Disclaimer: I own only Tara, Oz, and the other original characters in this
story.
A/N: Well, here's chapter two! I hope you all enjoy it. Just to clear up any confusion, in this story the RAW and SmackDown! Brands are not split, so the superstars are on both shows. Oh, and Jeff is still with the company. This chapter happens around the beginning of November 2003, and the story will progress from there. Also, the matches don't follow the matches on the show.
*****
-One Year Later-
"Hope!" Tara said into her cell phone. "Seriously, you have to get up! We need to leave in like half an hour." Tara heard a grumbled reply before hanging the phone up. She had been up for at least an hour and a half now.
'I need a necklace,' She told herself, looking into her full-length mirror. She was dressed in a pair of army green, flair legged jeans, a thin white cotton button-down shirt over a pink camisole, and black tennis shoes. She walked over to her dresser drawers and pulled open a small one in the middle, where she kept all of her jewelry.
'This will work.' She told herself as she pulled out a choker. It was a pink satin rose on a black satin string. She tied it around her next and looked in the mirror once more. After a nod of approval, she fed Oz, grabbed her purse, cell phone, and car keys, and left the apartment. She arrived at Hope's house about fifteen minutes later. She let herself into the house, where Hope was waiting on the couch. The leggy blonde was dressed in a pair of light denim blue jeans, a green off-the-shoulder shirt, and black sandals.
"Ready to go?" Tara asked. Hope stood up and nodded.
"How long is the drive to Orlando again?" Hope said as she grabbed her purse.
"Like, two or three hours." Tara replied. "But hey, it's for a RAW taping. It's worth it." She grinned. "Oh, and look at these..." Tara reached into her purse and pulled out two laminated rectangles. "David gave them to me as a bonus. I really have no idea how he got them." She handed one to Hope. Hope looked over it before looking back at Tara, grinning from ear to ear.
"Backstage passes!" She squealed. Tara smiled and nodded.
"I know, I couldn't believe it either!" Tara said as she turned back towards the door. Hope followed her, locking the door behind her. They climbed back into Tara's car and Hope opened Tara's CD case. She popped WWF Forceable Entry into the CD player, letting it play from the very beginning. The girls talked the entire way to Orlando, and the trip down passed by quickly.
"Finally," Hope said as they pulled into the arena. She handed Tara her pass and slipped hers around her neck as Tara parked. The back entrance of the arena was full already, with rental cars and large trucks. Members of the crew were bringing various pieces of equipment into the arena. Tara turned the car off and took her keys out as they got out of the car. She dropped the keys into her bag after she locked the car. They approached the back entrance. A large security guard was standing outside of the doors.
"And you two are?" He asked in a deep voice as the girls approached him.
"We're fans," Tara said, holding up her pass. "We have passes." He checked her pass and Hope's before letting them in.
"Enjoy the show." He said as they walked through the door. Hope was practically bouncing with excitement.
"Hope," Tara whispered, looking back at her friend. "Calm down or they'll have the nice men in the white coats after you!" Hope giggled.
"I'm sorry, I'm just so excited!" She whispered back. Tara rolled her eyes and walked on down the corridor they were in.
"I wonder if someone is supposed to show us around..." Tara said as they entered what apparently was catering. At first glance, there was no one in the room except for members of the crew and what Tara guessed to be a few jobbers. One of the crewmembers looked up at the girls as they entered the room. He had on a wireless headset and a dress shirt and pants.
"Hello, ladies. I see you have backstage passes!" Tara was slightly taken aback at the man's excitement. "My name's Tony and I'll be showing you around today."
"It's nice to meet you, Tony. I'm Tara Reynolds." Tara said, offering her hand. Tony shook it, his grip firm.
"And I'm Hope Sommers." Hope piped up, also offering her hand. Tony also shook her hand.
"Alright, come right along and I'll introduce you two to some of the wrestlers!" Tony smiled and turned, walking out of catering. The girls followed closely behind him.
"Now, I'll be taking you to what's sort of like a rec room. The wrestlers tend to gather there and socialize before the show." Tony said. He led them through a number of hallways before they were standing in front of two double-doors. Tony pushed them open and led the girls in.
"Excuse me!" He said. There were at least fifteen wrestlers in the room, all talking to one another. They all quieted and looked at Tony. "I want to introduce you all to these two young ladies. Their names are Tara and Hope, and they will be joining you all back here before the show begins. Enjoy your time, ladies!" Tony said before exiting the room. Tara smiled and waved. One of the men stood up and walked over to them.
