Disclaimer: I do not own Christian/Jay Reso or WWE. I only own Dawn Ricard/Scarlet, and of course, the plot.
"Miss Ricard, could you confirm whether or not you are dating Jay Reso?"
"Dawn, is it true that you are more than just friends with a fellow wrestler?"
Those were just some of the questions asked by the gossip-hungry tabloid reporters to Dawn as she was trying to get inside the vehicle owned by the WWE. When she was finally inside the car, Dawn was able to take in a huge sigh of relief. She took off her black Raybans and hang it on the neckline of her red, spaghetti strap top. The car slowly drove away from the hotel and the large crowd, and when they were completely out of the crowd's sight, Dawn lay her head on the cold, smooth leather seat. Natalie was sitting on the passenger seat, listening to her iPod, while Dawn was all alone in the backseat, her luggage beside her.
A few minutes later, her phone rang. She took her phone out of her pocket and answered it - it was Vince McMahon.
"Good morning, Mr. McMahon." Dawn greeted him.
"Good morning to you too Dawn," Vince replied. "I need to speak to you and Mr. Reso when you two get to New York City. Okay?"
Dawn bit her lower lip, but nodded. "Okay, Mr. McMahon."
And with that, Vince hang up on Dawn. For whatever reason Vince wanted to talk to her and Jay, she knew that it wasn't good. Her stomach was now tied in knots because of the nervousness that she felt, and she just wanted to get on the plane, get to New York and talk to Vince.
When Dawn was about to put her phone back inside the pocket of her black skinny jeans, someone was calling her. When she looked at the screen, she saw an unknown number. For some reason, she hoped that it was Jay who was calling her. Jay haven't texted or called her last night. But it wasn't like she was hoping that he would... or was she?
"Hello?"
"Hey Dee, it's Jay."
Dawn smiled. "Hey Jay, what's up?"
Jay sighed. "Vince called me a while ago. Did he call you, too?"
She didn't really wanted to talk about this right now. "Yeah. He said he wanted to talk to us two when we get to New York. I'm nervous - do you have any idea about what he wants to talk to us about?"
Jay chuckled. "I have no idea, but you know Vince - always full of surprises. Maybe it's about our storyline with Stu and the other guys."
Dawn thought about it, and she agreed. She was still feeling a bit uneasy. "Yeah, probably."
The two were silent for a few seconds before Jay broke it by clearing his dry throat. "Hey Dee, I have to go now. I guess I'll see you in a few hours."
"Okay. Bye Jay."
And with that, they hung up. Dawn put her phone back inside her pocket and gazed at the window, trying not to think about what's in store for her and Jay once they land in the City That Never Sleeps.
"I'm very disappointed in you, Mr. Reso. Were you lying about your reason why you wanted to get a divorce from Denise, who is still legally your wife? After seeing the pictures of you with another woman, and the things the people have said about it, it might prolong the process of your on-going divorce."
The words of Jay's lawyer repeated for the hundredth time in his head. His lawyer called him this morning, at around four, and that was the call that woke him up and ruined his morning. Yes, he was aware that he screwed up for being caught by the paparazzi when he hung out with Dawn yesterday. Vince didn't make it a little bit easier for him - he only added insult to injury. Jay was sure that Vince knows what happened and maybe he wanted to talk to him and Dawn so he could tell them that he wants Christian, Scarlet, and The Corre's storyline to be buried, and to remind them that business shouldn't be mixed with pleasure. Worse - maybe he'll even tell Dawn that he's married - something Jay hasn't told Dawn himself.
Jay didn't meant to get attached to Dawn - but how could he control himself when he's around her? She was absolutely contagious. Jay balled his right fist, and punched the seat of the car because of his frustration.
Dawn was finally on the plane. In two hours, she'll be in New York, in Vince's office, sitting in front of Jay as Vince talks to them. She was in the business class, trying to look for her seat while a steward, who was carrying her luggage, followed her. When she found it, she wanted to exchange her plane ticket with someone else or get on a different plane. In the plane cabin where her seat was located, Mike Mizanin was sitting beside the plane's window, looking at the view outside of the plane.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Dawn exclaimed as she groaned and took her seat beside Mike. She had no choice but to endure a two-hour torture. When the steward was done putting her luggage in the compartment on top of her and Mike, she gave him her thanks and told her that if she needed anything, just call him. Dawn wanted to tell him that she needed to be transferred to another seat, but that request might not be granted.
Mike stopped looking through the window and smiled when he saw Dawn sitting beside him. He tried taking her right hand, but she crossed her arms. "Dawn..."
Dawn glared at him. "Don't start with me, Mike."
Mike sighed. "Are you still mad at me, for what happened the other night?"
