TITLE: Alluded Distress
AUTHOR NAME: Marlena R. Snape
EMAIL: bleedxblackx18aol.com
CATEGORY: Drama
SUB CATEGORY: Romance
RATING: PG-13 for language and such.
CAST: Marlena Dubois, Ashleigh Morgan, Chris Sabin, A.J Styles, as well as mentions and appearance of others throughout. ( Tons of cameos! )
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DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything, y'heard? I only own Marlena Dubois, as minus the last name and picture base? She IS me. Ashleigh is credited to one of my best friends, Candace. Brooklyn Dubois ( the few parts she's in I should say ) is credited to my friend Angel, while Marlena's parents, and her sister Patricia are my real family. Chris Sabin, A.J Styles, and the rest of the NWA:TNA superstars in this story, are to my best rendition of their real selves, but I don't know them, or own them. ( However a girl CAN wish! ) Chris Irvine ( 'Jericho' in the WWE scene ) is not mine either…oh how I wish. He makes a few appearances as well, as do a few other WWE superstars. Especially Charlie Haas. I own jack shite, okay? So don't sue me for letting my imagination run wild! :-P Enjoy the story.
Note: This chapter features the lyrics to "Because of You" by 98 degrees. All lyrics will be in bold italics.
Also in this chapter, there are some major time skips. Just because I've lasted TERRIBLE in updating.
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Chapter Five: Business and Lack of PleasureEarly the next morning, Marlena's eyes fluttered open to the sound of "Whisper" by Evanescence playing softly through her bedroom. Charlie was still asleep, his arms wrapped tightly around her. She smiled, as she leaned her head against his shoulder, her eyes slowly shutting again. But it dawned on her, what time was it?! She glanced over Charlie to the bedside table, 8 o'clock?!
"Charlie! Charlie wake up!" She said, and Charlie's eyes shot open with the urgency in her voice.
"What's wrong? What happened?!"
"Nothing…" She said, laughing softly, as she slowly began to rise. "You're the one with a plane to catch…not me."
"SHIT!"
The infamous sound of realization. Charlie stumbled out of bed, nearly falling to the floor, which caused Marlena to laugh wickedly. He got dressed quickly, as she put on a pair of blue rocker jeans and a short white cami top. Slipping on her white heeled sandals, she pulled her hair up into a bun, with chopsticks holding it in place. Charlie came out of the bathroom, in a pair of grey sweats, and a black tee-shirt, running his hand through his hair.
"We're not going to be too late are we?"
"Shouldn't be, especially with me driving…"
Charlie let out a nervous chuckle as she said that, and she smiled, taking his hand. The two walked out of her apartment, down to her car, and got in. Driving to the airport was the easy part, surprisingly, for 8:10 am, there wasn't much traffic. Only traffic lights. Charlie didn't look worried about getting to the airport, in fact, he was kind of dreading it. He didn't want to leave…not now. He sighed a little, which caused Marlena to glance over.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothin', just thinkin' is all." Charlie retorted softly, smiling. "Don'tcha worry."
"If you say so."
Marlena didn't want to press the issue, but the simple comment made Charlie cave. He shook his head, placing his hand on hers, which rested on her lap. She glanced at his hand, before looking to him as she pulled up to a stop light.
"Look. I said you do somethin' to me, and I wasn't kidding. I think I really like you."
"I like you too, Charlie." Marlena said, but Charlie shook his head.
"No, no…I mean it's more than like. You just drive me crazy, y'know? Last night, I dreamed of you. I never dream of someone I just meet and get to know."
"Yo-you had a dream about me?" She seemed a little shocked, actually, there was no seeming. She was. Charlie nodded sheepishly, as he drummed his fingers idly against his lap.
"I just, I dunno, I can't explain it."
"Maybe it's one of those things that deserves lack there of, Charlie." She said, smiling as she left the stoplight, and Charlie swallowed hard.
"Will you be my girlfriend?
Marlena's foot slammed on the breaks, it was unintentional. Had he just - he did. Charlie smirked boyishly, as he encouraged her to drive. She did, but her eyes barely left him.
"Girl I ain't the road." He said softly, but it caused her to pull off to the side of the street. He looked a little nervous now.
"What did you just ask?
"No- I - er, will you be my girlfri-"
"I heard you…" Marlena said, and it sounded like she was a little, angry? Charlie shook his head.
"Look, a simple no would be suff-"
"Yes."
