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Disco Inferno and wandaXmaximoff

Chapter Three: Wicked Intentions

Marissa ushered Madison into the house through the garage and into the kitchen. "Don't move," she ordered, opening one of the kitchen drawers and pulling out a pre-moistened napkin. "Close your eyes," she said to the little girl and began to wipe away dog slobber from Maddie's cheeks and forehead. She had no idea what was in store by bringing Xerxes along for the ride to pick up her daughter from school. The little strawberry blonde was going to have to even change her clothes where the collar of her purple sweatshirt was wet with his slobber. The two of them had bonded in a way that the mother wouldn't have dreamed imaginable nor could she understand.

"Phbbtt," Maddie buzzed her lips and stuck out her tongue. "Der's a piece on by tong."

The redhead wiped her hand across the girl's tongue and then wiped her fingers off on the cleansing cloth. "Go change and come back for your snack," she instructed and the child bounced off up the stairs.

"It's a peanutbutter sandwich, by the way," Kate commented, biting into her own sandwich.

"Were you sitting there the whole time?" Marissa asked and the brunette nodded in response.

"You need to slow down."

"Not possible when your daughter is dripping with dog slobber. The dog!" she suddenly gasped. "Holy crap, he's still outside!" The redhead dashed back out into the garage and then through the side door to find Xerxes rolling in her mother's flowerbeds.

Kate was right behind her and pounced on the overgrown pooch before dragging him to the fenced-in backyard. Marissa held the gate open and the brunette dragged the dog by the collar with all her might through the fence. When he sneezed dirt all in her face, she promptly let go and fell flat on her butt. "Got any more of those wipes?" Kate asked, wiping away what amounted to dog-made mud from her face. Marissa was laughing so hard that she was bent over double. "Fine, don't help, I can get up all by myself."

"I haven't," the redhead paused, leaning on the gate, "laughed…so much…in a while…as I have today." She blew out a long breath and wiped away the tears.

"That's because you need to lighten up and smell the roses."

"I would say that that's the most excitement I've had in a long time but I would be lying," the woman beamed, hooking her arm in Kate's as they headed for the back patio to go in the house.

"Yeah?"

"I'm going on a date with John Cena!" she practically shouted with a broad grin.

"Batista asked you?"

"Uh-huh," Marissa replied with a nod.

"At least one of us will have a good time," Kate sullenly replied as she glanced around to make sure Xerxes wasn't near the house and then opened the door. "Did he say anything about me?"

Actually, he hadn't said much but Marissa didn't want to tell her that. "Yeah, he's looking forward to this weekend. We thought that Sunday was the best day and decided we'd go to that year-round skating rink in Montreal."

"But I don't ice skate," Kate whined, making straight for wipes that Marissa had used earlier.

"You do now."

"We'll see about that. Hey, pumpkin." The brunette said the last to Maddie, who was devouring her peanut butter sandwich. "Any homework?"

"A little," the little girl replied.

"We'll get on that as soon as you get done eating," Marissa said and her daughter nodded in reply.

"We'll talk more about this later," Kate mouthed and disappeared in the direction of her room to stay out of the way of the Carlson girls' time together. On the spur of the moment, she decided to hook up with some friends from when she worked at the Verizon Center. They kept odd hours as well considering their work week revolved around the sporting events. On that kind of schedule, Tuesdays became Fridays, much like the wrestling work week.

Kate was out late the night before and disappeared the next day right after she got up, briefly mentioning that she was meeting a friend for lunch and some shopping. So Marissa puttered about the house, taking care of laundry, doing errands, and spending some time catching up with her mother. She wanted to tell Glenna about her date with John Cena but she didn't want her mother to mention it to her father, which would become a disaster.

