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By the time Lita had changed into dry clothing, everyone was ready to eat.. Most of the party goers having the decency to wait for her to get back downstairs... The two guilty parties setting down their respective slices of pizza as the redhead made her way into the dining room. But, rather then join most of the guests at the table, she seated herself at the counter with her brother, Tyson and Christian... Lita swiping her brother's soda before she took a bite of her own pizza; Lance calmly getting a new soda for himself instead of reprimanding her for taking his. And while they all started to eat, those participating in the upcoming 'war' with TNA and the WWE discussed the possible outcomes, how the initial meetings would go and how everyone would get along. Just given the varying personalities amongst the two companies, things were bound to be tense.
Terry reached for another slice of pizza, "I just don't understand why they're sending you divas over first. Not that I mind seeing you all around, I just think it would make more sense to send the tag team champions, the world heavyweight champion or even the WWE champion first."
Mickie half shrugged, "I think it does make sense to some extent. I mean, I have ties to TNA, Lita and Vicki have ties to Gail and Christy. So, it does make some sense... Having us go over there first."
"Plus," Lita helped herself to another slice, "it's not like we're going to be wrestling the first time we go over there. I'm not even sure if we'll be doing much outside of just watching. The next taping though, we're supposed to be getting in the ring, cutting a promo or whatever."
Terry grinned, "so in the meantime, you can hang out with me and maybe Styles. I think you'd get along with him, Leets. He's pretty cool, though that accent of his can be annoying sometimes."
The redhead rolled her eyes a little, "I've already been advised that I shouldn't associate too much with the TNA guys while we're there.. Something about how it would confuse viewers if I get caught on camera."
"Then don't get caught," Tyson put in a rather matter-of-fact tone. "Seriously, Lita, if you think you can avoid hanging out with us? You're very mistaken."
"I never knew I meant so much to you, Goat boy."
"Well I was already given 'orders' to kidnap you in case you decided to avoid us."
Chris Jericho shook his head at that, "still resorting to that, eh? You really can't take a hint, can you Christian. Face it, dude, she has friends. She has a life that doesn't revolve around you."
The blond man rolled his eyes at his friend, "I'm not as self centred as you, Jerky."
Dawn Marie smirked, "no.. You're worse than he is sometimes. Though, when it comes to being completely immature and childish? I'd say the two of you are about even."
Chris Benoit smiled wryly, "they are even. And don't you two even think to argue otherwise. There are plenty of road trips that come to mind where Lance and I came pretty close to tying the pair of you to the roof."
Christian scoffed, "that was all his fault, not mine. Jericho has always been more of an instigator than me."
"Bullshit," Chris Jericho coughed into his hand, "I'll admit, it might have been my fault from time to time, but you had just as much to do with it, buddy."
Mickie raised an eyebrow, "since I wasn't around for any of this.. Tell me and I'll be the judge. Or if you don't feel like going into details about everything, just tell me about a few times."
Trish nodded her agreement to that, "that sounds reasonable enough... And I'll start. We had this one road trip, extended road trip mind you, so we had ended up renting two mini-vans to accommodate everyone."
Dawn blinked, "was this when we decided that Frick and Frack couldn't be in the same vehicle anymore?"
"This was one time before it," Trish stated after a moments pause, "so, unfortunately, myself, Lita, Chris Benoit and Lance were in the same mini-van with Frick and Frack. To make this long story short, those two argued about everything, just to make a fuss.. They decided that singing along to the car radio was a good thing and they managed to get us lost."
Lita shook her head, "but that wasn't the worst of it.. By the time we got to the hotel, they were already booked out. We had to go to another hotel up the street and we ended up with like six people in rooms meant for two."
Chris Jericho rolled his eyes, "well it wasn't that bad, was it? Sure, we may have started a pillow fight, we may have decided to go swimming late at night but.. It wasn't dull, right?"
"Not the point, Jerky, you two nearly got us kicked out of the hotel." Lita nodded to her brother, "Lance ended up sleeping in the bathtub, Trish had one bed, I was supposed to have another while Chris and Christian were supposed to be sleeping in the chairs."
"My back hurt," Christian spoke up first, "I tried sleeping in the chair but that wasn't working."
Lita arched an eyebrow, "between the two of you, I couldn't get any sleep. One of you was snoring in my ear and one of you left a drool spot on my shirt. Seriously, I was traumatised."
"Eww, so didn't need the visual about a drool spot."
"Which we all know was Christian and not me," Jericho smirked when Christian glared, "admit it, dude. You drool. I know, I know... It's not exactly flattering, but it's the truth."
Dawn shook her head, "it almost sounds worse then the camping trip from hell."
Chris Benoit frowned in thought, "would that be round one or round two? Because I can clearly recall two camping trips that were dubbed the camping trip from hell."
