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah because I always scream when I'm alright!"

"It was more of a squeal..."

"Perspective, Orton!"

"Right. Sorry. What do you want me to do? Get some ice? Should I call an ambulance? Carry you to the hotel room? Oh, maybe I should get some ice from the club, then carry you to the hotel room and call an ambulance..."

"Just go and get Cody."

"Why Cody?"

"He's my boyfriend!"

"So? He's a wussy."

"Cody is not a wussy!"

"Yes, he is and he's scared of spiders."

"Well, then it's a good job I'm not a spider."

"He's also scared of aggressive women."

Tahni bared her teeth at him angrily. "Are you calling me aggressive?" Randy looked alarmed and shook his head. "Nope. Not even a little bit."

"Would you just go and get him already?"

"Can't I just help you?"

"I don't want your help."

"What's wrong with my help?"

"The same things that's wrong with your everything else."

"What's wrong with my everything else?"

"Randy!"

"Okay, okay. I'm going...but, are you gonna be okay out here?"

"Go!"

It took Cody all of thirty seconds to get from where he was in the club, to where Tahni was outside once Randy found him. He crouched down beside his fallen girlfriend, frowning at her. "What happened?"

"Randy made me fall over."

"Hey!" Randy scowled at her, but Cody just lifted his eyebrows and then shook his head, holding out a hand to help her up. "Alright, let's see how bad this is. Can you put pressure on it?"

"Sure...ow! No."

"Okay then. Brace yourself." Cody suddenly swept her into his arms, causing her to squeak with alarm. "Cody!"

"Yes?"

"I love it when you sweep me off my feet." Tahni grinned at him and he rolled his eyes. "Don't get excited, it's only because you're injured."

"Since she's your girlfriend, aren't you supposed to enjoy this kind of stuff?" Randy folded his arms, eyeing the both of them suspiciously. They glanced at one another, then Cody cleared his throat, "Well, yeah, but...she's a fatass."

"Cody!" Tahni slapped him on the back of the head and he looked at her reproachfully. "Don't make me drop you."

Tahni pouted at him, but kept quiet as he carried her off. Once they were out of earshot of Randy, Cody smirked at her. "So, sneaking off to see Randy, huh? I should be jealous."

"I wasn't sneaking off to see him! I went to get some air and he followed me."

"How'd you end up on the floor?"

"He threw pond weeds at me and chased me."

"And you did nothing to provoke this?"

"Nothing at all."

"So why was his shirt green?"

"Um...maybe he's trying out a new style."

"You threw pond weeds at him first, didn't you?"

"...lil bit."

Back in her hotel room, the travelling doctor came to see Tahni. There was no major damage, but she was going to have to wear the brace for longer, which meant no ring time for three more weeks. This in turn led to Glen wanting to murder her. When Cody was wrestling, she took up residence at Glen's side, jabbering on and on about nothing in particular, making the big man wish he had hair so he could yank it out.

"Tahni!"

"What?"

Glen pressed a finger to her lips, "Shh." Tahni's eyes became very round and Glen knew that this was the first warning sign of an impending sulk. Oh well, at least she was quiet when she sulked.

"Glen?"

"Yeah, Tahni."

"I think I screwed up." Glen turned to frown at her. Her voice had suddenly become very quiet. He watched as she threw herself down on the couch in his locker room and ran her fingers through her shocking blue hair. "What are you talking about, T?"

She looked at him with a mournful expression and pulled one of her knees up to her chest, fiddling with her brace through her jeans. "I just...have you ever made a decision that seemed like a really good idea at the time, but seems really stupid in retrospect."

"Um...well, sure. I think everyone does that. What's this about? Is this about Cody?" Tahni head snapped up and she frowned at him, "Why would this be about Cody?"

"Well, you guys got together out of nowhere."

"Yeah..." She smiled, but offered nothing else by way of explanation. Instead, she jumped up, wincing only a little and hopped to kiss Glen on the cheek, "Thanks, Glenny." She then wandered out.

"For what? Hey! For what?" Glen frowned, but she was already gone. He shook his head and carried on getting ready for his match.

Tahni bounced down to the gorilla position to greet Cody since his match had just finished. She stopped as she turned the corner and quickly scooted out of sight, peeking round to see Cody talking to Michelle. They were very clearly flirting. Michelle was twisting from side to side, curling a lock of hair around her finger as she smiled widely at Cody who was clearly loving the attention. Tahni moved away to lean on the wall around the corner from them. She lowered her eyes to the floor, bit her bottom lip and waited. A few minutes later, Michelle came around the corner, but didn't seem to spot Tahni. Cody followed not long after and Tahni stuck her foot out to trip him.

He squawked and the glared at her playfully, noticing the strange look on her face, "You okay?"

She nodded and looped her arm through his, smiling. "Let's go eat. I'm starving!" Cody laughed and shook his head, seeing no need to remind her that she had eaten before they'd left for the arena.

"Hello Cauldwell." Tahni squeaked and spun around, staring wide-eyed. "How does someone your size make no noise when they approach?"

"Maybe I don't approach...maybe I just materialise." Mark smirked at her and folded his arms. Tahni looked extremely alarmed by this possibility. "Um...I gotta go...that way." She suddenly darted off, leaving Cody behind. He watched her, then turned to look at Mark. "Wow...you're really tall."

"Yeah."

"And creepy."

"What?"

"Nothing. Bye." Cody took off the same way Tahni had just gone; not wanting to be left alone with the Deadman. Unfortunately for him, he ran smack, bang into Randy. He skidded slightly as he tried to avoid hitting the older man, just managing it. "Wow...you're right there."

"Yes."

"Alright?"

"I've been better."

"What's up?"

"Are you that clueless?"

"Apparently."

"Your girlfriend kissed me."

"She's a great kisser, isn't she?" Cody grinned proudly and Randy stared at him like he'd grown a spare head. "Doesn't that bother you?"

"Why do you care, Randy?"

"She kissed me."

"No, you kissed her."

"How do you know that?"

"She told me." Cody shrugged, easily and crossed his arms over his chest. "Let me give you some advice, Randy." He relished the words, not often was he in a position to say them to his former mentor, "Tahni's not a toy, she's not a game. You had your chance and you blew it. She's with me now. Man up and get over it." He patted Randy on the shoulder as he passed him, allowing himself a satisfied smirk when the older man couldn't see it and went in search of his girlfriend.