Again, I don't own anything.. thank you guys for the reviews, I'm glad you're enjoying it so far. :)
The sun was shining. Businesses were booming. Kids were playing. Vince was firing some poor worker somewhere. All in all, it seemed like a normal day.
However, Randy was quickly realizing that no day spent with Chris Jericho could possibly be coined as a "normal day".
"I'm a legend killer!"
"I'm the king of the world!"
"I'm a third-generation superstar!"
"I'm a seven-time Intercontinental champion!"
"I'm the youngest-ever World Heavyweight champion!"
"I'm the first-ever Undisputed champion!"
"At least I'm in main events!"
"Yeah, well who's beaten Triple H?!"
"Oh yeah, well -- wait a minute... you've never beaten Triple H either!"
"Check your sources again junior! I beat him to win that title one time!"
"... THAT WAS LIKE FOUR YEARS AGO!!"
"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!"
"You dress like someone who's stuck in the 70's!"
"I was kicking ass in the ring while you were still trying to hit puberty!"
"Yeah, well your plan to get Stephanie sucks!"
"Well it's not like you can think of a better one!"
They both fell silent as they glared at each other. Randy finally sighed.
"Honestly Jericho, for going on and on about your ultimate plan, this plan is just pretty pathetic."
"Like I said kid, it's not like you have any better ideas." Chris mumbled.
"I mean, damn! Talk about last resorts.. this is just extreme. I think you're going to really piss her off, even more than she already is.. which isn't really smart."
"She'll only get pissed if we mess up."
"Looking at our luck, it wouldn't surprise me if we slipped.. I personally don't like your plan."
"Yeah, well I don't like your ring music and you don't hear me complaining!"
Randy bit his lip, unwilling to take the bait and initiate yet another banter between the two.
"Well, we can work with your plan.. tweak it up a bit and iron things out."
"I'm open for any and all suggestions... assclown."
"Jackass." The younger man mumbled under his breath, but the comment was heard nonetheless.
"RUNDO, I'M THE FIRST EVER --"
"Alright alright, just shut up! Damn, on and on, you talk more than Hunter."
"I'll let that slide this one time, only because I'm feeling nice."
"And because I'm the only person actually willing to help you with this plan."
"That too."
Three Hours Later..
Stephanie felt something was different when she entered her hotel room, but couldn't place what it was. She entered cautiously, wondering if maybe Al was there, since she had given him a spare key and all. She paused and listened, but heard nothing.
"Anyone here?"
She got no answer. She sighed, not looking forward to the show that night (and seeing a certain Canadian after the week before wasn't exactly going to be a thrill either). Tossing her purse on the nice, leather sofa in the living room, she made her way into her bedroom.
Might as well get some sleep before the show, she thought to herself.
"I cannot believe I am doing this.." Randy grit his teeth as he tried to ignore the embarassment of the situation he currently found himself in.
"Oh quit your whining Rundo, damn, I swear you must've been a female in your past life." Chris growled, shaking his head.
"You're not the one with a wrestler on your shoulders that's over two hundred pounds!"
"Suck it up kid, this was your idea."
"No, going after Stephanie was my idea, but this, this is your plan!"
"But this is your plan." Chris said, mocking him under his breath. "Whine, whine, whine. Shall I break out with the violins?"
"Just get on with it already!" Randy hissed. They hadn't even begun the actual plan yet, and he was already working out a sweat. The genius plan (he questioned the genius part) up until that point, had comprised of the following:
1. Getting Randy to find out exactly which room the youngest McMahon was in. This was by far the easiest part, as it only took some flirting and a wink for him to get the young female receptionist to not only give him the room number, but also a copy of the key to the room.
2. After finding out which room she was in, the next task was to find out which window belonged to her room. Luckily for them, she was only on the second floor. After a half-hour of miscommunication, they finally got it right.
3. The next task was to fix the obvious height difference. Chris saw it as a sign from above when he found out that they could do all of this from behind the hotel, away from the public eye, since almost no one walked around the back. Dragging a dumpster over hadn't done the trick - Chris was still short a good foot from the window ledge (much to Randy's amusement).
Chris' response was to make Randy give him that extra foot, by making the younger (and more conveniently, taller) man hold him up on his shoulders while standing on the dumpster, which is where they now found themselves.