Trish cleared her throat, "technically, the first one wasn't a camping trip, it was a ski trip. We just ended up in one tiny cabin because someone forgot to make proper reservations."
"Well it was still fucking brutal," Christian commented dryly, "seriously.. Sleeping in bunk beds?"
"At least you had a bed to sleep in," Chris Jericho pointed out then, "I was stuck sharing the sleeper sofa with Edgeward and Testicles."
"At least you didn't have your hand stepped on," Lita sent a mock glare to the blond man seated next to her. "Accident or not, that really hurt."
Christian shook his head, "I apologised for that. Many times over, I might add. It really was an accident, Leets."
Mickie pursed her lips, "I still haven't heard enough to determine who the more annoying of the two is..."
"Well, there is the one time we all went to the beach.." Trish sent a look towards Tyson, "I think it was right after you came up to the main roster."
The bald man shuddered, "please don't remind me of that. I was about ready to ask McMahon if he could send me back to OVW."
Chris Jericho rolled his eyes, "dude.. It wasn't half that bad, was it? Sure, you might have gotten sand in your shoes, you might have gotten sand in your drink.."
"You two might have buried him in the sand and then decided to replace his sunscreen with mayonnaise.."
Christian pointed to Jericho, "that was his idea, not mine. I had nothing to do with that."
Lita shook her head, "maybe not, dearie, but you were the one who decided to leave a hand print on Ty's back. And you were also the one who decided to dump all of Ty's clothes into the ocean."
"I did no such thing," Christian feigned innocence. "But, for the record, the hand print on Tyson's back was Edge's doing, not mine."
Tyson arched an eyebrow, "so you are taking responsibility for the clothing incident?" The bald man shook his head, "the things I've had to go through. I really should kick your ass for that."
Dawn shrugged, "all of that aside though, the day didn't go too badly. We finally proved that divas really are superior.."
Chris Jericho snorted, "that game of beach volleyball was rigged."
Trish scoffed, "it wasn't rigged because we beat your butts fair and square. It wasn't our fault that you perverts couldn't concentrate properly."
"It was still cheating."
"And according to you, it's only cheating if you get caught." Lita gathered the used paper plates, "who wants cake?"
With some assistance from her brother, the cake was dished out.. While they were eating that and the ice cream that Lita had bought earlier, more stories were traded. Naturally, more details were then argued about the accuracy of the stories or about who had played which practical joke. Mickie was still unable to draw a proper conclusion about the two blue eyed blond men, eventually deciding that they were in fact tied on the grand scale of dork. The WWE diva had also decided that they should plan for more of these trips in the near future.. Just so she could get the full experience for herself. And while the idea wasn't entirely protested by everyone present, they weren't quite sure when they would be able to do it. Still, it was something to think about for the near future... And something that would be possible with the upcoming 'war' looming on the horizon.
-x-X-x-
After every last bit of cake had been consumed, and miraculously without a food fight, the small party made their way to the living room. Not to Christian's entire surprise, Lance had in fact gotten him a package of socks... His friend informing him, rather seriously, that he was going for something more practical. Chris Jericho handing over another copy of the altered promo shot for his gift while Dawn, Chris Benoit and Trish handed over gift cards. Regretfully, a part of Lita's present had been unable to appear.. Terry and Tyson also in on the surprise of flying in one Brett Hart for the occasion. But, they did state that the legend would be appearing at one of the many Christmas parties, they just weren't sure which one that would be. Still, she was able to give the rest of the present... that being a few more gift cards to add to the growing pile... Everyone eventually meandering outside for whatever reasons or another. Lita remaining inside for a moment longer to clean up the kitchen.
The redheaded diva blinked at the line of cellphones on the counter. "Well this is confusing... I know one of these is ringing but.." Making a face, she scanned the display screens to search for a number. "Adam... Calling Jay?" Blinking again, she picked up the phone.. "Jay Reso's phone, how can I help you?"
"Leets?"
"Hey you," the redhead seated herself at the counter, "what's up?"
"I.." The tall blond man paused, "it's not important, alright?"
Lita shook her head, "you called Jay's cell phone.. He's just outside if you want to talk to him."
"No, it's alright. I was just--"
"Ads, I doubt you dialed his cell phone number by mistake. It won't take me long to go get him or bring the phone to him."
"Li.. I was just calling to make sure he got my text."
"What text?"
"To wish him a happy birthday. Since he did the same for me, I thought I should return the favour." A beat passed, "and don't look so surprised Leets, I can be civil."
Lita beamed, "I'm happy to hear about that, Ads.. Seriously. Now, are you sure you don't want me to get him?"
"I'm sure... It's his birthday, party and whatever, I don't want to ruin that."
"Adam Joseph Copeland, you would do no such thing. I'm sure Jay would want to talk to you."
"Some other time, okay? Vicki and I are getting ready to head out for a late dinner and to see a movie."
