Okay my peeps, here is the next chapter. I planned to have it up earlier but I had a lot of personal drama going on that delayed my posting. Things are calming down now thank goodness. As always, Read, Enjoy, & Review!! Oh and for anyone who's wondering, in the next chapter...Savannah is back..mwahaha...
Chapter 36...
Monday
Randy looked up when John came into the locker room. It was getting pretty closer to the start of the show but this was the first time Randy had seen his friend all day.
He held up two ties for an opinion, "Which one?"
John walked past him, not saying a word.
Randy frowned, confused, "Hello?"
John dropped his bag and started pulling out his gear, his eyes focused on what he was doing. His jaw was clenched and Randy could see that his muscles were tense. He obviously wasn't having the best day.
"Dude, you lose your voice?" Randy joked.
John finally looked up at him, "Nope. Just don't have anything to say."
With that, he went back to what he was doing and Randy sighed. So John's anger was directed at him, that was new. He was used to them being foes in front of the camera but they'd always been friends backstage. Then, it dawned on him.
"Is this about Cory?" Randy asked.
John picked up a few things and walked out of the room.
"Yeah," Randy nodded. "I guess it is."
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"How does this look?" Jessica asked.
Taylor looked up from programming her Blackberry with Mark's information. He'd asked her today to help him out and she gladly accepted some extra responsibility. Jessica was wearing a pair of black pants and a very skimpy white shirt.
"Looks good to me," Taylor smiled.
"Cory?" Jessica looked to her sister for an opinion.
Cory was sitting down, having her makeup done. Except for the time she asked her why she was limping, Cory hadn't said much to Taylor all day. She hadn't seen her talk to anyone really. Everyone found out that morning that Dawn was taking a leave of absence and Cory was obviously hit pretty hard by the news.
"Cory?" Jessica repeated.
"Hmm?" Cory looked over at her as Jan, the makeup artist, finished
"How does this look?" Jessica asked.
"It looks fine," Cory nodded absently.
Cory put her phone and the papers Mark had given her down and walked over to Cory who was now standing up, surveying her own appearance in the mirror.
"Are you okay?" Taylor asked.
"Me?" Cory smiled. "Of course I am..why?"
"You don't seem like it," Taylor said. "I know you're upset about Dawn leaving. You wanna talk about it?"
Cory took a deep breath, "Not right now..but thank you."
"No problem," Taylor said. "If you change your mind..you know you can talk to me."
Cory smiled, giving her a quick hug, "I know..thanks."
Then, there was a light knock on the door.
"Come in," Jessica called.
Mark walked in, offering everyone a small wave. Then he focused on Cory, "Kid..can I talk to you for a second?"
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Cory walked behind Mark into the hall, wringing her hands, an uneasy feeling forming in the pit of her stomach. She wasn't sure if she could pull this off. She made a promise to Dawn and she wanted to keep it, she did but Mark knew her better than almost anyone. He usually knew when she was lying. It killed her to even have to try to lie to him. She could tell by looking at him that he hadn't had much sleep. He was in his gear for the show but he didn't need makeup to enhance the dark circles under his eyes. He looked tired and frustrated and confused. He had every reason to feel all of those things and more.
"What's goin on Kid?" Mark sighed, running a hand over his hair. "Why did she leave?"
As usual, Mark didn't beat around the bush.
Cory took a deep breath, "I..I don't know. I don't know what's going on with her lately."
"Does anyone?" he asked in a bitter tone. "I just don't get it. Why would she just up and leave like that?"
Cory shrugged, the backs of her eyes stinging, "She obviously had a lot on her mind lately..maybe she just felt like she needed to get away from everything and..clear her head. I don't know."
"She needed to get away from me," Mark said, looking away.
"That's not what I'm saying," Cory said.
"But that's what it is," Mark said, pacing. "This is my fault."
"Mark-"
"I told her everything," Mark said. "I told her how I feel. I told her I love her and I need her. I practically begged her to come back to me. I made a complete ass of myself and she just..left."
