Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author's Note: Hey everyone. Thanks for the reviews. I know, it's sad. I feel really bad making Alex hurt and all. Lol. I really love this chapter and I have so many ideas for this story it's not even funny. Like I said earlier, it's driving me insane. I say it's all Alex Shelley's fault. He's well, he's addicting and yummy and awesome. Enjoy!
His plane left the airport at nine in the morning, leaving him little time to worry about friends, especially Chris. While he still had texts that weren't answered, his mind was too foggy to even care. He should really have felt bad, but everything inside of him was aching for the woman he loved. He was supposed to hate her, he knew that much. Michelle was everything to him for years. He spent all his time hoping to please her, to make her happy. While she wasn't a huge wrestling fan, she was always smiling when Alex explained what happened at a tapings or how excited he was from a match.
He could remember meeting her at a signing a few years back. While everyone around him was chatting loudly, whispering about the wrestlers in front of him, she was off to the side, her arms crossed. Someone was laughing near her and she seemed even more annoyed from this. He had asked one of the security guards to bring her to him and asked her name.
"Michelle," she had said to him flatly, making him wonder if she was even a fan.
"Do you want an autograph?"
She shrugged. "How much would I get for it online?"
At first, he thought she was serious until she cracked one of the widest smiles he had ever seen. Musical laughter escaped her throat while he signed an autograph for her, trying to keep himself calm. When she walked closer before, he noticed how beautiful she was. Her eyes were brown, but they seemed nice. Her blonde and perfect hair fell on her back and he could smell her shampoo from over the table.
"I'm assuming you're not a fan," he said while he took a picture with her, determined to keep her near him.
Michelle smiled a little. "No, one of my friends dragged me here. I don't know where she went. She was actually obsessing over this wrestler named Shelley or something; I told her she would probably never meet him with all these lines."
"Yeah?" Alex asked, a smile falling on his face. Michelle didn't know she was standing in front of the wrestler her friend wanted to meet. "I'm sure he's around here somewhere."
"Oh, probably."
"Mr. Shelley, we need to keep the line moving," a security member said, his tone firm.
Michelle's eyes slowly narrowed as she was pushed along and he couldn't help but smile. "I'm Alex Shelley," he yelled after her. "Nice meeting you."
After the signing was over a few hours later, Alex had left feeling exhausted and was tired from smiling in front of people he didn't know. He had picked up his things and was prepared to drive to his hotel when someone pulled his arm. He was met with familiar eyes and he laughed.
"Look, if you're mad, I'm sorry."
Michelle slowly shook her head. "No, I wanted to let you know you made my day a little nicer."
Alex smiled. "Oh."
"Yeah," she continued. Their conversation started to lull and Alex was desperate to hang onto the pretty girl who didn't know who he was. He looked around him, knowing some of his friends were waiting for him. As if she realized this, Michelle added, "You can leave. I just wanted to thank you."
"You're welcome," Alex said forcefully. Shit, he couldn't help but think. He needed something to say, something to keep her from walking away, where he'd never see her again. Michelle continued staring at him and he realized she had no intent on leaving and he looked around. He forced air into his lungs and rubbed his head. "Do you want to get something to eat?"
He watched with careful eyes as he saw the same smile from earlier that day and knew her answer before she said it. "Okay," she agreed. "Just don't let my friend know; she'd be mad if she knew I was spending time with her favorite wrestler."
Alex sighed as he remembered taking her to a diner up the road and learning more about her. She lived a little past Detroit in a small town where she worked at one of the department stores, working through college. She lived with her parents still, but wanted to move into her own place and start a more independent life. At twenty, it felt as if it was time for her to live on her own.
For a long time, they only met at the diner, talking about their lives when Alex wasn't traveling with TNA. He spent months wishing he could ask her on a real date, really tell her how much he cared for her, but he was scared. A man who spent time jumping and flying in the ring was scared. He felt like an idiot. Michelle was very confident and always led him into more fun than he could imagine.
One day, he had enough. He walked up to her waiting in the diner for him and smiled. "I like you," he said in a flat voice. "And I'm really sick of waiting to tell you that. So I just did."
"Yeah," she agreed. "You did."
"Now what?" he wondered with a laugh.