Lita inwardly sighed, "alright.. Well, I'll at least tell him you called. And I'll see you tomorrow at the house show."
"Sounds good.. I'll see you tomorrow, Red."
The redhead bit down on her lower lip as she shut the cell phone. It had come as quite a surprise to see Adam's cell phone number... Especially since it hadn't been on her cell phone. Maybe things would get better sooner than she had expected..
"Are you staying inside all night or are you joining us?"
Lita turned her attention to the source of the familiar voice, "I was just about to head outside actually.." She held up his cell phone, "Adam just called."
Christian arched an eyebrow, "did he really? And you're sure he hadn't meant to call you?"
"He wanted to make sure you got his text message... Wishing you a happy birthday."
"I got it," the blond man replied simply, "what about it?"
Lita arched an eyebrow, "and you couldn't think to call him about it?"
"He sent the text before I was going to bed, Leets. It was kind of late so I couldn't very well call him then."
She pinched the bridge of her nose, "whatever... I had asked him if he wanted to talk to you, but, he said that he and Vicki were heading out."
Christian ran a hand over his short hair, "look.. I know this is hard on you and I'm sorry about that. Neither of us meant to put you in the middle."
Lita shook her head, "I don't want to get into this now, okay? Thinking about it gives me a headache, the eventual discussion usually leads to an argument and since we're leaving tomorrow, I don't want to leave on bad terms."
"Fair enough," he conceded easily, "are you coming outside or not?"
"Could you just make me a promise?" And when he nodded, she continued: "The next time he calls you or sends a text, acknowledge him. Or I will let Terry or Chris do what they want."
Christian nodded shortly to that, wrapping an arm around the redhead's waist when she was standing beside him. "I would have told you, that he had sent the message but--"
"You're right, you should have told me." She shook her index finger mock admonishingly, "I like to keep track of these things, you know."
"Forgive me then, Mistress Lita. It won't happen again."
"It had better not," the redhead started to walk away from him once they were outside, yelping softly in surprise when she was dragged back. "Do you mind? I'd like to sit down."
Christian smirked slightly, "and you are sitting down, see? I'm sitting on the chair, you're sitting with me."
Lita rolled her eyes at that, "smart ass."
He rested his chin lightly on her shoulder, "you know it, babe."
Trish shook her head at the pair, "you two really need to just... you know.."
"Fuck and get it over with?"
Lance made a face, "I would appreciate it, Dawn, if you would not say that again. It's my sister and one of my best friends that you're talking about."
Dawn shrugged, "just saying what everyone else is probably thinking."
Lita shook her head, "well.. Now that we're all out here.. Why are we out here?"
"Because it's a nice night out," Tyson sat back in the chair he was occupying, "even if it is a bit cold."
Terry smirked to that, "wimps.. All of you, wimps. This is warm."
"I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm quite comfortable and warm." Christian casually wrapped his arms around the redheaded diva's waist. "That's the other reason you're sitting here."
The diva in question rolled her eyes, "so glad to know I have another purpose in life."
"So, tomorrow.." Lance sent a look between Chris Benoit, Mickie and his sister. "You three have to be out of here by the late morning, correct? Your house show starts in the evening, from what Chris told me."
Mickie nodded, "yup.. We actually have to be there earlier so we can talk to McMahon about how they're going to write us out of RAW. Then we'll be in Orlando on Monday to kick off the storyline."
Dawn shook her head, "really it would make more sense for the three of you to just leave your stuff here or whatever..."
"Not really since we do have stuff to take care of.." Lita turned herself sideways, resting her head on the blond man's shoulder. "But, then we have the rest of the week off. I think I might anyways, I'm not sure what my appearance schedule is like for next week."
"Then you worry about that later.." Christian toyed with a strand of the diva's hair. "And I'll head back to Atlanta with you, if that's alright."
Lita half nodded to that, "I don't have a problem with that... And hopefully Ads or Randy will have our updated appearance schedule."
At that, the group got into a discussion about the crazy appearance schedule that the WWE seemed to keep. Or at least some of the crazy appearance schedules.. Lita, Trish, Dawn and Mickie discussing the schedule for the divas in particular. Granted, their respective schedules could be far worse, they could be on the road all the time with no real time to rest in between but.. It was still packed enough. The conversation eventually switched to planning a mini-vacation.. Chris Benoit, Mickie and Lita agreeing to free some time in their schedules in the near future so it could happen... The small party seeming to break up at that time. Before they could all head back inside, however, Christian had asked for another birthday kiss.. Lita agreeing to that request, the redhead intending on keeping the kiss brief of course. But, that was entirely to be as the kiss that had started simply, deepened.. The timely appearance, whether intended or not, by Tyson interrupting them. Face flushing slightly, Lita excused herself to head back inside.. The bald man remarking that they were lucky he wasn't Lance.. Christian rolling his eyes in response before he went inside.
