Please read and reply! Thx! I'm not sure if people like the whole mysterious fear of tattoo shop thing, so please reply with your opinion on the current plot line. It would help so much! Good or bad please please please reply.

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"And you don't get to drink," Matt said, sliding into the booth across from Candy, swiping the margarita that was in front of her with a ginger ale.

After sitting with Shannon for awhile, he had gone back in the shop and Matt and Jeff had come out, decidedly more calm. The two had dropped the subject and shown Candy around Southern Pines and some of the surrounding towns. They were now sitting in Pram's, a family run restaurant and bar that had been around for ages. The three were waiting for Shannon to show up and they were all going to have dinner together.

"Hey, that's mine," Candy said reaching across the table, but Matt picked up the drink and handed it to a passing waitress.

"One, you drunk is not a good idea. Two, how did you even get that?"

"Those guys sent it over," Candy said, smiling and waving at a group of guys at a table on the other side of the restaurant.

Matt scowled at them and turned to his brother Jeff who had been sitting silently next to him the whole time, "Why didn't you do anything? I get up for two seconds to go to the bathroom and when I come back you're letting our underage sister accept drinks from strange men."

"What I'm I supposed to do? It's a free drink! Besides she wasn't even planning on drinking it, then you swooped in acting like the total party pooper, you're the mature brother and I'm the fun one, that's how it works."

"I wanna be the fun one," Matt pouted slouching in his seat, "You really weren't planning on drinking it?"

"No."

Matt sighed.

"I don't like margaritas; I was planning on sending it back for a Screaming Orgasm."

Matt shot up, about to start ranting, but just then Shannon slipped into the booth.

"Just name the time and place and I'll be there."

Candy giggled and Matt signaled for the waitress, while glaring at Shannon.

Approaching the table, the waitress rolled her eyes, "Look I hate acting like I'm in second grade passing notes between people, but the guys want to know what happened to the margarita and I honestly didn't know what to tell them."

Before Candy could answer, Matt cut in, "Tell them she has the Benjamin Button disease and is actually only twelve…and a man…and say she has AIDS and tell them they're pedophiles."

"Matt," Candy gasped, "Tell them thank you, but my brother won't let me accept drinks from strange men. And that if they have any more questions they can ask me themselves instead of forcing you to be the go-between."

The waitress smiled and took their orders.

Waiting for their food, the four sat joking and making small talk. As their food arrived, they lapsed into a period of silence.

Finally, Jeff put down his fork and asked the inevitable question. "What happened today, Candy? You have to tell us; it wouldn't be right for us to let you back in the ring if it's a possibility that you could have another…thing."

Candy lowered her head, sighing, before looking up and making eye contact with the three men sitting around her. "I'm not completely sure," Candy said choosing her words carefully, "but I'm 100% sure you don't have to worry about it happening in the ring. It's just something about tattoo shops, the smell of the ink, the buzzing of the needle. Whatever it is, I just learned to avoid it and I'm fine."

The boys' faces still looked unsure.

"I promise you, I am no danger to anyone inside or outside the ring. I had to undergo complete psychological testing just like everyone else and I passed with flying colors."

Matt nodded accepting Candy's explanation and they all returned to eating in silence.

"So now I'm totally bummed," Shannon said, filling up the silence, "You would have loved my shop."

They all sat there eating, reflecting to themselves, as Shannon saved the night by talking about all the reasons why Candy would have loved his tattoo parlor.

Jeff got up having to go to the bathroom, Matt slide out of the booth to let Jeff out and decided to go to the bathroom too, since he was already up. Shannon decided to go as well, just for good measure. Candy was suddenly sitting at the table all by herself. "Seriously," she thought, "and they say girls travel in packs."

Just then someone appeared at the end of her booth, it was the hottie from the table of guys who had sent over the drink. Candy sent a prayer to heaven that the one who had come over was the one she had been the most interested in.

"I saw your security team had left you alone for a brief moment, and I knew I couldn't risk losing the chance to introduce myself. I'm Kyle," he said offering his hand.

"Candy," she said, extending her hand to shake his outstretched one.

Kyle gestured towards the seat in the booth next to Candy, she nodded her head, and he quickly slid in next to her. Candy noted that he got close, but didn't invade her personal space.

"Can I ask what I girl like you is doing in this small town? I know you don't live around here because I'd recognize a face like yours."

