DISCLAIMER: I do not own Shelton Benjamin, Nidia, 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: None. Thanks a lot Raw writers, for making me try and think of chapter filler :)
DEDICATION: To Nina, because only she could have her epic work "Hugs and Kisses" deleted TWICE and still not boycott this fanfiction site. This fic is no HaK, but I hope it'll have a quarter of the entertainment value that HaK provides :D
Flowers Can't Keep Secrets
CHAPTER TWELVE
It is amazing what measures people will take in order to avoid someone. They might take the back way, hide out in an office, or even call in sick, just to miss that awkward meeting or forced conversation.
Shelton was doing just that; sneaking around corners and hiding out in the parking lot to ensure that he wouldn't see a certain brunette. He would lock himself in his dressing room, but there were two major problems with that: 1. he didn't have one tonight, and 2. he needed to talk to Chris about the IC match.
It seemed, however, that his stealth skills could use some honing.
Having successfully stalked him to the production truck, Nidia strutted towards the oblivious young man, her anger rising with every click of her hells. "Shelton!" she said curtly.
Shelton's head whipped around at her voice, hoping he was just hearing things. Unfortunately, hallucinations don't have fiery brown eyes. "Uh, hi?"
"We have to talk." She paused, shook her head at her words. "On second thought, I think I'll do all the talkin'."
Forcing his hands in his pockets, the young man steeled his spine and prepared himself for the onslaught. He knew that he deserved every insult she flung his way, but it didn't make him feel any less nervous.
The brunette was a bit surprised by his compliance (having fully expected to chase him around for another half-hour until she trap him), but she didn't let it distract her. "Ya know, I hated Smackdown a whole bunch after Heyman took over and Jamie became a creep, so I was more than happy to be drafted to Raw. I thought it would be a fresh beginnin', but I never expected for my first friend on Raw would be from Smackdown too."
Shelton swallowed hard, keeping his eyes focused on the truck behind her. This recap was worse than insults, and harder to brush off to boot.
"I still remember sitting in the cafeteria and feeling lonely when you strolled up with that piece of cake. You made me eat every damn bite of it too," she mused, a smile threatening to bend her lips. "Then you go and tell me that you know about the flowers, an' that you needed me to reveal myself to Chris before he had an aneurysm." She shook her head. "Ya were right about that, he was a big mess."
Shelton could picture that day so clearly. He had all intentions of bitching her out that day, but stopped short at the sad look on her face. So he got her that cake, under the guise that they were both newbies to Raw and 'should stick together'. It was that day that he noticed how cute she really was…
She had started talking again; Shelton shook off his thoughts and tried to pay attention. "… We were o.k. friends after that, you, me, and Chris, but I think we got closer after you protected me from Trish and Tomko that one time. I can still see you smashing that chair into Tomko's head and telling Trish to crawl back in the gutter." Tears stung at her eyes; he had been her knight in shining armor. "Of course, I couldn't tell him the real truth of why Trish was attacking me; that's probably a sign right there."
"You know why I asked you to lie. Chris would have self-destructed if he had found out the real reason why you started sending those flowers," Shelton interjected, ignoring her glare. He knew that he was supposed to keep quiet and be a good boy scout, but this was just silly.
Nidia waved her pointer finger in his face. "Shut up! I'm talking. And it doesn't matter why I did it anyway; the feelings were still there, at least in the beginning." Still angry about his outburst, she allowed her temper to emerge. "I'm sure you're tired of the sentimental bullshit, so let's cut to the chase. You've always protected me; you made a point of doing it week after week after week. I even started trusting you, and hell; that doesn't happen with me and guys often." She swiped away some tears and kept her voice steady. "That's why I don't believe a word you said last week."
Shelton blinked; did he miss something? Was she hard of hearing? Hell, the things he said to her were still rattling around in his brain.
She paid no attention to his surprise. "I spent all week trying to figure out why, and then I realized that you had moved on."
"Moved… on?"
"You are protecting someone else now. And whoever this person is, Evolution is after them. That's why you've been so paranoid about them jumping you as of late."
He must be in some twisted dream, for usually dream Nidia would just jump his bones instead of deducing his plans. Shelton wanted to pinch the girl in front of him (just to make sure), but did not wish for an answering slap.
She was talking again, poking his chest for effect. "… big girl, and I can handle them. All you ended up doing was ruining our friendship. So I hope you're happy, and I hope Hunter and Evolution doesn't kill you, but I won't say that I won't enjoy watching your ass get beat a few more times." With nothing left to say, and the awkward feeling crawling up her spine, she turned to leave.
"Wait," he said, grabbing her wrist. She turned back, her cold stare making him shudder. "Please…. be careful."
She sniffed. "The only person that would attack me is you, Shelton. But I doubt you'd do that twice in two weeks, right?" Not waiting for an answer, she tore out of his grip and stalked away, his hurtful words drowning away in a feeling of contentedness.
Shelton stared after her, his hand still outstretched. He was ready for her hurt, her anger, and curse words, and what he got was her nearly correct deduction of the situation, followed by one smart remark.
It sure didn't sound hatred, that was for sure.
His heart pounded at the thought of him still having a chance.