Cory didn't know what to say. She didn't know that. She didn't know that Mark had finally opened up and told Dawn what he wanted. She wanted to call her best friend and yell at her but she wouldn't. She was frustrated with her though.
"I said all that and she just walked away," Mark said, putting his hands on his hips. "I don't know why I even bothered."
Cory looked down at her hands and then back up at him.
"Do you think it's someone else?" he asked. "Maybe she feels guilty 'cause-"
"Mark that is not it," Cory said. "That could never be it."
"It's possible," Mark said. "Maybe she found someone else and doesn't know how to let me down easy. Being around me all the time just makes it harder on her."
"Mark," she stopped his pacing, putting both of her hands around one of his wrists. She looked up at him, "It is not someone else. You and I both know that. She loves you. Anybody can see that…she just..I guess she just doesn't know how to handle it right now."
She could feel her eyes beginning to get misty. Mark obviously saw it too because he put his hand on the back of her head and pulled her into a hug, "I'm sorry Kid…I know this is hard on you too."
She nodded, "I'm okay though…We'll both be okay."
"Of course we will," he released her. "But if you go off and leave me, I'll lose my mind so don't let any of these guys run you off."
"I wont," she smiled, shaking her head.
"I gotta go find Hunter, I'll see you later," he said. "Stay out of trouble."
She waved weakly as she watched him walk around the corner. Once he was gone, she practically collapsed against the wall, trying desperately not to cry. She wasn't going to be able to do this. How did Dawn expect her to go through this every day? To watch her best friend walk around with a broken heart and not be able to tell him why. How did Dawn expect her to keep this huge secret from Mark? Especially when she knew that Mark would never do anything like this to her.
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John walked down the hall, his muscles tense. He was getting a headache from having his jaw clenched all day but he couldn't help it. The image of Randy and Cory kissing kept playing in his head and it was driving him crazy. How could Randy do that to him and then talk to him like everything was supposed to be cool? And how could Cory kiss Randy when they both knew he wasn't who she wanted?
He was started out of his thoughts when he heard an odd noise around the corner. It sounded like someone having trouble breathing. He rushed around the corner and panicked when he saw Cory with her back against the wall, sliding down to the floor.
He rushed over to her, "What's wrong? What happened?"
He looked in her eyes and could see that they were filled with tears. She was trying so hard not to cry that she could barely breathe. Every ounce of anger flew out of his body and all he could think about was trying to calm her down. He firmly took her shoulders, pulling her back up, "Come on baby, it's okay."
He took her hand, leading her to the nearby catering area and picking up a bottle of water. She was still breathing funny and he was afraid she would hyperventilate.
"Come on," he ran his hand over her hair, "Breathe…Take a deep breath."
She tried but it still didn't come out right.
He looked into her eyes, stroking her hair again, "Come on…deep breath."
She breathed in deeply and he lightly stroked her temple with his thumb as she breathed out.
"What happened?" he asked. He'd heard about Dawn leaving but this seemed to be more.
He didn't get an answer because she collapsed against him in tears. He put his arms around her, rubbing her back.
"Cory you can tell me," he said. "What's going on?"
"I cant," she shook her head vigorously against him. "I cant."
"Yes you can," John said. "I wanna help."
"You cant help," she cried, pulling away. "I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize to me," he said. "Just tell me what's going on."
She was still sniffing, her shoulders trembling but she'd stopped sobbing. She shook her head, "I wish I could but I cant."
John didn't want to push her into another session of sobbing so he didn't push any further.
"Are you gonna be okay?" he asked, wiping his thumb under her eyes. Her makeup was starting to run a tiny bit.
She nodded, "Yeah I just need a minute."
"Do you want me to leave you alone?" he asked, knowing that he wouldn't no matter what she said.
She looked up at him and shook her head, new tears filling her eyes, "No."
"Okay," he said, pulling her against him again, kissing the top of her head.
She rested against him and John wished that they weren't about to start the show. If he had more time with her, he could probably find out what was going on.
"There you are!"
John turned when he heard the female voice. Jacinda was coming toward them waving her PDA. Cory didn't pull away from him until Jacinda got closer. John wiped his thumb under her eye again.
