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Title: The highly educational demonstration of how to drive guys off

Written by Professional Scatterbrain.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Rating: Pg – 13 to R

Summary: See challenge set by Karen U

#3 – Karen U

-Lita/Edge, Lita/Jeff, Lita/Christian, or Lita/Jericho.

-A bet between Lita and the divas in which Lita says that she know sure fire ways to drive guys off (Lita is, of course, down about her love life).

-Instead of being driven off, the guy falls for her, and Lita, of course, falls for him as well.

-Happy endings.

-No roster split.

-Other divas should be chosen from the following (at least three other divas): Stacy, Stephanie, Lillian, Torrie, Dawn Marie, Victoria, Ivory, Trish: I chose Stephanie, Torrie, and Dawn Marie.

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Chp9: Stick Sisters.

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"Was it all a bet?" he asked; his voice rough and heated. "Was I a bet?"

He stepped closer to her, towering over her.

He didn't look boyish then.

"Was I a fucking bet to you?"

"No." she whispered, shaking.

Yet the guilt on Lita's face only fed his already angry momentum. His green eyes hardening and his face twisting into something foreign and frightening to her. She had only seen him in such a state no more than two or three times, and never towards her. Never. He had always been so careful, never wanting to scare her, and as he looked at her now, she knew why.

"I heard everything you know. You and you're little friends were organizing 'tactics' each week."

White knuckles and whites of his eyes filled her vision, and she tried not to shake. Everything was crashing down around her and her vision was filled with disaster. The tense lines of his body coloured him into something she had created. She didn't want to admit the truth, but she didn't want to lie to him either. She reached out to him, only to have him pull away from her touch as if she was toxic.

"Jeff, please, I'm so sorry. But it wasn't like that –"

"How could it not be like that?" Jeff cut her off with a knowing look, almost daring her to contradict him.

But she couldn't.

"So what was I? An easy lay until something better came along? A folly to amuse yourself? Oh, and to amuse your friends as well? Well? What? What was I to you?"

"It wasn't like that Jeff; calm down."

"Calm down?"

"Don't be like that Jeff, please,"

"Please . . . Please?" he questioned sarcastically; making a mockery out of her words, her pleas.

"Jeff, I care about you,"

He laughed.

She backed away, frightened by his response.

She felt small and timid. He glared down at her, and she had never realised how much taller he was than her until then. He towered over her, and she looked up at him like a school child up to a teacher. Yet instead of fury, she saw pain rippling across his face. His eyes were closed off, but years of friendship and a few months of dating allowed her to catch shard of betrayal that even he couldn't hide. It shattered her . . . she had done that to him, to Jeff, to her Jeff.

"I was a fucking bet to you. Everything was a fucking bet to you. Us. Me. Everything."

Indignation at his description of their relationship fought against her shame induced silence.

"You were never a bet. Never."

"I don't believe you. You liar."

She couldn't speak.

Worse things had been said to her before. Much worst. She'd been called every single name in the book; every insult had been thrown at her, every criticism, and every bitter word imaginable. Horrid words had been directed at her for years, words that the nuns at her Sunday school would have scrubbed out of people's mouths with soap, but . . . nothing anyone had said had ever left her so hurt. She felt like she had been speared, or pedigreed, or FU'd. Completely winded, she couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't even meet his eyes.

He ran a hand through his hair.

Hair that he had only recently restarted to dye different colours after she'd made a small off hand comment early in the morning when she had still been half asleep. She hadn't even meant it; it had just been a snippet of a half unconscious stream of thought. But the next day his hair was dyed her favourite colour and he had blushed when she told him that he looked handsome. But now his hands were shaking so much that she doubted he could unlock his car that was parked outside her house.

He had never been a good actor, but he figured this was a good time to learn.

Yet even with his game face now on, she could see his anguish. Something subtle though had changed in his green eyes, and she wrapped her arms around herself. All the bonds that their friendship and being lovers had made seemed to be breaking, and she wanted to reach out to him back he was already backing away as if he already knew her intention.

"Oh, Christian cancelled tonight, that's why I'm here; to see you. Just my luck."

Without another word, he turned and fled, and she was left standing there, suddenly cold. Rapidly blinking, she froze as she watched him getting into his old car. The sounds of music; loud and fast filled the air, and the tires squealed as he peeled away. Paralysed she stared at the red tail lights until they disappeared into the darkness.

