" If ever there was a kiss that was purely for show, that was it." said Chris Irvine in disgust, as they witnessed Billy's little performance which, as he rightly guessed, was aimed solely at them. Or at least, more accurately, at one of them. "Why doesn't she swing for him?"
"Probably because she enjoys being able to breathe on her own." returned Chris Benoit grimly.
"You think he'd hurt her?"
"She didn't really hint at anything like that, but I wouldn't put anything past him."
"And you wouldn't be biased!" grinned Irvine, "But it looks like we're gonna find out more about the guy real soon - they're coming this way."
Chris looked across the dancefloor and saw with mixed feelings that this was true. On the one hand, he wanted to talk to her, or even just see her, to make sure she was okay; however, on the other hand, there was Billy and all the complications he brought with him. He noticed the reluctant look on Shannon's face and sympathised; but when he saw the look on Billy's face, realisation hit him.
"Smug git!" he muttered under his breath, broadening Irvine's grin, "He's doing this on purpose. He must know something and wants to prove a point - although he can't know about this morning, or he wouldn't be so calm. Of all the people we had to run into ..... I REALLY do not want to have to make small talk with HIM!"
*****
In a moment, Billy and Shannon were in front of them and the tension in the air seemed to increase suddenly.
"Well, hello." said Billy cheerfully, "Didn't expect to see you again so soon. Billy, Shannon's boyfriend, remember?"
"How could I forget?" said Chris with a tight smile, "Hi, Shannon."
"Hi." she said softly, "I'm sorry, you don't mind if we sit here, do you?"
"Of course they don't." laughed Billy, turning with the air of a conspirator to the other two men, "She worries too much, doesn't she?"
"It's okay." said Chris, seeing from the look in her eyes that she was apologising for a lot more than their choice of table and wanting to reassure her that he understood.
An awkward silence fell over the group as the couple sat down and everyone except Billy found it increasingly uncomfortable. He, however, seemed oblivious. Fortunately for the others, it was soon broken by the return of the roster members who had been enjoying themselves on the dancefloor.
"Thought y'all might have livened up by now - guess I was wrong!" giggled Nora, before she noticed the newcomers, "Oh hi! Not interrupting, are we?"
"Not at all." said Chris, relieved by their arrival and beginning to make the necessary introductions. "Nora, this is Shannon Benson, an old friend of mine, and her boyfriend, Billy. This is Nora Greenwald; Terry Gerin; you'll know the names of those two - Matt and Jeff Hardy; likewise, Stephanie McMahon; over there is Amy Dumas; Dwayne Johnston; that's Paul Levesque; and this is Andrew Martin. I think that's everyone."
"Pretty sure I won't remember those all, but I'll try." smiled Shannon, "Hi! Oh, Andrew, we met before, right?"
"That's right." he said smiling, "Good to see you again - you should have said you were Chris's friend."
"Hey, aren't you going to introduce me?" came a plainitive inquiry, "I was here first! Chris Irvine, nice to meet you!" he continued smoothly, shaking hands with Shannon.
"Two Chrises, that must get confusing. But it's nice to meet you too!"
*****
Soon all the nearby chairs were taken as they all found seats and Billy's friends also joined them. Shannon guiltily found that she was pleased to notice that he and his friends were all sitting towards one end of the group of tables and that Billy's attention was diverted away from her, enabling her to relax slightly. She sat back and listened to the friendly bantering that went on between the wrestlers, enjoying the now friendly atmosphere and sipping occassionally on her drink.
After a moment or two, Shannon noticed the girl with long dark red hair beckoning to her and went over to where she was sitting.
"Hi, I'm Amy!" she smiled, "Shannon, isn't it? Come sit with us girls for a bit. So, you're a friend of Chris, huh?"
"Yeah, that's right." Shannon nodded, casting a wary glance towards Billy, but he was engrossed in his own conversation.
"Have you guys stayed in touch?"
"Ah, no. We just happened to meet up 'cause I'm a reporter now and I had to interview Chris." she said, not wanting to go into the details.
"Funny how these things happened." commented Stephanie, "When was the last time you saw each other?"
"Ages ago - I was still in high school ....."
"Wow! You weren't kidding when you said you hadn't stayed in touch - couldn't you put up with him any longer?" laughed Amy.
Shannon forced a smile and nodded, "Something like that."
Suddenly Amy flashed them an evil grin and lowered her voice, "I bet you could tell us some stories - all the embarrassing high school stuff that Chris would never tell us. A little bit of blackmail goes a long way in the locker rooms!"
"You mean the kind of stories Chris would kill me for telling you?" asked Shannon with a grin of her own.
"The very ones!" agreed Amy.
"I couldn't possibly!" gasped Shannon in mock horror.
"We would, of course, repay ya by giving ya the ..... er, UNOFFICIAL lowdown on all the guys ......" revealed Nora temptingly.
"Well, when you put it like that ...... where do we start?" Shannon laughed.
"Good question!" the others echoed.
*****
" ...... so, when Chris - Irvine, I mean - got drunk, he seemed to think he was back in the ring, instead of in a crowded bar." Stephanie continued with her story, "So, there he is - on top of a table, announcing to everyone that he is going to be the next champion .....
Meanwhile, the guys were so busy talking that they hadn't noticed the girls huddled together in a separate little group.
"Hey, what are the girls gossiping about?" asked Paul suddenly, as he finally looked up.
They all turned to look at them, but the girls didn't notice them.
"Probably just girlie things." said Andrew, "You know how they get when they get together."
All of a sudden, all the girls looked straight at them, burst out laughing and turned away again quickly.
"Okaaay." said Paul slowly, "Did that make anyone else nervous?"
Stephanie was giggling so much, she was finding it hard to continue and Shannon was listening wide-eyed. "NO! What did the bouncer say?"
"He said ....." started Stephanie, but she kept breaking off to giggle, " ..... he said ´You can't call me a trash-bag ho - you're the one who tried to kiss me!`"
All four girls dissolved into uncontrollable laughter, bringing tears to their eyes and increasing the paranoia of the guys.
"God, that is hilarious - I really needed that to cheer me up." confessed Shannon, wiping her eyes.
"The guys are giving us weird looks." informed Nora, "D'ya think we should hit the dancefloor before they get suspicious?"
"Great idea!" agreed Amy, grabbing Shannon's hand. She saw her glance at Billy and reassured her, "Once they start talking again, they'll forget all about us. Come on!"
Shannon didn't have to stretch her imagination to believe that Billy would forget about her and nodded. "Lets go."
*****