Dawn looked down and played with her fingers. She wasn't mad at him - she was just hurt. But of course, she didn't want to tell Mike that she was. And besides, he wouldn't even understand how she felt if she told him. The only feeling who could feel was lust and the typical feelings that a douchebag feels. "What do you think?"
"Look, Dawn. I'm sorry if I made you mad, but I love you, and I want you back." Mike told her, trying to look at her. As much as Mike wanted to stare into her piercing blue eyes he'd miss so much looking at, she put on her Raybans, shielding her precious blue orbs from the world.
"Where's your girlfriend?" Dawn said harshly. He was obviously lying through his teeth again and she wanted to be deaf.
"She's here... somewhere," Mike said, still trying to look at her eyes through those goddamned shades of hers. "But Dawn-"
Dawn had enough. She couldn't take Mike's lies anymore. He was still the same guy she apparently fell "in love" with - a lying, cheating, good-for-nothing son of a bitch. "Mike, stop fucking lying to me, okay? I've had enough of your bullshit."
Mike had given up trying to talk to her, so he just sat back in his seat. He'd try again soon - he wanted Dawn back in his life real bad. Dawn took in a deep breath as she felt the tears in her eyes building up. As much as she wanted to believe Mike... she couldn't. 30 Seconds To Mars' song, Attack, was softly playing in the plane, and it perfectly fit what just transpired between her and Mike. She lay her head on the top of her seat, and uncrossed her arms. Once her right hand landed on the arm separating the two seats, Mike grabbed her hand. She tried shaking his hand off, but his grip was very tight. She sighed in defeat, allowing Mike to hold her hand for the next two hours.
Two hours later, Dawn was finally off the plane and thanked God that she lasted two whole hours with Mike beside her and holding her hand. Carrying her luggage, she looked for the car that was supposed to pick her up. As she was standing in front of the airport, a 2010 silver Cadillac Escalade honked at her. She walked towards it and got inside the vehicle with her luggage. Dawn smiled at the driver, and with that, they started to drive away from the airport. Dawn opened one of her suitcases, and took out out her beige leather jacket just so she wouldn't feel cold. She felt nervous as hell now, and she just wanted to get the whole thing over with. She took off her sunglasses and put it inside her one of her luggage bags. She looked for her make-up bag and pulled it out. She wanted to look presentable to her boss, not like she had just been embalmed and ready to be buried. She applied moisturizer, a few dabs of face powder, ran a brown eyeliner on her water line, three coats of mascara, a peach-tinted blush, and clear lipgloss. When she was satisfied with how she looked, she put her make-up bag back inside her luggage.
The ride to Vince's office in New York City took about thirty minutes. The driver stopped directly in front of the high building. Dawn got off the car and the driver told her that her luggage will immediately be sent to her hotel room, and if she needed to find her room number, she could always ask the front desk. She nodded and hurriedly got out of the vehicle, and went inside the establishment. She asked the receptionist where Mr. McMahon's office as, and she was told that it was on the eleventh floor. Dawn took the elevator, and unfortunately, she had to endure a few more minutes of torture.
Five minutes later, Dawn got out of the elevator, and was on the floor where Vince's office was located. She slowly walked towards the half-opened door at the end of the hall, and she could hear that Vince was loudly talking to someone, probably Jay. Dawn didn't want to barge in rudely, so she stood beside the door first.
"Jay, your actions have affected not only your personal life, but the story line as well," Vince told Jay, who was now in the room. Dawn bit her lower lip. What did Jay do?
Dawn couldn't take it anymore - she had to know what was going on. So, she slowly appeared, making sure to knock three times before finally opening the half-open door. She put a smile on her face, pretending that she had just arrived and wasn't eavesdropping on them. Vince had stopped talking, and stood up to welcome Dawn; Jay did the same thing. He motioned for Dawn to sit down on the chair in front of a troublesome-looking Jay. Dawn looked at him, but he looked away. She closed her eyes for a moment, and then opened them again, looking at Vince.
"So now that Ms. Ricard is here," Vince said as he looked at Jay then turned his head to Dawn. "I suppose that I should tell you two why you are here right now."
Dawn just nodded. Jay seemed to already know what Vince was going to say. He had his hand on his temple, because his head was already aching.
"So, last night... photographs of you two chatting and having coffee surfaced on the internet." Vince started, folding his hands together which were on top of his mahogany office table.
Dawn raised an eyebrow at Vince. "Sir, why is this a big deal?"
"This is a big deal because... on the positive side: people are excited to see the next interaction between Christian and Scarlet on Friday Night Smackdown and the last episode's ratings were off the roof! On the negative side however, Mr. Reso's lawyer called him this morning, and all of this is affecting his divorce." Vince replied, a serious tone audible in his voice.
