DISCLAIMER: I do not own Stephanie McMahon, Chris Jericho, or other wrestlers that appear in the following story. They are the property of the actors and actresses that portray them, as well as the WWE.
SPOILERS: Mention of events from 10-04-04 Raw.
Flowers Can't Keep Secrets
CHAPTER ELEVEN
There was a time when a ban on entering the arena was a horrific event for a wrestler. Not only would he not be able to earn a paycheck that evening, he risked losing the momentum of his feud and even the favor of his fans (if applicable; heels couldn't give less of a damn about the fans).
Somewhere along the line, however, the idea of an arena ban became less of a threat and more of a challenge to the banned. And when the warden of the show was Eric Bischoff (an incompetent fool, according to a certain McMahon), the challenge became nonexistent.
Thus, it was easy for Randy Orton to sneak into the arena that night, telling the naïve security guards that he was on their list, under the name Shelton Benjamin. Since the pair hadn't watched wrestling since the days of the Million Dollar Man, they crossed off Shelton's name and wished him a good evening.
With the security issue out of the way, Randy's only problem became that of where to hide until he could get his hands on Old Man Flair. Unfortunately, he was a man of few allies and fewer friends, which left him with only one torturous choice…
"Am I hotter than Stacy Keibler?"
"Of course babe; hot girls are smart, and that girl can't support a brain on those chicken legs of hers."
"Stop calling me that!" She thumped his chest with her fist before cuddling closer to him from her perch on his lap. "Am I hotter than Victoria?"
"No contest! Former crazy bitches aren't hot."
"Am I hotter than…"
"For the love of God!" Randy cried out, interrupting Stephanie's interrogation. "Steph, let me sum up all of his answers: yes, you are hotter than Stacy, Victoria, Trish, Molly, Lita, Gail, Nidia, Ivory, Lilian, any of the Diva contestants, and all of the female population backstage at Raw."
Stephanie's forehead wrinkled. "What about the girls on Smackdown?"
It was around this time that Randy wanted to die; instead he settled for resting his head in his hands and reminding himself that there was, indeed, a light at the end of this terrible tunnel.
Chris, thankfully, had had enough with the twenty questions as well. "Why do you keep harping on this, Steph? You know you're hot shit."
"Oh, I know. I was just making sure that YOU knew it too," Stephanie coyly responded with a wink. She then proceeded to lean down and lick his lower lip, causing Randy to gag on his own tongue.
Chris shot a lecherous grin at their uncomfortable guest. "Randalf, you might want to cover your eyes," he warned before engaging in a heated lip-lock with his girlfriend (yes, the couple had officially figured out their status this past Saturday, when Stephanie came to visit Chris at his apartment. The scene apparently went something like this:
Chris: Are you really going to wear that to dinner?
Steph: (adjusting her cleavage) What's wrong with it?
Chris: No girlfriend of mine is going to dinner looking like a skank!
Steph: Since when am I your girlfriend?
Chris: Since NOW.
Chris's neighbors, who heard every word through the paper-thin walls, insist that was a rather heartwarming scene. They had no immediate comment on the bed-warming that took place afterwards).
Randy kept his eyes trained on the floor, grimacing after every smack, slurp, and moan; if he heard a zipper, he was outta there, ban or no ban.
Luckily for the young man, his second break of the evening came in the form of someone knocking on Chris's dressing room door. Randy darted into the bathroom, while Stephanie moved off of Chris's lap to sit beside him demurely (an effect completely ruined by her smudged lipstick).
"Come in!" Chris bellowed, angry that someone had ruined the moment with his lovely girlfriend.
Shelton stormed in, followed closely by Nidia. "Where the hell is he?" he demanded loudly, his head swinging from side to side as he scanned the room.
Chris couldn't help but wonder when his locker room became the rookie haven. Eh, it's not like I have a rep to protect anymore anyways. "I'm right here, dimwit."
Relieved that he hadn't been busted, Randy exited the bathroom, only to be shoved against the wall seconds later. "Hey!"
"What the hell?" Stephanie questioned loudly. Actually, she really didn't care if Shelton threw a punch at Randy, but rather wanted to know WHY this had to be going on in Chris's locker room. There was a time and place for fisticuffs, and while the time was now the place was definitely the hallway.
"Don't mind me, just gonna punch Shelton here in the face," Shelton snarled, pulling back his fist and aiming for the pretty boy's nose.
Nidia (who was quite attached to the appendage in danger) grabbed Shelton's hand and held him back. "Shelton, don't!"
Stephanie and Chris exchanged a similar confused/annoyed look. Part of them wanted to ignore it all and go back to making out; the other half was curious as to this new drama. It was the newest, hottest soap opera, 'Days of Our Rookies', and they were powerless to turn it off. "Why is Shelton calling Randy Shelton?" Chris asked slowly, nearly confusing himself further by his own statement.
"Randy snuck in under Shelton's name, so the guards wouldn't let him Shelton in," Nidia said over her shoulder before her attention snapped forward. "Shelton, stop this right now!" she demanded, squeezing his hand.
Shelton acquiesced; as he feared that he would someone end up hurting her accidentally. His anger, however, did not diminish in the least. "I'd think twice before checking in as me again," he hissed, cracking his knuckles for effect.
Randy was unfazed. "That's odd, I thought I checked in under Giant Douchebag… do you wrestle under a different name?"
His last nerve snapped, and with the sudden desire to feel his bones cracking under his hands, he lunged at the other man. Nidia jumped in between the two men at the last second, and was smashed between their two chests. "That is enough!" she shrieked, causing even Stephanie (who was used to high-pitched screams) to wince.
