Chapter 5
Joanne looked up as her hotel room door opened.
"Don't you ever knock?"
"nope" John replied as he flopped down on the bed beside her, "Now what do you want?"
Joanne glared at him "What have you done?"
"lots of things"
"stop being a jackass" Joanne snapped
John raised his eyebrows "whoa what's the matter with you?"
" I want to know what you have done to Becki"
"Nothing. Why?"
"She's been working with you for a month now"
"Yeah and she's been great"
"I know but there is one thing that bothers me"
John knew what was coming "And what would that be?"
Joanne sighed she knew he knew what she was going to say.
"All the other guys assistants travel with them. Yet Becki travels with Dawn. I don't think I've seen Becki even speak to you outside of work."
"And that means I've done something?"
"yes it does! What did you do?"
John looked sheepish "I think I kinda offended her"
Groaning Joanne replied "What did you do now?"
"hey stop busting my ass, I apologised, she accepted, she's just kind of avoiding me"
"Just tell me what you did"
John didn't want to tell her, she was going to kill him. Becki had excepted his apology and the cell phone but since then she avoided him. When it came to work, she was an angel, his schedule was flawless, he knew where he was going, what he was doing and where he was staying at least a week in advance. Before her he never had a clue, he would call Joanne at least three times a day because his previous assistants especially Nick never told him anything. But outside of work no matter how he tried she avoided him. If he was honest it drove him crazy.
"You know me, I have a big mouth"
Joanne lost her patience "John tell me right now!"
"I made a comment about the scars on her arms" John covered his ears before she could scream at him.
Surprisingly Joanne didn't shout, calmly she replied
"What sort of comment?" relieved she wasn't shouting John removed his hands from his ears.
"I implied that she had caused them herself"
"YOU WHAT?"
John screwed up his face, he could face wrestlers night after night but put Joanne in front of him when she was angry and he would happily run and hide.
"Sorry"
"John are you stupid? When did you do that?"
John really didn't want to reply 'oh boy am I in for it now'
"Erm when she had the week off"
"WHAT!" Joanne could not believe what she was hearing, what was the matter with him?
"I know, I'm stupid."
"you had known her a week! What were you trying to do? Grrr, I seriously cant believe you John"
Joanne wanted to smack him right across his big dumb head. She knew he had done something but didn't expect it to be that. Joanne was probably going to have to start searching for another assistant for John. She had wondered herself if Becki had made the marks on her arms but would never have implied it to her but now because of John it was Joanne's job to speak to Becki about it as it is obvious that Becki is uncomfortable around him.
"You best tell me everything"
"why?"
"Because you know I'm going to have to speak to her about it"
"Why do you have to do that? She hasn't quit or anything"
"She's uncomfortable around you, that's why she's avoiding you"
"Has she said that?"
"No but its easy to see"
If only John could kick himself in the head, it might knock some sense into him.
"so tell me everything, then I can kick your ass for you!"
John proceeded to tell her everything that transpired that day at Becki's house when he was finished Joanne looked thoughtful.
"What?" he asked
"It's a pity you had already closed the door when she threw the cell phone, if it was me I would have thrown it at your head!"
"Do you really have to talk to her about it?"
"Yes, I wont tell her I know what happened though"
"then why did you make me tell you?" John pouted
"So I wouldn't have to pressure her to tell me. Now go away"
John stood up and stretched "gee thanks"
"Your welcome. Get out" Joanne grinned as he flipped her off then left.
Picking up her cell Joanne found the number she was looking for, 'here goes nothing' she said to herself as she hit the call button.
Chapter 6
Becki was tapping away at her laptop, she was trying to make sense of Johns schedule, it was three weeks till Wrestlemania 21 where he was going to win the championship belt. She had thought his schedule was bad now but after wrestlemania she could only describe it as insanely manic. Her head hurt just from looking at it. She gave up and turned the machine off, making her away over to her bed she lay on her stomach and turned the TV on. As she was flipping the channels trying to find something good to watch her cell rang.
"Hello"
"Hey Becki, it's Joanne"
"Hi"
"Could you come over to my room as soon as you can please"
Becki frowned "Sure, is anything wrong?"
"No I just need to speak to you"
"Ok I'll be over in a minute, your in 1502 right?"
"Yeah"
"Ok see you in a minute"
"Okay bye"
"bye"
Becki placed the cell on the bed while she searched for her shoes, 'that was odd' she thought. If Joanne needed to tell her anything she normally did it over the phone or at the arenas when she was there. She wondered what it could be that would cause Joanne to want her to go over to her room.
Once she had located her shoes and thrown on a jacket Becki grabbed her key card and headed over to Joanne's room. As she was heading down the corridor Becki sighed when she noticed John at the other end. After that day at her house Becki had decided that she would only speak with John on a work level and not socialise with him outside of their work environment that included travelling with him. Her decision hadn't been very popular with Melody who had insisted that Becki sort things out with John and forget all about his comment as he obviously regretted it by buying her a new cell phone.
