Changing Sides
CHANGING SIDES
Part Nineteen

By: Elektra

JERICHO'S HOTEL ROOM - Wednesday Morning

Stephanie slowly stirred. She was snuggled against something soft, but was too comfortable to open her eyes and get up. She wrapped herself around the strange, warm pillow and smiled.

After a few moments, she heard a quiet pounding. It sound like a heart beating! Why did her pillow sound like a heart beating? Why did it smell so good? And why was it breathing?

Stephanie slowly opened her eyes, and realized it wasn't a pillow. It was a PERSON. But who...

Stephanie quickly sat up, "JERICHO!"

Chris snapped awake and looked around frantically, "WHAT? What is it?"

The two momentarily made eye contact, then Stephanie turned away, "I guess you decided to act your age in the middle of the night!" she sneered.

He vaguely remembered something soft and curvy wrapping itself around him...

"I did NOT cop a feel!" he replied quickly as he moved away from her.

"Really? Then explain how I woke up in your arms?!" Stephanie shot back.

He narrowed his eyes, "If I do recall, YOU were the one wrapped around ME! If I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to---"

"Shut up! Just shut up!" she interrupted, then jumped off the bed, "Let's just get out of here!"

"Oh... so you finally admit I was right and that calling Trip was a stupid thing to do?" he asked.

"Yeah yeah... you were right. Now deflate that ego and let's go!" Stephanie replied. "I just have to get my bags in my room and--"

"Wait," Jericho started as he made his way to the door and looked through the peep hole, "Uh... you're not going to your room right now," he said.

Stephanie came up to him, "I am TOO! I need to get my stuff!"

"Ok... tell that to Kronik. They're wandering the halls looking for you," Chris moved aside to allow Stephanie to peer through the peep hole. Sure enough, the latest Alliance members were standing in the hallway chatting.

"Oh damn..." she gasped.

Jericho put an ear to the door to listen as Kronik member Brian Clarke spoke into his cell phone, "We got to her room, but there was no answer. She hasn't checked out yet either..." a pause, "The guy told us she arrived with her boyfriend... some blonde guy..." Clarke was no doubt talking to Triple H. "Yeah, he said Stephanie claimed he was her boyfriend. The clerk said she may be with him in his room," another pause, "I don't KNOW who the hell he was talking about, he wouldn't give us the name! You want us to go into every freakin' room and ask, Helmsley? Forget it!" Clarke quickly moved the phone away from his ear. Triple H's yelling could be heard through the handset.

"Gimme that," Kronik member Brian Adams said, and grabbed the phone from Clarke, "Hey, Triple H. We can't do nothin' here! They ain't gonna give us permission to search each room! We aren't the cops you know," No doubt Triple H didn't like that answer. "Fine! We'll knock on each door and see, ok?" Adams hung up the phone.

"I think the guy's snapped, Bry," Clarke said.

"Yeah, well we either find his bitch or get introduced to his sledgehammer!" Adams replied, and the two headed down the hall.

Jericho let out a sigh of relief, "Ok. They're gone. We can sneak out and have the hotel courier our belongings to my parent's place. We don't have time to pack up right now," he turned to Stephanie. She was sitting on the floor against the wall, hugging her knees to her chest, "Come on, get up!"

Stephanie shook her head, "I'm scared," She whispered.

"You don't have TIME to be scared!" Jericho snapped. "Move it! We're leaving. NOW!" He refused to treat her with kid gloves. If anything, she needed to be thick-skinned right now. He reached into his suitcase and tossed a hockey jersey and baseball cap at her, "Put these on. Make sure your hair is hidden in the hat," he replied, then grabbed another hat and stuffed his own hair into it. He went to the bathroom and pulled on a pair of worn jogging pants and a bulky sweatshirt to hide his physique. The less noticable they were, the better.

