PART 26
"What's wrong with you, Champ?" Ric Flair asked as he stepped into Evolution's locker room to find the Paul Levesque sitting down on the couch, a furious look in his eyes.
Glancing up at him, Paul snorted. Letting out an infuriated exhale, he raked a hand through his hair, nearly tugging on it in frustration.
"Fucking Trish Stratus, that's what's wrong with me!" he cried, jumping up off of the couch. "That stupid blonde bitch is ruining my plans again!"
"Woah, hold on a second there," Ric said, waving both hands at him in a sign for the Game to calm down. "What do you mean? She going at Randy again?"
"Not yet, but she will be," Paul replied, rolling his eyes in disgust at the thought of the Canadian diva. "She totally ruined the plan I had made with Adam Copeland, and I was *just* about to nail him into it! She told him she could only ever see him as a friend, and he agreed to it! The two of them are off being merry little best friends again, and I just know she's gonna try and weasel her way back to Randy."
Ric nodded perceptively, taking a cautious step in the direction of Levesque, his eyes locked on the younger man. The disdain he held for Trish Stratus was practically dripping from him as he stood across from Flair, his hands balled into fists. A string of curses were muttered by the Champion as he plopped himself back down on the couch. He had to do *something* about her. There was no way he'd give Randy up again, not after he worked so hard to model the younger man after himself.
"We can stop this before it starts, you know," Ric spoke suddenly, temporarily snapping Paul out of his rage. He glanced up at the Nature Boy, eagerly waiting for him to continue. "All we have to do is make sure *we* get to Randy first. With my persuasion, and the influence you already have on him, it won't be long before all thoughts of Trish Stratus are nonexistent in his mind."
"That's cute Ric, but let's be honest. Randy thinks he's actually in love with this chick... it'll take a bit more than your persuasion, as convincing as it may be," Paul reminded him.
He shuddered as the word 'love' rolled off his tongue. A thing such as love didn't exist, not in the world he knew. The fact that Randy - someone he took under his wing and gave the privilege of his leadership to - could sit there and gawk over a whiny little brat like Trish ate Paul alive. Seeing him depressed and moping over the loss of her throughout the past few weeks was making him sick to his stomach.
"Well..." Ric began, cutting Paul's thoughts short once again. "What do you plan on doing about it?"
A sly, sadistic grin spread on the lips of Levesque, the evil in his eyes enough to scare away the darkest of any man. There were so many things he wanted to do to Trish Stratus, he could practically write a novel containing them. He looked up at Flair from his seat, grinning wildly at him.
"Oh, I've got plenty in store for Miss Stratus, that's for sure..." Paul responded with a laugh.
Standing once more, he approached the elder man, leaning down and whispering his plans into his ear, making sure it was impossible for anyone to hear. When he was finished explaining his plan, he took a step back, waiting for some type of response. At first, Ric simply stared at him, and for a moment, Paul was worried that he wouldn't go for it. It was a bit extreme, even for himself, and he was a bit fretful that he wouldn't go along. A moment later, though, the seemingly perturbed look on Ric's face transformed into one of awe. He eyed Paul with reverence, amazed at the amount of guts he had to back up his brains.
"Paul, that's some serious stuff right there," he quipped with a laugh. "Are you sure you want to take it that far?"
"If I have to," Paul replied determinedly. "If she gets in my way, I'll just have to show her that you *don't* mess with Paul Levesque."
A barbarous grin spread across the lips of Ric Flair, and he extended his hand to Levesque, shaking it firmly as he used his free hand to pat him on the back. The two men stood in silence for a moment, both of them most likely contemplating Paul's suggested actions.
"You're a bad man, Champ. A very bad man," Ric spoke, matching the fiendish gleam in Paul's eyes with one of his own.
Paul laughed, nodding his head in agreement. The things he had in mind for Trish Stratus were wicked, to say the least, but she had it coming. Then, hearing a slight commotion out in the hall, Levesque turned his head, curiously glancing out the door. What he saw brought shock and malice to his eyes. Upon seeing the rancor in his stare, Ric turned around as well, eyes widening as he set his glance on the two people passing by the locker room.
"Ric..." Paul began, clenching his fists. "Are you seeing what I think I'm seeing?" His eyes still wide, Flair nodded slowly.
"If you're talking about Stephanie McMahon and Randy Orton... yes, that's what you're seeing."
* * * *
A few hours later, Randy Orton found himself hurrying through the halls, rushing about in a frantic search for Dave Batista. Tonight would mark the return of the muscular man to the WWE, after a near eight month rehab for his torn triceps. He had been desperately trying to find him, for more than one reason. Dave was his best friend, and it had been months since Randy had last seen him, so naturally, he was excited about seeing him again. But there was also a very deep concern for the young man about getting to Dave before Paul had a chance to. He just knew that Paul was going to snatch Dave up the second he got a chance to, and update him on what had been going on with *his* side of the story. He'd make it look like the issues surrounding him and Trish were all her fault, and turning another member of Evolution against her was not something Randy could afford.
A defeated sigh emenated from Randy as he checked another empty room. There was so much lying and sneaking around going on in their circle of friends and enemies at the moment. The deception, not knowing who he was able to trust, was driving him to the brink of insanity. To think of how his friendships and loyalties were changing with the weeks... he had gone from being all about Paul, Ric, and Evolution, to doing his best to distance himself from them at all times. He found himself relying on people like Stephanie McMahon, someone whom he *never* thought he'd befriend.
He was beginning to wish he'd never agreed to joining Evolution again in the first place. He should have listened to Trish when she'd expressed concern about him spending so much time with Levesque and Flair. It had cost him so much, the high profile lifestyle wasn't even worth it anymore.
Then, as he poked his head into the catering room, he caught a glimpse of Dave. His gaze brightened, and Randy jumped into the room, hurrying over to his friend. He froze when he saw that Dave was already deeply engulfed in a conversation with someone...
His stomach dropped as he realized that the someone was Paul Levesque.