Author's Note: Just so you know, some of the italics in this chapter represent flashbacks to earlier events. I'm sure you could've figured it out, but hey, you never know!

Chapter 17

Scott reached the hotel entrance and sent one glance back to Stacy, who was well on her way up the stairs. His face was expressionless, but his eyes pleaded for forgiveness. The Diva stopped in mid-step, holding onto the railing beside her, looking back at the man whom she thought had no feelings.

"I'm sorry," she whispered almost inaudibly, but Scott knew what she'd said. Stacy looked down at her feet as she continued her trip up. The seemingly calm and collected blonde climbed up only far enough to be out of sight from anyone in the lobby, but she simply couldn't go any further. She didn't have the strength to do anything but crumble to the floor, clutching the roots of her hair with one hand and allowing herself to break down completely. The crystal clear tears rolled down her cheeks, exposing Stacy's fears and weaknesses.

This, of all things, had to come along now.

'Oh, my God. Scott's in rehab. How did this happen? Why is he doing this to me? Damn you, Scott!' she thought, intensifying the tears and sniffles. The man standing before her moments ago seemed so different than the one she'd grew accustomed to… He seemed like someone she used to know and love…

"All right, pull it together," Stacy told herself after a while of staring at the wall of plaster in front of her violently shaking body, since that wouldn't fix her problems. She propped herself up against the same wall, using it as support because her legs threatened to weaken again. The blonde wiped the tears from her face, but she was afraid her make up had smeared, which would tip Randy off right away that she'd been crying. In order to avoid such an accusation from him, Stacy stopped by a bathroom on one of the floors to clean herself up. Besides, she needed the extra time to get herself together.

She was right in front of the door. Stacy noticed her hand beginning to shake as she reached for the knob, so she pulled it away quickly. Soon, her back was once again pressed to the wall beside the door frame as her gasping breaths made it hard to concentrate on what she knew she had to do.

Lie to Randy.

She'd prayed this moment wouldn't come, but now that it had, she was almost convinced she couldn't do it. But this was for Randy's own good and it needed to be done, whether she liked it or not. Those acting lessons her parents had pushed her into about a year back might finally pay off.

The door squeaked lightly as it opened, and Randy leaped up from the edge of the bed as soon as he heard the sound. He knew she'd been with Lita, but something still didn't feel quite right.

"Hey, sweetie," Stacy greeted him with a smile.

"Hey, how'd it go?"

"Everything was fine; we had some coffee and just talked. I hadn't seen her in a while, you know that," Stacy replied as she set her purse down.

"Yeah, sorry about that."

"Don't be, it's not your fault," she assured him, still smiling.

"Well, I was thinking about it and I think all three of us should go out after the show next week. I think it'd be fun."

"That'd be awesome."

"So nothing else went on down there, right?"

'Nothing you'll find out about.' "Right," Stacy nodded.

The full moon lit the room through the sheer curtains, creating eerie shadows on the walls. The stars sparkled in the darkness, as did the tears that rolled down Stacy's face. It was well into the night, about 2:00 am, but it'd been impossible for her to sleep. Every time she shut her eyes, the image of Scott's face appeared and her mind instantaneously replayed parts of the day that'd passed.

- - - - -

"Look, you have every reason to be mad at me, and I accept that. I know what I did was wrong but I want you to let me make it up to you. I'll be better, Stacy. I promise."

"What kind of idiot do you take me for, Scott?"

Then came the astonishing words that brought the perfect world she'd created crashing down.

"I'm in rehab. I'm trying really hard to make it better."

- - - - -

"I don't want to get technical, I want you to be realistic here," Lita's words rang in her head

"No, I haven't told my parents about Randy. I don't know if I should until I'm sure that I'm really serious about him. We'll leave it at that."

"Okay, if you insist."

- - - - -

Stacy curled herself into a tighter ball as the ongoing conflicts continued inside her. It had all been flawless until the unanticipated events from this morning.

"Expect the unexpected," she whispered to herself, coming to a realization of what her next step would be. Though not fully, she was confident in this decision and would carry it through.

Rolling onto her right side, Stacy lightly nudged Randy's shoulder.

"Randy," she breathed into his ear, "Randy, honey, wake up."

"Mmm…" he replied sleepily, "Just a couple more minutes…"

"Baby, I need to talk to you for just a second, please."

"Sorry," he smiled, turning to look at her. "Yes, your highness?"

"Guess what you get to do tomorrow," she said with an evil grin.

"Um, do I wanna know? That look on your face is kind of scarin' me," he chuckled lightly.

"You get to meet my parents," Stacy answered with determination after a moment of hesitation.

Author's Note: Well, there you go, Chapter 17! I'm glad I got it done and I hope I can fit another in before school starts. Picture day is Wednesday… One word: ugh. That's not even a word, but whatever. Why must they torture us like this? Yeah, well anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please Review!