PART 21

"Okay, what's wrong with you?" Chris asked, eyeing Stacy from the armchair she was sitting in across from him.

He had been flipping through a magazine for about fifteen minutes now, and each time he glanced up at her, she had that same look on her face. She stared blankly, her arms crossed in front of her. A few moments later, Stacy turned her head to face him, drawing herself out of her daze long enough to bring her attention to him.

"Nothing," she replied with a sigh, resting her elbow on the arm of her chair and plopping her chin into her hand.

Needless to say, her lackluster response did not convince him in the least. He hopped up from his seat and stepped up to hers, scooping her up in his arms and taking her place in the chair, resting her in his lap. She couldn't help but giggle at his unexpected actions, but her expression fell serious when she saw just how concerned he was.

"Come on, Stace..." he said, pressing his forehead to hers. "...What's on your mind?"

Stacy took a deep breath, shrugging her shoulders.

"A lot of things, Chris," she replied tentatively, "but basically, I've been thinking about Trish. I'm really worried about her. She's barely said two words to me or anyone since John came and Rob left for Smackdown."

Chris nodded, the lightbulb finally going off in his head. He should have known that was the explanation for her withdrawn, thoughtful demeanor.

"John's only been here for a week," Chris replied. "Of course its going to be a bit of an adjustment for her. Just give her a little time to get used to his being here, and she'll go back to being her old self again."

Stacy nodded, but bit her lip thoughtfully. Come to think of it, not only had Trish become a bit of a recluse, she couldn't even remember the last time she'd seen John. Her brother had made himself scarce following his impactful debut on Raw. Rumors had surfaced that the reason for his backstage absence was that he feared running into Test and Scott Steiner, who would undoubtedly be seeking revenge for the stunt he pulled on them. Stacy, however, knew that was far from the case. John was hiding from Trish... it was as simple as that. She couldn't figure out why he would hide, especially since it was obvious he came to Raw for her, but he was definitely doing his best to keep her, not to mention his feelings, as far away as possible.

"Earth to Stacy..."

Chris's voice cut into her thoughts, snapping Stacy out of the daze she had drifted into. Before he could say anymore, she placed a finger to his lips, silencing him.

"I'm fine," she reassured him with a smile, leaning forward to press a kiss to his lips.

Her lips hovered over his for a bit, and Chris tilted his head back, their kiss deepening. He sighed as he felt her soft, moist tongue sliding across his. Since they had gotten together, their moments alone were rare, so he was certainly going to take advantage of every second with her.

She shifted her right leg, placing it on the opposite of his body so that she was straddling him. Chris groaned as she shifted her hips against him, his hands sliding down her sides to her tiny waist. Just as his hands slipped below her waistline to grip her butt, the locker room door swung open.

"Woah, hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Stacy jumped off of Chris, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment as she saw Christian standing before them.

"Uh, you kind of are," Chris said.

He gestured to the woman on his lap, glaring at his best friend in frustration. Christian laughed and shook his head, switching his gaze back and forth between the two. He supposed he could be nice, and leave the two alone... but then again, they didn't call him the CLB for nothing.

"Aw, Stacy won't mind if I hang around in here, will you Stace?" he asked, eyeing the blonde woman playfully.

Stacy half smiled, her cheeks still rosy. She didn't really want to, but she shook her head in response to his question.

Christian grinned, "I knew I wouldn't be a bother to you..."

"Get. Out," Chris said dangerously, glaring at Christian almost angrily now.

The former Intercontinental Champion smiled, shaking his head firmly as he took a seat in the chair Chris had been sitting in prior to moving to be with Stacy. He had to bite back a laugh as he heard what he swore to be a growl coming from his best friend.

"No," he replied flatly, winking at him.

"It's okay, Chris, I have to get going anyway," Stacy admitted, hopping up off the seat. She leaned down to press one last kiss to his lips, and then proceeded to make her way out the door.

Once she was gone, and the door had closed behind her, Chris reached over to the table separating the two of them, grabbing the magazine had had held in his hand. He rolled it up and chucked it, the papers fluttering as it whacked Christian in the head. The short-haired man laughed, shaking his head as he watched Chris crossed his arms over his chest, pouting.