The redhead decided on a nap but lay in the large bed, staring at the ceiling. She knew she shouldn't get her hopes up. John hadn't actually been the one to ask her out. Dave was doing this as revenge for setting him up with Kate. The brunette didn't know that from what Marissa gathered and she wasn't about to tell her. If her friend knew that Cena had set them up, then she would balk and refuse to go. It was better to let her think that Dave was just too shy to ask her. Anything could come out of the date and there was no use prejudicing Kate anymore towards the handsome wrestler. Maybe she'd see what a great guy he was and realize that all her preconceived notions about him were wrong. If not, then Marissa would have to intervene and work on her.

That would give her something to do to take her mind off of John Cena. She had no doubt that the man wouldn't ask her out himself. Yet, there was consolation in that he still agreed to go on the date when Dave said he'd ask her. John could have just said 'no' and left it at that. Still, he didn't knowher and he'd probably be just like all the other guys -- go running in the other direction when he found out about Madison. Goodness knows, she loved her daughter and wouldn't give her up for the world but dating was tough with a child. She wouldn't give up her baby for any man -- not even John Cena -- but it should just be easier to find a guy willing to date a single mother.

Marissa already felt like she was walking in a dream, knowing that come Sunday she would be out with the man she had had a crush on for a year now. The wrestler turned her into a blubbering pile of jelly when he was within a mile of her. She was going to have to get herself under control or he would probably just leave her hanging there with Dave and Kate. Even if they never went out again, she could at least look forward to spending time with him on Sunday. That was at least something she could have if she never got it again.

Maybe it would cure her of wanting him. Maybe he'd turn out to be an absolute bastard. She'd rather hate him for a good reason than pine away like a love-stricken puppy when there was no hope. Yet, the redhead couldn't imagine him as anything other than perfect. No, he couldn't be a bastard.

The alarm she set in case she fell asleep and didn't waken in time went off. Marissa rose from the bed and realized how shaky she was from thinking about the date. She was going to have a nervous breakdown before Sunday night. Why couldn't she be like Kate who didn't seem to care that she was about to go out with one of the most sought-after men in wrestling?

However, Kate wasn't as carefree as her friend assumed. The brunette arrived home shortly after Marissa had left to pick up Maddie from school. She was feeling so listless this week and wished she had stayed on the road, hitting as many bars and clubs as she could find instead of laying about at home with nothing to do. It would have also helped keep Dave Batista off of her mind.

Frustrated with herself, for she was always calm and collected, Kate settled at the grand piano in the drawing room, which was more or less an alcove attached to the sitting room for a fancy sofa and the piano. She plunked a few keys and then began playing one of her own compositions. The brunette was by no means a virtuoso; she had been soundly rejected from some lower-tier schools. Looking back, she was grateful for those rejections. The woman was happy with her profession and realized halfway through college that piano was more of an obsessive hobby. She would never have handled all those long practice hours at a specialized school. Her talent lent well to playing in bars or for high school plays.

The one thing about playing piano was that it kept her sane. Being flitted between foster homes, the one constant she found was that they allowed her to continue piano lessons. Even if the home had no piano, she could at least practice on the music teacher's at school. Finding herself on her own at the age of eighteen, she find solace in the music that held her together during what she jokingly called "the precarious years of her existence."

The song was so familiar that her fingers caressed the keys without thought. The melody usually soothed her but instead, she was thinking of Dave Batista. This date was insanely stupid. What interest could he have in her? Their conversations were never more than her cuing him and his responding 'thanks.' She had ran across him several times talking with Marissa but had usually remained silent, maybe there was a muttered 'hi, how you doing' and 'fine, thanks.' She was just a regular girl who, if she wasn't living with Marissa, would be just keeping her head above water. Dave was rich and, in her opinion, he dressed and acted like it. He just seemed to be so full of himself, the way he walked around talking to people like he owned the place. Everyone thought they were his friend but she was sure it was because he was ingratiating himself with them to get whatever he wanted.

