Disclaimer: I do not own Christian/Jay Reso (although I really wish I did) and the WWE rightfully belongs to Vincent Kennedy McMahon. I only own Dawn Iris Ricard/Scarlet, Pearl Armstrong, any other original characters and this story's plot. I'll make you feel so damn unpretty if you steal my story.
June 7, 2011; Tuesday.
SmackDown live taping at US Airways Center in Phoenix, AZ.
"Cody-doodles! Teddy-bear!"
Cody Runnels and Ted DiBiase Jr. looked behind their backs and found Dawn Ricard rushing towards them. Ted's eyes widened while Cody took in a deep breath. They looked at each other and planned run away from her, but she caught up with them. They turned around and she gave the two a warm, tight hug. They hugged her back.
"Deedee!" Cody said as he smiled at her.
"So nice to see you here, Dee. You're back on SmackDown?" Ted asked her with a smirk on his lips.
Dawn smiled back at Cody before nodding at Ted. "Yeah. Well… for the meantime."
Ted nodded and with that, Dawn started pinching Cody's cheeks. Cody knew he should've put on his plastic face mask a while ago. He looked at an amused Ted, who just stood there looking at the two of them with a cheeky grin on his face. Scarlet and 'Dashing' Cody Rhodes had a storyline before. For some reason, Dawn became obsessed with Cody's face. Dawn still loved his dashing face even though he was now 'un-dashing'.
"My Cody-doodles is still so cute!" Dawn said as she talked in a way that a mom would talk to her baby as she pinched both of Cody's cheeks, in which he just responded with a chuckle.
Five minutes later, Dawn got tired of pinching Cody's cheeks. Cody's face was flushed and his cheeks were aching. Ted laughed at his face, and so did the guys who were carrying Cody's paper bags. Cody just rolled his eyes.
"Well, we have to prepare for our match against Daniel Bryan and Sin Cara. See you later Deedee." Cody told Dawn as he hugged her.
She hugged Ted as well and before they could walk away, Dawn called out one of Cody's 'baggers' and asked for a paper bag. They gave her one and she put it on. She gave Cody a thumbs up in which Cody just responded with a chuckle. They finally walked away from Dawn. On the other hand, she decided to go and visit Jay for their six-men, mixed tag team match against The Corre's Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater, and Rosa Mendes.
When she made it to Jay's dressing room, she knocked about three times before Jay opened the door. When Jay saw her, his eyes widened. Dawn had new in-ring attire on, which consisted of a neon red bra and a tiny, shiny black studded vest that restricted her chest on top of it. The vest perfectly showed her glorious rack off. She had on matching black studded shorts that were very short, and on her feet, she wore knee-high boots that had scarlet-colored flames in them. On her hands, she wore fishnet gloves. Jay knew it was Dawn, despite the weird paper bag over her head that covered her beautiful face.
"Dawn! Why do you have a paper bag over your head?" Jay asked her with a look of pure confusion on his face.
Dawn took the paper bag as she started to laugh. She folded it before tossing it in the trash bin beside the door. "I like being random."
Jay chuckled. "You sure do."
Dawn laughed. "So… are you going to let me in or not?"
Jay stepped out of the way and Dawn smirked as she went inside. She expected to found their tag team partnerfor tonight – Ezekiel Jackson – in his dressing room, but Jay was all alone. Dawn sat on the couch and Jay sat beside her. The television in front of them was on, and she saw Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase Jr. walking down the ramp as Cody's baggers handed out paper bags to the crowd.
"I guess I know now where you got that paper bag." Jay said.
Dawn smirked. "From Undashing Cody Rhodes' baggers, yeah."
Jay chuckled and looked at her. She was already looking at him, and that made his heart skip a beat.
"I've got good news for you." Jay told her with a smile on his face.
Dawn smiled. "Woo, what is it?"
Jay took a deep breath, but the smile on his face didn't disappear. He had been aching to tell Dawn what he wanted to tell her right now for almost two weeks, but it just didn't seem like a topic he could discuss with her over the phone.
"Vince was pleased with what happened at Over The Limit – in fact, he was so pleased, he offered to help me with my divorce!" Jay told her, his smile growing wider. "Isn't that great? Turns out Vince doesn't hate me that much."
