Author's Note: Thanks to JeffxMaria, jojocheer28 and Hayley Jean for their reviews! I'm glad you like the story. I'm having a lot of fun writing it, and the fact that you enjoy it just gives me a reason to keep on writing.
Here's the second chapter. Love it? Hate it? Use that review button and tell me what you think!
Normal disclaimers apply.
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Smile, try not to look like you're grimacing… I hitched a smile to my face and played up to the crowd as Miz, who was hosting the Diva Search, made us parade around the ring. He then announced each of us in turn and judged us against the crowd's reaction; the one who got the biggest pop was granted immunity from this evening's elimination. It was so shallow, yet, sadly, had to be done… I put a little wiggle to my walk as Miz called out my name and used the ring ropes to twist my body into a variety of seductive poses. I blew a kiss to the crowd, turned my back to them and did a little shimmy before walking back to my place next to Kit in the middle of the ring.
"Hussy," Kit muttered with a grin.
"You love me for it and you know you do," I replied. Kit's name was called and she sashayed over to the ropes, threw the devil horns and then bent over backwards slowly into a crab, turning it into a slow backflip into the splits. I envied Kit her flexibility; I wasn't too bad but she could bend her body in ways that would make a contortionist weep, which was one of the main causes of the unsolicited male attention that she got.
"Showoff," I muttered as she walked back to me. She just grinned and waved at a fan in the audience who was screaming her name. I zoned out as Carla and Monique strutted their stuff, not really wanting to see their self-indulgent posing. Instead I busied myself reading the signs in the crowd I could see; there were a couple that were derogatory towards the Diva Search that made me smile.
"And the winner of the swimsuit round is… Elli!" The announcement jolted me back to reality and I stared at Miz in shock before remembering where I was and playing up to the crowd again, blowing kisses and smiling like a good little girl and wishing that Miz would just hurry up and get us the fuck out of there. "Elli receives immunity from the vote tonight; you can vote for your favourite Diva Search contestant at and the one with the fewest votes received will be eliminated. We'll be back right before the Main Event to reveal who's going home tonight." With that Miz held the ring ropes open for us and we trooped wearily backstage.
"I can't believe I won," I said to Kit once we were safely backstage and away from the cameras. "I would have thought Carla was more to the WWE fans' taste."
"I think it was more down to who was to Miz's taste. He was checking out your ass the entire time you were up there," he replied and I grimaced. While there were certainly a few lads on the roster who were to my liking, Miz was definitely not one of them. I opened my mouth to reply but was interrupted by a self-indulgent sounding voice booming out from behind us.
"Ladies! This is a lovely surprise!"
"Oh dear god…" Kit groaned as Chris Masters oozed down the hallway. She fought to repress a shudder as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She brushed it off with the air of someone having to handle dog dirt - which she would probably rather be doing.
"Do you mind? I just had a shower," said Kit, taking a step back. Masters gave a high, false laugh.
"You know," he said, closing the distance between them, "I'd think that someone in your position would appreciate some help from someone backstage…"
"She's got it." Masters jumped back from Kit as Shawn and Hunter rounded the corner. Shawn put his arms around Kit and pulled her close to him.
"You okay, Princess?" he asked as Hunter walked right up to Masters, who was visibly cowering.
"I am now," said Kit happily. Hunter glared at Masters and slowly closed the space them until Masters was backed against the wall and they were standing nose-to-nose.
"I'll, uh, just… go, shall I?" said Masters in a very small voice. He slowly started to edge his way out; Hunter lunged forward and growled and Masters yelped and hared off down the hallway. Hunter grinned a self-satisfied grin and turned to Kit.
"You get any problems with him, you tell me, I'll sort it out," he said.
"Thanks, Hunter," said Kit with a grin. Hunter preened and flexed his muscles.
"I am Hunter, defender of new Divas!" he proclaimed as Randy strolled around the corner, the WWE Title casually slung over his arm.
"Is that so? Well the defender is going to be late for our match if he doesn't hurry up. Great show out there, ladies," he added, smirking at us. "Kit, may I just say you have an incredibly nice…"
"Hey!" Hunter smacked his shoulder. "Not the Princess," he said in a low, dangerous voice.
"Yeah, whatever. Come on. The 'Princess' will be fine with your boyfriend," said Randy, making sarcastic quotation marks.
"See? You're going to love having me around. I'll be your Lord Protector for life," said Hunter, flashing Kit a final grin as he wandered off after Randy.
"Why do I get a sudden sense of gloom and foreboding?" she asked worriedly.
"Because Hunter's going to be insanely protective of you and you're never going to have sex ever again?" I suggested with a grin. Shawn giggled, hand covering his mouth.
"You said sex!" he said, affecting a look of child-like shock and glee. He cleared his throat, his expression suddenly becoming serious. "That's not something you do, ever. And that goes for you too," he added, shaking a stern finger in my direction.
"Meh, you haven't adopted me, you've got no control over me," I said, sticking my tongue out at him.
