Chapter 15:
Jean made her way back to the dressing room happily, whistling under her breath so that she could get ready for her date with Rene. "Oh, hi," she said, as she saw an unfamiliar woman standing in front of the dressing room. "Can I help you?"
"Um, yeah," the woman replied, turning to face her. "I really need to talk to Jeff. Do you know where he is?"
Jean raised an eyebrow. *Hmm, I bet this is the woman that was outside before! The one that got him in a really bad mood. Who in the hell does she think she is pissing my cousin off like that? She obviously hurt him, so she has no business being around him!* "What do you want with him?" she asked angrily.
"I...I just need to talk to him," the woman said, backing up a step at the angry look in her eyes.
"About what?"
"About....about stuff."
"What stuff?"
"I don't really see how it's any of your business," the unknown woman said, snottily as she realized that her point was being ignored. "This is between me and Jeff, and you have nothing to do with it!"
"Oh, really," Jean said, rolling her eyes. "Well let me make this clear – Jeff is my cousin, and he's closer to me than almost anyone else on this planet, and so help me God...if I find out that you hurt him in any way, shape, or form...your chances of staying unbruised are very slim. And that warning isn't coming only from me, it's also coming from Amy and from Matt. So I would suggest that you watch your step around here."
The woman looked at Jean in disbelief. She couldn't believe that this little girl was talking to her that way. "Oh, don't worry KID," she emphasized, looking down her nose. "What's between Jeff and I has nothing to do with the rest of you, and I'd thank you to keep your nose out of MY business."
Jean growled under her breath. *She did NOT just do that.* She took a step closer to the woman and stared at her. "Just watch your back," she said finally, and then opened the door to the locker room.
"If you see Jeff, tell him that Beth needs to talk to him," the woman said, tossing her hair and walking away confidently.
"Oh, I'll tell him all right. I'll tell him that an annoying bitch wants to waste his time," Jean said, laughing as she slammed the door in Beth's face as she turned around angrily.
"Oh, you have no idea what you've just started little girl," Beth said angrily as she stalked away from the Hardy Boys' dressing room. "I'll be back!" she yelled at the door.
"What a bitch!" Jean complained to herself as she picked up her duffle bag and started to go through it so that she could get ready for her date. She picked out her outfit and made her way to the showers and quickly got herself ready because she knew that even though Rene had a match right after Jeff's, it still wouldn't take him that long to get ready afterwards. Even though she was looking forward to tonight, she was still pissed off about her confrontation with that girl earlier, and when she heard a knock at the door, the first thought that passed through her mind was that it was her again, so she yelled "I DON'T WANT TO TALK TO YOU!" Unfortunately, she didn't look out the door to see who it was, because if she had she would have seen Rene walking away, completely depressed.
*What did I do?* he thought to himself sadly. *Everything seemed to be going so well before her match, and now....she doesn't even want to talk to me! I have no idea what's going on! Oh my God, this is so awful...I wish I knew what I did to piss her off because then I could go apologize to her...* Rene made his way back to his locker room, completely dejected. He'd stopped by the Hardy Boys' locker room after his triumphant match with Sylvan over the Hurricane and Sgt. Slaughter to let Jean know that his match was over and it would take him about twenty minutes to get ready for their date, only to have his hopes shot down completely beyond belief. He was so confused, and he didn't know what to think. He had no idea what had triggered this change in her mood and all he wanted to do was sit and mope. He stepped into the shower as soon as he made it to his room, and just stood there in the hot spray, wishing that it would be able to remove the painful memories from his head as easily as it removed the sweat from his body. He slowly made his way out of the shower & changed into the outfit he had planned to wear on his date, and collapsed onto the couch, lost in his own thoughts.
*Knock Knock*
Rene looked up as he heard a knock at his door, completely confused as to who it could be. "Come in," he called, unwilling to get up from his position on the couch.
"Hey!" Jean said happily as she bounced into the room. Her smile disappeared as soon as she saw the confused and upset look on Rene's face. "What's wrong?" she asked nervously, stopping in her tracks.
