Chapter 37
Izzie took a couple of deep breaths to calm herself. William Regal had just made a guest appearance on Smackdown, with the announcement that he had spoken to Vickie Guerrero and they had agreed that the Cruiserweight championship was being reintroduced that night.
Izzie had been shocked to hear that she was supposedly in line for the title, and that she would be facing off against none other than Shannon Moore. She and Shannon had grown close over the past couple of weeks—and although they were not officially a couple yet, Izzie felt as though that line in the sand was about to be drawn.
"Nervous?" Matt Hardy stepped up to Izzie's side and hung an arm around her shoulders, big brother style. Beside him, Jeff smiled encouragingly at Izzie.
"You'll do fine," Jeff said. "I've watched you wrestle a few matches—enough to see you're no quitter."
Izzie nodded. "I know. I just don't know what's up with these intergender matches lately. Regal's got to be out of his freakin' mind!"
"He always was," Jeff nodded. "My best advice is to ignore him and simply do the best you can."
"Give it your all," Matt added. "No one could ask for more."
"You guys..." Izzie held out her arms and embraced them both.
"Where's Teddie?" Jeff asked as she pulled away. "I usually see you two together."
"Actually," Izzie said, "She's got a friend coming to the show tonight—a new diva I think. I imagine she's showing her around backstage."
Jeff nodded.
Izzie heard Shannon's titantron resounding throughout the stadium. She suddenly felt a little queasy. How could she fight against Shannon? And how would he fight against her? She took a deep breathe to settle the butterflies.
Do, Do you got a first aid kit handy?
Do, Do you know how to patch up a wound?
Tell me,
Are-are-are-are you are you patient,
understanding?
Cause I might need some time to clear the hole in my heart and I
I've tried every remedy
And nothing seems to work for me
Baby, (baby)
This situation is driving me crazy
And I really wanna be your lady
But the one before you left me so
Izzie's music signaled her entrance. The bright lights blinded her at first, but her eyes adjusted quickly as she made her way down the ramp, pausing long enough to exchange a few high fives with the fans.
As Izzie climbed the top turnbuckle, she glanced back at Shannon. She noticed the extremely worried look on his face, but had to look away while she saluted crowd. The referee lined her and Shannon up and quickly went over the rules. Shannon did not take his eyes from Izzie's face. His own expression was pained and he held him himself stiffly—as if he were resisting an unseen force.
Referee Charles Robinson signaled for the bell. Izzie planted her feet apart, ready for anything. Although she and Shannon had trained together numerous times, he had always been very gentle with her. But now it was war. It was a match set for pinfall and there were no shortcuts.
Shannon stared at Izzie a long moment. Izzie stood tense and ready for him to make the first move.
Shannon suddenly held up his hands and began to back away. He shook his head.
"I can't do this," he said to Izzie.
Izzie stood planted in shock as Shannon rolled out of the ring and began to make his way back up the entrance ramp. She couldn't believe this was happening—again.
This time, however, she wasn't going to stand for it. In one quick move, Izzie rolled out of the ring and jogged up the ramp after Shannon. Grabbing his shoulder, she jerked him around to face her.
"What are you doing?" She yelled at him. "You can't do this—not again!"
Shannon was already shaking his head. He tried to speak, but Izzie didn't give him a chance.
"You're walking out on our match!" Izzie exclaimed. "I can't believe you'd do this to me a second time!"
"Look!" Shannon shouted in order to get Izzie to stop babbling. "I can't do this—I can't fight you Izzie!"
"And why not!"
"I'm not going to hurt you," Shannon said quietly. "So please don't ask me to."
Izzie froze as she and Shannon locked eyes. In the background, the referee was counting.
"Eight!"
Shannon broke their stare down first. "I can't," he repeated. "I'm sorry."
"Nine!"
Izzie noticed the sadness in his face and suddenly her resolve, along with her heart, crumbled in bits and pieces.
"Ten!"
She placed a hand on Shannon's cheek and turned his head toward her. Standing on tiptoes, she placed a soft kiss on his lips.
Shannon instantly deepened the kiss, locking his hands around her waist and pulling her toward him. Even as the referee called for the bell, the crowd went wild for the couple, cheering and whistling until the lights dimmed and they were enveloped in darkness.
"I'm sure they're going to assign someone to train you," Teddie explained to Ariel. "You're going to need several weeks of training – at least – before they let you near the ring. There's too much of a risk involved if you don't know what you're doing. You could get hurt like me."
Ariel chuckled. "That is definitely something I'm going to try to avoid."
"Hey guys," Jeff Hardy approached the girls. His hair was dyed a mix of purple and black tonight, and he was dressed in dark blue windpants and a hooded Carolina sweatshirt. Teddie couldn't think but think of how handsome he looked.
