CHAPTER NINE

Date: February 11, 2005

Day: Friday

Dear Diary,

Chris Jericho has a secret admirer...and that secret admirer just happens to be me. I'm confident that he doesn't know it's me. I'm too smooth for him, too slick, too calculating, too... Well, you get the picture. Basically, I'm an evil genius. I get that trait from my father. In fact, I get all my evil traits from Daddy. Oh, Daddy! I DO love my McMahon genes! Especially since they're going to help me show Chris how into him I've always been. Ha, ha, and he thinks he's so smooth... He'll never know what hit him. And they all think they can figure me out, that I'm somewhat "transparent".

We'll see.

Flashback

Early Friday morning, Stephanie tiptoed through the silent halls of the empty arena. There was to be a show there later in the day, but not many people arrived that early for a show that wouldn't start until sometime in the evening. Being a McMahon has its perks, she thought, smiling happily as she walked through the halls. I don't have to have a reason to be here. No one will suspect a thing!

She was carrying a huge box in her arms, gift-wrapped, with Chris Jericho's name on the tag as the recipient. It was a gift for Chris, of course, but it was nothing extraordinary or fancy. It was more like a gag gift, really, one of those gifts where you open up a box to find a smaller box inside, so you open that box to find an even smaller box inside, and so on. In total, there were seven boxes inside this one huge box, but she carried it with ease because it was so light.

She made it to his locker room and put the box down. She pushed the door open and was totally shocked to find the man himself lounging on a leather couch inside, reading a magazine.

Chris looked over at Stephanie and smiled. "What you got there, Princess?"

Stephanie was in a state of shock. "What are you doing here so early?" she asked petulantly, picking the gift back up and carrying it inside.

"I always get to work early," he said with an easy smile. "Now what are you doing here so early?"

"Oh! Um, I had some work that I didn't do last night," she stammered. "So, uh, I decided to come in and get to work. You know how Daddy gets when everything doesn't go according to plan."

"Oh yeah, he becomes a real assclown," he replied, standing up. "So, amuse me, Princess. Who's the gift for?"

Gotta think of something quick, Stephanie thought, near panic. "It's for you, surprisingly, although I have no clue why anyone would be giving you a gift."

"Let's ask the person who's giving me the gift... Why are you giving me a gift, Stephy?"

"Look, Chris, it was in my office when I got here. I'm just delivering it," she replied. "It's not from me."

"Who's it from, then?" he asked, and she could swear she heard some definite disappointment in his voice. For a moment there, he looked...crestfallen.

"I read the tag, but it just says 'To: Y2Jerky. From: Your Secret Admirer.' And that's it," she said, putting the box on the table she was standing next to.

"Ok. So let's open it up and see who's loving me these days," he said, coming over to stand near her. "I mean, with Valentine's Day coming up..."

"What are you doing on Valentine's Day?" she asked carefully, trying not to seem too interested.

"Well, I don't have any major plans...yet. I do know that I'll be wrestling on Raw, but after that.. I don't know," he answered. He looked her up and down and licked his lips. "Why?"

"Just wondering," she said. "I'm...going to go now."

"But don't you want to see what's in the box?" he asked.

"NO!" she yelled. He raised his eyebrows. "I mean, no," she said in a much quieter voice. "I have so much work to do. I really should get started."

"You aren't the only one who's been sneaking around this arena this morning," he said as she started to leave.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.

"Oh nothing," he said nonchalantly. "Just giving you the heads up."

"Whatever. I'll see you later," she said, and left the room. When she reached her office five minutes later, she walked inside and immediately noticed something on top of her desk.

"What's this?" she asked the empty room. She walked over to her desk and found...breakfast. There was also a single red rose and a piece of parchment paper rolled up and tied with a red ribbon. "Ok, so do I trust this? Do I even know who did this?"

Open the parchment, ass, she cursed at herself. And MAYBE you'll find out!