Then she was really alone.

For good now.

For the next few days, Lita walked around as if she'd had a lobotomy.

She felt like a candidate for that old Ramone's song, and she felt completely detached from everything around her. Dawn was staying at a near by hotel (not too near though thanks to Stephanie's meddling), yet she wasn't any help for her redheaded friend. In fact both women found themselves less than helpful; in Dawn's case out of circumstance, and in Stephanie's case, out of her rather erroneous choice of words after being told about the events that had lead to the end of the bet. Stephanie in response to this unwelcomed aftermath had resigned herself to bulling the new employees with slightly less than her usual amount of vigour. Distressingly she discovered that one of her favourite pastimes; yelling at Maria and Ashley, didn't make her feel the slightest bit better, not even when Ashley ran and tattled on her to Matt (which normally caused an average day to be reclassified into a joyful one).

Meanwhile Torrie, poor Torrie was torn.

The pretty blonde had always been a good, loyal friend to Lita, and vice versa. But that had been in the past, and now in her present there not only was a best friend for Torrie to deal with, but a boyfriend. Her alliance to Christian was obvious, and he had more than proved his worth of such emotional attachment, even with his perchance for labelling his love his 'number one peep'. Christian being himself, of course pitied Jeff (the second 'Problem Solver' in his service), and thus Torrie knew all about the youngest Hardy's current state of mind.

Or lack there off.

But Lita didn't dare ask about him.

She was no longer privy to such information.

She had lost the right, and she did not fool herself into believing otherwise. She had accepted a bet that she had known would hurt him. Looking back, Lita hated how deluded she was. How could she have not broken his heart with all of her senseless behaviour? Even if they hadn't been dating the impact of her actions would not have been any less. For he was her best friend, and he had always cared for her, and like always he had always gotten hurt because of her.

She had never deserved him.

Yet she selfishly missed him like a limb that had been lost at war.

She missed him as if she had lost a piece of herself and was horribly off balance without it. Everything around her seemed to reflect as such. Her mood stretching to fall over others, affecting them all. Nothing seemed to penetrate the fog that had settled down on her. Throwing herself into work, she avoided idleness with a vigour that felt unnatural. Only weeks ago she had been sleeping in until noon for no other reason than she wanted too, now she worked all hours of the day, volunteering her time to the McMahon's company at any opportunity.

This probably made Stephanie happy.

Well, it may have done, but Lita wasn't sure. With the 2006 Wrestlemania only days away, the brunettes hands were more than full, and she was having much more contact with both her family and her ex husband that she would have desired. The youngest McMahon was also spending far too great an amount of her precious time obeying orders set by others. The position of messenger of the gods had never appealed to the Billion Dollar Princess, and as it was, she was in a malevolent mood much of the time she wasn't around her few friends.

Dawn was no help.

Lita knew it was wrong, but she couldn't help feeling some sparks of anger directed to the other woman. It was just . . . her life had been going so well. She and Jeff were happy, and as long as the bet wasn't on her mind Lita had found herself believing the bet didn't exist at all. It was selfish and it was self centered. It had been her own fault that the dominos had falling over, and that Jeff had been so utterly destroyed.

It was her fault and no one else's.

Sullen and unwilling to interact with anyone other than perhaps Torrie, Lita sat alone as she waited for Raw to start. Cracking open a book, she tried to past some time. But the plight of poor Anna in Tolstoy's classic did not ease her mind. Skipping a couple of chapters, Lita tried to connect her mind to the novel, trying so hard to ignore the events of the past few days.

Too bad Edge happened upon her.

"Hey Li, uhm, I heard about you and Jeff," he stated, shifting nervously from foot to foot.

"Oh."

Who hadn't?

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

He must have interpreted her look of apathy for confusion, because he pulled himself up onto the table to sit next to her, and explained further. His hands were twitching and he was smiling that huge nervous smile that even the backstage staff could identify immediately. Detached, she gave up on 'Anna Karenina' when it became apparent that her ex-boyfriend wasn't leaving as quickly as she had hoped.

"I mean, I'm sorry that it didn't work out. We all saw how happy you guys were together,"

She waited for the 'but'.

There was always a 'but' with him.

"But don't worry, you'll find someone perfect given time."