"I'm sure I can find someone to protect your honour. Wait there," said Shawn, taking off in the direction of the men's locker room.
"What honour? I don't have any!" I called after him, but he either didn't hear or was ignoring me. Kit and I exchanged exasperated looks.
"What have we done to deserve this?" Kit asked.
"I don't know, but I suggest hiding before he comes back," I said, grabbing her hand and leading her in the opposite direction.
We found a deserted locker room; it was obviously in use as there were a couple of gym bags on the side, their belongings haphazardly tossed around the room, but the occupant was nowhere to be seen. I wandered over to one of the bags and peered in, trying to figure out who it belonged to.
"Who do you reckon this belongs to?" I asked.
"Jeff," replied Kit in a small, tight voice. I turned around to notice Jeff wandering out of the shower room, clad in nothing but a towel and using a second towel to dry his hair. His body was glistening with water and Kit went very still and poker-faced; if this had been a cartoon she would have had hearts in her eyes. Jeff noticed us and flashed us a brilliant grin.
"Hey, it's my two favourite Diva Search contestants!" he said in that lazy North Carolinian drawl.
"Two favourite?" asked Kit, jolted back into life by his comment. "I thought I was your only favourite?" she asked, playfully slapping his shoulder.
"Well my brother got quite attached to your sister, so she becomes a favourite by default," said Jeff, his eyes twinkling. "You're still my best girl though. I wouldn't vote for any other Diva Search girl."
"I should think so too. They all suck."
"Hey!" I pouted, folding my arms. Jeff laughed and moved to his bag, removing his in-ring gear. "You ladies don't mind?" he asked as he turned to the wall and removed the towel.
Kit made a noise that sounded like "Gngh!" at the sight of his bare bottom. She stared, wide-eyed, at his derriere before hurriedly covering her eyes, grabbing my arm and making for the door.
"Sorry Jeff I forgot we've got a… a thing see you later!" she babbled as she physically pulled me out of the locker room and slammed the door behind us. She collapsed against the wall, taking deep breaths and looking very shell-shocked. I burst out laughing.
"Smooth, Kit, real smooth, he won't suspect a thing!" I giggled.
"Oh, shut up!" she snapped, and shook her head. "Jeff… ass… naked ass…"
"Shame you got out of there. He might have turned around and given you full view of his hot, throbbing…"
"LALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" yelled Kit, clamping her hands over her ears. She continued singing loudly to drown me out all the way back to our own locker room. Carla gave us a nasty look but we ignored her as Kit sank down into a chair and I jumped up onto a low cupboard at the side of the room. Kit cautiously removed her hands from her ears.
"Man-meat," I finished. Kit shot me a glare, picked up a cushion and threw it at me. I caught it and propped it behind my head with a grin.
"I hate you," she moaned.
"Love you too." I blew her a kiss and she huffed and turned her back on me.
It was a long night. It felt even longer due to the fact that we were wearing next to nothing and that every time we even dared to venture out of the locker room we ran into a Superstar or two who would leer and make inappropriate comments, Masters, Lance Cade and Snitsky being the most persistent offenders. We decided in the end to remain in the locker room and see who Shawn had managed to rustle up as my chaperone.
Shawn returned to the locker room soon after, triumphantly announcing that he had found me not one, but two guardians, and introduced Paul London and Brian Kendrick.
"They're perfect! Okay so they're not the biggest guys on the roster, but I wouldn't trust you with Orton and these two can be quite vicious when they have to be," said Shawn happily.
"Hi girls!" said Brian and Paul together, flashing identical grins as they sat down next to me and Kit. Carla and Monique immediately started giggling and talking about their best assets. Brian rolled his eyes and tutted.
"They're wasting their time," he muttered. Paul ignored them and wrapped an arm around my shoulder.
"So you're the lady that needs looking after, hey?" he asked brightly, looking me over with a critical eye. "I don't see why. You look all sweet and innocent."
"Don't be fooled, the innocent looking ones are always the worst ones," said Shawn darkly. "Now I've got a match to get to. Be good, you lot!" He gave us a stern look for a second, grinned and left the locker room. Brian and Paul waited a good few seconds until they were sure he was gone and then burst out laughing.
"I think Shawn's going senile in his old age. He expects -us- to keep you out of trouble?" laughed Brian.
"We -cause- trouble," said Paul proudly. "We're like the Weasley twins of the WWE."
"Only we're prettier. And not ginger. And, you know, not magical."
"So, let's see what sort of trouble we can get you into!" He and Paul immediately put their heads together to start plotting.
"I like them, can we keep them?" I giggled to Kit.
"I get Brian, you can have Paul," she replied immediately with a grin.
"What?" Brian looked up, a look of confusion crossing his face. "Paul, I think we just got claimed."
"Yay!" Paul hugged me again. "I like getting claimed, it makes me feel special. And you won't mind when I do this." He undid the knot on my bikini top and I had to hurriedly clasp it to my chest to stop it from falling away.