Her answer came as quick, and unexpected as his question did. He finally was able to feel the shockwaves she felt, when he popped that sort of question. Marlena smirked evilly as Charlie spluttered about to find the right words.
"Yo- really? That's great, good, I mean, thank you. Uh, incredible…"
"You know, Chris was right, stammering really doesn't do you justice, Haas…"
"I'm sorry, I just - I'm happy."
"Good…that makes two of us."
"So we're official?"
Marlena leaned over, smiling as her lips hovered above his for a moment. With a quick, 'it's official', she gently pressed her lips against his. His hands found themselves on the back of her head, pulling her close to him. It was one of those first time kisses. The type, you know you'll remember forever. After a few moments, they both pulled away, and Marlena smiled.
"There. That's how you seal it."
"I don't think I got that…can we try again?" Charlie asked with a cheeky grin, which caused Marlena to giggle quietly. "I'm so serious."
"Maybe at the airport, I want to thank Chris for being an ass, because it got me a cute little Oklahoma boy to call mine."
Charlie blushed, as she bit her lower lip with a grin. It didn't take them very long after that to arrive at the airport. Charlie had called the hotel ahead of time, to ask Shelton to bring his bags with him, which was alright. By the time he got to the airport, they were already going through baggage. Charlie and Marlena walked in hand and hand, where they soon caught up with Chris, Jason, Shelton, Brock, Trish, and the rest of the superstars they had been out with the night before. Chris looked at the pair, like he was seeing things.
"Are you two holding hands?"
"Yes." Marlena said simply, which caused Chris to scratch his head.
"Does he need an escort?"
"No." Charlie stated, and Chris just shook his head.
"Ah, okay then. What am I missing?"
"Plenty…" Marlena said with a smirk, "But you'll know soon enough. By the way, Chris, thanks."
"Okay. Now you've confused me…" Chris said with a grumble, while Charlie chuckled softly.
The final arrangements had been made for the superstars, as they were heading out to California. Marlena didn't want Charlie to go, and Charlie was almost beside himself. He didn't think he would have fallen for Chris' friend like he did. Hell, he didn't think after his last girlfriend, he'd fall for anyone so quickly.
Boarding call came, and Charlie gave Marlena a look. She smiled weakly, as she nudged him to go ahead. He was about to go, but he turned around and picked her up, his arms wrapped around her.
"I'll call you." He said, and she smiled.
"I hope so…"
"I'll come back to see you next week. I don't care what I have to do. I promise."
Marlena nodded, as she wrapped her arms around his neck, and her legs were wrapped around his waist for support so she didn't fall. He made her look at him, and their foreheads were touching. He smiled, still a shy boy-like smile, as he kissed her. She kissed him back, which got a large ovation from Charlie's fellow superstars. Suddenly realization struck Chris, and he just looked shocked. Jason elbowed him in the midsection, for him to raise his jaw.
"I love ya Marlena, I'll see you soon."
"Love ya too, Charlie."
He finally let her down, as he went off to board the plane. God, why did she feel like crying? Marlena took a deep breath, as she waved them off, watching them walk through the gate to board their respective planes. She felt as if she just watched her entire life walk away from her, what the hell was wrong with her?
Getting back to her car, Marlena turned on the radio. As she was driving down the road, there was a mid-morning moment on the local station, a dedication show. The DJ, Lucas Brody, had a grin in his voice as he chuckled.
"Alright there cowboy, what's your name?"
"Charlie, Charlie Haas."
Marlena's eyes grew large, as she stopped at a stop sign. That couldn't be HER Charlie, could it?! Lucas sounded intrigued, there was no doubt the name stirred up something in the DJ's head.
"Charlie Haas? Smackdown, World's Greatest Tag Team Haas?"
"That's right, Lucas." Charlie said, and Marlena suddenly felt faint.
"Who are you thinking about this morning Charlie?" Lucas asked, and Charlie clearly was proud of his answer.
"A new diva in your town Lucas. Her name is Marlena Dubois, y'all would know her by Lena D."
"TNA's new sensation, nice choice my man!" Lucas said with a laugh. "What can I play for you?"
"Well, a friend of mine suggested the song, since I don't listen to the type very often. I have heard this song though. "Because of You" by 98 degrees. That one goes out to my baby girl in Tennessee while I'm headin' to Cali..."