She looked at him, and blinked slowly. As the second flittered past, his smile weakened a little at her gaze, and he removed the book from her hands. Another used tactic she recognized. He never liked it when she ignored him. Ironically, she had used to feel the same way about him. Through lenses that certainly weren't rose coloured, she remembered hating how he would look at all of there old friends, and how she just knew in the pit on her stomach that it'd only be time before they took him back. Him. Him nor her.

"Good book?" he asked.

Holding out her hand, she waited for him to give it back. He finally did, with a guilty look on his face. The penny must have dropped. He really should try to be more original. Didn't someone say insanity was doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results? She didn't know and she didn't particularly care . . . she didn't really care about much now.

Glancing at the cover, Lita shrugged, "I guess."

"What's it about?"

Lita eyed him, considering if he was mocking her; he was an intelligent man, how could he not know the content of the novel? But as she watched him, an unexpected epiphany replaced any hostility. Instead of a man baiting her, she saw a man that . . . that was alone, and that was trying terribly hard to hang on to the few things that he knew to be true.

"It's about Russia," she answered carefully, accommodating him more that usual.

He looked pleased by her answer. He smiled a wider smile at her, and of course he looked more handsome than ever as he did so. His tall lean body curled over a little to read the text on the cover, his mouth moving a little as he took in the title. He wasn't exactly charming, but he certainly seemed more confident, and when he was confident he was too devastatingly handsome for words. If she didn't know better she might have fallen for him all over again.

"I've never read it. Would you recommend it?"

She knew what he was trying to do. She knew what he was trying ever so hard to achieve in the small hesitating conversation they were holding. In some ways she appreciated it, and in some ways she didn't. Edge spoke with a satin lined voice, and he smiled beautifully at her, yet she didn't feel a thing. Not a single thing. It was then she realised he didn't really know her any more. He didn't love her, he wasn't her friend, and he wasn't particularly anything special to her.

Looking into his large blue eyes, she nodded, "Yes, you can borrow it if you want."

He shook his head, "I couldn't do that. You're still reading it."

"I don't mind."

Opening the cover, she scrawled her name into it, even though she was more than certain Edge wouldn't forget that the book belonged to her. Then she pushed it into his hands. He looked a little surprised by her action, but pleased none the less. After all this was what he wanted to gain. Her friendship, or something that could be closely classed as such. She knew he missed what they had before everything had gone wrong. Apart from his mother, Lita knew she was the only woman that Edge had ever been close too. The only woman he had ever really been friends with.

Maybe it was wrong of her to accommodate him so.

Because in the past whenever she was around him she felt horrid.

It wasn't him. She didn't want to blame him. It would be childish and wrong to do so, because it wasn't his fault really. But she could not escape what she felt. When she was with him something inside herself slipped, as if letting go in defeat. He wasn't good for her. He didn't make her feel well. He made her feel ill, and used, and blinded. However much she had wanted him and had wanted him to love her, couldn't change that irreversible fact.

They just weren't good for each other.

She wasn't sure if he ever had been good for her, or for anyone else. The thought saddened her because she knew that wasn't what Edge wanted. He longed for stability, and she knew he had found more comfort than anything else with her when they had started their relationship all that time ago. He had needed her, and she had allowed him to need her because no one else ever seemed to want her around anymore.

Trish.

The two Canadian blondes had been dating for a while now. Lita didn't know if Edge and her ex friend were good for each other. She didn't know if Trish made him happy, or if he made her happy. She didn't know anything about the pair's relationship other than it had started a week and a half after Edge and her own relationship ended.

It was then Lita almost felt sorry for Trish.

The blonde wasn't a good person. She wasn't particularly kind, nor was she particularly loyal. However she wasn't without any redeeming features, and even Lita, as biased as she was, could recognize that fact. Nor was the blonde woman the monstrous antagonist that Lita sometimes wanted Trish to be. But there was something chronically needy about Trish. Something which caused her to move from guy to guy, friendship to friendship without looking back. She hurt people. She had hurt a lot of people. She used them too. Used them, and then thrown them away without a second though. Lita had watched her work her way through, Jeff, Christian, Chris Jericho and many others.

But Jeff and Christian particularly stuck in Lita's mind.

