"Pride and Prejudice"
An Edge/Ashley fanfic
Thanks to Christal-R, xAttitudex, Thee-Bitty, Farra Sti, csimiamigirl73, Kristin4, wwe whore, RaNdAl.xOx, Talena Atfield is my GODDESS, purplefeather21 and NarutoBleachRules for reviewing last chapter, you rock!
Sorry for the long wait but i totally had writer's block on this chappie, hope it turned out okay anyway :)
R&R!
Chapter 29
"New Secrets, New Plans, New Revelations"
"Please can I come in?" Cherry almost pleaded, lifting her tears-filled eyes on the all-American girl.
Michelle let out a frustrated sigh, running a hand through her long blonde hair, before consenting and stepped forward to open the door and lead the way.
After all, whatever reason she was there for, it was better to talk inside than there in the corridor, in the middle of the night.
"Have a seat." She said closing the door and turning to face her unexpected guest. "What do you want?" She coldly asked folding her arms, with an attitude that surely wasn't her usual, but that she couldn't help after what the petite blonde had caused.
Cherry sat down on the edge of Michelle's bed, while she stood right in front of her, and took a deep breath. "How's Ashley?" She finally brought herself to ask, almost in a whisper trying to control her voice.
"And you have the nerve to ask." She scoffed. "Fortunately she's alright, but do you even realize what could have happened?! She remained unconscious for 15 minutes!"
"…I-I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to… I didn't want-" She panicked.
"It's a little too late now for regrets, don't you think?" Michelle gravely said. "There's no excuse for what you did… I know it wasn't you the one who knocked her out, but you caused it."
"I know and I'm-" But she wasn't able to finish, bursting into tears again.
"I thought you were different, Cherry." She sadly said. "Ashley thought you were different."
"…Please, let me explain." She finally lifted her gaze up. "I know I shouldn't have… right now I hate myself for what I did, but-"
"But Deuce & Domino told you to do so and what they say, that goes. Right?"
But the diva 'from the other side of the tracks' quickly shook her head. "They didn't know about that… they got angry at me too and swore that the next time I do something on my own I'm out." She almost whispered, lowering her head again.
"And what then?" She asked genuinely confused. She couldn't believe that Cherry had acted entirely on her own will… she felt there had to be something more behind it. Cause every time she spotted her and Ashley in the backstage she always tried to wave at them or to timidly smile when her boys were distracted. Away from her in-ring cheating character she seemed a nice girl… who was too dominated, controlled and dependent of her boyfriend and her brother.
So now that they were out of the picture for that unexpected attack, Michelle just couldn't understand what had led her to act that way.
"I-I didn't want to… but she convinced me… she told me that Deuce & Domino would have been happy and proud of me… and…" She paused to catch her breath in between the sobs "and she told me we could be friends, that we could go shopping together and stuff… me with the other girls!" She naively smiled before bitterly frowning "And I fell for it. I'm so stupid… how could I believe her? She made it look like the right thing to do… and I just wanted to fit in…" She trailed off burying her face in her hands.
The long legged diva sympathetically looked at her break down, letting out a sigh as she finally started to make some sense out of the situation. She definitely felt sorry for the rookie diva… but there was still something unclear, something that was incredibly puzzling her.
She sat down next to her and softly patted her back. "Who made you do this? Who convinced you?"
"…It was… Kelly Kelly." She solemnly revealed, looking in Michelle's eyes that widened in shock.
x—x—x—x—x
"Kelly…" Kenny muttered in his deep sleep, tossing around in his bed.
The diva rolled her eyes at him, before focusing on the other side of the room.
Luckily for her, Kenny had indeed drunk too much that night and as soon as they stepped inside his room he stumbled across his bed and started to loudly snore. With this meaning, of course, that she was now free to accomplish her task, with just one little kiss given to the ex Spirit Squad member in his drunken delirium.
The earlier revelation had shocked her… and the defeat bitterly stung.
She wasn't going to walk away, oh no. The game had just started for her. She wasn't used to back down, she always took what she wanted, in every possible way. And she had no doubts on that, she wanted him, and so he would have been hers in the end. The self proclaimed dirty diva could have won the first battle, but surely wasn't going to win the war.
So, with these schemes in mind, the Extreme Exposé member –or better leader- started to look in between Adam's belongings scattered all around the space surrounding his bed.
There had to be something… a cell phone, a note… anything that she could use to cause them trouble. Okay, Ashley could be his girlfriend for the moment… but that moment wasn't going to last long. Come hell or high water they were going to split up. She was going to separate them.