"Oh my God, that's amazing!" Dawn said, giving him a hug. Jay hugged her back.
"I know!" Jay replied as he looked into her piercing blue eyes when he pulled back from her.
"I'm so happy for you, Jay." Dawn bit her lower lip as she stared into his steel blue eyes. Subconsciously, she brought her right hand up to the left side of his face. Jay closed his eyes as Dawn caressed his cheek.
A minute later, Jay opened his eyes and took Dawn's soft hand. He squeezed it. "Thank you. It means a lot to me."
Dawn smirked. "You're welcome."
They looked into each other's eyes for a moment, before Jay kissed her right cheek. His lips stayed there for a minute, before he pulled back and smirked at her. She smirked back. She looked away from him just so he wouldn't see her rosy cheeks. When they turned their eyes on the tv, Sin Cara rolled up Ted DiBiase Jr. and the ring announcer declared Daniel Bryan and Sin Cara as the winners. Cody Rhodes then started to attack Daniel Bryan, but Sin Cara managed to subdue Cody Rhodes.
The Corre's Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel were on the side of the ring with Rosa Mendes. Wade Barrett wasn't in the match, but he was on commentary with Michael Cole, Booker T, and Josh Matthews. They stared at Ezekiel Jackson, who was inside the ring showing off his huge muscles. Ezekiel Jackson then looked at Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel, and grinned deviously at them.
Just Close Your Eyes started to play and Christian came out. He acknowledged the crowd and his Peeps. They praised him. The World Heavyweight title was securely wrapped around his waist and the gold gleamed against the light. He walked down the ramp, and then he stood beside the steel steps. Instead of getting inside the ring, Christian looked at the titantron.
The instrumental version of t.A.T.u.'s song, Dangerous and Moving started to play, and the crowd went wild. Scarlet came out with her arms raised, showing everyone the Divas belt – her title.
"Making her way to the ring, she is the current WWE Divas Champion and the pride of Phoenix, Arizona – Scarlet!"
Scarlet walked down the ramp, oozing confidence and with so much grace. She gave some of the fans a high-five. She stopped and stood beside Christian. He smirked at her before he moved his left hand, a gesture that meant 'ladies first'. Scarlet kissed his cheek, and with that she climbed the steel steps and got inside the ring. Wade Barrett kept his eyes on her.
She stood on the bottom right turnbuckle and raised the title. When she got off the turnbuckle, Christian got on the bottom right turnbuckle and proudly showed off the World title to the WWE Universe. He checked his Peeps out, before finally jumping off the turnbuckle. Scarlet and Christian's belts were taken by the referee and after he had the titles put aside, he rang the bell. The first to step in the ring were Scarlet and Rosa, and they locked up in the middle of the ring. Scarlet got the upper hand right away with a kick to Rosa's stomach. When Rosa was slowly getting off-balanced, Scarlet used the ropes to her advantage and did a springboard bulldog on her. Scarlet pinned Rosa, but she kicked out at three. Rosa ran towards their corner and tagged Justin Gabriel in. Scarlet tagged Ezekiel Jackson and the two men went on against each other.
Fifteen minutes later, Scarlet dominated Rosa for the second time, and when Rosa was going to give Scarlet the clothesline, Scarlet kicked her in the stomach and finished her off with the butterfly suplex, also known as the Wings of Fire. Scarlet successfully pinned Rosa. Christian, Ezekiel Jackson, and she were declared as the winners. All of a sudden, Wade Barrett got inside the ring and hit Scarlet with a chair from behind. Scarlet fell down onto the ring's canvas while Christian went after him. Ezekiel Jackson checked up on Scarlet, and protected her from Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater.
Before Wade could flee the scene, Christian caught up with him in the middle of the ramp. They threw punches to each other, until Christian finally gave him the Killswitch. He left Wade Barrett there on the ramp face down and he rushed back inside the ring. Scarlet was up and was holding her back as Ezekiel Jackson supported her weight and Christian asked her if she was okay. She nodded at him but the pain was evident on her face. And with that, the referee finally gave their respective titles back and raised their arms.
The show ended and Stu Bennett was on the sidewalk, waiting for a cab to drive him to the Holiday Inn. He was tired, and all he wanted to do was go to the hotel, get inside his hotel room, and get some rest. Ten minutes later, there was still no sign of a yellow cab. Stu groaned.
