Chapter 11: At Her Mercy is No Mercy at All
Riley woke up hours later to see the sun setting and the snow lightly falling on the ground. She yawned and got up. As she passed the mirror, she noticed that her hair was a mess.
'I'll ask Rachel if I can borrow a brush.' Riley walked down the hall where Rachel was sleeping. Strangely she wasn't there. She started to enter the room but stopped as she remembered the 101 fights they had gotten into over borrowed clothes, makeup, and shoes. Not worth it. She was only in town for less than 24 hours and she didn't need another headache.
Riley searched the entire upstairs but no Rachel.
'Thought she'd be stalking close by, guess not.'
She walked down the stairs and noticed that the floor was becoming darker and dimmer due to the protruding sunlight that had lit it hours before through the glass windows. She jumped as something tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around to find Jeff.
"Hey Ry, have you seen Matt cause I told him to get you so we could go to the arena."
"Actually I just woke up and I'm looking for Rachel. Seen her?" Riley asked walking into the living room. Suddenly she put two and two together.
"Come on," she said walking through the living room and to the sun deck. Jeff followed close behind.
When they got to the sun deck they found who they were looking for doing something they didn't expect
Riley and Jeff couldn't contain their shock. Matt and Rachel were stuck in a full-blown make-out session not even aware that the pair had stumbled into the room. Jeff tilted his head like a very confused puppy while Riley just stood there with her mouth open and an expression that showed her shock.
'We have now entered the TWILIGHT ZONE' she thought as Jeff elbowed her.
"Gee Ry, do you think they come up for AIR like normal mammals?"
"I don't know Jeff, they are sure giving the whales a run for their money" Riley replied and they both laughed at the expression on Matt and Rachel's faces as they realized there was someone else in the room.
Matt was speechless while Rachel managed a grin of sorts. "Hi?"
"Sorry to interrupt your make out fest but we're heading over to the arena like we planned MATT," Jeff said taking AJ's car keys out of his pocket.
"Not so fast," Riley snatched the keys out of Jeff's hand. "YOU are not driving my brother's truck. I haven't forgotten about the way you drove my car. Rachel can I borrow your brush?"
Rachel was confused. "Uh, THAT'S all? Sure."
"Thanks and you're welcome to come with. I'm sure MATT would love to have you along."
"Thanks." By this time Matt was blushing and Rachel had a reddish color to her usually pale cheeks.
Riley and Jeff just laughed. This didn't last long since they kept tackling each other for the keys.
The four pulled into the arena-parking garage with Rachel at the wheel. Jeff and Riley were in the backseat pouting like children.
"Come on kids. Do you need help getting out of your car seats?" Matt teased as he got out. Riley just rolled her eyes.
"You guys, it's Saturday, why are they tapping on a Saturday?" Riley asked walking next to Rachel.
"Because we're going to be touring Australia and Japan for a week so they're tapping Smackdown! and Velocity on the same day."
"Oh. You guys I'm going to find the soda machine. Take care of Rachel; and Matt, I doubt she'll need CPR any time soon."
"Funny RyLynn," Matt scoffed as he blushed a little.
"Don't you know it," Riley set off down another hall looking for the soda machine.
Riley found the vending machines with little if no problem. The problem was finding the guys again. Knowing them they were running around in the locker rooms. Now if she only knew where they were.
"Most likely in Shane's dressing room. Now to find Shane," Riley said out loud as she rounded the corner down another endless corridor.
"Lost again I see," a female voice called out to her causing her to turn around. That voice belonged to none other than Stephanie McMahon.
Riley smiled and walked toward Stephanie. "I'm not very good with directions or lack there of."
"Well, I gave Matt and Jeff a couple of nights off. Why are you here?"
"Visiting family. We figured we'd catch a show before out flight to Phoenix tomorrow."
"Yeah, I heard about your internship, congratulations. Do you want me to take you to the locker room?"
"Nah, I think I'll let them find me," Riley said enjoying the prospect of torturing Jeff a little for taking the keys.
"We'll go back to my office and chat a little," Stephanie said.
"Sure." The pair turned another corner and entered Stephanie's office.
