Chapter 4

Positive Tension

Maria sat watching the guys make complete idiots of themselves. When Randy mentioned the guys going out, she figured they were going to a bar or something seeing that it was kind of late at night. What she didn't notice was their total lack of club or bar apparel and that most of them were dressed in sweats. Their definition of going out was sitting in whoever happened to have the best room and playing video games. But it just wasn't any video games. They were playing Smackdown vs. Raw on a Wii to top it off, meaning they were jumping around like idiots.

She looked on at the most recent match up which was Teddy and Cody vs Shad and JTG, but somehow Shad and JTG had gotten around to picking Ted and Cody as their game characters, and was currently beating Ted and Cody with their own characters. Everyone in the background was yelling things out and just being loud in general. Looking around she noticed she was of course the only girl in the room. She had chosen to take up stake against the wall furthest from the tv, mainly because she didn't want to get hit by the guys flailing their arms out. The room was crowded and that gave her reason to believe that a good portion of the roster was in that very room(Randy's she believed).

But she didn't see the one guy she wanted to be there. John was not there and it was killing her. She looked around and of course like she guessed he hadn't just appeared out of nowhere. The guys in the room continued to get louder and she could see the mini fights break out as they horsed around with each other. Needing to escape for a little while she walked out into the hallway softly shutting the door behind her, and thanked goodness for the amount of sound the door blocked out. She now leant against the wall next to the door trying to quell the headache that was building.

"Not your scene?" She didn't hear anyone walk up to her so the voice startled her. It startled her so badly that she jerked her head forward away from the wall only to have it meet the forehead of the mystery speaker and then have it slam back against the wall. The pain had her seeing stars so she was still unable to see the speaker. She tried to move away from her place against the wall but with her clumsiness she tripped over her own feet and felt herself going down to her inevitable meeting with the ground. But the mystery speaker grabbed her with his firm hands and steadied her before she fell. When he was sure she was okay on her own two feet, he let her go and she began brushing invisible dust strands off of herself. "You okay? I didn't mean to startle you." With those words she almost passed out. How could she not have recognized the voice the first time? She turned around and of course John was there.

"I'm fine. Thanks for asking."

"You sure? You hit your head pretty hard twice." His voice was laced with concern and she could see it on his face. She wanted to squeal. He was worried about her!!!!! His small show of concern certainly made the pounding in her head worth it.

"I've taken harder hits. I mean some odd hours ago Teddy and I were in the arcade and he challenged me to a DDR battle. But this really fat kid was playing before me and he was sweating a river so when I went to play it was wet so I slipped and almost cracked my head open on the metal bar thingy, but Teddy all but tackled me as I was falling so I hit the carpet instead, but I went down pretty hard because Teddy hit me with the force of a baby elephant. Then there was the time Mickie and I were goofing around in the ring before a show, we were only playing dodging each other's moves, but all of a sudden Matt, Candice and Jeff came running out like lunatics and BAM! I took a Mick Kick to the side of the head. I flew backwards hit my head on the turnbuckle, bounced awkwardly out of the ring and hit my head on the steps. I blacked out for about seven minutes. So that little head but was nothing compared to those head shots." She stopped finally realizing she had went onto a rant. She noted the silence and avoided any eye contact with him. She didn't want to see the look in his face. He probably thought she was crazy.

"Your skull must be made of steel. I mean how many concussions have you had?"

"That's a question for another day." She didn't want to go on to another rant and embarrass herself further.

"Okay." There was silence. Awkward silence. She still hadn't even looked in his general direction since she finished her rant. "So I take it being in there with the guys isn't really your scene? I mean big jump from Candice and Jeff." She couldn't believe it. He had a way out. He could have left and went back to what he was doing but he didn't. He decided to stay and make small talk with her. He wanted to talk to her!

"Well I wouldn't say that because I'm very used to being around guys, but they are just a tad bit out of control in there." Short and sweet. She had to remember to keep her answers short and sweet.

"Yeah well it's no DDR I'll tell you that."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means what I said. It's not DDR I've seen six year olds master DDR."

"Umm are you forgetting that we both do the same thing for a living?" Maria had a hard time deciding if he was serious. He was talking like she never wrestled a day in her life.

"Doing it in the ring, and playing it are two different things."

"I know. But that wouldn't change the fact that I could still kick your hind parts in it."Maria was very confident she could beat him. Before he could say something back, the hotel door opened and Randy stepped our along with Teddy. Randy spoke first.