And it seemed that Kelly's luck was definitely high that night as, looking among a bunch of unfolded clothes on the floor, she spotted something she had definitely saw multiple times… on her head, around her wrist, attached to her jeans…
The memory immediately hit and she could still hear Ashley's voice asking the other girls if they had seen her black, skull-printed bandana anywhere.
"Bingo." She whispered, proceeding to exit the room with a triumphant smile on her face and the light fabric secured in her hands.
x—x—x—x—x
"Kelly Kelly?" Michelle repeated in shock, as to convince herself of the revelation.
Cherry nodded, confirming what she had just said. "I know this doesn't justify anything…" She sniffed "But I didn't mean for her to get hurt… I just had to get her team distracted so they could lose…"
"I understand." She sighed "The way it ended has been an accident, nobody could have foreseen it."
"Do you think you could forgive me?" She unsurely asked.
Michelle couldn't help but lightly smile, patting her back. "You know I'm not the one you have to ask it."
"Yeah…"
"I'm sure she'll understand."
Cherry slowly nodded as she stood up "I'd better go now, Deuce & Domino might be searching for me." She said wiping the tears away with the back of her hand. "Thanks Michelle."
The athletic diva acknowledged that with a nod. "Cherry?"
"Yes?" She turned back, already opening the door.
"Next time you see me don't be a stranger." She friendly smiled. "You know you don't need Kelly's so-called friendship."
A bright smile finally curved her lips as she walked away, finally feeling much more relieved.
Michelle, on the other hand, sighed as she laid down on her bed. It had already been a tough night without this last revelation. She knew that Kelly was one of those divas always flirting around Adam and, from what Ashley had told her, she suspected she obviously wasn't too happy on how her date with the Rated R superstar had ended… but this was surprising anyway.
She couldn't believe what the younger diva had set up against Ashley, using someone like Cherry, who just needed some right attention. And now that it was public that they were indeed dating, she feared she could even try to make her pay with something worse.
She knew she had to tell Ashley… but she had already been through a lot for one night… and so, with these thoughts in mind, she drifted into an agitated sleep.
x—x—x—x—x
A soft yawn escaped the self proclaimed dirty diva's lips as she slowly opened her eyes the morning after and found her boyfriend's arm still secured around her.
She contently smiled glancing over him, who was still peacefully asleep, or at least it seemed so.
And just then, he started to move in his sleep, moaning something that sounded very much like "Oh Kelly…"
Ashley rolled her eyes and proceeded to elbow him in the ribs. "Very funny."
"Ouch!" He exclaimed opening his eyes as a smirk curved his lips. "Morning punkie, I was enjoying my dream."
"Good to know cause that's the only thing you're going to enjoy for a while." She innocently smiled.
"…You're not serious, are you?"
She could only giggle at his alarmed expression. "Who knows, maybe your dreams are better than reality."
"Oh, I highly doubt that." He said holding her closer.
"Alright, control your fantasies then." She playfully rolled her eyes.
"I'll try." He grinned. "So how are you feeling?" He asked genuinely concerned.
"I feel great actually, thank you." She said stretching her arms and adjusting in a sitting position. "Those disgusting pills do miracle."
"Awesome." He smiled in relief. "Did you sleep well?"
"Yep, I'm afraid you can't say the same, though." She apologetically smiled "The bed's too little for the two of us."
"Nah, I was perfectly fine."
"Of course, I forgot you had your dreams to delight you." She playfully rolled her eyes.
"Nope, actually it's all thanks to my girlfriend next to me." He chuckled.
"Aw how sweet." She giggled leaning over and kissing him… just to pull apart when he was about to deepen the kiss.
"You have no idea what you're doing to me." He protested with a pout.
"Oh c'mon," she laughed "a nurse will probably come here any moment to check on me and if it's not the same you bribed… well I'm afraid the whole male roster's numbers won't help us. Besides, I can't wait to get out of this place."
"Fair enough." He rolled his eyes but eventually smiled. "I'll wait for you outside then, alright?"
"Yep," she said following him to the door "and try to not flirt with any hot nurse in meanwhile."
"I have not the slightest intention, actually." He smiled giving her another peck on the lips before she had to literally push him outside.
"Byeeee!" She giggled.
x—x—x—x—x
Half an hour later Adam was leaning with his back against his car, waiting for Ash to come out. He was just humming a Foo Fighters song with his hands stuffed in his jeans' pockets when his cell phone started to ring.
