A/N: I'm glad you guys seemed to enjoy the last chapter, and I hope you
enjoy all the fun that's yet to come. ;)
~
Chris pushed himself away from the door. Those fucking assholes had duped him and Stephanie. He had fallen for their lies, completely believing what they had said. He felt like such an idiot. Of course they would steer him wrong. He should've believed Stephanie; she had never lied to him. He had only believed them because they had gotten Stephanie drunk and gotten her to confess something that wasn't even true at all. She was just drunk.
HUNTER had gotten Stephanie drunk.
He clenched his fists and pounded the wall next to him, welcoming the pain that shot through his fist. How dare they think that he could have the wool pulled over his eyes? He thought back to Stephanie, God, how he had hurt Stephanie. She didn't even know what she had done wrong, and now she was some fucking clone or something, a clam inside a shell, only speaking when spoken too, and wearing granny outfits that made her look ninety years old. She was playing some goddamn part, it wasn't even Stephanie at all. She looked terrible all the time, all because of her fiancé.
Wait until Stephanie found out about this.
He stalked down the hallways, looking for Stephanie's locker room, needing to talk to her, right this moment. He didn't have any time to waste, especially because the thoughts that were running through his mind were too good to be kept to himself. He needed someone; he needed his partner-in- crime.
He needed Stephanie.
He found her door at last, and thought about all the apologizing he was going to have to do. It would be worth it, because in the end, he had missed Stephanie. He hadn't let on, didn't want to admit it because he hated her, but he missed her. He pounded on the door, hoping that bastard Hunter come walking up any time soon or Chris might have to kick his ass into a bloody pulp for what he had done. And he would enjoy ever second of beating Hunter's head against the wall.
Stephanie sat there, looking over the wedding plans, still deciding what the centerpieces should be for the reception. Should she get with the lilies or the tulips? The tulips looked quite elegant. She wondered what her mother would think about it, she was the one who wanted everything to be perfect after all. Maybe she should ask Hunter, she was sure he would have an opinion. She didn't want to make the choice by herself, that might upset someone and she didn't want to upset anyone. She just wanted to fall back into the shadows. She looked up blankly as the door practically fell in from the pounding someone was doing on it. She set the binder down and went timidly over to the door.
"Who is it?" she called out quietly.
"Stephanie, it's me, open the door now!" Chris bellowed from the other side.
Stephanie had no clue as to why he would be here. They hadn't talked in months. She opened the door a little and looked out. Chris looked so angry that she almost closed the door again. He had probably found another indiscretion to hold against her and she couldn't take another tirade from him. She hadn't quite gotten over the last one.
"I'm sorry Chris, but I can't talk to you," she told him softly, demurely.
"Stephanie, let me in, I NEED to talk to you," he told her, the fire in his eyes scaring her.
She opened the door further allowing him entrance. He walked in and she closed the door. He stood in the middle of the room, running his hand through his hair. Stephanie stood by the door shyly, not knowing what would bring him here. He turned to her, seeing the scared look in her eyes. He hated this Stephanie. This Stephanie was a fucking coward and he hated her.
He rushed to her and pushed her up against the door roughly. He put both her hands above her head and held them there with one strong hand. She looked at him, mouth agape, actually frightened by him. What the fuck had Hunter done to her, to make her be afraid of the contact that she used to welcome? He put both hands on hers, still above her head and slowly ran them down the sides of her body, eliciting a shudder from her. He moved his hands down slowly until they came to rest on her waist. He leaned in so his mouth was close to her ear, gently blowing her hair back with every breath.
"Miss me Princess?" he said teasingly in a low voice.
That was all Stephanie needed. She heard the tone of his voice, the feel of his touch, and she knew he was back. She finally let the real Stephanie come out, it was time to make a comeback. She smirked to herself and brought her hands down and to his chest, gently teasing the skin that showed under his button down shirt. Then she pushed him off her roughly.
"Where the fuck have you been?" she scowled.
"I've been under the guise of false assumptions," he told her.
"Why the fuck are you here? You're supposed to hate me," she said crossing her arms.
