Whew! Okay guys, here's another chapter of If Tomorrow Never Comes! I've decided to add some new pairings which include Jeff/Trish and Lita/Edge! (They're not in this chapter tho, they'll come as we go along) So i hope this draws more people to read the fic :) Thanks to my reviewers! (Ali babe, i adore you!)
Hope you enjoy this chapter, please R&R!
God bless! xox Candy
(( Part 2 ))
Baltimore, Maryland. 2002
As a young blonde at the age of twenty-one left her small cottage-like home on a warm summer day, she didn't realize that today was the last day her life would ever be considered normal again. And as her cell phone rang from her purse, she didn't realize that the single call from and unknown number would change her life forever.
"Hello?" Stacy Keibler answered her phone warily, unbeknownst to her the caller on the other line.
"Am I speaking to a Miss Stacy Keibler?" A loud, gruff male voice spoke from the other line.
Inside, Stacy was hoping that it was someone from the modeling agency, calling to tell her that she could have her job back, that she really was beautiful, that she didn't have to go searching for a semi-high paying job without a college degree. But really, she knew that would never happen.
"Yes, that's me. Now who is this?"
The man cleared his throat. "Miss Keibler, I am Vince McMahon, from the WWE. I've heard you've been familiar with the business?"
Stacy froze for a minute. Now what in the hell did he want? "Yes, I am actually. I have a good friend who works with you."
"Wait, let me guess." Stacy picked up on the slight cleverness in his voice. Right away she knew he was an intelligent man. "Trish Stratus, correct?"
She laughed lightly, taking a seat on her porch to hide from the blazing sun. "Yepp, that's her."
"Speaking of Trish, that's exactly why I called."
"Why? Is something wrong with her?" Stacy suddenly blurted out. No wonder the chairman of the WWE had her cell phone number.. Trish gave it to him.
"I'm afraid so," His tone softened, "But don't worry, it's not what you think. Physically, Trish is doing great. But mentally and emotionally, I'm worried about her."
"Is she okay? What happened?" She wished the man would just blurt out what was wrong and what happened, she couldn't stand just sitting there waiting for him to talk while she asked tons of questions.
"A few months ago, Trish started seeing a man by the name of Chris Jericho, another wrestler in the company. From what I heard, she fell madly in love with him and there was even talk of a wedding in their near future. But just recently, Trish found out that Chris had been cheating on her with our Diva Search winner for months, and it completely broke her heart. Of course, you can guess that they are no longer together. But Trish hasn't been the same since. She's withdrawn, quiet, and she's always complaining about being lonely. She's just not herself.."
"Wow," Stacy whispered, cutting the man off. "That's horrible."
"Yes, I know." Vince said quickly, "But without Trish, there's no divas. And without the divas, there isn't any Raw. You know what I'm saying, right?"
Inside, Stacy realized that Vince was sort-of stretching the truth. But a man that rich could've told her the sky was falling and she would've believed him. "Yes."
"Stacy, the reason I'm calling is to ask you something. I need to you travel with Trish while she's on the road until she gets better. The hotel and plane tickets are all on me, you don't have to pay for anything. You'll just simply go wherever she goes and stay at the arenas with her. I'm hoping that having some company while alone Trish will slowly but surly start snapping back into her old self. So, what do ya say? Ya in for some traveling?"
Stacy sputtered out a few fragments of words, but nothing else seemed to bounce of her tongue. Travel with the WWE? And who knows for how long this would be? "I -- I really don't know what to say, Mr. McMahon.. I--"
"Say you will, Stacy. Please? For Trish?"
The leggy blonde sighed, looking down at the list of applications for jobs she held in her hands, then back to the small house she never thought she'd have to live in. "Okay," She breathed, "I'll do it."
One week later.
Placing her hands on her slender waist, Stacy's lips formed a small pout as she looked down upon the suitcase, which was now almost completely filled with the blonde's clothes and other belongings.
Trish would be picking her up in fifteen minutes, then from there they'd be heading off to Nevada for a Raw show. And in many ways, Stacy still wasn't ready. Her suitcase wasn't packed, emotionally she was on a roller coaster, and mentally she was doubting everything she was about to do.
But whatever. When Stacy had called Trish, telling her that she would be traveling with her for a while, it was the first time she had heard her giddy little laugh in the longest time. She couldn't ruin that now.