"You do know there's no real interview right?" Stephanie told Riley as they both sat down in front of the monitor.
"There isn't?" Riley asked a little intrigued by the sudden news.
"It's an internship for the months that you're here. We've read all of your choice work and just from talking to you and to Jeff you seem like you'd fit in great here. That's why I had asked you if you had any background in wrestling a few days ago. You won't be working on the project alone. It's very big but you'll have... "
There was a loud pounding at the door and both girls jumped. "Well, at least people know to knock and not barge in." Just then Chris Jericho burst into the room. "Then again, I spoke to soon."
"Sorry to interrupt Stephanie but I need to talk to you."
"Talk to me about what? I'm talking to Riley about joining the WWE."
Jericho turned to Riley, "congrats kid now leave the office, I have to talk to the boss." John Cena burst into the room.
"Steph, I have to talk to you," Cena said a little out of breath.
"Shut up Junior, I was here first!"
"And I was here before both of you," Riley couldn't resist, she felt she had to put her two cents in.
"Gentlemen, I'm sure you both need to talk to me but I think I'm late for a meeting. You can both do me a favor and show RyLynn around." She turned to Riley, "Sorry I have to torture you by sticking you with these two but I can ASSURE you we'll finish our conversation later. And I speak for everyone when I say welcome to the WWE. Right gentlemen?"
John and Chris just managed a grunt. Stephanie smirked and left the room. Riley smirked as well. "Well gentleman looks like you're at my mercy."
Chris and John looked at each other. "There is NO WAY I'm going to baby- sit a 15 year old kid," Chris loudly protested. Riley's mischievous smile faded and turned into a glare.
"F.Y.I. Undisputed world assclown, I'm an ADULT. I'm 19 and I'm much more mature than you act. I have half the mind to kick your..."
"As a matter-of-fact Chris you WILL be Riley's guide." Stephanie had walked back into the room because she had forgotten her briefcase. "Or I'll suspend you." She heard a laugh from Cena. "That applies to you too. Riley they're at your mercy...just try not to hurt my wrestlers too much."
"No problem. I'll be good." Riley said, the mischievous smile being place on her face once again. Stephanie closed the door.
"Something tells me we're going to have FUN!" Riley said hoping off of the couch.
"And something tells me she also has a death wish" Jericho said regretting barging in when he did. Cena just nodded.
Riley had dragged the two wrestlers all around backstage. For some reason they couldn't help but wonder whether she was on the biggest sugar high of a lifetime. She was bouncing around and just couldn't stop smiling. They knew they were headed for trouble. They were so bored for the last 30 minutes that they had eaten about a dozen Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and Riley had 3 Mountain Dews.
"Hmm, is there anywhere we HAVEN'T gone?" she thought for a minute. LOCKER ROOMS!"
"Thank god! We can dump her off on Hardy and then get ready for our matches."
"But you have to stay with me. Besides, I think I've found a way to have a little fun, which way to Shane's locker room?" Riley asked with a glint in her eyes.
Yep, trouble. Then again, trouble wasn't the word for it.
They had reached Shane a.k.a. Hurricane Helms' locker room and Riley pulled out a tube of yellow hair dye from her mini-backpack.
"May I ask WHAT you're doing with a tube of hair-dye?" Cena asked not liking the look in Riley's eyes.
"Not just ANY hair-dye, YELLOW hair-dye. Shane imitates the green lantern on-screen as the Hurricane correct?" Both Jericho and Cena nodded not sure where this was going. "Well, everyone knows that the Green Lantern is weakened by the power of the Yellow Lantern." They both tried and pretend they knew what she was talking about but their faces fell again into confusion.
"Okay, either I've been watching too many cartoons or you haven't been watching enough. My point IS that I'm going to replace his hair dye with yellow."
"Interesting," Chris said smiling, "I like you already." Cena rolled his eyes.
The locker room was basically deserted. Chris searched through everyone's bags and eventually found Shane's. He made it easy because he had his mask lying on top of it. However it took Chris some time before he found the tube of hair dye under his gear and costume. He took the tube to RyLynn who ran into the girls' locker room, poured out the green hair-dye in the sink and refilled the tube with her yellow.
