PART 25
"What is it Randy?" Stephanie repeated, stepping out into the hall and closing the door behind her.
Randy eyed the young woman in silence for a moment, watching as her mouth steadily dropped open in a tired yawn. He felt incredibly guilty for having come to her so late at night - especially given the fact that the two were far from friends - but at the same time, he knew that if he didn't get out of bed and march to her room to speak with her, he'd never get to sleep.
"I'm sorry to bother you Steph, but I've got something on my mind - it's been there a lot recently - and I need to talk to you about it," he replied.
"I'm pretty sure you've already said that much," Stephanie quipped with a short laugh. "Now, what exactly do you need to talk to me about?"
Taking a step back, Randy's brow arched questioningly. Stephanie was being awfully friendly, despite their not so amicable relationship. Then again, Paul Levesque had always been the root of their issues with each other... with him out of Steph's life for good, it was possible that she was willing to forgive and forget.
"Sorry," he replied, his lips curling in a somewhat bashful grin. "It's just that I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, and I've come to some really important conclusions about my life. The thing is, I think I need your help getting there." A puzzled look crossing her face, Stephanie nodded tentatively.
"Me?" she asked, pointing towards herself. "How could I be of any help to you?"
"Okay, let me explain this to you. Ever since Trish and I broke up, I've really put my life - moreover, my lifestyle - into perspective, and I've realized that I hate myself. The drinking, the partying, the women, all the elements of being a part of Evolution... that's not me, it's not what I want. I didn't want to get some woman pregnant and have her want me to have nothing to do with the child. I didn't want to throw away the best relationship I've ever had. Ten years from now, I don't want to turn to see Paul Levesque standing beside me. He's not who I want to see," he explained.
Stephanie nodded perceptively, taking a long, deep breath, as though she were carefully ingesting each word of his elaboration.
"Who *do* you want to see?" she asked curiously, placing a hand on her hip.
"Well..." Randy began, the apprehension practically glowing around him. "I... I want to see Trish."
Although that had been the response she was anticipating from Orton, Stephanie's eyes still widened a bit. It wasn't that she surprised that he wasn't to be with Trish... it was that he was finally beginning to realize it.
"I'm glad you're finally coming to grips with that, Randy, but I still don't understand how I'm going to be able to help you. I mean, you've dug yourself into a pretty deep hole as far as your relationship with Trish goes. I don't know if..."
"It's not Trish I need your help with, Stephanie..." he cut her off, shaking his head, "...it's Paul. I know that Trish and I have a shot at working things out if I can prove that I love her. I think that if I distance myself from Paul, Ric, and Dave and break away from this Evolution thing, I'll be proving just that. Only problem is, I've gotten myself so far in with this that I don't know how to get out. That's where I need your help, Steph. If anyone knows how to break away from Paul, it's you. After the wedding stunt you pulled, he's completely backed off of you. That's what I need, Steph... I need you to help me get Paul off my back for good."
A small smile touched Stephanie's face as she glanced over at Randy. She thought it adorable that he was coming to her for help. If anything, it further solidified in her heart that leaving Paul was the right thing to do. Reaching out to him, she gently touched his forearm.
"Randy, I'd be more than happy to help you," she said, "but you've got to be absolutely sure this is what you want to do."
"I'm positive," he replied, the determination in his voice more than convincing enough for her.
"I have to do this, Stephanie. I have to get Paul out of my life, so I can actually start living it."
* * * *
Trish walked into a tiny cafe, the sound of bells jingling over top of her as she pushed the door open. Her eyes quickly scanned the room, surveying each booth and table in the nearly deserted place. Jay said she would find him here. Finally, after a brief moment of worry that she'd gone to the wrong place, she spotted him, sitting by himself in a booth all the way in the back. She made her way towards him, stopping abruptly about halfway there, as she seriously considered turning and running. Insisting to herself that this had to be done, Trish pressed on, stopping this time only when she reached his table.
"Adam?" she questioned, snapping the blonde man out of his trance. "Can I sit? We need to talk." Sighing, he nodded, gesturing to the empty booth across from him, unable to just turn her away.
"I'm still sorry," he mumbled, referring to the incident at the club. Trish frowned, noting the sincerity in his voice and wishing he hadn't felt so guilty.
"I don't want our friendship to change," she said, voicing her concern. "I don't want things to be weird between us because of that kiss. But you also have to understand that this changes things, or at least knocks them a bit off course."
"I know it does, Trish, and that's why I'm sorry," he replied.