As if he didn't have a care in the world, Chris slowly played around with the digital camera in his hands, ignoring the fact that Randy was supporting his weight underneath him. He finally turned the flash off and peeked into Stephanie's window. He could only see a few inches, maybe four...
Thank God for zoom..
"Is she there yet?" Randy mumbled.
"Patience is a virtue, Rundo."
"You are far from being the most patient man I know!"
"Shhh, shhh, shut up, I think I heard something."
Stephanie yawned as she walked into her bedroom. The schedule was starting to get to her. She hadn't had decent sleep all week, and only had some odd hours before she had to leave to be on time at the show. Letting her hair down, she massaged her temples to ease the beginning of a headache that she knew was coming. She then took off her business jacket, and began unbottoning her shirt.
"What is she doing?" Randy whispered. He got no response, and didn't want to risk trying to look up at the Canadian sitting on his shoulders, lest they both topple off the dumpster altogether. "Chris?"
"Mhmm.." The older man answered, sounding dazed.
".. Jericho! Don't tell me that you're getting a view on Stephanie!"
".. I am not you perv! You know kid, you're always thinking -- aw man, she turned around.."
"And you call me the perv.."
Stephanie slipped her extra large WWE t-shirt on, before looking over her shoulder. She could have sworn she had heard something.. frowning, she let her hair fall out freely along her shoulders. She was almost ready to take her nap, but one thing was missing..
She decided to get comfortable.
She just didn't know that she would feel the effect of that decision for many days to come.
"Finally! My shoulders were starting to kill me back there."
"Yeah yeah, put a sock in it already. I've been listening to you whine and complain for the past couple of hours!"
"I listen to you whine and complain all the time!"
"Yes well, that's different."
"Whatever." Randy rolled his eyes as he rubbed his shoulder. "What's the next part?"
"Where it gets good, my friend." Chris said, smirking. "She won't know what hit her."
Later That Night..
"Chris, what a surprise."
"Trish, thanks, now I can officially have a bad day."
He gave her a fake smile and then went to walk around her, his bags slung over one shoulder. She reached out though and grabbed his arm, not willing to let him go that easily. He sighed loudly as he turned to look back at her.
"What is it?" He snapped. She was making him lose precious time towards his plan.
Little did he know that she had a plan of her own.
"What, I can't talk to you now?" She asked with a pout, knowing that that almost always softened him up.
He looked at her suspiciously, knowing something was up. "Trish, I've got things to do, so if you don't mind --"
She stepped in front of him when he tried to side-step, making him groan impatiently.
"I just wanted to let you know that you have a tag team match tonight."
"Earth-shattering news. Can I go now?"
"Just one more thing, one more thing Chris." She said, stopping him again. He gave her an irritated look, and so she leaned in closer to him, resting her hands on his chest. "I just never got the chance to apologize for what happened at Wrestlemania.."
"And if you plan to do it now that it's six months after that fact, then I don't want to hear it." He stated, sneering as he shoved her hands off him. She frowned and watched him start to walk away, before she called out to him again.
"She's never going to say yes Chris! Why don't you just give it up?"
He stopped walking, making her smirk. He snickered to himself, not knowing how she knew, and not really caring either. He was going to make Stephanie his, and he didn't care who didn't like it - he cared as much for Trish as he did for Al, and that was really saying something.
He looked over his shoulder at her, and found to his immense satisfaction that the feelings that used to overtake him at the very sight of her were gone. His smirk crept back at that; he knew he had their little game won.
"I'll see you around, Trash Stratus." He called out over his shoulder, ignoring the glare that she was giving him as he went about finding his locker room for the evening.
After all, he had bigger fish to fry.
"Steph, can I talk to you?"
"Is it important?"
"Well to me it is."
"Come in."
He stepped into the dressing room as she finished jotting down notes that she was supposed to turn in to Bischoff later on, after the show. She looked up at him and raised an eyebrow.
"What can I do for you, Randy?"
"Well, I was wondering exactly what I have to do to get a title shot against Triple H. I would ask him but he loves to beat around the bush, and I just figured you'd be the best person to answer my question."
"Let me guess, Bischoff isn't here, right?" She asked, laughing. He just smirked.