"Hey," He said, shaking each of their hands. "I'm John Cena, it's great to meet you both." He flashed a smile at them. Tara returned the smile and shot a glance over at Hope. She was smiling widely at John. Tara knew that John was Hope's absolute favorite wrestler, and that she had a huge crush on him.
"H...hey." Hope said, trying to keep the excitement out of her voice.
"C'mon," John said to the girls. "I'll introduce you around. He led them over to the wrestlers, who were grouped off in different sections of the room. They met a number of their favorite superstars and were having various conversations with a few of them when the doors behind them opened. Instinctively, Tara turned her head to see who it was. She locked eyes with Chris Benoit as he walked into the room. He stopped dead in his tracks, his blue eyes meeting her green ones.
"I'll...be right back, Hope." Tara said, finding it difficult to break the gaze she held with Chris. She stood up and walked over to him.
"Hey," He said when the short girl stopped in front of him.
"Hey." She replied, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Wow." Chris said, running a hand over his face. "I had no idea you were going to be here today."
"I know. Do you think we can go somewhere more...private and talk?" Tara asked. Her arms were crossed underneath her breasts and she was shifting her weight from foot to foot. Chris nodded.
"Yeah...sure. Come on, we can go to my dressing room." Tara nodded. She glanced behind her and saw Hope staring at the two. She waved at her friend before following Chris out of the rec room. They walked in silence down the hallway until they reached a door. Chris opened it and allowed her to enter, before entering himself and closing the door behind them. Tara sat down on one of the wooden benches in the room. Chris hovered above her, looking as though he was trying to find the right words to say.
"You never called," Tara started. Chris nodded slightly and took a seat beside her. "I called you a few times and left messages, but you never called back."
"I know." Chris said. "I don't know why I never did, either." He shook his head. "Maybe it was because I saw what my coworkers went through when they tried to date fans. Whatever it was, it was a stupid reason and I should have called back."
"I understand that you have a busy schedule though, and your doubts were legitimate, so I'm not going to hold a grudge." Tara smiled. "It is nice to see you again, Chris."
Chris returned the smile. "Yeah, it is. I never thought I would see you again, but I'm glad I did."
"Me too. I was hoping just to get to see you in the ring tonight. Hope and I bought tickets for the show the day they went on sale, but David, my boss, gave me the passes yesterday as a bonus."
Chris nodded, and looked as though he was in slightly deep thought for a moment. "Are you staying here after the show? I mean, in Orlando tonight?"
Tara shook her head. "Hope and I weren't planning on it. Why?"
"I was hoping that...maybe we could take the night to catch up. Go for a walk on the beach, just like on our date last year." Chris replied.
"Well..." Tara trailed off, before shifting her eyes in thought. "I'm sure Hope wouldn't mind. She and I could split cost between a hotel room and..."
"No, I'll put you two up in the hotel the roster is at." Chris interrupted. Tara shook her head.
"I couldn't imply like that..."
"You wouldn't be implying. It was my idea for you two to stay the night here and you shouldn't have to pay for it. Besides, it's worth it." Chris said. Tara looked to be thinking it over and finally nodded.
"Alright. I'm going to go tell Hope, and then I'll be right back." Tara told Chris. He nodded and she stood up, walking out of the room. She walked down the hallway until she was back at the rec room. Hope was sitting in a corner alone with John, and they seemed to be in deep conversation.
"Hopey," Tara said, walking over to her friend. "We're gonna stay here in Orlando tonight, okay?"
"Alright." Hope stood up and walked over to her much shorter friend. "Me and John have clicked so well." Hope said smiling.
Tara smiled back. "That's great, chick. Look, I'm gonna go back and talk to Chris some more before the show starts. I'll talk to you later." Tara patted her friend's shoulder before walking back to Chris's dressing room. She quietly opened the door to find him there, bouncing his feet with his hands in his lap. He looked up when he heard her close the door behind her.
"Everything okay?" He asked. She nodded and sat back down beside him. He checked his watch.
"You and Hope can stay back here for the show if you want, and watch it on the monitors." He said.
"Actually, I think we're going to go out into the crowd and watch it. That way we get to see it in the flesh. This is the first show Hope's been to; she's not really been watching it that long. She started watching it about a month before our date last year."
Chris nodded. "That's fine." He said. "I'm in the main event tonight against Batista. After the match, you and Hope can just come back here to either this dressing room, or the rec room, or catering. I'll need to take a shower after my match." Chris said.