"What are you doing here?" Rene asked impatiently. He didn't know what kind of game she was playing, but he didn't like it.
"Well...we had a date tonight didn't we?" Jean said nervously, completely lost when it came to what was going on.
"That's what I thought too. But then when I came to the locker room, you said that you didn't want to talk to me so I assumed it was off," Rene told her unhappily.
"But...but..." Jean stuttered. "I wasn't talking to you though! There was this girl named Beth that came to the locker room earlier wanting to talk to Jeff and she and I got into it, and she said that she'd be back. So when I heard the knock on the door I figured it was her, and I didn't feel like getting into another argument because I wanted to get ready so that I could spend time with you," Jean quickly explained. The last thing she wanted was for Rene to be mad at her over this. "I'm so sorry Rene! I didn't mean to yell at you. I should have checked the door before yelling, and I...I don't know what to say really other than I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?" she asked, biting her lip nervously.
Rene stared at her face for a second. He wasn't always good at reading people's body language, but he thought that she was telling the truth. "Yeah," he said, smiling at her. "It was just a misunderstanding."
"Oh thank you God," Jean said gratefully. "I was so hoping that you would forgive me. That would really suck if you were mad at me!"
"Oh, and why is that?" Rene said jokingly.
"Because I like spending time with you," Jean said honestly. "Granted, I haven't spent all that much time around you, but from what I have spent I enjoy being around you because you go out of your way to make sure that I'm having fun and enjoying myself, not to mention the fact that you've gone out of your way to help me."
Rene flushed at the compliment he had just received. "Why thank you. I don't really know what else to say to that," he admitted shyly.
"Well, don't say anything then," Jean told him. "So where did you want to go tonight?" she asked, changing the subject.
"Uh, well, I really don't know. I was hoping you'd have an idea," Rene told her.
Jean laughed. "Shit, well that's what I was hoping you'd do. Alright well, we can think of something, can't we?"
"Well, why don't we go get dinner?" Rene suggested. "I know that I'm hungry, and nothing that they had in catering looked even remotely appealing when I was in there before."
"That works," Jean agreed. "So where did you want to go?"
"Well...can we go to Wendys?" Rene asked. "I have this addiction to their spicy chicken sandwiches," he admitted shamefacedly.
"Um, yeah, sure," Jean said, giggling a little bit at the embarrassed look on Rene's face. "Last one to the parking lot has to drive!" she told him with an evil grin as she made a dash for the door.
"What?! Oh, you are SO in for it!" Rene yelled after her retreating back as he took off after her. He tried to catch up and pass her, and even though he had longer legs than her he still lost because she was able to take the corners better. "SORRY!" he yelled behind them as they passed Randy Orton in the hallway and he abruptly flattened himself to the wall. Rene slowed down long enough to glance behind him as he yelled his apology and was instantly confused by the sad look on Randy's face. *I wonder what's going on with him...*
"I win! I win!" Jean gloated happily, dancing around in a circle in the parking lot.
"Oh you shut up," Rene said, rolling his eyes at her as he watched her happy dance. "C'mon and finish your gloating and let's go eat."
"Yes, sir, captain, sir," Jean said mockingly, saluting him.
"That's it!" Rene said, picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder and walking towards his rental car. "Hey! Quit that!" he said as Jean started poking him in the side as they reached the car. He gently put her down on the trunk of the car so she was sitting and then could jump down.
"Thanks for the delivery service," Jean joked. "It was rather nice not having to walk, although I personally would have preferred a piggyback ride."
"I'm SO sorry for not taking your preferences into consideration," Rene said and stuck his tongue out at her.
"Well, you should be!"
"Oh just be quiet and get in the car!"
"Yes master!"
"Oh, don't even try me!"
"I'm SO scared, let me tell you!"
"Get in the damn car already!"
"Okay, okay, I'm going!"
"Finally," Rene said as he backed out of the parking lot on their way to the nearest Wendy's.