What bothered her the most about all this is that she actually wanted to go on this date. It wasn't so much the date but the fact that the more she thought about Batista, the more she found him so attractive. Kate would be lying if she said she didn't find his smile charming, his voice sexy, and that ripped body heavenly. She would be lying if she said that she hadn't watched WWE before working for them and wondered what it would be like to be with him. Reality took care of that -- she had thought the same of certain movie actors. He was not really different just because he was a wrestler and she worked for the company. The thought never crossed her mind again when he was shipped over to SmackDown shortly after her arrival and he had not been back until recently when Edge was traded over. It hadn't even crossed her mind when he did come back. Now, that's all that was on her mind.

Her dating him would be like Orlando Bloom picking up with a nobody from a small town that he had only met the other day. There was something else to it. Whatever it was, she had to guard herself. As charismatic as Dave Batista was, she knew she could fall for him and he would leave her broken by the way side. So, what harm would there be in going out with him? She was more comfortable hanging out with Cena, which she didn't do a lot of anyhow. They generally had conversations regarding the latest music releases as he waited in the gorilla position or noticed some new piece of equipment and wanted to play with it. She had ended up in a couple of groups that he was in while she was out at a nightclub and they had casually talked.

Hopefully, no matter how the date went, she would be able to go on with her life as if nothing happened. One date, no commitments. Now, what she had to do was have a good time, be congenial, and encourage John and Marissa. She was a little wary about Cena and his penchant for women. But he was very much like Kate and she considered herself girlfriend material, just a drink and a dance and maybe an exchange of phone numbers. Nothing ever really happened but maybe Marissa could be what -- or who -- would happen. She would be an upstanding date -- even ice skate, if necessary -- so as not to ruin Marissa's chances.

"Speak of the devil," Kate called, catching the redhead out of the corner of her eye.

"Who are you talking about me to?" Marissa asked, looking around the room.

"Just myself."

"You're playing that song again."

Kate suddenly pulled her hands away from the ivory keys and laid them in her lap. "How's Maddie?"

"That little boy she likes pulled one of her pigtails and told her he hated her. She just ran upstairs to her room, still pouting. Nothing I say has made a difference," the redhead sighed in dejection.

"I'll try. I don't know what difference I'll make but I'll try."

After taking the little girl's snack up to her, Kate coaxed the story out of her and she cried some more. To make her feel better, the brunette offered to go out and rent some movies and bring back some ice cream. That did the trick and the rest of the evening, after what little homework she had was done, Kate, Marissa, and Maddie, including Xerxes, all piled on the couch, watched cartoon movies, and ruined their suppers with ice cream. Even Glenna joined them for a while, which led to a pillow fight with the couch cushions. That was enough to exhaust the girl and she was yawning broadly after declaring herself the winner when she made her mother cry 'uncle' by tickling her.

After Marissa tucked her daughter in and read her a bed-time story, she stopped by Kate's room, where she was jotting down notes on her schedule for the weekend and immersed in the music from the earphones she had stuck in her ears. She only noticed the redhead because Xerxes rose from where he was laying on her legs and bounded over. "Yeah?" she asked, pulling the earplugs out.

"What's bothering you?" Marissa asked, leaning up against the door frame.

"Nothing," the brunette replied, looking back down at her schedule to keep from meeting her friend's eyes.

"Don't lie. I know from what you were playing. You only play that when something troubles you."

"It's this date--" Kate stopped suddenly when her phone rang and she glanced at the caller ID.

"Who is it?"

"I don't know," she replied and flipped the phone open. "Hello?"

"Kate?" a baritone voice asked.

"Yes?"

"This is Dave Batista. Are you busy? I can call back later."

"Um, hang on just a moment." She put her hand over the receiver and whispered to Marissa, "You won't believe this but it's Dave Batista."

"Oh my gosh. Well, talk to him," the redhead replied, waving her hands at her.

"Go away. I can't do this with you standing there."

Marissa laughed and pulled the bedroom door shut behind her with a smile.

"Dave, you need to call her," Cena adamantly stated and shoved the cellphone in his face.

"Why?"

"Don't you think it would be rude if you don't talk between now and the date?"

