Hey guys! Sorry I've been gone for so long. Been a rough couple of months if I say so myself. I hope you guys are still interested in reading the story. I'm not sure when I can post next, but I'm sure to post in the next year or so. Haha.

Disclaimer: I do not own any WWE Superstar in this story. The personas/gimmicks belong to the WWE. The actual persons belong to their respective selves. Any brand/logo/trademarked name found in this story does not belong to me.

Chapter Ten: Beginning?

A month had gone by since Christmas and to say the least, Riz ad Randy weren't really friends still. They did get along sometimes but there were still these petty arguments. She found Randy an extremely confusing person. One day, he would be all sweet and he would always say please. The next he would be saying harmful things at her. It just didn't make sense!

February 1, 2006 had rolled by. In two weeks time, the two would be flying to Los Angeles for their redebut on RAW. Riz would be coming back one week earlier that Randy, though, since he had sustained the worse injury. Over the month, he had been training under Riz's strict supervision. She had been pushing him to be the best he can be inside her own personal gym in her basement. She made him do a couple of reps, a couple of crunches, a couple of push-ups every now and then to exercise his muscles. They went jogging every morning so that Randy could get his leg back in action.

This particular day, Randy was feeling like being a friend to Riz. He walked up to her in her pale yellow room as she sat there on the bed obviously writing something in her little notebook. He sat beside her as she closed the notebook and set it aside. "What's up, Orton?" she asked, her eyebrows twitching a little. "I just wanted to ask… You know… My curiosity has been giving me a hard time… I just… Wanted to know what's inside that closet of yours…" he asked, motioning to the door that had a sticker that said 'Keep Out or Die'.

She let out a heavy sigh and asked, "Why, Orton? It's not like you're going to see anything interesting in there…"

"I just… There… There are only two weeks left before we fly back to the WWE… In these final times, I just want to take back something with me… Like a memory of finding out something about you that I hadn't known before…" he said. This was so unlike the Legend Killer.

She debated in her mind and said, "You know, Orton, I never thought I'd say this, but I'm going to show you something no one has ever seen… Not even John… I've got a gut feeling that you deserve to know this… And, as much as I don't want to admit it, I've also got a gut feeling that you're the right person to confide in about this stuff… So, follow me…" She stood up and walked to the door as Randy followed suit.

She unlocked the door with a key from her pocket and swung it open. At first, Randy couldn't see anything. It was pitch black. He saw something twinkle but he couldn't decipher what it was even if he squinted his eyes. She flicked on the lights as arrays of bright white lights filled up the, what he thought was a, small room. The room was about as big as a wrestling ring! Maybe even bigger! Randy looked around and marveled at what he saw. His eyes widened as he scanned every inch of the room.

Gold and silver trophies, medals and plaques were covering every inch of the wall. There was this huge cabinet that displayed numerous awards and trophies. There must have been about a hundred! He looked to the right and saw a closet which was lined up with lots of short dresses. There were some with feathers, lace, sequins and ruffles. You name it, it was there. He looked to the left and saw another closet which was lined up with more short dresses. But those were more of the pink and white hue. He walked further inside, leaving Riz leaning on the doorframe.

He looked towards the hidden part of the room and there he saw what shocked him. There was a mannequin standing there with a beautiful baby pink short dress that was sequined with white sequins and beads forming wisps in the bodice. The skirt started somewhere about the hips and went down five inches. The sleeves were mere cap-sleeves that were just white ruffles and there were little glitters here and there. Around the mannequin's neck was a gold medal.

Beside the mannequin was a portrait. No, it wasn't any ordinary portrait. It was of a girl standing on a sheet of white wearing the same dress as the mannequin. Her dark brown hair was pulled back into a neat ponytail and was curled to make it look sophisticated. There was a white rose tucked in that ponytail. Her make-up was absolutely flawless. She held her head up high with a big smile on her face and there was the same medal wrapped around her neck. In her arms was a bouquet of pink roses.

Shockingly, the girl was Riz.

Riz was a figure skater.

It took about three minutes before it all sank into Randy's head. This picture denied every aspect of Riz's current front. Riz didn't figure skate! She didn't even wear short skirts! She simply wasn't 'girl' enough to be what they call 'twirl girl'. This was the girl who loved camouflage and who wore cargos almost every single day of her life? Impossible! Riz wouldn't be such a person… Would she?

"Kinda a lot to take in now, isn't it, Orton?" Riz's voice broke his subtly shocked reverie as he spun around to see her standing there. "This is you?" was the only thing that came out of his mouth. She merely nodded. She walked over to the mannequin and ran her hand through the gentle pink fabric of the outfit. She traced her hand over the gold medal and rubbed it with the pad of her thumb. "This was the same dress I wore six years ago when I won the Philippine Olympics… I remember having so much fun gliding on the ice in the Araneta Coliseum… Dancing to 'You first believed' by Hoku…" she reminisced.