"Oh, I do hate you," he told her, "I hate the person you've become. Look at your fucking outfit Stephanie, you look like an old woman."
She looked down at her dress. It was true. She had on a long skirt that went down to her feet, and penny loafers. And then the stupid blouse that covered everything, she hated her outfit too. In retaliation she unbuttoned her blouse until her cleavage showed through. She looked up to see Chris smirk.
"Better?"
"Much, but that skirt and shoes, so not you."
"We'll see what we can do about it, but there are questions that need to be asked," she told him, "Now why the change of heart?"
"I've found out things," he told her, sitting down on the arm of the couch.
"What things," she said, as she rolled up her skirt, revealing more and more leg as she went along.
"We've been tricked."
"Us?" she asked, "There is no us."
"Astute," he said, rolling her eyes, "Very smart that you realized that, but have you realized just why there is no us?"
"You hate me, for something I don't even fucking know that I did," she said, forgoing the skirt altogether and just dropping it to the ground, now standing in her bikini cut underwear and her partially unbuttoned blouse.
Chris took her in, giving her a nice once-over before going back to look at her eyes, "The assholes thought they had us. They almost did, but the best way to avoid getting caught is to not talk about your plans where others can hear."
"Number one rule," she shrugged, "Still not following you."
"I just overheard something very interesting."
"Don't keep me waiting," she said, crossing her arms and looking at him crossly.
"Take off the shirt," he told her, raising an eyebrow.
"Skin in exchange for information," she said, acting as if she was contemplating it, even while she was unbuttoning the rest of her blouse, "You drive a hard bargain Chris Jericho."
She let her shirt drop to the floor and Chris smiled at her, "Now that's the Stephanie I like to see."
"Yeah, even though you've seen more right."
"Yes, but as I recall, that's all I'll ever see right, I believe it was you who said, 'fucked me once, won't fuck me twice,' or was that someone else?"
"Your luck may change, but that depends on what it is you need to tell me."
"First off," Chris said, loving the teasing that he had all but given up to memories and memories only, "You still marrying that asshole?"
"That 'asshole' is the only person I have left," she said defensively, "Since some people decided that I wasn't worthy of their time."
"I told you, it wasn't my fault."
"Then whose fault was it?" she asked.
"I can name names for you if you like."
"Do it."
"Edge, Christian, Dawn, Torrie, Trish, Kurt, Brock....."
"Fuck them," she muttered.
"Hunter," he finished, then looked up at Stephanie.
She was stunned, too stunned to properly react. Now Chris was just spouting lies. He had to be spouting lies, there was no way that Hunter had anything to do with her and Chris being separated. Sure, he hated Chris and he had hated when Stephanie and Chris were friends, but he wouldn't, surely he wouldn't do anything to take away her best friend.
She wasn't going to stand for him talking about Hunter like that. Hadn't it been Hunter, and not Chris, who had stood by her? Hadn't it been Hunter who proposed and promised to keep her secure for the rest of her life? Now Chris barges in here, after four months of silence, telling her the reason he hadn't been around was because of her fiancé, the man who loved her. Her anger reached it's fever pitch and she erupted.
"Fuck you!" she screamed, lunging at him and hitting his chest with her closed fists, "How dare you imply that Hunter did anything to me!"
"It's true Stephanie!" he said, grabbing her wrists and holding her back, "It's true!"
"No, how dare you! I hate you, you've done nothing but be an ass to me for the past four months and Hunter, he's been so good to me, he loves me!"
"Stephanie, did you tell him that you used me the whole time we were friends?"
"What?" she asked, confused, "I don't remember saying that."
"One night, you were drunk, and you wanted sex," he shuddered, thinking about her and Hunter having sex, "And to get you to confess he got you drunk, you said that you had used me from the very beginning."
She wracked her brain, "Yeah, I vaguely remember that night, but I was joking around...how do YOU know what I said?"
"He taped it and sent me the tape," Chris said bitterly.
She shook her head, "No, Hunter wouldn't do that!"
"Wouldn't he Stephanie?"
