Once René and Sylvan had finished arguing in their room, they could hear Leila and Sophie. Correction - they could hear Leila. She was ripping Sophie to shreds.
It had taken Sylvan some time to tell René his side of the story and René didn't know whether to kill Sylvan now or leave the job to Leila. He would think about it in the morning, which it was technically. It didn't feel like the next day yet because he hadn't slept.
René was asleep within a few seconds of his head hitting the pillow. He didn't dream about the karaoke contest, which would've been the contest from hell if Leila and Sophie didn't help them. He dreamed about Leila.
Sylvan woke early and was content to look at his tag team partner for a few minutes. He had seen the rather smug look on his face after he had left Leila to her own devices.
René was sleeping on his right side, one hand covering his face. The other had flopped over the edge of the bed and Sylvan was seriously tempted to tickle it to see what René would do. He didn't give in to his impulse and left René alone to continue sleeping.
A couple of hours later, René awoke, feeling somewhat better. With thoughts of Leila in his mind, he literally jumped out of the bed and into the bathroom, noting with some delight that Sylvan hadn't used it yet. He could pay him back for all the times he had left him with next to no hot water for his shower!
Waiting for the water to heat up, René looked through his clothes and decided what he was going to ware that day. Whatever he chose, it needed to look good, especially as he and Leila would be going somewhere to talk about his tag team partner and her identical twin.
He hummed La Marseillaise to himself as he showered, still remembering the look on Leila's face as he screwed up her national anthem again and again. She could be quite funny when she wanted to be, even at a time when she was worried sick and had a severely injured ankle.
After drying himself and putting on his clothes, René made his way to the hotel restaurant, where some of the WWE superstars were having breakfast. They were discussing the karaoke contest and who had gained the prized on offer.
"I only put your name down because I knew you wouldn't do it. And you win the thing!" Chris Jericho complained.
"Excuse me?" René looked at Chris, his glass of orange juice halfway to his mouth.
"You and Sylvan and those poor twins won the bloody thing. We picked that song because we knew you would hate it and you end up with a bar tab! Never again! Remember that, people. Never enter René and Sylvan in any karaoke contest again!"
René knocked back his glass of orange juice in quick time and fought to hide the smile he knew would break out on his face. Leila and Sophie had been extremely valuable. He supposed it was a good thing, in a way, that Leila had fallen over in front of his tag team partner. He would never have had the chance to meet her otherwise.
As he turned his attention to the plate in front of him which bore a rather sad looking omelette, and debated whether to stab it with a fork, the Hurricane tapped him on the shoulder.
"Did they show up at all?"
"They did. Supposedly, all they did was talk. We heard Leila tearing Sophie to shreds afterwards. She wasn't too impressed with Sylvan. You know, she nearly punched him?"
"With her dodgy ankle?"
"Her hand, you green twerp. She would've if I hadn't stopped her. But he deserved it."
The Hurricane nodded.
"This probably isn't the time nor the place, but when can the three of us sit down and thrash out those ideas for out match? I'd like to introduce my partner to the two of you then."
René thought about it for a few seconds.
"This afternoon's definitely out. I have a date with Leila - we're … uh … going to compare the stories Sylvan and Sophie told us about where they went last night - but maybe this evening. I'll check it out with Sylvan and let you know. How's that sound?"
The Hurricane nodded in agreement and left to sit with the Dudleys. Bubba was giving René an evil look - there was no love lost between the Dudley Boyz and La Résistance at all - and Spike … well, he was merely being Spike.
"Did anyone hear that stupid cow who was screaming in some language I don't know earlier this morning? What the hell was she on?"
"That was one of the twins, ripping her sister to shreds. Understandable when she and Sylvan had the two of us worried and the green twerp over there went to look for them."
"How did they have you two worried? Realising you don't know the French anthem?"
"I know it now, thank you very much. They disappeared out of the club at some stage during the contest. I told Leila because I felt she had a right to know and while we were waiting for them to show up, she taught me the French anthem."
"And don't you dare give us a rendition of it now. Some of us are eating our breakfast!"
As if René would do that. That wasn't his style at all.
After finishing his breakfast, he wen back to his room, coming across Sylvan as he was leaving it.
"Did you hear we won the karaoke contest last night?"
"We did?"
Sylvan's smile - complete with dimples - was plastered on his face, a welcome sight for René.
