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.
Thanks to: CenasNakedInMyBedWithMe, Latisha C., Losing Grip, Aisha, aussiewrestlingfan, johncenagirl (with 2) for the reviews.
Random notes: I promise that things will start to get a tad clearer soon. I hope you enjoy the chapter, and please review.
Chapter 5
April 7, 2004 - San Antonio, Texas
Lita awoke that morning, much like she had the night that Nidia stayed with them. Only this time, she wasn't sleeping in chairs and she wasn't sharing her hotel room with Hunter or Batista. Instead, she was sleeping on the floor of Dawn Marie's hotel room. The redhead's back was aching, her neck sore and her legs incredibly cramped. Add to that, thanks to Dawn's druken snoring..Lita didn't manage to get much sleep. And while she had politely declined her friend's invitation to party hard with her after the SmackDown taping, she had certainly known when Dawn had gotten back. Because of course, Dawn couldn't just walk in quietly; oh no..that just couldn't happen. Instead she was loud, she tripped over the redhead and on top of that she was singing. Loud and off key at that. But, it was either occupy a piece of the carpet in Dawn's hotel room or take the other offer. And that would have meant having to share a hotel room with Randy Orton while John roomed with the brunette Diva. Given, she would have to spend more time with the egotistical, cocky, Intercontinental champion in the near future..but that wasn't exactly how she wanted to start. At any rate, by the time the redhead realized that Dawn wouldn't be moving anytime soon; Lita aroused her tired body long enough to stumble to the bathroom. And at her growling stomach, she made up her mind to visit the hotel resturaunt with or without the brunette Diva. It didn't come as a complete surprise that she ran into Orton in the elevator, and by the looks of things; he had gotten just as much sleep as she did. Thinking on that, Lita flirted with the notion that maybe the other offer would've worked better. Thankfully, the redhead soon expelled that crazy thought from her mind; instead focusing on the task at hand. Like obtaining a suitable meal.
"Morning," Randy offered after a suitable moment of silence.
Lita grimaced, "I see nothing good about--"
Orton just smirked, "Which is why I just said morning. It's not a good morning in my book either."
Lita snorted in spite of it all, nimble fingers coming to tangle in the ends of her hair. "Let me guess..John got back at some odd hour of the night, and he was singing?"
Randy raised a brow, "How'd you know?"
The redhead's shoulders lifted in a shrug as they stepped out of the elevator. "Dawn."
At that, Randy just nodded trailing slightly after the redhead. "Let's just hope that the car is fixed soon..then we can get the hell out of here."
Lita nodded eagerly, "Even though I was supposed to come back here tonight anyway." She chewed thoughtfully on her lower lip, her hands splaying on the waistband of her jeans. "You eating here or.."
Orton shrugged, "I don't really care at this point."
Lita nodded, pausing to scrutinize the laminated menu outside of the resturaunt. "Well at the worst, we'll get food poisoning."
"That's reassuring," Randy muttered dryly. "Why don't we just head back to that place we were at yesterday?"
The redhead shrugged, tucking her hands in her pockets as she made her way to the glass doors leading out. "Works for me."
He nodded in reply, following the Diva out the doors and down the street. Both going from memory, and soon realizing that while it had been a quick trip by car; it was turning out to be quite a walk. Lita's arms swung freely at her sides, hazel orbs squinting as the sun started to rise higher in the clear sky. For his part, Randy remained quiet; designer sunglasses sheilding his eyes as the two made their way down the sidewalk. Eventually, the two gave up on going to the resturaunt from yesterday, instead ducking into the nearest eating establishment. Once they were settled with menus and steaming cups of coffee; Randy removed his sunglasses to take in the surroundings.
"So, how long have you known Dawn?"
Lita blinked into her coffee cup, cupping the cream colored object with her hands. "Awhile actually."
Randy nodded, offering a near apologetic smile when his feet touched hers. "And you trust her?"
Lita took a tentative sip of the steaming liquid, shrugging her shoulders slightly. "Yeah, I'd say I do..why? You're not having second thoughts about this, are you?"
He shrugged nonchalantly, taking his own first sip. "I don't really know her, that's all."
The redhead raised a brow, "Dawn? Or Stacy?"
"Both," Randy stated honestly. "I mean, I have my circle..she has hers."
"And given the way, we all get along so well." Lita rolled her eyes, taking another sip of her coffee. "Just give it some time, give it a chance and things will fall into place." She shrugged then, absently toying with the cloth napkin. "And if it doesn't..at least you tried."
Randy nodded, staring into his cup of coffee; the two falling into silence as they awaited the return of the waitress. Needless to say, by the time the waitress returned and their menus were handed over; it would be the redhead to break the silence.
