Notes: This is the eighth instalment of the Cloud Nine Series, following after "A Long Fall", "Just One of the Guys", "False Communication", "Making it Right", "The Burning Question", "More Than a Friend", and "Poetry in Motion".
I'd just like to point out that I found it really hard to write this chapter, because I love Shane McMahon!
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Chapter Eight: I Want Outxxxxx
Stephanie wrung her hands nervously, tugging at the bottom of her t-shirt and taking a deep breath. It wasn't that she was afraid that Shane and Paul Heyman could get her now, because, as odd as it sounded, she trusted Chris to protect her. She also trusted that Matt and Jeff would be there the minute it looked like they'd be needed. No, what had her worried at that precise moment in time was the look The Rock was sending her way.
"You wanna lay off a little, Jerky?"
She glanced sidelong at Chris to see that he was glaring at the People's Champ. "It's okay," she said softly, "he has a right to be suspicious."
"Damn right, the Rock has his suspicions."
Lita rolled her eyes. "Do you plan on talking about yourself in third person all night?" she asked, sighing. "And you know fine well and Chris and I are WWF through and through. We're not here to screw you over and neither is Stephanie. You wouldn't have agreed to this if you didn't know all of that, so stop boring holes in her head."
The Rock raised an eyebrow and smirked at the small redhead. "Well, look at you. You get some and-"
"Do not finish that sentence, Rocky."
"And that bikini contest-"
"A one time thing. It's not likely to happen again."
The man merely smirked again. "You know, any time you want to trade in Hardy for some of the Rock's stroodle, you-"
"Again, do not finish that sentence."
"Oh, hey, don't worry, The Rock likes his women feisty."
Lita sighed again. "Can I please kill him?"
Stephanie stifled a giggle and Chris smiled. "Not this time, Red. Wait 'til after the match."
"You mean when the Rock's leaving the ring with that shiny title of his."
"No," Chris said, hitching his belt up a little higher on his shoulder. "I mean-"
"Two minutes!" a stage hand called, walking past with her clipboard and waiting at the bottom of the stairs leading to the ramp.
Stephanie felt her nerves return and, realising that she was really about to step onto the WWF ramp next to Chris Jericho and do so willingly, she found that she was nervous about her brother and his friend, after all. She jumped as a hand landed on her shoulder and looked up, wide-eyed. She would have expected it had it been Chris, but to see The Rock looking at her, his eyes narrowed slightly in confusion, didn't make her feel any better.
"I don't know what's going on," he said softly, dropping the third-person. "But you don't need to add me to the list of your worries." She nodded, understanding that he was telling her he wouldn't hurt her out there, and he returned the gesture, before stepping away and gallantly offering his arm to Lita. The other woman rolled her eyes, but smiled as she took hold of his arm and let him lead her. The stagehand cued them to the stairs and Stephanie took a deep breath as she heard The Rock's music blasting out around the arena. She turned to look at Chris and he shifted on his feet, clearing his throat.
"I feel like I should be insulting you about now."
She grinned. "You can if you want, but I'll give as good as I get."
"Why me?" he asked suddenly, changing the mood and ignoring the young girl who was trying to get him to move towards the entrance to the arena.
"Because you don't like me."
He nodded and took her hand. "Didn't," was all he said in response.
He didn't seem to need the explanation.
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"Come on, Chris!" Stephanie pounded on the matt, ignoring the smirk on Lita's face as the redhead watched her. She knew the crowd understood that Lita was only there to even things out, that she wasn't going to cheer for either The Rock or Chris, but both men. However, it was blatantly obvious that no one had a clue about her presence.
Whilst it might have been understood that she would be there, it hadn't been expected that she would turn up willingly on Chris Jericho's arm. The fact that The Rock had nodded a greeting to her and that Lita had smiled and stood next to her at ringside had only furthered everyone's confusion. She was sure that the violent purple bruise forming under her eye hadn't helped either.
Stephanie, however, found that she didn't really care.
She hissed through her teeth, exchanging a pained glance with Lita as Chris fell to the ground, clutching his head where it had come into contact with the turnbuckle. The match had been long, longer than anyone - including both participants - had really expected and it still wasn't over. Whilst both Chris and Rocky were beginning to show fatigue, they were both still giving it their all. Win or lose, she didn't think anyone would be calling Chris Jericho a choke artist after this one.
A sudden stirring in the crowd caught her attention and, before she had a chance to react, Lita grabbed her arm, tugging her away from the ramp. She turned, knowing what she was going to see, but, somehow, her eyes widened in surprise anyway.
She and Lita scrambled into the ring, narrowly avoiding a clothes line that The Rock hadn't been able to pull out of in time, and ran to the back of the ring. The crowd hushed and the match stopped.
Chris eyed The Rock warily and, had she not been looking at the People's Champ, she might have missed the slight nod Chris received in response to his unasked question. Lita tugged on her arm and she turned to face the redhead.
"I can't do this," Stephanie whispered.
"You're not alone anymore," Lita responded, making sure that Stephanie not only heard her, but understood; they weren't going to run away and leave her alone. She nodded and turned in time to see Shane and Paul Heyman entering the ring, closely followed by RVD and Rhyno.
