Chapter 44:

There was a 7-eleven two blocks away from the hotel. Since the hour was close to midnight, it was more or less deserted, besides the clerk and the one other customer who was filling his gas tank at the pump.

Under the poor bluish-white fluorescent lighting inside the convenience store, Randy Orton placed a single styrofoam cup of coffee and pulled a disposable light off the rack near the register. "A pack of marlboro reds." He grunted to the cashier, his voice sounding more gravelly than usual.

The clerk, a young man around the age of nineteen, eyed Randy curiously while ringing up his purchases. It was apparent he recognized the current WWE Champion, but was hesitant to say anything considering his televised behavior over the last few months.

He slid the lighter and cigarettes back over to Randy and cleared his throat. "Hey-" He swallowed. "Aren't you-"

"Randy Orton." The Viper replied before the kid could finish asking his question. "Yeah, that's me." He handed over a twenty, the curtness of his tone preventing any further attempts at conversation.

"Okay. Here's your change." He handed Randy several bills and three coins. "Have a goodnight."

Randy didn't bother responding to the generic parting statement. Instead, he gathered up the cigarettes, the lighter and his coffee and headed for the exit.

"Wow." The teengaer muttered to himself when the glass and steel doors closed behind the WWE Superstar. "He really is a douchebag."

The mid-spring night air was only relatively cool, so that Randy hadn't bothered to wear a jacket that night. Randy had mostly quit smoking in the early days of his career, mostly for health reasons. How could he be the best athlete on the main roster if he was poisoning his lungs? But from time to time, the old craving would gnaw at him. Being under his current amount of stress, tonight his insides had been screaming for a nicotine hit.

He tore the plastic wrapping off the box and flipped the lid open with his thumb. He drew out a single cigarette and propped it between his lips before shoving the carton into his back pocket. It took a few tries with the coffee cup in his hand, and a couple muffled curses before he got the damn thing lit with the cheap lighter.

The second the scorching smoke entered his lungs, the pounding in his head eased and he let out a relieved exhale. He alternated drags on the cigarette and scalding sips of bitter black coffee as he ambled back down the sidewalk that led back to the hotel.

He paused on the pavement several yards away from the towering rectangular building. He took a moment to flick the ash off the end of his cigarette and narrowed his eyes up at the lit and unlit windows before him.

One of those windows belonged to Haley.

He momentarily wondered if there would ever come a time where she wouldn't occupy his thoughts. When he would go through his daily routine and not think about her, not wonder what she was doing, what she was feeling, not feel this deep ache inside his black heart. When would he stop burning with hatred. When would his thirst for vengeance be sated. He had all but destroyed her, and the people she loved most. That should be enough.

So why couldn't he let it go? Better question, why couldn't he let her go?

He could clearly remember meeting her and getting to know her. He would be the first to admit that he had earned his nickname of the Lady killer. He had been with so many different women, beautiful, exotic, knockouts. Most would have been labeled more beautiful than Haley was. But she had smiled up at him that first night and had grabbed him by the throat, the balls and the heart.

Her dark brown eyes had shone with genuine surprise, then happiness upon meeting him. Her hair had been waves of caramel colored locks falling perfectly around her face. Even though it was red now, it still brought out the unique beauty that was her face. She had always blushed over compliments like that. Her wholesome, pretty face hadn't just won his attention, but many others. Randy had felt his whole world stopped and he had to stop himself from staring when he introduced himself.

She hadn't listened to the backstage gossip that surrounded him, choosing to give him the benefit of the doubt when others had judged him before they knew him. And she had this laugh he had thought was incredible sexy. And he had been addicted to her lips after the first time he had kissed her. He would have kissed her all day and every day if she would have let him. And the sex? That had changed his entire perspective because it was the first time he had actually cared about the woman who lay beneath him. She had slowly broken down all the walls he had built around his emotions and before he really knew what happened, he had fallen in love with her.

She had made a man out of him. Then she had crushed him and chosen Dave Batista.

