Welcome to chapter 3, where all the fun really begins!
"Rey!" Alyssa Gutierrez screeched, tearing after her brother who holding her make-up bag in his hands. Behind her in the chair was a pissed off looking Stephanie McMahon, waiting to get ready for that night's taping of Smackdown. "Deme mi espalda de material antes yo pateo su extremo!" (give me my stuff before I kick your ass)
Stephanie looked over at Caitlin Stratus, who was working on Dawn Marie, and looked confused. "Does anybody know what she just said?" She asked, cursing silently for hiring employees she couldn't understand and the other two shook their heads.
There was a commotion and she jumped out of the chair, rushing out of the room with Caitlin and Dawn trailing behind her. None of the three were expecting the scene that met their eyes.
Alyssa had Rey pinned against the floor, her knees pressing into his chest. He was gasping and coughing for air and handed her the make-up bag quickly and she smirked, hopping up. "I'm sorry, could you not breathe?" She asked sarcastically.
Rey gave her a look that could kill and held one hand to his chest as he pulled himself up using the railing.
"Please don't go killing one of my top superstars." Stephanie scolded the short brunette with a small grin. "He helps bring in the ratings."
Alyssa started laughing and pointed to her brother. "She only wants you alive to make her show better." She said happily. "De otro modo usted sería tan muerto ahora mismo." She added and Rey shot her a warning glance.
"But I thought that the show was kept alive because of me?" A voice from behind Stephanie drawled, a hurt tone to his voice. "And you said that I was one of your best superstars Steph."
"Aww Benoit, you know you are too." Stephanie responded without having to turn around to face the Canadian.
Alyssa was glancing through her stuff to make sure Rey hadn't taken anything when she heard the name that came out of Stephanie's mouth and almost dropped everything, fortunately catching it before she had a 'Say Anything' moment worthy of fame.
"Hey." Chris said to her, acknowledging her with a nod of his head, his eyes lingering on her until Rey shoved him in the side, causing Chris to promptly shove him back, sending the Mexican high-flyer toppling into a stack of boxes and disappearing from sight.
Alyssa started laughing and reached out her hand to high-five Chris, but he grabbed it instead and lightly kissed the top of her hand. "Even though he's your brother, anytime he's bothering you just let me know. I'll German Suplex his ass." He promised, picking up the bag that had slipped from her other hand and handing it to her before walking off the opposite way.
"In your dreams." Rey shot back after some time, desperate to get back onto his feet and see what was going on between his sister and once bitter rival.
Stephanie walked over with a knowing smile on her face and offered him a hand to help him up, which he took unwillingly.
"What happened?" Rey demanded, seeing the wistful look on his younger sister's face and the grins that Caitlin and Dawn Marie shared.
"Um, I think I'll talk to you later." Alyssa said lightly to her brother, a small grin still on her face as she took Stephanie by the arm to finish getting her ready for the taping. She closed the door part way and leaned back against the wall, putting her hand to her chest.
"You okay hun?" Caitlin asked teasingly, motioning for Dawn Marie to sit back in the chair so she could continue.
Alyssa nodded eventually, pulling the bottles and tubes out of the already crowded glittered make-up bag. "I love him." She sighed after a few minutes, trying to find something to do with the GM's already flawless complexion.
"See that's what I'm trying to say." A loud voice from outside the room argued. "You're brother doesn't seem to be getting anywhere with his gimmick so do me a favor and point him over in my direction, alright? We'll make sure that he gets places in this company."
"Matt Hardy, can't you stop talking about yourself for just two seconds?" Stephanie asked loudly as she rolled her eyes impatiently. Not a second later he popped his head in the door, looking at her innocently with an expression that read 'who me?'
"I was just telling my friend Martin here about the benefits of his brother John becoming an MFer." Matt promised his boss, sitting into the vacant chair next to her as Martin hung around the doorway, trying to keep his eyes off of Dawn Marie.
