For You To Notice
Disclaimer: I OWN RVD! I DO! ……Okay, no I don't. I don't own anyone. At all. If I had a billion zillion dollars like Mr. McMahon, I'd buy RVD and make him a butler. Mmm…RVD in a tux…XD And the song? Sung and written by the god-like man Chris Carrabba. Dashboard is the best band EVER! XD XD XD
A/N: BEFORE YOU ALL JUMP DOWN MY THROAT…XD I realize Amy Dumas wasn't Lita in ECW…I KNOW. But for this story, I decided to just PRETEND. XD This story is completely off balance, anyway. Haha.
Chapter 1
I'm starting to fashion an idea in my head
Where I would impress you with every single word I said
It would come out insightful,
Or brave,
Or smooth,
Or charming
And you'd want to call me
And I would be there every time you need me
I'd be there every time.
But for now I'll look so longingly waiting
For you to want me,
For you to need me,
For you to notice me.
~For You To Notice – Dashboard Confessional
"She looked at me today."
A loud groan was instantly emitted. Tommy Dreamer, who at that moment was drenched in sweat from apparently doing a good amount of exercises in preparation of his match, sat up from his sit-up position to look toward his calm demeanored friend. He was propped against the wall, stretching, seeming to have already dropped the subject. Seemed like it. But Tommy…he knew better. He could just patiently sit and wait for him to tell him all about it – because he always did, at long lengths – or just inquire about it. The third option of course was just to run out of the room, but after seeing how Rob reacted without someone to let out his current so-called exciting moment of the night, he would just feel too evil.
"Who?" he asked, acting as though he didn't know. Rob stopped stretching and leaned against the wall, smirking.
"Lita." He spoke, quietly. "Who else?"
Lita. Tommy didn't know what Rob was thinking, liking her. She had a boyfriend, for one thing. While he wasn't the cutest man on Earth, she was, at least by normal sight, completely loyal to him. Then there was the fact that she was on the other side. The WWF side. The one they were all supposed to destroy. Which meant it was one of those unwritten laws that you couldn't fall head over heels in love with someone from THAT side. He wasn't really surprised that it was Rob that would throw him in such a precarious and even dangerous situation out of everyone that would be stupid enough to tempt fate as he was doing, but it still didn't make him feel any better about it. No matter how much he reminded Rob that it was not very intelligent to mess with stuff like even contemplating going after a WWF girl, he just got worse about it.
So he decided to be a good friend and let him vent about it to him, in hopes that it'd get out of his system soon. "…Amy. Right." He mumbled, sighing.
"…Don't give me that look, Dreamer." Rob rolled his eyes, a bit agitated. Tommy really didn't mean to give him any sort of look, but it always ended up happening. He couldn't help but be more then a little worried about Rob's attempts. It could make him look like he was jumping ship. Austin wouldn't be very happy about that. Hell, he wasn't happy at Rob even without a thought of him not being honest about his loyalties, considering Rob was more popular then Austin by far and he knew it. He used it. Austin didn't like Rob using his popularity. It took away from the Alliance's so-called adoration of him. As fake as the adoration was, it was there, and Austin apparently was fueled by it. Rob not only had a huge base of people who looked at him as a slight mentor, but none of the attention was ever forced or fallacious, and he treated people with genuine respect.
So if Austin found a single reason to disbelieve Rob's disposition, a easy way to throw him off the horse so to speak, he would jump at it. Get Rob completely fired, probably. Or at least make everyone hate him. It was entirely possible, especially because everyone was so tense about the 'war'. Any kind of disloyal actions could create a mob against the person. But Rob, who either hadn't thought of the ramifications or didn't care, seemed happily unmindful of the trouble he could be making himself.
"…Sorry." He replied with a semi-shrug. "Well, I know I'm going to hear this either way, so let's get it over with."
"Why should I? You obviously don't care." Rob replied, sounding defensive. "I know you don't think I'm being very smart liking a WWF girl…"
"Exactly."
"But this one's…different. She's not like them."
"Seems pretty loyal to the WWF to me." Tommy pointed out bluntly. Rob looked at him, hesitating, most likely realizing his point. Still, of all things, Rob was a very stubborn person so when caught in the position he was in, he simply just huffed and changed the subject.
"She started out in ECW. She is one of us. She's got the spirit." Rob sighed.
"I remember. She was poor back then, too. Ate with us a couple times, too. But she's different now, Rob. She's got a boyfriend, too. And happy with him."
"He doesn't deserve her! If I could just…talk to her…" he paused. "…And then stutter like an idiot and forget what I wanted to say…like I always do…"
Tommy frowned at him as his face fell. The other side of Rob only the girls he used to like knew about. He could be the most debonair male in the world when it came to other people, but the minute he talked to someone he liked…he reverted to a vegetable state. Rob stood and left without saying goodbye. Tommy didn't stop him.