"Hey Becki" John smiled as she approached, he knew the only response he would get would be a 'hi' but it was worth a try.
"Hi" Becki replied and carried on walking. She didn't want to get into conversation with him, if she was honest she didn't want him asking any other questions about her arms, she wasn't sure if she could handle trying to lie about where they came from.
John sighed as she walked right past him, he wished she would talk to him, anything other than hi would be good. Deciding to have one more go he called after her,
"Wanna ride with me after the show tomorrow?"
Becki slowed down and looked back over her shoulder towards him, she couldn't help but smile, the guy had not quit trying to get her to hang out with him, no matter how many times she refused he still didn't quit.
"Sorry I'm going with Dawn"
"Right, no problem" he walked away as Becki continued to Joanne's room.
When Becki entered Joanne's hotel room she was momentarily shocked by her appearance. Every time Becki had seen Joanne she was always dressed in a suit, but now she was dressed in black track pants and a tight white vest with her blonde hair piled on top of her head, she also looked very tired.
"Hey Becki, come on in" Joanne fell onto her bed then sat crossed legged facing Becki, "Sit down"
As Becki sat down at the opposite end of the bed she asked "Is everything ok?"
"yeah everything's fine, I just need to ask you something"
"okay"
Joanne watched Becki, she looked puzzled, she took a deep breath and asked
"Is everything ok between you and John?"
Becki's face changed, as Joanne watched she no longer looked puzzled, instead she looked apprehensive almost scared.
"Yes"
"Are you sure?" Becki gulped looks like she was worrying about getting into conversations with the wrong person.
"Yes"
Joanne sighed, this wasn't going to be easy "It's just that I've noticed that you don't seem to travel with John and you seem rather uncomfortable around him"
Becki didn't have a reply, what was she meant to say? Joanne watched as Becki shrugged and looked at her hands.
Joanne continued "It's not a problem that you don't travel with John, it just seems kind of strange. What does worry me though is that you seem uncomfortable when your near him, has he done anything?"
"no" Becki replied
"are you happy working for John?"
Becki didn't know what to say, she liked the job but avoiding John was starting to wear her out especially since he never stopped trying to get her to talk to him.
"Becki are you ok?" This wasn't going very well and Joanne was starting to wonder what else she could say without telling Becki she knew what had happened.
"I'm fine thank you"
"You still haven't answered my question! Are you happy working for John?"
'just leave me alone' Becki's head screamed
"Becki?" Joanne questioned
Becki wanted to run out of the room, it seemed Joanne wasn't going to quit until she had answer. She decided she would give at least one honest answer.
"I'd be happier if I could talk to him"
Joanne stared at her companion, she wasn't expecting that answer.
"Why can't you talk to him?"
Becki wished she hadn't answered now. "It's awkward"
Joanne couldn't continue, she couldn't force Becki to tell her something she didn't want too, instead she told her the truth.
"Becki I've spoken to John about this" Becki looked up she could tell Joanne knew.
"I can understand why you find it awkward but he really is sorry for what he said" Becki opened her mouth like she was about to say something but then shut it again. Joanne reached out and grabbed her hand.
"I've seen the scars and I'm not gonna ask about them, if you want to tell me you will. And John , even though he has the dumbest mouth in the country won't ask you either. He is sorry and wants you to talk to him again, he'd tell you this if you speak to him"
"He told you everything?"
"he told me what happened at your house, I would have thrown the cell phone at his big dumb head if I were you" Joanne smirked
Becki smiled as Joanne continued "you know where I am if you want to talk but I do suggest you put John out of his misery, he can actually be quite a nice guy"
"thanks"
"No problem just remember if you need someone to talk too you can tell me anything and it will go no further"
Becki smiled, Joanne had always been so nice to her. Maybe she would tell her one day, but not today.
"thanks" Becki stood up and approached the door as Joanne watched.
"Hey Becki"
Turning to look at Joanne, her hand on the door handle Becki replied "Yes"
"If John causes you anymore trouble just send him to me, I'll happily kick his ass for you"
Becki laughed as she opened the door "I'll make sure I do that"
Chapter 7
"Hey Dawn" Becki said into her cell phone
"Hi Bex, what's up?"
"Do you mind if I don't ride with you tomorrow?"
"No I don't mind, why who are you riding with?"
"I'm going to attempt to travel with John"
"ooh okay, it's about time you put the poor boy out of his misery"
Becki laughed "That's what Joanne said"
"it's true I've been telling you long enough"
That was true Dawn had been the first person Becki had spoken to when she started work and they instantly became friends. Dawn had seen her scars and Becki had told her what John had said but that was all Dawn knew.