"Hey! What the hell?" I demanded, crossing my arms protectively over my bosom. "Do me back up!"
"Nuh-uh, not me, you have to get out there and find someone to help you," he replied with a wicked grin.
"Oh, no. No way. Kit, help me out here!" I begged as Paul dragged me to my feet and over to the door.
"You're on your own, chick!" she laughed as Paul shoved me out of the doorway and slammed the door shut behind me. I tried opening the door again but evidently someone was holding it shut.
"Paul!" I yelled, giving the door a kick. "Let me in!" My only response was an outbreak of giggling and I swore and kicked the door again.
"Having trouble there, miss?" I jumped at the voice behind me and gaped at John Morrison, who was leaning against the wall with a smirk on his face. What he was doing backstage at RAW, I didn't quite know.
"Yeah, my friends are evil," I replied, turning a fierce glare at the door. The utter sods! I glanced down at my chest, acutely aware that if I wasn't careful I'd be giving Morrison a good eyeful and shifted my arms in an attempt to cover myself a bit more. "You couldn't lend us a hand, could you?" I asked, feeling more than a little uncomfortable. Morrison laughed; clearly he was enjoying this a lot more than I was!
"Sure." He re-tied my bikini top and I squirmed as his fingers tickled the sensitive skin on my back. God, this was embarrassing! I was going to kill Paul! He swore softly as he fumbled with the straps. "Stop fidgeting," he ordered.
"Sorry. It tickles," I responded, screwing my face up with the effort of not moving as his fingers once again brushed my back. He seemed to be taking forever just to tie a couple of straps together and I wished he'd hurry up, this was awkward enough and I wanted to get back to the safety of the locker room and get my revenge on Paul.
"There, done," he announced, slapping me lightly on the back. "Is that tight enough?"
"Yeah, it's fine," I replied, adjusting myself so that I was as covered as possible and turned back to face him. "Thanks for your help."
"No problem. If you need help with anything else, let me know." He winked at me and I felt myself blush a little. I flashed him an awkward smile and banged on the door again.
"Hey man, are you making a move on one of my girls?" Morrison and I both turned to face Miz as he sauntered down the hallway.
"Hey, just lending a helping hand, man. You all set for tonight?"
"Sure, just let me get this done and I'll be with you. You okay, Elli?" Miz grinned at me and knocked on the door, calling for the other girls. The door opened and Brian and Paul rushed out and hared down the hallway.
"Don't think you're getting away with this, London!" I yelled after him; my only response was a burst of laughter as they disappeared from view.
"Ready, girls?" asked Miz, draping his arms around mine and Monique's shoulders. "Five minutes, man," he said to Morrison.
"Sure, I'll wait here. Good luck, ladies," said Morrison with a grin as Miz ushered us to the gorilla position.
I wasn't feeling too nervous as we stepped out from behind the curtain, after all I couldn't be voted out tonight, but Kit could and I kept my fingers crossed for her as we entered the ring. We posed for the crowd before Miz grabbed the mic and started going on about how great we all looked and how it was a shame that one of us would be going home today.
"And the lady going home tonight is…" Miz paused for dramatic effect. Hurry up and get on with it, you great prat, I thought impatiently. "Monique." I exhaled, uncrossed my fingers and flashed Kit a smile as Miz attempted to console/flirt with Monique. She was certainly milking it, too; it was disgusting. I couldn't see Miz in a sexual situation at all. It was on a par with Margaret Thatcher naked on a cold day.
When she was gone, Miz ran down the plan for the next week. We were each going to be assigned to a brand to see if we could win some hearts, appear on the brand's show next week, and then regroup at Cyber Sunday where the winner would be announced. Miz then produced from his pocket a bag which contained three strips of paper. The name of each brand was written on a piece of paper and the one we drew out was the one where we would be spending the remainder of our time until Cyber Sunday.
Miz offered the bag to me first. I closed my eyes, plunged my hand into the bag and drew out a slip. I opened my eyes and was surprised and pleased to see that I had drawn Smackdown. Great; now I could spend time with Matt and Shane! Kit went next, and she drew RAW.
"Shawn will be happy," I remarked as Carla, looking incredibly sour, drew out ECW.
"Yeah, I'm never going to be allowed to go anywhere without Shawn and Hunter ever again, am I?" Kit laughed as we headed out of the ring and backstage.
"Yay! You got RAW!" Kit was greeted by the excitable hurricane that was Shawn the moment the cameras were off. His grin was so broad it was threatening to slice his head in two. "Party, hotel, now!" he ordered.
"Can't we get into some normal clothes first?" asked Kit.
"And there's the Main Event, John against Jeff, can we watch that? Pleeeease?" I asked, feeling like a child asking my dad for permission to stay up.
"All right," Shawn conceded, the grin on his face only fading slightly. "Party, hotel, half an hour. Don't be late!"