Stephanie raised an eyebrow at his appearance, "You look like trailer park trash. The kind that sits in front of the TV watching sports and drinking beer all day,"

"Good. That's what I'm supposed to look like!" he replied. He took in the sloppy-hanging jersey that he had made her put on, "And YOU look like a boy..." he paused, "Well, with two specific exceptions," he added, then made his way to the door and slowly opened it. He looked up and down the hallway, but saw no signs of Kronik. "Ok... GO!" he said, and shoved Stephanie out of the room. The two raced to the elevator and hit the lobby as quickly as possible.

When they arrived at the lobby, Stephanie was about to step out of the elevator. Jericho suddenly pulled her back in, "What?" she asked.

"At the desk. Triple H's buddies," he whispered. The elevator doors quickly shut as he hit the button for the top floor. They'd ride the elevator all day if they had to.

Stephanie looked around at the enclosed space, "No way... not again!"

"I can insult you and piss you off if it helps any, " Chris offered, then smirked, "I enjoyed doing that LAST time,"

"Well, that's because you're an ass," she muttered.

"Yes. Yes I am. Your point?" He asked. The doors opened again, and Stephanie held her breath, fearing the worst.

She let the breath out when a couple entered the elevator, ignoring the two WWF superstars -- which Chris found humerous considering the couple were both wearing wrestling-related t-shirts.

Just in case they recognized Stephanie and Jericho, though, Chris casually pulled her into a corner and stood in front of her, his back to the couple. With his trademark long hair hidden in the baseball cap, they wouldn't be able to recognize him if they couldn't see his face.

Chris mouthed the word 'fans' to her, and Stephanie understood. The last thing she needed was for the couple to go running around the hotel, saying they had seen the WWF's Chris Jericho and Stephanie McMahon in the elevator.

Jericho leaned in close and whispered in Stephanie's ear, "Pretend you're my girlfriend and put your arms around me," he smirked, "But don't get any ideas,"

"Pervert," she hissed quietly in response, but did as he suggested, burying her face in his shoulder, and preventing the couple from getting a good look at her.

"Geez.... you're in a hotel. At least get a room," the male of the couple commented when he looked over at Stephanie and Jericho.

Both pretended to be so involved with one another that they had an excuse for not turning around and responding.

The couple stepped out of the elevator into the lobby... and Clarke and Adams stepped in.

Stephanie froze, grasping Jericho tighter, "It's them, isn't it?" Jericho whispered, still keeping Stephanie cornered and his back to the doors.

Stephanie let out a small sound that Jericho translated as, "uh-huh"... well, either that or "oh shit, we're gonna die,"

The elevator reached the third floor, and Kronik stepped out.

Stephanie made the mistake of watching them as they left... and the two big men noticed.

"Bry!" Clarke grabbed Adams, pointing to the elevator, "It's THEM!"

Jericho turned to face the two men, "Hey!" he called out to Clarke, "Weren't you Adam Bomb?"

"Son of a bitch!" Clarke hissed, and ran back towards him, Adams following close behind.

By the time Kronik got to the doors, however, the elevator had successfully closed in their faces.

***

When Stephanie and Chris reached the lobby, Jericho quickly pulled her out and headed to the street, desperately hailing a cab. Thankfully, one stopped within a few seconds. He shoved Stephanie into the backseat and climbed in beside her, "Go go go!" Jericho commanded the cab driver, "Airport!"

The cab pulled away just as Adams and Clarke ran outside, searching high and low for their target.

Stephanie took a deep breath, then laughed.

"What?" Jericho asked.

"Weren't you Adam Bomb!" she repeated Jericho's earlier comment, "I remember that character! No wonder Clarke is pissed off!"

"I thought Adam Bomb was pretty cool, actually," Jericho shrugged, "Of course, I think I'd quit wrestling if I ever got stuck with a lame-ass character like that..."

Stephanie smiled, and rested her head against the seat. Suddenly her smile faded, her eyes growing wide as she remembered something, "Oh damn!" Stephanie looked at Jericho, "We forgot to check out..."