Jean made her way back to the dressing room happily, whistling under her breath so that she could get ready for her date with Rene. "Oh, hi," she said, as she saw an unfamiliar woman standing in front of the dressing room. "Can I help you?"
"Um, yeah," the woman replied, turning to face her. "I really need to talk to Jeff. Do you know where he is?"
Jean raised an eyebrow. *Hmm, I bet this is the woman that was outside before! The one that got him in a really bad mood. Who in the hell does she think she is pissing my cousin off like that? She obviously hurt him, so she has no business being around him!* "What do you want with him?" she asked angrily.
"I...I just need to talk to him," the woman said, backing up a step at the angry look in her eyes.
"About what?"
"About....about stuff."
"What stuff?"
"I don't really see how it's any of your business," the unknown woman said, snottily as she realized that her point was being ignored. "This is between me and Jeff, and you have nothing to do with it!"
"Oh, really," Jean said, rolling her eyes. "Well let me make this clear – Jeff is my cousin, and he's closer to me than almost anyone else on this planet, and so help me God...if I find out that you hurt him in any way, shape, or form...your chances of staying unbruised are very slim. And that warning isn't coming only from me, it's also coming from Amy and from Matt. So I would suggest that you watch your step around here."
The woman looked at Jean in disbelief. She couldn't believe that this little girl was talking to her that way. "Oh, don't worry KID," she emphasized, looking down her nose. "What's between Jeff and I has nothing to do with the rest of you, and I'd thank you to keep your nose out of MY business."
Jean growled under her breath. *She did NOT just do that.* She took a step closer to the woman and stared at her. "Just watch your back," she said finally, and then opened the door to the locker room.
"If you see Jeff, tell him that Beth needs to talk to him," the woman said, tossing her hair and walking away confidently.
"Oh, I'll tell him all right. I'll tell him that an annoying bitch wants to waste his time," Jean said, laughing as she slammed the door in Beth's face as she turned around angrily.
"Oh, you have no idea what you've just started little girl," Beth said angrily as she stalked away from the Hardy Boys' dressing room. "I'll be back!" she yelled at the door.
"What a bitch!" Jean complained to herself as she picked up her duffle bag and started to go through it so that she could get ready for her date. She picked out her outfit and made her way to the showers and quickly got herself ready because she knew that even though Rene had a match right after Jeff's, it still wouldn't take him that long to get ready afterwards. Even though she was looking forward to tonight, she was still pissed off about her confrontation with that girl earlier, and when she heard a knock at the door, the first thought that passed through her mind was that it was her again, so she yelled "I DON'T WANT TO TALK TO YOU!" Unfortunately, she didn't look out the door to see who it was, because if she had she would have seen Rene walking away, completely depressed.
*What did I do?* he thought to himself sadly. *Everything seemed to be going so well before her match, and now....she doesn't even want to talk to me! I have no idea what's going on! Oh my God, this is so awful...I wish I knew what I did to piss her off because then I could go apologize to her...* Rene made his way back to his locker room, completely dejected. He'd stopped by the Hardy Boys' locker room after his triumphant match with Sylvan over the Hurricane and Sgt. Slaughter to let Jean know that his match was over and it would take him about twenty minutes to get ready for their date, only to have his hopes shot down completely beyond belief. He was so confused, and he didn't know what to think. He had no idea what had triggered this change in her mood and all he wanted to do was sit and mope. He stepped into the shower as soon as he made it to his room, and just stood there in the hot spray, wishing that it would be able to remove the painful memories from his head as easily as it removed the sweat from his body. He slowly made his way out of the shower & changed into the outfit he had planned to wear on his date, and collapsed onto the couch, lost in his own thoughts.
*Knock Knock*
Rene looked up as he heard a knock at his door, completely confused as to who it could be. "Come in," he called, unwilling to get up from his position on the couch.
"Hey!" Jean said happily as she bounced into the room. Her smile disappeared as soon as she saw the confused and upset look on Rene's face. "What's wrong?" she asked nervously, stopping in her tracks.