Jeff . . . well that was obvious. It was more than obvious actually. He had adored the little blonde. Lita hated the thought, but she knew he had. Lita had witnessed and she had understood how much he cared for Trish. She had seen it. How his eyes sparkled just that little bit more whenever he noticed Trish was around. He'd spent so many of his pay checks on flowers and cards, taking her out and spoiling her. Lita had watched him, and once or twice had even helped him with it.

Yet, she had hated it.

She recognized that now. Back then, it had been a prickle at the back of her neck whenever she saw them together. Once in a while the prickle was replaced with a spark of annoyance coupled with a sharp pain whenever she saw Jeff with Trish instead of by her side. Maybe she had been jealous even back then. After all, he had been obsessed with Trish in a way that he had never been obsessed with a woman before or after.

Trish had hurt him.

But not before Lita had convinced him not to marry Trish.

Eleventh hour success on her part.

Christian had been a victim of Trish too. Many people forgot that, overlooking it for Jericho's rejection instead. However . . . Trish's rejection of Christian had left him altered. He had always pined like a scolded dog for Torrie, yet after Trish that had changed. He had bounced from woman to woman, getting used, and using. He . . . he had been unable to move forwards. He had been unable to allow himself to pursue Torrie or any woman for anything other than a fling for a very long time. Only now did it seem the blonde man was getting back on track.

"Thanks for the book Li,"

Li.

Li?

Yet she shrugged, not saying a word about the endearment, "You're welcome."

"I'm really am sorry about you and Jeff."

She didn't ask why, even though she wanted too, instead, she bit her lip, "Thanks. That means a lot."

It didn't.

But she could tell it did to Edge so she let him continue to believe that his words meant something to her.

She let him make a couple of jokes, and a couple of foul comments that guys usually reserve for guys' ears only. She watched words leave his lips, and nodded and smiled at the appropriate times. He wasn't in fine form, but he was still better than most other people, and she let him continue talking to her far longer than her friends would have liked. She let him keep talking and she even joined in on a couple of occasions, but . . .

She didn't want what Edge wanted.

She didn't want to spend all her time potting for championships. She didn't want to always be fighting through opponent after opponent. She wanted a guy that would give her a piggyback ride home when her heels gave her blisters. She wanted a guy who would spend a whole hour teaching her how to play the harmony of 'Rain drops keep falling on my head' on her teeth, so that they could do a rendition of it together before his wrestling match.

She couldn't finish the cryptic crossword anymore.

There were always a couple of ones that stumped her, and she could never find the answer no matter how hard she looked. She could never finish it, and it made her feel lopsided and more miserable than she had any right to feel. She never knew what to wear anymore, and she could never find anything in her own house and . . . and . . .

Jeff.

Jeffery Nero Hardy.

She missed him.

She just missed him and wanted him back even though didn't have any right to miss or want him.

Edge talked for a bit longer, and she listened with one ear. After a while he left with her book, and she found herself with nothing to do. Sullenly she watched people scurry around. In the corner of her eye, Lita saw Torrie on her mobile. It was obvious she was speaking to Christian. She was always speaking to Christian now. Everyone knew they were dating, and Torrie had made sure everyone knew that Christian was now off limits to anyone that wanted to keep their faces looking pretty. Of course, in Torrie's mind Candace's face wasn't pretty anyway, and time was ticking away until the Pillow Match at Wrestlemania where Torrie planed on making sure no one else though the smug brunette centerfold was anything close to attractive.

"Why were you talking to him?"

Turning a little, Lita watched Trish cross her arms as she waited for a response. The blonde had appeared out of nowhere, and so did the multiplying spectators. Torrie had put away her mobile and was striding up the hall purposefully. The two blondes might be tag team partners on occasion and Torrie might play peacemaker once in a while, but Lita was always Torrie's best friend. Always.

"Because he spoke to me first."

Lita's response obviously displeased Trish. Her eyes narrowed, and her lips tightened. But other than that, she remained at seemingly ease. She was trying so hard to appear at ease. So hard. Lita wasn't trying at all. Her response was ever so slightly belligerent, and the nonchalance that it was spoken with annoyed the blonde Canadian even further.

But they weren't going to fight that night.

No, not that night. But in the coming months they would. Lita knew it. They always did. That was what they did now. Fight. But not tonight. That would occur later, rather than sooner, and for the first time, Lita was the one to decided that. Now more cat fights in the halls; it would happen on her terms now, not the blondes. Shrugging, Lita pushed herself to a standing position and turned away from her former friend; walking away from Trish. After a few moments, the clattering of heels sounded Torrie's approach as the tall blue eyed blonde chased after the redhead.

