Part 23

JULY 23, 2002- SMACKDOWN

Britney walked down the hallway alone, heading towards the women's locker room so she could get changed.  Hearing a noise, Britney jerked around suddenly, checking for anything that could have made it.  She saw nothing, so she continued walking.  My mind is playing tricks on me again.  Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her lip-gloss, applying it generously to her lips.  When she went to put it away, she accidentally missed her pocket, dropping it on the floor.  The tiny blonde bent down to pick it up, and when she straightened up, she gasped----- Paul Heyman was standing directly in front of her.

An evil, angry smirk was on his round face.  "Hey Britney," he said tauntingly.

"H-hi Paul," she said quickly, moving to push past him.  That man really unnerved her.  When she was with Brock, that man was always there, constantly prying into their business… he usually got what he came for, too.  As she tried to walk past him, Heyman grabbed her.

"And just WHERE do you think you're off to so quickly?" he asked, gripping her arm tightly.

Trying to break free from his grasp, she replied, "I, I'm busy.  I really have to go."  She struggled to free herself, but he only gripped her arm tighter.  "Ow!  Paul, stop!  You're hurting me… get the fuck off of me!" she cried, stopping abruptly when he shoved her painfully up against the wall.

"I think you're just fine where you are.  Now, I want you to look at me, Britney.  Tell me, do you know what this is?" he asked, pointing to his upper right cheek.

Britney stammered, "Y-you, you have a black eye."

Heyman smirked, "That's right.  And do you know WHERE this black eye came from?"  The young woman shook her head.  "THIS black eye," he said, pulling her closer, "came from your pretty little boyfriend."

Britney raised an eyebrow… Adam hadn't said anything about Paul Heyman all day.  "W-well, maybe that's something you oughta take up with him," Britney suggested.

Paul's face turned into a scowl.  "I would, but it just so happens to be YOUR fault.  If your pretty blonde boyfriend didn't feel such a need to protect you and your honor, he wouldn't have manhandled me," Heyman spat.

Britney couldn't think of why Adam would hit Paul, but it was safe to say that if it had something to do with her than he probably deserved it.  She also decided that Paul Heyman was not going to cop an attitude with her without getting one thrown back in his face.

"Um, first of all, you weren't 'manhandled.'  You have a black eye for Christ's sake.  Secondly, I don't know why Adam hit you, but I'm sure you pulled some sleaze bag stunt to deserve it," she told him boldly.

"You little bitch," he growled.  He reached back and swung, slapping her hard, right across the cheek.  He shoved her roughly back up against the wall, speaking in her ear, "Brock was right.  You need to learn to keep your fucking mouth shut, you worthless little whore."  He turned and stalked away, leaving her to slump down the wall, tears finally pressing at her eyes.

She didn't know what hurt more, Heyman slapping her and calling her a whore, or the fact that she was even allowing it to bother her.  She choked out a large sob, bringing her knees up to her chest, burying her face in them.  She sat alone, hating herself for crying.  She continued to do so, until she felt a hand on her arm.

"Britney?  Are you okay?"

She looked up to see two men –Dwayne Johnson and Jonathan Coachman- kneeling in front of her.  The two men were walking by, going over a promo for the show, when they saw Britney sitting on the floor.  Upon seeing her in tears, Dwayne grew concerned.

"Honey, what's wrong?" he asked worriedly.  Britney shook her head, rocking back and forth gently.

"Do you want me to go find Adam?" Coach asked, thinking maybe Britney would feel better if she could see her boyfriend.

She shook her head again, "No, no.  But do you think you find Chris Jericho for me?"

Coach smiled softly, "Of course.  I'll be right back with him."

The young McMahon thanked Coach as he stood and left in search of the King of the World.  Dwayne turned to Britney again, eyeing her momentarily.  "Are you sure you're alright?" he asked.

She nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine Dwayne.  Really."

Dwayne nodded, though he wasn't too sure he believed her.  She was obviously crying, and he had never seen her do that before.  He was finally starting to truly believe what Mark had told him awhile ago.  He noticed her cheek was red too, like it had just been scratched or slapped.  Dwayne only hoped that Brock Lesnar had nothing to do with it.

