PART 19
MONDAY-JULY 1ST, 2002
"Dude, you've got to be shitting me," Chris said incredulously.
"Nope, Vince just told of his wonderful plan a few minutes ago. I think he's finally gone completely insane," Mark said, shaking his head at the younger man.
"So let me get this whole thing straight," Kurt cut in. "Brock Lesnar gets to be WWE Champion?"
Mark nodded, "Apparently so. According to Vince, his 'good friend Paul' presented him with the idea. He said that it was just a good idea and he couldn't turn it down… good idea my ass."
Chris shook his head, "This is bullshit. Not to bitch or anything, but I've been in the wrestling business for a good ten years. Why the hell does this 25 year old nobody get to waltz right in to the championship?"
"I'm usually not one to complain, especially after how quick I won the title, but I have to agree with you. Even though I was only in the company for a year, I was older… and besides, a year's a lot longer than a couple months," Kurt added.
"Not to mention that you were a TALENTED wrestler," Chris remarked bitterly.
Mark scowled, "There's something I don't like about them two… Paul and Brock, I mean. Damn, I should have known Levesque would pull something like this."
"Something like what?" The three men looked up to see Adam standing there, awaiting an answer.
Mark sighed, "Don't get too pissed, but um… Vince thinks it would be a good idea to give Brock Lesnar the WWE Title."
Adam's frown dropped into a deeper scowl, "Are you serious?!"
"Yeah, he is," Kurt said, shaking his head as well. "Mark's gonna lose the title to Rocky at Vengeance, and then he's gonna lose to Lesnar at Summerslam." Adam tried to reply, but he really couldn't. His whole body was basically numb. A
s if his life couldn't get any worse. How nice it was of Kurt and Mark to stomp even more dirt in his face. Adam knew it wasn't their fault, as he didn't think either of them knew about his less-than-enjoyable weekend. If they did, they surely wouldn't throw this in his face. Brock Lesnar as the WWE Champion? What the hell was the company coming to? As much as he hated to admit it, he was beginning to dislike Vince McMahon more and more as each day passed. After deciding that he really had nothing---or maybe it was too much---to say, Adam simply turned and walked away, leaving the others behind.
* * * * * *
"Dude, wait up!" Adam looked up to see Jay, jogging to catch up to him. He couldn't even open his mouth to form the word hello. It didn't matter too much though, as Jay didn't seem to notice, jumping right into a conversation.
"Hey man, thanks for taking care of Steph this weekend. I was definitely an asshole, and I'm sorry for what I did… to both of you. Seriously man, if it wasn't for you, Steph and I would have never made up. So thanks man. I… hey, what's wrong?" Jay asked when he saw the lost gaze on his best friend's face.
"I… you won't believe this. Brock's getting the title… at Summerslam," he said, dragging his feet along as they walked. Jay stopped, eyeing Adam for a minute.
"What? You've got to be kidding me," the shorter blonde said. Adam stopped as well, leaning against the wall.
"Yeah, it's true. Mark, Kurt, and Chris just told me. Vince has obviously seen the amazing talent that Brock has… talent my ass," Adam said bitterly.
"Adam, are you okay?" Jay asked worriedly, his eyes growing concerned. Jay felt a chill go down his spine as his eyes met Adam's intense green ones. Adam looked like he was about to snap… or perhaps he already had.
"Oh, I'm wonderful Jay, just wonderful… of course I'm not okay! I so did NOT even want to BE here today, but I FORCED myself out of bed and on a plane to come here… only to find out that Brock Lesnar is getting the WWE Title! I've been here for five fucking years and he's been here for five MONTHS! But that's… that's not even it. I mean, first Stephanie, and then the fight, and then Britney… and now THIS! I don't think I can take this goddamn company anymore! Is there any more SHIT I could pile on top of the 9 fucking ton boulder I have on my neck?" Adam exclaimed, sending his friend a completely hopeless look. Jay sighed, now he didn't know if he had the heart to tell Adam what Stephanie had told him earlier.
"I… I know you probably don't need this right now, but I'd really rather you hear from me rather than someone else. There's… there's something else," he said uneasily.
