The Deville You Know Ch8
Smackdown was drawing to a close. Mandy had finished her segment, attacking Charlotte with Paige and Sonya, to further the story that Paige had not decided which champion she was going to take on at Wrestlemania, but by the time she had finished showering and changing. Both of her teammates had disappeared. She was taking a look around backstage without success when her phone chimed in her pocket. She checked it but saw the message was from Finn, who she hadn't been able to see as normal as he had to work the Friday night show. She thought this was the first time she'd ever been disappointed by his message, but she was starting to wonder what might have happened with the two of them, especially after recent events. If they were even talking of course.
She rounded a corner and spotted Sonya in the distance, talking to someone. All she could be certain about is it wasn't Paige. Her hair was red, and shoulder length. Mandy suddenly realised who she knew that fit that description. She really wished it was Paige, or literally any other woman in the world as Sonya saw her and waved.
"There you are." Sonya said as Mandy reached them. "You remember Chloe don't you?"
Mandy had to fight her own thoughts and urges to keep her smile. "Of course I do. But, well, why is Chloe here?"
"It's weird. Sonya texted me out of the blue a few days ago. Said she was going to be in town and wanted to see me. She wants to see if we can fix things. Isn't that great?" Mandy forced herself to nod as she looked at Sonya, who was doing anything to avoid making eye contact with her.
"Yeah, well, I thought you two had to break up. You didn't want her going on the road. You aren't thinking of quitting are you?" Mandy asked, forcing her friend into the conversation.
"Oh no. I love this job, but all we did was fight about it. We never talked properly."
"No, maybe we can work it out, I've missed you." Mandy was shocked to hear that from Chloe. Sonya was really looking to get back together with her and would believe whatever she was being told. She was rebounding from Paige's rejection in the worst way possible.
"We are going to go to the hotel and have dinner. Did you want to come?" Sonya asked out of manners, but gave Mandy a look to say she wanted her to decline.
"I've got plans tonight, but you two have a good time. Just not too good." Mandy said, in a manner that was meant to sound light, but get her own message to Sonya.
"Well you have a good night as well." Sonya said, guiding her companion through the numerous people on the area, heading for the parking lot. Mandy watched as Sonya's hand didn't leave her ex girlfriends back as they disappeared from view.
Mandy knew she didn't have a lot of time. She knew who she needed to find. Problem was no matter where she looked, there was no sign. Until finally, tucked away in a corner, chatting on a cellphone, she found her target. Mandy grabbed the phone out of her hand.
"What the hell Mandy?"
"Sorry Renee, but this is urgent, I need you now."
"Can I at least say goodbye to my husband?" Mandy gave the phone back to Renee, who finished her call as quick as she could. "Right, so what's so urgent."
"We have to confront Paige, now."
"I thought we agreed that forcing her was a bad idea. What's changed your mind?"
"Sonya invited her ex to the show, now they are going out to dinner. They can't be allowed to get back together."
"Listen to yourself, what's so wrong with it?" Renee asked.
"Chloe made Sonya choose between her main roster chance and her relationship. It was serious too. I believe that she will make Sonya ask for her release, if they get back together. She's so vulnerable right now that I'm worried she'd actually do it. You know she's not as tough as she portrays on tv, or in real life for that matter. She'd be making a huge mistake."
"Sound like it." Renee nodded. "So your plan is to get Paige to admit things, save Sonya from this Chloe girl, and they sail off into the sunset?"
Mandy nodded.
"All in the next what, 90 minutes?"
Mandy took the point Renee was making, but couldn't change her mind. "I know, it's crazy, but I won't forgive myself if I don't try, and I haven't got a chance if you don't back me up. Please?"
"Ok, I guess I'm in this up to my neck as well. You got a car?"
"Yeah, I'll follow you to the hotel." Mandy said, the two of them getting their belongings in double quick time and heading for the parking lot, only to get cut off just before the parking lot.
"Hey babe, where you running to?" Finn Balor took his girlfriend by the arm as she nearly blew past him without a word.
"I'm sorry Finn, I have to do something." Mandy pulled her arm but couldn't free it.
"We had a date night planned. You forgot?"
"No, I mean, I didn't forget, but something came up. I've got to take care of this."
"You always have something to do, to take care of. What about me? About us?" Mandy felt her arm go free, as she realised Finn wasn't angry, just frustrated. She took his hand this time.