"I'm sorry." He finally blurted out, earning confused looks from everyone in the small room. He pointed to Dawn right away. "I meant because your husband died and everything that's going on with Torrie…" He trailed off as the same flaxen-haired diva came into the room and looked at him curiously before taking the last seat next to Matt, coincidentally the one farthest away from Dawn.
"Oh you're too sweet to worry about that." Dawn replied to the 24-year-old bartender with a wave of her hand, ignoring the venomous look Torrie was giving her. "Old people die, there's nothing you can really do about it except wait for it to happen."
"Okay Dawn, please don't-"
Torrie cut Stephanie off quickly. "I can't believe you just had the fucking nerve to say that to my face you silicone-enhanced bitch!"
Alyssa leaned over to her fellow make-up artist and cupped her hand over here ear. "Kinda like the pot calling the kettle black huh?"
Caitlin started laughing and sidestepped out of the way in time to avoid being hit by Dawn Marie as Torrie rushed over, pushing her chair over. "Guys my stuff is going everywhere!" She exclaimed as her make-up toppled off the counter, spilling onto the floor.
"You had to say something." Matt reprimanded Martin, who had a guilty look on his face. Matt shook his head and dodged the hair pulling, slapping Divas to help Caitlin pick up her fallen cosmetics.
"Everybody needs to calm the hell down this instant!" Stephanie yelled loudly, positive they were going to attract attention from the rest of the people scattered around backstage. They were quiet for a few seconds before returning to the brawl. Alyssa was perched on top of the counter, staying as far away from everything as she could and Caitlin stood up just in time to get kicked in the head by Dawn.
Martin took the opportunity to shield the brunette wrestler from Matt's wrath. "Are you okay?" He asked, pulling her partly out of the room by her arm.
Dawn gently touched her lip where a nice sized bruise was beginning to take shape and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Is that Caitlin girl okay?" She asked timidly.
"No thanks to you." Matt shot at her from inside, cradling the unconscious blonde-haired stylist in his arms.
"It was a mistake Matt." Martin defended her quickly. "She was aiming for Torrie before Caitlin stood up and got into the way so don't blame it on her."
"How reassuring." Torrie said,
a biting tone to her voice. "And if she
had kept her mouth shut instead of talking about my dad, we wouldn't have gotten
into this mess in the first place." She snatched the ice wrapped in a
towel Alyssa handed to her and pushed her hair behind her shoulders, applying
the ice to her shoulder. "If you need me for
anything." She directed towards Stephanie, flouncing out of the
room. "I'll be in my room."
Stephanie looked around the disordered room and then at the two make-up
artists. "Just give me a list of the things you need replaced and I'll
make sure that my dad gets to it." She promised, and then looked at
Caitlin who was still out of it. "Matt,
can you tell her when she wakes up?" He
nodded quickly and the GM left the still-crowded room and headed off towards
her office, shaking her head in disbelief.
Dawn walked over quietly and knelt down next to Matt and Caitlin, a concerned look masking her pretty features. "I honestly didn't mean to hit her, I was really aiming at the other blonde-"
"We know." Alyssa cut in, hopping off the counter and back onto the floor. "You're just going to call her some other name because she's not here to defend herself and think you got away with it but believe me, it's nothing new. We've all heard it before." She packed her things without another word and left the room, muttering "Qué gente muda que often para trabajar con."
Caitlin opened her eyes groggily and the first thing she noticed was the certain dark-haired Hardy holding her close to his chest, supporting her head and talking to the brunette that had done this to her. "What happened?" She asked quietly.
"Oh thank God you're up." Dawn exclaimed, a concerned tone to her voice. "Sweetie I am so sorry. I never meant to do that to you."
"I know." Caitlin responded, starting to blush when she realized Matt's hand was placed firmly on her waist. "I'm not blaming anyone for it, especially Matt who came to my rescues." She teased.