"I'll see her at the arena," Batista replied with a shrug.

"Sure, yell at her over the music and pyro, 'Hey, chick! How ya doing? Hot body, can't wait to get my hands on it next Sunday!'" John pantomimed grabbing a woman's butt.

"Cena, if you give me any more lip, I'm going to throw you out. This is the last time you're staying at my house between shows."

"Fine," John replied, holding his hands up in surrender. "But if you don't call her, then I'll have to do it. And you don't want me to get you in any deeper than you already are."

"Give me the damn phone. What's her number?" the black-haired wrestler growled. Cena handed the cell over and then produced a scrap of paper with the woman's number on it.

When she answered, he lost his train of thought. "Kate?" he asked.

"Yes?"

"This is Dave Batista. Are you busy? I can call back later," he said, hoping she was indeed unable to take his call.

"Um, hang on just a moment," she replied and he could tell that she had covered the phone with her hand.

Dave did the same because John was inching closer to him on the couch, trying to listen in on the call. "Get the hell away from me," Batista ordered and forcefully shoved the man away.

"Excuse me?"

"Sorry, I was talking to someone else."

"Oh," she replied, wondering who it was. She could hear rustling in the background but wasn't about to ask what was going on.

"So, how are you doing?" he asked.

"Fine. Just hanging around. You?" she asked as well, leaning back onto the bed and propping her feet up on the dog. Xerxes looked at her with bored eyes and laid his head back down.

"Yeah, the same."

They slipped into a moment of silence but then she heard the loud smack of flesh and really wanted to know what was going on. On Dave's end of the call, Cena was whispering, "Tell her how much you're looking forward to Sunday." The larger wrestler smacked his hand into John's chest and propelled him backward into the couch. Batista rose and stalked off into the kitchen.

"So, Marissa told you about Sunday?" Dave asked, leaning against the countertop.

"Yeah, looking forward to it."

"Good. Remember to wear something warm." He felt so stupid for saying that. Of course, she would. She wasn't dumb…or so he hoped.

"Yeah. Might want to get me one of those Life-Alert necklaces as well, so that when I fall down and break something, the paramedics can already be on their way," Kate joked and Dave laughed in response.

"Hopefully I'll be there to catch you," he said but then grimaced when he realized how encouraging that sounded for a relationship. He rubbed a hand over his face and noticed John standing in the doorway, grinning from ear to ear. Dave picked up the bread knife that was still out on the counter and waved it in Cena's direction. John shrugged his shoulders and finally left him alone.

"Then you'll probably wind up flat on your butt as well," she replied, trying not to think about him catching her and holding her close. With that thought in mind, she had to find a way to keep from getting out on the rink.

"I just wanted to make sure Marissa told you and all. I guess I'll see you on Friday then?" There he went again, making suggestions that he didn't mean.

"Um, yeah, sure. See you then." She clapped her phone shut after they said 'goodbye' and jumped up from the bed, running full force for Marissa's room. She rushed in and spilled everything. What was so funny was that she was sure that Cena had been there when Dave called. The whispering sounded just like his voice.

"Think John will call?" the redhead asked, surreptitiously looking around for her phone.

Kate shrugged her shoulders, hoping that he would for her friend's sake. "I'll just leave you alone in case he does."

Dave pocketed his cellphone and headed back into the living room where John was lounged out on the couch, flipping through channels on the big screen television. The older wrestler picked up the other's cell and dropped in his lap. "Your turn." He was going to get the two of them together -- something good was going to come out of this date.

"What?" he asked, picking up the phone.

"Don't you think it would be rude if you didn't talk to her between now and Sunday?" Dave mocked.

"Isn't it a little late?" John asked, trying to squirm out of the call. He didn't know Marissa very well and he wanted to ask Dave more about her before talking to her. He was hoping to catch her out in a bar or club and talk to her that way.

"A little late? It wasn't too late for me to call Kate," Batista adamantly replied, staring the man down as he towered over him.