"Alright." Tara said. "Hope will definitely want to come back to talk to John." She admitted with a grin. "I'm gonna go get Hope and we're going to go get to our seats, the show is going to start in about fifteen minutes." Tara said, glancing at her watch.
"Where are you two at? Maybe I'll see you during my match." Chris said.
"We are in the fifth row of floor seats closest to the ramp on the right." Tara replied. Chris nodded.
"Have fun," He said, standing up.
"Oh, trust me, we will." Tara stood up beside the taller man. "Good luck!" She added, giving him a quick hug before walking out of the locker room.
"Hope, come on, let's get out to our seats." The brunette said as she walked back into the rec room. Hope looked up at her friend from her seat next to John.
"Okay." She said. "I'll see you after the show, John." Hope told him with a smile.
"Alright." John replied. "Have fun, chica."
Hope grinned at him before turning and following Tara out of the room. They walked outside and around to the front, where a large crowd had formed. The girls pushed their way through the crowd and walked into the arena. They showed a man at the entrance their tickets, then went and found their seats. Just as they sat down, music boomed through the arena and pyros went off, whistling in every direction. Tara found herself anxiously awaiting Chris's match all throughout the rest of the show. A while later, she checked her watch and smiled. Chris's match would probably start after Kane's ended. She waited patiently until the end of the match, and finally, Chris's music hit. Tara stood up and cheered as he came down the ramp. Batista entered shortly after, and the match began. Tara was on the edge of her seat for almost the entire match, cheering for Chris when he got a good move in, booing at Batista when he hit Chris. She saw Chris shoot her a glance after he hit three German suplexes on Batista. He half smiled at her before locking Batista in the Crippler Crossface. It wasn't long after that until Batista began slapping the mat, not able to handle the pressure on his back. She cheered along with the rest of the crowd as Chris stood victoriously in the middle of the ring. Tara smiled, her gaze focused only on him, until she heard Hope gasp and grab her arm. Tara turned her head just in time to see Randy Orton sprinting down the ramp, a metal folding chair in his hands. He quickly slid into the ring. Just as Chris turned around, Randy swung the chair, nailing Chris in the side of the head. Chris fell to the mat as Randy dropped the chair and helped Batista to his feet and up the ramp. When they were about halfway down the ramp, two medics came out and helped Chris backstage. As they were walking up the ramp, Tara noticed a bleeding gash on his forehead. She hopped up and grabbed Hope's arm, dragging her out of the arena and around the back. They flashed their passes again before walking into the backstage area.
"You can go ahead and look for John," Tara said, turning towards Hope. "I'm gonna go check on Chris." Hope nodded and Tara turned, walking towards Chris's dressing room. The door was closed, so she reached up and knocked.
"Come in," She heard Chris's voice say. She opened the door and walked in, closing the door behind her.
"Hey." He said, offering her a small smile. She returned it and walked over to him. He was sitting on the same bench they were earlier, still in his tights with a towel pressed to his forehead.
"That was a great match." She told him. He looked up at her.
"Thanks," He said, moving over a little so that she could sit beside him. She took the seat and reached up, pulling the towel away from his forehead. There was a gash just above his eyebrow that was freely bleeding. She ran her thumb softly just underneath it, making him wince.
"Oh, I'm so sorry..." She started, jerking her hand away.
"It's alright, really." Chris said. Tara stood up.
"Chris, you need to go to the trainer." She said. "That's a pretty bad cut." He nodded and stood up. He took her hand in his and led her to the trainer's room. The trainer said that he needed a few stitches, and Chris ended up leaving with three. The trainer also told him to take an Advil to get rid of the headache.
"See, all better." Tara said, smiling at him. He returned the smile as they walked back to Chris's locker room.
"I'm going to take a shower." He said. "You're welcome to stay here and wait on me, or go find Hope or anything. Or you can join me." He added the last part as a joke, winking at her. She grinned and rolled her eyes.
"I'll wait in here on you." She laughed. Chris smiled at her before grabbing his clothes and walking into the showers. Tara sat back with her eyes closed as she heard the spray of the water turn on. Chris came back into the main part of the locker room about fifteen minutes later, dressed in a pair of jeans and a short sleeved white button-down shirt that was unbuttoned. He ran a hand through his damp hair and smiled as he looked at Tara, who was still leaning back against the bench with her eyes closed, her knees tucked up to her chest. She cracked a green eye open and looked at Chris with a smile.
"Am I that interesting to watch?" She giggled.