Matt grinned, making no attempt to let go. "I have this need to help every beautiful girl in distress." He got up and held out his hand to help her to her feet. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and led her out the door. "Come on, we should go get your head looked at."
Dawn watched the look on Martin's face as the two left looking like more then friends and smiled. "Come on." She said, grabbing a hold of his hand and he looked at her curiously.
"Where are we going?" He asked, trying to keep his voice from stuttering.
She reached over and grabbed her purse, slinging it over her shoulder casually. "You're taking me out." She instructed simply and he had no choice but to agree, following behind her with a huge smile on his face.
*~*~*
Lara Wilson stood outside of her sister's locker room, debating whether or not to go in as she heard things being thrown around, crashing against the walls and floors. She raised her hand and was about to knock when someone came speeding from around the corner, knocking her down hard with his shoulder.
"You alright?" Somebody threw over his shoulder, already halfway down the hall before he skidded to a stop.
"You knocked me on my ass." Lara snapped at a surprised Randy Orton, who kept stealing glances down the hall, while trying to look like he was paying attention.
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that." He jogged back and held out his hand to help her up. Once she was back on her feet he started sprinting, his hand still around hers. "Come on." He breathed out. "We can't let them find out I'm here."
"Don't know why that's my problem." Lara muttered, struggling to keep up with him. Randy turned a sharp corner and pulled her into an empty room, slamming the door shut behind them and locking it quickly. They both heard footsteps pounding from outside and pass right by the room. "So, who are you making this great escape from huh?"
"Stephanie sent Brock and Edge after me." Randy answered simply. "She must think that I'm over here spying for Bischoff or something."
"Are you?" Lara asked, a knowing smile on her face.
"Of course." He replied with a shrug. "Why else would I be anywhere near the production area of this inferior show."
Lara smirked. "Got your lips planted firmly on Triple H's ass I see." She said, sitting back in the chair and his mouth dropped open. "Oh don't look so surprised, it's really obvious what you and Batista are doing."
Randy stood in front of her, crossing his arms over his chest. "And what, pray tell, would we be doing exactly?"
"Well." Lara started, swallowing nervously as he loomed over her. "You two are just latching onto these legends like Flair and Triple H hoping that being associated with them will boost your status in the company." She took a deep breath. "And then when you start beating on hapless people like Goldust when he's obviously depressed and choosing to electrocute him-"
"That was an accident!" Randy interrupted forcefully, glaring down at her.
"Accident my ass." Lara scoffed. "You accidentally threw him towards all the wires after beating him up and then you accidentally ran away without seeing if he was okay or not?"
"Yeah." Randy answered finally, sitting back down on a chair after he was finished pacing. "Something like that."
"You're unbelievable." She muttered, stepping out towards the door. "And can I leave yet?"
"Are you going to tell anybody I'm here?"
"If they ask." Lara said truthfully, reaching for the doorknob and starting to open the door but Randy kicked it back shut and she jumped back. "What the fuck is your problem?" She exclaimed.
Randy pulled his cell phone from his pocket. "You can't leave until I have a ride here." He started. "And then you're coming with me."
"Like hell I am." Lara spat out at him, trying to push him away from the door.
"Paul? Yeah, I got some information from Steph's office." He paused, holding Lara away from the door. "I don't care but ya gotta come get me now. She sent Lesnar and Edge after me." He nodded. "Alrighty, see ya in a few." He flipped the phone shut and turned to Lara with an apologetic look. "Sorry."
"For what?"
He reached behind him and grabbed something, then swung it around making contact with her head, sending her into an unconscious state. "That." He shook his head at the fallen blonde and picked her up in his arms and headed out to wait for Paul.
*~*~*
"Did you see which way he went?" Edge asked a trailing Brock Lesnar. "Because if we don't find that RAW jackass Stephanie is going to have our heads, you know that right?"
Brock nodded and mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like 'Stephanie can get off her ass and run after him on her own'. "I give up." He announced, stopping after they had been running for a few more minutes in silence. "I don't fucking care if Bischoff has the better show." He managed out.