Dawn looked down, and then at Jay. After what he's gotten himself and Dawn into, Jay couldn't stand to look at her. Realization then washed over Dawn; the reason why Jay didn't want to tell her about his love life was because he's married, and is currently getting out of the marriage. Dawn felt like she was just stung by a bee. She couldn't believe that she'd gotten in the middle of a marriage... for the second time. Sure, Jay's currently in the process of divorce, but he still wasn't a single man.
Dawn turned to Jay first. "Jay, I am so sorry." She then turned her head to Vince. "Mr. McMahon, please forgive me for all of this. It's all my fault."
Jay then looked up at Dawn. "Dawn, you have nothing to be sorry about." He then looked at Vince. "Vince, this is all my fault. I swear it won't happen again."
Vince scoffed as he looked at Jay. "Oh I bet you it won't." His face was still expressionless. The way he looked terrified Dawn. "Dawn, I'm afraid that I have to move you back to Raw. And I am telling you two that if you're ever seen in public together again, I'm going to take action."
Dawn didn't know what exactly Vince meant when he said that, but to her, it was like he just told them that they were going to be fired if they were seen hanging out in public again, or Scarlet and Christian would probably be stripped off their titles. Jay was thinking about the same thing. Vince didn't like him, and he wouldn't like him in a million years. Jay didn't sucked up to Vince like he knew some Superstars did - he just took whatever Vince and his creative team gave him. Vince could just tell the writers to come up with a fucked up storyline, make Christian drop the World Heavyweight title, and give it to someone else. Jay didn't want that to happen, and Dawn didn't want to either.
Dawn had no choice but to nod. "Okay, Mr. McMahon. But... what about my storyline with Christian and The Corre?"
"I'd ask the writers to come up with something," Vince said plainly. "Speaking of the writers, you can get your new scripts from them, they'd probably already have something by now. The writers' room is in the door in front of the elevator at the start of the hall. You two are dismissed."
And with that, Jay and Dawn got up from their seats and quietly got out of Vince's office. Dawn walked away from Jay quickly as he closed the door behind him. The hallway was a bit long, and Jay ran after her. He hugged her from behind, and spun her around to face him. She was crying; the black and brown from her eyes messing up her beautiful face. Dawn cried because of how stupid she was, and hell, it sure was a big mistake for falling for Jay - she didn't even know the guy that well!
"Dawn, please. Stop crying! Don't be so hard on yourself." Jay told Dawn as he hugged her.
Dawn slightly pushed him away, her hands on her chest. She could feel his heartbeat through the white t-shirt that he was wearing. "I should be hard on myself, Jay! I was stupid! And now I've ruined a perfectly great storyline that could make SmackDown better than it already is!"
Jay sighed. "Dawn, stop-"
Dawn removed her hands from Jay's chest, putting them on her temple and turning her back on him. She then faced him. "And most of all, I'm so sorry for getting between you and your wife. God, why did I just have to be such a whore?"
As Dawn cried, Jay didn't know anything that he could do to make her feel better. He just stood there as she paced back and forth in the empty hallway, watching her bawl her eyes out.
He hugged Dawn again, making her stop from walking back and forth over and over again. His eyes met hers as she looked up at him. Her eyeliner and mascara trailed down her cheeks. She was a mess - a hot one. "Dawn, you are not a whore. You're a beautiful woman." And I think I'm falling head over heels for you. Jay thought. He had to mentally slap himself for thinking that.
Dawn felt her cheeks warming up. She knew it was a lie, but Jay didn't seem to be the one who lied. His thumb wiped off some of the tears on her cheeks, and she smiled at the gentle gesture. "Jay..."
Dawn's right hand found its way to Jay's cheek. His stubble tickled her fingertips and palm, and when the she felt the urge to stand on her tiptoes and kiss him... she pulled back from him and composed herself. She quickly wiped off the tears and stains from her cheeks with her hands and continued walking down the hall. Jay was surprised with how the way she touched him, he just couldn't help but ran his hand over his left cheek. The hall was silent now, except for the loud noise her red stilettos were making as it met the tiles.
When they got inside the writer's room, a man and a woman came up to Dawn and Jay. They handed them a thick pile of papers. The man explained everything that Dawn needed to know, while the woman told Jay what was in store for Christian.
In their scripts, Christian would be challenged by The Corre to a 2-on-1 handicap match on this week's episode of SmackDown, with Scarlet as Christian's tag team partner. The climax of the match would be Wade giving The Wasteland to Scarlet, hurting her. She would have to endure more punches and kicks from Wade before she makes the tag to Christian, who unleashes his fury on Wade, and eventually gives him the Killswitch. Christian and Scarlet would be victorious, and as they are celebrating, Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater go inside the ring, but before they can, Christian and Heath would punch one another, Christian giving Heath the Killswitch, and Scarlet will debut an updated version of her Whip of Fire finisher, turning her roundhouse into a spinning savate kick. Christian and Scarlet would finally rejoice in their victory.