Meanwhile, as 'Days of our Rookies' played out in the parking garage, Chris was hanging out with the remaining available rookie.
"I'm booooooooooooooored," the blond whined. Stephanie was working somewhere else in the arena, Shelton and Nidia (a constant source of entertainment, whether they knew it or not) were missing, and his companion didn't share his love for heavy metal.
In the world of Chris Jericho, this situation was about as fun as geometry class.
"Try pulling your lip over your head and swallowing," Randy sniped, mentally reminding himself that he really, really, REALLY needed some new friends.
Chris raised an eyebrow in the other man's direction. "What crawled up your ass and died?"
"Ric Flair," Randy scowled.
"Well that doesn't count; Flair's been dead for years," Chris deadpanned. When he didn't get an eye roll, Chris sighed and went into 'friend mode'. "Why is Flair bugging you so much?"
"I just don't get it," the ex-champ said with a sigh. "When I was in Evolution, Ric thought up 'the Legend Killer', built me up as 'the Legend Killer', and even had me believe that I was 'the Legend Killer'. So why is he taking it all back now? Why is he doing this?"
"Because he's senile?"
That got an eye roll, much to Chris's delight. "You are a terrible friend, dude," Randy remarked.
Chris shrugged; getting bored with the conversation, he decided to switch to something infinitely more interesting. "So, have you and Nads sealed the deal yet?"
"Excuse me?" Randy coughed, but the red cheeks were a dead giveaway to his attraction. "I haven't even asked her out."
"So you're just screwing then?"
Randy chucked a water bottle at the other man. "No, we're not just screwing. We're just friends for the moment."
"Friends… who make out?" Chris wouldn't let this one die.
"Occasionally," Randy admitted, throwing his friend a bone and deciding to turn the tables. "Steph still calling you out at home?"
The elation on Chris's face was quickly replaced by a scowl. "Yes," he seethed, trying to forget the oodles and oodles of sexual frustration in the back of his mind. "What is it with women and wanting it to be special? It's not like it's her first time!"
Randy snorted. "Far from it."
That got a deadly glare from Chris. "Watch it, Randalf. Don't be cracking jokes about my lovely girlfriend's past," he warned, emphasizing 'girlfriend'.
His friend snickered. "You're SO whipped."
Chris grimaced. "I'm not whipped! I'd stop being so jealous of me; you could have the Nadster bossing you around in the sack too!"
Randy, remembering a juicy piece of gossip, decided to ignore that last baiting comment. "Hey, do you know who I hear is actually whipped? Edge!"
That got Chris's attention. "The Crisco King has a queen? Since when? And who?"
"No one knows who she is, but I guess he spends all his time talking cutesy to her on the phone." Randy frowned. "And that whipped loser gets a shot at my title."
Chris laughed. "You think he's going to win that popularity contest? That's like voting the acne-ridden geek as Prom King! It's inconceivable!"
The image of a pimply-faced Edge wearing a tiara floated through Randy's mind, causing him to bust out laughing. "You're probably right. I'd expect you to be sympathetic though, since you never grew out of that acne-ridden geek phase."
"You're so dead, kid," Chris said as he launched himself at his friend, the pair engaging in a friendly bout of man-tussling.
At the door, two women indulged themselves at the appealing sight.
"You know, this would be better if they were wearing Chippendale attire," Stephanie whispered to Nidia.
The other woman nodded her assent. "And if they were fighting over us or something."
"Oooh! Good one!" Stephanie sighed wistfully. "I wish I had a camera."
"Good idea!" Quietly opening her purse, Nidia pulled out her cellular phone, which had all the newest accessories: music videos, text messaging, cheese grater, and of course, a camera. Flipping the device open, she aimed the lens at the two tussling men. "Say cheese!" she shouted.
Chris looked up in time to see the camera go off; Randy, whose head was locked at Chris's side, was spared of the resulting 'deer in headlights' look.
The resulting picture would end up as Nidia's phone screensaver, the wallpaper n Stephanie's computer, and, somehow, a 11" X 14" photo on Rob Conway's refrigerator (with the caption: Double Delite."
As the girls laughed, Chris and Randy disengaged and leapt to their feet. An all-out tickle war was declared seconds later, with shrieks and screams of laughter that had heads turning throughout the entire backstage.
Stuffing his hands back in his pockets, Shelton quickly walked away from the doorway, lest he be seen by anyone inside. Part of him ached to be in there, to be acting like a child and not caring about Hunter or Evolution or even his feelings for Nidia.
But that was the problem with caring: once one starts, it is nearly impossible to stop.
END CHAPTER TWELVE
Author's notes: Hey guys! Sorry this chappy is a bit short, but Raw didn't give me ANYTHING to work with (how many times do I have to watch Chris get his ass beat by Batista? I heart Dave, I really do, but good lord it's getting old!). I like to think of this chapter as a teaser for next week… think of it like soap opera teasers. Who is Edge's mysterious girlfriend? Will Randy and Nidia become official? Will Chris ever go all the way with Stephanie? What about Shelton? If I were you, I'd tune in next week; it's going to be a fun one :P Until later days, take care all :)