Feeling impatient, he just decided to walk. As he walked down the sidewalk though, someone called his name. He immediately stopped walking and froze on the spot – he knew who owned that voice.
"Stu, hey!" Dawn said as she patted his back. He flinched at her touch, but she didn't notice that he moved.
Stu thought about whether or not he should turn around and look at her. He'd been trying his best to avoid her, but why was she there right behind him? Stu wanted to pinch himself, because he might just be dreaming. It's been two weeks since Over The Limit – how long could he distance himself from Dawn? He wanted to talk to her, apologize to her for overreacting, the fact that he hit her with a steel chair a while ago, and so that he could finally here her angelic voice. He took a deep breath, and faced her. He tried his best to put a smile on his face. She smirked back, even though his smile didn't reached his eyes.
"Ricard." Stu said as he looked down on her.
Dawn laughed softly. Oh how her laugh made his knees feel a little weak. "Oh please, we've known each other for a year now. Just call me Dee."
Stu looked down and chuckled. When he looked up at her, Dawn saw his flushed cheeks. She bit her lower lip. "Okay Dee. Why are you here? I hope you're not mad at me for hitting you with a steel chair a while ago."
"Nah, I'm not mad at all - it's all part of the job. Anyway, I saw you walking down the sidewalk and I just decided to talk to you for a while," Dawn replied. She looked behind her. "I'm kinda waiting for someone, but he's not here yet."
Stu frowned. He was pretty sure he knew who she was waiting for. "I see. Well, it's getting late. I better go to the hotel now."
Dawn sighed. "Oh, okay. Be safe. Call me or something – I miss goofing around with you."
Stu looked at her sparkling blue eyes, and finally smiled genuinely. He nodded. "Sure Dee. Good night."
And with that, Stu walked away from her. He looked back after he had taken a few steps away and he regretted doing it. He saw Jay hugging Dawn. They hailed a cab and stepped inside. He looked down at his feet and he kicked the small rock hard enough for it to roll down to the end of the sidewalk. He wanted love – he wanted to Dawn to love him, but he wasn't as lucky as Jay is.
It took thirty minutes for Jay and Dawn to get to the Ricard residence in Paradise Valley Village. When the cab stopped in front of the cozy American Foursquare, Dawn paid for the cab fare since it was her idea to invite Jay over to the house that she grew up in. She persuaded him to stay the night there instead of checking in at the hotel and he agreed. Dawn hadn't been home in months and whenever there was a show in Arizona, she told herself to visit her family if she can. Jay was the second co-worker of hers that she brought there – Mike being the first one. The first and last time Mike was there, her parents and her little brother Sam didn't accepted his presence. Dawn hoped that they would like Jay.
When they got out of the vehicle, the cab driver helped Jay and Dawn unload their bags from the car's trunk and then he drove away. Jay looked at the house and felt relief washing over him. He was rarely home, and he missed being in Tampa, Florida. By just looking at the house, it made him feel at peace.
The Ricard residence was an American Foursquare. Two stories, a manicured lawn complete with the beautiful rose bed on the left side of the lawn and a swing for two people on the right side. The house was made of brick and the roof and the window shutters were dark gray. Green flowering vines were snaked around the top of the black iron fence. Two diamond-shaped lamps sat on top of the medium-length, brick pillars beside the black iron gate. The lamps illuminated the whole lawn, and there was a stone pathway leading to the porch and the front door. Jay was in awe.
"Your house is so homey." Jay said as he walked towards the gate, his eyes wide as he looked at the large house.
Dawn let out a small, short laugh and opened the gate. "Thanks. Come on, let's go inside."
Jay nodded and extended the handle of his bag. Dawn did the same thing, and the two of them walked on the pathway. When they made it to the front door, Dawn rang the doorbell. A few seconds later, a blonde woman opened the door. She bore a striking resemblance to Dawn, except that she was an inch taller than Dawn, her hair was golden blonde instead of fiery red, and she looked much older. They shared the same piercing, shocking blue eyes. Jay automatically knew that she was Dawn's mother.
Her mother gasped at the sight of her daughter. "Dawn!"
Dawn laughed. "Hi mom."