"Right.. the lazy bastard."
"Well Randy, I'll put in a word for you, since I do have a bit of say as to who the fans can pick from to go against Hunter for the title."
"Oh that's cool, thanks Steph."
"Yeah, as a matter of fact, here," She said, handing him a small pack of papers. "Those are all the nuts and bolts for Taboo Tuesday, you may want to look it over."
"I will, thanks a lot." He said, looking over some of the papers as he turned to leave. He was almost out the door when she called out to him.
She bit her lip as he looked back at her curiously, but then quickly regained her McMahon composure.
"Ahem.." She cleared her throat, and put on her business face. "I just wanted to remind you to please tell your friend Chris that he's going to be in a tag team match tonight."
"I think he knows already, but I'll tell him just in case. Why, don't want to talk to him?"
"No, I don't. Thanks, Randy."
"No problem."
"Tell me again why you're being nominated into this Taboo Tuesday thing but I'm not?"
"I was telling you earlier today, that I'm just better all-around."
"Uh huh.. they just don't want me to take over the sport, because if I got the chance to face The Nose, I'd become a double champion. As a matter of fact, that's probably why --"
"Hate to interrupt your little spiel there Chris, before you even get a chance to get started," Randy said, cutting in, "But I think you should look at this."
He handed Chris an extra sheet that was in the packet that Stephanie had given him. It was the one paper that stuck out, and rightfully so.
"Rundo, where did you get this?" Chris asked calmly after having looked over the paper. The ecstatic look in his eyes gave it all away though - he looked like a little kid who had just gotten his favorite toy, but was trying to be cool and not get overly excited.
"She must've given it to me on accident. She wasn't really looking at the papers when she grabbed them, and it was the last one, so.. it looks pretty important, maybe we should give it back." Chris gave him a look like he had a cabbage for a head. "Or uh.. maybe not?"
"I like the second idea." The Canadian said, smirking as he folded the sheet carefully and walked over to put it in his gym bag, right next to his handy digital camera.
"But Chris, that thing looked important."
"Finders keepers, losers weepers, kid. Don't worry though, this may be the break we needed."
If it wasn't Trish that always on his case, it was Christian. It was getting to be really annoying too. So much in fact, that Chris was almost glad that Shawn was the one to get pinned, even though it cost him the match too.
Hopefully now Christian will buzz off so I can focus on bigger and better things.
He groaned loudly when he saw Al waiting in the back, no doubt for his little "friends". Chris walked right past him, ignoring the look he was getting from Al. Unfortunately, the moron's eye had improved, he noted to himself bitterly.
Al watched the Canadian stalk right past him, shaking his head. He looked behind him, where he was joined by the rest of the group consisting of Trish, Christian, and Tyson.
"He's an ass." Trish mumbled, breaking their silence as they all watched Chris disappear down one of the hallways.
"We gotta stick to the plan though."
"Steph, babe, how are you?"
"Oh my God.. Al.. I am about to have a heart attack."
"Why?" He asked, concern crossing his features as he stepped into her dressing room. "What's the matter? You okay?"
He raised an eyebrow, puzzled as he approached her desk. She was frantically looking through all her paperwork, tossing the unnecessary sheets to the side. Needless to say, she was making a huge mess.
"Stephanie?"
"You have GOT to be KIDDING ME!!"
"Did you lose something?"
"Yes I lost something, what kind of stupid question is that?!" She growled, before collapsing in her leather chair and covered her face with her hands, trying not to panic.
How could I have lost that paper?
It had the final lists of all the contracts!
My dad wants it by tonight!
Oh my God, I can't BELIEVE I lost it!
It was RIGHT on my desk, right under those papers for Taboo Tuesday!
Oh man, now what am I going to do?!
"Babe, tell me what you lost, I'll help you look for it."
.. Wait a second.
"It has to be here somewhere.." Al said, shifting some papers around.
It was under those papers for Taboo Tuesday...
"Is it this?" He asked, holding up a paper with matches listed on it.
I gave those papers away to Randy though.. wait.. RANDY! HE HAS TO HAVE IT!
"Or maybe it's this.." The phrase died on Al's lips as Stephanie bolted out of the dressing room.
"Well then.. never mind." He mumbled to himself.