"How long have you known John?"
"Uh. OVW a little bit, but.." Orton trailed off with a shrug. "We didn't really start talking until we both came up to the WWE."
Lita nodded thoughtfully, "I must've been out at that time then.."
"Yeah, the neck injury?" Randy rested his arm over the back of chair. "I remember hearing about that."
The redhead pursed her lips, "Sometimes I wonder, what would've happened if I didn't take that role."
Randy shrugged, "Anything I'd say. Who knows, you could've injured yourself in the ring or something."
"That's true, I suppose." Lita conceded after a moment, thinking on Benoit, Austin and Edge's injuries. Not to mention the others who toyed with the possible ends of their careers. "But, it happened and there's nothing I can really do about it now."
xx
Randy nodded, opening his mouth to respond when the waitress returned with their orders. And breakfast went on in silence, not overly uncomfortable and yet..not entirely comfortable. As it were, both seemed to be wishing they were elsewhere, but neither complained. After all, it had been out of their control to begin with. And all because some punk decided to slash the tires on a rental car. Needless to say, by the time they finished eating; they were both more than ready to go. However, before the waitress returned with their check; Lita excused herself to go to the bathroom. Randy just nodded, pushing back from the table a bit as the redhead left. And as Lita was stepping out of the bathroom to return, she started to wish she had just stayed there in the first place. It took everything in her not to jump in surprise, as a male..dressed from head to toe in black approached her. And had he not been wearing sunglasses; the redhead would've known it was the same person who had delivered the photographs to her yesterday. She stiffened out of instinct as a gloved hand touched her cheek; the redhead biting her lip to keep herself from screaming. She nearly did scream when the hand dropped; gripping her shoulder roughly as a piece of paper was shoved in her face. But, no sooner had that action transpired, did the man leave. Lita was too shaken at that point to follow, instead gripping the paper with trembling hands. She let out a controlled breath, counting backwards in her mind to regain some sense of of sanity.
Hazel orbs squinted at the piece of paper in her hands, the redhead then realizing that it was from a CD jacket. But this time, it wasn't Godsmack, nor was it in Latin. Instead it was a song that she recognized, the melody playing in her ears as her eyes skimmed the paper. She shuddered involunatairly, rememembering then, that she still didn't know what the other note had meant. Those lyrics that were in place of the liner notes from the Godsmack CD. And at this point, Lita could care less what the lyrics meant or where they had come from. All she cared about now, was getting the hell out of that resturaunt and preferbly out of San Antonio all together. Lita squared her shoulders, balling up the piece of paper in her hands as she made her way back to the table. She forced a smile when Randy stood, rolling her eyes when he cracked a lame joke about her falling in. And instead of protesting when he told her he already paid, she just nodded. At any rate, the two left the resturaunt in silence; Lita indiscreetly checking for any signs of a man dressed from head to toe in black.
xxx
To her relief, Randy either didn't notice her state of masked distress or he had the good sense to not say anything. Whatever the case, the walk back to the hotel was as silent as the walk to the resturaunt. Only this time, the sun was higher in the sky and Lita's hands were stuffed in her pockets. Hazel orbs stared blankly ahead, and from behind his sunglasses; Randy kept a wary eye on the normally vibrant redhead. He figured it really wasn't his place to question her mood, but he couldn't help but wonder at what caused her change in temperment. If anything, Lita wasn't the silent type and seeing her like this almost worried the wrestler. Something had happened back at the resturaunt, and from what little he could gather; it was enough to disturb the redhead into silence. At any rate, he elected not to say anything; the two continuing in a cloak of heavy silence until they reached the hotel.
The only words spoken when they stepped into the elevator, was Randy mentioning that he was going to call the shop. See if the rental car was fixed yet. He went on to add that, after he at least found that out, he would let the Diva know. Lita only nodded numbly in response, her mind focused elsewhere. They parted in the corridor, Randy walking the Diva to Dawn's hotel room before he trekked further down the hall. And when Lita entered, she noted the empty bed and the shut bathroom door. She called out to the bathroom; letting the brunette know that she had returned. Dawn shouted back in response before she swung the door open; sweeping messy brown locks from her face. And to her relief, Dawn said nothing about Lita's morning departure; merely mentioning that Lita was free to borrow any of the brunette's clothing. And even if she and Dawn didn't have the same taste in clothes; Lita was thankful none the less. By the time the two were dressed; there was a sharp knock at the door. The redhead bristling in spit of her forced control while Dawn either didn't notice, or just chose not to say anything.
"Orton here wants to hit the mall." John Cena mentioned as soon as the door opened. "You two up for a little shoppin'?"