Dawn wrapped her arms around her mom and her mom hugged her back. Jay stood there awkwardly as he stared at the two. Five minutes later, Mrs. Ricard pulled back from Dawn and looked at Jay with her eyes narrowed. Jay felt like she was scrutinizing him. He took a deep breath.
"And who's this?" Mrs. Ricard asked her daughter as she looked at Jay from head to toe.
"Mom, meet Jay Reso. He's a fellow wrestler and he goes by the ring name Christian. I'm pretty sure you've heard of him – Sam's a big fan of his," Dawn smiled. She then looked at Jay. "And Jay, meet my mom – Mrs. Irene Ricard."
Jay wiped his sweaty palm on his jeans and extended his arm out for Mrs. Ricard to shake. "Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Ricard."
Mrs. Ricard smirked at him and shook his hand. Dawn took in a sigh of relief – when she introduced Mike to her, she was a bit 'intimidating', according to him. Dawn could tell that her mom seemed to like Jay.
"Nice to meet you, Jay. I'm pretty sure Sam would be happy about you being here." Mrs. Ricard said as she put her hand down.
Jay chuckled. "I'm looking forward in meeting the little man soon."
Mrs. Ricard nodded, and she stepped away from the doorway. "Come in you two, I bet you two are tired."
"Very tired." Dawn said as she got in the house. Jay helped her with her bags even though she swatted his hand away from her stuff a few times.
The living room was dimly lit, and since it was close to midnight, Dawn knew that everyone in the house was already asleep.
When they got to the second floor, she could smell the foul scent of paint and wood varnish. She and Jay followed her mom as she led them down the hall.
"Mom, is the house under construction or something?" Dawn asked.
Her mom looked behind her and nodded. "I wouldn't call it under construction though. We're just renovating the guest room."
Jay looked at Dawn, and she bit her lower lip. "But… where is Jay going to sleep?"
Mrs. Ricard stopped walking and ended up leading them to Dawn's bedroom. "He can sleep on the couch in your room."
Jay swallowed as Dawn sighed. She then hugged her mom. "Thanks mom. You can go back to bed now."
Mrs. Ricard "Sure honey. I'll see you two in the morning."
Dawn and Jay nodded at her, and Dawn stepped inside her bedroom. Before Jay could get inside though, Mrs. Ricard took his left arm.
"If you try to do something… inappropriate to Dawn, you'll regret stepping into this house." She warned him, her eyes drilling holes into him.
"I can assure you that I wouldn't do the things you're thinking that I would do to her, Mrs. Ricard." Jay smirked at her.
Mrs. Ricard was hesitant at first, but then she smirked back at him. She nodded before walking down the hall. Jay dragged his luggage inside of her room. He sat on the couch and then he looked around the room.
Dawn's room was spacious; girly, but not quite. The walls of her room were painted teal. Pictures of her with her friends during her high school years were framed and hung up on the wall just above her black computer desk. All of her school diplomas were also framed and nailed to the wall, together with some of her academic achievements and awards from her taekwondo career. Her bed was large enough for two people and her bed sheets were in the color pale pink. Her room was very neat, and a black fur carpet was placed in the middle of the shiny wooden floor. She had turned on the pink lamp on the nightstand, giving the dark room some light. There was a framed picture of her and Pearl just beside the lamp. Jay knew who Pearl was after Dawn told him about her.
Jay wondered where Dawn had went off to, but then he saw her coming out of the door across her bed wearing a pair of black jogging pants and a white tank top. Her red hair was tied in a low ponytail, and all of her make-up was gone. She had obviously cleaned up already.
"You can clean yourself up now." Dawn told him with a smirk on her face as she sat on her bed.
Jay just nodded, and brought out a purple t-shirt and a pair of black shorts from his bag. He walked to the bathroom, and stepped inside. Dawn laid her head on top of her soft pillow. She grabbed her phone from the nightstand and decided to tweet something.
Home sweet home! Feels so good to be with my family.
She tweeted it, and placed her phone back on the nightstand. She wanted to mention Jay in her tweet discreetly, but that was all she come up with. She felt tired, but when she closed her eyes, but she couldn't fall asleep. She just stared at the dark blue ceiling. Dawn smiled when she saw the small fake stars on the ceiling twinkling in the dark. A few minutes later, she heard Jay getting out of the bathroom.