"What are you doing here?" Rene asked impatiently. He didn't know what kind of game she was playing, but he didn't like it.
"Well...we had a date tonight didn't we?" Jean said nervously, completely lost when it came to what was going on.
"That's what I thought too. But then when I came to the locker room, you said that you didn't want to talk to me so I assumed it was off," Rene told her unhappily.
"But...but..." Jean stuttered. "I wasn't talking to you though! There was this girl named Beth that came to the locker room earlier wanting to talk to Jeff and she and I got into it, and she said that she'd be back. So when I heard the knock on the door I figured it was her, and I didn't feel like getting into another argument because I wanted to get ready so that I could spend time with you," Jean quickly explained. The last thing she wanted was for Rene to be mad at her over this. "I'm so sorry Rene! I didn't mean to yell at you. I should have checked the door before yelling, and I...I don't know what to say really other than I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?" she asked, biting her lip nervously.
Rene stared at her face for a second. He wasn't always good at reading people's body language, but he thought that she was telling the truth. "Yeah," he said, smiling at her. "It was just a misunderstanding."
"Oh thank you God," Jean said gratefully. "I was so hoping that you would forgive me. That would really suck if you were mad at me!"
"Oh, and why is that?" Rene said jokingly.
"Because I like spending time with you," Jean said honestly. "Granted, I haven't spent all that much time around you, but from what I have spent I enjoy being around you because you go out of your way to make sure that I'm having fun and enjoying myself, not to mention the fact that you've gone out of your way to help me."
Rene flushed at the compliment he had just received. "Why thank you. I don't really know what else to say to that," he admitted shyly.
"Well, don't say anything then," Jean told him. "So where did you want to go tonight?" she asked, changing the subject.
"Uh, well, I really don't know. I was hoping you'd have an idea," Rene told her.
Jean laughed. "Shit, well that's what I was hoping you'd do. Alright well, we can think of something, can't we?"
"Well, why don't we go get dinner?" Rene suggested. "I know that I'm hungry, and nothing that they had in catering looked even remotely appealing when I was in there before."
"That works," Jean agreed. "So where did you want to go?"
"Well...can we go to Wendys?" Rene asked. "I have this addiction to their spicy chicken sandwiches," he admitted shamefacedly.
"Um, yeah, sure," Jean said, giggling a little bit at the embarrassed look on Rene's face. "Last one to the parking lot has to drive!" she told him with an evil grin as she made a dash for the door.
"What?! Oh, you are SO in for it!" Rene yelled after her retreating back as he took off after her. He tried to catch up and pass her, and even though he had longer legs than her he still lost because she was able to take the corners better. "SORRY!" he yelled behind them as they passed Randy Orton in the hallway and he abruptly flattened himself to the wall. Rene slowed down long enough to glance behind him as he yelled his apology and was instantly confused by the sad look on Randy's face. *I wonder what's going on with him...*
"I win! I win!" Jean gloated happily, dancing around in a circle in the parking lot.
"Oh you shut up," Rene said, rolling his eyes at her as he watched her happy dance. "C'mon and finish your gloating and let's go eat."
"Yes, sir, captain, sir," Jean said mockingly, saluting him.
"That's it!" Rene said, picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder and walking towards his rental car. "Hey! Quit that!" he said as Jean started poking him in the side as they reached the car. He gently put her down on the trunk of the car so she was sitting and then could jump down.
"Thanks for the delivery service," Jean joked. "It was rather nice not having to walk, although I personally would have preferred a piggyback ride."
"I'm SO sorry for not taking your preferences into consideration," Rene said and stuck his tongue out at her.
"Well, you should be!"
"Oh just be quiet and get in the car!"
"Yes master!"
"Oh, don't even try me!"
"I'm SO scared, let me tell you!"
"Get in the damn car already!"
"Okay, okay, I'm going!"
"Finally," Rene said as he backed out of the parking lot on their way to the nearest Wendy's.