Chris grinned. "I thought you were asleep."
"Nah," She replied. "Just relaxing." Chris nodded and threw his tights, wrestling boots, and pads into his bag.
"Ready to go?" He asked. She nodded and stood up, stretching. Chris swung his bag over his shoulder and opened the door, letting Tara out in front of him. She smiled as he flipped the lights off and closed the door behind them. The hallways were mostly devoid of wrestlers now; the only wanderers were members of the crew. The rec room was almost empty too, other than Hope and John.
"Hey Hopey, ready to get back to the hotel? I figured we could all go to the hotel bar and grab a couple of drinks before turning in." Tara said. Hope nodded.
"Sounds good to me. How about you two?" She asked.
"I'm game." John said, slipping his arm around Hope's waist.
"Me too." Chris said. Tara smiled at the three.
"Alright. So, I guess Hope and I will go in my car." Tara said.
"Actually, John asked me to ride with him. Is that okay?" Hope said.
"Fine with me. Chris, you wanna ride with me?" Tara asked.
"Sure." He said.
"Alright," Tara said. "Let's go!" She took Chris's hand and led him out of the arena over to her car. She got in the drivers side and cranked the car, immediately greeted with Forceable Entry. It was currently on the Hardy Boyz theme. Chris climbed into the passenger seat and Tara pulled the car out of the arena.
"Okay, what hotel are we at?" She asked.
"The Caribe Royale Resort." Chris told her. She nodded, recognizing the name of the hotel. They arrived there about twenty minutes later, with John and Hope behind them. All four of them walked into the hotel, and Hope and Tara went to the bar to wait on John and Chris when they went up to their rooms to drop their bags off. They met the girls downstairs about five minutes later.
"What'll it be?" Said a middle-aged woman, walking over to them. She had a cigarette hanging off of her bottom lip, way too much blue eye shadow on, and frizzy blonde hair piled atop her head.
"We'll take a couple of shot glasses and some tequila." Hope told her. The woman nodded.
"I'll have a beer." John said.
"Make that two." Chris said, and the woman nodded. She returned to the table a few minutes later, holding a tray containing a bottle of tequila, two shot glasses, and two bottles of beer. She sat them down before walking off. Tara grinned before pouring both her and Hope a glass full of tequila a piece.
"Bottoms up," Hope said, holding up the small shot glass. Tara clinked hers against Hope's and they each downed them in one gulp. Tara glanced at Chris, who grinned at her as he took a sip of his beer. Hope refilled the glasses and they each drank another shot.
After almost an hour in the bar, John was the only one that wasn't remotely on the tipsy side. Chris had soon joined Tara and Hope with their shots of tequila, and between the three of them, the bottle was already halfway gone.
"Okay, I need another one." Tara said to Hope, giggling. Hope also giggled and attempted to pour more tequila into Tara's shot glass, but missed and splashed some onto the table. John reached over and took the bottle from her with a smile.
"Tara, I'm gonna take Hope up to my hotel room." Tara shot him a look. "Whoa, we're not going to do anything." He laughed. "She's drunk. I'm gonna take her up there so she can sleep it off and not end up hurting herself going upstairs."
"Alrighty!" Tara said. "Bye bye John, take care of my best friend okay? Cause she's my best friend." She giggled. John grinned and rolled his eyes; Tara was obviously drunk too. He then stood up and helped Hope up, wrapping his arm around her waist. She clumsily began to walk with his help, and they disappeared out of the bar.
"Here ya go!" Tara said as she poured both her and Chris another shot glass of tequila. They drank them quickly.
"Man, I love tequila." Tara giggled.
"Yeah, me too." Chris said, grinning. The waitress came over to them and took the tequila bottle away, and they both ordered a jack and coke. They had those finished off soon after they arrived.
"Come on," Chris said, taking Tara's hand in his softly. His words were slurred. "Let's go upstairs." Tara nodded and stumbled, following Chris upstairs.
*****
Sunlight flooding through the window awoke Tara the next morning.
"Ow..." She muttered, pulling her pillow over her head. 'This is one bitch of a hangover.' She thought and began to get up. The covers fell to her waist and she glanced down...noticing that she was nude, from the waist up at least. She peeked over the side of the bed and saw the clothes she had worn the night before were in a pile beside it. She sucked in a sharp breath and looked to her right.
"Oh shit." She said as she saw Chris laying there, still asleep. He was laying on his stomach, his bare back visible from his position. She groaned and flung herself back onto the bed, pulling the covers over her head.
