Title: Make It Better
Rated: M (Mature)
Genre(s): Romance/Drama
Pair(s): Jericho/Phil, Jeff/Adam, Cody/OC
Summary: Sequel to Please, Don't Leave Me. Chris has finally pushed Phil too far. After his actions on Raw, it seems that there is no way to redeem himself in Phil's eyes. Is there any way to make it better?
Disclaimer: I don't own anyone, besides my OCs. I also do not own the songs.
Warning: Slash, Violence
Part: 2/?
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(Three Days Later, SmackDown)
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"The following is a mixed tag-team match set for one fall! Introducing first, the team of 'Dashing' Cody Rhodes and Daylee Hardy!"
When the sun goes down, down, down, down,
Boy are you afraid of the dark?
And when the lights go out, out, out, out,
Tell me, do you know where to start?
Cody reached the ring first, holding down the middle rope so that Daylee could climb in. The nineteen-year-old flashed him a small smile, before she slid inside, bouncing around to ward off the nerves that made her stomach turn. Ever since John Laureinitis had become GM of both Raw and SmackDown, there had been matches that were incredibly violent with controversial endings. It was hard to believe that this was only his second time in charge of SmackDown. And to think, both times he had put her in a match with Chris Jericho.
Apparently, Creative had decided to take another turn with Jericho's character. Because Daylee had pinned him in their last match, he had practically begged Mr. Laureinitis for a rematch. Well, the Great Chris Jericho doesn't beg. But it was pretty damn close. And the GM had granted his wishes without a second thought. Cody rubbed her shoulders soothingly. She knew that, if he could, he would take the brunt of the assault for her. Her smile never faltered, even as the music shifted to an all-too-familiar tune…
"And their opponents, the team of Chris Jericho and Alanna Orton!"
Come on
You know I got ya, yeah
One, Break the wall down!
(Break down the wall)
Chris didn't wait for Alanna. He didn't hold down the rope like Cody had done for Daylee. Instead, he slid into the ring and immediately singled out Cody, landing blows even before the first bell rang. Quickly, the ref signaled for the bell. Daylee looked uncertain, but when she managed to catch Cody's eye, he nodded to her. Sliding out of the ring, the two friends looked at each other from opposite sides of the apron. Alanna looked remorseful… but there was no remorse from Jericho. There was only frustration and hurt, which he vented on Cody.
Over the course of the last three days, Chris and Phil had not talked once. Chris hadn't seen his husband at all. And it was seriously starting to take a toll on both his body and his mind. All he wanted was to take care of the other man, but Phil was being unnecessarily stubborn. It was true that both he and Phil had to agree to the storyline, but there were certain lines that should never have been crossed. Chris could admit that his judgement had been blinded. If only he could have a chance to explain that to Phil…
"Cody…" Daylee murmured, extending her hand so that Cody could tag her in.
"N-No, Day. I'm fine." Cody lied, wheezing as Jericho stood on his back, holding his neck against the ropes for almost the entire five count. "I don't want you to get hurt."
"I don't want you to get hurt either!" Daylee exclaimed.
"Why don't you shut that pretty-little pot hole, Day-Day?" Jericho snarled, his voice taunting. He knew that Daylee hated to be treated like she was weak. "You look so pretty over there. Don't ruin it with that horrendous voice."
Daylee flinched back as if she had been struck. Cody took the chance to kick Chris in the stomach, but the blond barely flinched. "Don't talk to her like that!"
"What, the damsel can't defend herself?"
Cody kicked him again, harder this time. "Shut up!"
Chris quickly silenced him, easily sliding the defenseless body into the Walls of Jericho. "C'mon. I wanna see what the Energizer Bunny is made of! Or is she all talk and no…" he licked his lips, "…action."
Daylee flushed, trying desperately to hide behind her dark brown curls. "I said SHUT UP!"
"You're sick." Daylee spit out. Chris tried not to flinch at that – he had to remain in character.