"You heard it here folks, that was the WWE's Charlie Haas sending out one to your home front gal, Lena D, a celeb dedication here on Q92.2 in the morning. Going back a few years with those huggable hunks from 98 degrees, because of you, Lena D."
Marlena felt herself turn red, what in the HELL was wrong with her?! She couldn't help but smile as she shook her head, listening to the radio. God, she couldn't believe he'd do something like that! And who gave him the head's up on a song?
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You're my sunshine after the rain
You're the cure against my fear and my pain
'Cause I'm losing my mind when you're not around
It's all (It's all)
It's all because of you
You're my sunshine, oh yeah
Baby I really know by now
Since we met that day
You showed me the way
I felt it then
you gave me love, I can't describe
How much I feel for you
I said baby I should have known by now
Should have been right there
whenever you gave me love
And if only you were here
I'd tell you, yes I'd tell you
You're my sunshine after the rain
You're the cure against my fear and my pain
'Cause I'm losing my mind when you're not around
It's all (It's all)
It's all because of you
You're my sunshine, oh yeah
Honestly could it be you and me
Like it was before neither less or more
'Cause when I close my eyes at night
I realize that no one else could ever take your place
I still can feel and it's so unreal
When you're touching me, kisses endlessly
It's just a place in the sun where our love's begun
I miss you, yes I miss you baby, oh yeah.
You're my sunshine after the rain
You're the cure against my fear and my pain
'Cause I'm losing my mind when you're not around
It's all (It's all)
It's all because of you
You're my sunshine, oh yeah
If I knew how to tell you what's on my mind
(Make you understand)
The I'd always be there right by your side
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January 7th-
A couple weeks had past, and Charlie had indeed kept his promise to go back to Nashville to see her. It was time for her to go back to work, though. She got up early that Wednesday morning, 6 am early, after staying up until 11 on the phone with Charlie. They did that a lot. Late night phone calls, no matter where he was. Last night, he was getting ready for Smackdown in Omaha Nebraska.
Rolling out of bed, she trudged along to the kitchen, making herself a quick breakfast. It was a simple 3 egg omlette with green peppers, mushrooms, and lots of cheese, along with a few sausage links and a coffee. It was a typical breakfast her mother would have made her back home, but in fact, it didn't taste as bad as she thought it would.
After eating and drinking her coffee, Marlena went to get dressed. She had to get a workout in today. So she dressed ready for it, in a pair of white and blue bellbottom track pants, and a white "Kiss me I'm Canadian" tee-shirt. At least a 2 hour, after all, she had slacked majorly the past couple weeks getting ready to go back to work. She bet all the other girls hit the gym at least 4 times. She made it to the Asylum around 9 AM, where she threw her bag into the ladies' locker room. As she was coming back out, she nearly ran into someone attempting to knock. It was Allen.
"Hey girl, long time no see." He said cheerfully, and Marlena smiled.
"Hey there Allen, how are you? Have a good break?"
"Didn't really get much of a break I'm afraid." He said with a smile, "Did some work for Ring of Honor and CZW, definitely somethin' I had a blast with."
"Glad to hear it." She said happily. "I just celebrated my birthday, spent most of my time with my boyfriend. And being lazy…"
"Birthday? When was it? And lazy is definitely good." Allen said, before it dawned on him. Boyfriend? "I didn't know ya had a boyfriend." He smiled, "Who's the lucky guy?"
"January 2nd was my birthday. Just went out with my boyfriend and a couple of his friends. Though, he's hardly lucky if he has to put up with me," She smirked, "His name is Charlie." Marlena said with a soft smile. She got almost shy talking about him. He really got to her. "Charlie Haas."
"Well happy belated. You'll have to let me take you out to dinner sometime to celebrate it." He paused a moment. "Charlie? No kidding? Good for you." Allen seemed genuinely happy for her. "I've heard a lot about him, he sounds like a good guy."
"He really is. Even though we've only been together about 2 weeks, I just feel so drawn to him."
"I hope everything works out for you guys."
"Thanks Allen." She glanced at her watch, shaking her head. "I really need to get going, I need to hit the gym something fierce."
"Well hey, you want company? I've gotta tell you about a storyline Vince just told me about."
"Of course, you're always welcome. Do you know any decent gyms around here?"
"There's a lot of 'em, but I go to World Gym, Harding Place. Want me to drive?"
"Sure, let me just go get my water bottle."
"No need, the gym is stacked, I'll buy you a drink there."