'Shane's going to kill me,' she thought to herself as she screwed the top on and walked out of the locker room.
"You guys, why is it SO easy for us to pull this off and have NOONE to witness this?" The guys realized that she was right. All the locker rooms, which would be usually be buzzing with life was deserted.
"You're right. Hey John, you think we're missing something?" Chris asked finding that Riley had made a point.
"I do actually," John said feeling the same eerie feeling that they had in fact forgotten something important.
"Stephanie DID say something about a meeting," Riley said trying to fit the hair-dye back into Shane's bag.
"MEETING?" Both of the wrestlers had the same, 'I'm going to pee my pants or worse' look on their faces and darted out of the locker room leaving Riley behind.
"Guys! Wait up!" Riley yelled behind her two 'guides' for the evening.
Riley ran out of the locker room after Chris and John but never could seem to quite catch up. The only way she'd know they had JUST been there were the closing doors.
'For bulky wrestlers, damn they can run,' she thought to herself as she turned another corner. Unfortunately, Riley connected with a brick wall - or what FELT like a wall. Long story short she fell backwards and landed on her back. Riley moaned and tried to eliminate the birds flying around her head.
"Cena, if that's you, I swear..." she stopped as she saw the one and only, The Rock.
"The Rock says, you dare and compare him to that Jabroni Cena?"
Riley just sat on the ground and stared.
"The Rock says who in the blue hell are you?"
Riley finally regained her wit, and her footing. "RyLynn says why do you always have to talk in third person?"
"Well, The Rock talks about The Rock in third person because The Rock feels like it! Got a problem?" Riley was about to open her mouth to answer when The Rock cut her off. "The Rock says it DOESN'T MATTER if you have a problem"!
"I'll be leaving now." Riley took off to her destination in a hurry before The Great One finished his shtick.
'Some people get a little TOO into character.'
Chapter 25
Chris and John found the room where ALL the wrestlers were seated. The place was packed and hopefully they could slip in without being noticed. The pair surveyed the room and found that there was standing room only against the back wall. To make it worse Stephanie was sitting in the front of the room next to Vince who was now addressing the group. Chris made eye contact with Stephanie and she tilted her head so she could scan the room. He was hoping that she wouldn't notice but she did.
"We're in trouble," Chris whispered to Cena as he leaned the wall.
"No, you think?" was the reply as both men tried to focus on what Mr. McMahon was saying and occasionally staring at the door expecting their young charge to come slipping in any moment to save their lives.
"Tonight I have a special announcement for you all. This is going to affect the company as well as your schedules. We have 3 new interns working for us. They are journalism students from Sydney Australia, Charlotte North Carolina, and Los Angeles California. They have been hired to interview you for RAW Magazine, articles for the website, etc. I expect you to be nice to them and not give them a hard time. They'll also be adding special features and things like that so I expect you to give the ladies your full cooperation and nothing less. The girls will be given their assignments by next week and you should be at their disposal whenever they need an interview. Now that I've explained that we have a show to do!"
Everyone got up immediately and filled into a crowd slowly making their way out into the corridor. Chris and John tried to stay in the middle of the crowd but still far enough ahead so that they could miss receiving the wrath of the Billion Dollar Princess. Once they felt they were in the clear they made a run for it and turned the corner going back toward the locker rooms. They were surprised to see Riley wasn't there. They checked the girl's locker room and still no Riley. They both panicked and again had the 'oh no I think I'm going to wet my pants or worse' look on their faces. They started asking all of the divas and guys if they had seen her.
Chris approached Trish and Sean O'Haire who were talking by the refreshment table. "Hey guys," Chris greeted in a panicked tone.
"Hi" they both said simultaneously picking up on his nervous vibe.
"Have you seen a brunette about 5'6" goes by the name of Riley?"
"No...." they began but Chris cut them off.
"USELESS!" Chris proclaimed stomping off and mumbling under his breath.
Ten minutes later they still hadn't found her. They both were sitting in chairs in the locker room waiting for their matches.
"Stupid?"
"Profusely"
"Dumber?"
"Than a pack of mules"
"Screwed?"
"Oh yeah junior, DEFINITELY," Chris leaned back in his chair and fell backwards when he heard a loud scream coming from the next row over.
