Mel
Chapter 7 - Breakfast, Hotels and In-Flight Entertainment
A/N: What a long chapter title. I hope it will fit in the box. Anyway, TADAAAA!! Here's chapter 7! I pulled it out of a hat. No, seriously; I'm a magician. Well, after the lovely reviews I got for chapter 6, I wanted to start this right away! xD
Disclaimer: I don't own WWE, or the wrestlers, blah blah blah. Who really reads this?
Chapter Summary: Ken is left to ponder the fate of Dave and Melina, while hoping for the worst. When he lands in Denver, Melina drives him to make a spur of the moment proposition to one Mickie James.
!#&()+
Breakfast was a pleasant experience for the two WWE employees who were blindly sharing a room together, as they were surrounded by friends, and Dave wasn't around.
For the first time since they had gotten back together, Melina finally noticed that Dave would always choose a separate hotel from everyone else. Was he trying to isolate her? Was he trying to keep her from seeing her friends? She tried not to think about it, as she, Ken, Adam, Randy, Jeff, Jillian and Mickie all sat around a crowded restaurant table, laughing and having fun together. Melina hadn't had this much fun in a long while, and the same could be said for Ken.
"I feel like I haven't talked to you guys like this in so long," Melina announced to the group, instantly regretting her words, as she was met with sympathetic looks. She just smiled, and lowered her eyes to her nearly untouched plate of bacon, eggs and toast. She hadn't done much eating seeing as how she had been laughing so much.
Mickie and Jillian each squeezed one of her hands, as they were on either side of her, and they enclosed her in a group hug.
"You haven't! I'm so glad you're finally out with us again like old times!" Jillian squealed, her and Mickie both on the verge of tears.
"Looks like our table got hit with a sudden wave of estrogen," Adam cringed, wanting no part of it. Ken faked a tear rolling down his cheek, and he started sniffing as though he had been crying.
"G-G-Gee Adam...d-did you miss m-me that much?!" Ken jokingly asked, trying to hug Adam, who pushed him away.
"Okay, what did they put in the damn orange juice?" Adam yelled, struggling to pry Ken's arms off of him.
Melina struggled to hold back her tears, although she wanted to cry with her friends. But she found it a little on the brink of overreacting. Maybe she spent a bit too much time with Dave, but they were being kind of ridiculous.
"Well, hate to enjoy good times and run, but I've got to get to the hotel and pick up my luggage before my flight. I'm gonna have to go," Melina declared sadly, getting up from the table.
She groaned inwardly, as devastated faces gazed up at her.
"You sure you don't want me to go?" Ken asked her one last time.
"I'm sure," she stated flatly, her friends taking turns to hug her. When, at last, she arrived at Ken, she smiled and encircled his waist with her arms. The only response she got was a single hand on her back, and then he turned away. The way he avoided her eyes worried her, and it showed on her face. She decided to leave it alone, granting the group one more goodbye, before she darted across the street to the other hotel.
Luckily, it was incredibly close and within walking distance. Unluckily, Melina had to cross a busy intersection, which was not so easy to do in Los Angeles. Still, she faired rather well, being a native of the City of Angels, and made it to the other side in an alarmingly small amount of time.
As she entered the marble lobby, a rush of cool air hit her face, and she strolled up to the front desk with a new wave of courage.
"Excuse me sir. I'm here to pick up some luggage that I left here with my...ahem...boyfriend," Melina told the desk clerk, who nodded politely.
"Was your boyfriend in room 514?" He implored, to which she nodded.
"All right, well, Mr. Bautista has left for the day, but he had your luggage brought down. Shall I call a cab for you, ma'am?" He continued, pointing to a luggage cart filled with her familiar purple suitcases.
"Yes, but just a minute. I need something from my bag first," she responded.
With that, she approached the cart and grabbed the bag she knew to have some clothes in it and headed toward the bathroom. She peeled off Ken's shirt, and replaced it with a black halter top that suited her much more. She glanced at the 'Talk Loud, Hit Harder' t-shirt and elected to stuff it into the bag she had.
After finally getting a cab and forcing all of her luggage into it, Melina began the mildly lengthy journey to LAX, Los Angeles' main airport.
Upon arriving, checking her large luggage, and entering her plane from the gate, Melina was finally able to take a load off in her comfortable airplane seat. She breathed loudly, and turned to look out the window, only to see a rather large, tan head blocking her view.
"Mel," the head said, facing her fully. Melina's face suddenly turned serious.
"Dave," she called out in a low voice.
!#&()+
Half an hour after Melina's plane took off, Ken and the friends she had left at the restaurant were all boarding their own flight to Denver. Settling into their first class surroundings, the Divas attempted to make light conversation, but there was only one thing on Ken's mind.
'I wonder what's going on with Dave and Mel...' he thought to himself. Unlike Dave, he actually could think without saying anything out loud.
"Idiot," Ken muttered to himself.
"Hmm?" Mickie asked him, not catching what he had said. Ken looked at her blankly and shook his head, signifying that it was nothing of importance.
!#&()+
"I really don't know if I want to forgive you," Melina admitted, crossing her arms and staring fixatedly at the seat in front of her. Dave was doing just what she expected him to. Begging for her forgiveness.