Candy giggled, always easy to please with compliments, "I'm staying over in Cameron for a month with my brothers and we came to Southern Pines for the day to visit one of their friends."

"Please tell me you'll be in town for more than a day, it'd just break my little heart if you didn't come back," Kyle said, exaggerating his southern drawl.

Candy blushed and promised she'd come into town again. Kyle asked for her number. Candy was pulling a pen out of her purse, to scribble the number on his hand, when Matt, Jeff, and Shannon returned. The three built wrestlers formed a pretty scary sight. Jeff was smiling like an idiot waiting for his brother to explode on the poor soul hitting on Candy.

"Out now," Matt said.

Kyle scrambled out of the booth and Shannon took his spot back, cutting off Candy's view of Kyle. She leaned around Shannon; Matt said something to Kyle and his face paled. Kyle turned and walked back to his table, receiving jeers from his friends.

Matt and Jeff sat in the booth, Jeff looking slightly disappointed. Matt stopped the next waitress who walked by and asked her for the check. As she walked away, Candy finally exploded.

"What the hell was that," she hissed, trying to keep her voice down and not cause another scene.

"He was bugging you," Matt said slightly confused.

"NO, he was flirting with me…"

"Right…"

"AND I was flirting back. You know, cuz I liked him."

"Oh."

The waitress returned, setting their check on the table. Shannon snatched up the check, throwing some money on the table before storming out the door.

"What's his problem?"

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Shannon stomped down the sidewalk to his car, seething on the inside. He had nearly flipped when he saw that jerk off flirting with his woman. He smacked his head, not his woman, Candy. The jerk off flirting with Candy, he emphasized, hoping his body and mind would understand and stop claiming possession of his best friends' sister. Shannon had sat there trying to calm himself, but when Candy admitted she liked the dirt bag, he had lost it.

The others caught up with him and they all climbed in the car together. They rode in silence. Shannon dropped Jeff off at his place, where he'd probably stay up for a couple more hours working on his art like he usually did whenever he got a break. Shannon then drove the stretch down the rode to Matt's house pulling into the driveway to let them out. Candy walked right up the driveway, letting herself into the house, but Matt paused at the car.

"Look man, do you wanna stay the night? You don't look to good to drive all the way back, whatever it is that's bothering you, I can practically see the steam coming off you."

Shannon nodded his head, turned off the engine, and climbed out of the car.

By the time they got inside Candy had already run upstairs and locked herself in her room. She flopped down on the bed that was officially hers for the next month, pulling the scrap of paper out of her pocket. She had forgotten her cell inside the restaurant and had run back in while Matt and Jeff caught up with Shannon. Kyle had passed her his number as she was running out the door of Pram's.

Candy rolled on her back, pulling her phone out of her pocket; she typed the number in, adding Kyle to her contacts. Candy hopped up, changing into a tank and pj shorts. She ran downstairs grabbing a glass of water. Candy walked past Shannon and Matt, who were seated on the couch watching TV, as she went back up to go to bed.

Shannon turned and stared at Candy's back as she headed up the stairs. He noticed the edges of black tattoos peaking out where her shirt ended. He turned back around, facing Matt who was on the couch next to him.

"She has tattoos," Shannon stated bluntly.

"Yep," Matt replied, switching the channel.

Shannon was confused, "I thought she had some deep seated fear of tattoos."

"Look," Matt said, finally turning and facing Shannon, "I really don't know. If you wanna know about the tattoos you gotta ask her. All I know is she says we don't have to worry about her melting down anywhere besides in a tattoo shop and I believe her. As long as she's not any danger to the wrestling community, then I'm fine."

"So you believe her story?"

"No, I just think that whatever causes her to flip out like that at the first sign of a tattoo shop is probably something pretty big. Something so big, maybe she even blocked it out and if not then she obviously doesn't want to talk about it. But, Candy wouldn't ever risk hurting someone, she's too good hearted. If in her own time she wants to tell us, I'll always be here to listen, but if not that's her decision."

Matt settled back into the couch. Shannon stared forward, pretending to watch TV, but in truth he was trying to solve the mystery of Candy Vachon.

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Thanks to DirtyRockDiva for adding this to her story alerts!

I'm typing this on Wednesday, but I'm not sure how long it will take me to get it up and posted! As usual please read and review/reply! Thx!