"I hate you, asshole," he whined.

And Christian simply smiled.

John took a deep breath and glanced down, his eyes absently fixing on his legs, which were carrying him in long strides down the hall. He looked up as he reached the door he had been looking for, casually stepping up to it. He reached out and knocked firmly before dropping his fist to his side, rocking his weight back and forth between legs. Though he was trying his best to look calm, he was feeling anything but cool. As the door inched open, the young man silently prayed that he would not be greeted by a certain blonde woman. He breathed a steady sigh of relief when he looked down to see a head full of raven colored locks.

"Hey, Vic," he said with a smile, nodding at the current Women's Champion. Victoria returned his grin, opening the door a bit wider.

"Hey, John!" she replied cheerily. "What can I do for you? Looking for Trish?"

Despite her good natured laugh, John cringed at Victoria's comment. He was sure that the friendly diva meant well, but that didn't make the thought of Trish slice into his heart any less painfully. Still, he held his tongue, forcing a smile and a quick chuckle for the woman before him.

"Nah, actually, I was lookin' for Stacy. You seen her anywhere?" he asked, gazing past her into the seemingly empty locker room.

Victoria raised her eyebrow for a second, then glanced down at the watch wrapped around her wrist.

"I talked to her not too long ago, and from what she told me, she should be here any minute. You can stick around and wait if you want," she suggested, gesturing into the room.

John hesitated for a moment, but then agreed, nodding his head a few times.

"Alright, cool," he said, following her into the room.

"I have to get some of my gear ready for tonight's show, so you can just have a seat over there," Victoria instructed, pointing out the leather couches towards the back of the room.

John nodded again, thanking her once more as he sauntered over to the couches. He plopped down into the first one he approached, exhaling loudly. He covered his eyes with his hands, rubbing at them tiredly. A yawn escaped his lips, reminding him of just how exhausted he really was. He hadn't been sleeping very well as of late.

When he removed his hands from his face, he caught a glimpse of something from the corner of his eye, something that grabbed his attention. He shifted in his seat, leaning closer to the object, which was resting on a small end table nearby. It was a notebook - a plain, spiral notebook with a light blue cover - and he just knew he had seen if before. He thought about it for a minute, and the answer came to him.

He had a sort of flashback, going all the way back to the night he had gone into Trish's hotel room with her - the night he had ultimately walked out on her. He recalled seeing that very same notebook as he rushed his way out of the room that night. Curiosity getting the better of him, he reached over and picked it up, resting it in his lap. He took a quick glance over at Victoria to be sure she wasn't looking his way, and he opened up the book. He knew it was wrong to be going through her property like that, but in his defense, his mind never functioned properly when Trish Stratus was concerned.

He leafed through some of the pages, and he was a bit surprised at what he found. The book was almost completely filled - with the exception of a few blank pages - with poems. He had never known the Canadian diva to be the poetic type. He read through a few of them, nodding his head in approval. Her writings were very good, and it was obvious she had a lot of talent. John skimmed over some more, but stopped when one of Trish's poems stood out, catching his eye.

He read through it carefully, and he could practically feel his stomach drop from his body. This poem may as well have had his name written on it. All egos aside, he just knew this poem was written about him, and about their relationship.

Suddenly, an idea came to mind, one that he simply could not ignore. He had been contemplating for weeks on how to make things right between himself and Trish, and he may have finally come up with a solution... or at least something that would lead to one. Very carefully, so as not to make any noise, John ripped the piece of paper from the notebook. He rose from the couch, placing the notebook back where he had gotten it, and folded the piece of paper into a small square before stuffing it in his pocket. He approached Victoria, who was still buried in her gym bag, and he tapped her on the shoulder.

"On second thought, Vic, I'm gonna bounce. Just tell Stacy I came to see her... there's somethin' I gotta do."

A/N: I had to add a little bit of (cheesy) humor at the beginning there, this story was just getting way too serious! Believe it or not, I'm almost done with this fic! There's really only going to be 1-3 more chapters left, depending on how I decide to end it. Hope you like the latest chapter!