Zipping up her suitcase, she grabbed it and rolled it down the short flight of blue-carpeted stairs.
This was definitely going to be interesting.
Stacy watched from her kitchen window as the storm clouds rolled in, waiting with a glass of water in hand for Trish arrive. She didn't have to wait much longer before a black Dodge Stratus pulled into Stacy's small driveway and the little blonde diva ran up to the front door.
The leggy blonde met Trish half way, and the two girls jumped into each other's arms after the door was open. Squealish girly laughter filled the air.
"God.. How long has it been?" Trish breathed, finally stepping back from Stacy to get a good look at her friend.
"Too long." She almost whispered, feeling somewhat self-conscious as Trish skimmed her appearance.
"You look great!" She chimed, then switching her gaze to the broken-down house Stacy stood before. "Don't tell me you live here.." The blonde arched a brow, wrinkling her nose in Stacy's direction.
"Actually…I do." She sighed, looking down at her feet. "C'mon, lets get going. Something tells me we have a lot to talk about."
ooo
A plane flight and many hours driving in the car later, Trish and Stacy had finally arrived at the town they were destined for in the first place. They were still chatting as Trish drove into the parking lot of a Hilton hotel.
"Don't tell me we're staying here!" Stacy exclaimed as she finally realized where they were, staring with her jaw dropped up at the huge building.
"Yepp, it was either this or the Holiday Inn, and I figured you'd have no interest in that place."
Still staring while Trish parked, the little blonde looked over at her friend. "The only hotel I've ever stayed in was a one bedroom infested with cockroaches, and that was only because my mom made us visit my grandpa when he was sick!"
Trish just laughed, "I'm gonna run inside and get a room to put all my stuff in, I usually don't like to bring most of it to the arena with me cause kids come along and take it. You can come in if you'd like."
Stacy pondered on the thought for a moment, but then decided she couldn't wait another minute to see the beautiful hotel that had once even been out of reach in a dream. "No," she smiled, "I'll go."
As Trish led the way, Stacy followed behind when the two blondes entered the hotel. Immediately, Stacy's jaw dropped.
She hadn't ever seen anything as big or as beautiful in her lifetime.
The lobby was absolutely huge, filled with high-priced everything, from carpeting to paint to luggage carriers. The people moving about looked rich and important, making her feel somewhat vulnerable and small. Statues and paintings that were put up to add character looked as if they each cost millions of dollars, and were painted by Da Vinci himself.
"Like it?"
The star-struck blonde jumped as she heard the small voice behind her. She turned around to see Trish's smiling face. "Oh, God, Trish…its amazing."
She laughed. "I thought you'd like it. You can look around here while I go get a room, okay?"
Stacy just simply nodded as Trish walked off, still trying to soak up everything she could. She was pretty sure she appeared trashy and unprofessional to the other people, but at this moment she didn't care. She was now a princess, an explorer, and this was her kingdom.
Deciding to explore a bit, she almost skipped across the lobby and into a seemingly empty corridor. The little blonde walked down slowly, tracing her fingers across the numbers on every door.
"Hey, baby."
Stacy jumped again when she heard a gruff male voice from behind her. When she turned, she found herself staring into the face of a pudgy, balding man in a business suit, complete with a wedding ring.
"How much?" He stepped closer, breathing into her neck.
"Excuse me?" She backed up, scrunching up her face and trying to get as far away from the man as possible. His breath reeked of alcohol, even during the afternoon, and she thought she was gonna puke.
"How much…for a few hours." He grinned crookedly, trailing a finger down the soft skin of her arm.
Stacy slapped his hand away, "I don't do that.."
The man's grin turn into a frown, and he began speaking through his teeth. "The hell you don't..!" He grabbed her arm as tightly as he could, and when she tried to scream he held his free hand over her mouth.
Feeling panic rising inside of her, Stacy tried her hardest to kick the man away, but he was just too strong. And soon she found herself being carried up a flight of carpeted stairs…
Until he suddenly stopped, and she was dropped upon the floor.
Her first reaction was to run, as far and fast as she could. But a bigger part of her was telling her something else.
