Hey Everyone!
I really fell in love with this chapter. Seriously, this is my favorite out of any of my fics in a while. The last time I was this happy with a chapter was in Can't Fight the Moonlight.
Let's see...next up on my update list in front of me is "Rock this Country" followed by "Are You Gonna Be My Girl?" then "Can't Fight the Moonlight." For those of you who read Beauty and the Freak: after those three are updated, I will be working on the sequel to that one!! Plus, three new fics. Then my update cycle will begin again. I may save "The Call" just so that it doesn't end so soon. I'm a bit sad to see that one leaving.
Thanks to everyone that reviewed. I've never really had a favorite review before, but I am completely FLOORED that Takersgurl read this. Seriously, that was one of the most exciting things ever since I nearly die of excitement when she updates.
I hope all of you like this one!
"Chelsea, it's no big deal. I don't understand why you're making it a big deal." John dropped down on his couch and rubbed his face. Somehow, in a matter of two weeks, he had come to care about her. At first he was just worried for accidentally mauling her over, but it soon turned into a friendship. "John, what is this? Do you invite all your fans over to your house for the weekend?" She rolled her eyes upon hearing him laugh at her through the phone. "You're not really a fan anymore, Chels. You've kind of turned into a really good friend who answers the phone at random hours of the night. I like talking to you, and we had fun both times we hung out. I want to hang out again." He could tell Chelsea was thinking about it. "Stop picking at your nails." Chelsea grumbled from her end of the cell phone. "It's creepy how well you know me after two weeks. It really is. Fine…I'll come." He chuckled and responded before hanging up. "You know me pretty well, too. That's why I feel comfortable inviting you to my house. I know you're not going to go all psycho fan on me." He hung up to the sound of her laughter. "Bye, John."
Friday afternoon came quickly, and Chelsea found herself on I-10 headed to see a famous wrestler-turned friend. She spent the hour's drive talking herself out of going through with it. What am I doing? He's John Cena for crying out loud! How did I let this happen? There's no way he actually considers ME a friend… She made the last turn onto his street and went to the end of it. It wasn't anything like she had expected.
Chelsea pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head, opened the door, and stuck one leg out before turning back to get her purse. Here goes nothing. She turned back to get out of the car only to be met by John's face inches from hers. "Oh—Chelsea! I'm sorry. Are you alright?" Chelsea was now laying across the seat and part of the console, holding her head after jumping in fright and hitting her head on the door. "I'm fine. I'm fine—it's cool." Chelsea took John's hand as he helped her out of the car and pulled her into a hug, all the while laughing. "I'm not really sure how you find this funny, Chels." She pushed herself away from him and walked around to get her bag. "I'm the clumsiest person alive. If you saw all of the bruises…hell, you'd probably think I was being abused. I run into everything." He shook his head and laughed himself. "You go. I'll get this."
John followed Chelsea inside then led her to her bedroom. Chelsea stood leaning in the doorway as he put her stuff down. "What?" Chelsea shook her head and turned on her heel, wandering throughout the house. "Chelsea?" She slowly made a circle around the living room and moved to the kitchen, where she repeated the process. Brushing by him and smiling, she made her way back towards her bedroom. Instead, she turned left down the hallway towards two other rooms. The first one she stopped in was his office. She placed one hand on either side of the frame and leaned in to look around before pushing herself back into the hallway and making her way towards the last room. John rushed to the doorway in an attempt to block her path. "You don't need to see this room. It's just my room—looks a lot like yours." Chelsea's curiosity got the best of her at that point. She pouted her lips and batted her eyes in a vain attempt at getting past him. When he held his hand in front of her face, she decided on a different tactic. Chelsea reached up and tickled his ribs, distracting him long enough to slip past him. "Chelsea!" She giggled as she made a mad dash for his bathroom. "No. Stop. John!" He raced after her and picked her up from behind, carrying her away from the door. "It's messy in there. I pretty much just threw shit in there. I don't need you thinking I'm a pig." She squirmed in his arms the entire way to the living room, up until he deposited her on the couch. "Well one room has to be messy. You're a dude—this house is too clean for a bachelor." He laughed from the kitchen and returned with two sodas. "Thank you." John nodded his head before taking a sip of his drink.
