Rob Van Dam slowly strolled down the halls, his Intercontinental Title belt in his hands. He was in search of Booker T, the man who would be his partner in a tag team match later that night on Raw. He found the locker room he knew Booker was sharing with a few of the boys and stopped in front of it. He raised his hand to knock, when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He paused, his hand in midair as he turned to see who it was. His gaze rested upon Trish Stratus, who was sitting on an equipment crate outside the nearby women's locker room, her head resting in her hands. Raising an eyebrow in concern, Rob decided that his strategy talk with Booker T would just have to wait. He slowly approached Trish, his steps becoming almost hesitant as he neared her. He and Trish hadn't talked in awhile, but he still thought of her as a sister, and it was clear to him that she was hurting.
"Trish?" he asked tentatively.
Trish's head snapped up at the sound of the voice. She hadn't been paying close attention to her surroundings, so she couldn't immediately match the voice to a person, but she *did* know that it indeed belonged to a male. She sighed loudly, wondering who of all people it could be. She was expecting to see Chris Jericho - he hadn't gotten off of her case about the issue since the day he became aware of it - but when she looked up to see Van Dam in front of her, her gaze softened considerably. She hadn't spoken to Rob in so long, yet it was almost comforting to see such a familiar face... one that didn't belong to Jericho or Stacy Keibler.
"Hey Rob," she said quietly, picking at one of her nails. Taking a seat next to her, Rob watched her intently.
"What's the matter?" he asked, placing his belt down next to him.
"I don't think you even want to know Rob," Trish said, laughing dryly. The more she thought about it, her situation with John Cena did, in a very twisted sense, have a very comical air to it.
"That scares me," Rob told her, shifting slightly so he was more comfortable. "That automatically means something's wrong. Come on, what's going on? Where have you been the last few weeks?"
Sighing, Trish responded, "It's a very long story Rob... to make it quick, my entire life has been pretty much occupied by, of all people, John Cena."
Rob stared at her, his forehead wrinkling in confusion. He knew he hadn't had a real conversation with Trish in quite some time, but she had made it clear awhile ago that she would *never* even give Cena a second thought. Now he was, as she put it, occupying her entire life?
"Woah, what? John Cena? You guys are together?" he asked in disbelief, his mouth dropping in shock. Shaking her head furiously, Trish took a hold of Rob's hand.
"No! We're far from it!" she answered quickly, the thought of being in a relationship after what he did to her making her want to vomit.
"Well than what the hell is going on?"
Trish suddenly found her gaze locking on the floor again, her cheeks reddening slightly. She couldn't believe that she was actually *embarrassed* by what happened, but she was. She was completely mortified, and everytime she told the story, heard Stacy tell someone, or even thought about it, she was repulsed. To think that she put her trust in that man...
"It's... it's nothing Rob. We just had some issues recently, but I think they're over with. He... he kissed me the other night, but it didn't lead to anything," she explained.
"Well, do you still hate him?" Rob asked.
He got the feeling that Trish wasn't telling him the entire story, that she was leaving out a few important details. Something like that may have bothered her for a little while, but there was no way in hell she would allow a simple kiss to take over her life like she was.
"Yeah, of course I do," she replied.
"Then what's the problem?" he asked curiously. Trish frowned, glancing over and meeting his eyes.
"The problem, Rob, is that I think I love him too."
* * * *
Later that day, Chris Jericho sat in his locker room, taping up his wrists in preparation for his match that night. He glanced up casually as the door opened and jumped as Test stormed in, pulling Stacy Keibler along with him. He came to a halt in front of Chris, a murderous gleam in his eyes.
"You have two seconds to tell me what the fuck is going on between you two," he growled, his tone dripping with disdain. Chris stopped with his wrist, ripping the tape off and tossing the roll to the floor. He stood slowly, glancing up to meet Test's angry eyes.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," he replied calmly, despite nearly wincing at the look of absolute terror on the face of Stacy.
"Don't play dumb shit with me Jericho, you know exactly what I'm talking about!" Test snapped, spitting with anger. "Steiner told me he saw the two of you talking, alone, on numerous occasions. And to think this whole time I thought it was John Cena I was going to have trouble with. *You* are supposed to be my friend, and friends don't touch their friends' women."
"I *am* your friend Test," he said, though on the inside he despised the man. The only reason he even *pretended* to be friends with him was so he could keep a closer watch on Stacy. "I would never touch Stacy."
"Please," he snorted. "I see the way you look at her. Don't try and tell me you don't want her. I'm willing to bet that the other night when she," he paused, yanking on Stacy's arm, "told me she was with Trish, she was actually with you!"
Chris looked away quickly, knowing that he wasn't going to be able to keep up the front much longer. Stacy hadn't lied when she told Test she was going to be with Trish, but she didn't mention that Chris would be there as well. He glanced back up at him, his gaze hardening.
"Look man, I don't know what the fuck you're thinking, but there's no way I'd touch your girlfriend! Steiner's lying out of his ass!" he cried. He hated that he had to be so harsh in front of Stacy, but it seemed to be the only way to get the point across to this baboon.
"You're the one lying out of your ass Chris, and when I find some proof that she's screwing around on me, I'll have your..."
"He's telling the truth man," another voice called, as Test, Chris, and Stacy all turned to see Christian standing in the doorway. He slowly made his way into the room, walking up to the three people. "Chris wouldn't touch Stacy."
"Why the hell should I believe you?" Test asked, scoffing arrogantly. "You'd lie for him... he's your best friend."
"Well, yeah, but I don't need to lie for him," he said, suddenly realizing just how he could appeal to Test. "But really, why would he even need Stacy? He's got about 4 girlfriends right now as it is. The man's a pimp." Christian grinned slyly, hoping that the tactic he was using would work.
"Is that so?" Test asked, his gaze softening slightly as he eyed Chris expectantly.
"I, uh..."
"Totally! Dude, you should see him when we go to clubs... the women are all over him! He's practically got to fight the rest off with a bat when he finds out which one he wants to take back to the hotel!" Christian said, patting Chris on the shoulder. "Isn't that right buddy?"
Chris smiled weakly as he glanced over at Stacy, who was looking over at him with a look of hurt in her eyes. Test finally grinned, laughing loudly and smacking Chris on the back.
"No shit... sorry about that man. And good luck with the broads!" he called over his shoulder, yanking Stacy out of the room with him. After he disappeared out the door, Jericho turned to Christian, glaring at him as though he was going to tear him to pieces.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" he cried. "Are you crazy?! Why would you say something like that in front of her?"
"Look man, I just saved your ass, okay? I'm sure Stacy will understand if you explain it to her," Christian replied in a hushed tone, trying to calm his friend down.
"I'm sure she will too, but I wouldn't have to defend myself against something that isn't even true if you hadn't said anything," he said in a much calmer tone. He knew that Christian wasn't the one he was *really* mad at anyway.
Christian frowned... he knew that the comments he made would be risky considering the already rough nature of Chris and Stacy's relationship, but if he hadn't said something, he knew that Test and Steiner would be ready to beat the living shit out of him. He was only doing what he thought had to be done to protect his friend...
He just hoped he hadn't jeopardized his chances with Stacy.