The pain had been crippling and had given away to such an intense rage unlike anything he had felt before. It was much easier to deal with the rage than with the pain. The pain made him do foolish things, like go through old pictures of them, drive by the old places they had hung out. He'd start to wonder if it was all just a lie. He thought what they had was the real deal, and she had chosen another man and was doing just fine.

No. The rage was easier. He could use his rage to punish. Punish Haley for wrecking him. Punish Dave for taking her from him. And punish Hunter for getting his overly large nose involved.

He couldn't afford to lose at Extreme Rules. Because losing at Extreme Rules was to lose to the man who had ruined everything. Haley and Dave would get their happiness. And Randy would once again be anything but fine.

So unless he could magically wake up with amnesia and forget about everything, he had to win. He needed the victory and he needed his revenge, it was the only way to counteract the memories he couldn't escape.


Haley couldn't sleep.

Dave lay on the bed behind her, breathing deep and evenly as he drifted through dreamland. Meanwhile, his fiance stood at the window of their hotel room, staring out into the night. An incredible sense of loneliness had settled over her that evening, one that she couldn't figure out as she had been surrounded by her fiance and her good friend Ken Kennedy. She had even spent time with Dwayne and Kelly earlier at the gym. And yes, Candice had probably landed back in LA by now, but she had talked to her best friend on the phone several hours prior.

She supposed she could chalk it up to Hunter being home in Connecticut. But she didn't think that was it either. Hunter called three times a day and she knew he was with her spirit, especially as she geared up for Monday's Battle Royale. So what was it.

Movement on the sidewalk below was caught in her peripheral vision and her gaze dropped to the figure standing several stories below.

Randy.

It was more intuition than visual recognition that had her knowing it was her former friend, lover and now greatest enemy standing outside looking up at the hotel room. It had her thinking back to what she had revealed in the group therapy session several weeks prior.

Despite everything that happened, she still missed Randy Orton. Candice was right, Randy had been her best friend just as much as the Candy-coated Diva had been, and if Haley were honest, she had confided in Randy a lot more than she had in anyone else. They had connected on an emotional, spiritual and eventually physical level.

Haley had no disillusions. She loved Dave and wanted to marry him. But, she had been a little bit in love with Randy too. When it came time to make a choice, Dave had been it.

But that didn't mean she didn't missed Randy, and their friendship.

It also didn't mean she had stopped hating him for every horrible, despicable thing he had done. But looking down at him now and thinking about her loneliness, she allowed herself to fantasize about what if things had been different. What if she hadn't run into Dave at Vengeance 2007.


"Where are you taking me?" Haley giggled, using her free hand to try and remove the blindfold that obscured her vision.

"Don't you dare!" There was laughter in the deep, gravelly voice of her boyfriend, and he squeezed her other hand reassuringly. "We're almost there. Just humor me for one more minute."

"I'm beginning to get nervous? Is this the part where you kill you and ditch the body?" She joked, dropping her hand from the blindfold and allowing him to continue leading her forward.

She felt him pause in mid-step. "No! Why would you even think something like that? You have been spending way too much time with Hunter."

"Well, he is my mentor." Haley reminded him. "Now where are we going already."

"Hang on, ten more seconds." He promised and she heard the sound of a door opening and then closing behind him. "Okay, ready?" He dropped her hand and shifted to stand directly behind her.

"I've been ready." She laughed. "Let me see already!"

The knot of the black scarf around her head loosened, then the garment completely fell away. She had to blink a couple times to get her bearings before her eyes widened with wonder.

She stood in the entrance of a restaurant's dining room, though only one table was set for two. It was dimly lit with only the soft glow of tiny white candles that occupied every flat surface, causing the crystal and silver to sparkle in an intimate manner. A white orchid centerpiece, her favorite flower, sat in the middle of a burgundy linen covered table. And as if on cue, Howie Day's "Collide" began to play from an unseen sound system.

Haley whirled around to face her boyfriend and felt her eyes well with tears. "You did all this?"

