A/N: Hope you're still enjoying the story! Like I've said before, I know there's a ton of things going on right now, but hopefully with this chapter you'll see them starting to tie together. Keep the reviews coming, you guys are my inspiration!
Part 17
Spending the day with Stacy reminded Molly why she chose not to associate with women other than Trish. She liked Stacy a lot... the blonde woman had certainly been growing on her. But she was such a... well, a girl. The giggling was fine, she could even deal with the hair twisting... but the worrying, and the whining that accompanied it, was where she drew the line. If she heard Stacy utter something about Randy one more time, she was going to beat Orton down herself. She understood Stacy's concern, what with Hunter's threat earlier and the fact that Randy was late following an appearance across town and was not answering his phone. She just wished she did not have to be the one to hear about it.
As soon as Stacy moaned her next, "He should be here by now," Molly got fed up and dragged her out of the locker room. They went on a goose chase trying to hunt him down, finding nothing until Maven informed them that Randy had arrived a half hour earlier and had been in his locker room since.
"His locker room," Molly grumbled as she sped down the hall, trying to keep up with Stacy's long strides. "Of course you didn't think to look there."
Stacy shrugged off Molly's snide remark as she continued to high-tail it. There were more serious issues to worry about. They reached Randy's room and she threw the door open.
"There you are!" she called with a huge sigh of relief when she found him lying down on the floor.
Randy paused in the middle of a crunch, glancing over his shoulder. He caught a glimpse of Stacy, and he smiled. He sat up on the floor, turning to face her as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. His smile soon faded when he saw the distraught look on Stacy's face, and the frustrated one on Molly's as she loomed behind her in the doorway. He rose from the ground when she moved towards him, wrapping his unsuspecting arms around her when she threw herself at him. He sent a surprised look Molly's way, but the brunette only frowned. He gave Stacy a tight squeeze and then pushed her away, his hands resting on her hips.
"Why didn't you tell me you were here?" she demanded, before he could speak. "I was worried sick."
Randy shrugged his shoulders, "I didn't wanna bother you if you were busy, sweetheart. I figured you'd come see me when you had the chance."
Stacy sent him an unsatisfied look. She crossed her arms over her chest and huffed.
"You could've called."
"You're right, and now I guess I should have," he nodded, pulling her closer. "What's gotten into you, baby? Something happen?"
Stacy took Randy's hands in her own, leading him to the couch and sitting down. She looked to the door, but Molly shook her head, remaining where she stood.
"You don't think Hunter's mad about Dave hanging with us last night, do you?" she asked him, playing with his hands.
"You? Not at all. Me? He's probably livid," Randy concluded. Of course Hunter would loathe the idea of Dave going anywhere with him. The remaining members of Evolution were given strict orders not to associate with the ex-member. "Why would you ask that?"
Stacy's gaze dropped to the floor.
"It's just that Hunter, he came to talk to Trish today," she paused, pretending not to notice the way Randy's grip on her hands tightened. "And he kinda made a comment to me… so I just thought…"
"What did he say to you?" Randy snapped, letting go of her hands.
As far as he was concerned, he could fight Hunter till the day he retired and not care. Feuding with him was always interesting, to say the least. But his former leader dragging Stacy into their personal mess was unacceptable.
"Randy, I don't want you to get mad…"
"Tell me what he said!" Randy yelled, so loud that even Molly jumped. He glanced over at Stacy, and her wide eyes made his heart melt. He threw his arm around her shoulder, "I'm sorry, baby. I won't get mad, at least not at you. Just tell me."
Stacy leaned into his protective embrace and stared up at him. She felt so much safer telling the story when she told it from his arms.
"He just said that he hasn't forgotten about me. I don't even know what that means, but he makes me nervous," she explained.
Randy let out an aggravated groan. He closed his eyes for a moment, letting his breath out in a hiss. He rose from the couch, his head tilted towards the ceiling.
"What an asshole," he said to himself. "I thought Dave and Trish would occupy him enough. I should've known better."
"What?"
Randy sighed, "He's got this thing with happiness, Stace. If it's not his own, he has to destroy it. Trish makes Dave happy, so Hunter feels he has to sabotage their friendship before it becomes anything more. You make me happy – which is a deadly sin in Hunter's book – so he's going to do the same with our relationship."
"But why?" Stacy asked. "I understand you two hate each other, but he beat you. If you're willing to let it go, why can't he?"
Randy bit his lip, glancing down at his naïve girlfriend. She had a heart of gold… of course she couldn't understand Hunter's blackened soul.
"It's more complicated than that," he said.
Stacy frowned as she watched Randy start pacing back and forth. It was something he only did when he was nervous. She didn't like when he was nervous.
"So, what do we do?" she asked. "I mean, we can't sit around and let him torture us."
The urgency in her tone broke his heart. He came to a halt and kneeled before her, his arms resting on either side of her slender body. Randy placed his hands on her thighs, squeezing them gently.
"I'm so sorry about this," he voiced sincerely. "You don't deserve to be caught up in all this."
Stacy shrugged, placing her hands on his broad, bare shoulders.
"Neither do you," she said softly.
She studied Randy closely, watching his expression turn from apologetic to angry, to sad, and finally, to contemplative. A thoughtful gaze filled his blue eyes, and Stacy patiently awaited a response.
