A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, glad you're enjoying this crazy story and hope you enjoy this probably crazy chapter. If you want to review, that'd be great, thanks. :)
"You look happy today."
I turn to Paul and he's smiling at me and I'm already smiling back because I don't think I've stopped smiling since last night. The words, the sentences, the phrases, nouns, verbs, subjects, everything, all of it has me feeling like I'm on top of the world. I shouldn't let myself get up for this, but those are the nicest words anyone, human or otherwise, has ever said to me. I just let them light me up and everyone is noticing it and I don't care.
"I feel happy today," I tell him with that same stupid smile on my face.
"What's got you in this mood?"
If I tell him an angel told me things he's never said to me before, I think he'll react in a negative way so I just say, "Can't a person be in a good mood?"
"What has got you in a good mood?" another voice interjects just over my right shoulder. I glance to the side quickly and see it's Chris. He's just hanging out right behind me and though I can't physically feel him, his presence engulfs me more than it ever has. I feel like he is just surrounding me like the most delightful haze. It's almost like a drug; he's almost like a drug.
"Yeah, I guess you can, but usually they have a reason," Paul says.
"Shows what he knows," Chris tells me and I smirk. For the first time in a while, he feels like the Chris that I first acknowledged, the sarcastic, snarky angel that he was made to be. "Someone can be in a good mood just because, but I know, because I know you that there is something up your sleeve. You're in a good mood for a reason."
"I just don't have a reason, that's all," I say more to Chris than to Paul. Paul doesn't seem to notice though, but Chris is now in front of me, looking at me and almost making a face at me. "Maybe my reason is because I'm here with you."
My eyes are locked with Chris's when I say this. I know he can't necessarily feel what I feel and his love is different from my love. I don't think he is capable of falling in love. I was thinking about that, maybe he just isn't built to fall in love. Angels have a job to do and they're not going out on dates with other angels. Chris is made for me so he probably just can't fall in love, unfortunately, but that doesn't mean that I can't feel for him. Even if we can never be, I know he's always going to be here with me and that has to be enough for now, until I find the human that can make me feel the way he does.
Still, my eyes are locked with his when I speak and I hope that he gets that it's about him. He makes me so happy and at the very least, I hope he's happy that he can do that for me. He seems to know because his eyes light up. He's smiling at me and it's as if I can see heaven in his face. Now, normally, I wouldn't think something as cheesy as this, but the guy is an angel and if ever I were to see heaven on earth, wouldn't it be with an angel? His face glows and I did that, I made his face like that and I duck my head a little, embarrassed.
"That's sweet," Paul says, kissing my cheek and bringing me back to reality. It's sweet that he thinks that it's because of him that I'm smiling and being in a good mood, but it's not him that's doing it for me. "You put me in a good mood too."
"Oh, oh, yeah, do I?" I ask, trying to tear my eyes away from where Chris is just staring at me. I just don't understand how he can't fall in love. How do you not know that feeling? How could I even explain to him to see if he does feel it? It's not something tangible, with a clear definition, it's not colors or textures, it's just there and you feel it and you know it when it happens. I wish I could figure out the words, just to see if maybe…but he probably doesn't.
"You know it," Paul says and then stops me from walking. I turn to him, not necessarily because I want to, but he turns me towards him. Chris is now to my right and I keep staring at him as he stares at Paul.
"What is this guy going to do now?" Chris asks with a laugh. "I swear, Steph, I think you have the worst taste in men, it's something you just never listen to me about. You'd think you would listen since I know you, but nope, you never do."
I roll my eyes at him, but then Paul's fingers gingerly touch my chin and he turns me to face him. "Hey, you want to look at me for a second?"
"Sorry," I let him know, sensing that he has something to say and he kind of wants to say it to my face and not the side of my head.
"You were distracted for a second there, you with me now?"
"Yeah, I'm right here, didn't go anywhere."
"I just want you to know how happy I've been with you," he tells me genuinely, his mouths curving up into a smile. I smile weakly back at him. I know that my feelings for him aren't as deep as his feelings for me. There's no way he knows that he's competing with a celestial being that has been with me since the moment I was born. Chris doesn't even know he's competing for my affections.
"That's nice," I say and it is, he's very nice and I do enjoy my time with him.
"Are you happy?"
"What?" I ask. I've started to turn my head a little to my right, just to see what Chris is doing. He's leaning against the wall, or appearing to lean against the wall, arms crossed in front of him as he watches the exchange. I just catch him shaking his head when Paul steps a little in front of me.
"What are you looking at?" he wonders, looking over his shoulder. Chris makes a funny face at him and I laugh, ducking my head, my forehead touching Paul's shoulder. "Stephanie, what's so funny?"
"Nothing," I snicker. I shoot Chris a look trying to tell him to stop, but he's not. He just keeps making faces and I'm trying to hold in my laughter.
"Okay, someone's got a case of the giggles," Paul seems a little hurt that I don't seem to be paying attention to him so I try my best to focus on him and not on Chris, even though I think Chris is trying his best to make sure that I pay attention to him and not Paul.
"Sorry, sorry, I really am, I just don't know what's with me today," I try to recover and Paul seems to buy it.
"I just want you to know that I think I'm falling-"
"Yo, Paul!" We both turn our heads to the side and see Sean walking up. Paul scowls, he apparently didn't want to be interrupted, but I could see what was coming from Paul and I'm kind of glad that Sean interrupted, even though I can't stand Sean.