"Well, well, well," her brother said snidely and she wished that his microphone would break so that she wouldn't have to hear what he was going to say. She'd heard enough out of Shane's mouth already to last her a lifetime. "What have we here, little sister? Fraternising with the enemy?"
Stephanie jumped as she felt something brush her leg and she looked down to see Lilian Garcia holding a microphone up for her. She smiled briefly and took it, noting that the little blonde seemed confused both by what was going on in the ring and by her attitude. She tried to remember the last time she'd been nice to the ring announcer and was ashamed to realise that she couldn't remember.
"Got something to say, Princess?"
On hearing Heyman's voice, she turned around quickly, glancing at Chris before taking a deep breath. "Yes," she said, holding the microphone closer. "Yes, I do." She glanced at Lita, before answering. "I'm not worthless, I'm not a slut, I'm not what you've tried to make me…and you are going to lose everything."
Heyman smirked. "Those are big words, little girl."
"Yeah," Chris interrupted. "And these are pretty big fists." Without giving Heyman a chance to react, Jericho threw himself at the rotund man. Stephanie dropped to the ground at Lita's urging, the microphone slipping out of her hand as they slid out of the ring. She watched as the men in the ring began fighting and tried to remember the last time anyone had stood up for her. Suddenly she missed Hunter more than ever. She glanced at Lilian and smiled, before turning back at the sound of Lita's voice.
"Rocky, duck!"
The People's Champ was barely able to get out of the way before RVD launched himself off the top rope. The man was unable to change his trajectory at the last minute and landed on Rhyno. It didn't take long for Jeff and Matt to enter the arena, the crowd going wild at their presence and soon the only men left in the ring were WWF.
She watched Chris as he turned around in the ring, looking around until his gaze fell on the microphone Stephanie had dropped. He glanced at her, staring at her more intensely than anyone had in a long time, before walking to the opposite side of the ring. Shane and Paul Heyman were yelling from the top of the ramp, but she had no idea what it was they were saying, because she was too focussed on Chris.
"If either of you ever touch her again, I will kill you."
Not even waiting for a response, he dropped the microphone and slid out of the ring, walking round towards Lita, Stephanie, and Lilian. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement on the titantron, showing her that the Alliance members had left the arena, but her main focus remained on Chris. He held out his hand and Stephanie smiled, loosely taking hold of it.
"Why?" she said softly, repeating his earlier question. She let him lead her towards the ramp, willing to wait for his response.
"Because, crazy as it sounds, in less than two hours, I found that I care."
She smiled. "You forgot your belt," she said and he shrugged.
"Someone'll get it."
"Chris?" He turned to look at her. "Thank you."
"Any time, Princess, any time."
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Torrie frowned, tilting her head to one side as she tried to figure out where exactly the strange buzzing sound here was coming from. She crouched down, following the sound until she reached Stephanie's holdall and spotted that the front pocket was vibrating. She glanced at the door, but couldn't hear anyone coming. She looked over at the screen, watching as Lita and The Rock followed the others up the ramp and knew that they would be back soon. Shrugging, she unzipped the pocket and pulled it out, quickly checking the caller ID before answering.
"Hello," she said, almost warily, and she imagined she could see the man at the other end of the call frowning.
"Who is this?"
"It's Torrie, Torrie Wilson. Stephanie's not back yet, but she shouldn't be long. I checked to make sure it was you before I answered."
"I'm guessing there's more to this than I know."
Torrie sighed. "I think there's more to this than any of us know."
"Yeah, I think you might be right." There was a pause before he spoke again. "Just tell me, is Jericho really helping her?"
"Yes, he is. It's crazy, I know, but when I found her earlier and…and he saw Heyman hit her and it just…he's starting to see her. I think we all are." There was a sigh of relief and Torrie smiled. "I think I hear them now."
"Hey, Torrie…thanks, for answering some of my questions."
"You only asked one, well, other than 'who is this?' I mean."
"No, you answered the questions I didn't get round to asking. I told Paul Heyman that if he ever laid one more finger on her I'd beat the living hell out of him. He didn't listen."
The tone of his voice sent a shiver up her spine and she was very glad that he was on their side. The door opened and Chris and Stephanie entered, still holding hands, both of them laughing.
"Stephanie," she said and the brunette smiled at her. "Your phone rang." At the woman's alarmed look, she was quick to continue. "I checked who it was before answering." She handed the phone over and walked to the door to greet Jeff as he came into the room.
"Hello?" Steph said, her face breaking into a smile at the reply. "Hunter! How are you?"
Stephanie's voice trailed off as she walked to the bench in the far corner of the room and Torrie turned back to Jeff.
"I should go."
Jeff frowned. "You shouldn't have to."
"It's okay," she said softly. "Tajiri will look after me and the Alliance doesn't pay any attention to me anymore."
"I still hate it."
"I know. I do, too." She sighed. "It's nearly over," she said, smiling. "I can't believe it's nearly over and I don't have to worry about still being Shane's 'property' when it all ends."
"You're not property," Jeff said resolutely. "You never were."
"Oh, I think I was. For a while. If only because I believe it, too."
Jeff frowned, but whatever he would have said was lost when the door was thrown open just long enough for Lilian Garcia to enter.
"Would somebody please tell me what the hell is going on?"
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End of Chapter Eight
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