Michelle shrugged. "You could, you know, kiss me or something. If you want, I mean."
He remembered smiling at her and walking forward and in front of everyone at the diner, he kissed her. A few months later, they had bought the same apartment he left the day before.
Alex couldn't understand why Michelle didn't tell him she wanted to leave. He could remember leaving for wrestling and she was smiling at him, excited for him. Was she only smiling because she knew the moment he walked through that door, she was free? It made him feel incredibly sick to his stomach and he swallowed water, trying to keep himself from throwing up.
He knew he could be a pain in the ass. He was a person who always had a joke to make and always found time to laugh. Alex always imagined she liked that about him though. He didn't know when it had become unattractive quality instead of a good one.
When the plane landed, he didn't know where he would go. Alex knew he had a few thousands in the bank and could live for a while on the road. He knew he'd have to call Chris and let him know what happened. He would return to TNA when he felt ready, so he had to call Dixie Carter and let her know he needed some time off.
Suddenly, Alex realized he didn't want to call anyone. He didn't want to reply to Chris's texts. He didn't want to tell Dixie he needed time off. He just wanted everyone to leave him alone.
Alex picked up his things and looked around. While the airport was full of people, no one seemed to notice him. He called for a taxi and waited in the parking lot, staring as people walked past him. With the sun shining and the air was warm, it was perfect summer weather.
"Hey, kid. Did you call for a taxi?"
Alex nodded and told the driver to bring him to a cheap hotel near the airport. He driver nodded and dropped him off near a hotel that didn't look all that popular a few minutes later. A few feet away there was a broken sign that said 'motel' in green letters. He sighed. When he said he wanted a cheap hotel, he didn't want one that was falling apart and probably had more STDs on the sheets than any other place.
He checked into the hotel and found a room, noticing the inside of the place wasn't all that bad. His room allowed him to use his laptop and the internet, which wasn't bad. His sheets didn't look dirty and the shower was clean, which made him feel a little better.
He noticed around the hotel, it was a decent area. A few clubs and bars were situated, as well as some stores and a few places to eat. After finding something at one of the diners, he slowly walked toward one of the clubs, determined to drink until they wouldn't let him anymore.
Alex was just a few feet away from the door when he noticed a small girl crying near the entrance, her clothes looking torn and her brunette hair a mess. He almost continued to walk when he realized he couldn't just leave her there. It was as if his tag team partner was in his mind, telling him to make sure she was okay. Chris was always more caring than him.
He stared at her for a moment. "Uh, excuse me?" he finally asked. "Are you okay?"
The girl didn't move, but seemed as if she noticed he was standing there.
"Look, I just want to make sure you're okay, please."
She looked up with swollen, red eyes. "I'm fine."
"You don't look fine to me."
"Why do you care?" she snapped. She ran a hand through her tangled hair and wiped her eyes.
Alex shrugged. "I don't know. I just saw you crying and if Chris was here, he'd want me to stop. He's a nicer person than I am."
She seemed a little interested from his last words. "Who's Chris?"
"Why do you care?" he asked with a smile.
A smile fell on her face. "What's your name?"
Alex smiled and offered her a hand. "I'm Alex."
"Claire," she replied, pulling on her clothes. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you stop. I just needed away from there." She waved a hand toward one of the clubs. "My friends dragged me along and left me earlier."
"It's a little early for clubs, isn't it?"
Claire shrugged. "I don't know. Where were you going?"
Alex pointed. "I actually wanted to get as drunk as I could," he admitted.
"Who are you?" she wondered with curious, light blue eyes.
"Uh, I said my name was Alex before." Alex stared at her.
She smiled. "I know. Look, I'm okay, so you can get drunk now if you want."
Alex shook his head, deciding he didn't want to get drunk anymore. Instead, he wanted to go back to his hotel room and sleep, realizing getting drunk wasn't going to make him feel any better. "It's okay," he said. Claire shrugged and walked away.
He walked slowly back to his hotel, wondering why she was crying. It seemed a little strange that she was crying since her friends left her, unless she wasn't telling him something and it was actually more than that. Alex knew it was always more than that; she just didn't want to tell him.
In his room, he turned on the TV, and fell asleep.
Alex will have a little fun in the next chapter. REVIEW.