She looked up at him and looked into his eyes. Chris had never lied to her before and as she looked into his eyes she saw the truth. Hunter had lied and manipulated her, and then he had fucking set her up to take the fall with Chris. Chris had a tape, Chris had seen something that was false. Everything became so clear to her that she took a step back, pulling from Chris's grasp.
"Fucking asshole!" she screeched, her anger now directed away from Chris and onto Hunter, where it should've been all along for the both of them.
"I know," Chris said, "They all fucking set this up to get us away from each other, because we made their lives hell."
She was breathing heavily, "I have been miserable for four months and all because of Hunter, and those fucking cronies of his. Oh fuck no, I won't stand for this."
"There's the Stephanie I know," Chris smirked.
"Oh, it's on now," Stephanie said, "They thought they could honestly get away with this. Make me look like a fool and make you look like some goddamn goody-two-shoes. Not in this lifetime."
"I'm so glad to have you back," Chris said, taking her in his arms.
"It's good to be back," she whispered as she looked up at him, "So good."
"I know that you have something on your mind," he told her, raising an eyebrow.
"I do, and it involves every single one of those people who thought they could mess with us and win."
"So we're thinking of the ultimate plan now, are we?"
"Yes," she told him, "One that will blow them all out of the water."
"I love the way you think."
She bit her lip, which slowly turned into an evil grin as she regarded him. She ran her hands underneath his shirt, rubbing his stomach playfully. He smirked down at her. The lust was still there, the teasing still fun, even though they had slept with each other. That was so long ago though, that it was almost just a daydream and never really happened.
Stephanie leaned into Chris as he stared down at her cleavage, which had been hidden for the past four months and which he had missed gazing at lustily. She smirked up at him, knowing just what he was looking at. He took his eyes off of her breasts and looked into her eyes.
"Like what you see?"
"I've missed them."
"Oh, they've missed you," she told him, "But right now, we have bigger things to worry about."
"Bigger than your tits?" he kidded.
"Yes, even bigger," she said.
"What's on your mind Stephanie McMahon?"
"One word."
"Enlighten me."
"Revenge."
~
Chris pushed himself away from the door. Those fucking assholes had duped him and Stephanie. He had fallen for their lies, completely believing what they had said. He felt like such an idiot. Of course they would steer him wrong. He should've believed Stephanie; she had never lied to him. He had only believed them because they had gotten Stephanie drunk and gotten her to confess something that wasn't even true at all. She was just drunk.
HUNTER had gotten Stephanie drunk.
He clenched his fists and pounded the wall next to him, welcoming the pain that shot through his fist. How dare they think that he could have the wool pulled over his eyes? He thought back to Stephanie, God, how he had hurt Stephanie. She didn't even know what she had done wrong, and now she was some fucking clone or something, a clam inside a shell, only speaking when spoken too, and wearing granny outfits that made her look ninety years old. She was playing some goddamn part, it wasn't even Stephanie at all. She looked terrible all the time, all because of her fiancé.
Wait until Stephanie found out about this.
He stalked down the hallways, looking for Stephanie's locker room, needing to talk to her, right this moment. He didn't have any time to waste, especially because the thoughts that were running through his mind were too good to be kept to himself. He needed someone; he needed his partner-in- crime.
He needed Stephanie.
He found her door at last, and thought about all the apologizing he was going to have to do. It would be worth it, because in the end, he had missed Stephanie. He hadn't let on, didn't want to admit it because he hated her, but he missed her. He pounded on the door, hoping that bastard Hunter come walking up any time soon or Chris might have to kick his ass into a bloody pulp for what he had done. And he would enjoy ever second of beating Hunter's head against the wall.
Stephanie sat there, looking over the wedding plans, still deciding what the centerpieces should be for the reception. Should she get with the lilies or the tulips? The tulips looked quite elegant. She wondered what her mother would think about it, she was the one who wanted everything to be perfect after all. Maybe she should ask Hunter, she was sure he would have an opinion. She didn't want to make the choice by herself, that might upset someone and she didn't want to upset anyone. She just wanted to fall back into the shadows. She looked up blankly as the door practically fell in from the pounding someone was doing on it. She set the binder down and went timidly over to the door.
