Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Anything that is recognizable, does not belong to me.
Summary: When one of the RAW diva's is attacked, it brings the unlikeliest group of people together.
Pairings: Mostly worked out, when I know for sure..I'll let you know.
Thank You: litalover, annie, Losing Grip, Elmstreetgurl1428, huntersgirl, TheAngryPrincess13, aussiewrestlingfan & cenasnakedinmybedwithme for the reviews.
Special thank you to CenasNakedInMyBedWithMe.
Chapter 4
April 6, 2004- Houston, Texas
Lita let out a patient sigh, hazel orbs scanning the lobby for traces of Randy Orton. As he had requested, here she was..but there was still no sign or hair of him. She contemplated calling, but soon realized she didn't have his hotel room number; let alone his cell phone number. And aside from that, she really didn't want to risk calling and having Batista -- or worse -- answer the phone. So instead, she flopped back onto one of the couches, her eyes roaming over the sparse selection of magazines and travel brochures. Eventually, a hand dipped to retrieve one and the redhead settled in. No sooner had she started reading an article on the quirky side trips in and around Houston, when she was joined by another body on the couch. She sent a glance to her side, a brow raising when an envelope was thrust in her face. Cautiously, she took the manilla envelope between her fingertips, blinking in surprise as the delivery boy walked away. However, her thoughts were torn from the envelope as Randy finally approached.
"Hey," He greeted softly, an apologetic smile on his face. "Sorry for keeping you, but I had to make a quick call..got held up."
Her shoulders shrugged, the diva setting the magazine back on the table. "No biggie."
His eyes flicked first to the envelope, but after he decided it wasn't his business; he gestured with his hand. "So, we're meeting two others..a friend of mine from SmackDown, and his friend have agreed to help me out."
She nodded, rising from the couch; clutching the envelope close before she slipped into her backpack. "And why do you still need my help?"
"Because, you know Stacy and they don't really know her." He replied rather bluntly. "Aside from that? They're on SmackDown, we're on RAW..someone needs to make sure I don't make a stupid mistake."
The redhead nodded, hazel eyes twinkling with mirth. "Okay then..let's go." She offered a bright grin, as she lead the way out of the hotel.
x
The ride from their hotel to another in San Antonio, was silent. Randy remaining quiet as he navigated the rental down the streets of Houston, while the redhead stared out the window. However, once the woman realized they were leaving Houston, she raised a brow at the driver.
"Just why are we heading out of Houston?"
"SmackDown's taping in San Antonio," He shrugged slightly, steering the car onto the highway. "I figured it'd be safer to meet them, instead of having them meet us..less chance of--"
"Yeah, I get it." Lita cut him off quietly, "So who are we meeting?"
He shrugged again, one hand leaving the steering wheel to turn on the radio. "You'll find out when we get there."
She pursed her lips, but asked no further questions. Instead, she removed a CD from her bag, checking the rental first for a CD player, and with a satisfied smile, she slipped the CD in. The two settled into silence once more, engulfed by the strains of Linkin Park as they made their way to San Antonio.
By the time the rental car was parked, Lita had fallen asleep against the window. Randy had the decency to wait until she had woken up before he informed her that they had arrived. She merely nodded, collecting her CD and the manilla envelope before she exited the vehicle. The two made their way from the parking lot in silence, Orton stopping at the check in desk before he joined the redhead in the lobby. He mentioned then that, the other party would be meeting them down there, so now all they had to do was wait. Lita only nodded in reply, wishing then that she had brought a book with her. As it were, they wouldn't have too long to wait. No sooner had Lita selected a magazine did Randy stand, a light touch to the redhead's shoulder to let her know that the other party was there.
"Cena," Randy nodded in greeting, a wayward glance sent to the woman at his side.
"Orton," John Cena replied in turn, sending a smile to the redhead. "And Lita..how's things?"
Lita relaxed, standing to wrap the woman in a hug. "Dawn!" She then sent a look over to Randy. "We know each other from way back."
Randy just shrugged, "So I gathered." He inclined his head a touch to the brunette Diva. "I'm Randy Orton."
"Dawn Marie," She smiled then, linking arms with the redhead. "But, most people just call me Dawn."
Orton just nodded, looking between John and Dawn. "So..now that we're all here."
"We can go to my hotel room if you'd like," Dawn mentioned then. "Or..if you two haven't eaten, we can get breakfast and chat."
Lita spoke up before Randy had the chance. "Breakfast would be good."
Dawn only rolled her eyes, digging her car keys from her purse. "The hotel food sucks, so we'll just see what's what around here."
Lita and Dawn lead the way out, the two of them deciding where they would be heading. As it were, the ride from the hotel to a nearby resturaunt was silent on Randy and John's parts; while Lita and Dawn went on and on about nothing. Needless to say, by the time they reached the resturaunt; John and Randy were more than ready to get out of the car. And once they had been seated, Dawn began her inquiry.
"So, explain this whole situation." The brunette tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, expectant eyes trained on Randy.