"Adam, I don't want you to be sorry. There's no use to be. You kissed me, it's all over with now. I just... I want you to understand how I feel about you, and I need to know the same from you," she requested. Adam waited a few moments, taking time to collect and organize his thoughts before verbalizing them to her.
"Well, I know that kissing you was a mistake, but I don't regret doing it. If nothing else, it helped me to see how you feel about me, and it helped me see how I truly feel about you. I really do love you, Trish, but not in the way I had originally thought. I love hanging out with you, I love talking to you, and I love being around you, but I think that somewhere along the line those feelings got mixed up with my fear of being alone, and my desire for a committed relationship, and I tricked myself into thinking I'd fallen for you," he explained.
Fact of the matter was, Adam came to that realization as he was contemplating whether or not he would agree to work with Paul. Once he realized that his feelings for Trish were being misinterpreted, he dropped all connections to him. Levesque was furious, but Adam didn't care. He should have known better than to think twice about associating with that loser anyway. Trish nodded, watching intently as he picked up the cup of coffee resting in front of him and took a long, slow sip. She smiled, reaching out across the table and taking his hand in hers.
"It's such a relief to hear you say that. I love you too, Adam... you're like the brother I never had. You're truly my best friend, and I'm beyond glad that this won't become an issue that will jeopardize that friendship."
Adam finally returned the grin, satisfied with the way their conversation had turned out. He gazed down at her for a moment, their eyes locking together. He knew then and there that they weren't meant to be. There was a definite feeling of love generating between the two of them, but it was strictly platonic. A giggle escaped Trish as the corniness of the situation settled in on her.
"My god, are we dorks. It's three in the morning and we're sitting here, holding hands in some rundown cafe. Come on, let's get out of here," she suggested, standing up and tugging Adam along as well.
"Yes ma'am," he replied with a chuckle, somehow managing to pull a few dollar bills out of his pocket and tossing them to the table before being yanked out of the building.
After they disappeared, a figure emerged from the back, just by the bathrooms. Paul Levesque stepped out into the light, an incensed look on his face. With the idea of Trish and Adam as an item eliminated, he may as well send Randy packing. Once again, that Stratus bitch was throwing a serious wrench into his plans, and he was no longer going to put up with it.
Hmm, no reviews last time huh? LOL, ah well... please send some for this chapter guys! Wanna make sure I haven't lost you!!
"What is it Randy?" Stephanie repeated, stepping out into the hall and closing the door behind her.
Randy eyed the young woman in silence for a moment, watching as her mouth steadily dropped open in a tired yawn. He felt incredibly guilty for having come to her so late at night - especially given the fact that the two were far from friends - but at the same time, he knew that if he didn't get out of bed and march to her room to speak with her, he'd never get to sleep.
"I'm sorry to bother you Steph, but I've got something on my mind - it's been there a lot recently - and I need to talk to you about it," he replied.
"I'm pretty sure you've already said that much," Stephanie quipped with a short laugh. "Now, what exactly do you need to talk to me about?"
Taking a step back, Randy's brow arched questioningly. Stephanie was being awfully friendly, despite their not so amicable relationship. Then again, Paul Levesque had always been the root of their issues with each other... with him out of Steph's life for good, it was possible that she was willing to forgive and forget.
"Sorry," he replied, his lips curling in a somewhat bashful grin. "It's just that I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, and I've come to some really important conclusions about my life. The thing is, I think I need your help getting there." A puzzled look crossing her face, Stephanie nodded tentatively.
"Me?" she asked, pointing towards herself. "How could I be of any help to you?"
"Okay, let me explain this to you. Ever since Trish and I broke up, I've really put my life - moreover, my lifestyle - into perspective, and I've realized that I hate myself. The drinking, the partying, the women, all the elements of being a part of Evolution... that's not me, it's not what I want. I didn't want to get some woman pregnant and have her want me to have nothing to do with the child. I didn't want to throw away the best relationship I've ever had. Ten years from now, I don't want to turn to see Paul Levesque standing beside me. He's not who I want to see," he explained.
Stephanie nodded perceptively, taking a long, deep breath, as though she were carefully ingesting each word of his elaboration.
"Who *do* you want to see?" she asked curiously, placing a hand on her hip.
"Well..." Randy began, the apprehension practically glowing around him. "I... I want to see Trish."
Although that had been the response she was anticipating from Orton, Stephanie's eyes still widened a bit. It wasn't that she surprised that he wasn't to be with Trish... it was that he was finally beginning to realize it.
"I'm glad you're finally coming to grips with that, Randy, but I still don't understand how I'm going to be able to help you. I mean, you've dug yourself into a pretty deep hole as far as your relationship with Trish goes. I don't know if..."
