Story 1 – I Remember
Author's Notes: Rose the rating to R since there'll be a lot of 'eff' words… Oh yeah, James would be called punk boy or something like that in Chris' memories. Sometimes, he leaves out a little detail here and there, is careful with the words he says, etc. so Stephanie won't really know. Someone please save me. And sorry, I delayed this for ages due to some really drastic changes to storyline.
Chapter 4-On and On Rating: R, for language.
"I'm sorry about yesterday. I kinda like keeping people in suspense."
"Glad you could meet up with me."
"Chris noticed that where ever she was, she had coffee on the table. It had been about three days of sharing memories. When someone talked, the other cleared his or her mind and listened.
"Maybe we do have something in common," Stephanie said. "We had adolescent love-life problems."
Chris smirked. "Mine turned out far worse than yours."
"Oh yeah?" she challenged.
Stephanie had made a visit to his hotel room. She brought her coffee with her, since it was the only time when she could have a decent, quiet cup. With a friend by her side too. She took off the plastic cover off the styrofoam.
She took a sip. "So whose turn is it today? You or me?"
"Me, me," Chris said. "I'm quite enthusiastic today."
"Right," she said, raising a brow.
"Hey, it's true, it's true." He stopped. "Dear God, did I just sound like Kirk?"
"Yes you did," she replied with a giggle.
"Oh my frickin' hell! The world is ending!" he shouted, a disgusted look plastered on his face. "And only Kirk says frickin'!"
She grinned sheepishly. "Stop it. Tell me your story."
"Okay, okay." He readjusted his sitting position as the bed bounced on impact.
~*~
It had been a hectic three weeks since I told Conor about her, about my feelings and all. I didn't hang around her as much as I used to, spending most of my lunches with Con and the other guys instead. Pryce forgave her on the incident, and she apologized the way she blew up at her. The worst thing was that she was getting closer to James the jerk than she really should have.
Anyway, prom night was two weeks away. I didn't know whether to ask her or not. Besides, James could've asked her already. Hell, she could've been dating him.
"Hey C."
Only one person called him that awkward sounding nickname. "Yes, Pryce?"
Pryce caught up with Chris' fast walking pace. "Are you… Have you asked her?"
"Asked who what?"
"The prom!"
"Fuck the prom… She's probably going with Callow anyway." Pryce jumped a step in front of him. He halted abruptly as a result. "What?" he asked, obviously pissed for some reason.
"Don't you DARE say that. You don't even know whether he's really going with her or not. You can't give up so easily. Do it."
"Why the hell are you sticking your nose in my business anyway? The last three weeks, she's been bitching about him non-stop. I want to tell her so badly too."
"Tell her what?" she asked.
Chris had apparently forgot that he had only informed Conor. But it was too late, for Pryce had figured his little secret out in seconds. He sighed angrily at her grin and attempted to step out of her way, but she stepped in front of him again. "Hold it there. You are going to ask her. You get me?" Her finger pushed hard against his chest.
"Yeah, sure." He wanted to leave, but yet again, she didn't let him. She held out her hand. She was so ANNOYING.
"Promise?" she said.
He reluctantly took her hand once and eagerly stepped out of her way. He was too frustrated to realize the deal he just made with his crush's best friend.
Twisting the metal dial on the locker for the combination, her then yanked on the handle. He pulled out one or two books and scanned the messy locker for anything her might have forgotten about. He figured not, and slammed it shut, venting a little of his anger. Making his way to class quietly and alone, he figured too that Stephanie would be gloating about her newfound boyfriend, king of jerks. But funny, when he did step into class, she was there, being just as quiet as he was with a literature textbook that was open on her. She was taking down pointers of her own. Maybe there was still a little of the old Stephanie left.
"What are you doing here?" Chris asked. He was surprised she wasn't with Mr. Hump-a-girl.
She looked at him, bewildered. "Isn't this my desk? Unless you're not Chris Jericho and I'm in the wrong class."
"…Well, sorry I asked." He dropped his bag on the side of the floor, then his books on the tabletop.
"Chris, what are you so snappy about?" she asked.
"I can't tell you," he replied, his eyes somewhere else. He had a constant half-worried, half-angry look on his face. He just didn't have the guts then, to ask her. He mentally kicked himself for making that promise to Pryce. Chris was just a man of his Word.
"Anything wrong?"
*Anything wrong? * He thought, *Well, besides the fact that I'm green about James, red about my feelings and yellow about the prom, I'd be at the very top of the world now. *
"Chris?"