He looked at the electronic device with a puzzled look seeing the unusual name on the display, before accepting the call.
"Hello?"
"Hey Adam, it's Michelle." She unsurely said.
"Yeah, hi… guess you wanna know about Ashley, right? She's doing-"
"Actually I just called her," she interrupted him "but I need to talk to you… are you alone?"
"Yeah…" He said more confused than ever.
"Okay then… well… it's about Cherry. She came to see me and told me exactly what happened, or better, the reason behind it."
"Yes…"
"And," she sighed "it's a long story but to cut it short… there's Kelly behind it."
"What? Are you serious?!"
"Unfortunately yes… I guess she found out you and Ash are together and she decided to do something about it…"
"Yeah, I think so." He let out a frustrated sigh at the memory of their famous 'date'.
"So I was thinking, you know, maybe we should wait at least another day to tell Ashley, after what had happened just a few hours ago she doesn't need to stress about it right now. What do you think?"
"Yeah, I totally see your point, don't worry. I'll deal with it tonight after the ppv or tomorrow…"
"Perfect. So I'll see you around."
"Alright, thanks for the news then."
"Anytime. Later."
"Yep."
"Talking with some hot diva behind your girlfriend's back?" The punk princess piped up making him startle as she reached him. "Aw and you jumped so it should be the truth indeed." She playfully rolled her eyes.
"I don't know if you're jealous of if you just don't trust me." He chuckled shoving the phone back in his pocket.
"50/50 maybe." She giggled placing her arms behind his neck and kissing him.
"…Alright." He playfully rolled his eyes "But just so you know, it was Michelle."
"Aw, I guess she wanted to check if I said the truth about feeling as good as I could." She laughed "And by the way, never start an affair with one of my best friends, it would be so cliché."
And with that she gave him a peck on the lips before breaking free from his embrace and happily bounced towards the front seat.
"I'll try to remember that." He shook his head in amusement before joining her.
"My turn to choose the music" she informed him with a grin as he entered the car and she searched for her favorite radio station "and you can't even object cause I spent the night at the hospital and, well, I'm the one who ended there with a concussion so… what I say goes."
"…And for how long are you going to use that as an excuse?" He asked with a chuckle.
"Oh I haven't decided yet, but I'll keep you posted, baby." She innocently smiled.
"Thanks." He couldn't help but laugh. "Anyway I see you're extremely in a good mood today."
"Totally! And you know why?"
"Tell me."
"Well cause tonight I'll finally beat the living hell out of Jillian!" She excitedly said "This means that I'll end this feud after months of her –and her stupid singing- bothering me…!"
"Ash, you're kidding… right?"
"What? No… absolutely not!" She exclaimed in surprise "Why should I?"
"Cause you just spent the night at the hospital… after being knocked out for almost 15 minutes." He pointed out matter-of-factly "You can't compete tonight."
"…Of course I can! The doctor said I have no consequences… I could just get a headache and I have a pill for it in case anyway."
"Yeah I know that baby, but… c'mon, that's crazy."
"No, it's not." She pouted.
"Don't be stubborn…"
"I'm not being stubborn!" She protested "And I know you're saying this for me, and I love you for that, but think as we were in a reversed situation. If I was telling you to back down from your match against Batista after months of this building up. I know that between me and Jillian there's not a title… but that's personal. You know she injured me and forced at months of stop. I need to end this and I want to end it right tonight."
He silently listened to her reasons… definitely seeing her point. "Alright but…"
"What?"
"Just promise me you'll be careful, okay? More than usual." He softly said.
"I will, don't worry." She smiled as he put his hand on hers.
"Good, cause you can't almost give me an heart attack every night, punkie, I need a break." He rolled his eyes.
"I'll try my best." She giggled "Now can we go before I force you to take me shopping to choose something new to wear tonight?"
"That sounds definitely threatening." He muttered faking to shiver at the thought "Back at the hotel then!"
x—x—x—x—x
"Which outfits do you want to wear tonight? The light blue or the black & white one?" Paul asked coming out of the bathroom of his and Brian's hotel room.
"I think we should ask Ash first too see what matches better with what she's going to wear… as usual." The blonde pointed out.
"Yeah, Ash." Paul let out a frustrated sigh.
"And by the way we should call her anyway."
"I don't know man, it's just… weird."
"Paul, she's our best friend. And she was hospitalized. That's the very least we can do."