"Who is it?" she called out quietly.
"Stephanie, it's me, open the door now!" Chris bellowed from the other side.
Stephanie had no clue as to why he would be here. They hadn't talked in months. She opened the door a little and looked out. Chris looked so angry that she almost closed the door again. He had probably found another indiscretion to hold against her and she couldn't take another tirade from him. She hadn't quite gotten over the last one.
"I'm sorry Chris, but I can't talk to you," she told him softly, demurely.
"Stephanie, let me in, I NEED to talk to you," he told her, the fire in his eyes scaring her.
She opened the door further allowing him entrance. He walked in and she closed the door. He stood in the middle of the room, running his hand through his hair. Stephanie stood by the door shyly, not knowing what would bring him here. He turned to her, seeing the scared look in her eyes. He hated this Stephanie. This Stephanie was a fucking coward and he hated her.
He rushed to her and pushed her up against the door roughly. He put both her hands above her head and held them there with one strong hand. She looked at him, mouth agape, actually frightened by him. What the fuck had Hunter done to her, to make her be afraid of the contact that she used to welcome? He put both hands on hers, still above her head and slowly ran them down the sides of her body, eliciting a shudder from her. He moved his hands down slowly until they came to rest on her waist. He leaned in so his mouth was close to her ear, gently blowing her hair back with every breath.
"Miss me Princess?" he said teasingly in a low voice.
That was all Stephanie needed. She heard the tone of his voice, the feel of his touch, and she knew he was back. She finally let the real Stephanie come out, it was time to make a comeback. She smirked to herself and brought her hands down and to his chest, gently teasing the skin that showed under his button down shirt. Then she pushed him off her roughly.
"Where the fuck have you been?" she scowled.
"I've been under the guise of false assumptions," he told her.
"Why the fuck are you here? You're supposed to hate me," she said crossing her arms.
"Oh, I do hate you," he told her, "I hate the person you've become. Look at your fucking outfit Stephanie, you look like an old woman."
She looked down at her dress. It was true. She had on a long skirt that went down to her feet, and penny loafers. And then the stupid blouse that covered everything, she hated her outfit too. In retaliation she unbuttoned her blouse until her cleavage showed through. She looked up to see Chris smirk.
"Better?"
"Much, but that skirt and shoes, so not you."
"We'll see what we can do about it, but there are questions that need to be asked," she told him, "Now why the change of heart?"
"I've found out things," he told her, sitting down on the arm of the couch.
"What things," she said, as she rolled up her skirt, revealing more and more leg as she went along.
"We've been tricked."
"Us?" she asked, "There is no us."
"Astute," he said, rolling her eyes, "Very smart that you realized that, but have you realized just why there is no us?"
"You hate me, for something I don't even fucking know that I did," she said, forgoing the skirt altogether and just dropping it to the ground, now standing in her bikini cut underwear and her partially unbuttoned blouse.
Chris took her in, giving her a nice once-over before going back to look at her eyes, "The assholes thought they had us. They almost did, but the best way to avoid getting caught is to not talk about your plans where others can hear."
"Number one rule," she shrugged, "Still not following you."
"I just overheard something very interesting."
"Don't keep me waiting," she said, crossing her arms and looking at him crossly.
"Take off the shirt," he told her, raising an eyebrow.
"Skin in exchange for information," she said, acting as if she was contemplating it, even while she was unbuttoning the rest of her blouse, "You drive a hard bargain Chris Jericho."
She let her shirt drop to the floor and Chris smiled at her, "Now that's the Stephanie I like to see."
"Yeah, even though you've seen more right."
"Yes, but as I recall, that's all I'll ever see right, I believe it was you who said, 'fucked me once, won't fuck me twice,' or was that someone else?"
"Your luck may change, but that depends on what it is you need to tell me."
"First off," Chris said, loving the teasing that he had all but given up to memories and memories only, "You still marrying that asshole?"