"Wait up Li,"

Little Chloe growled a little at her mistress, as Torrie caught up. Her heart shaped face was anxious as she tried to think of something to say. Her long hair was straight, and it glittered in the light. In a pretty gold dress, the one bought so long ago, shimmered and floated around her. A couple of bright wildflowers, most probably sent by Christian were pinned prettily into her hair and around her wrist.

"What happened back there?"

"Nothing."

"Trish looked pissed. You should be more careful, you know how she can be. She'll look for any reason to –"

"I'm not afraid of her." Lita interrupted. "And I am careful."

Torrie looked like she had been slapped, and Lita felt a surge of guilt fill her. The tall blonde was just trying to help, and for her effort she had been rewarded with a short barb. A barb that Torrie would take personally, because that was how she was underneath the glitz and glamour of her in ring persona. Lita knew than almost better than anyone (bar Christian), and guilt filled her.

"I'm sorry."

And Lita was sorry.

"I didn't mean it, Tor,"

Fiddling with Chloe's collar, Torrie tried to shrug it off, "Yeah I know."

Attaching the long diamante leash, Torrie let her white little dog scurry around the hallway as the two friends walked side by side. Getting under peoples feet and in the way, Torrie didn't seem to be paying the slightest bit of attention to her pet as the two women moved up the hall towards Stephanie's make shift office. After Chloe had tripped the fifth backstage staff member, Lita gave in and swooped down to pick the little fluffy ball up.

Signing, Torrie looked worn out, "What were you and Edge taking about."

Lita didn't want to answer, but Torrie deserved one, "He apologised about Jeff and I. Then I lent him a book."

"Idiot."

Lita baulked, and Torrie blushed, "I meant Edge, not you. But lending that man anything is stupid. I bet he forgets to return that book to you."

Reaching Stephanie's office, they found it empty and made their selves at home on the couch beside Stephanie's desk. Brushing her hand over her dress, Torrie fussed over the gilded material. After making certain that it wasn't crease, and wasn't going to get creased she glanced over at her friend. Things once again felt awkward. The scent of the flowers Christian sent Torrie filled the air. They were pretty, and the rest of the bunch was back in the women's locker room right out on show for all the others to see (and to salivate over).

Torrie had a tag team match with Trish later that night.

On Stephanie's desk lay the forms signifying the roster of matches for that night. Lita could tell Torrie was nervous about it. The blonde had never felt confident in the ring, something that Lita had taken advantage of in the past to win numerous matches. But they weren't friends back then, and now they were. Back then Trish had been Lita's closest female friend; Dawn Marie forgotten amidst the suspicion of something going on between the brunette and Matt Hardy.

Stick Sisters.

That what Lita and Trish had been. Or maybe they still were stick sister. An awful term, but some would considering it fitting. After all, they did seem to have the same taste in men. Jeff, Matt, Jericho, Christian, and now Edge. Some men counted more than others. Jeff in particular had counted for both of them. The thought of him made Lita feel like she had crashed into the ground at full force, and she blinked rapidly. Flicking through her bag, Lita knew she wasn't going to find anything else to read but it kept her hands from becoming idle.

Coughing, Torrie look very nervous all of a sudden, "Li, I have something for you."

Glancing up, the redhead waited for her friend to continue.

"Uhm, actually, Christian asked for me to give this to you. I don't know what it is though."

Handing over the white envelope, Torrie looked like she didn't know exactly what to say. It was clear that she was uncomfortable. Tucking a clump of golden hair behind her ear, she nervously twitched. Then seeing Chloe chewing at the corner of Stephanie's leather couch, the blonde filled the next few seconds disciplining the little dog. From outside the room, the sounds of Dawn Marie and Stephanie bickering echoed down the hall, alerting everyone within hearing distance of their immanent arrival.

"Who gave you that backstage pass? I didn't authorize it."

"Your brother did."

"Shane? How did you get him to do that?"

"What are you insinuating?"

"I don't need to insinuate, I think I'm being perfectly clear."

"I didn't get him to do anything he didn't want to do."

"Yeah right."