"I completely understand. You have every right to feel that way. What I said was horrible, and it should have never been said. I can't apologize enough for it. The only thing I can do is try to make it up to you by treating you as wonderfully as you deserve to be treated. I promise you I will never say or do a negative thing to you again," he stated, at which she finally looked at him.
She smiled slightly, because the plight seemed to become lighter, and the situation felt more comfortable.
"What about my friends? You'll understand if I want to spend a lot of time with them?" Melina questioned him.
"Of course, baby. Spend all the time with them you need," he replied, returning her warm smile.
"Including Ken? Because, regardless of what you might think, he and I are only friends," Melina added, giving him a hopeful look.
And, that's when saw it. A shimmer of doubt in his eyes, but she expected nothing else.
"Um, yeah. Ken too," he told her, forcing another smile. Melina bounced up and down in her seat happily, ecstatic that they could reach a compromise. She hugged him and kissed his cheek, not noticing that he seemed quite distracted.
"I'll be right back!" She told him, taking her purse and running to the bathroom.
She felt the need to call her friends and tell them what just happened. Excited, she locked the bathroom door and dialed Mickie's number, hoping her friend's cell phone was on.
!#&()+
Everyone in the first class section of Ken's flight looked around at each other in confusion, as 'Shake It' by Metro Station began to play from an unknown source, sounding a bit muffled.
Mickie blushed, embarrassed, taking her cell phone out of her pocket and answering it, noting that Melina was the caller.
"Mickie, guess what just happened!" Mickie heard Melina say, unable to even say "Hello?"
"What?!" Mickie exclaimed. Ken turned to face her, alarmed at her outburst.
"Dave and I got back together!" Melina told her friend, blissfully.
"WHAT?!" Mickie repeated, not easy Ken's bad feeling any.
"Yeah! He was just being sooo sweet. He was acting like he did when I first met him, I had to forgive him!" Melina informed Mickie, unaware that Mickie was having a negative reaction to this.
"What did he do in the first place?" Mickie implored, only to receive dead silence. When Melina did answer, it wasn't the answer Mickie was hoping for.
"That's not important, now. But, I just wanted to call and let you know! I'll see you in Denver, hun!" Melina replied, hanging up without waiting for Mickie's farewell.
Mickie clicked her phone shut and groaned, annoyed.
"And people think Maria's a ditz!" She said aloud, ignoring odd looks from other people. She was simply irritated with her friend's lack of judgment.
"What happened?" Ken asked her fervently, hoping Dave hadn't done something to Melina.
"The ditz and the 'roid head are back together..." Mickie trailed off regretfully, staring blankly ahead.
Ken clenched his teeth and forced a sorrowful sigh through them, which Mickie noticed. Mickie felt for the guy. If anyone belonged with Melina, it was him. Mickie still had no idea why Melina was even wasting her time with Dave, when she had someone as great as Ken wrapped around her finger.
"That sucks," Ken finally said, knowing he didn't have to hide his displeasure with the situation seeing as how Melina wasn't on the same plane.
"I know! Mel can be so stupid sometimes!" Mickie protested, leaning as far back into her chair as possible.
"I need to move on, but I can't bring myself to do it. She pisses me off so much. She's the queen of mixed signals. I wish I could get back at her and show her what it's like to be forgotten for no reason," Ken said mischievously.
"Yeah," Mickie agreed, her anger waning as she seemed to find something interesting in the carpet pattern.
Abruptly, a thought ripped through Ken's mind like a tornado, causing a mess of destruction formerly known as his other thoughts. He glanced sideways at Mickie once again. She was really the only flaw in his plan, should she say no. He figured there was no hope in his plan being successful if he didn't ask her, so he took a breath and went for it.
"I think I know a way to get back at her...but I would need your help," Ken said, laughing inwardly at the curious expression on Mickie's face.
"I'm listening," Mickie replied, resting her head atop her closed fist, facing him fully.
"Well, she's obviously moved on, but I wonder what she would think if I got a girlfriend..." Ken trailed off, the possibilites panning themselves out like a movie in his head.
"Ooh! That would put her in her place! I bet she'd be jealous. But...wait, what does this have to do with--ohhh," Mickie started to ask, but not needing to finish the question. She and Ken understood each other finally.
"You want me to pretend to be your girlfriend?" Mickie asked him, at which he nodded. Mickie gaped at him for a moment. She was a bit put off at his request, but she decided not to answer until she thought about it seriously for a minute.
She understood that Ken wanted a tiny slice of revenge, but what good would it do? Would it really give Ken closure? Well, if Melina would get as jealous as Mickie assumed, maybe he wouldn't need closure. Maybe she'd finally kick Dave to the curb and come back to Ken where she really belonged. Mickie knew in her heart that Melina still loved him.
Ken may have had a plan, but Mickie was developing one of her own.
"So, will you do it?" He asked her hopefully, interrupting her thoughts. Mickie pursed her lips, and smiled.
"Yeah, okay. Maybe Mel will finally learn her lesson," she answered, sharing a smile with him.
The next day would certainly be interesting...
A/N: I finally got this up. Thank God it's over!! The end was brutally challenging. :(