"What have I done?" She asked herself quietly.
*****
A/N: Well, here's chapter two! I hope you all enjoy it. Just to clear up any confusion, in this story the RAW and SmackDown! Brands are not split, so the superstars are on both shows. Oh, and Jeff is still with the company. This chapter happens around the beginning of November 2003, and the story will progress from there. Also, the matches don't follow the matches on the show.
*****
-One Year Later-
"Hope!" Tara said into her cell phone. "Seriously, you have to get up! We need to leave in like half an hour." Tara heard a grumbled reply before hanging the phone up. She had been up for at least an hour and a half now.
'I need a necklace,' She told herself, looking into her full-length mirror. She was dressed in a pair of army green, flair legged jeans, a thin white cotton button-down shirt over a pink camisole, and black tennis shoes. She walked over to her dresser drawers and pulled open a small one in the middle, where she kept all of her jewelry.
'This will work.' She told herself as she pulled out a choker. It was a pink satin rose on a black satin string. She tied it around her next and looked in the mirror once more. After a nod of approval, she fed Oz, grabbed her purse, cell phone, and car keys, and left the apartment. She arrived at Hope's house about fifteen minutes later. She let herself into the house, where Hope was waiting on the couch. The leggy blonde was dressed in a pair of light denim blue jeans, a green off-the-shoulder shirt, and black sandals.
"Ready to go?" Tara asked. Hope stood up and nodded.
"How long is the drive to Orlando again?" Hope said as she grabbed her purse.
"Like, two or three hours." Tara replied. "But hey, it's for a RAW taping. It's worth it." She grinned. "Oh, and look at these..." Tara reached into her purse and pulled out two laminated rectangles. "David gave them to me as a bonus. I really have no idea how he got them." She handed one to Hope. Hope looked over it before looking back at Tara, grinning from ear to ear.
"Backstage passes!" She squealed. Tara smiled and nodded.
"I know, I couldn't believe it either!" Tara said as she turned back towards the door. Hope followed her, locking the door behind her. They climbed back into Tara's car and Hope opened Tara's CD case. She popped WWF Forceable Entry into the CD player, letting it play from the very beginning. The girls talked the entire way to Orlando, and the trip down passed by quickly.
"Finally," Hope said as they pulled into the arena. She handed Tara her pass and slipped hers around her neck as Tara parked. The back entrance of the arena was full already, with rental cars and large trucks. Members of the crew were bringing various pieces of equipment into the arena. Tara turned the car off and took her keys out as they got out of the car. She dropped the keys into her bag after she locked the car. They approached the back entrance. A large security guard was standing outside of the doors.
"And you two are?" He asked in a deep voice as the girls approached him.
"We're fans," Tara said, holding up her pass. "We have passes." He checked her pass and Hope's before letting them in.
"Enjoy the show." He said as they walked through the door. Hope was practically bouncing with excitement.
"Hope," Tara whispered, looking back at her friend. "Calm down or they'll have the nice men in the white coats after you!" Hope giggled.
"I'm sorry, I'm just so excited!" She whispered back. Tara rolled her eyes and walked on down the corridor they were in.
"I wonder if someone is supposed to show us around..." Tara said as they entered what apparently was catering. At first glance, there was no one in the room except for members of the crew and what Tara guessed to be a few jobbers. One of the crewmembers looked up at the girls as they entered the room. He had on a wireless headset and a dress shirt and pants.
"Hello, ladies. I see you have backstage passes!" Tara was slightly taken aback at the man's excitement. "My name's Tony and I'll be showing you around today."
"It's nice to meet you, Tony. I'm Tara Reynolds." Tara said, offering her hand. Tony shook it, his grip firm.
"And I'm Hope Sommers." Hope piped up, also offering her hand. Tony also shook her hand.
"Alright, come right along and I'll introduce you two to some of the wrestlers!" Tony smiled and turned, walking out of catering. The girls followed closely behind him.
"Now, I'll be taking you to what's sort of like a rec room. The wrestlers tend to gather there and socialize before the show." Tony said. He led them through a number of hallways before they were standing in front of two double-doors. Tony pushed them open and led the girls in.
"Excuse me!" He said. There were at least fifteen wrestlers in the room, all talking to one another. They all quieted and looked at Tony. "I want to introduce you all to these two young ladies. Their names are Tara and Hope, and they will be joining you all back here before the show begins. Enjoy your time, ladies!" Tony said before exiting the room. Tara smiled and waved. One of the men stood up and walked over to them.