"I'm sorry Finn, I've not been the best girlfriend. Go to the hotel. When I'm done I'll come find you, and I promise, the rest of night will be all about us." She then pulled him into a deep kiss.
"Just...hurry, Ok?" He said, breathless.
"Promise." She said, as she nearly jogged away from him, Renee caught by surprise, but catching up as they got to their cars.
A short time later they knocked on Paige's hotel room door. "Yeah, was the slightly incoherent reply as she opened the door. Her hair was a mess and she had put a face mask on.
"Oh no, this won't do." Mandy said as they pushed her back into the room. Paige was so startled she mounted no resistance to them as she was pushed back onto the bed. Renee turned off the tv, which was showing 'The Office'.
"Hey I was watching that. Mandy what are you doing?" Paige asked as Mandy had grabbed some tissue and was removing the face mask. "Stop it that's expensive!" She cried out but Mandy wasn't being stopped.
"Paige, honey, focus on me." Renee said. "Remember I'm your friend and I am here to help you. Now I want you to be honest with me, with both of us. Do you have feelings for Sonya?"
"Wait, what?" Paige was not ready for that question. "Feelings? For Sonya? Is that what all of this is about? Why are you trying to do this?"
"Because I know you Paige, and I can tell when you have a crush on someone. And it's ok. I know you're freaking out about it, but that's normal."
"Freaking out about it? Freaking out about what? I'm not freaking out about anything. There's nothing to freak out about." Paige answered at a speed it was hard to actually understand her.
"Yeah? Listen to yourself. If that's not freaking out I don't know what is." Renee spoke slower on purpose. She took Paige by the hand. "But think about it. I've seen the way you look at her, the way you are with her. But despite that, you've been shutting her out, when you are working side by side every show. That's not rational."
"Rational? You two show up out of the blue, you trying to make me admit I'm a lesbian, Mandy trying to give me a makeover. Will you get off my hair." Paige told Mandy, who had finished removing the mask and was fixing Paige's hair, and had no intention of stopping, adding to Paige's rising anger. "Arrgh! You see this, and you think I'm the one who isn't rational?"
"You're either not being rational, or you are a complete coward. What's so scary? That she's a woman? Are you that homophobic? If you are, I don't want anything to do with you."
"Renee..." Mandy started, but got cut off.
"No. You wanted me to do this, and I'm doing it. There is nothing wrong with having feelings for another woman. If that's the only reason why you're avoiding her, then I have no idea why we are wasting our time on her. Homophobia is disgusting, I'll have no part of anyone who acts this way." Renee expected a reaction, she was trying to trigger Paige's temper, but instead she saw tears running down her face. "Oh my goodness. Paige, honey, I'm sorry."
"I'm not homophobic Renee. I'm really not." Paige said, wiping her eyes.
"So what's going on with you and Sonya then? Last chance to tell the truth. Do you like her or not?"
Paige was silent for several seconds, before she started nodding slowly. Both Renee and Mandy let out a breath simultaneously.
"Finally. Don't you feel better for that?" Renee said, getting a shrug in response.
"So what's the problem? Why have you blown her off if you like her too?" Both the blondes keenly listened for the answer, but it didn't come. "Come on girl, you've come this far. No point in stopping now."
"I'm no good for her." Paige whispered, too quiet to be fully heard.
"What?"
"I'm no good for her!" Paige cried out, tears still in her eyes. "You know how my last relationship ended, what's happened to me over the last year and a half. I'm clearly damaged goods, and I'm not going to bring anyone else down with me. You want the truth? Yeah, I like Sonya, I really like her. But she doesn't deserve to have her life wrecked by me as well. Yeah, I'm scared of having feelings for another woman. It's never happened before. But hurting her is far far scarier. That's why I've made myself stay away."
"But what about that night a couple of weeks back?" Mandy asked from behind her.
"Yes, I had one lapse in my resolve. It was because I needed to find out what would happen, and we nearly ended up in bed together. I thought it wouldn't get that far, but I have to make sure it was just that once."
"What about what Sonya wants?" Mandy stopped doing Paige's hair and came around in her face.
"Wha...err..." Paige was unable to answer that.
"The only thing Sonya wants Paige, is you. She has been crushing on you since our debut." Mandy said. "She was devastated when you blew her off. I mean really bad."