He sighed. He knew he was obligated to do something.
~~
He found her sitting backstage, sort of half in a daze as she sat upon a rickety old folding chair that looked as though it could collapse under her weight. Even with that fact, though, she calmly sat cross-leggedly upon it, looking more or less depressed. Though he had seen the girl a lot of times and never said hello, he felt compelled that time to ask what could possibly make her look so sad. He walked up to her cautiously.
"Hello?"
She instantly seemed to be shocked out of thought, nearly tipping off the seat. He smiled apologetically when she looked up at him with a quizzical look.
"I'm sorry." She instantly said. "I-I was just thinking. I hadn't noticed you coming up by me…"
"S'okay." He shook his head. "I didn't mean to startle you."
He looked her over. She had changed from her gear and wore pretty beat-up looking clothing. Her red colored hair fell past her shoulders, ending near the beginning of her chest. She definitely wasn't like any of the other ECW girls he had met – she seemed more…real. She didn't want sympathy, or a date with the latest top of the hill wrestler. She didn't seem to be as concerned with her looks. Even though she was forced to wear the clothing the other girls wore, she just didn't seem like she fit in with them. It was probably why Rob, whenever he saw her randomly, she was either with the one she was a valet to or alone.
"Do I know you?" she suddenly asked, quite bluntly.
"No." he admitted. "But…I came over to see if you were alright. You're…" he searched his brain for a name, remembering someone had told him about her once. "…Lita, right?"
"Yeah." She nodded, a bit uncomfortably. She stared at him for a moment. "And you're Rob, right? RVD?"
He nodded in confirmation. "Sorry to bother you, but…well, I thought I might ask you why you look so sad."
"I'm not sad just…" she hesitated. "Well, it really doesn't concern you."
"Well, tell me if I'm crossing the line, but…I am asking, aren't I?"
She paused, contemplating this, then nodded. She stood, eye to eye with him. He noticed how ashamed she looked as she went to explain. "I'm sorta…hungry. Haven't eaten anything in a day." She looked down. "Had to get myself a couple of new clothes."
Rob frowned instantly, suddenly understanding. While he was being paid semi-nicely, she wasn't a big name. She was probably flat broke like he was when he started out. She didn't seem to appreciate his sympathetic gaze, however, because she turned her head away, scowling a bit. "…Don't pity me. I'm not some orphan case you know."
"Never even thought that for a second." He instantly said, shaking his head, wiping the look off his face. He saw how edgy it made her. "But if you're hungry, I wouldn't mind buying you food. If you don't take charity, you can pay me back whenever."
She stared at him for a moment, probably surprised at his generosity. He was always nice to people that way, because he knew he would want people to do the same for him. She seemed a bit nervous about it, but slowly nodded. He figured the hunger had to be pretty bad at that moment, because the way she looked at him…if she wasn't dying for food, she would had let her pride take over and decline the offer.
He took her to a small diner near the arena, figuring she wouldn't want to go far with him since she barely knew him. They sat opposite of each other, each getting a menu from the old-looking female waitress who greeted them both with the customary smile. The diner was pleasant, the insides all neatly cleaned and the tables and everything else polished to a perfect shine. He caught a glance of her staring with a hungry look at the menu, but knew he shouldn't urge her to order big. She wouldn't anyway.
"I'll have the order of fries and a coke." She said softly to the woman, who gave her a strange look before shrugging and writing it down.
"I'll have the same…plus a hamburger and a side order of apple pie. Try to make it a big piece, if you can"
The woman wrote it down, though shooting him an odd glance too. Not that Lita wasn't. He knew what he was doing, though. If she wouldn't order for herself, he would. He wasn't that hungry, and he knew he couldn't eat even the whole hamburger. But she could.
They didn't really speak to each other the entire time, both sort of in their own little world. He was being nice to her but it didn't mean they were now instantly buddies. When the food came, he knew she was watching him cheerfully eat his huge meal, not knowing that he had planned this all out already.
When he got to halfway on his hamburger, he stopped, dropping the food lightly to the plate. "Damn, I'm full." He spoke. She eyed him, surprised.
"But you got so much…"
"Yeah. Damn, I'd hate to see it go to waste…" he trailed off. She looked at him, then at the food. He figured she got what he had done, but she probably pretended not to notice. "You want it?"
She ended up eating most of it. He didn't mind, he was just happy she got food in her system. She just seemed quietly grateful for it. He didn't expect a thank you. He didn't need one. Her contented look was enough. But she did thank him. After they exited the diner and bundled up for the blistering cold, she leaned in and kissed his cheek softly, catching him off guard of course. He was a little glad for the darkness that surrounded them.
