Chapter 12: And So It Begins...
A/N: Let me tell you guys, writer's block is so NOT fun... I'm trying to work through it and you guys are all being so patient, which I'm thankful for. Thanks to Nina for always being there for me to talk to and putting up with my constant promises of updating... Don't be too brutal if/when you review... Now, on with the chapter!
"Are you ready for tonight?" Chris asked, walking up behind Stephanie. He wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned his chin on her shoulder, then gazed at the amazing picture their reflections made in the mirror together. They really did make a pretty good-looking couple. He seriously couldn't imagine having any other woman by his side for the rest of his life.
"I'm ready. The question is, are you ready?" Stephanie replied seriously as she looked him in the eyes through the mirror. "Are you ready to pretend to hate me again? And to see me pretending to get all chummy with Christian?"
"Like I told you before, I could never hate you, and it's going to be hard to pretend to hate you now, too," he answered. "Do you know how hard it was to pretend to hate you all those years ago? And for so long? Secretly loving you and pining after you and then pretending to hate you, that just wasn't my style..."
"Aw, you pined after me?" she asked, turning around in his arms. "And you secretly loved me?" He nodded, and she smiled. "I felt the same way about you. I wanted you so bad, every time I saw you in those vinyl pants, I wanted to just-"
He interrupted her, closing the short distance between them and kissing her softly. After a short while, he pulled back, resting his forehead against hers and sighing in content. "You're mine," he whispered to her. "All mine."
"And you're mine," she whispered back. "Forever." She was about to kiss him again, but the doorbell rang, so she pulled away to glace over at the clock. "Oh, I didn't realize what time it was. That must be Christian."
"Oh, so it's time to go now, huh?" he asked her, not wanting to let go.
"Yes, baby, it's time to go," she replied, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek. She gently pulled away from him and looked sadly down at her hand. "Damn it, I really don't want to take my ring off."
"Then leave it on," he said. "It would make me that much happier if you flaunted that ring around in front of your dad... He'd be completely clueless about its significance."
"And you call me devious," she said with a grin. "For you... I'll keep it on. I'll look at it and remember why the hell we're going through with this whole plan anyway."
"You do that, then," he told her, kissing her cheek. "Now come on, Christian's waiting for us outside."
Christian leaned against the door outside and looked at nothing in particular. His eyes focused on a car that was passing by, but his mind was anywhere but there. Instead, he was thinking about the same thing he'd been thinking about since he'd found out about what had happened between Chris and Trish... He was thinking about his revenge.
He didn't want to have to use and hurt Stephanie, but that was just the way things were going to have to be. Stephanie was a great person, but she was the one who could be everything he needed to get his revenge... And he had no doubts that he was going to get his revenge... He already had a plan, and that plan was going to start today at the pay-per-view...
"Hey, sorry for keeping you waiting," Stephanie said as she opened the door for Christian. Chris was right behind her, and she grabbed his arm and looked into his eyes, smiling. "This guy was keeping me occupied upstairs..."
"Shhh, don't tell our bedroom secrets," Chris joked, smiling back at her. He looked at Christian, then at his watch. "I guess it's about time we get ready to-"
"Right. So we're arriving together, aren't we?" Christian asked Stephanie, cutting Chris off in the process. Chris looked surprised that Christian had interrupted him the way that he did, but Christian ignored it and looked at Stephanie. "It's going to be just me and you or will Chris be with us, too?"
"It's going to be just me and you," Stephanie answered, not noticing the way Christian had interrupted Chris. She checked to make sure she had everything she needed as she spoke. "We should probably head over there now and be a little early, you know... So I can show you off backstage."
"Show me off, huh? I'm sorry, Steph, I'm not your boyfriend," Christian joked, poking her playfully on the arm. Yet, he added mentally, his smile growing a little bigger.
"I'll see you at the arena," Stephanie told Chris. She leaned over to kiss him softly. When she pulled away, she saw the worried look on his face and sighed. "Everything's going to be ok with us, baby. Tonight is just the first stage in our plan, but we're going to get my dad and Trish back for what they did..."
"Something just feels wrong. I don't know how to explain it," Chris said, lowering his voice so that Christian wouldn't hear him. "I don't know what it is, Stephy, but something feels...weird about this."