"We need a distraction," he said suddenly, resting back on his heels. "Somebody that I can get a problem with to get Hunter off our backs. If someone else is making us unhappy, then he'll lay off. The job will already be done."
Stacy sent him a crazy look, shaking her head.
"You want to fake a feud," she said in a challenging tone, sliding her hands down his arms. "Who in their right mind will want to do that for us?"
Randy frowned. The truth was, he really didn't know any wrestler that would be willing to fake a feud with him. A defeated look filled his eyes.
"I think I could get you someone."
Randy and Stacy both turned to the door, having forgotten Molly was there. Randy's brow shot up curiously.
"Christian?" Stacy questioned. She was met with a nod. "Would he go for it?"
Molly almost smiled at the desperation she saw in Randy's eyes as he held onto Stacy tightly. The affection shown by the couple was adorable.
"He goes for what I tell him to go for," she replied with a laugh. Then, her face grew serious. "Besides, he'll do anything for love. You'd never guess it, but my Creepy Little Bastard is one hell of a hopeless romantic."
Though Randy was surprised at the revelation, he grinned. With Molly's help, he and Christian could put on quite the display. It would totally knock Hunter off his game. Besides, he wouldn't mind locking up with him in the ring. The guy was extremely talented.
"You really think he'll do it?" he asked her hopefully.
Molly nodded confidently, "Of course. You'll have your hands so full with him and Tomko, Hunter will forget you exist."
Stacy grinned widely, sending her friend a thankful stare. Though she knew Molly's suggested outcome was a little outrageous, it was enough to flush the worry from her.
"You're a lifesaver, Mol," she said graciously.
Randy nodded in agreement. He rose from the floor, stooping down to press a kiss to Stacy's forehead before turning away.
"I'll go ask Bischoff for a match."
Hunter smiled to himself as he admired his reflection in the World Heavyweight Championship belt. The belt never grew tiring to look at. Once again, things were falling into place. He was sure Christy would drive the final nail into the coffin he had built for Dave and Trish's relationship. With a broken heart, Dave would surely go to Smackdown. Then he and Ric would never have to worry about the big dope again. Then he could go back to messing with Randy and his little girlfriend.
His self admiration was cut short when the door flew open and he heard a growl. Dave locked eyes with him, and Hunter swore he had never seen him so infuriated. After a brief stare down, Dave slammed the door shut so hard that the picture behind the couch where Hunter sat nearly fell off the rattled wall. He remained by the door, for fear that he would rip Hunter's limbs off if he got too close.
"You really can't stand to see anyone happy, huh? You think I don't know what you're trying to pull?" he spat through gritted teeth.
Though he was taken aback by Dave's outburst, Hunter remained calm. He smiled, placing his belt down beside him.
"Now Dave, let's not overreact," he reasoned. "I do want you to be happy, but Trish… she's not the girl to make you happy."
"Oh, and I suppose the Playboy bunny is? I mean, you must feel that way considering the way you sic her on me," Dave snarled, his dark eyes filled with rage. "Trish was the one good thing I had going for me, and you just had to fuck it up."
"The one good thing?" Hunter scoffed, rising from the couch. "You're the number one contender in the main event at Wrestlemania, you ungrateful piece of shit." He moved closer to Dave, who had come to meet him halfway. "You mean to tell me that the blonde bimbo means more to you than realizing your dreams?"
Dave took a step back, his eyes falling to the floor.
"What good is realizing your dream if you can't realize it with the woman you love?" he said rhetorically, his tone considerably quieter than before.
The moment the statement left his mouth, Dave's eyes widened. He knew it all along, from the day he bumped into her in the hallway months before. He was in love with her. He always had been. A small smile touched at his lips.
Hunter didn't see the magic in the realization, and he snorted. He wanted to knock some sense into Dave, but without Ric around, he decided against it.
"Oh great, now you're in love with her? This is too cute." He laughed sardonically, shaking his head. "You do realize that you're nothing but a pawn to her, right? She'll use you as a built-in bodyguard till she finds the next sorry loser who'll protect her. Ask Jericho, ask Christian; they'll tell you. The woman is good for nothing but drama."
Dave shook his head, "With all due respect, you're wrong. You've been wrong about Trish from day one." He took a step away from Hunter and leaned against the door. "Believe it or not, I do know what's best for me, and I'm damn tired of taking orders. So please, stop trying to force my Wrestlemania decision, stop trying to hook me up with Christy, and stop trying to drive a wedge between Trish and me."
Hunter stared pointedly at Dave, his eyes narrowing in distaste. He did not appreciate being talked down to by anyone, especially not his own protégé.
"I think you've done a fine job driving that wedge in yourself," Hunter told him, the familiar smirk etching on his lips.
It was Dave's turn to scowl, but instead of yelling, he allowed his gaze to fall past Hunter. He eyed the Heavyweight title hungrily, its gold gleaming through his dark eyes. His gaze returned to Hunter, who had since backed off and eyed him anxiously.
"If I were you, I'd start proving my loyalty real soon," Dave threatened in a dangerously low tone. He pulled the door open and slipped out, his eyes locked with Hunter's the whole time. "Or I just might decide to stay here on Raw after all."