Slamming the door open Stephanie made both Lita and Torrie jump and she and Dawn stormed in. But as suddenly as they had, they stilled as they spotted the redhead. It was very out of character, and Stephanie recognized this first. Wrinkling her nose, she tried to remember where her argument with Dawn ended, but couldn't. Instead she did the next best thing.

Striding back over to the door, she grabbed the first person she spotted.

Unfortunately for the Spirit Squad this happened to be them. A malevolent grin spread across Stephanie's face as she took in the sight of the male cheer leaders holding their pompoms and loudspeakers. Of course, the green and white dressed men of the spirit squad weren't the brightest crayons in the box so to speak so they didn't make a dash for freedom when they should have. Poor stupid cheerleaders, they didn't have a snowballs chance in hell with Stephanie looking at them in that predatorily way she looked at people she considered her inferiors.

"Heya Miss Stephanie," Kenny greeted, his round face beaming at her dumbly, and the other members following suit, each glowing at her as they repeated the greeting.

"Hello boys, you're just the people I was looking for."

"We are?" they all said in unison, looking very chuffed.

"Yes, you are," Stephanie cooed in a sugary tone, "I need you to go give Ashley a little cheer."

"Only a little cheer?" they all questioned aghast.

Shrugging, Stephanie managed to look both adorable and powerful, "Alright, how about a nice big one in the middle of the ring?"

"Super Miss Stephanie, we won't let you down!" they all yelped, jumping up in a synchronized cat leap. "You can count on us!"

Already tiring of their antics, Stephanie felt her grin slipping but held onto it the best she could as she gave her next order, "I want the cheer to be a reenactment of how Ashley broke her leg. You could even ask her out to watch it and get her opinion! Of course, you're free to take artistic liberties with how you present your cheer."

They eyes of the male cheerleaders lit up, "That's a super doper idea Miss Stephanie! We could even use red streamers and glitter for all the blood!"

"That sounds fantastic!"

Leaving the boys to their devices, Stephanie slammed her door shut again.

"What?"

Her three stared at her disbelievingly, almost shocked by what they had seen. Unlike the Spirit Squad, Chloe did take the opportunity she was presented with. While Torrie gapped at the Billion Dollar Princess, the little dog jumped off the couch, and once again fixed her sharp little teeth into the corner leg of the couch with vengeance.

"Come on, it's all in good fun."

This excuse was ruined by a maniacal little snigger that slipped through Stephanie's lips the moment she thought of the red streamers and glitter. She might have gotten rid of Christy Hemme, but as long as Ashley was still stomping around in her Kmart combat boots Stephanie was sure to get a ride or two out of the try hard diva search winner. Frowning, Stephanie suddenly realised a chance had been lost; she should have made sure the Spirit Squad included Victoria in that little cheer of theirs.

The raven haired woman had been spending far too much time eyeing off Shane McMahon lately.

Already distracted by the thought of all the other people Stephanie needed to put in their place, she missed the look of distress that filled Lita's face as she opened the envelope. So did Dawn, who in her new role as 'the setter of moral guidelines that ruin Stephanie's fun' (a title given to the brunette by Stephanie), missed seeing the redhead blink back tears as Dawn was focused not on Lita but on glaring at the youngest McMahon and at Torrie who was struggling to control her dog.

Crumpled in her shaking hand was a check.

An unnatural static filled her ears as she examined the small piece of paper. The ink, blue ink, was already smudged. Never the less, Lita could read the check without any trouble. Her lip trembled, and her breathe jolted erratically into and out of her lungs. Around her Dawn and Stephanie quarrelled while Torrie tried to get Chloe back under her control without losing a finger to the over enthusiastic dog.

The numbers, more than Lita had expected replaced the static, and as she turned the check over, she began to lose her ability to hold back her tears. She screwed her eyes shut, refusing to allow them to fall, but his writing, the writing on the back of the check was all she could see even as she tried to block it out. Nothing she could do could remove it from her mind. Nothing. Not a single thing.

'You earned it – Jeff'

The moment seemed to stretch to an infinity that made it harder and harder to hold back the tears she wasn't allowed to cry. The tears she didn't deserve to cry. She felt worse than when she lost the Women's Championship to Trish, and even worse than when her beloved pet dog had been put down. Biting into her lip as hard as she could, she tried to stop it trembling.

But a small cry escaped her.

One that her friends noticed immediately.

"Lita? Li, what's wrong?"

