Halo Over the Devil's Head
Chapter 7
Crack. Crack.
Stephanie McMahon methodically cracked her knuckles as she thought, waiting for Eric Bischoff to appear on the monitor in the back, most likely to rant about how great he was, and how he had 'humiliated' her and how easily she'd fallen for his trap. She desperately she wanted to go out there, and knee him in the balls, company etiquette or not. "This sucks," she stated to the empty dressing room she was in. It was the women's locker room, but none of the Divas really hung out there once they arrived, which left it all to Stephanie, and she wasn't really complaining about it. 'So, yeah, I finally admitted that I love Chris Jericho,' she said to herself, 'and great. Just flippin' great. Where has that gotten me?' she sardonically asked. Stephanie sighed heavily and plodded through her thoughts in the silence that surrounded her.
"And here I thought Stephanie McMahon never gave up," the voice behind her sent Stephanie flying to her feet. She whirled around, clutching her heart as she did so.
"Victoria?" Stephanie whispered, surprised. She'd never worked with the other woman, but she knew that the other Diva was a great wrestler, and she came off as a nice person in general. Still, having known the business for far too long, Stephanie withheld her final opinion.
Victoria nodded slightly, looking at Stephanie with a mixture of respect and determination. She sat down on one of the benches across from the former GM. Stephanie was wearing a silky purple and pink floral shirt and a black mini-skirt, a far cry from the business suits it seemed were always on her a few months ago. Victoria smirked a little, knowing that some things about her hadn't changed, and the most obvious one had everything to do with Chris Jericho. "Hi, Stephanie."
"Hi," Stephanie said, slightly confused, "What are you doing here?"
"Um, Stephanie, it's the women's locker room."
"Oh... Oh, yeah," she responded, smiling sheepishly.
Victoria smiled, "But I did come to talk to you," she told the brunette. At Stephanie's curious look, she went on. "About Chris Jericho."
Stephanie sighed. "Why do you want to talk about him?"
"Because it's obvious that you still love him," Victoria replied bluntly. Stephanie's eyes widened in surprise. She had been expected a range of other things: 'Chris isn't the right guy for you', 'Trish is getting married to him', heck, Stephanie had even been prepared for an 'I have a crush on him' comment.
"Where did you get that idea?" Stephanie asked idly.
"Oh, come on. I saw you two in the hallway the other week, and its really obvious, or at least to me."
"Well, I guess your love radars are off, because I'm not going after Chris Jericho," she replied abruptly, and turned.
"And yet you don't deny that you like him." Stephanie froze in her spot, knowing and hating that she had hit the bulls-eye. Victoria let the silence hang for a moment. "You know what I think?"
"What?"
"I think you're giving up. I think you're quitting," she stated.
Stephanie turned slowly. No way was anyone going to go around calling her a quitter, good intentions or not! "What do you mean?" she said.
"I think," Victoria tossed her chin up in the air. "That you're quitting your pursuit of Chris Jericho because of Trish Stratus."
Stephanie sighed once more. She was tired of arguing with people; herself, Victoria... "So what if I am?" she replied. "They're engaged, for Christ's sake!" It surprised her to no end to see Victoria smile in return as she grabbed her duffel bag and headed for the door.
"And since when has Stephanie McMahon let a petty thing like that get in her way?" Victoria asked, glancing back at her. Before she could answer, however, Victoria had slipped through the door. Stephanie stared numbly at the door before Victoria's words began to sink in.
'She has a point... When have I ever let something like this get in my way? I've always gotten what I want, one way or another. So why should I let Chris's engagement to Trish affect me? I meant what I said about her...she's a whore, a slut, a bitch, and she isn't good enough for him!' Stephanie frowned slightly. 'I love Chris Jericho... And I'm going to get him. Trish Stratus is not going to keep my man.'
A smile suddenly appeared on Stephanie's face, and the wheels began to turn in her mind. Oh, yes... Maybe she couldn't force Chris Jericho back in love with her, but one thing was certain: if she couldn't have him, Trish Stratus definitely couldn't.
Stephanie would see to that tonight.
And boy, was Chris Jericho in for a surprise.
Author's Note: Hey guys! I tried to make this chapter a little longer, but it didn't quite work out that way, lol. I'm going to try and make the other ones longer as I go... Sorry again! But thanks to