*Author's Note: To look at my disclaimer and all of that, go to the first chapter.*
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*Chapter Twenty Two – Afflicted*
(The next week, on Tuesday the 17th…)
Trish Stratus leaned back in her chair and sighed loudly. School was in full swing by this point. The more the days passed the more she thought of getting with Tommy Dreamer and making it official. Ever since the Rock's first party a few weeks earlier, they had been flirting back and forth and kept in touch. They were in the same class, Women in History, and they were in fact, about to take their dreaded first test. Yeah, and it's in essay form. Ugh, she thought as she pulled her purple cell phone out of her purse and checked for voice mails. Damn, I have no idea who that number is, she thought as she put it back in her purse. Tommy Dreamer, who was in his usual seat behind her, tapped her on the shoulder, leaving her to still have no clue whose number was on her phone.
Trish sighed dreamily. Grrr, why can't I just say that I want to get with him? I'm usually good at starting relationships, too! Urggh, she thought as she slowly turned around. "What's up?"
Tommy shrugged. Damn, she's gorgeous. Love the green eyeshadow…brings out her eyes more. Shit, Tommy, quit getting carried away, he thought as he looked her over. "Not much. I'm just hoping to hell I do well on this test, that's all. I didn't really look over the chapters this weekend."
Trish nodded in understanding. "Yeah, I didn't really get to read anything either. I was at your place the whole time." And too busy of thinking of you, too, she thought and blushed.
Tommy laughed and said softly, "I didn't mind, though." They gazed at each other for a minute in silence and then he said nervously, "I uh, I know Faarooq, Bradshaw, Tajiri, and Funaki were having fun with you too." The four of them were his housemates, and they lived in a house a few doors down from Kevin Nash's.
Trish shrugged as she remembered how all the guys at Tommy's apartment were hitting on her. "They were just making fun of me because they were kicking my ass at Soul Calibur, that's all." Just then, their professor, Mae Young, walked into the room, carrying a huge stack of papers.
"Shit, she's here. I wanted to sneak outta here early." Trish heard Dave Batista mutter from the other side of the room. Yeah, I wish she wasn't here either, she thought in agreement.
Tommy smiled at Trish and said, "Well, good luck on the test then."
Trish nodded. "You too, Tommy. I'll uh, talk to you later."
Tommy whispered, "How about we meet for lunch afterward?"
Trish felt her face turning red and said, "Uh, sure, yeah." Oh my God, did he just ask me out?, she thought, trying to hide how red her face was turning. Whoa.
Tommy smiled and said, "Okay, I'll wait for you." Trish just nodded and turned around. Oh wow, she thought as she tried to regain her composure, is it possible that he wants me back? I'm gonna have to ask Lita and Jackie what they think!
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(Meanwhile, at the East Hall apartments across campus…)
"Edge!"
Nope, I'm gonna ignore this phone call, he thought as he tried to act like he was intensely interested in his Biology book. He and his roommate, Shawn Michaels, were sitting on the couch trying to read up on their homework.
Triple H yelled again in an annoyed tone. "Edge, damnit, it's your brother and he really needs to talk to you!" Christ, that kid is whiny, he thought to himself about Christian.
Shawn smirked and turned to Edge who sighed. "What, you hate your little bro now?"
Edge shook his head. "No, he's just acting like a complete reekazoid lately. He thinks that I've replaced him with Jeffness back there." I don't know why I would though, he thought as he pushed a long, blonde strand out of his face. I mean, I know he's a pain in the ass, but he's my brother and I have to watch out for him. Even if he is a bit smarter than I am…
"He's jealous." Shawn offered. "He's jealous of the closeness that you and Jeff have. I'm not surprised. You two got close pretty quick." Edge shrugged. Yeah, but still, maybe it's because I relate to Jeff more than my own brother…oh, how sad is that? I need to try harder, he thought.
Fine then, if he won't answer the phone, I'll bring it to him, Triple H thought as he walked over to Edge and thrust the black cordless phone in his face. Edge glared at him and muttered, "Hello, Christian." Triple H then grabbed his bookbag off of the kitchen table and headed out the door without so much as a goodbye.