Dawn smirked, opening the door wider. "When am I not?"
"Car'll be ready this afternoon," Randy mentioned as he stepped in after John. "Do you need to call Victoria or something?"
Lita shook herself out of her distress, "I was supposed to be meeting Dawn tonight anyway so.."
"What about Dia?" Dawn queried as she grabbed her purse. "You did tell her, didn't you?"
"Huh?" Lita blinked, chewing thoughtfully on her lower lip. "Yeah I did..I'll call Vikki after we get back, have her drop off Nidia or something."
Dawn nodded, "Is everything okay Li?"
The redhead nodded absently, sweeping her hair from her face. "Everything's fine Dawn, just a little tired that's all."
Dawn pursed her lips, but said nothing further on that matter. "You can join us too if you want," The brunette mentioned to Randy as they exited the hotel room. "It'll be me, John, Eddie, Rey, Jackie, Charlie.."
"I'll think about it, thanks." Randy replied honestly, not really sure what his plans for that night were.
Dawn opened her mouth to reply, but instead she raised a brow when Lita's cellphone went unanswered. "Um..Li? Are you gonna answer that?"
Lita smiled sheepishly, dropping back slightly to answer the phone. She nodded along when Victoria mentioned that Stacy was heading home that afternoon. The redhead pulling it together enough to request that Nidia be dropped off in San Antonio. The remainder of the conversation was filled with Victoria's semi-reluctance to cart the redhead's baggage with her; and the directions and name of the hotel. At any rate, by the time she finished her conversation; the four had reached the lobby. And in spite of her attempts to remain calm, Lita found herself checking the lobby nervously as they exited. And forunately for her, there were no visible traces of anyone following her. Unfortunately, Dawn couldn't curb her curiosity a moment longer. The redhead brushed off her friend's attempts to soothe her nerves; merely stating that she was fine. And when Dawn insisted it wasn't, Lita firmly intoned it was; finally agreeing to just talk to the brunette about it later.
xxx
By the time Randy had found a suitable set of clothes, Dawn had bought three pairs of shoes, a new purse and two new outfits. And that was just for Lita. The brunette insisted that since their time was rare together, that she was allowed to splurge when the redhead was with her. Lita could only roll her eyes in response, knowing it would get her nowhere to argue with her well meaning friend. Of course, Lita admitted to herself that she would never wear the tight, revealing clothing..given that it was more suitable to Dawn's style than her own; but she was appreciatve none the less. At any rate, the four now found themselves settled at an outdoor resturaunt along the river. It was over lunch that Dawn went into more details of her plan, giving a more firm outline of seven weeks for everything to fall into place. She went on further, informing them both that the lessons would be in her home state of New Jersey. Because, she aruged that, if she was paying for them; they would need to be in a place more convenient for her. It wasn't until Dawn tried to say that they should move in with her, or get a place near her did Lita put her foot down. The redhead tersely reminded the brunette that this plan was sneaky enough to begin with and that she was drawing the line at moving in with anyone. Dawn frowned, but only told both Randy and Lita to keep the thought in mind. As it were, by the time they finished lunch; Randy had been bombarded with more details of Dawn's supposedly fool proof plan. And by that time, Lita and John had started their own conversation; confiding in each other that while Dawn was well meaning? There were times that she was just a bit much.
Dawn dropped of Randy and Lita at the shop, assuring the redhead that if Victoria and Nidia showed up; she'd make up some story. And while the brunette did wonder why it would make a difference if they knew that Randy was also there; she knew Lita better than to question it. At any rate, Randy had nearly fallen over in shock at the cost of the repairs. Not that he had really expected to be cheap, but that there had been more damage than the mechanic had originally found. It went without saying that both Randy and Lita were relieved that the car was fixed; the redhead soberly offering to pay for part of the repairs. He, however, waved it off. Insisting that it wasn't her problem, it was his rental car anyway and it really wasn't a big deal. Lita firmly argued that it was, and in the end Randy conceded to letting the redhead pay for dinner at a yet to be determined time in the future. And by the time the two arrived back at the hotel, Victoria and Nidia still hadn't shown up. Lita took advantage of that window of time to shower and change; while Dawn settled in to watch television. As it were, by the time Lita exited the steamy bathroom and had changed into more comfortable clothing -- her own purchases; the redhead saving Dawn's 'gifts' for later that night -- the two sunk into silence and waiting. Dawn tried to bring up earlier, while Lita insisted that it could wait until Victoria got there. That only drove Dawn's curiosity to the whole situation further; but Lita remained adament that it wait. And so, the two remained focused on the current television show; the redhead's mind wandering to parts unknown while the brunette remained in the dark.
End Chapter.