Randy looked up as someone barged into his locker room, and was slightly surprised that it wasn't Chris, coming to whine about Shawn costing him a match. He was even more surprised to see that it was Stephanie, barging in without so much as a knock.
"Stephanie," He greeted as he stood up slowly, having finished lacing up his wrestling boots. "What's up?"
"Randy, do you still have those papers that I gave you earlier?" She demanded. He looked at her, confused, noticing that she seemed slightly out of breath.
"Yeah, they're over there." He gestured towards his gym bag. She looked and saw the stack of papers before rushing over. He crossed his arms and watched as she flipped through the paperwork. "Did you lose something?" He asked curiously.
"It's not here," She said, groaning as she put the papers back down. "I could have sworn.."
"If it was with the pack of papers you gave me, then you might want to check with Chris."
She whirled back around towards him, and he was surprised at the look of mistrust in her eyes.
"Why would I want to check with him, Randy?"
"Well, I went to see him after I saw you, like you said, to tell him about his match and whatnot, and he was looking over those papers with me.. so it's possible that maybe whatever you're looking for ended up in his locker room, that's all I'm saying."
She sighed and rubbed the back of her neck, before finally nodding. "Fine.. I'll check with him. Thanks Randy."
"Anytime.. hope you find what you're looking for."
Stephanie was prepared to deal with him. She was a McMahon, damn it - she dealt with wrestlers all the time, this was no new territory. Straightening in posture, she knocked three times on his door. If he even so much as gave her an attitude, she was going to have to --
Her train of thought was derailed completely when he opened the door. She maintained her impeccable posture and the confident look on her face, yet could not think of anything to say.
Perhaps it was that he was only clad in a towel, still semi-wet from the shower he had obviously taken that had thrown her off..
"Steph, what a surprise.. finally come to your senses huh?" He said smugly, as he ran a hand through his damp hair.
She narrowed her eyes angrily at him. "I think Randy may have left something of importance here."
He was about to reply when she shoved her way past him (ignoring how good he smelled), and took a look around his locker room. He snickered, closed the door and locked it, before approaching her from behind.
She felt him behind her, and before she knew it, he had wrapped his arms around her, hugging her from behind. She let the contact be for a few seconds (it did feel very nice..), before elbowing him and getting out of his grip.
"Geez, can't even give a hug anymore these days," He mumbled, rubbing his chest as she gave him a dirty look.
"I'm in a rush Jericho, and you're holding me up."
"What is it that you're looking for? You name it Princess, and I'll provide it -- a real man, perhaps? A champion.. a champion among champions.."
She rolled her eyes and gave the room a once-over again.
"You know I have what you want, Stephanie." He said, walking over towards his gym bag. She snickered as he pulled out a towel.
"No Chris, I don't think you do. This was a waste of time." She sneered, cursing mentally for having even bothered with him. She should have known better, she thought to herself as she headed back towards the door.
"Aw, what a shame, and here I was actually thinking about giving you that list back." He said, snickering as he began towel-drying his hair. When he straightened again and got the hair out of his eyes, he saw her glaring at him.
"You have it."
"Maybe I do, maybe I don't."
"I don't have time for your stupid games Jericho, I need that paper! It has very important information on there about everyone's contracts!"
"Well then, I suggest you ask for it back in a nicer way, if you want it back at all, wouldn't you say so?"
"I NEED THAT PAPER, JERICHO!" She shrieked, making him wince.
"Steph, relax. You'll get it back.. if you give me something for it, that is." He said, with a grin.
"What do you want? And if you say sex, then so help me, I'll --"
"No no, none of that. Just one simple request, and I'll give it back to you, intact, every last name on there."
"Well hurry up, what is it?" She demanded impatiently.
"Simple.. your cell number, and a date. My reward for that bet that I should have won in the first place.. cheater." He said with a smirk. She stared at him, somehow knowing she shouldn't have been surprised with that answer.
"You know what?" She said, finally regaining her wits - which took some effort with him asking her out, looking as good as he was at the moment. "I absolutely refuse to be blackmailed into a date with you. Absolutely refuse!"
"Stephy, this isn't blackmail. This is a deal for a deal. You give me something I want, I give you something that you want. It's really pretty cut and dry."