"You are so out of shape Brock." Fleur chided jokingly from her place on the floor she had marked off.
"What are you doing?" Edge asked curiously and Fleur looked up, giving him one of her most charming smiles. "You actually blocked this hallway off?"
Fleur nodded. "Yeah, you wouldn't believe how early a person has to get here just to get their own spot to stretch and warm-up."
Brock rolled his eyes. "Fleur, that's what you're either supposed to do in your locker room or out in the ring. Or let me guess." He continued. "You never signed up for some time?"
Fleur shrugged. "Yeah, so I never did. I'm good over here. Nobody's bothering me except for you guys." She said jokingly.
"Come on." Edge said, motioning for her to get up. "You can use the ring with me. I guess nobody else signed up with me because they'd be afraid I'd blow them outta the water."
"Or something like that." Brock joked, earning a look from Edge. "Okay, are you going with him?" He asked his sister and she nodded, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "I'll catch you two later then and don't worry about Randy." He promised Edge. "I'll talk to Steph about him, see what she wants to do." He waved at both of them and jogged off in the opposite direction.
"Shall we go?" Edge asked the 5'4 extreme diva, holding out his elbow for her.
Fleur nodded and slipped her arm in the crook of his; trying not to act too giddy from being this close to her long-time crush. She raised her head and saw Torrie Wilson walking towards the two, a scowl on her face. "Hey hun." She tried.
Torrie glared at both the younger girl and Edge and stalked the other way. Billy Kidman then came at them, running after his fiancée.
"Whoa." Edge said, grabbing a hold of his arm. "Is everything okay with her?"
"There was a big scene earlier in the make-up room with Dawn Marie." He explained quickly, eager to go help Torrie in her obvious time of need. "I'll catch you guys later though." He said, waving before taking off after the blonde.
"She overreacts too much." Edge muttered, pushing past the curtain that led to the ring. They made their way around the still incomplete ramp and dodged a falling piece of equipment while somebody yelled 'sorry' from up above them.
"You woulda been sorry if that landed on me." Fleur criticized under her breath as she rolled into the ring. They stretched out for a few minutes in silence until Edge got up and began bouncing off the ropes and doing some mock-spears to begin practice. "Can you do me a favor?" She asked, pulling herself up using the turnbuckle.
"I guess so." Edge answered warily. "What do you want me to do?"
"Just lay down there." Fleur instructed, climbing to the top of the turnbuckle.
Edge fidgeted around before laying still. "I had a bad date that started with that line before." He said jokingly and Fleur rolled her eyes.
"Don't move." She stated firmly and he saluted her before she reprimanded him for doing that. She took a deep breath and jumped off the top, executing a near perfect 'Drift Down', her own version of the Shooting Star Press. She got off of him quickly and looked down as he tried to catch the breath that had been knocked out of him. "Everything okay?"
Edge nodded, still keeping his eyes shut as he held onto his stomach. "I should be fine." He said, gritting his teeth together.
Fleur knelt down next to him, a worried look on her face, as he still didn't try to get up after a few minutes. "Hey Adam, that's not funny. Get up already."
"Sorry." He whispered, a small grin on his face as he kept his eyes closed. Fleur was about to hit him for scaring her like that when he caught her hand and reached up, kissing her firmly on the lips; all in a matter of about five seconds. "I shouldn't have done that." He said as they broke apart a few seconds later.
Fleur sat back on her feet, putting her hand to her mouth. "Why not?" She whispered.
"Because I think your brother would kick my ass." Edge answered, pulling himself up and gathering his stuff quickly. "Look, I'll just see you later." He hurried out, leaving the ring and Fleur to think about what had just happened.
It's 2 in the morning and I'm trying my hardest to repost all of the chapters, but I may stop after four and just post the rest tomorrow when I get up. We'll see how I feel. Now for the time being, if you wouldn't mind just stepping this way, we can get going to chapter 4