"It's not Trish I need your help with, Stephanie..." he cut her off, shaking his head, "...it's Paul. I know that Trish and I have a shot at working things out if I can prove that I love her. I think that if I distance myself from Paul, Ric, and Dave and break away from this Evolution thing, I'll be proving just that. Only problem is, I've gotten myself so far in with this that I don't know how to get out. That's where I need your help, Steph. If anyone knows how to break away from Paul, it's you. After the wedding stunt you pulled, he's completely backed off of you. That's what I need, Steph... I need you to help me get Paul off my back for good."
A small smile touched Stephanie's face as she glanced over at Randy. She thought it adorable that he was coming to her for help. If anything, it further solidified in her heart that leaving Paul was the right thing to do. Reaching out to him, she gently touched his forearm.
"Randy, I'd be more than happy to help you," she said, "but you've got to be absolutely sure this is what you want to do."
"I'm positive," he replied, the determination in his voice more than convincing enough for her.
"I have to do this, Stephanie. I have to get Paul out of my life, so I can actually start living it."
* * * *
Trish walked into a tiny cafe, the sound of bells jingling over top of her as she pushed the door open. Her eyes quickly scanned the room, surveying each booth and table in the nearly deserted place. Jay said she would find him here. Finally, after a brief moment of worry that she'd gone to the wrong place, she spotted him, sitting by himself in a booth all the way in the back. She made her way towards him, stopping abruptly about halfway there, as she seriously considered turning and running. Insisting to herself that this had to be done, Trish pressed on, stopping this time only when she reached his table.
"Adam?" she questioned, snapping the blonde man out of his trance. "Can I sit? We need to talk." Sighing, he nodded, gesturing to the empty booth across from him, unable to just turn her away.
"I'm still sorry," he mumbled, referring to the incident at the club. Trish frowned, noting the sincerity in his voice and wishing he hadn't felt so guilty.
"I don't want our friendship to change," she said, voicing her concern. "I don't want things to be weird between us because of that kiss. But you also have to understand that this changes things, or at least knocks them a bit off course."
"I know it does, Trish, and that's why I'm sorry," he replied.
"Adam, I don't want you to be sorry. There's no use to be. You kissed me, it's all over with now. I just... I want you to understand how I feel about you, and I need to know the same from you," she requested. Adam waited a few moments, taking time to collect and organize his thoughts before verbalizing them to her.
"Well, I know that kissing you was a mistake, but I don't regret doing it. If nothing else, it helped me to see how you feel about me, and it helped me see how I truly feel about you. I really do love you, Trish, but not in the way I had originally thought. I love hanging out with you, I love talking to you, and I love being around you, but I think that somewhere along the line those feelings got mixed up with my fear of being alone, and my desire for a committed relationship, and I tricked myself into thinking I'd fallen for you," he explained.
Fact of the matter was, Adam came to that realization as he was contemplating whether or not he would agree to work with Paul. Once he realized that his feelings for Trish were being misinterpreted, he dropped all connections to him. Levesque was furious, but Adam didn't care. He should have known better than to think twice about associating with that loser anyway. Trish nodded, watching intently as he picked up the cup of coffee resting in front of him and took a long, slow sip. She smiled, reaching out across the table and taking his hand in hers.
"It's such a relief to hear you say that. I love you too, Adam... you're like the brother I never had. You're truly my best friend, and I'm beyond glad that this won't become an issue that will jeopardize that friendship."
Adam finally returned the grin, satisfied with the way their conversation had turned out. He gazed down at her for a moment, their eyes locking together. He knew then and there that they weren't meant to be. There was a definite feeling of love generating between the two of them, but it was strictly platonic. A giggle escaped Trish as the corniness of the situation settled in on her.
"My god, are we dorks. It's three in the morning and we're sitting here, holding hands in some rundown cafe. Come on, let's get out of here," she suggested, standing up and tugging Adam along as well.
"Yes ma'am," he replied with a chuckle, somehow managing to pull a few dollar bills out of his pocket and tossing them to the table before being yanked out of the building.
After they disappeared, a figure emerged from the back, just by the bathrooms. Paul Levesque stepped out into the light, an incensed look on his face. With the idea of Trish and Adam as an item eliminated, he may as well send Randy packing. Once again, that Stratus bitch was throwing a serious wrench into his plans, and he was no longer going to put up with it.
Hmm, no reviews last time huh? LOL, ah well... please send some for this chapter guys! Wanna make sure I haven't lost you!!