"Keep that stupid contract list, I'd rather get a lecture from my dad than get blackmailed!" She kept her glare on him, annoyed even more when he laughed it off. He reached down into his bag and pulled out a digital camera with one hand, the other hand keeping his towel at a decent position.
"I'm telling you, it's not blackmail." He said, turning the camera on. She snorted and rolled her eyes as he walked towards her, scrolling through some menus.
"Oh yeah, it's a deal for a deal. Whatever, it's blackmail, I can't believe you -- you.. had the nerve.." Her voice trailed off as he finally found the picture he had been looking for, and had the courtesy to share with her. He smirked as she visibly paled at the sight of the picture.
"See Steph, this, you can call blackmail, though I personally think the term is a bit strong. You see the difference?" He said arrogantly, unable to hide the amusement from his tone. "Before it was a deal for a deal, but now, it's you either accept my offer for a date, or I get copies of this picture made and get it posted up in all the locker rooms next week on Raw."
"You wouldn't dare.."
"Oh, let me see," He said, turning the camera back around so he could look at the picture. "What have we here? Queen Bitch Stephanie McMahon sleeping with, what's this? A stuffed dinosaur?! And are those Spongebob pajama pants I see? Adorable, really.. I thought girls were more into the stuffed bear thing, you know.. when they're five."
Blushing furiously, she scowled as she stared at him, not knowing what to say. She knew he was very capable of going through with his threat, and the last thing she needed was Bischoff seeing a picture so.. demeaning.
"How did you get that picture?" She forced herself to ask.
"Oh I have my sources. Personally I think you look adorable and the whole world would enjoy the picture as much as I do. Hell, maybe I can even put it on the Highlight Re --"
"Alright! Alright!" She said, sighing as she rubbed her temples. "If you promise me that you will delete that picture and not breathe a word of this to Al, then.. I'll go out with you." Another heavy sigh.
"Is that a deal?" He asked, his smirk growing.
"I can't believe you, Jericho.. you are the biggest ass I have ever met.. you are blackmailing me into a date! I just can't believe the audacity.."
"Like I said, blackmail is a strong word. Oh, before you leave," He walked back over to his bag as quickly as he could without dropping his towel. He looked in his bag, and pulled out the contract sheet, a magazine, and a pen. Going back to her, he handed her the list.
"Thanks," She said dryly, her blush still present as she snatched the list out of his hands. "For nothing."
"Aw that hurts.. but anyways, next week after the show?" He said, smirking excitedly. She sighed again and nodded slowly.
"Fine, after the show it is. You had BETTER delete that picture Jericho, or I swear.."
"Princess, anything for you. So then, why don't you just jot your number down for me right here?"
"Why? There's no reason for you to call me." She said, a look of disgust on her face. "I'm going to see you next week, unfortunately."
"Wow." He said, a thoughtful expression coming to his face. "I wonder what Hunter would think if he saw this picture. Somehow, I don't think he'd be surprised, since you two were married and all, but maybe he'd like to be reminded on what he's missing out on, you know, for old time's --"
She snatched the magazine and pen out of his hand, and in a clear space, furiously wrote out her cell phone number. She felt like hitting him on the head with the magazine, but decided against it as she tossed it back to him, pen and all.
"Thanks, Steph."
"Whatever."
"I thought the dinosaur was a nice touch myself."
"Goodbye, Jericho."
Five minutes later..
"Stephanie McMahon speaking."
"Stephy baby, it's your sexy beast of a knight in shining armor."
Stephanie shot a look at Al, who was packing up all her paperwork for her as he hummed to himself. She cleared her throat, making him look back up at her. She signaled to him that she was going to step outside, and he nodded.
"What do you want?" She whispered as she stepped out of her dressing room.
"Just wanted to see if you really gave me your real number, or if you gave me a rejection hotline number or something like that." He said, laughing.
"I don't trust you enough to do something like that."
"Well, Stephanie, I just want to let you know that the things I said last week, well --"
"Don't worry about it, Chris, seriously."
"But I --"
"I don't want to talk about this right now." She snapped, making him sigh.
"Fine, fine.." He said, before snickering.
"What?" She demanded, putting her free hand on her hip. "What's so funny?"
"You." He stated simply, amused.
"How am I funny?" She growled, making him laugh.
