Rating: PG-13, or K+ Content: Angsting Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.
Summary: Sequel to Unrequited. Can Randy help Lita get her life back?
A/N: It's been a while, but I'm finally getting back into this. I'm not happy with this chapter, but I can't find any other way of doing it. Let me know what you think!
Matt left it to a couple of days before Wrestlemania before leaking the news to a 'friend' who ran a website. Within hours, almost every wrestling news site was reporting the hot new gossip: Randy Orton and Lita were dating.
The first Lita knew of it was when her cellphone woke her up. On seeing Randy's name come up on the display she knew something was wrong. He never called her this early, especially when he knew she'd been traveling the night before.
"Hey, what's happened?" Her voice was filled with sleep and fear, as if the nightmare that had plagued her all those months was finally coming true.
"They know," Randy tried hard to keep the anger out of his voice, torn between wanting to be with Lita and wanting to destroy Matt, "he told them… it's everywhere."
She sighed. She'd always known it would happen, but when it actually did, she didn't know how to react to it, "what are they saying about me?"
"I don't know, I haven't seen anything yet. Cena called me earlier."
"What do we do?"
"What can we do Li? We knew this would happen eventually," Randy was wondering now if his behaviour the last few weeks had been a good idea. He'd tried to avoid Matt at all costs, to the extent of only being at arenas when absolutely necessary; rooming on his own; managing to get his own locker room most of the time. He'd virtually cut himself off from the rest of the roster in an attempt to keep himself away from Matt. Maybe if he'd confronted him weeks ago, this could have been avoided. Maybe…
"It doesn't stop it hurting though. Why does he have to be the one in control all the time?" Lita's tear-stricken voice was sharpened with anger, "why can't I be in control for once, why is it always him?"
"I don't know Li… listen, what time is your flight to Chicago?"
"I… I'm due into Chicago at six, I think."
"I think Cena's on the same flight… Li, he said if you needed anything, to give him a call… and I'd rather you weren't out on your own right now."
"You think it'll be that bad?"
"I don't know… I just don't want to take any chances where you're concerned, you know? We both know how cruel people can be when they don't know the truth…" his voice trailed off, as the situation finally impacted on him. Lita had taken so much from the fans, and this was just handing them more ammunition. This wasn't going to be easy, no matter what they did.
"OK, I'll call him."
"My flight lands at five, I'll meet you."
"Please," the weariness in her voice cemented Randy's anger and confirmed his decision.
"Love you angel, we'll get through this, I promise."
She sighed as she snapped the phone shut. This was it. No more hiding, no more pretending. Whatever anyone said to her, she loved Randy and Randy loved her. That was all that mattered.
She'd never been easily convinced.
The first Matt Hardy knew of Randy Orton's presence was when the latter's fist connected with the former's face. He didn't even get chance to respond, as a flurry of punches sent him crashing to the floor, only to be replaced with a few well aimed kicks to the stomach. It took a couple of their colleagues to pull Randy away from Matt, and even then it took dragging the irate man into another room and locking the door to actually get him to calm down.
"What the hell is wrong with you? You've been an asshole for the last few months, and now you're attacking Hardy for no reason in the hotel lobby of all places? What the hell happened to you Orton?" Benoit pushed Randy to the other side of the room and shot him a look that said 'don't even try to start anything with me'. Randy knew better than to argue with Chris anyway, and it wasn't him that he had a problem with.
"Hardy is doing everything he can to make Lita's life a misery, and I'm not going to let him destroy her. I've tried to stay away from him, but what he's done is too much. The asshole can do what he likes to me, but to make her live in fear, and then leak to the internet now about our relationship… I couldn't let him get away with that."
"Are you as dumb as you look or what?" The other man in the room spoke for the first time. Randy's eyes narrowed as he looked at Rey, a silent question between them. "It isn't Lita he wants to hurt, it's you. He just knows that messing with her emotions is the easiest way of messing with you, and you fell for it."
"How the hell did you work that out? How does what he's done hurt me?"
"Look at what you've done over the last few months! You've cut yourself off from everyone. Most of the roster thinks you're an asshole, and now you've attacked him in front of witnesses. You're going to be lucky if you keep your job after this, and even if you do, no one wants to work with you because they think you're an arrogant prick." Rey shook his head, he knew Randy was young but he hadn't realized he was so naïve. Rey had just assumed, like everyone else, that Orton thought he was better than the others. He hadn't realized that Randy's behaviour had been an attempt to keep Matt from messing up his relationship with Lita. "No one realized that was what it was man, I only see it now… and people ain't going to forgive easily. Matt's well respected, and you? After the way you've been acting, no one trusts you."
Rey's words hit home. Hard. They made sense. Randy had realized that Matt had a problem with him, but he hadn't put the pieces together. He sat down and put his head in his hands.
"What have I done?"
Benoit looked at Rey and shook his head. The young man had caused himself more trouble than he could ever have imagined. The best he could hope for now was a massive damage limitation exercise.
It didn't take long for news of what happened to reach management level, and Randy's cellphone was soon ringing. The name that showed up on the display didn't bode well.
"Mr McMahon?"
"Orton, I've just been told what you did to Matt Hardy."
"Yes, Mr McMahon, and if you were told that I attacked him, that is correct."
Randy could almost hear the surprise on the other end of the line, "I've also had disturbing reports about your conduct backstage, are these correct?"
"Yes, they are. I had my reasons, but that is no excuse."
"Explain your reasons."
"I can't do that."
"I see," Randy heard Vince barking orders at his secretary, and then the words he was dreading, "you'll no longer be winning the title at Wrestlemania, and beyond that you will be suspended for sixty days. Being disruptive to the locker room environment is unacceptable. Attacking a colleague in public is completely unacceptable. You will take the time to consider that."
"Yes, Mr McMahon."
Randy hung up, and stared at the phone in a mixture of resignation, horror and fear. He couldn't deny anything he'd done; he certainly wouldn't reveal to management who it was that was leaking information to the dirtsheets, that would mean that he'd never be able to repair his tattered reputation; Matt had succeeded.
How the hell was he going to explain all this to Lita?