"Hey," He said, shaking each of their hands. "I'm John Cena, it's great to meet you both." He flashed a smile at them. Tara returned the smile and shot a glance over at Hope. She was smiling widely at John. Tara knew that John was Hope's absolute favorite wrestler, and that she had a huge crush on him.
"H...hey." Hope said, trying to keep the excitement out of her voice.
"C'mon," John said to the girls. "I'll introduce you around. He led them over to the wrestlers, who were grouped off in different sections of the room. They met a number of their favorite superstars and were having various conversations with a few of them when the doors behind them opened. Instinctively, Tara turned her head to see who it was. She locked eyes with Chris Benoit as he walked into the room. He stopped dead in his tracks, his blue eyes meeting her green ones.
"I'll...be right back, Hope." Tara said, finding it difficult to break the gaze she held with Chris. She stood up and walked over to him.
"Hey," He said when the short girl stopped in front of him.
"Hey." She replied, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Wow." Chris said, running a hand over his face. "I had no idea you were going to be here today."
"I know. Do you think we can go somewhere more...private and talk?" Tara asked. Her arms were crossed underneath her breasts and she was shifting her weight from foot to foot. Chris nodded.
"Yeah...sure. Come on, we can go to my dressing room." Tara nodded. She glanced behind her and saw Hope staring at the two. She waved at her friend before following Chris out of the rec room. They walked in silence down the hallway until they reached a door. Chris opened it and allowed her to enter, before entering himself and closing the door behind them. Tara sat down on one of the wooden benches in the room. Chris hovered above her, looking as though he was trying to find the right words to say.
"You never called," Tara started. Chris nodded slightly and took a seat beside her. "I called you a few times and left messages, but you never called back."
"I know." Chris said. "I don't know why I never did, either." He shook his head. "Maybe it was because I saw what my coworkers went through when they tried to date fans. Whatever it was, it was a stupid reason and I should have called back."
"I understand that you have a busy schedule though, and your doubts were legitimate, so I'm not going to hold a grudge." Tara smiled. "It is nice to see you again, Chris."
Chris returned the smile. "Yeah, it is. I never thought I would see you again, but I'm glad I did."
"Me too. I was hoping just to get to see you in the ring tonight. Hope and I bought tickets for the show the day they went on sale, but David, my boss, gave me the passes yesterday as a bonus."
Chris nodded, and looked as though he was in slightly deep thought for a moment. "Are you staying here after the show? I mean, in Orlando tonight?"
Tara shook her head. "Hope and I weren't planning on it. Why?"
"I was hoping that...maybe we could take the night to catch up. Go for a walk on the beach, just like on our date last year." Chris replied.
"Well..." Tara trailed off, before shifting her eyes in thought. "I'm sure Hope wouldn't mind. She and I could split cost between a hotel room and..."
"No, I'll put you two up in the hotel the roster is at." Chris interrupted. Tara shook her head.
"I couldn't imply like that..."
"You wouldn't be implying. It was my idea for you two to stay the night here and you shouldn't have to pay for it. Besides, it's worth it." Chris said. Tara looked to be thinking it over and finally nodded.
"Alright. I'm going to go tell Hope, and then I'll be right back." Tara told Chris. He nodded and she stood up, walking out of the room. She walked down the hallway until she was back at the rec room. Hope was sitting in a corner alone with John, and they seemed to be in deep conversation.
"Hopey," Tara said, walking over to her friend. "We're gonna stay here in Orlando tonight, okay?"
"Alright." Hope stood up and walked over to her much shorter friend. "Me and John have clicked so well." Hope said smiling.
Tara smiled back. "That's great, chick. Look, I'm gonna go back and talk to Chris some more before the show starts. I'll talk to you later." Tara patted her friend's shoulder before walking back to Chris's dressing room. She quietly opened the door to find him there, bouncing his feet with his hands in his lap. He looked up when he heard her close the door behind her.
"Everything okay?" He asked. She nodded and sat back down beside him. He checked his watch.
"You and Hope can stay back here for the show if you want, and watch it on the monitors." He said.
"Actually, I think we're going to go out into the crowd and watch it. That way we get to see it in the flesh. This is the first show Hope's been to; she's not really been watching it that long. She started watching it about a month before our date last year."
Chris nodded. "That's fine." He said. "I'm in the main event tonight against Batista. After the match, you and Hope can just come back here to either this dressing room, or the rec room, or catering. I'll need to take a shower after my match." Chris said.