"I know"
"If he says anything about your arms tell him to shut his mouth and mind his business"
"How about you tell him for me?"
"That works too! I've got to go hun, got a photo shoot to do, I'll see you tomorrow"
"ok bye"
"bye"
Becki walked down the hall towards the elevators, she had just been to Johns room but had got no answer so had decided to head down to the hotel bar and restaurant in the hope of finding him there.
Sure enough when she stepped out of the elevator she located John sat at a table drinking a beer. Not knowing how to approach him Becki sat down on one of the sofas in the foyer and watched him. He looked deep in thought, staring at the bottle in his hand like it may speak to him at any moment. Taking a deep breath she stood up and walked towards him, when she reached the table she stopped, he didn't look up.
"Mind if I join you?"
John looked up and was stunned to find Becki stood there smiling at him. He had thought she was speaking to someone else at first. Smiling back he replied
"Nah sit down"
"thanks"
"Do you wanna drink?"
"No thanks"
"Okay" John figured it was something to do with work. "What can I do for you?"
Becki studied his face, at first he looked surprised then happy now he looked a little lost. Maybe Joanne was right when she said John had wanted her to talk to him again.
"I wanted to talk to you"
'She's gonna want to talk to me about my schedule and then she's gonna disappear and not talk to me for a week' John thought
"Ok what about?" he replied taking a swig of his beer
"Is that offer of a ride tomorrow still open?"
John almost spat out his beer "What!"
Becki laughed at the look on his face, 'so Joanne was right'.
"you asked me earlier if I wanted to ride with you after the show tomorrow"
"Yeah"
"well are you still offering?" Becki was amused by the look of astonishment on his face
John was pretty much speechless he thought she would never speak to him again and now here she was, being nice to him.
"Sure"
"Thanks, see you later then" Becki smiled as she stood up
"Yeah see ya" John replied as he watched her leave.
Becki entered her hotel room, closed the door and fell against it breathing a sigh of relief. She still didn't want to get into conversation with John about that day at her house but she knew it was inevitable. Johns face had been so funny when he realised she was actually speaking to him, she felt happier now she had spoken to him. Becki had only made two friends in Dawn and Joanne and she kind of hoped she could be friends with John seeing as she was working mostly with him. First she had to get the dreaded conversation with him out of the way. Picking up her cell she dialled Melody's number
"Howdy"
"I spoke to John"
"Well it's about time"
"yeah, yeah"
"what did he say?"
"I didn't say I spoke to him about that day, just that I'd spoken to him"
"Oh Bex your impossible! Just talk to him about it"
"I'm going too"
"and what are you going to say if he asks you where the scars came from?"
"I'll tell him it's none of his business"
Melody growled "that will make your relationship so much better"
"what am I supposed to do? Tell him the truth?"
Melody paused for a moment "well you could do"
"No way Mel"
"It's better than trying to avoid him"
"you tell him then because I certainly can't"
"You serious?"
"NO!"
"Well don't say something like that to me coz I would tell him"
"Oh please you'd freak out if he spoke to you"
"Yeah, well, ok I would at first, but then I'd tell him! Just remember I will meet him next month"
Becki laughed out loud "You'll meet him! Doesn't mean you will actually speak to him"
"oh shut up!"
Someone knocked on Becki's door.
"Mel gotta go, someone's at my door"
"if it's him sort it out! Bye"
"Bye"
Becki walked over to the door and opened it to find John stood there.
"Hi" she smiled
"Hey, can I talk to you a sec"
"Sure come in" she moved aside to let him in.
John stood at the end of the bed and looked around avoiding eye contact with Becki. He was actually quite nervous, he needed to speak to her about that day, apologise again but he didn't want to risk upsetting her again. Watching her as she curled up on the sofa at the other side of the bed , she motioned for him to sit down,
"What's up?" she asked
He sat at the end of the bed searching for the right words "I want to apologise again for what I said"
"You've apologised once John"
"I know but you've avoided me ever since and I really didn't want that to happen"
"I'm sorry that I've avoided you but it was more wanting to avoid this conversation" Becki decided she should be honest about it, maybe then he would change the subject.
Sensing that it was probably best not to continue the topic of conversation John replied
"Let's make it short then! I'm sorry, I have a big mouth that's not connected to my brain, it's none of my business and I will never mention it again. Truce?"
Becki laughed "truce"
Relieved John grinned "Cool, now that's out of the way you can keep me company for the rest of the day"
Chapter 8
Becki was stood in yet another airport, but this time instead of waiting to board a plane she was waiting for Melody to arrive. Stepping from one foot to the other she began to get impatient, the flight had been delayed and all Becki wanted to do was see her best friend.