"It's always weird at the beginning of something new... We can pull this off, Chris, I know we can," she assured him. She kissed him again, tracing the side of his face lightly with her finger. "I'll see you there, baby... I love you."
"I love you, too," he whispered back.
"So, I hate to break up this little lovefest, but we're going to need to leave now if we're going to get there early," Christian interrupted. If he had to watch one more minute of those two professing their love to each other and making googly eyes at each other, he was going to shoot himself in the foot. He didn't know why he was feeling this way, but just watching those two made him jealous... Why couldn't he have had this kind of relationship with Trish? Why did Chris get to have the perfect life? Why did Chris get to have the perfect woman?
"Uh, Christian?" Stephanie asked, touching Christian's arm. He shook his head as if clearing his thoughts, then looked at her with one eyebrow raised. "You kind of zoned out for a minute," she explained. "I'm ready when you are."
"Ok, then let's go," Christian said. He looked over at Chris and nodded, deciding that he really didn't want to say anything to the other man right now. Sure, that was his best friend, and he'd been tricked into sleeping with Trish... But the fact of the matter was that Chris had slept with Trish, and no matter what the circumstances were, Christian wanted his revenge...
Chris watched Stephanie and Christian head over to Christian's car together. Christian opened the door for Stephanie and waited for her to get in before closing the door and walking around to the other side and getting in. He watched the two back out of the driveway. Stephanie blew him a kiss and he caught it, then blew her one back. As the car pulled away, he felt like something was wrong...
He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he could tell that something was up with Christian, and all of a sudden, he didn't think this so-called plan for revenge was such a great idea anymore...
He just didn't know how right he would be.
At The Arena...
"Are you sure you're really ready for this?" Stephanie asked, looking over at Christian. They were in the parking garage, sitting in the car. They had only just arrived at the arena, and they had yet to get out.
"I'm ready. The question is, are you ready for this?" Christian countered.
"I was born ready," she answered confidently. She looked at him with a concerned look on her face. "But seriously, I only asked if you were ready because... Well. I've had a few days to process the news of what happened between Chris and Trish, and you've only had since yesterday. I know how I felt when I first heard about it, and it still sickens me to think about it..."
"Sickens me, too," he said with a sigh, looking out the window. "To think of my best friend and my ex being together in that way. To think of them making love, it's-"
"That's not what they were doing, ok? When Chris and I are together, that's what it is. When they were together, it wasn't anything like that," she was quick to point out. "Look, Christian, the thing is, the first thing I thought of when Chris told me was getting revenge, and I'm sure that's what you're thinking, too. I just... I just don't want you to want revenge on the wrong person. I don't want you to want revenge on Chris, because he was the victim here, too."
"Revenge on Chris? Who said I wanted revenge on Chris?" he asked with a nervous laugh. "He's my best friend..."
"And he slept with your...Trish... And no matter how it happened, that's probably the only way you'll see it," she said. She smirked a little at the look of surprise on his face. "It's like I can read you like a book, I know that's what you're thinking. I'm intuitive, at least, that's what Chris says... But I'm thinking you probably want to get back at Chris, too, and I'm just warning you now that you shouldn't try that."
"Are you threatening me, Stephanie?" he asked, looking intently at her.
"No, I'm not threatening you, Christian. I'm just trying to make sure that you have the same intentions that Chris and I have," she explained. "Because if not, then you really don't need to be a part of this."
"Let me assure you, Stephanie, my intentions are the same as yours. You want revenge and so do I," he said seriously. He looked at her for a minute, and he saw her searching his face, probably trying to see if he was sincere. He held her gaze until he saw her relax a little, and he smiled at her.
"So we're on the same page?" she asked him.
"Definitely," he answered.
"Then let's do this."
Five minutes later, the pair headed into the building and began walking through the hallway, searching for Stephanie's office. After walking around in what seemed like one endless maze, they ended up in front of a room with a sign on it that read: Chris Jericho/Stephanie McMahon.
"What the hell is this? I thought he was trying to keep you guys apart," Christian said, eyebrows knitted in confusion as he studied the sign on the door.
