Chapter 91:
"Don't you think you let him off the hook a little easy?" John Cena look at her puzzled before pealing off his sweater to pull on his black Hustle, Loyalty, Respect t-shirt.
Haley sat on a steel chair in his locker room, having come to see her friend and fellow Massachusetts native before Raw that night. She had just finished filling him in on her day spent with Dwayne in Faneuil Hall.
"Maybe." She nodded, conceding his point. "But Dwayne and I have a lot of history and I don't want to fight with him. I hate not being on speaking terms with him. He's allowed to make a mistake."
"Yeah but this wasn't a mistake, like yeah I forgot we had plans last night, didn't mean to blow you off, sorry." John reminded her. "He lied to you. He kept the truth, which could have prevented a lot of unnecessary drama."
"I'm well aware of what he did John, but after everything he's done for me, I can't hate him for it. In his heart he did believe he was doing what's best for me. He knows what he did was wrong and he wants to make amends." She shrugged. "I just want to move forward, put this behind us. After Armmageddon I want to forget Randy Orton even exists."
"What did he do that gets such unwavering loyalty from you? I would still be pissed at him if it were me." He marveled.
"Well you were never a teenage girl with self esteem issues." Haley chuckled. "You don't what it's like at that age because you were too busy chasing the cheerleaders that made my life miserable."
"I can't imagine you having self esteem issues. You were so bright and friendly when we first met, you still are." John looked surprised by her omission.
"That's Dwayne's influence and some maturing in college, but in High School I was miserable." She shook her head and sighed resignedly. "I was a girl who liked wrestling, so the cheerleaders gave me crap over it. I was too shy to stand up for myself, so most people avoided me. I never went to a Homecoming dance, or Winter Formal because the boys in school stayed away from me. I only went to prom because my older brother asked one of his military friends to take me."
"You didn't have a date to school dances? Haley, you're one of the hottest Divas in the WWE?" John exclaimed incredulously.
"But in a small town like Westport, I was a freak. Dwayne's career was on its fast track, he was becoming more and more famous by the day. No one would have thought less of him, including me if he had left me behind. But he didn't." She explained. "He came to see me every chance he could. Flew me out for live shows, I was there for Wrestlemania fifteen the first time he faced Austin on the Grandest Stage of them all. He kept me from slipping into depression. He was there for me. He loved me. He's been the one constant thing I've had my entire life. I can't hate him. I can't even stay mad at him. I love him John, like family. You don't renounce family when they screw up. You forgive them."
"I guess I can understand why you'd forgive him then." John said finally, looking torn. "Doesn't mean I will though. I don't like what he did to you, at all. I don't care if he cut ties with Orton either. You can move on but I lost a lot of respect for him after this. Just saying."
"You're entitled to your opinion and I won't argue because I know how stubborn you can be." Haley got to her feet. "Just don't judge him too harshly please. I'm going to go find Dave, we'll see you out there later."
"You coming to the ring?" John asked.
"I'll be there, cheering on both of you." She nodded. "So I've also got to get my butt into hair and make up, plus change into something more appropriate to wear to the ring."
"All right, go get ready, I'll see you in the Gorilla position." He waved her off.
"Right. Later!" She called back to him cheerfully before slipping out into the hallway.
Later that night…
"So do you really love him then?" Haley asked Candice, looking at her friend's face for any signs of doubt. "Because I don't want to see either of you get hurt anymore than you already have."
Candice smiled at her friend's concern and reached over to squeeze her hand gently. "Haley, how did you know Dave was the one for you, because you said so yourself you loved Randy too. So before the betrayal hit how did you know?"
Haley hesitated, thinking about how best to answer the question. "I think in the cosmic scheme of things, falling in love with Dave wasn't supposed to happen. I think the path I started on would have led me to Randy, I mean look at our history with John."
"Wait," Candice frowned, looking confused. "But you chose Dave."