Dawn opened her eyes and found him setting up the small pillows and the knitted quilt on the couch. She rolled her eyes.
"My bed is big enough for the both of us, you know. You don't have to sleep there." Dawn told him as she slowly rose up.
Jay shook his head as he covered his legs with the quilt. He had to curl up a bit so he could fit in the couch. "But your mom said I should sleep here on the couch."
Dawn chuckled. "Do you really think I would let you do that? This is my room. And besides, you're too big for the couch!"
Jay sighed. "It's okay, Dee."
"No Jay, it's not okay!" Dawn told him as she rubbed her left eye. "If you don't get up, I'll drag you from that damn couch and bring you here to the bed."
"Okay, fine." Jay laughed as he kicked the quilt off his legs and stood up. He walked towards Dawn and sat on the right side of the bed. She faced him.
"Better now? Jay asked her, smirking.
Dawn nodded and felt her cheeks warming up. "Much better."
And with that, Dawn sank down to her pillow and faced Jay. Jay did the same thing, and he grabbed Dawn's blanket. He wrapped it around their bodies as Dawn moved closer to him. They looked in each other's eyes.
"I thought I was ready to go to sleep an hour ago, but right now, I can't even close my eyes." Dawn chuckled.
"Yeah, me neither." Jay laughed.
"Thanks for agreeing to stay here in the house with me." Dawn told him as she bit her lower lip.
Jay's smirk turned into a smile and kissed her forehead. "You're welcome. It was a good idea - I can finally get some decent sleep."
Dawn chuckled for the second time and leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek. But, Jay involuntarily moved his head to the side, causing their lips to meet. Dawn pulled back, and gasped. Jay was equally as shocked as her, because he knew he didn't do it on purpose. He eyed Dawn's sweet lips, and he leaned in and kissed her again.
They shared a soft kiss, before Jay pulled back. Dawn put her head on his chest and she could hear his heart beating. Jay wrapped his left arm around her and stroked her red hair.
"I want to be with you, Jay," Dawn sighed as she looked up at Jay. "But I think we're just not meant to be."
Jay's face was expressionless. "Don't say that, Dee. We're going to be together - trust me."
Dawn looked down and laid her head on his chest again. Jay's words had given Dawn the hope that she needed. She didn't expect the chance to be with a man like him. "I trust you."
Jay looked at her and smiled. "They're just testing us - the strong ones."
"I think you just used a Copeland song!" Dawn laughed as she rose, looking at him.
He chuckled. "Since when did Adam became a recording artist?"
Dawn punched his left arm as he chuckled. "I was talking about the band, not Adam Copeland, Jay."
Jay shrugged as he laughed. He really didn't knew the band, but he should check them out soon.
Dawn then turned around and faced the left side. Jay moved closer to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Dawn smirked as Jay placed his chin on the crook of her neck. Dawn closed her eyes and finally drifted off to sleep.
Author's note: Dawn and Jay fluff - with a bit of Stu and Dawn action on the side. ;) Anyway, don't forget to leave story reviews, add this story to your favorites list, add me to your favorite author's list, add this story to your story alerts, or add me to your author alerts. Do whichever you prefer out of all that - it'll make me very, very happy. ;)
Capitol Punishment is near and so is the 3-hour Monday Night Raw live in Long Island, New York! Too bad I'm going to be at school when these shows are on, boo! :( I'll just watch it via Youtube or download it off isohunt. :P Anyway, if Christian doesn't win the title back on Capitol Punishment, I am going on a riot. Who's with me? Haha, just kidding! But seriously - I would be so, so pissed. I, and the rest of Christian's Peeps, just want him to be the World Heavyweight Champion again - is that too much to ask for WWE? :(
I'm going to be a Senior this coming June 14! I'm very nervous - hopefully my first day at school would turn out just fine. I'm also nervous about going to college. I could already feel the stress crashing over me. :| Hopefully I could continue writing this story - I enjoy writing it as much as you enjoy reading it. Keep on being amazing you guys! xo - Chandra
Songs I listened to while writing this chapter:
Run Away - The Audition
Testing The Strong Ones - Copeland
Just So You Know - Jesse McCartney
Face Down - The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
Break - The Cinematics
Alibi - 30 Seconds To Mars