As Dawn and the man continued discussing her new storyline, Jay was doing the same thing with the woman in front of him.
Dawn's new storyline was about Scarlet opening this week's episode of Monday Night Raw with her return. Before she could blow kisses to the crowd, Melina will come out and attack her by surprise, but stops when the anonymous General Manager sends in an e-mail that will say that Scarlet would defend her title against Melina in that instant. Scarlet, of course, would beat Melina, but then The Miz comes out and beats Scarlet up, and when he attempts to do the Skull-Crushing Finale to her, John Cena comes to her rescue, and another e-mail from the anonymous General Manager would be read by Michael Cole, saying that the main event for that night would be a tag team match involving John Cena and Scarlet versus The Miz and Melina. John and Scarlet would be victorious. Dawn took in a sigh of relief when her storyline didn't include Scarlet losing her title or her getting beaten up by Kharma. But she's already nervous about it - she was going to be working with John again, and with Mike and Melina. Dawn tried so hard not to glare at the man who obviously came up with her script. She wanted to try out that new version of Whip of Fire on him, but she would get fired for it.
On the other hand, Christian's storyline would still continue with The Corre, even without Scarlet. In a match that would be announced by Theodore Long, Wade Barrett would face Daniel Brian for the Intercontinental Championship, in which Christian would interfere so that Wade loses, and Daniel wins, becoming the new Intercontinental Champion. After that altercation, Wade would challenge Christian for the World Heavyweight Title at Over The Limit, in which Christian agrees. After Over the Limit, Christian retains his title. The woman obviously haven't gotten started on the next script for Christian, and she told Jay that she will get started with it soon. Jay nodded.
After their brief talk with the writers, Jay and Dawn got out of the room with their new scripts in their hands, and they immediately got inside the elevator. As they waited for the elevator to make it to the ground floor, Dawn looked at Jay, who was staring into the space in front of him. Dawn raised her arm and put her left hand on top of Jay's right shoulder. Jay looked at Dawn, and saw her smiling. Jay looked away, but a smirk was playing on his lips.
"I guess this is the start of our struggle," Dawn started, her hands massaging Jay's shoulder. "On-screen and off."
Jay nodded. "Yeah. Do you think we'll be able to handle it?"
Being the optimistic woman that she was, Dawn nodded. "Of course."
Jay believed her. He had a lot to deal with now, but so does she. She hadn't seen anyone handle that much tough stuff and would still be able to think positively about it. Dawn surely was one of a kind.
When they got to the ground floor, it took two minutes before Dawn and Jay to get off the elevator. The elevator's doors were open, but no one else came in. All of a sudden, Dawn hugged Jay. Jay hugged back.
"Well, it was nice working with you, Dee. I hope we'll get to work again together soon. Good luck on Raw." Jay said, putting a hand on top of her head, his fingers getting lost in her blazing red hair.
Dawn looked up at him and smiled. "It was nice working with you too, Jay, even if it was just for a short while. Thank you, and make sure to make your Peeps proud of you on SmackDown."
And with that, Dawn pulled back from Jay, who didn't want to let her go just yet. Dawn walked away from him, unable to cry but unable to smile heartily either. Jay got out of the elevator as he watched Dawn walked out of the building and got inside a cab. Jay sighed as he ran his hand through his disarrayed blonde hair. He went out of the building, and hailed a cab. Once he was inside the cab, he smelled the scent of vanilla in his hand, the hand that touched Dawn's gorgeous hair. He inhaled it, and loved the way her hair smelled. God... he missed her already.
As the cab drove down the road, Dawn looked behind her. She saw a Toyota Corolla behind them, and another cab behind it. Her gut told her that Jay was inside that cab, and he really was. She stopped looking and then sighed. She didn't care about the fact that Jay didn't tell her that he was married, and it was Vince who told her, even though it was told indirectly. Dawn didn't mind. Maybe he hesitated to talk to her about it because he would get too touchy about it, but she was a good listener - if Jay ever needed someone, she'd be there for him.
This was only the start of their struggle. As Dawn and Jay thought about what would they go through made them feel a mix of emotions: afraid, agitated, upset, disturbed... but when they think of one another, they feel like they could take on anything.
Author's note: And this is where the drama starts! Please don't forget to send in your reviews! I don't care if it's long or short, at least you took a few minutes to tell me what you think of my story and this chapter. Remember: every review is greatly appreciated and loved by me. It'll be good if you would include what you would like to see in the following chapters though! :)
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Songs I listened to while writing this:
Heartsink - Blood Red Shoes
Attack - 30 Seconds to Mars
Could It Be Any Harder - The Calling