"Alright." Tara said. "Hope will definitely want to come back to talk to John." She admitted with a grin. "I'm gonna go get Hope and we're going to go get to our seats, the show is going to start in about fifteen minutes." Tara said, glancing at her watch.
"Where are you two at? Maybe I'll see you during my match." Chris said.
"We are in the fifth row of floor seats closest to the ramp on the right." Tara replied. Chris nodded.
"Have fun," He said, standing up.
"Oh, trust me, we will." Tara stood up beside the taller man. "Good luck!" She added, giving him a quick hug before walking out of the locker room.
"Hope, come on, let's get out to our seats." The brunette said as she walked back into the rec room. Hope looked up at her friend from her seat next to John.
"Okay." She said. "I'll see you after the show, John." Hope told him with a smile.
"Alright." John replied. "Have fun, chica."
Hope grinned at him before turning and following Tara out of the room. They walked outside and around to the front, where a large crowd had formed. The girls pushed their way through the crowd and walked into the arena. They showed a man at the entrance their tickets, then went and found their seats. Just as they sat down, music boomed through the arena and pyros went off, whistling in every direction. Tara found herself anxiously awaiting Chris's match all throughout the rest of the show. A while later, she checked her watch and smiled. Chris's match would probably start after Kane's ended. She waited patiently until the end of the match, and finally, Chris's music hit. Tara stood up and cheered as he came down the ramp. Batista entered shortly after, and the match began. Tara was on the edge of her seat for almost the entire match, cheering for Chris when he got a good move in, booing at Batista when he hit Chris. She saw Chris shoot her a glance after he hit three German suplexes on Batista. He half smiled at her before locking Batista in the Crippler Crossface. It wasn't long after that until Batista began slapping the mat, not able to handle the pressure on his back. She cheered along with the rest of the crowd as Chris stood victoriously in the middle of the ring. Tara smiled, her gaze focused only on him, until she heard Hope gasp and grab her arm. Tara turned her head just in time to see Randy Orton sprinting down the ramp, a metal folding chair in his hands. He quickly slid into the ring. Just as Chris turned around, Randy swung the chair, nailing Chris in the side of the head. Chris fell to the mat as Randy dropped the chair and helped Batista to his feet and up the ramp. When they were about halfway down the ramp, two medics came out and helped Chris backstage. As they were walking up the ramp, Tara noticed a bleeding gash on his forehead. She hopped up and grabbed Hope's arm, dragging her out of the arena and around the back. They flashed their passes again before walking into the backstage area.
"You can go ahead and look for John," Tara said, turning towards Hope. "I'm gonna go check on Chris." Hope nodded and Tara turned, walking towards Chris's dressing room. The door was closed, so she reached up and knocked.
"Come in," She heard Chris's voice say. She opened the door and walked in, closing the door behind her.
"Hey." He said, offering her a small smile. She returned it and walked over to him. He was sitting on the same bench they were earlier, still in his tights with a towel pressed to his forehead.
"That was a great match." She told him. He looked up at her.
"Thanks," He said, moving over a little so that she could sit beside him. She took the seat and reached up, pulling the towel away from his forehead. There was a gash just above his eyebrow that was freely bleeding. She ran her thumb softly just underneath it, making him wince.
"Oh, I'm so sorry..." She started, jerking her hand away.
"It's alright, really." Chris said. Tara stood up.
"Chris, you need to go to the trainer." She said. "That's a pretty bad cut." He nodded and stood up. He took her hand in his and led her to the trainer's room. The trainer said that he needed a few stitches, and Chris ended up leaving with three. The trainer also told him to take an Advil to get rid of the headache.
"See, all better." Tara said, smiling at him. He returned the smile as they walked back to Chris's locker room.
"I'm going to take a shower." He said. "You're welcome to stay here and wait on me, or go find Hope or anything. Or you can join me." He added the last part as a joke, winking at her. She grinned and rolled her eyes.
"I'll wait in here on you." She laughed. Chris smiled at her before grabbing his clothes and walking into the showers. Tara sat back with her eyes closed as she heard the spray of the water turn on. Chris came back into the main part of the locker room about fifteen minutes later, dressed in a pair of jeans and a short sleeved white button-down shirt that was unbuttoned. He ran a hand through his damp hair and smiled as he looked at Tara, who was still leaning back against the bench with her eyes closed, her knees tucked up to her chest. She cracked a green eye open and looked at Chris with a smile.
"Am I that interesting to watch?" She giggled.
Chris grinned. "I thought you were asleep."