LATER THAT AFTERNOON

Jay was tossing some of his gear around, trying to find his CD player.  Suddenly remembering that he left it at the hotel, he cursed in the empty locker room.  He stood, turning to leave, bumping into a large mass of muscle.

"Hi Jay," Paul Levesque said, crossing his massive arms over his chest.

"What do you want?" Jay asked, rolling his eyes.  Ever since the "anniversary from hell," Jay had done everything in his power to avoid Levesque, just as Adam did with Brock.  He wasn't exactly on top of the list of guys that Jay liked.

"Calm down man.  Just wanted to know how the lady's doing, that's all," Paul replied nonchalantly, as if they talked on a daily basis.

"Stephanie is fine, and I'd like you to stop worrying about us.  What goes on between us is our concern, not yours.  Besides, I think you've already done enough to try and fuck up our relationship," Jay snorted.

"Damn Jay, I'm sensing a little hostility here.  Don't worry, man.  She dumped ME, remember?  I never stopped loving her, so excuse me for at least caring enough about her happiness to wonder about how… or who, she's doing," Paul shot back.

"Bullshit," Jay retorted, sending the Game a cold glare.

"What is THAT supposed to mean?" Levesque demanded.

Jay sighed, "It MEANS that from what Steph has told me, you weren't exactly the perfect boyfriend, and I would believe her over your sorry ass any day, especially after what you pulled on our anniversary.  And don't deny doing it, cause I KNOW you were behind it.  I don't like you Trips, and I never will."

Paul's smirk turned into an angry, Triple H-like glare.  "Oh, the feeling's mutual, trust me.  Lets just say I'm not fond of you stealing my girl…"

"She's not YOUR girl!  Please don't even give me that Brock Lesnar bullshit about how I stole something from you, cause I really don't need it!  You two seriously need to get your heads checked!" Jay cried, beginning to become very angry.

"Why would you even bring Brock into this conversation?" Paul asked, cocky grin reappearing.

"Don't get cute, Paul.  I know you two are up to something.  I'm not sure what it is, but I, along with many other people, know that you two are up to no good," Jay quipped.

Paul snorted, "Well, aren't you a clever one."

"Yeah, I am.  And while we're on the subject, I'd strongly advise you to stay away from Britney and Stephanie.  If either one of them gets hurt in any way-"

"Oh, stop with the damn threats Jay.  You and you're buddy Copeland are WAY too much alike," Paul said.  Jay finally pushed past him and headed to the door.

"You know, you're right.  We DO have a lot in common.  We BOTH love our girlfriends and we'll BOTH defend them till the death," he said, opening the door and leaving.

Paul laughed, mumbling after him.  "You're on."

LATE THAT NIGHT

Adam splashed some water on his face, and then grabbed a towel and dried off.  He opened the bathroom door, walking into the bedroom.  His eyes traveled over to his Britney, who was sitting up in the bed, staring blankly at the TV.  When she heard the bathroom door shut, she looked up at him.  Immediately, he could tell something was wrong… she had that lost gaze in her eyes.  The Canadian slowly made his way to the bed, thinking of how to approach her.  She had barely spoken two words all day.  He was beginning to worry.

"Baby," he said, sitting next to her.  "What's the matter?"

She gazed up at him, absentmindedly answering, "Nothing, why?"

Adam sighed, he knew it was going to be difficult to get her to talk about this… whatever it was.  "I know something's up.  Please tell me," Adam requested, settling back next to her.

"Why the hell do you think something's wrong?" she asked.

"Brit, you haven't said a word to me all day… either you're mad at me or something's up.  I'd like to know what it is either way.  Besides, I KNOW you.  I can tell whether or not you're okay just by looking at you," he said.

"God… you sound like Shane," she retorted, rolling her eyes at him.  Adam sighed… she always got so defensive when she was upset.

"Maybe so.  But still, I know when something's wrong… and something's wrong.  Please tell me what's going on," he said in a slightly pleading tone.