An 'ouch' was all he could manage as he rubbed the back of his head and got up to see who screamed. It seemed all the other guys had the same idea considering everyone was crowded around a very petrified Shane Helms.
"My...hair...blonde...no," he whispered over and over again to himself while pulling at his now straw blonde hair.
"Hey!" Billy and Chuck walked up to Shane, "we use the same hair-dye! Cool!"
This only caused Shane to blink and grow a little paler. "Who did this?" he asked in a very dead tone of voice.
At that moment Riley came bouncing into the locker room undetected. She looked at the scene before her: Shane is aw of his new look and everyone just staring in disbelief and laughing.
'Too late to undo the damage huh' she thought to herself as she ventured further and stood behind John and Chris. She tapped them both on the shoulder. They both turned around and looked like they'd seen a ghost. The trio moved to another part of the locker room where no one would hear the conversation/
"Where have you been?" Chris asked staring at her scornfully.
"Looking for ya'll. YOU are the one's that abandoned me remember?" Riley said looking both men in the eye and then turning her attention back to Shane. "And I see it's too late to take back the deed? Poor Shane"
"He's pissed shorty. It's your fault."
"What do you mean MY fault? If I go down I'm taking ya'll with me" she walked back toward Shane.
"Hey Shane! Blonde is very, um...becoming of you" Riley stood beside Shane at the mirror. Shane just kept thumbing through his hair. "I can help you fix it." Shane stopped and his eyes widened.
"You'd do that Riley? Thank you!"
"No problem. And my two LOVELY ASSISTANTS Mr. Jericho and Mr. Cena are going to help. Isn't that RIGHT LOVELY ASSISTANTS?" Riley glared at them both and they had no doubt in their minds that she wouldn't hesitate to come up with an even worse punishment. They nodded both whispering things under their breath.
So with the help of her lovely assistants, Riley got Shane's hair back to normal. It had actually turned out better than she had expected because dying it blonde made the green show up a lot more. Shane was his old self.
"I thank you Citizen Riley if there's anything you need I'll be here."
"Um, no I'm good. Just righting an injustice," Riley sighed. Shane went to leave the locker room but stopped to address Cena and Jericho.
"And thank you Riley's LOVELY ASSISTANTS!" he laughed as he ran out of the locker room not wanting to suffer at the hands of Y2J.
"RyLynn, you my friend are dead," both Chris and John walked slowly toward her with sinister smiles on their faces.
"No fair guys. Guys? Stop looking at me like that. Give me a head start?" she asked inching against the wall.
"I'm feeling generous so why not." Both men made a path for Riley. She dashed out of the door and ran into Amy.
"Amy," Riley said out of breathe, "Do you know where Jeff is? Chris is after me and I need to hide."
"Conveniently located three doors down," Amy said pointing behind her.
"Thanks" she said and ran to knock on the door.
"Jeff!" Jeff opened the door and his face contorted when he saw his missing friend. "Ry, where have you been you missed everything and...."
"Move it Hardy!" Riley pushed past him and settled herself on one of the couches.
"If Chris or John come knocking on the door you haven't seen me."
"What did you do?"
"Long story."
"I have time."
So, Riley recapped the events of the last hour. When it was all over, Jeff shook his head. His face was slightly red from laughing so much.
"You can never stay out of trouble, and I wasn't there to be in on the action. You don't love me anymore!" Jeff said as he pretended to cry. Riley threw a pillow at him.
"Get over yourself Jeff. I'm bored. Do you want to cause more mischief or what?" Riley asked changing her position on the couch.
"Hungry?" he asked jumping from his seat across from her.
"Sure, but Rachel has the keys to the SUV," she had noticed that Matt and Rachel were nowhere to be found. "Where are they anyways?"
Jeff noticeably had forgotten all about them. "Come on" he said grabbing her hand. "We'll just grab something in the catering area. We'll find them...eventually."
"Gee Jeff that makes me feel so much better," Riley said rolling her eyes. The pair walked out of the dressing room and toward the catering area being vigilant and looking for Matt and Rachel and being careful to avoid Jericho and Cena.
