Ch. 20.

Wondering what was wrong with Shannon, Chris made his way to the bar where he was soon joined by Chris Irvine and Nora.

"Where'd Shannon disappear to in such a hurry?" asked Irvine.

"She wasn't feeling great so she went for some fresh air." explained Chris, "I don't know what happened - one minute she was fine and the next ..... I hope she's okay. I was gonna go with her, but she said she'd only be a minute."

"Want me to go check on her?" offered Nora.

"That would be great - thanks, Nora." he said gratefully.

"No problem." she said easily, disappearing into the crowd.

It was not long until they could spot her returning, her blonde curls bouncing over her shoulders.

"Well?" asked Chris Benoit anxiously, "How is she?"

"I THINK she's okay." said Nora, frowning slightly, "I heard her voice, but I didn't see her 'cause Billy was with her. I didn't wanna intrude, but now I'm beginning to wonder if I did the right thing."

"Why? What do you mean?" Chris pressed.

"I heard them arguing, an' it was getting pretty heated - I think I heard him call her ..... well, I coulda been wrong."

"What do you think he called her?" he insisted, "Tell me."

"A ..... a whore. Or that she was acting like one; something like that." said Nora, biting her lip worriedly. "But wait y'all, I could be wrong ....."

But Chris had already slid off his bar stool, his hands clenched into fists. However, he only managed two strides before Chris Irvine grabbed the back of his shirt, pulling him back.

"Woah, cool your jets there, Romeo!" he ordered, "You can't go storming out there, all guns blazing!"

"Didn't you hear what Nora said?" he demanded in return.

"I heard." he nodded grimly, "And I don't like it either. But if you go out there, it may only make things worse. He IS her boyfriend and it's a sad fact that all couples row at some stage; it's not your place to get involved ....."

"So you're saying I should wait until he beats her up and then worry about it?" raged Chris incredulously.

"Unfortunately I don't think you've got any option." said Irvine, "If he hurts her, then by all means, hunt the bastard down. But you can't just assume that he will."

Deep down, Chris could see the logic in his friend's words, although he was reluctant to admit it.

"If he so much as TOUCHES her - I'll rip his fucking head off!" he fumed angrily.

Irvine nodded his agreement. "Sure thing. And I'll be more than glad to hold him for you."

"Shh, here they come. Don't y'all go jumpin' to conclusions now." Nora warned hastily as she glanced towards the door and noticed the debated couple returning, Shannon trailing behind Billy.

Chris was about to retort when the two were in front of him and he was forced to settle for staring at Billy through narrowed eyes and involuntarily clenching and unclenching his fists.

"Well, guys, it's been fun but we're gonna be heading off now." said Billy.

"Why don't both of you stay a bit longer?" asked Chris, his tone and gaze betraying his words, implying that while Shannon should certainly stay, Billy should go play with the traffic.

"Nah, it's getting late." said Billy, before lowering his voice so that only they could hear while Shannon could not, "And anyway, maybe we'll have ourselves a little private party - if you know what I mean?"

As he made his last comment, Billy nudged Chris lightly in the ribs and, as Chris knew exactly what he meant, had it not been for Nora's restraining hand on his arm, Billy would not have had a snowball's chance in hell of making it out of the club with all of his vital organs intact.

"Come on, Shannon - lets get out of this place." Billy said smugly.

She paused for a second, staring at the wrestlers in confusion over what had just occured before beginning to follow her retreating boyfriend. However, she didn't get far before Chris reached out and grabbed her hand.

"If you need anything - and I mean ANYTHING - call me." he said urgently, not letting her go until she nodded her agreement.

Nora watched Chris watching Shannon as she left and turned to whisper to Irvine, "He's got it real bad, huh? Wish someone cared about me the way he cares about her."

She was surprised by his reaction as it was like someone turning a lightbulb on inside his head. He grabbed her by the shoulders, grinning broadly.

"Funny you should say that, Nora, 'cause I just happen to know that someone on the roster really likes you." he told her.

"Me?" she squeaked in astonishment, "Really? Y'all aren't just winding me up?"

"No! Someone REALLY likes you."

"Who?"

"Aww, it'd be no fun if I just TOLD you - guess." he grinned infuriatingly.

"I can't guess!" she protested, blushing a little. Even though they wouldn't hear, she was still anxious that she wouldn't hurt anyone's feelings by overlooking them. "Please, Chris, just tell me."

"I'll give you a clue." he relented slightly, "He's got long dark hair, he's not overly tall and ..... um, he's not a million miles away."

With an idea of who it might be, Nora looked around and saw that someone looking at her. When they realised they had been spotted, they glanced away hastily and she smiled.

"Is it Terry?" she asked quietly, "Am I right? C'mon, Chris, stop keeping me in suspense."

"You didn't hear it from me." he confirmed, "I was sworn to secrecy, but it was doing my head in."

"Why didn't he say anything?" she wondered out loud.

"Oh, I can answer that one." Irvine claimed, "Believe it or not, the Man-Beast is kinda shy. He was scared you weren't interested. Are you? Interested, I mean."

Nora tilted her head to one side and contemplated his question. "Well, only one way to find out." she winked, "Thanks for tellin' me, Chris, ya sure are a great friend."

She gave him a quick hug and headed off to talk to Terry, stopping to tap Chris Benoit on the arm on her way.

"Chris?" she said, "I'm sure she'll be fine, ya shouldn't worry."

"Thanks, Nora." he replied, still looking a little distracted, "I hope you're right."

*****

Much later, the wrestlers were finally getting ready to leave. Generally, they'd had a good time and Chris Irvine was pleased to note that his matchmaking at worked; Nora had spent most of the latter part of the night dancing with or talking to Terry and they both looked very happy. He lifted his jacket and was about to follow the others to the door when he spotted a jacket which had been left behind.

"Hey, guys!" he called, "Someone forget a jacket?"

A few people shook their heads, until Amy glanced over and called back to him, "That looks like the one Shannon had - anyone know if she had hers with her when she left?"

"I don't think she did." Nora replied, "In fact, now I come to think of it, I'm sure she didn't."

"Here, I'll take it to her apartment." offered Chris Benoit, "I know where she lives."

"How'd you find that out?" asked Irvine, raising an eyebrow.

"From her work, when I was trying to contact her earlier." he explained, "And before you start, I was given the information, I didn't ask for it."

"I didn't say anything." said Irvine, "Good of you to return her jacket though. 'Course you don't want to check up on her ....."

"Don't. Start." he repeated, but he didn't really care. He had a bad feeling and he didn't think it was going to go away until he knew that Billy had not made his idea of a private party into a reality.

*****