"Should this show you enough that I'm a girl, too, Orton? That whatever you do, might I not be a girly-girl, I'm still a woman? That the persona is always different from the person?" she asked him in the calmest voice you could ever imagine coming from her mouth. He looked at her in shock and said, "This can't be you… There's simply no way… I mean, you're Riz! This is… some other girl!"

She motioned for him to follow her with her finger. They walked over to the closet that was filled with pink and white short dresses. On the way back to the closet, Randy noticed something from the corner of his eyes. He saw a mannequin with a white tube gown. It looked so simple and yet so beautiful at the same time. "What's that for?" he asked and pointed. "Nothing." Came her reply.

Riz parted the middle of the closet and pushed them all to the sides. The hangers and clothes compressed in either side of the closer and there, Randy saw the biggest collection of CDs he's ever seen. "These are videos of my performances… From practices to the actual thing…" Riz said as she ran her hand through the thousands of black CD cases lined up on five shelves that ran about seven meters. Randy was in a perpetual state of shock.

"Back when I was still known as Ann, I was a figure skater, Orton… There's enough proof here to last you a lifetime… Look around you… All the outfits and costumes I wore to my competitions and performances, the very skates I wore when I won my first gold medal back when I was six, the videos of all that I've been through… Orton, this is the only place you'll ever see this… This secret I've kept… And I've shown it to you just to prove to you that I'm no weird girl…" she explained.

"But why hide it from everyone else, Riz? There must be a fortune in this place! All these trophies, these medals and awards… These are worth something! Why waste your time wrestling when you can pursue figure skating instead! I've always wondered why you were so well-balanced and light on your feet!" he said in shock. He didn't mean to sound so encouraging but he was in a deep sense of wonder about all of this. "That question is for another time, Orton… Maybe never…" she said.

She fixed the hangers back into place and motioned for Randy to go out. He followed suit and walked out the door. She shut the door and locked it before flipping the key in her hand. Randy noticed a white keychain hanging from the key. "May I see your keychain?" he asked in the most gentlemanly manner he could. She handed it to him. He scanned it and saw that it was a 3D version of a snow angel. "It's a snow angel, Orton… I keep it there so it protects the key to my secrets and to my past…" she explained.

He merely nodded before giving back the keychain with the keys. There was more to this girl than he could ever know in his entire lifetime. She had just shown him this complete secret of hers and there was nothing else he could do but to stay there in his endless state of reverie. In the same way he had been feeling for the past two months, he felt guilty, yet again.

The morning of their flight to Los Angeles, he woke up bright and early, something pretty unusual for someone like him. He usually stays in bed until late morning. But today, he got up extra early, took his shower and clothed himself. He walked over to the room Riz was sleeping in and opened the door quietly. He sat down on the side of her bed and watched her sleep. All she was wearing was a white baby-tee that had rolled up to below her chest and a pair of black Adidas jogging pants.

He watched as she breathed in and out slowly; how her chest rose with every breath; how the sunlight streaming into her room outlined the features of her face; how her hair was left dangling across her face slightly. He brushed aside a couple of strands of hair and watched as she slowly came to her senses. "Orton? What are you doing he- Oow… Shit…" she said as she arched her back. Her face squinted in pain and her hand went over to her lower back to ease the pain.

She sat up and tried to stretch her back but to no avail, the pain still seared through her spine. She suddenly felt hands on her back, soothing, muscular hands. She shrugged them off and said, "I'm fine, Orton… It's just a little morning pain… Happens every time…"

He shook his head and said, "Riz, this has been happening to you everyday… Don't you think I've noticed that every morning you attempt to stretch your back but I can see it still hurts… Let me help you…" the last line he whispered in her ear.

She could do nothing but give in. His hands slowly made their way to her back as he slowly began to massage her. She felt the pain slowly ebb away as he massaged every locked muscle in her back. He made circles there and pressed down here. It was a wonderful experience with someone who has scoliosis. Little by little, the pain disappeared. When it did, he took his hands off her and hugged her shoulders from behind.

"If ever it hurts again, don't hesitate to call me…" he said before walking away to fix his things.

Ever since that morning, things have been very quiet for the two of them. Each kept their distance from the other. Once they were back in the WWE, everyone welcomed them with a jolly celebration. There was cake and balloons and everything for Riz; whilst Randy, being not exactly the roster's favorite, got a couple of cards, flowers and handshakes from co-workers.

Sadly, even after being together for an approximate four months, backstage, nothing had changed between the two. They were back to their fighting phase both on and off screen. He was back to teasing her about her sexuality, she was back to calling him gay. All the while, John even thought they had gotten along pretty well. But they've gone not a step further.

Back to square one.

Read and review please. Thanks to those who have been reviewing.

-veracruzortongal