"John where have you been. We've all been waiting for you."

"Oh nothing it's just that Maria here wanted to challenge me to a match on the game. She really thinks she can beat me." Randy and John shared a laugh with each other. She didn't see what could possibly be so funny.

"I don't know guys. You didn't see her in the arcade. She's a tad bit of a video game nerd." Ted put his two cents in. He couldn't just stand there while they laughed at her.

"Well why don't we find out how good she is?" John stood there arms folded on his chest in what had to be the cockiest pose Maria ever saw, and it made her salivate.

"Okay. I'm ready let's go." What John and Randy didn't know was that Maria was very much a video game nerd and it wasn't just for DDR. She played them all. Resident Evil, Halo, Street Fighter, Grand Theft Auto, Super Mario Brothers, The Need For Speed Series. She was a junkie and she knew it would be no problem beating him at a game she had long ago mastered.

"Why don't you guys go ahead. I have to talk to Maria really quickly." She looked at Ted with raised eyebrows. What did he possibly have to talk to her about? Randy and John went back inside and Ted turned to her. "Why did you walk out? Are you okay? You have this big red spot on your forehead."

"He touched me!! Not only that but he was so close I could smell him. Plus he held a conversation with me. Jeeze Teddy pinch me I think I died and went to heaven. Ouch! I didn't mean actually pinch me!"

"Someone had to bring you back down to Earth. Let me remind you of one thing. Maria he has a girlfriend, so him being friendly and making conversation with you means nothing in the long run."

"Way to ruin a girls mood. Whatever let's go I have someone's hiney to go and kick." Maria was off and into the room not even checking to see if Ted was behind her.

Candice sat and waited patiently for Matt to blow up. She knew it was coming. She could feel it. She had just relayed the information she received from Greg to him and he was just standing there. He had yet to do anything but she could almost see the anger building up in him. Unable to just sit there any longer she walked over to where he was and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. For awhile he just stood there stiff and still with his arms at his side. But then he let out a deep sigh and she could feel the tension leaving his body.

"Maybe he'll chicken out and he won't ask me."

"When has Jeff ever chickened out of something?"

"Maybe Greg took it the wrong way. Maybe Jeff didn't exactly say he was going to ask me out."

"Candy, we can think of all the maybes in the world but it still wouldn't change the mess we're in."

He was right. She knew he was right and it only made her feel worse. Because she knew it was her fault. She caused the whole mess. But breaking things off with Matt wasn't and easy option. She couldn't just say goodbye to what they had worked so hard to keep together for the half year they had been together. She loved him and she knew he loved her. But she couldn't just tell Jeff that. It would ruin his and Matt's relationship and it would kill her to know that she would be the cause behind their severed ties.

"Okay so let's say he does ask me out. What if I accept and just make him realize that maybe we aren't right for each other?"

"What like take him on a hell date?"

"No it can't be that extreme. We've been friends too long he knows what I'm like. But I don't know maybe little things to plant in his mind to make him realize I'm not the girl for him."

"I guess. Just don't crush his feelings or anything. He is my little brother and I don't want to see him hurt."

"I know I don't want to see him hurt either. He's my best friend."

"This may work for now but how long Candy? How long until he finds out the truth? Will it be when he gets the invite to our wedding, or when we have our first child?"

"You're acting like I want to keep it a secret. You think I like this? Having to lie to his face? I can't even be with you in public and you think I like it?"

"Jeff is my brother and I love him, but I just think maybe we should stop running from the consequences of our choice to be together. It's not healthy for our relationship. We're fighting all of the time now. We can't keep this a secret until the end of time."

"I know but just not now. If this works out the way I plan on it working out, it will be okay for everyone to know we're a couple.

"I hope it does."

"Me too." It had to. Because Candice knew their relationship was riding on this plan working. The stress of the secret was too much and she knew it would crumble to pieces if held under the stress any longer.

AN: So finally Chapter 4. Getting it started off was way harder than I expected but I just decided to let the chapter write it's self. I love how it turned out and I remembered why I began this story. Mainly because of the ease of writing the chapters and how having a fluid plot leave a lot of room for changes. So I can't really say when the next chapter will be out, but I will say it will be out before the middle of July, because it's one hundred times easier to write this than it is Always Something.

P.S: Smackdown vs. Raw on the Wii is amazingness. Doing the taunts kind of make you feel like you are the wrestler even if that wrestler is a man whose built like a semi and over a foot taller than you(Batista).