He snapped out of his thoughts. "I'm okay. Just not much sleep last night." *…And its all your fault. *
"Oh, hey baby," James came up behind her and kissed her forehead. He inhaled the fresh scent of her hair, raising an eyebrow at Chris. He had that 'I love making you jealous' look on his face, but Chris pasted a smile on his face, returning him a 'who cares' look.
"Anyway," Callow continued, "today's Monday…" He practically sang it. "Which means…"
"Oh!" Stephanie exclaimed. "Rehearsal."
Chris didn't accompany her to her play rehearsals anymore. All that flirting going on… It pained him. He didn't want to know what James was trying to do. Almost all hope was lost in him.
"By the way," James waited for Chris' attention. He still had that 'can't be bothered by you' look. "You ARE going with me to the Prom aren't you?" Chris smirked. *Oh God, you low lying bastard, * he thought as he looked out the window to the left. *Steph, don't you DARE go with him. *
"...Okay," she reluctantly agreed.
"That's great." And then James kissed her.
Chris blinked. *Screw, * he grimly thought to himself.
How many minutes? Two? Three? Callow's pants were sure getting hot. A couple of seconds more and Chris couldn't take it anymore. He felt jealous. Like giving James a gigantic blow to the face, flinging him out of the window and THEN kissing Stephanie. He always wanted to know how her lips tasted like… *None of those thoughts now Chris… Just turn the other cheek. *
Someone was already there to do part of the deed for him.
*Hooray for Pryce. * He thought sarcastically. James was pushed away.
"Get off her, you jerk."
He pushed back hard. "Bitch," he snarled, then slowly went back to his seat. Chris couldn't help but be a little happy inside, but Steph's deep pink blush on her cheeks made him wipe a bit of his happy mood off. Time for him to pluck up his courage.
"Steph, I just wanted to ask if instead of him… You'd go with me."
There was a long moment of silence before she spoke. "I'm sorry."
His fist slammed into the wood, and then he frustratedly ran his fingers through his hair. Some of his dirty blonde locks came loose, falling over his eyes. He gave a long, hard, defeated groan. "…Nevermind." He sighed.
Pryce watched Chris, shaking her head.
*
The bell rang loudly, and the students grabbed their bags eagerly. James left straight for rehearsal. Stephanie took her time to pack her bags and by the time she was done, more than half the class was gone.
"Steph," Chris called, "We need to talk."
"What for?"
"Go to the cafeteria."
He wasn't sure if she would go. She would be easy to spot, though. She was the only girl who looked stylishly posh in school. She wore a plain colored coral blue blouse, sleeves rolled up to her elbows. Her pants were black and flared, and on her feet was a pair of puma sandals. It seemed like it was her only pair of footwear she ever had. But other than the sandal thing, she was very womanly.
He made his way to the cafeteria, taking a while to spot her among the ocean of other pupils. She was munching on a sandwich. Chicken. He just loved chicken. Steph especially liked that Chinese herbal essence thing. Maybe it wasn't that bad, but he found it tasting like stale coffee.
He settled on a chair, opposite her.
"…Yeah?" she said, looking up at him.
"I…" he wanted to continue. He felt so stupid, sitting there open mouthed, invisible and mute. "You're steady already huh?"
"I suppose," she said, chewing extremely slowly, looking at him.
"I need… Hmm." He sighed. His posture was stuck in a prayer position. "How do I say it?" He didn't look at her, but eventually his eyes slowly drew back to hers. "I, love you." It seemed like he was in a trance of some sort. The words came out, but he didn't feel very relieved at all.
"Oh."
Chris ran both his hands through his hair, grabbing all of it. He looked like he was going to rip it all out and toss it into the air like confetti. Like wind blowing hay. * SHIT! * He cursed in his head, his eyes screwed shut. Immediately, he stood. "Sorry." The three people seated at the table behind him stared. Busybodies. Chris felt like killing them when he heard their chatter and gossip by the time he turned his back, but he couldn't be bothered with them. His bag hung over his shoulder, as if it was about to drop, and strode away quickly, not looking back. "Chris?" Stephanie called.
It was bad. His mind and his heart told him not to turn, but his body automatically spun around. "Yeah?"
She stood up and took steps toward him. Her hand cupped the side of his face and her thumb stroked his cheek. For that very moment, hope filled his heart. "I can't."