"You were looking for me?" Cory asked.
"The guys from that website are here," Jacinda said. "You're supposed to be doing an interview hyping Wrestlemania. Remember?"
"I thought that was tomorrow," Cory said.
Jacinda shook her head, "Nope..today…Your makeup is ruined."
Jacinda gave John a pointed look, "We're gonna have to get it fixed in case they want pictures. Come on."
"Okay," Cory nodded. She looked up at John, "Thank you."
"Anytime," he squeezed her hand before Jacinda led her away.
He was a little confused by the way Jacinda looked at him. He was helping Cory, it wasn't like she wasn't prepared for her interview because they were in the bathroom gettin' it on. What the hell was her problem?
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Jason looked over at Adam as they walked down the hall. They'd just finished talking to Sylvan and Renee about their match and the changes they had to make due to Viveca's absence. He'd been meaning to talk to his friend about something that was bothering him and he figured he should probably do it now when they had a little time.
"Can I talk to you for a minute?"
"If you're pregnant, it's not mine," Adam smirked.
Jason gave him a look.
"Okay, Jay doesn't wanna joke today," Adam held up his hands. "What's up?"
"The other day..I overheard Matt and Jeff talking," Jason said. "And..Jeff had some concerns about you."
"About me?" Adam asked. "Like what?"
"Well, he wondered why you kept Viveca from apologizing to him after they had their fight," Jason said. "And I was kind of wondering the same thing."
Adam sighed, "I was just trying to help."
"I know you better than that," Jason said.
Adam turned to face him, "Look..I'm not gonna lie and say that I wasn't hoping they'd have a harder time patching things up. But it's not like I did anything wrong. It was stupid."
"Yeah," Jay nodded, disappointed with his friend. He'd been hoping that his suspicions were wrong. "It was stupid."
"What? Are you gonna lecture me now?" Adam smirked.
"Adam, being jealous is one thing..but trying to mess things up for them is another," Jay said, not appreciating Adam's flippant attitude.
"Last I checked, hoping for a little rift isn't a crime," Adam shrugged. "What's your problem?"
"My problem is that I think you're forgetting everything the four of us have been through," Jason said. "Me, you, Matt, and Jeff have been on the road together for years. They're two of our best friends. You had your chance with Viveca..You lost it. She's with Jeff now…You need to accept it."
"I do," Adam insisted. "You need to loosen up."
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½ Hour Later…
RAW
A video played, recapping some events from the previous week. Starting with Raw when Cory Flair made her return to WWE TV. During Randy Orton's match against RVD, she seemed very reluctant to interfere but eventually did hand Orton his Intercontinental Championship belt. Then, On Smackdown they were shown in the Evolution locker room. It seemed that Randy was asking Cory to do something that she didn't seem to fond of. She accompanied Batista at ringside during his match against Undertaker and got up on the ring apron to distract the referee while Triple H came down the ramp and got into the ring, attacking Undertaker and delivering the pedigree that helped Batista win the match. Once it was over though, Cory didn't seem pleased with herself while the rest of Evolution came out to celebrate. Then, it went to live video of Evolution in their locker room.
"Everybody understand?" Triple H asked the rest of Evolution. Everyone nodded in agreement.
"What are they up to now?" JR asked.
"You never know," King said.
"I'm gonna take a wild guess and assume it has something to do with tonight's main event."
The main event was to be Randy Orton and Triple H taking on Undertaker and a mystery partner.
"I don't want any mistakes tonight," Triple H said in a stern tone.
"There wont be any," Batista insisted.
"Good," Triple H smiled before walking out of the room.
Ric Flair, Jessica, Portia, and Batista followed their leader out of the room. Randy moved to follow but Cory grabbed his arm, looking apprehensive.
"King, one has to wonder where Cory's head has been at since she came back," JR said. "She hasn't seemed as enthused as she used to be with Evolution's antics."
"She's been acting very funny," King agreed.
"Randy..I don't know about this," Cory said.
Randy frowned, "What do you mean?"