"I did because I think I changed my path at Vengeance last year. I literally bumped into Dave and it sent me on a new course in my life. I think if I'd never run into him, we'd just be two people who knew of each other as co-workers. Instead, we fell in love." Haley shrugged. "Suddenly, Dave, who to the world is just one person, became the entire world to me. Even my feelings for Randy, however messed up they may be, can't mess with it."
"So he became the one, your one." Candice mused.
"I think that's how I really got through these past two months. Support from my friends and knowing deep in my heart that true love stories, don't have endings." Haley laughed. "What does my love for Dave have to do with you and Dwayne?"
"Because to the world, Dwayne is just one person, but he's the world to me." Candice smiled back her, loving shining in her dark eyes.
"If he hurts you I'm going to kill him." Haley's heart melted at the expression on the candy-coated Diva's face and she got out of the make up chair to hug her. "I'm happy for you, Candi."
"Thanks." Candice returned her embrace. "I'm happy for me too. I'm happy for both of us, finding our ones."
"Just promise me I get to be Maid of Honor at your wedding." Haley teased. "If not I'll wind up being Best Man."
Candice burst into a fit of giggles. "Of course you'd be my Maid of Honor, as if I'd have anyone else. I hope I get the same privilege on your wedding day."
"Candice, you were my first real female friend, duh!"
In the Gorilla position…
John Cena eyeballed the World Heavyweight Title that sat on his shoulder and the switched to the man who stood several feet away from him. "So when I'm done beating Jericho are you going to be my next challenger?"
Dave glanced at John sharply, before giving a slight shake of his head. "Not quite yet. This war with Orton, it won't be finished after Armageddon. He's poison and he's infected my life for too long. It will take more than one battle to get him out."
"You don't sound that worried." John commented.
"Not for myself. I stopped liking and trusting Orton when we threw him out of Evolution. He's not human, John. There's no real human emotion there, I used to think he had no soul. He does, a small one, a black one. The only time you ever see him act human is for Haley. She made him a better person, for awhile." Dave tilted his head from side to side, hearing the vertebrae in his neck pop and loosen in response. "Then in typical Randy fashion he fucked it up royally. I worry about what he'll do to her."
"She's the only person in the world he's capable of loving. He won't do anything to her. He's coming after you." John shook his head.
"You weren't in Evolution, John, you don't know Orton the way Hunter, Ric and I do. There's a thin line between love and hate, and with Randy that line is already blurred as it is. She chose me, publicly humiliating him and broke his heart. He will hate her for it." Dave said quietly. "Not today, not tomorrow because he's still under the delusion he can fix things. But it's only a matter of time, my guess will be after Armageddon when he'll begin to hate her."
"You really think he'd try to hurt her? The way he went after me? After Punk?" John looked horrified at the very thought.
"As long as I'm here he won't touch her, I'd never let him." Dave looked over at him, his expression serious. "But I can't help but worry what would happen if somehow I wasn't here."
"He'd never get away with hurting her." John brushed if off. "If you weren't around, I'd protect her. And you know Triple H would be all over him if he touched Haley."
"I hope you're right, John, I really do."
"Hey!" Haley stepped into the Gorilla position with a bright smile. She was dressed in metallic gray skinny jeans and red satin corset top with black knee high heeled boots. "Techs say we're on in five minutes. Dave and I will go out first."
The two men dropped their topic of conversation and both smiled back at the girl in question. "You look beautiful, Baby." Dave took her hand in his.
"Thanks." Haley glanced over at John. "Ready Champ?"
"That's a stupid question." John retorted teasingly. "I'm always ready."
"Good, then let's go out there and kick some ass."
A/N: I'm generating some of the future heat between Cena and the Rock. #TeamBringIt Though I don't actually hate Cena. I don't like him very much to be honest, but I have a lot respect for him because he's always classy and truly loves the business.
Also, pay attention to what Dave was talking about at the end of the Chapter here. He is foreshadowing what's to come in No Boundaries. I'll give you guys a full summary of No Boundaries in few chapters time because this fic is coming to a close.
Happy Reading!