"Thank you." She said softly, almost shyly. "I really appreciate this."
He just quirked a smile, shrugging. "No problem."
~~
He had never told Tommy exactly why the minute he got into the WWF he searched her out. The last night they had spoken to each other, before she was out of ECW, she really kissed him. And she meant it. And it felt right to him.
But it was as if she forgot about it all. The fact stung, of course, but he couldn't stop himself from digging up his old feelings. She was still beautiful. She was still the same. Only now she was on the wrong side, and she was dating somebody. How could he contend? He was never a sweet talker. He just tried being nice and when that didn't work…and well, he couldn't really be nice without being suspicious anyway now. He couldn't go up to her and her buddies and go 'Hey Lita, wanna go out?'. He'd probably get his ass kicked. He had been quietly waiting until he saw his moment to go up to her and speak to her. He didn't care that he was chancing a lot. He just had to see if he was the only one who remembered.
But, with his luck, the only time he ever saw her was with either the boyfriend of the colored hair one. He had met them both previously, both in matches he had during a short stint of WWF matches way back in the day. They were both nice enough, but obviously protective of the female counterpart of their group. But the memories always flooded into his head, not that he particularly wanted them too of course. He hated remembering. It just made him fall deeper…
He sighed. Walking through the halls didn't help anymore. He KNEW he was looking for her. Subconsciously, he was always searching. Always hoping that one day she would look at him and remember him so he wouldn't have to botch up an initiating conversation. It was already in his mind – he would find his chance, and then just when he went to speak, he would forget everything and end up forming misshapen badly constructed sentences. Smooth was definitely nothing close to what one could call his abilities with females. It would be better if she spoke to him, because then maybe he wouldn't get as nervous…
But it was highly doubtful. She didn't seem to want to risk her job. And he shouldn't want to either. He knew Tommy was right, that even thinking about it was hazardous to his career and his image. He knew how worried his friend got about him. But this was something he had to do…just to at least SEE. Call him a strangely hopeless romantic, but he just felt that somehow, someway, he could get to her and she would like him too. It wasn't chasing an empty dream, even though he knew it looked like that.
He grabbed a water bottle from one of the random machines offering drinks. He never took the free stuff – he was always afraid somebody spit in it in hopes of having one of the jerks in the back drink it. He had seen it before, and after that, he bought his –own- stuff. He nearly spit his first sip out because suddenly there she was, out of no where. Alone. Well, she thought she was alone.
Tommy.
He almost had to blink to make sure he was seeing right. It WAS him, and he was following her while brandishing a menacing looking bat. He wouldn't. He couldn't.
What was he DOING? Rob didn't like the chances of how the situation could end. He instantly stepped in, stopping Tommy seconds before he smashed the bat into her back. Amy let out a gasp, turning around to see Rob holding the end of the bat with his bare hands.
"What are you TRYING TO DO?" he demanded. Tommy went to hit her again, and Rob just had no time to react besides literally pushing her out of the way. So he did. And the bat brushed hard enough against his side to be painful. She seemed to gain her bearings and ran off, leaving RVD on his knees, holding his side. Dreamer seemed uneasy for obvious reasons.
"You just hit me." Rob spoke, stating the obvious.
"…I didn't mean to…I mean…you GOT IN THE WAY." Tommy accused. Rob stood up, staggering a little until he got his center of balance back. Still holding his side, he shot Tommy a look that actually made him back up a little.
"That was –Lita- you were trying to hit." He hissed. Dreamer took another step back.
"I-I had too! Honest! I tried to tell you…"
"You don't know how much I want to kick your ass right now." Rob fumed. He suddenly moved forward and slammed his fist into Dreamer's midsection. He crumpled to the floor, holding his stomach the minute the pain instantly popped up. Rob snorted and stalked past him, saying no more.
Tommy watched him go out of the corner of his eye. After gaining the air back to his lungs, he slowly stood up, wincing as he moved.
"This better work…" he muttered, trying to shake off the pain as he ambled tiredly away.
Rob went to his own locker room, trying not to let the anger get to him. He really hated when his rage got the best of him. But Dreamer…his best friend…how COULD he? Just thinking about it made him want to run after the guy again. He sat down, breathing in slowly, trying to calm down. However it instantly heightened the minute the door was knocked on. Instantly assuming it was Dreamer, he stomped over, flinging the door open.
"Tommy you better get ou—agh!" His mouth dropped instantly.
"…Hello Rob." Lita was standing right in front of him, looking a bit timid but otherwise usual in appearance. Finally annoyed at the silence, she spoke again – "Can I come in?