"Fine, what's her number?" Cena struggled up into a sitting position on the comfy leather couch.

"Wait, it might be too late. I would hate to wake up Maddie."

"Maddie?"

Dave suddenly froze as he was sitting down on the recliner. It was Marissa's decision as to when she wanted to tell John about her daughter and he had gone and blown it. Well, it was better to find out now if Cena was going to have a problem with the woman than to get her hopes up. "Madison is Marissa's five year old daughter."

"Oh," John replied, lying back down on the couch. "Haven't dated a woman with a kid before. I hope she likes me."

"Marissa or Maddie?"

"Well, Maddie obviously. No point in dating a woman whose daughter hates you."

Dave smiled to himself. This was definitely looking up.

Kate tumbled out of bed and let a whining Xerxes out through the door to her private balcony that overlooked a spacious backyard. He dashed down the steps, almost falling face first into the grass, and she muttered, "You're welcome, you ungrateful dog." Half awake now, she stumbled down the stairs and into the kitchen, heading straight for the coffee pot. After a couple of gulps of the steaming liquid, she recalled Dave's phone call last night and wondered if John had called Marissa. If he had called, she was sure the redhead would have promptly told her. But then maybe she had thought Kate was asleep and didn't want to wake her. Only one way to find out, though.

Pouring some more coffee to replenish what she had drank, the brunette made her way back upstairs and softly knocked on her friend's half-open door. When there was no answer, she pushed on in and glanced around. The light was on in the walk-in closet, so she peeked in to see the redhead holding up a dress to her body and then tossing it aside. "Good idea. No dresses. You'd show your panties if you fell down," Kate blatantly stated.

"Oh," Marissa gasped, turning around. "You scared me."

"You're too absorbed in trying to figure out what you're wearing Sunday evening," the brunette answered, taking a sip of her coffee.

"How did you know?"

Kate rolled her eyes. "So, did he call?"

"No," Marissa whined, tossing aside a very lovely aquamarine blouse. "I don't even know why I'm worrying. It's not like heasked me out."

"So what if he doesn't call? He doesn't even know you yet and after y'all go out, he'll be smitten."

"Is there something you know that I don't?" the redhead asked, cocking her eyebrow.

"Yeah, that you're smart, intelligent, beautiful, and a wonderful woman. Quitworrying," Kate replied, staring the other woman down.

"I so want him to call."

"I know that but worrying about it won't do you any good," the brunette replied and followed Marissa out of the closet.

"Have you picked out what you're wearing? Because I sure can't," the redhead said and settled on the bed, tucking her legs up under her.

"I haven't decided," she replied but, when Marissa started to open her mouth, she added, "I promise it will be something nice. We're going ice-skating. Wear jeans and a nice blouse, for goodness' sake."

"I don't know." There was a moment of silence between the two as Kate settled on the chair at the vanity and then the redhead asked, "You finally warming up to going on this date?"

"Yeah," she lied, nodding her head. "I'm going to give Batista the benefit of the doubt and see what happens."

"That's a major turnaround," Marissa responded and Kate shrugged her shoulders in reply. "Was it the phone call?"

"Maybe," the brunette answered. "You shouldn't pass judgment on a person until you get to know them." She hoped her friend caught on to the double-meaning of the statement. The other being that Cena shouldn't be passing judgment either. "You know, maybe John's scared to call. Maybe he really does like you but he's afraid of getting all tongue-tied."

"He's never spoken to me once," Marissa scoffed and then realized the joking look on Kate's face. "Don't tease me."

"Don't make it so easy," she replied with a grin before she downed the last of her coffee, setting the mug on the vanity and adding, "C'mon, let's go plot out our wicked intentions on these two men in your closet while we decide on what you're going to wear."

After deciding that it would be best not to call Marissa the previous night, Dave badgered John into calling the woman the following day.

"Go on man, give her a call," prompted the bigger wrestler. "Maddie should be at school now, so she'll be free to talk."