"You know how my dad is. He's keeping us apart, but he's making us stay around each other so it hurts... He just wants to twist the knife in a little harder," Stephanie answered, shaking her head as she looked at the sign. "You know, it's really sad that he would do this to someone he supposedly loves... I'm his daughter, you know?"
"Of course I know you're his daughter. Everyone knows," he joked. "You have his chin."
"Shut up," she laughed, opening the door and walking into the room. Her laughter died when she saw her father waiting in there for her.
"Ah, Stephanie, you're here," Vince spoke, smiling at his daughter. When Christian stepped in behind her, his smile disappeared instantly, and he stood up. "Christian? What the hell are you doing here?"
"He's here with me, Daddy, to help me through...everything that's been going on with Chris," Stephanie said, immediately jumping into the role of the heartbroken princess. "I spent all week with Christian at his house because I was so upset over what happened with Chris..."
"Don't worry, Vince, I comforted your little princess just the way she needed me to," Christian said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively at the older man, then smirking.
"You don't work here anymore, Christian, so you aren't supposed to be here!" Vince exclaimed, getting angry when he saw the smirk on his former employee's face.
"Daddy, Christian's my guest... He's helping me get over Chris," Stephanie said, looking down at the floor. When she looked back up at her father, her eyes were filled with tears. Damn, I'm good, she thought smugly, but she spoke in a choked voice. "Because isn't that what you wanted me to do, Daddy? Didn't you want me to get over Chris? He doesn't want me anymore, remember?"
"Of course I remember, but did you have to choose Christian?" Vince asked, shaking his head to show his disapproval. "How do you know this guy's not just here to use you to get back at me?"
"Make no mistakes about it, Vince, I don't like you," Christian said bluntly. "But I do like your daughter and as long as she needs me to get over my jackass friend, then I'm going to be here for her, end of discussion."
"I don't like this, I don't like this one bit, damn it," Vince said angrily, heading over to the door. He looked at Christian with a look of distaste on his face. "And does Chris know that you're with my daughter now? I thought he was your best friend, and now you're with his ex-girlfriend... What kind of a friend are you?"
"Chris will find out in due time what he gave up when he let Stephanie go," Christian said coolly, putting his arms around Stephanie. He pulled her to him and hugged her, and she leaned against him, playing her role to the fullest. "He'll regret it, too..."
"Who's going to regret what?" came a new voice. Everyone looked over towards the door, where Chris was standing with his duffle bag. Chris looked over at Stephanie, who was in Christian's arms, then at Vince, then at Christian. Time to jump into my role. "What the hell is going on here? Christian, what are you doing here, and with her?"
"I heard about the breakup, and... How do I put this lightly? I think you're a jackass," Christian said bluntly, glaring at Chris and still hugging Stephanie.
"You don't even know what happened," Chris countered, rolling his eyes. He looked at Stephanie, taking notice of the tears glistening in her eyes. Damn, she's a great actress, he thought, forcing himself not to smile. "What are you doing with him?"
"You shouldn't care, but if you have to know, he's helping me get over you," Stephanie answered, looking down to avoid smiling at him. She hugged Christian back and looked the other way so she wouldn't have to look at Chris. "I can't even look at you right now, Chris..."
"Like I wanted a trash-bag ho like you looking at me anyway," Chris scoffed, dropping his duffle bag over by the couch and heading for the door. "I'm going to go get some water... Feel free not to follow me."
"She wouldn't want to anyway!" Christian called after Chris as he left the room.
Vince looked at Christian and Stephanie, then shook his head and walked out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him. As soon as the door closed, Stephanie broke away from Christian and wiped her eyes, laughing a little as she sat down in the chair behind her desk.
"That was so hard. I wanted to laugh so bad," she laughed, leaning back in the chair. "Daddy's so clueless. He has no idea what's really going on here... He's so out of the loop..."
He's not the only McMahon out of the loop, Christian thought, looking at Stephanie and smiling lightly. She rose one eyebrow at him, as if asking him why he was looking at her, and he just kept smiling. "And so it begins," he said quietly.
She nodded her head, smiling back at the thought of getting revenge on her father. "And so it begins..."