Randy Orton nodded slowly, his deep green eyes shining with love. "Happy Valentine's Day, Baby."

"I didn't think you cared about Valentine's Day?" She said incredulously, stepping up on her toes to wrap her arms around his neck. "Thank you." She hugged him tightly.

"I didn't." He admitted, kissing the side of her face. "But then, I didn't used to care much about the women I was with before you. You're special to me. You've changed how I view a lot of things. So the least I could do is make a holiday I know you're a sucker for, special."

She laughed, pulling back enough to gently jab him in the ribs. "I am not a sucker."

He chuckled, brushing a stray lock of caramel colored hair off her face. "Yes you are. Your knees get all gooey over the hearts and flowers and pink everywhere."

"Only a little." She finally admitted with a giggle. "Thank you Randy, I love it. I love you."

"I love you too." He leaned down and kissed her sweetly. "Now," He held his hand out to her. "Before we eat, may I have this dance?"

She slipped her hand into his larger one. "You can have this dance, and every dance."

He grinned and pulled her out into an empty spot among the floor. Instead of impressing her with a box step or a traditional waltz, he simply tugged her as close as he could, wrapping his arms around her small frame and began to sway with the music.

"I may not say it half as much as I should, but when I tell you that I love you, Haley, that means for good." He murmured into her hair. "I've been waiting for you to come along and didn't even know it. You knocked me on my ass. And I will love you until forever finally comes. I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost you. I don't want to know what would happen."

"Hopefully, we'll never have to find out." Haley nuzzled into his chest. "I'm so glad you came into my life. You showed me what real love is. I was kind of kidding myself with John back when we first met."

"Tell me about it." He kissed the top of her head. "You belong in my arms. Always."

"Always." She lifted her head and tilted her chin up just as his mouth came down to meet hers.


Haley snapped out of her fantasy and stepped back from the window when she saw Randy finally step forward to head inside the hotel. She shook her head as if to rid herself of the little daydream and turned back to where Dave still lay, blissfully asleep.

A smile curved her lips. Life would have been very different if she hadn't bumped into Dave at Vengeance. Perhaps she could have been just as happy as her little fantasy played out with Randy had she not met the Animal. Or maybe her path would have crossed with Dave's at a later time and they would have simply been friends, just friends, because she would have fallen for Randy first.

But it hadn't happened that way, and Haley couldn't fully regret it. She could regret the path it set Randy on, and the demise of their friendship. But she couldn't regret falling in love. Fantasies were lovely and served their own purpose.

But Dave was real. Their love, while not perfect because no one's is, was solid and filled her life with so much happiness. She could never regret something like that. She wanted to marry him and spend the rest of their lives together. She wanted to see all her dreams come true with him at her side, have children with him, grow old together.

With Randy, it just wasn't meant to be. Maybe in another life, things would be different. But she was living in this one and she would have to accept that things between her and Randy were done and there was no going back.

Exhaustion seemed to settle in her bones and she slipped back into bed beside a slumbering Animal. Instinctively his arms came around her as she settled against his side, pillowing her head on his broad chest.

"Haley Batista." Haley tried out her soon-to-be new name. "Sounds right."

And with a smile on her face, Haley finally drifted off to sleep.


A/N: This chapter was written for all the Randy/Haley shippers who still have hope or might have lost it. Right now, Randy and Haley are both at a place where forgiveness is impossible, so it's pretty bleak. But that doesn't mean that beneath all the hate and anger, they don't miss each other. The saying there's a thin line between love and hate defines them perfectly. But it's not about love for them in this fic, so Haley's little fantasy and the peek into the lighter thoughts in Randy's mind were for all the Raley shippers.

But Baley is still going strong!

LOL

Also, Gagan, I don't know when I'll be able to start any new stories but I am a huge Seth Rollins fan and my best friend is OBSESSED with Roman Reigns so I might write something further down the road. I can tell you that the final fic in Haley's five part series does a time jump into present day, so the Shield will have some cameos in there, I mean Roman is Dwayne's cousin ;) So be patient with me.