"So I've been told. We won a bar tab so I suppose we have to drink it soon. With Leila and Sophie, of course."
"I think they'd like that. They're not in their room at the moment. Sophie said something about getting Leila's ankle checked out. It didn't look that flash."
"How bad was it?"
Sylvan showed René with his fingers and René winced. Leila's ankle had swollen up to twice its normal size. That meant she would probably return with crutches and a cast on her ankle.
"So they're still on speaking terms?"
"Only after Leila happily admitted to ripping shreds off her sister. Laying down the law, as it were. I take it we are."
"Are what?"
"Still on speaking terms?"
"Well, yeah. We have to arrange a time to go over our match with the Hurricane too. I said sometime this evening."
"That's fine with me. I'll let him know. You ready yourself for when Leila returns, you hear?"
René nodded and smiled as Sylvan smiled back before disappearing into a lift. It appeared that all would be forgiven between La Résistance and Leila and Sophie.
With their return in mind, René set about making himself look even more presentable and decided to wait for them outside the hotel, rather than in the hotel lobby.
He had to wait quite some time but eventually, they arrived back. Sophie got out of the taxi first and Leila was slow to emerge.
Little wonder. She was now sporting a blue cast on her ankle, which meant she had to use the crutches Sophie was holding to get around. His heart fell.
"They wanted to keep me in for the night but I told them no," Leila told René as he stepped forward to help her. "I like my cast though."
"Why's that?"
"Lift the leg of my pants and you'll see."
René did as he was told and saw that she did have reason to like her cast - it was in the colours of the Tricolour.
"This way, they won't forget where you're from, am I right?"
Leila nodded quite happily and looked even happier when René told her the result of the karaoke contest.
"A bar tab, eh? I bet you anything you like they won't have a few bottles of a fine Bordeaux red."
"Anything?"
"Anything."
Sophie handed Leila the crutches and she took them, obviously not happy about having to use them at all.
"Are you still feeling up to going to a café?
"To be honest, I'd rather go to McDonalds."
"Okay, freshen up and I'll see you in about half an hour?"
Leila nodded and she and Sophie disappeared into the hotel somewhat slowly, as Leila was still getting used to getting around on the crutches. He quickly decided that there was a much easier way for Leila to get around - and it involved him.
René went back inside the hotel to wait in the lobby and found Sylvan there, waiting for him.
"Poor, poor Leila. A cast on her ankle."
"It's a good cast though. It's in the French flag. She let me see it up close."
"How close was up close?"
"I was allowed to lift the leg of her pants to see it. That's how close."
Sylvan smiled, his dimples making their presence felt again.
"Are you still going to take her out this afternoon?"
"She wants to go to McDonalds so we're going there. It's not my scene but if Leila wants to go to McDonalds, we shall go to McDonalds. Who am I to argue with a lady?"
They talked about various things while waiting for Leila to arrive. In between conversations, René purchased a permanent marker pen.
"Why that?"
"Don't you want to leave your mark on Leila's cast?"
"I might, actually. If you leave me some space on it."
"I'll do that for you Sylvan."
A few minutes later, Leila hobbled into the lobby. She waved one of the crutches in greeting before slowly making her way to René and Sylvan.
"Mademoiselle Leila, I feel very sorry for you, having that on for, what, six weeks."
"I'll build a bridge and get over it."
"I'm sure you will. I hope you don't mind but we would like to decorate the cast already."
Leila stuck her foot on René's lap, noting the look of slight discomfort as her heel was right on his crown jewels before moving it, and watched as René and Sylvan busied themselves, decorating the cast, acting like little kids for several minutes. René was tempted to see how she would react if he tickled her toes but quickly decided against it. She probably would give him another black eye to match his first one and probably refuse to be seen in public with him.
"I think we've left enough room for Sophie to leave her mark."
Leila removed her foot from René's lap and looked at the cast. From what she could see of it, there was hardly any room to Sophie to sign it and that it appeared to be covered in declarations of Je t'aime. That set alarm bells ringing in Leila's mind.
"You think so? She might beg to differ."
"I suppose she will. Shall we go and leave Sylvan to entertain himself this afternoon?"
Leila nodded and slowly got up from her chair, using her crutches only when she absolutely had to. René quickly followed suit.
"We'll see you later, Sylvan. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."
Sylvan laughed. Sometimes, he did wonder what went on in that mind that belonged to the one and only René Dupree. He really did.