Chapter 18:
"Who's going to get Regal fired tonight?!" Ken Kennedy sang out happily as he slung an arm around the petite Diva's shoulders playfully.
Haley laughed. "I hope for all of our sakes that you do."
"Honey how could there be any doubt, I'm Misteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer KENNEDY!" He boasted. "Kennedy."
"You're certainly full of yourself." She commented with a smile to show she was teasing.
"Got to get myself motivated you know." He snapped his wad of gum and grinned mischievously at her.
"I knew the moment you came back things in this locker room were about to shift, but I didn't think it would go so far as to get our General Manager booted." She shook her head. "Although, that's not a bad thing, that's a good thing, to quote DDP."
"Does that mean you're going to cheer for me?" He wiggled his eyebrows.
"Of course," She bumped him playfully with her hip. "He put the lights out on my match and made me face Umaga; I hope he gets his ass canned."
"And he talks too much." Kennedy added.
"Looks who's talking?" She snorted. "But at least you're amusing."
"Exactly. I've got a big mouth, but no one's ever going to shut me up." He winked.
"If I can borrow Mr Socko I will." She retorted sweetly.
"Now that's just gross. What did I ever do to you?" He mock glared at her.
"I did have a bruised abdomen for awhile." She reminded him.
"Hey! I apologized for that and we agreed to put it in the past!" He argued.
"Yeah but you asked what have you ever done to me and that's it." She shrugged and then leaned up to kiss his cheek to make him feel better. "Don't worry, it is in the past, especially if you get Regal fired tonight."
"You should ask me to do something more difficult." He tugged on a lock of her hair.
"Dress in drag and do the hula!" She exclaimed brightly.
"Stop watching the Lion King!" He laughed. "You come out with the weirdest quotes from it."
"Hey, I have to have some quirks." She quipped defensively. "You get to say your name twice in a row; I get to quote whatever movie I want!"
"At least mine is original." He rolled his eyes.
"Yeah right, ever heard of Kelly Kelly?" She playfully slugged him.
"Hey, she got that idea from me!" He exclaimed in horror.
"Sure she did." Haley pat his shoulder. "It's cool Ken, we can't all be original."
Kennedy's blue eyes narrowed. "You're lucky I happen to like you, Haley, otherwise I'd tell you that you need your mike checked."
"And you're lucky I like you, otherwise I'd be pointing out how much of that peroxide has leaked into your brain." She smiled innocently.
"Hey my hair is cool!" His hands shot up to make sure every strand was in place.
"Okay Carlito." She ran a hand through her own hair. "It just makes you look like a Billy Idol wannabe."
"Who wouldn't want to be Billy Idol? He's a rockstar!" He eyed her in surprise. "And in response to your Carlito reference, his hair sucks!"
"His wardrobe and hair leaves something to be desired." Now it was Haley's turn to roll her eyes. "Actually, both of them do."
"Well, you can relax as I am better than both of them combined." Kennedy took a step backwards. "And now that our bantering session has warmed up my brain, I'm off to kick Regal's ass and get him fired."
Haley shook her head. "Have fun with that."
"Oh, I will." He smirked at her. "Have fun beating up Beth Phoenix…again."
"Shut up, Ken." She giggled. "It's not my fault they're booking me to face her for the umpteenth time in a row. At least it's non-title."
"Whatever, you should talk to someone about that. Catch you later!" He waved over his shoulder, leaving a laughing Women's Champion in his wake.
"He's a breath of fresh air all right." She murmured to herself as he walked away.
Haley turned to head back to Hunter's locker room only to bump right into the expansive, muscular chest of her former boyfriend. "John." She greeted him politely.
"Since when did you and Mr. Crappy Pants get tight?" He frowned in the direction that Mr. Kennedy had departed.
"We've been friends since before Wrestlemania." She arched an eyebrow. "He apologized; I forgave him, now we get along."
"Right." He shook his head to rid him of thoughts about the Loudmouth and his ex-girlfriend. "I've been looking for you. I think we need to talk."
"About?" She asked suspiciously.
"About what you thought you saw last week." He replied. "Look Hales, there's nothing going on between Mickie and I. Sure, she's a pretty girl, funny and she's chill to hang out with. But you know you're the girl for me. I don't want you to be jealous or feel threatened."
"I'm not really feeling either of those things, John." She tilted her head to side. "At one time, I would be, but now I'm with Dave. I just wanted one of my best friends to be upfront with me about what's going on."
"I'm being up front with you now, Hales." John gripped her shoulders. "You're with Dave now, but you know that true love stories don't have endings. I'll wait for you for as long as it takes."
"If true love stories don't have endings, then I don't see Dave and I breaking up anytime soon." Haley shook her head. "Look, I just wanted to know if you and Mickie were seeing each other behind my back because I'd rather you be upfront about it."
"I'm not seeing Mickie behind your back." He sighed heavily. "I love you, Haley. One day you're going to realize that you're still in love with me too."
"No John, I'm not." She shook her head sadly. "I still love you, like I love all of my friends, but I'm not in love with you anymore. What can I say? I fell in love with Dave Batista and I have no intention of letting him out of my life anytime soon. I'm sorry if that hurts you, but that's the way it is."
"Hales…" He began to protest.
"Look," She cut him off. "If you and Mickie do decide to start seeing each other in a more than friend's sense, I'd appreciate it if you would both talk to me about it. It's an awkward position for me to be in, but I'm sure I can get through it. I just don't want to be lied to. I'll see you later."
She stepped around him and made her way back to Hunter's locker room. Guilt and a sense of foreboding filled her stomach. She could only hope that things would work out for the best.