Chapter 49:
"You know, if I wasn't grateful to him for partnering you tonight, I'd be disgusted with your t-shirt." The soft southern tinged voice of Jeff Hardy sounded from very close behind the petite Diva.
Haley jumped, startled by his voice, before turning around and embracing the younger Hardy brother. "Oh Jeff, I've missed you so much!" She relaxed against him, inhaling his familiar scent of turpentine, faint ammonia from his hair dye and mild cologne.
The rainbow haired warrior chuckled and wrapped one arm around Haley's waist while the other trailed over the back of her head to the ends of her hair. "I've missed you too."
She pulled back enough so that she could tilt her head up and look into his soft green eyes. "I hope you kill MVP tonight, in fact, if I didn't have my hands full, I'd kick his ass myself. He was out of line, Jeff, way out of line. I don't care who he thinks he is."
Her tone portrayed the disgust she felt for the so-called ballin' superstar. The man had dragged Jeff's personal life right into the middle of their feud, including his drug problem, his house fire and the death of Jeff's dog. Haley had been enraged on her friend's behalf as MVP used such personal and hurtful situations as ammo against the high flyer.
Jeff stiffened in her arms for a moment, before tightening his embrace around her, drawing comfort from her presence. "You're right, you do have your hands full. I can handle MVP."
Since his most recent suspension for his use of painkillers, Jeff's limited amount of friends in the WWE had dwindled even further. Shannon had left the WWE, the other Divas avoided him like the plague and Jeff had no friends on SmackDown. Essentially, the only people around here that he could count on to really be on his side were his brother Matt, and Haley who could somehow could forgive him anything.
She squeezed his waist reassuringly. "I know you can. You're one of those people who can really do anything they set their mind too. It makes you kind of crazy, but in a good way."
He laughed heartedly at that comment. "You of all people like to remind me that I should be legally certifiable."
"Yeah," She raised an eyebrow. "That's because normal, sane people don't do Swanton bombs onto people from thirty foot scaffoldings!"
He grinned at the memory. "If I remembering correctly, I did that on your tag team partner tonight."
"No Randy bashing!" She warned, shaking her finger at him. "I would be in deep trouble tonight if he hadn't come back, so keep not nice comments to yourself."
"Can I at least comment on how stupid you look in an Age of Orton t-shirt? I should go get you the new Hardy boy t-shirt instead." He quipped.
She rolled her eyes. "What, cause I won't look stupid in a shirt that looks like a five year old drew on it?"
"Haley!" He pretended to be hurt. "That's mean."
"You'll live." She shrugged, looking down at her outfit for that night's Pay-per-view. She was indeed wearing a black and orange-gold Age of Orton t-shirt that she had modified more to her liking. Plus she had Torrie make her same color orange-gold trimmed black wrestling tights to go with her black wrestling boots. "Besides, I look good right now!"
"Yeah." He admitted casually. "I guess you'll do."
She playfully shoved him. "Jerk." She sniped at him.
"You're wearing a Randy Orton t-shirt, it's my job to call you on the act of being a loser." He reached out and ruffled her hair, with hung straight and dark to the top of her shoulders.
"Yeah well, at least my nickname's not rainbow brite." She scoffed, self-consciously correcting her hair.
He snorted. "You couldn't come up with anything more original than that?! Wow, you're off your game."
"Bite me!" She retorted in a fake, sugary sweet voice.
"It keeps getting better." He chortled. "Come on loser, let's get something to chow on from catering." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her down the hall.
Haley waited patiently outside Randy's locker room while the Legend Killer finished getting ready for the match. While she waited, she stretched in the middle of the hallway, making sure her muscles were nice and loose so that she wouldn't pull something when she tapped into her fury and unleashed it on the Burchills.
"You know, you're putting a lot of effort into going out there just to get your ass kicked." Mickie James' snide tone cut through the thoughts in Haley's head, snapping her back into the present.