"I never wanted to make her feel like that. I thought I had to do it so I didn't hurt her." Paige couldn't look Mandy in the eye.
"Yet that's exactly what happened. But even now she feels the same."
"She does?" There was hope in Paige's voice.
"She does. But that window won't be open forever."
Renee picked up on where Mandy was going with this. "She's right. You did some damage, but you've still got the chance to put it right."
"Do you think I should go talk to her?" Paige asked.
"Uh, yeah!" Both blonde women said in unison.
"Ok, fine, but don't do that again. I should clean myself up I must look a mess."
"Check the mirror, what do you think I've been doing back here?" Mandy said smugly. Paige went to the mirror and saw her hair really did look good. "Nice job, I better change though. Paige grabbed clothes out her bag and went into the bathroom.
She was only a few minutes but it felt like hours to Mandy. "Come on woman!" She yelled at the bathroom door, only for it to open just as it started so she shouted it in Paige's face.
"Alright, I'm changed, but what about make up?" She said, but Mandy grabbed her wrist and led her out the door.
"No time. Come on." Mandy said as she repeatedly pushed the elevator call button. She ushered Paige in grateful,they were only on the fifth floor of a really tall hotel.
"Mandy. Enough." Paige said as they exited. "You're being a bit over the top. I'm already nervous right now. Just let me do this my way, Ok?"
"Ok, you know where you're going?" Mandy asked.
"Well you brought me to the lobby, not her room so I'm guessing the bar or the restaurant." Paige said, sarcastically.
"She's fine, go." Renee chimed in, letting Paige walked away while the other two stood still. "Right, come on." She said to Mandy, pulling her off to the side so they could watch from a distance.
Paige checked the bar first, but saw no sign of the woman she was searching for, so she went through it to the restaurant. As she went in the door from the bar, she saw Sonya heading out of the restaurant to the lobby. What she saw felt like a clamp on her stomach. She had her arm around another woman. Paige had no idea who this woman was, she didn't recall ever seeing her before, but that didn't matter. She had her arm around Sonya as well. The two were talking and laughing together as they walked away. Paige crossed the restaurant and back into the lobby, watching Sonya and what seemed clearly to be her girlfriend enter the elevator, getting closer every second to the point it would have been very hard to convince Paige that they weren't having sex in the elevator right now. She stood there staring for several minutes, unaware that she'd she'd a couple of tears as everything around her fad melted away.
"Paige?"
The hand on her arm made her jump in fright.
"What? Oh, Renee." She said as she realised who was there.
"Paige, I'm, I'm so sorry." Mandy said. "It wasn't supposed to go like that."
"Wasn't it?" Paige rounded on her two friends. "What did you expect? I sweep her up in my arms and we kiss while some romantic song plays in the background? This isn't the movies! This is my pathetic ass life! This is what I deserve. To get my heart stomped on anytime I let my guard down around a person I might think could be right for me, while they ride off with a better woman than me."
"Paige, there's no way she's got a better girl than you there." Mandy tried to rationalise, but wasn't getting through.
"How do you know? Did you know she was there with her?"
Mandy went wide eyed as she knew she couldn't persuade Paige otherwise. "I, no, I did, but she doesn't want her, she wants you."
Paige snorted with a dismissive laugh. "Did you not see them? I'm such an idiot, listening to you two. You know what, you can both go to hell, and more importantly, so can she. Sonya Deville is dead to me." With that Paige left the two of them and went to the stairs, not wanting to risk being followed and sharing the elevator with either of them. She wanted to be alone. When she got back to her room, it took everything she had not to trash the entire room. She really didn't want to see any of them again at that moment, she was angry, but more than anything, she felt rejected.
A.N: Thanks for reading.
I hope everyone is staying safe and well in these very uncertain times. It has given me a lot more free time so I was able to get some writing time so that's an upside for me.
Paige hasn't taken seeing Sonya with another woman well, and Mandy and Renee haven't escaped her anger. Next time we will be at the next show they have, so they will all have to be in close quarters. How will Paige be by then? Please leave your guesses, and any other thoughts, in a review.
My very best wishes to everyone who was put out of work in the last 24 hours by WWE. Very rarely has there been such a flow of releases, and it may not be over. I hope they are able to find their feet quickly and move onwards and upwards.
Till next time.