Chapter 32:
"Hey, are you ready?" Haley poked her head into the women's locker room. "We're on in like ten minutes."
Mickie James did one final adjustment of her new bronze wrestling attire she had chosen for Night of Champions. "Yeah, I think so."
"Great." Haley stepped fully into the room, already dressed in her own outfit. For this pay-per-view, she had donned her black Lycra tights and boots and wore a snug aquamarine bra top with a sword in the stone design going down between her shoulder blades on the back.
As the two women started down the hall, flanked by uncomfortable silence, Mickie chose to be the first to break it. "Listen Haley, thank you for picking me to be your opponent tonight. It means a lot to me, considering our friendship has been strained over this whole Cena issue."
Haley sighed and shook her head. "Look Micks, I want to put that whole thing behind us. You've never lied to me before and I have no reason to believe you would now. So, unless you say otherwise, I'm going to accept your explanation that you and John are just friends."
Mickie playfully slugged her in the arm. "How could we be anything more? He's still mad about you!" She teased. "He's all panicky now that Batista's on RAW. Not just because your man is a serious contender for the Championship, but now that Dave's here all the time, his chances at winning you back have seriously dimmed."
"Once Dave and I got together, he didn't have a chance period." Haley rolled her eyes. "I wish he'd get that through his head. Plus, I'm still pissed at him for getting Hunter and Ken moved to SmackDown."
"Well, you know John better than most of us, once he sets his sights on something," Mickie murmured, her expression darkening for a moment. "Well, it's not easy to change his mind."
Haley was about to question her friend, before a stage technician ran up to them. "We're just about ready for you. Ms. James, you'll go out first, are you all set?"
"Absolutely." Mickie turned to Haley with a smile. "Same goes, no matter the winner, friendship first."
Haley nodded her agreement. "You've got it."
"See you out there." With a wink and a hair toss, Mickie skipped over to the curtain to wait for her music to hit.
Haley glanced over at the monitor as the cameras zoomed in on Lilian Garcia, who was waiting for her own cue to announce the match. Once the bell rang, the Hispanic woman lifted the microphone to her lips.
"The following contest is scheduled for one fall, and it is for the WWE Women's Championship!"
A catchy drumming and clapping rhythm hit the airwaves and was accompanied by a fairly loud pop from the crowd. Mickie bounced out onto the stage, full of infectious energy that the fans seemed to feed off of.
"Introducing the challenger, first, from Richmond, Virginia, Mickie James!" Lilian confirmed the Diva's arrival, while she posed on the turnbuckle with a huge smile on her face.
"Well King, Haley picked on hell of an opponent to face here tonight." Michael Cole, RAW's newest announcer said to his commentary partner. "Mickie James is nothing if not impressive."
"Not only is Mickie beautiful, but she can wrestle." King agreed. "She's a former three time Women's Champion." As Mickie saluted the crowd on the side of the ring the two announcers were seated by, King groaned. "Oh, I've just found the angel I'd like to be touched by!"
"Still, we can't count out our current Women's Champion." Cole reminded him, as Mickie's music tapered off. "Haley won the title from the dominant Beth Phoenix at Wrestlemania 24 and she's retained it from her in several matches afterward."
"Oh, I'd love to be touched by Haley too, but if I did, I might get some not so nice touching from the Animal." King mock shuddered. "I don't want to be on the receiving end of a Batista bomb!"
Cole chuckled. "I can't say I blame you there."
Once the crowd has settled slightly, the open chords of Gavin DeGraw's "In Love With a Girl" could be heard through speakers. As the lights flickered on the stage in hues of green and blue, they popped again.
So many people gonna say that they want you
To try to get you thinking they really care
But there's nothing like the warmth of the one
Who has put in the time and you know he's gonna be there
Back your border when she knows someone's crossed
Don't let nobody tear you down, who you're with
Take the pain from protecting your name
From the crutch to the cane, to the highwire
"And introducing her opponent, making her way to the ring from Boston, Massachusetts, she is the WWE Women's Champion, Haley Mariano!" Lilian made her exit as Haley came down the ramp with her title belt.
I'm in love with a girl who knows me better
Fell for the woman just when I met her
Took my sweet time when I was bitter
Someone understands
And she knows how to treat a fella right
Give me that feeling every night
Wants to make love when I wanna fight
Now someone understand me
I'm in love with a girl (I'm in love with)
I'm in love with a girl (I'm in love with)
I'm in love with a girl (I'm in love with)
Gavin's voice and the electric guitar faded out as Haley handed the belt to referee Mike Chioda. Mike held the title above his head to show the crowd that it was on the line while both women stood in their respective corners.
"Good luck, Mickie." Haley called over to her friend.
"Thanks Haley, you too." The bell rang and as a sign of friendship, they hugged one another briefly. "You're going to need it." Mickie whispered to her, as they pulled back to circle one another.
Haley shook her head, getting ready to charge in for a lock up. "We'll see what happens, Micks."
A smirk crossed the face of the Richmond native. "Oh yes, we will."
The two women came together in a lock up, dueling for supremacy. The crowd around them roared, divided in their support for two favorite Divas .
"Well here we go, Michael." King clapped his hands in excitement. "As JR would say, business has just picked up!"