He felt a pain in his gut that he couldn't take, feeling so angry and frustrated. He was hurt. "Why?" He slapped her hand away and silently walked off, from the cafeteria, to the hallway, to the stone steps, all the way to the pavement. It was like he was a little boy who scraped his knee when he fell off his bike. Only to find that it was run over by a truck. He found it hard to explain. These days were bad. The bad events just came rolling by, like waves of a tide of water. His heart was broken, because he knew in his heart that the one he loved would never be his. There was little chance that Steph would reciprocate his feelings.
He took the longer route to his house, because there was a pond, where he used to hang out with Conor. Now, it just acted as his anger management therapy.
His bag fell to the gravel as he sat on a rock by the water. Not many ducks today. He reached behind his head and redid his hair, then gazed into the still waters. He grabbed a handful of stone, picking them one by one and throwing them in. Before a ripple disappeared, he would plop one in, just to prevent the water from keeping its peace.
*All I ever wanted was some love. My arrogant parents just couldn't give me much of that…'Look at your cousin! Straight A's!' Oh, c'mon mom. If you're not happy, go have Jesse as your son. This is so screwed up! Why did I have to fall for Stephanie? *
"Mister?"
"What?" he turned around. It was a little boy, around the age of six.
"Why do you keep dropping those stones in the water?"
Chris found it quite impossible to be angry with kids. "Because, kid," Chris said, "I'm angry and sad at the same time." He ruffled the boy's hair.
The boy sat next to him, on the cold ground. "Is it girl problems? Cuz my brother's got those same problems too, except that he always goes for a drive, instead of throwing pebbles like you."
"What makes you think so?" Chris laughed slightly. Funny how this boy knew everything.
"Cuz people come here when they're sad. My dad brings me here to cycle while he sits on the rocks doing the same thing that you're doing now." He looked at the glistening pond water. "Though he'd not here now."
"Why is that?"
"He died," the boy said calmly.
Chris stopped. "…What's your name?"
"Zenith."
"That's an unusual name."
"It's supposed to mean the highest point, or the part of the sky directly above you. Dad gave me the name. He knew I'd excel in everything and stuff." He shrugged. "I guess you always lived up to your name."
Chris was amazed. This child was talking about his dead father so casually. *Maybe he's just here to take my mind off things… * "What happened?"
"Huh?" he blinked.
"Your dad."
"Oh… he committed suicide because mom was cheating on him. But he's gone somewhere else, where mom and that other man couldn't. At least that's what he told me."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Chris said sympathetically.
"Oh no, don't say that. To me, it's like saying 'too bad'. So who's that girl?"
"Her name's Stephanie…"
"The tall girl with long brown hair who lives in that big house?"
"Yeah. I like her, but she likes someone else."
"Its okay. If he's really a bad person, she'll come to you eventually. Just wait."
"Zenny!" a voice sounded over a distance.
"Oh, mom's calling me. Have to go. Bye mister."
Chris ruffled the boy's hair a last time and gave him a smile. "See ya kid."
The boy ran off as Chris wondered.
*The poor kid. Bad, she'll come to me… Maybe he's right. Maybe I could live without her for awhile. Because there are people's problems that are far worse than mine. I mean, Stephanie this, Stephanie that, I could live without her. But God, she does look beautiful... * He stopped. *Stop it, Chris. *
He picked up his bag and stood up to head home, thinking about the mysterious boy who came to him. *Conor said, love takes time. Zenith said so too. I love you so much Steph, I really do. * He shoved his hands in his pockets and left.
*
The next day, Chris came to school, quite pleasant. At least much more pleasant than the day before. He was looking just as good, dressed in a white long sleeved collared shirt with a vest over it. Green with a black stripe running horizontally in the center, red zigzag lines below that and a yellow line that alternated with straight and wavy lines. His pants were a charcoal gray, and was a fitting straight cut. Very nerdy to him, but it looked decent on him. What's more, it suited the rather cold weather outside.
He went straight to class since the lessons for the day were identical to those of the day before. He had the child in his mind and put away the pain. Today was no day to feel bad. Hopefully, the world would cooperate with him.
Stephanie hadn't noticed him sitting down. Normally, she would notice him coming through the door already. Chris ignored the fact that James was still all over her. He could ignore that Pryce existed too.
Conor appeared at his class door. "Yo, I need to tell you something. Now," he said, his voice in a harsh whisper. It was pretty useless to keep it a secret, since Chris was sitting at the opposite end of the room. Chris frowned and got out of his seat.
"What?"
"I need four hundred dollars/" Conor's voice was frantic.
"WHAT?!"