Just then, out of nowhere, Alanna came up and knocked Daylee off of the apron. The teen slammed down on the concrete floor, her body crumpling as pain showed on her delicate features. Slowly, Daylee tried to roll over and use the announcer's table to climb back to her feet, but Alanna kicked her shoulder and knocked her back down. And then, she stood on Daylee's chest. It was Daylee's pained scream that alerted the ref to what was going on outside of the ring, and the instant he was out, Cody managed to break the hold and pin a surprised Jericho.
However, before the ref could return, Chris broke the pin and started to beat down on Cody again. Outside of the ring, the ref had successfully broken up the two girls. He said that the next to make an illegal attack would cause a disqualification for their team. Hesitantly, Daylee climbed back onto the apron just in time to receive a tag from Cody. She looked back at him, confused. Nonetheless, she climbed into the ring and landed a swift kick to the back of Jericho's head. He went down and she went for the pin. One… Two… he kicked out.
Daylee stood, quickly recoiling back to her corner. Chris climbed to his feet a little slower, and as Daylee went in for the pin, he reached for the back of her red and black outfit. "Where do you think you're going?"
There was a loud snap, and Chris immediately released her. All around fell unbearably silent. And then, the wrestlers realized what had just happened. Daylee screamed, her hands covering her chest and trying to perserve what little modesty she had left. It seemed as if the front of her outfit had busted, and, well… there wasn't much left to the imagination. Daylee sniffled, full-out tears rolling down her cheeks slowly. Holding her outfit together as best she could, she tagged Cody in and ran back toward the locker room.
All it took was one Beautiful Disaster kick from Cody, and the match was over.
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"There. It's done. Are you happy now?" Chris felt awful for how he had acted out there, and what made it worse was the unplanned wardrobe malfunction. The poor kid must be mortified. And he knew how Cody felt about it. But it was all the script that Creative had made for him… he hated the damn script.
"You've done a wonderful job, Irvine. There might be some hope for your character yet." John Laureinitis said. "Now, about next week…"
"What about 'next week'?"
"On Raw, you'll face Bethany Calaway and Carolina Helmsely in a mixed handicap match. Just because they're Divas doesn't mean that they should be underestimated, Irvine. If you take them both down – and you have to pin both of them – then I'll consider giving you one of the future shots at Phil's title."
Chris raised an eyebrow. "I have to beat two Divas for a number one contendorship at the WWE title? That doesn't exactly seem kosher…"
"You didn't seem too put off by the idea when you took out the Hardy girl." Mr. Laureinitis said.
"I traumatized a teenage girl! She ran out of the ring, bawling her eyes out – and that was just because of an accident. I don't want to take another risk like that." Chris said.
"Do you want your job?" The GM asked.
"What do the two have to do with each other?"
The GM smiled sickeningly. "If you want to keep your job here in the WWE, then you would be wise to reconsider the match with Bethany and Carolina. It will be a career match. You'll retire the both of them, prematurely."
And with that said, the GM walked away. Chris stood there for a moment, astounded. He couldn't believe that he had heard what he did. John Laureinitis wanted him to pull a repeat stunt of tonight, and not only pin two Divas for the number one contendorship, but also end the careers of two perfectly good stars. But what could he do? If he refused to fight, he would lose his job. Absently, he wondered about Daylee. He knew that he would have to find her and apologize, but now the wound was too fresh. Maybe next week? Or… two weeks from then?
Chris continued into his locker room. He sat down on the couch, taking out his cell phone. But what he had hoped to find simply… wasn't… there. He had wanted something from Phil. Anything from Phil to let him know that the other man was okay, because he hadn't seen him or heard from him since then – what made it worse, Jeff and Adam hadn't seen or heard from him either. After staring at his phone for several minutes, he dialed the all-too-familiar number and waited for an answer.
"Hello?" Came the tired yawn.
"Phil?" Chris asked, relieved to just hear his voice.
"Who is this?" It was obvious that Phil hadn't checked the caller ID.
Chris sighed, knowing what was about to happen. "It's Chris -,"
The call ended before he could say another word.
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A/N: Please Review!