"It just..doesn't seem like a good idea," Cory said.
"Of course it's a good idea, are you kidding?" he laughed.
"No I just…is this really necessary?" she asked.
"Is what necessary?" King asked.
"I can only imagine what they're planning," JR shook his head.
"Cory," Randy put his hands on her shoulders. "This is what we do. You should be used to this. You loved it before. Nothing's changed."
"I know but…" she trailed off, taking a deep breath.
"Your father is the dirtiest player in the game," Randy said. "What's that saying?..The apple doesn't fall far from the tree?"
She laughed a little and nodded, "Yeah."
"You trust me, don't you?" Randy asked, gently touching her chin.
"I cant understand why anyone would," JR said.
Cory nodded, "Of course I do."
"Then you need to trust that I would never steer you wrong..None of us would."
She took another deep breath then nodded, "Okay…You're right."
Randy kissed her quickly before walking out of the room. She didn't follow though, instead crossing her arms over her chest and biting her bottom lip.
"There definitely seems to be some trouble in paradise, King."
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"Randy!"
Randy turned when he saw Portia walking toward him. Jessica, Ric, Hunter, and Dave were going back into the dressing room since the camera man was gone. She had walked away to get a bottle of water. He leaned against the wall, waiting while she made her way over to him.
"Hey," she smiled when she finally reached him.
"Hey," he nodded. "What's up?"
"I need to talk to you," she said.
Randy wasn't surprised.
"About what?"
"Did you go out with Cory yesterday?" she asked.
He was wondering when she was going to ask him about Cory. He wasn't doing this to get to her, but he figured there was a chance that it might. She didn't have any right to be upset though..She wanted John.
He nodded, "Twice..why?"
"Are you guys…you know?" she asked.
"Are we what?" he asked, needing her to narrow the question down a bit.
"Are you dating?" she asked.
He shrugged, "Last night could be called a date..and we're talking about another one."
"Really?" she asked.
"Is it that surprising?" he laughed.
"A little," she nodded. "I thought you said you were over her."
"I thought I was," he shrugged. "But I said that while she was gone..now that she's back..I don't know. The attraction is still there. And this time it's not one sided."
"It's not?" she asked.
Randy laughed, "Wow, way to stroke my ego Portia."
"I'm sorry I just…never mind," she shook her head. "Well um…I need to go find John. I'll see you later."
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RAW
After the match, the image of Kane's dressing room door appeared on the screen.
"I think it's pretty obvious who Undertaker will be asking to be his partner tonight," King said.
"What better partner could the Deadman have than his brother Kane?" JR asked.
The door opened but instead of Kane, Batista walked out of the room, a small smile on his face.
"What the hell?" JR said.
"What's Batista doing in there?"
"Nothing good, I can tell ya that much," JR said with disdain.
A few seconds later, Ric Flair walked out, straightening his tie and smiling. A laugh escaped him as he walked away.
"What just happened in there?" King asked.
"I don't know King," JR said. "But I think someone needs to check on Kane."
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Jacinda's eyes were trained on the monitor as officials checked on Glenn who was laying on the floor looking unconscious.
"Don't worry, he's not really knocked out," Jessica smirked, patting her on the shoulder.
Jacinda laughed.
"Leave her alone Jessie," Cory laughed.
"Hey, I'm impressed," Jessica smiled. "Glenn hasn't had a date in..well, a long time. Jacinda's awakened the beast."
Jacinda wasn't sure what to think of Jessica's word choice but she usually said things in a joking manner so she laughed again, "Glad I could be the one to do so."
"I think you two are cute together," Jessica smiled.
"Thanks," Jacinda smiled. "I don't know..There's just something about him."
"Well he's been in a fantastic mood since you two started seeing each other," Cory smiled. "So keep it up."
Jacinda smiled, "I definitely will."
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"So Portia kissed you and then you saw Cory and Randy kissing?" Hunter summarized everything John had told him.
John nodded.
"Am I the only person around here not getting any action?" Hunter laughed.
"Can you focus please?" John asked.
