A WEEK LATER
Trish walked into a club with Dawn Marie and Amy. It had been awhile since she went out with everyone, so when they had asked her to come she figured what the hell. She smiled as they entered the noisy club, waving to a fan who had called out her name. They approached the table the guys were at, and Trish's grin widened when he saw Adam smiling at her. She waved to him, hugging him as she walked up to him.
"Hey, I didn't expect to see you here," he said, letting go of her.
"Well, I wasn't going to come, but I figured that I hardly ever come out with you guys, so I decided to come after all," she replied, grinning at him.
Adam smiled, and then something behind Trish caught his gaze. He squinted a bit, trying to make out what, or rather who, he was looking at. His eyes widened slightly as he realized it was Paul Levesque and Randy Orton… and Paul had just brought a very nice looking blonde woman up to Randy and introduced them. As Trish continued to tell him something about her day, his mind drifted to the two people standing up against the wall. The woman, who was about 5'7", was leaning up against the wall, and Randy had placed his right hand on the wall next to her head, his left hand resting on her arm as he spoke to her. He scowled at the two… Randy probably didn't even know that Trish was in the building. He wanted to tell her to turn around right then so she could see what he was up to, but a part of him knew that it would really hurt her, and he just didn't want to see her hurt.
"Adam… hello, Adam? Are you still with me?" Trish asked, waving a hand in front of his face. She shook her head, laughing as she watched him snap out of his daze.
"Uh, yeah… sorry about that," he apologized, smiling sheepishly.
"It's alright, I just thought I'd lost you there for a minute. Anyway, Dawn was telling me…" Trish trailed off again, looking at Adam with concern as she could see that he was drifting again. She reached her arm up and smacked him gently in the face, bringing his attention to her once again.
"Geez Adam, if I'm really boring you that much I'll just stop talking," she said, rolling her eyes playfully. Shaking his head, Adam apologized again.
"No, I'm really sorry Trish, I just… go ahead," he said, sneaking another glance over the top of her head at Randy and the woman. Trish raised an eyebrow at him, finally figuring out why he wasn't paying attention to her… he was looking at something.
"What are you looking at?" she asked, moving to turn around in the direction he was facing. Not taking his eyes off Randy, he jumped slightly as he noticed that he was now kissing the blonde woman he was with. It was just a friendly little peck either… Orton's tongue was wedged in the tall woman's throat. Thinking quickly, he grabbed Trish by the arm, spinning her back to him before she could turn all the way around.
"Nothing, it's… it's not important. Come on, I'll buy you a drink," he said quickly, putting his hand on her shoulder and leading her to the bar.
Trish nodded, not bothering to ask him why he pulled her away from that spot so quickly. As the two made their way up to the bar, Adam shot one more glance in Randy's direction. He was still making out with that girl, his hands sliding down her waist and resting on her hips. He rolled his eyes in disgust as he watched the woman's hand move down to his ass, gripping it tightly. What Adam found even more repulsing was the fact that Levesque and Flair were not only watching from their table, which was also surrounded by women, but they were cheering him on. What creeps. Adam turned around when they stepped up to the bar, ordering drinks for both him and the blonde diva. They stood for a moment, sipping their drinks in silence. He made sure Trish kept her back to Randy at all times. After about five minutes, he noticed that Randy and the woman were making their way into the women's bathroom. Adam shifted uncomfortably, feeling his blood beginning to boil. He wanted to tell Trish now more than ever. God knows what the two of them would be doing in there. And I'd bet my entire life savings that they didn't go in there to go to the bathroom. He couldn't believe how unbelievably fair this was, for him and for Trish. He had to tell her.
"Trish, I…" he started, pausing after the first two words. He couldn't do it. How do you tell one of your best friends that they're being cheated on? And it wasn't like it happened three weeks ago, it was happening right now. He looked down at her, meeting her chocolate brown eyes. She actually looked happy for once… he didn't want to ruin that. He couldn't upset her like that.
"What is it Adam?"
Turning his head to the side for a beat, he frowned, realizing he just couldn't tell her about Randy. They would be leaving the club soon anyway, as Matt and Jay had decided that they wanted to go club hopping tonight. He just hoped they would be leaving soon, so Trish wouldn't have to witness what he'd already seen. Turning to face her, he forced a smile.
"I uh… let's go out there and dance with everyone."
LATER THAT NIGHTChris yawned as he walked tiredly through the hotel hallway. He was unbelievably tired after their long night out, but he was also unbelievably hungry. After tossing and turning for about an hour in bed, he decided he may as well walk down to the hotel cafeteria and get something to eat. He rubbed his temple lightly as he walked down the steps… he could already feel the beginnings of a hangover. Shaking his head, he sighed as he made his way into the cafeteria. He went up to the counter and got himself a small snack, paying and then preparing to go back up to his room. The Canadian wasn't going to even bother sitting down at a table, but then he saw someone who caught his eye. Stephanie McMahon, sitting in a booth all by herself… and she didn't look too happy. Chris raised an eyebrow curiously, making his way over to her.
"Hey… mind if I join you?" he asked, watching as she snapped out of her daze and looked up at him. Shaking her head, she gestured to the seat he was standing behind.
"Not at all, please… sit," she instructed. He listened, sliding into the booth and sitting down across from her.
"So, what are you doing here?" she asked curiously, looking down at the food and the cup of coffee he had in his hand.