Haley placed her hands on her hips and turned around to face her former friend. "Shouldn't you be getting ready for your own match, Mickie? After all, the Glamazon will make sure you get your own ass kicked in due time."
"Right." Mickie scoffed and rolled her eyes. "In case you've forgotten Haley, I'm the WWE Women's Champion now, which means I'm the best. And no one, not Beth and certainly not you, is going to take that away from me."
"Well, seeing as it was Katie and Paul who helped you get that title in the first place, and keep it, I'm not sure how that's possible, Mick." Haley retorted casually. "I mean, by the time Randy and I are through with them, they'll be on their way to the hospital."
"You think just because Randy came back to partner you that you're going to win the match?" Mickie laughed. "Oh please, Randy's been out for months with broken shoulder. He'll be so rusty in the ring, that Paul will probably just re-break it. You're better off with the Coach as your partner."
"Randy could beat Paul Burchill with one arm tied behind his back." Haley grit her teeth angrily. "He's ten times the wrestler Paul could ever hope to be. What's Paul really done in this business Mickie, huh, besides beating up Divas? Randy is the youngest World Champion in history and he's held that title three times. I think I'm the one with the upperhand here."
"You keep thinking that." Mickie's tone wavered slightly once she realized Haley was indeed speaking the truth.
"I will." Haley smirked. "And here's another reminder for you. I've teamed with Randy multiple times in the past, including a match against my boyfriend. And guess what? We're undefeated. If there were Inter-gender Tag Team titles, Randy and I would probably hold them together. We're one of the best teams you'll come across. Paul and Katie don't stand a chance."
"Funny you should say that, I wonder how Dave feels about it?" Mickie remarked cattily.
"Dave knows that I love him and that's all he needs. He's not an overly jealous hothead like John Cena." Haley's eyes narrowed. "Besides, my personal relationships are none of your business anyway."
"Whatever." Mickie rolled her eyes again. "Like I really care about you and Dave Batista? You're no longer in the running for my title, which means you're no longer a concern for me. I could care less about who you're with and what you do."
"Then why are you still here, Mickie?" Haley raised an eyebrow. "You came over here to trash talk me, remember?"
Mickie paused for a second, caught in the lie. "I just came over to tell you that, that I don't care about you at all, anymore. You're not even a blip on my radar."
"Bullshit." Haley replied. "It must just eat at you, doesn't it?"
"What does?" Mickie eyed her in skeptical curiosity.
"The fact that even though you won the title, the hows aside, and tried to be everything you thought I was, he never looked at you twice." Haley smirked confidently. "You made yourself the tiop Diva on Raw, and to make sure you stayed there, you took me out of the running. And yet, he still doesn't give you the time of day. Belt or no belt, glory or no glory, John Cena will never choose you over me and it eats at you."
"You don't know what you're talking about." Mickie frowned, while her eyes darted around in panic.
"Oh, I think I do." Haley crossed her arms over her chest. "In fact, I just hit the nail on the head."
"Whatever Haley." Mickie flung her hands into the air, exasperatedly. "Have a nice ride in the ambulance later."
"Yeah." Haley brushed her off. "Good luck in your match tonight, you're going to need it!" She called after her.
Just then, the door behind her opened and Randy stepped out, dressed to compete in his signature black wrestling trunks. "Ready?" He smiled at her.
"Always." She nodded in satisfaction.
A/N: Well, most of you seem glad that Randy's back so that's always a plus. To clarify something, in this story, I'm leaving out love…pentagon I guess between Haley, Dave, Randy, Eve and John (unrequited). Although Cena's pretty much out of the romantic picture. Jeff's coming in as Haley's friend; I have a different romance planned out for our favorite high flyer later on.
Up Next…Paul and Katie Lea Burchill versus Haley Mariano and Randy Orton a no disqualifications match.
Oh new poll in my profile...just out of curiosity...who do you think is Haley's true love, Randy or Dave? Place your votes. :)