"Oh, okay then." Marlena smiled softly as Allen placed his arm around her shoulder, leading her out. "Thank you."
"Not a problem."
Allen and Marlena left the asylum, heading for World Gym. It wasn't very far out of their way, in fact, Marlena wouldn't have cared either way. She was in dire need of a workout. As they arrived at the gym, Marlena got out of car, followed by Allen. He pulled his wallet out of his pocket, taking out a card.
As they got inside, Allen handed the card to the clerk, and he nodded with a smile. She looked around, and Allen came up, putting his arm around her shoulder to guide her.
"I come here a lot, it's a real nice environment." Allen explained, as they walked toward the equipment. "Here's the steppers, the treds, the bikes, all the cardio you can possibly imagine. Weights are in the back area, lots of muscle guys come here it's so renowned." Allen was a small built man, so saying 'muscle guys' had Marlena laughing a bit. He smiled at her, "What's funny?"
"Nothing. It's just cute how you said that."
Allen smiled a bit, as they started getting to the working out. It was about two hours that they stayed at the gym, and they had talked about the storyline that Vince ( Russo ) had told Allen about. She seemed cool with it, then again, it meant that her and him would be working closely together.
Back at the asylum, they ran into Ashleigh and Chris, who were walking through the backstage area together, seemingly content with the other's company. Marlena looked confused by it, but rather than being confused, Allen spoke up.
"Hey lovebirds!" he said, which seemed to catch Ashleigh and Chris by surprise. Allen smirked, "You two look…er…"
"Happy?" Marlena suggested, as Ashleigh blushed. Chris smiled.
"Um, so it happened kind of suddenly…" Chris started explaining, as it all seemed to come together. "Over break, Ashleigh and I went over to WWA to do a little work…and we kind of…"
"Got together finally?" Allen asked, as Ashleigh nodded softly. "About fuckin' time…"
"What do you mean by that?" Chris asked with a half hearted chuckle, as Allen rolled his eyes. Marlena just smiled.
"I think it's cool." she said softly, and Ashleigh smiled.
"Thanks." Ashleigh replied quietly.
They all talked for a while, before there was a meeting with Vince Russo that had to be tended to. Sonny Siaki was there, since he was involved as well, as well as two big men - they went by Luther and Dallas.
"I bet you're all wondering why you're here." Vince said, as he looked around at Chris, Allen, Sonny, Ashleigh, Marlena, Luther, and Dallas. "The storyline leading into this year is going to involve you, Allen, having 'time off'. Of course, you're still going to be working backstage with us."
"That's alright with me." Allen said.
"End of March, April, you'll be back on TV. It's good we went to the extent we did with the Ashleigh/Sabin beat down, so it'll give it that more serious look." Vince went on to explain. "But in the mean time, Marlena, you're going to be built up in the women's division. We're starting a title run. Ashleigh, you'll be the first women's champion. You're winning it against Trinity, Traci, and Athena."
"Awesome!" Ashleigh said with a giggle.
"Chris, you're going to keep the X-Title for a while. You're going to do the fake groin injury thing, which would explain where Dallas comes in. You're hiring Dallas to take care of Ashleigh when you can't. He's your, problem solver."
"Can't we use the term obstacle eliminator?" Chris asked with a laugh, as Vince smiled. "It all works."
"Sonny, you're going to be in a storyline with Marlena, trying to get her to come to 'your side'. She's going to slap you around, you're going to try and slap her around, but that's when Luther comes in. Luther is her body guard."
"Works for me." Luther said with a smirk.
"I hope you're all square on that."
That was the end of the meeting, and it seemed to go over just fine. Vince was proud of the storyline, proud of the way his superstars were taking it, and he knew -- just knew, that things were going to be flawless. Everyone knew their respective roles, and it would take a little while to fully develop.March 30th-
3 months had past, and the storylines were huge in TNA. Vince Russo was very pleased with all of the progress, and the fact that Allen was assisting with the storylines themselves, in preparation for his big return, was just making it all the better. It was one of the most emotional times in the TNA production to date.
Princess Ashleigh won the Women's Title at "Bound For Glory", the first big production of TNA. Chris Sabin got 'hurt' during a match against Michael Shane, who was going for his title. But because of Chris' injury, the match had to be stopped. If only they knew how fake it was. An extensive procedure, of paying off doctors, and getting X-Rays fixed, made it all believable. He was even in a wheelchair for a while, wheeled around by his pretty, Women's Champion, girlfriend Princess Ashleigh. They also had themselves a problem solver, by the name of Dallas.