John shrugged. "Alright, but I don't know what to say. 'Oh hi, Dave asked you out for me so I thought I should call. By the way, how's your daughter?' " he mocked.

Batista laughed, but then stopped as though he was considering something. "Actually, that isn't a bad idea. Marissa loves her daughter to death, so you'd earn of few brownie points if you asked about Maddie," he suggested.

"Okay, but I don't really know much about kids to be honest. None of my brothers have children," replied the brown haired man.

"It'll be fine. Once you mention Maddie, I'm sure Marissa will open up about her and then you can take things from there," reassured Dave, passing the other wrester his cell, which he'd already keyed the redhead's number into.

John pressed the call button as Dave left the room to give his friend some privacy.

Marissa and Kate were still browsing through possible outfits for Sunday when the younger woman's cell rang. Worried that it might be the school phoning concerning Maddie, the redhead rushed to answer it. The caller ID wasn't a number she recognized and she hesitated before picking up.

"Go on, it might be Cena," prompted Kate, instantly realizing that reminding her friend of this wasn't a good idea. The redhead froze, the hand she was holding her cell with shaking slightly. "Go on, or he'll think you're out," said the brunette.

Marissa took a deep breath and answered the call. "Hello?" she said into the receiver, her voice almost breaking from nerves.

Kate slipped out of the room, as the reply came.

"Hey, Marissa? It's John Cena here."

"Oh, Hi. Erm… how are you?" asked the redhead.

"Good thanks. How about you? I assume Dave asked you about coming out with me, him and Kate on Sunday?" asked the wrestler.

"Yeah, he mentioned it the other day over coffee. Did he tell you we decided on going to the skating rink?" questioned the woman, hoping Cena liked ice skating.

"What? No, he never said," replied the man, cursing inwardly that his friend had left out this detail.

As if the thought of the younger wrestler had summoned him, Batista poked his head around the door way to see how Cena was getting on. The smaller man merely nodded.

"It isn't a problem, is it? Because if it is, I'm sure we can change the plans," assured Marissa.

"No, ice skating sounds good. I'm just surprised Dave agreed," John joked.

"Well, I did have to twist his arm," said the woman facetiously, shocked at how much she was relaxing into the conversation.

"How's Maddie, by the way?" asked the wrestler, hoping to impress his date by being interested in her daughter.

"Maddie?" questioned Marissa, as though her child's name was alien to her. He knows about her? she thought, then assumed Dave had let it slip. "Erm…yeah, she's good thanks."

"She's at school, I take it?" inquired Cena.

"Yeah, when you called I actually thought it was the school phoning to say something was up. I won't be surprised if she comes home in tears again because the little boy she likes has been teasing her," confessed the redhead, shocked at where her openness had come from.

The man laughed. "Is it a case of the boy's pulling her pigtails?" he joked.

Marissa giggled. "Yeah."

"Well, usually, that's just a boy's silly way of letting the girl know he like her. Maybe this boy likes Maddie too?" suggested John.

The woman was taken aback by Cena's knowledge of little children. "Could be? However, try telling her that."

"Tell Maddie from me, seeing as I'm a guy so I know this type of thing, that the little boy is only doing it to show he likes her too," assured the wrestler.

Marissa smiled, touched by the sentiment. "Thanks, I will do. Hopefully that will stop her sulking without the persuasion of ice cream," she joked.

"Well, I hope it works," said Cena. "I best be leaving you to it then, I'm sure you're pretty busy."

"Yeah, okay," Marissa lied, she could have happily gone on speaking to the wrestler all morning. "Thanks for calling. I'll see you soon."

"Alright. Nice chatting to you. I'll catch you Friday? I hope Maddie is ok when you collect her from school," said John.

"Thanks, see you back at work," said the redhead, hanging up.

Marissa grinned and then with a deep sigh fell back onto her bed just as Kate returned to the room.

"So, it was Cena, I take it?" asked the brunette.

Her friend giggled and nodded.