Shelton thought for sure that she'd yell at Randy for provoking him. But no; after giving her crush an apologetic look, she turned her fury towards him. "This is crazy!" she yelled, pushing his chest and causing him to stumble backwards. "I can't believe that I have to yell at you, of all people, for acting like an idiot! Usually I have to save it for them!"
Stephanie and Chris scowled under her pointed finger, but remained quiet. It was a delicate time, as it appeared that Shelton was going to blow a gasket, and they didn't want to miss a second of it.
The heat of her anger made his evaporate quickly. "You just don't get it, do you?" he said, more to himself than to her.
"Get what?" Nidia asked, her voice softening a bit. She'd never seen Shelton look so lost…
The pair on the couch leaned closer with bated breath. Was Shelton finally going to tell her how he felt? What was she going to do, with Randy standing not a foot behind her? Was there any way of them getting some popcorn in here?
Shelton couldn't breathe, not when she had him pinned under those soft brown eyes. His resolve was slipping, and yet he saw his opportunity to do what he had to do. "The only reason you're attracted to him is because he's a bigger whore than you are."
Those on the couch gasped.
Randy's mouth dropped open.
Shelton's cheek met Nidia's hand. The soft look in her eyes hardened into glistening stones. "You bastard!"
He wanted to vomit, but the knife was already in her back. He had to finish the job. "Slapping me won't change the facts, Nidia. You're always chasing after the guy you can't have, but end up settling for white trash." The venom was dripping off of his tongue, and he was powerless to control it. "When you're done playing Cinderella, I'm sure Jamie will let you move back into the double wide."
Nidia slapped him harder this time, and he welcomed the warm sting. "I hate you," she hissed, barely keeping her tears at bay.
On the couch, Stephanie shuddered and scooted closer to Chris, who wrapped his arm around her shoulders. The cold, malicious look in Shelton's eyes reminded her way too much of her ex-husband.
Holding his reddened cheek, he gathered up his remaining energy and pasted on a smirk. "The guys on Smackdown were right, you are a punta." His victory ensured by the tears that now wet her cheeks, Shelton exited the locker room, but not before sending a look in Randy's direction.
Well, that went well.
Shelton aimlessly walked the backstage hallways as he mind replayed the previous events. Sadly enough, he was almost PROUD of the fact that he had kept his emotions at bay (if he didn't feel like the biggest ass that ever walked the planet).
He tried to remind himself that this was for her own good; that while they were friends she was only a target. Randy, despite his being the world's biggest doofus, would be quite capable of protecting her. Plus, she would unwittingly distract Randy from getting revenge against his former teammates, allowing Shelton to move forward with his attacks on Hunter.
The young man sighed as he turned a corner, remembering the way her brown eyes shot daggers at him, even through all those tears. He didn't dare hope that she'd forgive him, but perhaps understand where he came from, why he had to do it. For whether Triple H liked it or not, Shelton wasn't going to do his dirty work anymore. And if it meant betraying Chris, berating Stephanie or even hurting Nidia again, then so be it.
Maybe he was a stupid rookie, but at least he was a stupid rookie who stuck out his neck for his friends.
"So are you guys dating or what?" Chris suddenly asked, earning a slap from Stephanie for being an insensitive cad. "What? If they're dating, that could explain a lot," he said, stressing the last few words and giving his girlfriend a pointed look.
"Don't listen to him," Stephanie cut in quickly, holding back a laugh at Randy's reddened cheeks. Seeing the other woman's still shaking a bit, she frowned and stood from her seat. "You know that everything that Shelton said was completely untrue, right Nidia?"
Nidia sniffled. "Yea. Still doesn't make it hurt any less though."
"If I've said it once I'll say it a thousand times, that boy is an idiot." Stephanie laid a hand on Nidia's shoulder and squeezed. She would know an idiot too; she was dating the biggest one she'd ever met.
"He HAS been acting strange for awhile now," Chris added with a yawn.
Although he sounded less than concerned, the opposite couldn't be more than true. Chris was terribly worried about his best friend; he had been the sole witness to a number of those crazy outbursts before, but usually the only victim was a wall. Now, after this incident, he wondered about the severity of Shelton's issues.
"You know, I think it has something to do with Evolution," Nidia offered quietly. "When he drove me here last week, he made me stay in the car until he checked the parking lot for them. I didn't think it was a big deal then, but now…"
Something clicked inside Chris. Who always makes me moody and act irrationally? "Nads, you're right! It has to be Hunter," the blond man exclaimed, jumping up from his seat. "I bet he's harassing Benji to no end, that conceited chump!"
Stephanie scratched her head. "It would explain Shelton's antics last week, but that doesn't explain tonight very well."
"Well then, it looks like I'll have to investigate a bit," Chris responded. He knew that Hunter would probably open the show with one of his boring monologues; if he could goad the champ into a match later on, perhaps he could get some answers. After all, he was busy worrying about himself and Stephanie; worrying about his best friend would probably have some adverse effects.
Randy kept pretty quiet throughout the exchange. Shelton had sent him that warning look for a reason; it was clear that he was to remain quiet about what he knew. Even though his companions had figured out the cause, the extent of Shelton's problems was still a mystery. But frankly, Randy didn't care; if Shelton's idea of 'handling it' was to degrade Nidia, then he deserved every bit of Hunter's punishment.
END CHAPTER ELEVEN
Author's notes: Hey y'all; just wanted to thank you for the reviews last chapter. I've cooked something great up for the next few chapters, I hope you will stick around and try to enjoy it. Leave a review if you'd like; let me know what you think. Thanks, and until next week, take care! :)