"Hi Jeff," Teddie smiled. "Oh, Ariel—this is my friend, Jeff Hardy."
"Pleased to meet you," Jeff held out his hand to Ariel.
Ariel shook it politely. "Pleased to meet you Jeff. Teddie talks about you all the time."
Teddie shot Ariel a look to kill.
Jeff just smiled. "Good things I hope."
"Always," Ariel winked.
Jeff looked slightly confused, but shrugged and changed the subject.
"I hear you're from North Carolina too, Ariel?"
"Same town as Teddie. We worked together for a couple years, actually. She used to help me with all my boy troubles."
Teddie shook her head. "Ariel has a thing for letting guys play her. She's got such a soft heart she always forgives them and takes them back—even when they do the unthinkable—such as cheating."
"Look who's talking," Ariel pointed out.
Teddie shrugged. "I was married to Aidan. You weren't."
"No, actually I was smart enough to stay away from Aidan during and after you."
"What? No—I meant you didn't marry anybody. Not that you didn't marry Aidan," Teddie laughed.
Ariel gave her friend a sideways look. "What are you talking about?"
"I have no idea," Teddie laughed and shook her head as she shifted Gracia to her other hip. It as at that point she noticed Jeff was studying Ariel closely.
"Do you have a trainer yet?" Jeff asked Ariel after a moment's pause.
"No," she admitted. "Teddie says they'll probably assign me one within the next few days."
"I could help you get started if you want," Jeff offered casually. "I can't override a Vince McMahon ordinance, but if you're interested in getting an early start, I will be around all Judgment Day weekend."
Teddie frowned. Jeff appeared to have almost forgotten she was standing there—all of his attention was directed at Ariel.
"I'll think about it, thanks," Ariel replied, offering a brief smile. She too was suddenly aware of Jeff's attention shift and as sexy as he was, she felt strange with Teddie standing there, looking on.
"Let me know if it's something you'll be interested in," Jeff offered her one last smile. He turned to Teddie and nodded to her as well before leaving the two friends alone together.
There was a brief awkward silence between the two friends.
"Was it just me, or did I suddenly become invisible?" Teddie asked finally.
"I'm sure he knew you were there, Teddie..." Ariel began weakly.
"No...it's cool," Teddie shrugged nonchalantly.
"I hope you're not upset with me..."
"With you? No—of course not!" Teddie shook her head vehemently. "You're my best friend, Ariel. I'm not going to throw a hissy fit cuz some guy I have a crush was friendly towards you. Number one, it's probably nothing. Number two, if it's more than that, you're the one I would want him to be with!"
"Whoa!" Ariel held up her hands. "Slow down! Don't be crazy! Even if he did like me and that's a super IF, you know I would give him right back to you!"
Teddie laughed at her friend. "Come on, let me show you our locker room."
Now, I'm just curious as to what you all think about my original characters. Do I have too many? Are they believeable? I'm just wondering, because I'm actually thinking of adding ANOTHER OC to possibly pair with CM Punk. She would not be a diva, but would be part of the WWE sound crew...if anyone likes this idea and/or would like to be this OC, just PM me or leave a comment! :)
This chapter took me forever to write because I was watching Survivor Series 2007 and then DX's funniest moments! ;)
Shout Outs:
x.Hardy.at.Heart.x: I get SO excited just writing about Jeff...don't get me started! Lol I'm hope you liked this chapter!
JCJF.lover: LOL...I feel like I was the last one to find out that Regal was suspended—didn't figure that out until this morning!
XinnLajgin: Of course it is! But because we already know about that, I just skipped over it! ;)
Takersgurl35: I probably should've offered a more detailed description of Teddie earlier on in the story, but I decided better late than never! I'm glad you think Teddie is so normal! Finlay definitely still has a fighting chance—heck what am I saying? He loves to fight!
68 stones from a broken heart: Okay, I admit I didn't watch ALL of RAW. I fell asleep on the couch right before the HHH/Cena & Orton/JBL match. ;) But I loved Katie Lea.
AshMattXoXo: Jeff is back and he will have a BIG part from now on! YAY!
Sweeney todds pirate lady: Haha – glad you're looking forward to it! It will be interesting to say the least!
SBMFanatic: There will definitely be more Jeff/Izzie interaction in the future – plus a lot more Shannon/Izzie!
Hatter-Zombie: You bet!
Medieval Mystic: LOL—I definitely have big plans for Jeff now that he's back. Man, I missed him so much when he was gone!! Btw, I have been working on another chapter to my other story, but I'm searching for originality for it. I might tie it in with this story somehow. :)
Jen: I'm so glad there are people out there rooting for Finlay! It was something that I never expected, but I love it!