PART EIGHT

Stacy's eyes widened as Test looked her over. She knew it was only a matter of time before he would snap. He narrowed his eyes at her, crossing his arms over his massive chest.

"Where the hell were you?" he asked quietly, his tone flat.

"Andrew! I... I can explain," she told him quickly.

"Yeah? Get to it then," he threatened, taking a step in her direction.  Stacy instinctively took a step back before speaking.

"I... there was a knock on the door, and you didn't wake up, so I went to answer it," she told him, hoping that he would be satisfied leaving the explanation at that. She knew, however, that the chances of him dropping the subject were slim to none.

"And?" he said, waiting for her to continue. Taking a deep breath, Stacy's mind worked frantically at thinking up an acceptable answer to his question.

"And... it was Trish. She was upset about something and she had to talk to me about it," she lied, trying her best to keep a straight face. Test stared at her, uncrossing his arms and placing them on his waist.

"Trish..." he repeated. "Trish, huh?" Nodding, Stacy offered him a small smile.

"Yeah... she told me that she was sorry for waking me up, but she was really frustrated, and really needed to talk to me. She's... she's been having some guy problems lately," she explained.

Stacy hated how easy it had become for her to lie on the spot like this. She wasn't the type of person that could lie to anyone before, but with Test there came times where she *had* to make up stories to keep herself out of trouble. The sad part about that was that she wasn't ever doing anything wrong. He hadn't always been so anal about knowing where she was and what she was doing all the time, but it seemed as though ever since he started teaming with Scott Steiner, his personality changed entirely. He had become so irritable, and *extremely* temperamental. Taking a step forward, Test backed Stacy up to the door, locking eyes with her and giving her a questioning gaze.

"Are you sure?" he asked, cocking his head to the side. Looking up at him, Stacy nodded her response.

"Yes Andrew, I'm sure," she said, offering yet another smile. Test nodded, patting Stacy on the shoulder and turning around.

Breathing a silent sigh of relief, Stacy followed after him, stopping dead in her tracks when he turned around to face her again. He held her up against the door, lowering his head to hers.

"If I find out you're lying to me I'll have your fucking neck Stacy," he whispered harshly in her ear. "Got it?"

Nodding furiously, Stacy slid out of his grip and swiftly headed back into the bedroom. Andrew had never hit her before, but she knew it was only a matter of time before he snapped, and she didn't want to be around when he did. Test watched after her, a scowl forming on his lips. She was lying, and he knew it.

Stacy could pretend all she wanted... hell, she could swear on her life that she was talking to Trish a minute ago, but he knew better. Little did she know, but he had been at the door the entire time, and the voice Stacy was speaking to was *not* a female's. In fact, he could tell almost right away who the distinct voice belonged to. He wasn't sure what was going on between his girlfriend and John Cena, but he didn't like it, and he was *going* to find out.

THE NEXT DAY

Chris Jericho stepped into the catering room of the arena, his tag team partner Christian by his side. The two made their way to the food, grabbing plates and piling food onto them. Then, they made their way to a table, dropping the plates down and taking a seat. Chris stopped suddenly before sitting down, having something - rather, someone - catch his eye.

"What is it?" Christian asked, turning to see what his friend was looking at. He noticed Trish Stratus sitting by herself in the back of the room, a deep frown on her face. A look of great concern forming on his face, Chris turned back to Christian.

"I"ll be right back," he said, patting him on the shoulder and leaving him and his food at the table, making his way over the blonde woman.

"Trish?" he called as he approached her. "Trish, you okay?" The Canadian diva glanced up at him, looking slightly surprised to see him.

Trish and Chris had always been close, but lately they had drifted slightly. Their crowds changed, and, as a result, the two of them seemingly changed right along with them. Even though their friendship had faltered a bit, Chris still cared a great deal about her, and wanted to know what had gotten her so upset.

"No," Trish replied, sighing.  

She was in *such* a bad mood that she wasn't even able to lie about it. Her gaze switched to the floor, focusing in on the tiled floor and locking on it. Chris sat down next to her, leaning forward and resting his arms on knees.