Randy raised a brow, sending a pleading look to the redhead. How to explain this without sounding like too much of a jackass. "Uh,"
Lita rolled her eyes, grasping the coffee mug in front of her. "He likes Stacy.." At Dawn's confused look, Lita pursed her lips. "You know, tall..blonde, bubbly? Anyway, the problem is he needs to shed his rep. Fully convince her that he is long term worthy material."
Dawn nodded knowingly, sipping her iced water before she spoke again. "So that would explain why we're here." She gestured between herself and John. "So why is she here?"
Lita smirked, "As he put it? To make sure he doesn't make a stupid mistake. And because I know Stace a little better."
"Point," Dawn sat back in the booth, folding her hands on the table top. "So, what kind of progress has already been made? First date, plans for a second date?"
"First date yes," Randy rubbed the back of his neck in thought, "Second date no. She wanted to do something today but.."
"You backed out and potentially screwed things up?" Dawn raised a brow, tsk'ing softly. "Well, first things first..what do the two of you have in common? That would be the best place to start. Then I suppose.." Dawn trailed off then, a thoughtful frown crossing her features. "It's just a matter of making you completely irresistable."
Orton smirked, "That's not too hard."
At that Dawn and Lita sighed. "Like knocking that ego down a fraction." Dawn put in before Lita could say the same. "I'd say the best plan of action would be sweet, somewhat sappy yet.."
"Adventurous." Lita finished then, taking a sip from her coffee. "Just plain romantic is boring and it gets stale."
Dawn nodded in agreement, assessing Orton again. "Can you dance?"
Lita raised a brow at that, "If you're suggesting something stupid like ballroom dance lessons. Dawn I swear, we are leaving."
Dawn rolled her eyes, smiling brightly when the waitress returned with their orders. "I wasn't going to. That's too..stuffy. But something like salsa or tango. Now that could be fun."
Lita only shook her head, turning her attention to the plate of food before her.
"You want me to take dance lessons?" Orton sent an incredulous look to the brunette Diva. "How is that gonna help?"
"Duh!" Dawn stabbed a piece of fruit from her plate, "You take the lessons, cook for her, take her on a few really exciting and out of the ordinary dates. I guarantee you are in. The key to it all is making sure she never finds out you took dance lessons or that you intend on cooking for her."
"Right, so .."
"When a woman plays hard to get, it gets boring. I mean, speaking from experiance anyway, it just leads to the guy losing interest." Dawn chewed thoughtfully on her toast, taking a sip of her juice before she went on. "But a guy playing hard to get? That's irresistable."
When Lita opened her mouth to retort, Dawn swiftly kicked her beneath the table.
"Just trust me, I know these things. It'll work." Dawn smiled in satisfaction. "Just find yourself a willing test subject and you're good to go."
Lita snorted into her napkin, but the smirk forming was soon erased and replaced with a look of fear. "Don't even think it Dawn."
"But, you two are on the same roster."
"I don't dance."
"I'll pay for the lessons."
"Forget it."
Dawn frowned, "I'll pay you."
Lita lifted a brow at that, waiting until she had the go ahead nod from Orton. "Deal. What's the time frame for this crazy idea?"
Dawn shrugged, grasping her juice glass. "As long as the lessons take, give or take a week."
Orton nodded hesitantly. "And you're sure this will work?"
Dawn nodded, "I'm positive. Just trust me." She smiled winningly, elbowing Cena in the side before he could say a word. "Now eat, before your food gets cold."
The rest of the meal passed in relative silence. Given, Randy certainly had his doubts about the whole thing..and quite frankly so did Lita. But, Dawn hadn't steered the redhead wrong before so she figured this time wouldn't be any different. And yet, Lita couldn't help but think that something would go wrong. While she didn't exactly know what; the redhead had a sinking feeling about it all. Perhaps Dawn's plan was too good..or maybe Lita was just reluctant to believe that it could work. At any rate, she kept quiet about it; nodding her agreement when Dawn chattered on about the crazy schedule of the Diva's. By the time they had finished eating, Lita pushed back the doubt weighing in her mind and instead focused on the task at hand. And that was..even if she was reluctant; helping Randy. Oh what fun that would be.
Lita and Randy were set to leave shortly before 11:00. They figured they'd spent more than enough time running through Dawn's master plan and if that wasn't enough; Dawn promised she would be in touch. After all, new details could always come up. However, once they had arrived back at the hotel; things started to get strange. At first, Lita thought that Randy had misplaced the keys to the car, or perhaps locked them in the car. But as she joined him, and kneeled down to see what was bugging him; she started to get annoyed.
"What's the hold up?"
Orton frowned, not at the Diva but at the tire. "Tire's flat."
The redhead blinked, "You didn't run over anything, did you?"
Randy shook his head, sitting back on his heels. "Not unless it was a knife blade."
At that, both of Lita's brows rose; the redhead pushing past Orton to get a better look. "Why in the world.."
"Would someone slash my tires? I don't know." Randy cursed under his breath. "I'll call a tow truck, get this taken care of and then we'll head back."
Lita could only nod at that, rising to her feet. "I'll call Vikki..make up some story."
Randy just nodded in response, bringing his cellphone out.
"Hey Vi? Yeah, it's me. Look..Dawn wanted to meet me today, go shopping before the SmackDown tapings. I'll be back sometime in the afternoon."