"I know what she is," he rolled his eyes "but aren't you mad at her for hiding that from us?"
"And why should we be mad at her? Leave that to Matt," he said with a roll of his eyes "Ash was going to tell us, remember? She told us from the very first time this relationship started."
"She wanted but she didn't, right?"
"Cause she was waiting for the right moment to properly 'introduce' us, she always said that."
"And what if she just said that? How do we know she was indeed going to tell us?"
"Because it's Ashley we're talking about." Brian said matter-of-factly, with a smile. "I trust her. You trust her. It's our Ashley."
"Our or Adam's?"
"That's the same person."
"I don't know, Bri…"
"But I do. Don't get me wrong, I can't stand the guy as well and I personally think he doesn't deserve her and she'd be much better with a lot of other guys… but we know her. And we saw how happy she was talking of this new guy in her life and how she wished us to meet him. I don't like him and I don't trust him… but we gotta trust her. That's what friends do, right?"
The dark haired superstar didn't answer, so the other hooligan went on. "Look… it's like… what if you suddenly fell in love with… I don't know… Jillian Hall. Ash and I would definitely be like 'eeewww!!' but if you really loved her wouldn't you like us to trust you about that?"
"…Dude, why Jillian among all the possible divas?!" He complained.
"Never say never." Brian grinned patting his best friend's shoulder passing him by.
Paul rolled his eyes before letting out a sigh. Maybe not thanks to Brian's example, but someway he knew he was right. And they couldn't turn their back on her when everyone else was probably going to, right?
x—x—x—x—x
"Why do you want to come with me?" Adam questioned with an amused smile as he and Ashley walked hand in hand across the hotel's corridors.
"Because Michelle's not in our room… and I don't want to get bored on my own." She complained.
"And what do you think you'll find in my room that could amuse you? Besides Kenny, of course."
She playfully rolled her eyes before looking at him suspiciously. "Are you saying that there's a reason why you don't want me in your room, Mr. Rated R superstar?"
"I don't think so," he chuckled "besides the mess, of course."
"Oh don't worry about that, you never saw my room." She grinned.
"…Actually I did, and it wasn't that messy."
"Ooops, rephrasing. You never saw my room when Michelle's not with me."
"Okay, now I got it." He laughed. "Here we go."
"Here we go." She echoed with a smile as he slipped the card key and opened the door. "I'd usually be the gentleman and let you enter first… but it's better if I check if Kenny has his clothes on, trust me."
"Go ahead, go ahead." She said with a laugh "That's not a sight I wish to see."
"Neither do I, for the record." He said looking at her with a straight expression.
"I know baby, don't worry." She giggled patting his back to encourage him.
"The coast is clear…!" He announced a few seconds later.
She laughed before following him inside in the empty room. "Wow… that's definitely beyond messy."
"Told you so." He innocently smiled.
"I wonder how long it would take to pack again your things tomorrow."
"Oh I usually pay Kenny to do it for me." He shrugged. "What? It's not a bad thing." He added when she raised her eyebrows at him.
"You're impossible." She giggled. "And by the way why this place terribly smells like alcohol?"
"Aw I guess Kenny had fun yesterday night, having the room all for his, you know. I personally don't see how someone could ever decide to have fun with him actually… but the mysteries of life, I guess."
"Oh stop it." She laughed sitting down on the edge of his bed.
"I'll take a quick shower, alright? Be right back."
"Yep, don't worry, I have my iPod with me." She smiled back.
"Of course you have." He chuckled giving her a quick kiss before disappearing in the bathroom.
He had just closed the door behind him and she had just switched on the small device when a sudden vibration made her jump. She took out the cell phone for her jeans' pocket and proceeded to read the text message she had just received.
"The hospital told us you already left when we arrived this morning… too bad dirty diva cause you missed our beautiful roses. Hope to see you tonight, we're not a team without ya. –Paul (and Brian.)"
She widely smiled reading it again and again, glad that everything was alright… at least with her boys.
Now she only had to face the rest of the locker room. Or better, of the locker rooms since it was an inter brand ppv.
And she definitely wasn't looking forward to that.
I posted an Edge/Ashley one shot last week, check it out it's called "Wonderful" :)
Next chapter: It's time for the ppv... will Ashley defeat Jillian and finally end their feud? In meanwhile she and Edge have to deal with the other superstars and divas' talking about them... and Michelle has a little 'confrontation' with Kelly.