"So tell me. I'm sure my life can't get any more fucked up than it already is. I just can't wait for Britney to get here so I can talk to her. Then we can hopefully sort things out and I can get at least one problem out of the…"
"She's not coming," Jay said in a tone so quiet that Adam almost didn't hear him. But he DID hear him… and he didn't like what he heard at all.
"What?" the taller Canadian asked, daring his best friend to repeat.
"Um… Stephanie said that Britney called Vince. She asked for a few days off… she told him that she just didn't think she could be here right now. He… he gave it to her," Jay said reluctantly. His heart sank as Adam's expression dropped even lower. "Adam, I'm sorry," he offered, placing his hand on Adam's shoulder consolingly. Brushing his hand off, Adam straightened up and did something he had done just a few minutes earlier… he walked away.
THREE DAYS LATER- JULY 4TH, 2002
Adam lay in bed in his hotel room, absentmindedly flipping through the channels. Raw, Smackdown, and one House Show had come and gone, and he still hadn't seen or talked to Britney. The past week without her had been absolutely miserable. He couldn't stand being apart from her… it was killing him. The Canadian couldn't even think straight. He couldn't even celebrate the fact that he had won the Tag Titles with his childhood idol Hulk Hogan on Smackdown and successfully defended them at the house show. He even turned Hogan down when he asked him if he wanted to go out for a drink after the show.
"Are you sure man?" he asked, becoming a little concerned. "That's the second night in a row that you said you didn't feel much like going out."
Adam sighed, "I know man, and I'm sorry, I really am. You know how much I'd love to hang out with you Hulkster. I… I just kind of have a lot on my mind right now."
"Well, I hope everything's okay. You want to tell me what's going on?" Hogan asked him. He was concerned about the kid… he looked like he hadn't slept in days.
"It… it's a whole lot of shit really. But it all resulted in my girlfriend totally not talking to me, and I'm not sure when she's going to start again, if she does," Adam told Hogan remorsefully. He still felt so guilty about what happened.
"Oh, so that's why Britney's not here?" Hogan asked, regretting doing so when he saw Adam wince at the mention of his girlfriend's name. The Canadian nodded slowly and painfully.
"I'm sorry man. I'll let you go then. Things'll get better, just hang in there, brother."
Adam nodded, thanking him halfheartedly, "Thanks man… I hope so."
Suddenly, he heard a sound… someone was opening his hotel room door. Adam groaned. Earlier, Amy had told him that she had a huge fight with Matt, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to stay with him that night. Well, she was one of his best friends, so he gave her a spare key to his room in case she needed it. Once again, he wished he wasn't so damn nice. Still, he knew he would never have the heart to leave such a good friend as Amy out in the cold when she'd offered every night of the week to stay with him while Britney was gone. Needless to say, he sat up on the bed, waiting for her to come in. He heard the door open, followed by tiny footsteps headed in his direction. The closed bedroom door slowly inched open, and Adam looked up to meet a pair of legs encased in a short skirt. He couldn't believe Amy would wear a skirt… it was definitely unlike her. They didn't even look like Amy's legs. In fact, the tanned legs his eyes were fixed on looked like Britney's. Great Adam, now you're seeing things. Still, he looked up, prepared to meet her hazel eyes. However, he was met with a pair of bright blue ones instead. Adam's breath caught in his throat. When he finally managed to speak, only one word came out of his mouth.
"Britney?"
The Canadian blinked a few times, just to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. Sure enough, when he opened them after about the sixth blink, she was still there. She was there… and he was thanking God for it. Adam felt his breath catch again as he stared at her, drinking her in. She stood at the door, staring at him with teary eyes. He'd almost forgotten how incredibly beautiful she was. He stood, slowly making his way to her. When he reached her, he stuck his hand out, running his fingers over her soft skin. He ran his hands all over her face---her eyes, cheeks, and lips---like he was reading Braille. After a few moments, he couldn't bear it any longer. He tugged at her, reveling at the feeling of her falling into his arms again. He didn't care about anything that had happened over the course of the week, or how mad he was that she wasn't there. As far as he was concerned, it didn't matter. He was with the woman he loved again… and she came back. No one made her… that had to mean SOMETHING. They stood like that for a good five minutes, Adam holding her tightly as she clung to him fiercely. Finally, he led her to the bed, sitting next to her on the edge of it, not letting go of her for a second. They both began to speak at the same time.