She didn't answer.  Adam waited and waited, but the tiny blonde didn't say a word.  Adam glanced down at her, noticing the tears building in her eyes… she was crying again.  The Canadian's heart dropped as he moved in closer, wrapping his arm around her.

"Honey, don't cry… please.  Just tell me what happened," he requested again.

"It… it was Paul.  Paul Heyman," she choked out.  Adam felt his stomach drop way out of his body.  She must have found out from someone.  She knew.

Oh shit.  Chris must have told her.  Damn it, this is going to crush her.  He hoped to God that Chris hadn't told her about Heyman's little rendezvous.

"I-I… I," he stuttered, at a complete loss for words.  He suddenly wished he'd done more than give Heyman a black eye.

"He… he slapped me.  He h-held me up against the wall and told me you gave him a black eye," she said, catching Adam completely off guard.  What?  "He told me it was my fault… that you 'manhandled' him.  That's how he said it.  Of course, my big mouth got the best of me again, and I got myself hurt AGAIN," she said sadly, bowing her head in disappointment.  Adam stomach returned to his body, and he felt his blood pressure rising rapidly.

"He did what?  I'll kill him.  If that fat fuck thinks that black eye is painful, he's got another thing coming.  You know what… shit, I'm so sorry.  This is all my fault.  I should have known he'd go after you, cause God knows he wouldn't be a man and come back up to me," Adam said.

"It… its okay, I think.  I mean, even if you did hit him, it gives him no right to come after me.  But still… I want to know.  Why did you do it?" she asked, wondering exactly what Paul did to deserve that black eye.  Adam sighed, running his free hand through his blonde hair.

"I, well… you see… trust me, he deserved it.  I just… I did what I had to do, Brit," he told her.  He just didn't have the heart to tell her the whole story, as it was obvious now that she didn't know.

Britney wasn't satisfied with his response.  "Well, did he do something to you?  Was it about the picture?  Or what?  I won't be mad at you, trust me.  I just want to know why," she said plainly, gazing up at him.

"Mad" is the least of my worries.  Shit…  "Look Brit, lets just say it was a whole mess of things all piled into one.  It was partly because of the picture, partly because of something else, and partly because the son of a bitch has had it coming for a long time.  And after what you told me, I'm thinking its already time for a flat out ass kicking real soon," Adam said defensively.

He frowned as he saw that she didn't seem to be paying attention.  Her mind had shifted, and as usual, Adam was curious.  "What is it?" he asked.

"He called me a… a worthless whore.  And said that Brock was right… about me not knowing when to keep my mouth shut.  I… I don't know why, but when he called me a whore… it hurt.  I didn't think a comment from Paul Heyman would really bother me, but when I actually heard it out of his mouth… it hurt," she admitted.  Adam placed his hand under her chin, shifting her gaze to his eyes.  He gazed at her lovingly.

"I'm sure it hurt… whether or not we like to admit it, that stuff does kinda hurt.  But remember, what Heyman says and thinks doesn't matter.  What anybody thinks doesn't matter.  All that really matters is what you and I think.  I don't know about you, but I happen to think that Heyman is full of shit.  I think you area beautiful, inside and out.  You amaze me every day with your beauty.  It's safe to say that you, Princess, are NOT a whore… you're far from one.  Don't ever let Brock or Paul Heyman or ANYONE make you think differently.  You're an amazing person Britney.  I wouldn't have fallen in love with you if you weren't.  Don't ever forget that… or I'll just have to remind you every day for the rest of your life."

When he finished his statement, he gazed down into her eyes again.  Some sort of transformation had undergone on her face.  The frown was gone-----so were the tears.  Adam grinned warmly when he saw Britney do something she hadn't done in nearly two days… she smiled.

TBC

It was brought to my attention that I should separate the dialogue and the rest of the words and well, they were right.  LOL, sorry about the rest of it being so hard to read.  If I get a chance, I'll go back and fix all the other parts too.  Sorry about all that!  LOL, anyway, let me know what you think!