Torment of Tantalus

Chapter 1

"Chris? Chris, you in here?" Stephanie McMahon's voice drifted into Chris Jericho's locker room. The blonde Canadian—currently finishing packing his wrestling gear into his duffel bag—raised his eyebrows at her fast, excited knocking.

"Yeah, I'm here," he called out, and Stephanie walked in, a happy, energetic smile on her face. Chris studied her silently as he sat on the bench of his locker room. She had changed since her job as GM had dropped, and instead worked 'supervising' RAW. A simple pair of low-riding jeans and a tight-fitting shirt was her attire for the day—and, Chris had to admit, he wasn't exactly complaining. Her bangs had grown out, and her hair was at the length that it once was when she owned ECW. There was a large grin on her face, and she looked like she was ready to burst with happiness. Chris paused, feeling uneasy. Since she had began her job on RAW, they had become close friends. They had helped each other over the past months – between Trish's betrayal and Stephanie's doomed relationship that she had renewed with Hunter. It seemed years ago—when it was only, in fact, two months ago—that Stephanie had caught Hunter sleeping with a random groupie. Jericho had helped her to accept the end of their relationship, and helped her move on, and he was near positive that she had. But looking at the smile on her face at the moment, Chris froze. It was the Hunter-smile: the smile she always wore after she went on a pleasant date with him. 'She swore that Hunter wouldn't have a place in her life anymore,' Chris thought to himself, dread welling in his stomach. Try as he might to accept Triple H, he couldn't, because Hunter had attained-and held on a string-the one thing that Chris wanted, but never could get: Stephanie.

Chris wasn't sure when he had noticed the change in his own attitude about her. He had slowly started to notice her – the way her outfits clung to just the right spots, how perfect her body was… Then, it had taken a turn further. How would it feel to kiss those lips? When he caught himself wondering that, he knew he had crossed the line. He had fallen in love with the boss's daughter, his worst enemy's on-again, off-again girlfriend, his best friend…Someone so unattainable that every time he thought about asking her out, it hurt.

"You're wearing your smile," he told her, standing up. She paused, her expression freezing, but the smile not drifting from her face.

"What smile?" she asked in response, confused.

"The Hunter smile," he accused, folding his arms over his chest. She hesitated, and Chris closed his eyes, feeling his heart fall in the near vicinity of his feet. Something had happened to her and Hunter: something good, and Chris didn't like the feel of it.

"Look, Chris, I know I said I would keep him out of my life—"

"You promised yourself and you promised me," he corrected. "You told me to give you a reality check if you did."

Stephanie gave him a sheepish, guilty smile. "Yeah, I did, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did," Chris replied, his tone clear that she couldn't weasel herself out of that corner. "What happened between you and Hunter?"

Stephanie bit her lip down before she spoke, and it was clear that she was nervous telling him this. She knew what Chris thought of Hunter. "You know how I was gone for the past four days with Daddy to consider angles?" Chris nodded. "Well…Hunter was there…"

Chris simply stared at her, mentally imagining a knife stabbing his heart over and over again as she told him about the dates Hunter had taken her own, how Hunter had apologized over and over again. When she paused to take a breath, Jericho spoke. "And you believed him."

"What?" Stephanie said, not knowing what he was talking about.

"You believed him when he said he was sorry."

"Chris, you don't understand… You had to be there…" she trailed off.

"All I know is that he pulled the same act on you twice already—not including this time, and it ended with you in tears both times."

"Third time is the charm," Stephanie whispered, looking away.

"You're willing to put yourself on the line, again, with Hunter just because he gave you some flowers and a 'sorry'?" Chris asked, knowing his voice was sharp. Stephanie clenched her jaw, all signs of a smile gone from her face again. "You've done this twice already," he said, his tone earnest for her to listen to him, "Don't make the same mistake a third time. He's going to hurt you just as bad. When he comes again a fourth time, will you still be this naive?" he ran a hand through his hair, inwardly pleading Stephanie to listen to him. "Why did you forgive him, Steph?" he asked.

Stephanie stared at Chris, hurt. She had expected Chris to be happy for her in the end—not downright negative of it! It hurt that her best friend thought she was stupid to accept Hunter's apology, and Stephanie reacted to the hurt the way she always did—she lashed out against him. "I forgave him, because that's what you do when the man you love makes a mistake!" she yelled at him, and what she thought to be a simple defense hurt him more than she'd ever know. '…the man you love…' he repeated over in his mind, feeling the raw pain. "But you wouldn't know what love is, would you?" she snapped at him. "You're reflecting your relationship with Trish onto mine," she accused, "All you two had was lust, and she didn't love you to forgive you. And frankly, with all that crap about the bet, I don't blame her!"

The words hurt him deeply, but he wouldn't allow himself to show her. Instead, he retaliated. "Maybe you're right, Trish and I didn't love each other, because if what you say is true, she would have forgiven me," he opened his mouth to speak again, but she interrupted him.

"Yeah, you should forgive if you're in love, but a bet? I would draw the line there!"

"So what you're saying is that you would rather have Hunter double-time you then make a bet to see if he sleeps with you before someone else?" he countered, leaving her speechless. There was a long silence between them.

Finally, Stephanie spoke, tears brimming her eyes. "I thought you'd be excited for me, Chris, or at least happy that I'm happy," she told him, pain in her eyes, and Chris immediately felt guilty for being the cause of it. "I know you don't like Hunter, but… Can't you just appreciate it that we love each other, and we're together? Forget the past. That's your problem, Jericho: You never let go of the past," she walked quickly toward the door, setting her hand on the doorknob, and then turned to him, a single tear running down her face. "Hunter and I are getting married in three months. I want you to be my best man there," she opened the door, keeping her eyes away from Chris. She didn't see the heartbroken expression on his face. "I'll give you some time to think about it…I hope you say yes… And Chris… I wish you give us your blessing. It would mean the world to me." She opened the door and stepped through it.

Stephanie walked out of the room, leaving a heartbroken, crestfallen Chris Jericho in her wake.

Author's Note: You know the drill: I own nothing. I hope you like the story, and please review!