Bright patterns of white light which emitted from the partially curtained window, danced over Stacy's face waking her. She sat up in bed, and looked bleary eyed at the clock.

5:19am

She groaned. With not more than three hours sleep, she wondered how she would make it through the day.

Stacy got out of bed and staggered to the door.

The hallway was dim and unlit.

As the others woke up, they all went downstairs to grab some breakfast- John and Randy stuffing their pockets with more food than necessary. They grabbed their luggage and, to Stacy's immense relief, headed back out to the car. Randy noticed that she was a bit shaky.

"Hey, Keebs," he teased, "are you ok? You've been acting really…well, paranoid I guess. What's up?"

"I didn't get enough sleep," she lied. Although the truth, it wasn't what was bothering her.

The four of them had finally gotten into the car once again, after having to wait for Trish who was still getting ready and John who was reloading his pockets with more food.

"I need to keep my energy levels up!" he said defensively, hopping into the car.

"The manager was looking at you really weirdly John…"

"Food is made to be eaten, ok?"

This time, it was Randy's turn to drive. The made their way out of the inn, and continued their way along the long stretch of dusty road. Stacy watched in the rear-view mirror as the inn disappeared into the haze. She could not understand it. The motel was completely different from the one she dreamed about…why was she losing it over that?

Stacy felt the bruise on her head and glanced at John sitting next to her in the back seat. He had his pad and pen out writing line after line of new lyrics.

The weather was still overcast, but mildly humid. They drove through about 60km of pure desert, until they hit a more mountainous area. Randy pulled over to stop for a while. He got out his football and started tossing it to John. Trish and Stacy sat on a grassy patch to relax.

Once they were back on the road, they headed out to the edge of Arizona. It wasn't long before the dry, desert scenery was replaced with high cliffs, busy streets and beaches. They had reached California.

After 10 more minutes, Randy turned into a large car park that was in the centre of the main street running alongside the beach.

Stacy got out of the dingy car, and stretched her long legs. The salty sea breeze was blowing in from the coast.

"Finally," Trish sighed, as she breathed in the fresh air. "So, where do we go?"

Randy looked around the area for a second. "See that big building over there? That's where we will be performing…Trish and Stacy, we are on tonight. John's on Thursday as usual. We are staying in that hotel over there…" he pointed to a tall building. Randy took his and Trish's luggage over towards the main lobby. John stuck his headphones on and trudged over with his backpack. Stacy simply stood there, in the cold wind. Looking around, she saw Torrie rushing over to her, tackling her with a hug.

"Tor!"

"Hey Stace! How was the road trip?"

"Don't even mention it…how are your parents?"

"Fine, fine…mum told me to tell you to say hi to Tanya…"

Stacy frowned. She and her step mum hardly got along. "Great, do you wanna go inside now?"

The two girls walked into the lobby, where most of the other superstars were checking in.

"I can't believe im on tonight…"Stacy sighed. "We just got here! Next time, im just going to take the plane," she said, taking the room key from the receptionist.

"Level 6, room 603," the woman said.

Torrie grabbed her key and the headed towards the lift. Torrie got off at level five where some of the Smackdown! Superstars were staying.

The room 603 was already open. Stacy checked and saw that Maria, Candace and Christy were already in there.

"Hey Stace," Christy said. "We have to leave in an hour to get to the arena. The girls and I are going down to grab a coffee, want to come?"

"No, you guys go ahead. But can you pick me up a Cappuccino please?"

Christy nodded as they headed out. The room was tiny, as all the hotel rooms ever were, with four single beds and a bathroom. It had a balcony but, because they were on the other side of the building, it was facing other small houses and cafes instead of the beach. Their hotel was the only one around that area. It was mostly made up of small businesses down below, while atop the cliffs that swept over the bay, where large mansion type houses.

She lay on her bed for a short while before she fell asleep.

"Stacy…Stacy!"

Stacy opened her eyes and found Torrie shaking her awake.

"You have got 5 minutes to get ready, come on."

"How…how did you know I was asleep…?"

Torrie rolled her eyes. "I know you. Come on…Maria gave me your drink."

Stacy took a sip and searched through her suitcase for something to wear. There was no use unpacking, as they never stayed in their destinations long anyway. She tugged out a black mini skirt and a pink singlet top. Stacy pulled them on and stared in the mirror. She never really was satisfied with what she wore, but it had to do. After brushing her hair, she grabbed her coffee and slipped on her heels. They headed towards the lift that made its way down to the ground floor.

"I guess I have to walk there then?"

"Yeah, they didn't provide transport here. Take my jumper, it looks freezing out there."

Stacy took it thankfully and said goodbye to Torrie. She stepped through the doors and quickly pulled the white hooded jumper on. The sky was no longer obscured by wispy clouds. It was a violet colour, blue at the horizon. The wind was still extremely cold. Stacy could see late evening surfers catching waves on the choppy sea.

She turned left and headed down the footpath to the arena. It didn't take long, about a couple of minutes- just in time before she would get told off by Eric. She headed down the underground car park, where most of the superstars would best enter if they wanted to avoid the hordes of fans at the main entrance. Stacy could hear the RAW theme music pumping through the stadium. She hurried faster through the corridors, her heels clicking behind her.