"Wonder where the hell he's going?" Shawn mused aloud, turning the pages of his Economics book. He seems to be pretty pissed off about something, he thought with worry. I'll ask him about it later, though. Gotta concentrate on this homework so I can fucking pass this test!
Christian sighed with relief on the other end. I'm ready for a huge lecture, he thought, turning to Kurt Angle. He and Christian were in Kurt's room, studying their Composition 2 notes. "Hi, Adam. Listen…I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for being such a prick lately –"
Edge rolled his eyes and spat out, "You've been more than a prick. You've been embarrassing me." Kurt coughed on the other end. He better agree to the plan, he thought as he continued to skim his notes. He has to save me and Christian from geekdom!
"How so?" Christian asked in a confused tone, even though he knew what the answer was.
"Well, you've been telling a shitload of people how jealous you are of Jeff Hardy, for one. He's not my brother, and he never will be." He softened his tone. "You're the only brother I have, even though I don't understand you too well."
Christian smirked. Well at least he's not mad at me, I think. Should I still be mad at him, though?, he thought as he looked out the window. The sunlight was streaming through Kurt's window, making the use of a light pretty much useless. The perfect day to spend with a chick…if I had one, he thought sadly. One day I'll get a chick. But first, Kurt and I need to be rescued from our nerdishness. "I don't understand you a lot, either, but listen, I have a favor to ask."
Edge braced himself. Usually whenever his little brother asked for a favor, it was a huge one. I'm not even going to think about the favor he asked for last year, when he was rooming with X-Pac and I had to cover for them whenever they smoked weed in the room…I yelled at him for weeks after that, he thought with annoyance. Hopefully the favor he's asking isn't as bad. "What is it?"
"Kurt Angle and I need you to save us from being dorky. You and Jeff are cool and accepted, and we want you to help us be cool like you two are." Christian said with a smile and looked at Kurt – he was still immersed in his Composition notes.
Edge leaned back on the couch, eliciting a worried response from Shawn. He gritted his teeth, "Wait, did you just ask that? Repeat it so I make sure I heard it right? You want me…and Jeff…to de-dorkify you?"
"Uh, yeah…Kurt and I want to be cool and you and Jeff can help us?" Christian said like a question. He knew that his brother was already annoyed by his reply. Shit, I didn't mean to annoy you, bro, he thought, I wanted help, that's all. If asking for help is too much for you to handle, then I might as well start going to someone else.
Edge shook his head. I can't believe he asked me that, of all things. This is gonna take a shitload of my time away, he thought as he got up from the couch and started to pace around the living room.
Shawn looked up at him. "You okay, man?"
Edge motioned for him to be quiet, and told his brother, "You owe me big time, bro. Big fucking time."
Christian smiled with glee. "Oh thank you Adam, I love you, I hope you know that, and I really don't mean to be such a pain in the ass to you –"
Edge cut him off again. "Yeah…just call me and let me know what's going on. I gotta get going though - I'm gonna fail a quiz because of you calling." Yeah, and if I do fail this quiz, I'm so blaming it on you, bro, he thought as he stopped in front of the TV.
"Shit, you better go then. Good luck."
"Thanks." And with that, Edge hung up. What the fuck is wrong with my brother, trying to intrude on my time? Doesn't he have his own time to waste?, he thought as he looked to Shawn. "My brother just asked me the stupidest question. Well, not that that is a surprise."
"Which is?" Shawn asked, looking at Edge for the answer.
"He wants me to de-dorkify him and Kurt…so they can get chicks, I bet. Why is it always me that has to de-dorkify people? Why can't it be Dave Batista or something?" Edge whined and then stopped himself. Shit, I cannot look whiny in front of Shawn, he thought as he moved back towards the couch. He'd tell Hunter and I'd be done for sure!
Shawn laughed. "Hate to say it, kid, but yeah, your brother and his buddy are complete dorks. But I believe in you. You'll do well in this endeavor. Shit, look at all the attention you attracted at Rocky's last party."