"I am," Hunter laughed. "But I don't know what you want me to say really…If she likes Randy, she likes him. There's nothing I can do."
"If she likes Randy so much then why was it never apparent until yesterday?" he asked. "And if she didn't like me anymore, there's no way she would have let me comfort her earlier…She probably would have punched me in the face. You know how she is."
"So maybe she likes both of you," Hunter shrugged.
"No way," John shook his head. "No…she's doing this thing with Randy to punish me."
"That is a possibility," Hunter nodded. "But I don't know…would Randy let himself get dragged into something that's totally about someone else? That's not exactly his thing."
"He wouldn't know," John said. "Cory's a good actress when she wants to be. She wants to make Randy think she wants him so that I feel like even more of an asshole for screwing things up."
Hunter didn't exactly agree with John's theory but John seemed pretty satisfied with it so he shrugged, "Sure…Why not?"
"What do I do about it?" John asked.
"We're gonna have to discuss it later," Hunter stood up. "I gotta get to the GP."
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RAW
Evolution's music began and Triple H, Batista, Randy Orton and Cory Flair walked out onto the ramp.
"I hope they're happy with themselves," JR said. "Kane is still being checked out by doctors after the number Batista and Ric Flair did on him."
"They were just trying to better their odds JR," King said.
"By blindsiding Kane? You're okay with that?" JR asked.
"How do you know Kane was blindsided?" King asked.
"Because that's just the way Evolution would do it," JR said. "They're cowards, every one of them."
The group made their way to the ring and, as usual, the fans along the ramp were holding their hands out in hopes to get a handshake or something. They were all ignored but as the rest of the group continued to the ring, Cory stopped, shaking a few hands and even giving a young boy a kiss on the cheek.
"Did you see that?" King said as the kid beamed into the camera. "I wonder if she'll give me one of those."
"I doubt it," JR said.
Just before he got into the ring, Randy finally realized that his girlfriend was missing. He turned around, frowning when he saw her interacting with the fans.
"Uh oh," King said as Randy walked over to her, taking the hand that she was waving and guiding her to the ring.
"What was that about?" JR asked.
"She's in Evolution," King said. "She's not supposed to be hugging and kissing fans."
"Only people like them would see something wrong with showing the fans a little respect and appreciation," JR said.
Once they were all in the ring, the lights came down and the crowd went crazy as The Undertaker's music began.
"Do you think he found a partner?" King asked as the Phenom appeared on the entrance ramp and the crowd got even louder.
"I don't know but I hope so," JR said. "I have every faith in the Undertaker but with Triple H, Randy Orton, and Batista at ringside, the deck is most definitely stacked against him."
Undertaker walked up the ring steps and went through the usual ritual of taking off his hat and coat. He didn't enter the ring though.
As the lights came up, Triple H got the microphone from Lillian Garcia.
"What's the matter Taker?" Triple H asked, obviously amused. "Didn't manage to find a partner?..You know, I heard your brother was uh…indisposed. That's really too bad. Guess you're gonna have to go it alone."
The Undertaker simply stared, his expression blank.
"You're gonna have to get in here sometime," Triple H beckoned him forward. "Let's get this over with."
The Undertaker's head slowly turned toward the entrance ramp and John Cena's music began, sending the crowd into another frenzy.
"Looks like Undertaker found a partner," King said, surprised.
"And what a partner he found," JR said excitedly as John Cena came down the ramp. Triple H, Randy Orton, and Batista all looked surprised and not at all pleased with this new development. Undertaker remained on the corner and John Cena slid into the ring playing to the crowd for a few seconds before removing his t-shirt and getting right in Randy Orton's face.
"These two have never gotten along," JR said as an angry Triple H got out of the ring and took his place on the corner.
The referee had the bell rung and John and Randy continued to stare each other down. Then, Randy slapped John hard across the face to start the match.
15 Minutes Later…
"Oh my God!" King exclaimed as the referee angrily pointed to the back, yelling in Batista's face. While the referee was distracted, Batista had pulled John Cena down from the apron and assaulted him at ringside. Now, he was being ejected. "He cant do that!"