"Can't sleep… I was starving. And I have the feeling I'm going to be having a severe hangover, so I'm putting off sleep as long as possible. Nothing's worse than waking up," he explained. Then, wondering why she was down in the cafeteria at three in the morning, he questioned her. "What are you doing here Miss Stephanie?"
"Oh, I couldn't sleep either… I just came down here to think," she said, smiling at him. Chris couldn't help but think that the smile she sent him was a sad one. Concern flooding his crystal blue eyes, he gently placed his hand on her forearm.
"Is something wrong?" he asked worriedly. Looking up and meeting his eyes, her smile faded.
"Well, actually… you know, I don't want to bother you with a sob story Chris. I mean, you said you're getting a hangover, and you know, I'll be okay," she answered. Deep down, she would have loved to tell Chris what was on her mind. Ever since she had accepted Paul's engagement he had been the only one who really talked to her, and actually *listened* to what she had to say. Not many people wanted much to do with her because of her fiancé. Still, she didn't want to burden him, so she figured she could just get over this issue on her own.
"Bullshit Steph, you know you're not bothering me. Come on, my options are either to go up to my room and sulk around because I have a headache or I can sit here and talk to you. If you ask me, sitting here with you sounds a little more intriguing," he said, willing her to talk to him. Stephanie hesitated, but shook her head.
"N-no, Chris… it's fine. I'm fine, I just…"
"Steph…" he insisted, eyes locking on her. Sighing, the brunette gave in.
"Okay, okay… it's… it's kind of about Paul," she said carefully, watching as he scoffed at the mention of Levesque's name. Stephanie knew Chris absolutely hated Paul, so she wasn't surprised in the least by his reaction.
"What did he do now?" he asked, scowling angrily.
"He, um… didn't really do anything. It was kind of… kind of something that he said," Stephanie answered. Chris sent her a confused look.
"What do you mean? What did he say?" he asked. Her gaze drifted from his, settling on the table they were sitting at.
"Well, he… he kinda told me that… that he didn't love me," she explained sadly, looking back up at him. His expression dropped as he saw what he swore to be tears forming in her brown eyes.
"What? Why would he say that?" he asked, though he wasn't all that surprised. The guy runs around with women in every damn city we travel to… of course he doesn't love you. He doesn't even realize what he's got.
"Well, when he got home from the bar tonight, we had a fight, and I told him I loved him… I should have never done that," she scolded. Chris sent her a funny look. Then, he listened closely as she retold what happened when Paul arrived from the club.
"Look Paul, all I'm saying is if you think I'm going to marry you then you better start showing me some damn affection!" Stephanie cried. Paul rolled his eyes at her, sticking his hands in the pockets of his slacks.
"You'll marry me either way and you know it," he said cockily. "Listen Steph, I thought we established the way our relationship was going to work already. I keep my title, you impress your father. That's pretty much the extent of it."
"How can you say that?" she asked, obviously hurt. "You mean to tell me that you're going to marry me just to keep your title? You really have no feelings for me whatsoever?" Shaking his head, Paul walked over to Stephanie, placing his hands on her shoulder.
"That's not true… I do have feelings for you. I didn't mean that that was ALL our relationship meant to me… it came out wrong. I like sharing a house with you, I like hanging out with you, and I *really* like having sex with you," he listed plainly, hoping his answers would satisfy her enough to get her to shut up.
"That's sweet Paul," Stephanie said sarcastically. Paul groaned with annoyance.
"Damn it Steph, what do you want from me? I'm tired okay? I want to go to bed, and quite frankly I don't need you bitching at me the second I walk in the damn door!" he yelled, letting go of her.
"Paul, I'm sorry. Look, I just wanted to know how you feel. I love you, okay? I'm going to marry you and…"
"What did you say?" he asked.
"I… what do you mean?" she asked, confused. Paul sighed, running his hand through his hair.
"Look, Steph, I… I don't love you. I like you… but I can't see myself ever loving you," he stated plainly.
"How the hell could he say that?" Chris asked when Stephanie finished.
"I don't know… I guess he just doesn't love me," she said, a tear dropping down her cheek.
"Steph… why? Why do you put up with this?" he asked, feeling incredibly sorry for her at the moment. The poor girl got so much less than she deserved.
"You know my father Chris… I have no choice," she said, her voice beginning to shake. "And I… I hate it," she said, bursting into sobs. Jumping up, the Canadian slid out of his booth and into hers, wrapping his arm around her tightly. She leaned into his embrace as he ran his hand up and down her back.
"Hey, don't cry… he's not worth your tears Steph… neither is your father. I promise, I'll get you out of this mess," he said soothingly.
As he held Stephanie against him, Chris began plotting ways to take out Paul Levesque. His hatred for him managed to grow by the day. Sighing as Stephanie's shoulders shook with her sobs, he continued to whisper softly to her, hoping to calm her down. He hoped she would let him help her. He wanted to show her that she was better than Paul, better than her father… that she deserved to be with someone who cared about her. Somebody who wouldn't use her for backstage power, somebody who would buy her gifts and take her out to dinner, someone who would spend quality time with her and get her mind off of her work once in awhile. Someone like him.
Okay, next chapter! Glad you guys are liking this story. LOL, okay, now I feel kinda stupid about this, but if anybody has a challenge they would want me to write, I'd really like to give it a try. If you're interested, send me an email or leave it on my site in the Challenges section (both addresses are on my profile page). I'm a pretty flexible author, and I can write short or long (waaay long, LOL) fics, so I'd really like to see what you want. If not, ignore this message, LOL. Either way, let me know what you thought of this chapter!