She picked up the roll of parchment and noticed a small box underneath it. She would know jewelry anywhere! She quickly opened the box and found a charm for her charm bracelet. The letter "C". Ok, this person knows me pretty well if they got me a charm for my bracelet. Only a few people know about that bracelet, she thought. She put the charm on her bracelet, then opened the parchment paper.

"A poem?" she asked unbelievingly, then smiled as she read the short poem.

Roses are red,

Violets are blue.

I've got Vitamin C,

And I'll give it to you.

I know all your secrets.

There's a bracelet on your arm.

If you crave my Vitamin C,

Then put on the "C" charm.

You know who this is.

Princess, you're pretty smart.

So come on, approach me...

I won't bite...hard.

"Who knew that Chris was a poet?" she asked with a smile on her face. She looked at the charm she had just added to her bracelet, smiling at what the "C" symbolized: her desire for him. "Am I that obvious?" she wondered.

She sat down at her desk and started to eat the food. By then, it was obvious who had made the food, and for some odd reason, she trusted him. She looked at the tall glass of orange juice and smiled. "Orange juice: a great source of Vitamin C. Unfortunately, that's not the 'Vitamin C' that I need..."

Stephanie didn't manage to run into Chris again until sometime during that evening's show. She was walking down the hall with a clipboard in one hand and a smile on her face. She was in the process of reaching for a cup at the coffee table when she felt arms wrap around her waist. A strong, muscular body pressed against her from behind.

"Chris?" she asked. She shivered when he bit her earlobe gently, then remembered the last line from his poem: I won't bite...hard.

"You already know the way my body feels against you from behind? That's a good sign," he said. Before she could reply, he leaned down and softly kissed her neck. "How's your day been?"

"Most interesting," she said, smiling and pulling away from him. Her need for coffee was immediately forgotten. "It seems as though I have a secret admirer as well."

"Really. And...what's this?" he asked, touching the new charm on her bracelet. "This 'C'... Does it have any...significant meaning?"

"Oh yeah," she said with a grin. "But that's between me and my secret admirer."

"I respect that," he said. "And my wristband right here..." He pointed at a black rubber wristband that he was wearing. "The significant meaning of this wristband is between me and my secret admirer as well."

"I'll accept that," she said. "But what does it say?"

"I can't tell you. It's a secret," he said, and then he leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips. He pulled back and trailed a finger over her lips. "But, just in case you happen to see my secret admirer, tell her I said I'm all hers..."

"As if I'd know who she or he is," she said, still trying to deny it.

"Oh, you know, and so do I," he said, grinning and touching her face. "Later, sweet cheeks."

She watched him walk away and couldn't stop a smile from spreading across her face.

End Flashback

Ok, so maybe he does know. He's a pretty smart guy. Why the hell isn't he here yet, then? My message was loud and clear. I was plainly wearing the charm he got me. It was like I told him, "Hey Chris, come screw me tonight, ok? It'll be fun!" I wonder what he thought when he opened all those boxes and found what I had put in there. It took me a while to figure out what to give him, but here's what I came up with:

1. a poem

2. a wristband

3. a Hershey's Kiss

They all represent something, but thinking about it, I wonder if he understood the meaning? He's a fairly clever guy, so he probably did. The poem was meant to tell him what I want from him... To stake my claim... The wristband was meant to let him know that he's MY property, forever mine. And the Hershey's Kiss... That was just for him to know that once we finally DO get together, which we will, I'll melt in his mouth like chocolate...

Well, all in all, I believe Chris has just accepted what's been obvious all this time: He's MINE. What I got engraved on the wristband was just a joke on my part, but he's actually wearing it. Considering what it says on that wristband, I think that really confirms that fact that he belongs to me...

But if that's the case, then where the hell IS he and why haven't I been served an extra large dose of Vitamin C already?

This is torture!

Until Next Time,

Steph

P.S. I've been up here in this hotel room for over an hour waiting for him. Where... The hell... IS he?