Conor placed a finger over his own lips. "Shh! I really need it."
"What did you do?"
"I…" He brought Chris aside. "…I borrowed ten thousand dollars from a guy---"
Chris yelled Conor's name hysterically.
"Shshshh…" Conor eased him down. "I just need four hundred more to pay him off. Please, you HAVE to help me."
Chris sighed heavily. "Four hundred is it?"
"Yeah."
"Okay." Conor gave him a tight hug. "But make sure you'll pay me back, 'cause that's an awful lot of money."
"Thanks dude, I owe you my life."
Chris was about to turn his back, when he thought again. "By the way… Why did you have to borrow money?"
"I needed to pay for my mom's medical fees. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. I'm working as a bartender part time, you see."
"Oh. Send my regards, then." He blinked and walked back to class. After releasing his cuffs, he rolled his sleeves to his elbows. When he turned his head, he saw an unwanted James trying to annoy Steph.
"Not now James." He was right at her ear, ready to strike out any moment. "I said not now."
Just as he slipped an arm around her waist, Chris pushed him to the back of the class. "What do you want?"
"I want you, to stay away from her," Chris told James in the face. His fists were grasping James' white shirt tightly, lifting it slightly so he could see him eye to eye. "If you can't," he growled, "then you've probably gotten yourself into some very deep shit," he licked the edges of his upper teeth, "you'd regret all your life."
"Bastard," James cursed. Chris let go of him, his feet no longer at a slight tiptoe. At least he knew he instilled a little fear into James.
When he returned to his seat, Steph's jaw was hung open. "Chris, thanks… But you didn't have to do all of that."
"I was just letting him know who he was gonna mess with if he caused anymore trouble. You know what kind of person he is."
"Chris, listen. When I said I couldn't, I meant that I would stay with who I was. You don't know him well enough, to… to judge him."
He frowned. He didn't think she'd see the good in James. No one did. Of course, James did have a little itty bit of good in him, but it never did show up publicly anyway. He just couldn't be trusted that way.
"Well I'm sorry for interfering your touching session with that asshole!" Chris' voice echoed in the half-filled classroom. People around looked in the direction of his risen voice.
*
Maybe the world was stubborn.
Chris popped some bubble gum into his mouth. He shut his locker and slung his bag over one shoulder. He ran his fingers through his hair, leaning on the closed locker. His heart felt heavy.
Empty.
It didn't make sense, but that's what it was.
"Hey honey, I heard about you. If you do need anything, call me."
"Who the hell are you?" He had no time for anyone. It was that blonde bimbo cheerleader… What was her name?
"Nicole." She shoved a piece of paper into his hand, then walked away. Chris stared in his hand. *What? * Crumpling it, he threw it over his shoulder. *I don't need any dumb blonde now. What I NEED is Steph, not some bitchy cheerleader. * With that, he left.
~*~
"I bet that girl got you into some maaajor trouble," Steph said.
"Hey, you're spoiling the whole story."
"My boyfriend… Sorry, my ex-boyfriend apparently cheated on me with one."
Chris' heart pounded.
"Maybe you didn't see his side of the s-story."
"I didn't need an explanation." She looked around with hurt eyes.
"Did… Did you think it was a mistake for you to break up with him?" He paused. "You think you would… uh… give him," he scratched the back of his head, "another chance?"
"…I guess. I mean, Oh God, this sounds so stupid… y'know, somewhere deep down in my heart, I know I still love him. Very much. But what he did… it was unforgivable." She blew away the subject with a clap of her hands. "Well, I guess tomorrow's my turn to tell you about my week before the prom." She stood up. "I've got nothing else to do here, so… I'll be going."
Steph spun around and twisted the doorknob. Chris saw her out.
"Steph, before you go…" He leaned forward and kissed her tenderly on her lips, unable to help himself. It all startled her, but there was a familiarity with those lips. Nothing like King of the Ring or Summerslam. This was something she felt like she knew before. Like she knew him before he entered the business, before she came in too. Impossible. She pushed the thought away.
As soon as the kiss was broken after what it seemed to Chris as eternal, heavenly minutes, he apologized. "I'm sorry, about, um… that." Chris looked away and scratched his forehead. Stephanie smiled.
"It was nice," she replied, then she moved off. Chris just sighed.
A/n: Finally I've updated this. Its been since forever (actually, since august 2002) that I've touched this story. But I'm writing it all down; I'm just too lazy to type it out. Angstfest coming your way folks. Hope you can handle long stories.