Picking herself for a small second, she opened her brown eyes and stared down at what was unfolding before her. A man had come to her rescue, and was now kicking the crap of what was left of the man.
After one last blow to the stomach, which sent the man to the floor, the young man who had come to her rescue skipped up the stairs and sat next to her. "You okay?" He touched her cheek softly, looking with passion into her pale face.
"Yeah.." she mumbled, "I'm fine."
He was about to say something more, but Stacy stopped him when she suddenly heard Trish calling her name.
"I…uh, I gotta go. Thanks for helping me.." And with that she left, darting down the rest of the stairs and back into the lobby, where Trish seemed somewhat worried.
"Stacy!" She exclaimed when she saw her friend running towards her, "Where were you! Are you okay?"
"Me..?" Stacy pondered on the thought of telling Trish what had really happened for only a little while. But the thought quickly faded. Trish didn't need any more drama right now. "Yeah, I thought I got lost for a minute up there, but some guy came and helped me out."
Trish smiled weakly, "Well, lets get going, shall we? I'm all set if you are."
Stacy nodded, the thoughts of the man who had come to her aid lingering in her mind. "Yeah, lets go."
ooo
"This is where you work?" Stacy said, staring in awe at every little detail of the arena they were staying that.
Trish just laughed lightly, dragging her friend through the hallways by the wrist. "Yeah, different arenas all over the country like this. They're great, aren't they?"
"I've never been in a building so big.." She spoke softly, her mind floating off in different directions.
As she was dragged through the halls, Stacy tried to linger behind to catch every detail of every item that caught her eye. This place was amazing. There were people and boxes and equipment all over the place. It was like being backstage at a concert or something.
Suddenly, Stacy stopped when her eyes skimmed over something…familiar. "Trish.." She whispered, "Trish!"
The Woman's champ turned around, somewhat of a grumpy look upon her face. "What?"
"Who's that man over there?" When Trish approached, she pointed a finger in the direction of the man she recognized. The man that had saved her from the attacker. The one she hadn't stopped thinking about.
"Oh, him?" Trish looked over at Stacy, who's eyes were still locked upon him. "That's Jay, but everyone calls him by his wrestling name, Christian."
Her eyes widened, still remaining locked upon the man she now knew as Christian. "He's a wrestler?"
"Yepp.. Why? Do you like him?"
Stacy shook her head, now even more confused then before as she watched Christian deep in a conversation with another man she didn't recognize. "No.. Who's he with?"
"Oh, that's Jeff Hardy. He's a wrestler, too." Stacy looked over at Trish in time to notice she was blushing.
"Oh my God, you like him!" She exclaimed, laughing all along.
"Shhh," Trish whispered, elbowing Stacy in the side. "No I don't, he's just a good friend of mine. Besides, you shouldn't be talking. Why are you asking me about Christian?"
"Because, he's the one that saved…uh, helped me, when I got lost in the hotel." Stacy stumbled over her words, just realizing how stupid they actually sounded.
"Well, then go talk to him!"
Stacy turned to Trish, her eyes wide. "What? I can't do that! What am I suppose to say? 'Thanks for saving me when I got lost in a measly hotel'?"
The blonde shrugged, "Sure! Why not?"
The leggy diva smiled, an idea popping into her head. Maybe this whole 'healing Trish' thing wasn't going to be so hard after all. "Okay, I'll do it if you talk to Jeff."
This time, it was Trish's turn to be somewhat shocked. "What! Me? No, I can't do that, Stace. At least not yet. But, I promise I will sometime soon, okay?"
Stacy swallowed the lump in her throat. Okay, so maybe it wasn't going to be so easy. She groaned, "Okay, fine."
"Hun, I really need to go get ready for tonight. You go talk to them for me, okay? Make some new friends, since you're going to be with me here for a while yet."
She nodded, unsure yet of what she was going to say to the two strangers. "Uh, okay."
Smoothing the wrinkles from her shirt as Trish walked away, Stacy took a deep breath and took one step forward. It was her first day here, and things were already turning out to be extremely interesting.
End of Chapter 2.
Mwah ha ha! The end of chapter 2! See? I told you it was gonna be normal! Anywho, in the next chapter you'll get to see what Stacy talks to Christian (and Jeff) about! And maybe something will happen during Trish's match..? Hmm, wait and find out! R&R!