The check was taken from her hands by Dawn. The brunette sighed and handed it over to Torrie and Stephanie. The other two women shared a knowing look as they recognized what the check was for. A job well done indeed. Stephanie felt very small as she read the dedication at the back of it, and she felt very childish as she stared into her best friend's tearful face.

The bet didn't seem highly educational now that Jeff had been driven off for good.

Now it just seemed wrong, because Stephanie's best friend was in tears and nothing at all could make that right. Not even calling in the Spirit Squad for a preview of their cheer could help. As Dawn and Torrie hugged Lita, wiping away her tears, Stephanie didn't know what to do. She couldn't even remember the last time she felt as helpless as she did now. Doing the only think she could think of, Stephanie fished around in her pocket and brought out a monogrammed handkerchief that she placed it in Lita's hand.

Sniffling, Lita mumbled, "Thanks Stephie,"

"That's okay Li, what are friends for . . ." she replied in a tiny voice.

Dawn glared icily at Stephanie then, but no sharp retort left the Billion Dollar Princess's mouth. There was nothing Stephanie could say. Nor was there anything Dawn could say either. On any other occasion this would have pleased Stephanie; to render Dawn silent was an achievement few obtained. But nothing short of Ashley breaking her other leg could raise Stephanie from the acidic feeling of remorse that was creeping along her every limb.

Stephanie didn't like the feeling, but it was she, not anyone else that was culpable of causing it.

Lita's breathing was still shallow, but the static had left her mind now and not one single trace of it remained. Her friends' concerned faces swam before her, their eyes filled with compassion as they comforted her. The spirally printing of Stephanie's initials on the handkerchief felt worn and soft under Lita's finger tips, and she knew what she had to do.

Speaking up, her voice felt like sandpaper as it left her throat, "Tor, you're going to see Christian after the show, right?"

"Yeah . . ."

"I want to come."

"Oh, Li, I don't think that's the best idea," Dawn muttered, patting Lita's hair soothingly.

"No," Lita protested, sounding strong for the first time in a long time, "I have to see Jeff. I have to. You understand don't you Dawnie?"

Nodding slowly, Dawn Marie and Lita seemed to be saying something neither Torrie nor Stephanie could hope of understanding. Their eyes meet steadily as Dawn nodded, the brunette knowing somehow that Lita was right, and that she was doing the right thing. Silently, they communicated between themselves in a manner that only lifelong friends could.

"You can borrow my car if you want," Dawn finally offered.

Holding Chloe tightly, Torrie didn't seem like the ditzy blonde Dawn and Stephanie knew. Her blue eyes didn't look away or widen in nerves. She looked set, and she looked strong. She even looked a bit like the other three in a strange way. But most of all she looked like the woman Christian had pined over for years and years, the woman he adored, and the woman Stephanie and Dawn had never really seen until that moment in time.

"No thank you Dawn. Lita and I will be just fine on our own." She relied politely, "I'll have my match, and then we can leave. With any luck we'll make it to TNA before they have their main event."

"I can cancel your match if you want," Stephanie offered.

Torrie shook her head, "No, it's not right to break a commitment. I promised Trish I'd be her tag team partner tonight."

"I have to walk Edge to the ring." Lita announced too, her tears clearing. "I said I would."

Narrowing her eyes, Stephanie scowled. That was her father's doing obviously. Edge was only a good heel when Lita was next to him. Stephanie really didn't like how something's were run. If she were only in charge . . . well, if she was in charge she'd probably make a whole lot of other changes apart from 'that', but she wasn't in charge yet. The thought sickened her but it was true. She wasn't the queen bee. Not yet anyway. Not yet . . . but when she was oh the tables would turn. . .

"I think I can alter tonight's card so you'd be finished quicker."

Putting on an unconvincing smile, Lita managed to joke, "Are you going to get the Spirit Squad to interrupt Edge and I?"

Stephanie's eyes lit up.

Now that was a good idea.

Never had the idea of male cheerleaders seen as agreeable to her as it did now.

Hmm, it seemed like her father did get something right every once and a while.

But then again, even a blind dog can find a bone every now and then.

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Sorry about the wait; I had to write an magor essay on police powers and the balance between civil rights and proection against terrorism. Yes, it sounds as interesting as it was to write. But anyway, read and review. Bonus points for the person that can identify the Orange County Copper's quote.

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