"Go ahead," Adam said gentlemanly.
"Um… Amy gave me the key to get in. I didn't know how you'd react to me calling, so I just… I asked her to lie to you about it. I… I just came here to… to say that I'm sorry. I really am. I KNOW I should have at least called you, but I just couldn't. This whole week, I've been moping around because I thought I was upset at what you did. Then last night, I realized that I wasn't upset cause of what you did, I was upset because you weren't there. It made me realize how much I need you, Adam. I… I don't think I could make it without you," she said honestly, unable to keep a tear or two from sliding down her cheek. Wow, was all Adam could think. He was doing his best to fight that grin again.
Britney continued, "So I made a decision. I'm not going to be afraid of you. You've given me no reason to be. I… I've got to get over my trust issues. I'm going to make sure things work this time, Adam. I won't let myself lose you… I can't."
Adam was once again speechless. This woman extracted emotions from him that he never even knew he had. "Oh God, Brit. I missed you so much… you have no idea how much. This past week without you has been absolute hell, cause I need you too. I need you more than I realized… you're everything to me, and I… I'm just so happy you're here," Adam said, pulling her into his arms again. The two held each other in another long embrace, until Britney pushed him away to speak.
"I also made another decision… one that took me a little longer to make," she said. "I… I really trust you Adam. More than I think I've ever trusted anybody. It scares the shit out of me… but you know, maybe it shouldn't. I… I can look into the future sometimes, and I can see us together. I-I know we can make it… and I know that you would never hurt me. So… I made an important decision."
"What's that?" Adam asked with incredible curiosity. The pretty blonde glanced from Adam to the floor and back, sending him a coy and almost shy look.
She smiled softly, "I'm ready."
THREE HOURS LATERNow it was Britney who lay awake, lazily running her hand across Adam's forearm that was wrapped securely around her. Adam had long since been asleep, but the young McMahon couldn't help but stay awake. She couldn't believe it… she actually did it. Before tonight, Britney didn't think anything sexual was going to happen between them for a long, long time. She was convinced that she was too scared. But she finally decided to suck up her fears, because no one could be as scary as Brock Lesnar. Adam was completely different. He just had a slower, more loving and intimate way of doing things. It was arguably the best night of her entire life. The way he looked at her afterward, she just loved it. She loved the way he kept telling her it was okay to stop. She loved the tiny kiss he placed on the tip of her nose after catching his breath. She loved the way he gazed down at her and said "I love you." And when he noticed the tears in her eyes, she loved the way he jumped.
"Are you okay? Did I hurt you?" he asked somewhat frantically.
Britney smiled, "I'm fine, Adam." That still wasn't enough for him.
"Are you sure? Tell me the truth," he insisted. He sure as hell didn't want to hurt her, but he wanted to know if he did so he could correct it.
She shook her head, "I'm sure. Baby, I'm fine, really. Better than fine, actually." Adam loosened up a bit, wiping a tear off of her cheek.
"Then why are you crying?" he asked, still not completely convinced that she was okay. Her smile softened.
"Because, I don't really know. That was just… I just… let's just say not very many of my experiences with guys were like that. It… you were perfect. I swear Adam, I feel way better than fine. In fact, you've made me feel so much better than fine. You… you make me feel so good about myself, I've never really felt so good before."
After hearing her words, he finally smiled. She was right about one thing. It definitely was perfect.
"I love you," he said quietly, kissing her on the forehead, moving off of her so he was lying behind her.
She loved everything about what had just happened. She just simply loved him. Now, if only she could just SAY it. The tiny blonde shifted slightly, turning so that she could eye her sleeping boyfriend's form. He really was a beautiful man. She didn't even want to think of where she would be without him. She was finally beginning to understand why Shane told Adam about her, and she was actually glad. If he hadn't told Adam everything about her past, Adam would have never told her how he felt. He would have never taken her on to the beach that night and told her everything that he knew. Then, she could be off God knows where with Brock, instead of here in Adam's arms, where she belonged. Gently touching his cheek, she smiled.
"I love you, Adam Copeland."
TBC
Aww. LOL, so whaddya think?