"That 'asshole' is the only person I have left," she said defensively, "Since some people decided that I wasn't worthy of their time."
"I told you, it wasn't my fault."
"Then whose fault was it?" she asked.
"I can name names for you if you like."
"Do it."
"Edge, Christian, Dawn, Torrie, Trish, Kurt, Brock....."
"Fuck them," she muttered.
"Hunter," he finished, then looked up at Stephanie.
She was stunned, too stunned to properly react. Now Chris was just spouting lies. He had to be spouting lies, there was no way that Hunter had anything to do with her and Chris being separated. Sure, he hated Chris and he had hated when Stephanie and Chris were friends, but he wouldn't, surely he wouldn't do anything to take away her best friend.
She wasn't going to stand for him talking about Hunter like that. Hadn't it been Hunter, and not Chris, who had stood by her? Hadn't it been Hunter who proposed and promised to keep her secure for the rest of her life? Now Chris barges in here, after four months of silence, telling her the reason he hadn't been around was because of her fiancé, the man who loved her. Her anger reached it's fever pitch and she erupted.
"Fuck you!" she screamed, lunging at him and hitting his chest with her closed fists, "How dare you imply that Hunter did anything to me!"
"It's true Stephanie!" he said, grabbing her wrists and holding her back, "It's true!"
"No, how dare you! I hate you, you've done nothing but be an ass to me for the past four months and Hunter, he's been so good to me, he loves me!"
"Stephanie, did you tell him that you used me the whole time we were friends?"
"What?" she asked, confused, "I don't remember saying that."
"One night, you were drunk, and you wanted sex," he shuddered, thinking about her and Hunter having sex, "And to get you to confess he got you drunk, you said that you had used me from the very beginning."
She wracked her brain, "Yeah, I vaguely remember that night, but I was joking around...how do YOU know what I said?"
"He taped it and sent me the tape," Chris said bitterly.
She shook her head, "No, Hunter wouldn't do that!"
"Wouldn't he Stephanie?"
She looked up at him and looked into his eyes. Chris had never lied to her before and as she looked into his eyes she saw the truth. Hunter had lied and manipulated her, and then he had fucking set her up to take the fall with Chris. Chris had a tape, Chris had seen something that was false. Everything became so clear to her that she took a step back, pulling from Chris's grasp.
"Fucking asshole!" she screeched, her anger now directed away from Chris and onto Hunter, where it should've been all along for the both of them.
"I know," Chris said, "They all fucking set this up to get us away from each other, because we made their lives hell."
She was breathing heavily, "I have been miserable for four months and all because of Hunter, and those fucking cronies of his. Oh fuck no, I won't stand for this."
"There's the Stephanie I know," Chris smirked.
"Oh, it's on now," Stephanie said, "They thought they could honestly get away with this. Make me look like a fool and make you look like some goddamn goody-two-shoes. Not in this lifetime."
"I'm so glad to have you back," Chris said, taking her in his arms.
"It's good to be back," she whispered as she looked up at him, "So good."
"I know that you have something on your mind," he told her, raising an eyebrow.
"I do, and it involves every single one of those people who thought they could mess with us and win."
"So we're thinking of the ultimate plan now, are we?"
"Yes," she told him, "One that will blow them all out of the water."
"I love the way you think."
She bit her lip, which slowly turned into an evil grin as she regarded him. She ran her hands underneath his shirt, rubbing his stomach playfully. He smirked down at her. The lust was still there, the teasing still fun, even though they had slept with each other. That was so long ago though, that it was almost just a daydream and never really happened.
Stephanie leaned into Chris as he stared down at her cleavage, which had been hidden for the past four months and which he had missed gazing at lustily. She smirked up at him, knowing just what he was looking at. He took his eyes off of her breasts and looked into her eyes.
"Like what you see?"
"I've missed them."
"Oh, they've missed you," she told him, "But right now, we have bigger things to worry about."
"Bigger than your tits?" he kidded.
"Yes, even bigger," she said.
"What's on your mind Stephanie McMahon?"
"One word."
"Enlighten me."
"Revenge."