"He just did!" JR exclaimed excitedly. "Good riddance!"
A few more officials had to come down to escort an angry Batista from the ring area. The ref got back into the ring and Randy Orton got right in his face, obviously not pleased with the decision.
At ringside, John Cena was laying near the steel steps, blood beginning to flow from his forehead. Cory Flair, who was only a few feet away, was obviously trying to focus on the ring but her eyes kept drifting over to the fallen wrestler. Thinking that no one seemed to be paying attention to her, she walked over, kneeling beside him.
"What is she doing?" King asked as she leaned over, checking on him.
"She's acting like a woman with a heart," JR said as she helped him try to sit up.
"She's supposed to be on Evolution's side!"
As Randy continued to yell at the referee, Triple H got up and a smile spread across his face when he saw that the Undertaker hadn't made it back to his feet yet.
He yelled something over his shoulder to the side of the ring Cory had been standing on but she was on the floor with John and didn't hear him.
"What is he saying?" King asked.
He said it again but once again got nothing in response. He turned around, frowning when he didn't see Cory.
He looked up at the titan tron and his expression turned very angry when he saw the image of Cory checking on a bleeding John Cena. He turned around, leaning over the ropes and yelling her name. She jumped, looking up at him. She backed away from John quickly, looking frightened. Her eyes grew even wider and she started pointing.
Triple H pointed back at her but when the camera panned back, it became obvious that she wasn't pointing at him. She was pointing behind him.
"Undertaker's back up!" JR exclaimed as the Deadman stood behind Triple H
Randy Orton was trying to get into the ring to save his partner but the referee was pushing him back to the corner. Triple H turned around and right into a stiff kick to the stomach. The crowd went wild as Undertaker executed the Last Ride on Triple H. Randy made it around the referee but a recovered John Cena rushed into the ring, tackling the Intercontinental Champ before he could save the leader of Evolution. Cory stood at ringside, staring with wide eyes as Undertaker pulled Triple H back up and gave him the tombstone.
"Undertaker just tombstoned the champion!" JR yelled excitedly.
"And it's all her fault," King said as Cory stared open mouthed while Undertaker pinned Triple H for the win.
"What do you mean it's her fault?" JR asked.
"She didn't help when she was supposed to," King said.
JR didn't respond to the comment, instead focusing on the action in the ring.
Randy Orton received an FU for his troubles just after the match ended.
Undertaker stood, Dragging his thumb across his throat and rolling his eyes back into his head as he stood above Triple H.
John Cena leaned over Randy Orton, waving his hand in front of his face before the referee got between the two men, raising their hands in victory. Once they got out of the ring, Triple H and Randy began to stir while their opponents backed up the ramp. Both men yelled, pointing at the winners angrily. Once they were gone, Triple H and Randy stood up and Triple H turned his attention to Cory who once again looked frightened.
"Leave her alone," JR said.
"When have you ever liked Cory?" King asked.
"I don't know King, my opinion seems to be changing," JR said.
Triple H motioned for her to get into the ring and she timidly climbed up the steps and entered through the ropes. Triple H immediately started berating her, yelling loudly and pointing in her face, backing her up until she was pressed between him and the turnbuckle. Randy Orton stood there looking conflicted.
"It takes a real big man to bite a woman's head off," JR spat. "And an even bigger one to just stand by and let his girlfriend be verbally assaulted. They should both be so proud."
"Maybe Randy agrees with Triple H," King said.
"Obviously!"
Cory was afraid at first but then it seemed that she'd had enough and she started yelling back.
"She's not backing down," King seemed surprised.
Triple H continued to point in her face as they yelled at each other and then Cory roughly slapped his hand down. He reared back as if to hit her and finally Randy jumped between them.
"It's about damn time!" JR said as Randy and Triple H argued.
"Get her in line!" Triple H could be heard yelling. "Get her in line!"
Triple H angrily exited the ring, snatching his belt away from the timekeeper before he stormed away. Randy stood in the ring looking annoyed at both his mentor and his fiancé as the show came to an end.
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