"So worked up over a little picture, how can you not be funny?" His words made her blush again as she remembered the picture.
"It's sad you have to resort to this, Christopher."
"It's even sadder that it worked!" He exclaimed, before laughing again. "But anyways, I'll see you next week."
"Yes.. unfortunately."
"Don't worry Steph, we'll have fun."
"Yay." She mumbled sarcastically. "A night out with you, how fun."
"A night out with you?" What the hell is going on?!
Al scowled, cursing his luck as he pressed himself closer up against the door, straining his ears to hear more. His girlfriend was not going to go out with that bastard! What if it got out? Oh, the humiliation.. he decided that something would have to be done.
Meanwhile, about a foot away on the other side of the door, Stephanie rolled her eyes.
"Hey, you can look at it negatively all you want, but in the end, you'll be thanking me for this fantastic opportunity."
Now it was her turn to laugh. "You are serious about this, aren't you?"
"Always am when it comes to you, sweetcheeks."
"Alright well, I'm gonna go, Al's waiting on me."
"Okay, see ya next week, Princess."
"Don't remind me. Goodbye, Chris."
"You mean it actually worked?"
"Hell YES it worked!" The Canadian exclaimed, clapping the younger man on the back. Randy winced at that, still sore from his match. "I got her number, and a date!"
"... You mean it really worked?"
"Yes! Stop asking already, you're sounding like a broken record. I told you the plan was flawless."
"Yeah but, isn't she pissed?"
"Oh I'm sure, but I'm going to sweep her off her feet next week.. she's going to be mine."
"Hey, what do I get for helping you out with all this?" Randy whined as he held an ice pack to the back of his head.
"What are you talking about? I was the one who came up with the plan! What did you do?"
"Uh.. how about all the work?!"
"Oh come on." Chris said, waving it off with his hand.
"Like holding you up there because you're too short to reach the window ledge by yourself?"
"Well I had to actually take the picture."
"You just pressed a button!"
"It takes skill to take a picture Rundo, and don't you forget it!"
"Whatever," Randy groaned, feeling a headache coming on. "There's just no winning with you."
"You better believe it." Chris grinned, rubbing his hands together. "Man, I can't wait for next week.."
"You better not screw up, or else there went your last chance."
"Don't worry kid, I'm not planning on it."
Two hours later, four individuals were busy discussing the events of the day, in the privacy of a car outside of the hotel where Al and Stephanie were staying.
"They're going out."
"How the hell do you know that?"
"I heard her talking on the phone with him."
"Well do you know when?"
"I'm guessing next week, because she kept telling me on the way here that she didn't want to go to the show next week."
"Are you sure she was talking to Jericho?"
"I don't know another Chris she would be talking to like that." Al replied in his smart-ass tone, before sighing.
"Well, looks like we're going to have to resort to Plan B." Trish said, tapping her chin in thought. The three men turned to look at her.
"What the hell is Plan B?" Tyson asked, looking confused.
"I think we should take Jericho out next week." Christian said knowingly, nodding slowly. "That'll show him, stupid show-off.. always hogging up my spotlight.." He mumbled under his breath, as Tyson and Trish rolled their eyes.
"Well, we have to do something. There's no way my girlfriend is going to go out with him."
"Alright, strategy time." Trish said, as the four began brainstorming.
Meanwhile..
Stephanie was getting ready to go to bed (after having made sure that all the shades were shut to her window), and was getting comfortable when her cell phone vibrated. She picked it up and saw that she had a text message. Climbing into bed, she pulled her blankets over her and decided not to bring in her cute little dinosaur with her.
Stupid Jericho.. him and his stupid towel. She thought to herself as she opened the text message. It was a short message, and it was from him. She read it over again, and then once more, and on she went until she had read it over at least eight times.
"Hey Princess, just wanted to say good night. Hope you're not too mad at me. Love, your sexy beast, CJ."
She sighed and held the phone close to her, thinking about Chris but wondering when Al was going to come back. She was starting to doze off when the phone vibrated again, scaring her half-to-death.
So like him to do that too.
"Btw Steph, kick Al to the curb. You can do better (like with me)."
She snickered at the text message, before turning off her phone altogether. She tossed it aside and decided not to wait up for Al and get some much needed rest.
She was going to need it.