Her Head v. Her Heart
A/N: Alright, Chuckle Monkies. It appears that some of us have boarded the crazy train, destination: Wonky Town, co-conductors YouThinkYouNoeMe (20 votes for Trish and Dave) and chainganghottie54 (58 fuckin' votes for Trish and John). I am so seriously flattered by all of your reviews, but the thing that makes me even happier is that you are all so passionate about who you want to come out on top in this story. You make me feel like I'm doing my job because you're all so into it. I love that and I seriously appreciate it more than you know. I don't own 'em, I just use 'em to torture all of you. Enjoy!
Since she started dating John, and even before that, Trish had seen her "Girl Time" seriously diminish. Other than an occasional night out with a large group, there wasn't much time for socializing. And even then, there were boyfriends present and no chance for real "gossip." Though she had always loved the prospect of getting together with Lita and Stacy and trading "dirty little secrets," the last month had made it miss it more than ever.
"I love photo shoots," Lita spat sarcastically, sinking to the floor between Trish and Stacy. They were all made up, and costumed, with nothing to do now but wait.
"It may be the only time I ever say this, but I'm actually thankful," Trish pointed a tortilla chip at the set, where Christy and Candice were posing for a picture, "for those Diva Search skanks," she bit into her snack as she watched the newbies.
Stacy stretched her long legs and fought the urge to lick the gloss from her lips. Her eyes were starting to burn from excessive liner, and her lips felt greasy. She hated make up more than any other part of these shoots. "You look tired, Trish," she smiled sympathetically. "Not bad, just tired," she added quickly.
It was so like Stacy to cover any criticism with a compliment, and Trish found herself smiling, even though the practice made her cringe. She appreciated it, the way her friend cared so deeply for other people's feelings, but sometimes she just wished that Stacy would say what she meant and stand by it. "I just haven't gotten a lot of sleep lately," she admitted.
"Why?" Lita asked, her voice flat and uninterested.
There was something there, just under the surface, that made Trish wonder if her friends knew what she had been doing. It wasn't something that anyone else would catch, but these were her girls, her two best friends, and she had a knack for hearing even the things they didn't say. "Just had a lot on my mind," she defended. "What?"
Stacy shrugged and reached into her bag, withdrawing a bottle of lotion. She worked the Sweet Pea scent into her hands and wrists as she spoke. "We already know you're sleepin' with Dave," she said simply.
Trish's heart sank as she met both sets of eyes staring back at her in anticipation. "How?" was all she asked. Denying it was pointless, they knew. But it wasn't compassion that she found staring back at her. Upon further inspection, she noticed that both women looked hurt. Why hadn't she just trusted her two best friends with something so huge?
Lita looked most upset. "Does it matter how?" she asked seriously. "If we found out, how long do you think it's gonna be before John does?" With a shake of her head, Lita leveled Trish with a glare, angry, like the blonde had never seen before. "You say you love him, Trish, but you're gonna hurt him anyway."
The raw emotion in the red head's eyes threw Trish off. What happened to 'non-judgemental' Lita? The one who never looked at her like she was some two-dollar ho? "What the hell, Li?" she asked defensively. "I thought you got it? I thought you understood," she started in.
But the Southern punk queen struggled to her feet and shook her head, holding up a hand to stop Trish from arguing. "I do get it, Trish. I love Edge." Her eyes clouded with something indecipherable. "But I regret, everyday, what I did to Matt. He deserved so much better than what I did to him," she turned on her heel, but then stopped and looked back. "So does John." And she was gone.
Trish stared after her, unsure of what to say. She had seen Lita angry with one of the other divas, or with Matt, or Edge. She had even seen Lita get upset at management or fans. But she had never seen Lita pissed at her. She licked her lips and bit another chip, hoping for anything to take her mind off of the guilty feeling in her stomach.
"I know you're gonna find this hard to believe," Stacy started, sliding over to fill the space that the red head had left, "but I know how you feel."
Trish's eyebrow shot up in a challenge. "You do?" Stacy 'I've never done anything wrong in my life' Kiebler thought she knew what Trish was going through?
"You remember Test, right?" Trish snorted and almost asked who didn't remember Stacy and Test, but thought better and just nodded. "I love Randy, Trish. More than I know that I should. And he can do things to my body that I don't think Test could spell," she grinned like the Cheshire cat and then shook her head when she noted the confused look on Trish's face. "But it doesn't matter how many different roads Randy knows to Happy Land, he's not Test," she admitted.
"Are you saying that Test was a better fuck than Randy?" Trish shook her head. "Seriously?"
Stacy blushed, as though she wasn't sure she should be disclosing such information, and then nodded. "I don't know what it is, Trish. I mean, Randy's amazing. He's just," she stopped, as though searching for a word, and then met Trish's dark eyes. "He's layable." She chuckled slightly. "Test was lickable, and Randy's layable. Not a lot of difference," she said.
"But enough," Trish finished, staring at the floor. That was the problem. John was everything she wanted at that very moment – he was completely layable. But Dave was, and would always be, lickable beyond description. He would always be the originator of "lickable" and there was nothing either of them could do to change that.
"So, Stace," Trish's focus snapped up sharply, surprising her friend for a moment, "how do you deal with it? I mean, how can you know that there is someone out there who can set your entire world on fire for uninterrupted hours on end, and then settle for something else?"
Stacy nodded, an empathetic look in her eyes as she drew her knees up to her chest and stared into space, pondering the question. When she spoke, it was as if she had drifted somewhere far away. "I never really forget how it was with Test. I mean, I don't think about it all the time or anything, but sometimes it'll hit me. When I don't expect it. Sometimes I'll be in the ring. Sometimes I'm backstage. Sometimes I'm at home, just watching a movie or something, and I remember. The little hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I start to get a little sweaty. It's hard to breathe.
"And then Randy shows up." She let out a half-laugh, almost to herself, and then looked at her friend, more honesty and sincerity in her eyes than Trish had ever seen. "And I know who I'm supposed to be with. I mean, yeah, Test was really great with the orgasms. But Randy's not exactly a slouch, ya know?" She licked her lips and winked, trying to draw something resembling a smile out of her friend. "Look, Trish, I don't know what to tell you, because I know it's an impossible decision. But I know that, for me? All of Randy's other qualities overshadow the slight deficiency in the bedroom."
Trish stared at the wall as the photographer called Stacy up. John was everything she wanted, on the exact same page from the beginning. He was perfect for her. Now all she had to do was decide if his other qualities overshadowed the fact that he wasn't Dave in the bedroom.