Edge grinned. Yeah, I met a few hot chicks like that…Lita girl…and Trish…yeah, he thought as picked up his books off of the couch. "But still, I never understood why Christian always feels the need to intrude on my time. This is gonna take a while to do, to get the full effect going."
"You'll do fine, Edge. You and Jeff are quite smart."
Edge smiled and said nervously, "Well, I'm glad you think so. I'm gonna get going to my class now and fail this quiz." Yep, little bro is definitely gonna owe me big time, he thought as he headed back to his room to get his things. I'll never be able to replace the lost time I'll have from helping them be cool like Jeff and I.
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(Off campus at the Rock's, er, Kevin Nash's…)
Bubba Ray Dudley felt sick - in fact, too sick to move. I hope I'm not coming down with the flu or anything, he thought as he opened the refrigerator and grabbed a can of Pepsi. I mean, it's only September, and doesn't the flu season start in December or something? Why would I have the flu now? He looked to Kane, who was doing his homework in the kitchen. Even though he didn't live with the Rock and his friends, he was still usually over there more than his own dorm room. "Kane? I really think I'm getting sick." Bubba Ray sighed, leaning against the kitchen table with his left arm.
Kane looked up from his reading and said, "I know why, too. I know exactly why."
Bubba Ray hissed, "Well, then why? I mean, it feels like I have the flu, but it's not the flu because flu season isn't in full swing yet and then there's the fact that – "
"You broke the rules. You broke the circle. You're a sacrifice now." Kane said sadly.
"I'm a what?! I thought they were just fucking around, dude, I mean…they never let on how serious this shit was!" Bubba Ray exclaimed, trying to hold back his anger. "And how did they find out? I was just telling my own brother about the plan…I thought it wouldn't hurt, but I guess I was wrong."
Kane got up and leaned against the kitchen sink counter. "It is pretty serious, Bubba. And they did say that if anyone outside of the circle told anyone, that they'd be afflicted. So unfortunately, your love of defiance and such has caused you to suffer and be afflicted."
Bubba Ray asked, "Can't I reverse it? And you still didn't tell me how they know!"
Kane shook his head. "Nope. You're stuck with it. Usually the first sign of being afflicted is having something like the flu, but it isn't. I know because I used to dabble in the shit that my brother and his ex-girlfriend are using. It's dangerous stuff and they'll do anything in their power to abuse it. I just want to stop them from using it ever again. And we will stop them somehow. But in the meantime, we can't reverse your affliction or get rid of it. It needs to run its course." He paused, and then continued. "Chyna and Undertaker, because of this witchcraft or black magic they're using, are able to read into certain people's minds. Since we were in the circle of 5, we were being kept an eye on. And once Chyna or my brother read your thoughts, they knew that you had told. It's hard to explain, but I think that's the gist of it."
Bubba Ray's eyes went wide. Oh please tell me it's not so, he thought in fear. I really don't want to be a sacrifice. Like what is gonna happen to me? Am I gonna die, live, have powers, kill random people? What are Chyna and Undertaker going to do with me? "Are they reading my mind now?"
Kane nodded. "They have been."
Bubba Ray muttered, "Shit. Did I ever tell you that your brother and his ex-girlfriend are two of the most evil people on this planet as of now? He just better stay away from the rest of my family." It was at that moment that Bubba Ray Dudley feared for his future…and for his life.
Kane sighed. I feel bad for you, Bubba Ray, I really do, but I need to protect everyone else in the circle and pretty much everyone else on campus. I can't let them do what they are going to do with the sacrifices later on, he thought. "I know my brother is a bit whacked out, and so is his ex-girlfriend. One day they'll realize what they are doing is wrong, but in the meantime, I guess we need to just suffer their wrath out."
Bubba Ray narrowed his eyes. "I'm going to get him back one day for this. I won't stop until I do." I'm going to get that bastard back, one way or another. Oh yes. I'll make sure of it. And I don't give a flying fuck if he is reading my mind or not, either. I'll think what I want to think, he thought as he chugged down his can of Pepsi.
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End of Chapter Twenty Two…