Lita rolled her eyes at the phone, nodding along with the raven haired Diva's rambling. "How's Nidia?"
Lita nodded at the phone again, preparing to wrap up the conversation. "Okay, well..just keep an eye on her alright? I'll see you later. Yeah. Bye."
"Tow truck should be here soon," Randy mentioned as he leaned back against the rental car. "Then it shouldn't take too long before we're out of here."
"Vikki and them are going shopping anyway..or something like that." Lita shrugged, she really hadn't paid too much attention. Oh well. "This just sucks."
Randy nodded his agreement, "It's wierd. Who in the hell would slash my tires?"
Lita lifted a brow, bringing her backpack to rest in her lap. "Well, if you don't mind me saying so..you're not exactly the most popular person in the back."
"Which meant someone followed us?" Randy shook his head, the only person who really had a reason to hold a grudge that badly was Goldberg. "Probably just some punk."
Lita only shrugged, "Yeah I guess that's true."
The two fell into silence then, patiently waiting for the tow truck to arrive. And for sake of nothing better to do -- and not knowing where Dawn and John were -- Lita accompanied Randy to the shop.
x
"I've got good news..and bad news." The head mechanic informed the two after half an hour of waiting. "Good news, is your car can be fixed. Bad news, is..we're short three people today so it won't be ready until tomorrow."
Randy raised a brow, giving the mechanic a skeptical look. "Tomorrow? You're telling me it's going to take a day to replace two tires?"
The mechanic blinked, scratching his chin as he addressed the wrestler. "Tires wouldn't be a problem. Your brake and gas lines on the other hand needs to be replaced. And like I said, son. I'm short three people of a four person shop. You do the math."
Orton gritted his teeth. "How soon tomorrow?"
The mechanic shrugged, setting his clipboard down. "All depends on how early the other workers show up."
Randy nodded then, "Fine fine. Just as long as it's fixed."
"Sorry about this son, but if there was anything else I could do--"
"It's quite alright sir." Lita spoke up then, sending a pointed look to Randy. "Thank you for your help."
The two left the shop then, Lita figuring that six blocks wasn't too far..and so they set off; heading back to the hotel.
"I'll call Vikki, maybe she can come pick us up or something."
"Is that such a good idea?" Randy raised a brow, "What if Stacy goes with her?"
"Then what do you suggest, hm?" Lita rolled her eyes, "Because I'm sure that Hunter, Batista and Flair would be just overyjoyed to hear that you're with me."
Randy shook his head. "Fine, fine. We'll go back to the hotel, find Dawn and John..see if one of the SmackDown people can give us a lift. If it all comes down to it, we'll just stay here."
Lita nodded, swinging her arms at her sides. "Well, since we've got nothing better to do right now..wanna grab lunch or something?"
Randy smirked, "We just ate an hour ago."
"So? I'm hungry now. Let's go." Lita left no room for argument, leading the way into a diner.
x
As it were, Randy ended up ordering more food than the redhead, Lita making no comments when the waitress left. Instead she brought her backpack up to her lap, digging through the contents. No sooner had she set the bag down, did the manilla envelope from before fall out. Randy raised a curious brow at that, sending the woman a questioning look when she moved to put it back in the bag. Lita only shrugged at the wrestler, though part of her really wanted to just toss the envelope in the nearest garbage can; her curiosity got the better of her.
"For all I know," Lita began as she lifted the flap. "These could be the photos from one of the recent shoots."
Randy just nodded, leaning back in his chair as the redhead removed one of the photos.
However, Lita would soon learn that while they were photos..they weren't from any of the company sponsered photo shoots. Given, she was in the picture..but so were the other people on that particular tour of Monterrey. And even as her stomach turned, the redhead went on..removing photos only to place them face down on the table. What she saw next, would be the last straw.
"I'm going to just toss these, if you'd excuse me." Lita said hurridly, moving to sweep up the pile before her.
"Lita?" Randy raised a brow, grasping one of the pictures from her hand before it could be tucked away. "This is from.."
"Monterrey," Lita said quietly, still disturbed by the fact that someone had gotten pictures of her hotel room. "Can I have that back please?"
Orton made a face, not at the woman but at the photo. "Who took these?"
"Damned if I know." She snapped out, snatching the photo from his hand. "All I know is that some sicko took these photos, and had them delivered to me in the lobby this morning."
"Or it could be someone playing a joke." Randy suggested then, trying to keep her from going off the edge. "I wouldn't put it past some people."
Lita pressed her lips into a thin line, it could be a joke..but given what had transpired last night; not to mention the CD outside of the hotel room. This was too much. "Whatever," She said finally, slipping the now closed envelope back in her bag.
Randy could only nod, falling silent when their food arrived. Something was missing..of that much he was certain. Lita was leaving out details somewhere, but since they really weren't friends; he didn't want to press the issue. All he could do was eat in silence and hope that the incident from today and whatever was bothering the Diva, weren't related.
End Chapter.
Author Note: Okay, so I know my updates have been few, but I'm finally finding my direction again! I hope this chapter wasn't too bad. Again, a thousand apologies for the delays.