Sonny Siaki was unsuccessful in wooing the New Girl, Lena D., to being part of his group, or part of his life. It came down to a match at "Bound for Glory", where she unleashed her body guard to the TNA world, Luther Reigns. Lena defeated Sonny Siaki after Sonny went for the Siakalypse, but Luther Reigns interfered, nailing Siaki with an ill looking power bomb, he called the "Reign of Terror". She hit a beautiful corkscrew body splash, for the 1...2...3 over her long term adversity. Then she threw it in Siaki's face, that Luther was there to "Guard her body", and said that was something he'd never get to do.
"Bound For Glory", was in February. All through March, though, Princess Ashleigh and Chris Sabin had someone new to worry about. Lena D. Lena D. was gunning for something Princess Ashleigh had, the women's title. After numerous promos, saying that Lena was the "true Future" of the industry, this infuriated Chris Sabin to the point of sticking Princess Ashleigh and his "problem solver" on the young woman, saying that she had 'become a rather large problem'. March 10th marked the date of Dallas' first big move, when he drilled Lena D. through the announce table on Wednesday night pay-per-view. She became the first woman on TNA programming to go through a table.
She was out for 2 weeks, as Luther Reigns looked to reek revenge on Dallas for his actions. Luther went to out Dallas off the stage with the "Reign of Terror", but a 'recovered' Chris Sabin came out of practically no where, and hit Luther with a steel lined Singapore Cane, and Princess Ashleigh came up with a 'field goal kick' low blow to a man she 'feared' more than anything.
The "Future Shock" ( Chris Sabin / Princess Ashleigh / Dallas ) were getting out of control, and it wasn't until March 30th, that order was in aim to be restored. Lena had returned one week prior to the 30th show, with Luther Reigns out that one week. Chris had finally had enough of the girl himself, and was set to "Future Shock" her off the stage. But it didn't come to pass. Sabin was surprised by a returning
.…There is only ONE…
…The Phenomenal….
…A.J STYLES…
The "Phenomenal One" had returned to the asylum to a thunderous welcome back from the inmates, and a grateful hug from Lena D. To end the 30th pay per view, A.J Styles comforted a clearly shaken up Lena, as Chris Sabin was livid to his returning, and ruining his plans of teaching Lena a lesson. He had vowed, that night, that he would still make her pay. Even, if he had to go through the knight in shining armor, A.J Styles.
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That was business wise. What about the personal life? It was unfortunate, the event on March 10th, as that was when Marlena's family ( Mother, 2 sisters, and father ) was at the asylum. Seeing Marlena wheeled out on a stretcher had her family in hysterics. Luckily, after the show she was able to inform them she was okay.
Allen and Marlena were plotting closely about their upcoming storyline together, but what did all of this mean for time with Charlie and Marlena? Charlie was still extremely busy with WWE Smackdown!, to the point the only time that the two seen each other, was on TV, and heard from each other on the phone. On March 8th, Marlena had told Charlie, maybe they should just 'see other people'. It obviously hurt Charlie, but he agreed. Come the 10th, when he saw the event of TNA, he automatically called Chris (Irvine) to get the low down on whether she was okay. He really cared for her, but their conflicting schedules proved it would probably be best for the breakup.
Outside of work, Marlena was still suffering madly from the breakup. She adored Charlie, just everything about him. After taking a few days to go to Manhattan to visit Chris and his wife Jessica, and their son Ash, she felt a little better. Chris was off for a little while from the WWE, because of a knee injury he suffered, so it gave her time to just spend with her best friend, and her 'nephew' of sort. Also, the Dubois family welcomed an addition on March 20th, when Marlena's sister Patricia had her 1rst child, Charity Amber Rose Dubois.
Marlena was back in Nashville after the birth of her niece, and that's when she gained herself a room-mate to share her established apartment. Ashleigh Morgan. Ashleigh had moved out of her parents home in Oklahoma, and opposed to continuing to stay with Allen in Gainesville Georgia, she was offered a place with Marlena in the heart of Nashville. The two had now become like sisters over their time working together, and they were both happy to be living under the same roof.
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[A/N: Another bit of long time comin' chapter. It's not as good as the next couple will be. I just needed to get something established here. I'm starting Chapter 6 now, so this is over. Whoosh.]