I think Paul was going to tell me he loved me, which I would not have been able to return. Don't get me wrong, I really like Paul and I have fun with him, but he's second best. He should be first best because he has the most important criterion to me, he's human, but he's still second best and I don't think I would have been able to seriously return the words that were on the tip of his tongue. So for once, Sean actually served a purpose. There's only one person I want to hear those words from and Paul's not it.
I look to Chris while Paul is distracted, but his demeanor has changed. Gone is the silly face he was making at Paul, replaced by a more serious look. He's staring at Paul still though and I get an uneasy feeling with the way he's looking at him. Did Chris know what Paul was going to tell me? He must if he's looking at Paul that way. But why is he looking at Paul in that particular way? There's no way he can be jealous over what Paul was going to say to me, was there? Chris said that he couldn't really feel jealousy and that he wouldn't be jealous, but he's looking at Paul like he wants to maul him, but he can't want to maul someone, that can't be part of any angel code.
Sean walks up and Paul pulls me tighter against him. "Dude, did you forget we've got to meet with the guys in our match later?"
"Oh sorry, it slipped my mind when I was with Stephanie," Paul says, looking at me with that adoring look he gets sometimes. Chris's face hasn't changed and he's not saying anything. Does he not want Paul to say those words? Does he think I'm going to say them back to him, I probably wouldn't say them back, I don't think. I mean, Paul is nice, but I'm not in love with him and I wouldn't string him along like that. I don't think I could string him along like that and feel good about myself. Not to mention I'd have an angel on my back, probably chastising me about lying.
"Yeah, well, we should probably go do that."
"Yeah," Paul responds and then turns to me, kissing me, "we'll talk later?"
"Um, sure," I stutter out, wondering how early I can go home tonight. Paul has a match, but I'm not scheduled to go out there with him. I have one backstage segment with Paul, but that's early in the show. I can do that and probably cut out of here. I'll just say that I'm not feeling well and want to lie down. That should get me out of staying for the entire show and then I won't have to confront Paul because he doesn't like being around sick people in case he gets sick.
"Great," he says, kissing me. I kiss him lightly back before he walks away. It isn't until he's almost down the hallway that I notice Sean hasn't gone anywhere. "Can I help you?"
"You think you're so smug, don't you?" he tells me.
I scoff at him, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"You and Paul, you think that just because you're dating him, you can monopolize all his time. You know you're nothing to him, right?"
"Stephanie, let's get out of here," Chris tells me, but I'm not about to let this sniveling troll of a man talk to me like that. I'm his boss at the end of the day and I don't have to put up with him talking to me like I'm scum.
"I'm nothing? I don't think you have it right there, Sean," I spit at him. "What? Do you have a crush on him, is that why you're so upset? I'm sorry, but I just don't think you're his type."
"He's only using you. You're nothing but a pretty face and a nice piece of ass to him. Not to mention that it'll get him where he wants to go in this company. Other than that, you're no better than any of the ring rats that hang around here. He knows that and we know that, we laugh about you behind your back."
"That's funny because we laugh about you behind yours," I counter, knowing that Paul wouldn't do that to me. He may be a lot of things in the ring and he may appear to be a lot of things out of it, but he's not that kind of man. I may not love him, but I care about him and I know that he isn't the things that Sean is saying. Sean is just a jealous asshole, sad that a woman could possibly steal his friend.
"One day you'll see, Stephanie, you'll see just how little you really are, not just to him, but to everyone around here. Nobody likes you here, we only put up with you because you're the boss's daughter. You'd be surprised how many people snicker at you behind your back."
"The only reason you have a job is because Paul felt sorry for you and so did my dad. You can't wrestle, you can't cut a promo, hell, you can't even seem to wash your hair properly, grease trap that it is," I tell him. "And don't forget that at the end of the day, it doesn't matter what anyone thinks of me because I can snap my fingers and fire a person, you keep that in mind."
I turn on my heel and start to walk away, angrier than I've been in a while. How dare he talk to me like that? "Stephanie."
I don't talk to Chris in the hallway, but when I get back to my dressing room, I turn to him, "Could you believe him? I couldn't believe him. He's such an ass, the things he was saying to me."
"You held your own," Chris tells me, but he says it slowly.
"Of course, he's a nobody," I dismiss it and then look to Chris, who still has that serious look on his face. What Paul was saying must have really spooked him. "You know what Paul was going to say to me."
"What?" he asks, looking up at me. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention to what you were saying."
"Paul, I mean, the look on your face, Chris what are you feeling towards what Paul was going to say to me?" My voice hitches a little at the end. I bite my lip, feeling like the tide is finally coming my way.
"What Paul was going to say?"
"You know, when he got cut off by Sean," I prompt him.
"I'm sorry, I forgot," he says.
"Forgot? Chris, you don't forget things, your job is remember." I'm confused by his response, unless he's hiding his response, in which case, that's still good for me.
"Remember everything with you, I don't care what Paul does, I'm not his guardian angel."
"With me, yeah, that's right, you just, you just seemed a little preoccupied after he got interrupted and I thought…well, it doesn't matter now anyways, I didn't want to hear what he had to say so I'm kind of glad that jerk interrupted, right?"
"Yeah, right."
"Chris, are you sure you're okay, are you feeling…okay?" I venture to ask.
"Yeah, just fine, Stephanie, just fine."