John stood a few metres away watching Becki with a smirk on his face as she hopped from one foot to another while staring at the arrivals screen. Over the past week she had been a bundle of excitement in anticipation of Melody's arrival. Four weeks had passed since Becki started talking to him again, but he hadn't got to know her much better, she'd only travelled with him a couple of times but things were about to change as last week he had won the wwe championship and his schedule had gone crazy. Becki had no option but to travel with him now and Melody would get to tag along for ten days.
He watched as she sighed in frustration, glanced at her watch then stared at the screen again. She didn't know he was watching her, she had ordered him to stay in the car under the excuse that Melody would probably turn around and get back on the plane if she saw him. Laughing to himself John had to admit that judging by the way Melody had reacted on quite a few occasions when John had answered Becki's phone, she probably would. Sneaking up behind Becki, he leaned over to her ear
"you know, staring at the screen won't make the plane land any quicker"
Becki nearly jumped out of her skin, as John laughed she glared at him.
"what are you doing in here?"
"thought you might like some company"
"I told you to stay in the car, she'll freak if she sees you"
"I was bored! Once the plane lands I'll go back to the car"
"ok" Becki looked back up at the arrivals screen
"Bex, chill" John dragged her away from the screen
"But…"
"Five minutes away from it isn't gonna kill you"
Becki pouted as John led her over to a chair and made her sit down.
"I was fine where I was!"
John laughed, over the past few weeks he had learned that Becki had a stubborn streak and he didn't think it would take her long to stalk back over to the screen.
"You'll go cross eyed if you keep staring at the screen" Becki gave him an evil look then looked in the direction of the screen.
"Although the cross eyed looked may suit you" John moved away trying to dodge her hand which had reached out and slapped his arm.
"Your mean!"
"hey you're the one that slapped me! I think that makes you mean"
"you deserved it!" Becki stuck her tongue out at him as she hopped up and made her way back over to the screen.
After twenty minutes of John pulling Becki away from the screen and holding her hostage in the chair the arrival of Melody's flight was announced. Jumping up out of the chair Becki turned to John with an excited grin on her face,
"Ok back to the car" she ordered
"who's working for who here?" John asked with a smile
Smirking Becki replied "You gave me the day off remember? Your just tagging along to annoy me"
"yeah I just love annoying you!"
"Don't I know it! Go back to the car" She started pushing him towards the exit
"ok, ok I'm going" John said laughing as he headed back to the car.
John was sat in the drivers seat staring out the window. He was bored. It was about ten minutes since the flight arrived and he was hoping Becki and Melody would soon be arriving at the car. The journey back to hotel was going to be amusing for him as Melody had hung up on him every time he had answered the phone and he couldn't wait to see how she reacted to him being in the car.
He thought back over the past few weeks, the time he spent with Becki, which wasn't that much, had been interesting, he could honestly say he had found a friend not just an assistant in Becki. He hadn't found out that much about her other than she is 22 years old, loves movies and has a stubborn streak, but he now thought of her as a friend and was determined to find out as much as he could about her.
Around twenty minutes after he had got back in the car John spotted Becki leaving the terminal dragging a huge suitcase followed by a pretty slightly taller girl dragging an even bigger suitcase, she was wearing jeans with black shirt, her hair was light brown and half way down her back. He figured that must be Melody.
"Mel your only here for ten days what's with two suitcases?"
"The one your dragging has your stuff in it!"
"My stuff?"
"yeah, things that you had left at mine, I didn't have time to give them to your dad when he was shipping stuff over"
"Oh ok"
"When do I get to see your house anyway?"
"in two days"
"Cant wait" Melody blew a piece of hair out of her eyes "How much further? This is heavy"
"Not far John couldn't find a space any nearer"
"Who!"
'oops should have told her that first' Becki thought as she turned to her friend with a sweet smile.
"I forgot to tell you, John drove me here"
"Your joking?"
"um…no"
"Oh god" Melody turned back towards the airport but Becki grabbed her arm
"You'll be fine, see he's heading this way" Becki pointed towards John who was making his way over to them.
"Oh god" Melody mumbled.
John was watching them from the car when he saw Melody stop and turn back to the airport.
'she's just told her then' he thought. He had decided then to go and help them with the bags before Melody tried to get back on a plane.
"Hey there" he said as he came to a stop next to Becki
Melody whimpered as Becki replied "Hey, John this is Melody" Becki turned to Melody with a smirk on her face and said "Melody this is John"
"I know" she replied through gritted teeth
"Nice to finally meet you" John said as he held out his hand to her
When Melody made no response Becki elbowed her which caused her to jump. Throwing a dirty look at Becki she took Johns hand and squeaked "you too"
"wow she does speak" John smirked at Melody who had gone bright red and was trying to hide behind her hair.
Becki smacked him on the arm and mouthed the words 'be nice'. John grinned and mouthed back 'I'm always nice'. Becki rolled her eyes as John grabbed both suitcases and carried them to the car.