"What's wrong?" he asked, worry gleaming through his blue eyes.

"Chris, I'm really not in the mood to talk about it," she replied, burying her face in her hands. His eyes still locked on her, Chris hesitantly lifted his arm and placed it gently on around her shoulder, relaxing a bit when she didn't move away.

"Okay... you don't have to if you don't want to," he said, resting back on the couch. He sat there for a minute in silence, not sure of what to do next.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" a third voice cut in, and the two of them looked up to see Stacy Keibler standing in front of them.

"Hey Stace," Chris said, smiling softly at her. Trish, however, looked much less thrilled to see the leggy blonde.

"Hi Stacy," she said dryly.  Stacy frowned as her best friend's tone. She knew exactly why Trish

was acting so coolly towards her. She knew that what happened the night before with John had to sting, and she felt partly responsible for it, seeing as how it was her idea for the two of them to be left alone in the first place. Sighing, she kneeled down in front of Trish, placing her hands on her knees.

"Hey, I know what happened last night," she said, pausing as Trish's head snapped up. "And... I'm sorry. I didn't think things would go as far as they did." Trish's gaze softened, but only slightly.

"I'm sure you didn't," she replied. Stacy frowned, a slightly hurt look crossing her features.

"Trish, please, just listen. I realize that maybe setting you and John up like that was a bad idea, but I really had no idea things would get so out of hand. You have to understand that. I really am sorry," she said.

"I know you're sorry Stacy, and I forgive you... it's just, this whole thing is making me feel so stupid. I'm sitting here and I'm obsessing over this like it's the end of the world, and he probably doesn't even care. He's off with the Smackdown roster now, doing whatever it is he does with them," Trish said, shaking her head.

"If it's any consolation, John came to my hotel room last night, and he told me to tell you that he's sorry for the entire thing. He said he didn't know what came over him, and that by the time he realized what he was doing, it was too late to turn back," she explained, hoping that Trish would find it somewhere in her heart to forgive him.  Chris, who up until that point had been watching in silence, turned his gaze to Stacy. A perplexed look forming on his face, he questioned her.

"What did John do?" he asked, a hint of both worry and anger in his tone.

Stacy's gaze dropped to the floor, partially in shame, partially in embarrassment. She gave Chris a basic overview of what happened, trying her best to leave out any sensitive details so as not to hurt Trish, but she knew it was already too late for that. By the time she had finished her short story, Chris was just about fuming.

"That little bastard..." he muttered angrily, "I'll get him for this. I'll kill him... I'll..."

"You'll do nothing," Trish cut in, her tone firm. "This has nothing to do with you, and - even though I hold you responsible for this mess starting - nothing to do with *you* either." She pointed to Stacy before standing up and leaving the room in a huff.

Chris sighed as he turned back to Stacy, his gaze skeptical. He had known a few days ago when she told him her idea that it wouldn't work. He knew she meant well, but sometimes Stacy had a tendency of thinking too much with her heart and not enough with her head. That plan of getting John and Trish together had failure written all over it from the beginning. He had insisted that she think of something different, an alternate way of getting the two together other than leaving them alone, but she hadn't listened. She had really hurt Trish's feelings, and she knew it. Chris felt bad for Stacy, and the guilt-ridden gaze on her face made him want nothing more than to hug her, but at the time, he had to say what needed to be said.

"I hate to say this Stacy, but you screwed everything up for them," he told her, hoping he wouldn't hurt her feelings too much.

"I know I did, Chris," she said, her head hanging low. "I just thought that there was a chance, and..."

"There isn't," Chris replied, shaking his head. "I want to see them together just as much as you do Stace, but lets face it... John Cena and Trish Stratus are not meant to be."

Hope you're still enjoying it!!!  I have lots in store for this story, so keep checking it out and keep reviewing.  Oh, and a little side note, to the person who reviewed asking why I don't finish a story before I start a new one (I'm pretty sure you're name was Dana).  Well, that's because I like writing, and if I limit myself to one story, I get bored.  If you can't deal with that, I'm sorry, but that's how I am. =)