John and Chelsea goofed off for much of the afternoon. They spent a few hours talking—getting to know more about each other. Chelsea spotted his Wii game system and challenged him in Smackdown vs. Raw. John laughed at her, claiming he didn't want her to pout when she lost. "John, I'm going to kick your butt—as a woman." She was allowed to create her own character only if John got to pick out what she wore. "Could you make me look any skankier? Seriously, John, can I at least wear pants instead of underwear?" John quickly moved his hands as Chelsea made a grab for the controller. "Chelsea, this was the deal. You get to be you but only if I get to make you look however I want." He smiled as she sighed and crossed her arms. "You should be flattered I want to see you in such minimal clothing." She playfully pushed him, only to succeed in pushing herself backwards. "Yeah, right—somehow I highly doubt that. It doesn't matter; you're going down anyway." John saved her player and set up a match.
Much to John's surprise, Chelsea won the match. After he insisted it was pure luck and challenged her to best two out of three, however, she won those as well. "There's no way you beat me. You're a girl." Chelsea laughed and stuck her tongue out at him as she danced around the room. "It's a game, John. I just have to be good with my hands." She instantly realized what she had just said and stopped her movements. "I mean—" John lunged for Chelsea and pinned her on the couch. "Let's see just how good your hands are now. Get out of this one, Missy." Chelsea struggled under him and screamed when John started tickling her. "No, John! Stop—I can't breathe!" He stood up while she tried to catch her breath on the couch. "Ooo, now I know someone's ticklish spot. Good thing your sides are easy access." Chelsea jumped off the couch and ran after John, only missing him by a few feet before he slammed the door in her face. "Go do whatever for dinner. I'm taking a quick shower." She thought he meant for her to figure out what she wanted to cook so she headed for the kitchen.
John emerged from the shower and put on jeans and a t-shirt. He could hear Chelsea digging around in his kitchen and went to investigate. "What are you doing?" Chelsea was on her hands and knees looking through the cabinets. "John, you don't have anything but peanut butter and bread here. You don't even have jelly to make a complete sandwich!" He looked at her as though she was crazy as he pulled her from the floor. "I know that. That would be why I told you to get ready to go out." He laughed as she realized what he had meant earlier and ran to change her shirt and grab her purse.
They went to the same seafood place as the first time they met. "John, do you eat here every night?" John took a sip of his beer and shook his head. "No, I only come here about once a week. I have a few restaurants I go to." Chelsea quirked her eyebrows in thought and continued eating her dinner. John opened the passenger door for her and got in the driver's seat. "John, stop at the market on the way home, please." He nodded thinking she needed personal items but became confused when she reached for a cart when they walked in. "Chelsea, what are you doing?" She pushed the cart to one side of the store and shrugged. "Obviously, we're getting groceries for you. I don't want to hear anything from you, Mister. You can't eat out every night—you do that enough on the road." John grabbed the cart to prevent her from moving. "Chelsea, I really don't have the energy to cook after a day of filming. It's just easier for me to go get something." Chelsea let go of the cart, forcing John to push it after her. "Duh, John. I'm going to cook everything for you this weekend, and you can just heat it up during the week. I think you can handle a microwave or the oven. Besides, there's no reason to waste all that money on gas and food. I don't want to hear it. I'm doing this for you, and there's nothing you can say to convince me otherwise." Chelsea was intensely shocked when John picked her up into a bear hug in the middle of the market. "You are the best friend I've ever had." Chelsea laughed and shook her head. "I'm just cooking for you, John. It's no big deal." She gave up arguing with him after he insisted that it meant 'so much' to him and just chose to smile.
John and Chelsea put all of the groceries away, and John got a beer from the fridge. "Do you want something to drink? I have wine if you want." She shook her head and told him a beer was fine, much to his surprise. "You drink beer?" She laughed and took it from him. "Yes, I drink beer. I'm not that picky." They made their way to the living room and decided to watch a movie. "I don't really have too many chick flicks, Chels. It's mostly action movies." Chelsea made her way over to his collection and pulled Die Hard from the shelf. "This one—I love these movies." John shook his head again and put the movie in the player. "I love how you can just be one of the guys. I mean…" Chelsea laughed and silenced him. "Yeah, I know—hence why I have almost entirely guy friends. It's a gift."
At some point during the movie, Chelsea laid down with her head resting against John's thigh. When it ended John carefully lifted her head and threw a blanket over her, not wanting to risk waking her up by carrying her to her room. He went to her room and got a pillow to support her head. John dimmed the lights and kissed the top of her head before making his way to his room, wondering how he lucked out on such a great girl.