"Nah," She replied. "Just relaxing." Chris nodded and threw his tights, wrestling boots, and pads into his bag.
"Ready to go?" He asked. She nodded and stood up, stretching. Chris swung his bag over his shoulder and opened the door, letting Tara out in front of him. She smiled as he flipped the lights off and closed the door behind them. The hallways were mostly devoid of wrestlers now; the only wanderers were members of the crew. The rec room was almost empty too, other than Hope and John.
"Hey Hopey, ready to get back to the hotel? I figured we could all go to the hotel bar and grab a couple of drinks before turning in." Tara said. Hope nodded.
"Sounds good to me. How about you two?" She asked.
"I'm game." John said, slipping his arm around Hope's waist.
"Me too." Chris said. Tara smiled at the three.
"Alright. So, I guess Hope and I will go in my car." Tara said.
"Actually, John asked me to ride with him. Is that okay?" Hope said.
"Fine with me. Chris, you wanna ride with me?" Tara asked.
"Sure." He said.
"Alright," Tara said. "Let's go!" She took Chris's hand and led him out of the arena over to her car. She got in the drivers side and cranked the car, immediately greeted with Forceable Entry. It was currently on the Hardy Boyz theme. Chris climbed into the passenger seat and Tara pulled the car out of the arena.
"Okay, what hotel are we at?" She asked.
"The Caribe Royale Resort." Chris told her. She nodded, recognizing the name of the hotel. They arrived there about twenty minutes later, with John and Hope behind them. All four of them walked into the hotel, and Hope and Tara went to the bar to wait on John and Chris when they went up to their rooms to drop their bags off. They met the girls downstairs about five minutes later.
"What'll it be?" Said a middle-aged woman, walking over to them. She had a cigarette hanging off of her bottom lip, way too much blue eye shadow on, and frizzy blonde hair piled atop her head.
"We'll take a couple of shot glasses and some tequila." Hope told her. The woman nodded.
"I'll have a beer." John said.
"Make that two." Chris said, and the woman nodded. She returned to the table a few minutes later, holding a tray containing a bottle of tequila, two shot glasses, and two bottles of beer. She sat them down before walking off. Tara grinned before pouring both her and Hope a glass full of tequila a piece.
"Bottoms up," Hope said, holding up the small shot glass. Tara clinked hers against Hope's and they each downed them in one gulp. Tara glanced at Chris, who grinned at her as he took a sip of his beer. Hope refilled the glasses and they each drank another shot.
After almost an hour in the bar, John was the only one that wasn't remotely on the tipsy side. Chris had soon joined Tara and Hope with their shots of tequila, and between the three of them, the bottle was already halfway gone.
"Okay, I need another one." Tara said to Hope, giggling. Hope also giggled and attempted to pour more tequila into Tara's shot glass, but missed and splashed some onto the table. John reached over and took the bottle from her with a smile.
"Tara, I'm gonna take Hope up to my hotel room." Tara shot him a look. "Whoa, we're not going to do anything." He laughed. "She's drunk. I'm gonna take her up there so she can sleep it off and not end up hurting herself going upstairs."
"Alrighty!" Tara said. "Bye bye John, take care of my best friend okay? Cause she's my best friend." She giggled. John grinned and rolled his eyes; Tara was obviously drunk too. He then stood up and helped Hope up, wrapping his arm around her waist. She clumsily began to walk with his help, and they disappeared out of the bar.
"Here ya go!" Tara said as she poured both her and Chris another shot glass of tequila. They drank them quickly.
"Man, I love tequila." Tara giggled.
"Yeah, me too." Chris said, grinning. The waitress came over to them and took the tequila bottle away, and they both ordered a jack and coke. They had those finished off soon after they arrived.
"Come on," Chris said, taking Tara's hand in his softly. His words were slurred. "Let's go upstairs." Tara nodded and stumbled, following Chris upstairs.
*****
Sunlight flooding through the window awoke Tara the next morning.
"Ow..." She muttered, pulling her pillow over her head. 'This is one bitch of a hangover.' She thought and began to get up. The covers fell to her waist and she glanced down...noticing that she was nude, from the waist up at least. She peeked over the side of the bed and saw the clothes she had worn the night before were in a pile beside it. She sucked in a sharp breath and looked to her right.
"Oh shit." She said as she saw Chris laying there, still asleep. He was laying on his stomach, his bare back visible from his position. She groaned and flung herself back onto the bed, pulling the covers over her head.
"What have I done?" She asked herself quietly.
*****