a/n first things first – I have no idea where I lost the outfits worn by all three girls in this Hall of Fame and in that of 2006 and because polyvore is a guilty pleasure of mine, I have recreated them in full detail (if you go to my profile and click on the story tumblr * thestories-ofagirl *, their outfits will be waiting for you!) And, of course, more important is the profuse apology for being terrible at updating. I started writing two new stories that I shouldn't have. Hopefully I will put them up at some point and it will all be worth it!
I did want this to be longer, but I also desperately wanted to update. Thank you to WalkAmongDaylight for kicking my ass into gear!
Following The Main Event;
By AliceJericho
Chapter 18: Hall of Fame I
"We are all pretending. The important thing is to maintain a straight face." – Maurice Valency
Saturday, March 27
I should have felt better than I did. The Hall of Fame was one of the most important nights in a WWE employee's year, and by far one of the most exciting, yet I couldn't bring myself to care.
There was so much on my mind that I couldn't begin to enjoy myself. I had to get Laura in without everyone noticing – I found an emergency exit during rehearsals. I had to not kill Barbie. I had to sit next to Cody the entire night because we'd sent in our seating preferences before the pictures leaked. Before I slept with his best friend.
Laura was late. It may have only been 5 minutes but she was still late. Dad already thought I was acting weird – I did not need him to see me hovering by a fire exit.
When my phone finally went off, I opened the door roughly, staring at her. I pulled my hand off the door and let her take its weight, walking away from her. The plan was to let her inside without drawing attention; not baby sit her.
"Thank you," I heard faintly as I walked away from her. I wanted nothing more than to just sit down and watch the inductions, to indulge in the nostalgia and forget about my life. Not that that's ever possible when you work with your ex, the woman who broke you up and the man you slept with.
The evening was a big deal for a reason. Cocktails, dinner, ceremony and then more cocktails. Given that only a select few superstars were given the opportunity to be on the Wrestlemania card, a lot of the roster took it as an opportunity to let loose and have fun. I would usually be one of those people to let loose but given the situation I wasn't in the mood for fun.
"Smuggling people in, Michaels?"
"As always, Starr." Keegan Calaway stood beside me, ridiculously tall in her high heels. "You look great."
"So you do," she smiled back. "I've never seen anyone rock a cast so well."
I laughed, lifting up my left arm, "I try, I try."
We stood side by side, watching people greet their friends and dish out compliments about what people were wearing.
"Holy shit, is that Laura? She actually showed?" Keegan asked looking totally gobsmacked. I nodded when I saw TJ Wilson leading Laura to Matt Korklan. "She's probably going to cry."
"It's been an intense few weeks, I wouldn't be surprised is Korklan burst into tears, too."
After a small conversation, Keegan disappeared to speak with Serena. I stood out of everyone's way, waving to Shawn and Paul when they caught my eye. Both had spent almost the entire afternoon telling me how gorgeous I looked, Paul said that looking the way I did no one was even going to notice the cast.
Cody was standing not too far away engaged in an intense conversation with Randy and Sam. I found myself smiling just because of how passionate he could become no matter the topic. Wandering eyes drew me down his body, admiring the perfect fit of his suit – something that he no doubt had help with. He was as hopeless at dressing nice as I was at playing video games. I did a double take when I noticed the colour of his tie. Every other couple in the building had, of course, colour coordinated ties to dresses... Cody's matched mine.
I quickly ducked out of sight, going to the bathroom so that I could compose myself. It can't have been on purpose. There was no way that he knew what colour dress I was going to wear. There was no way he would have made an effort to colour coordinate with me. We weren't together.
As I left the bathroom, Laura walked in with tears streaming down her face. Keegan wasn't wrong about the crying, thing. I looked at her quizzically; she sent me a weak but sincere smile.
"Sunday, have you seen my dad?" Laura asked when she came out of the bathroom, looking more put together than when she walked. I scanned the room quickly and pointed to three people – Bret Hart, Adam Copeland and Mark Calaway.
"He's just over there," she sighed.
"My eyesight really is that bad, then. That's bad."
"Yeah, it's really bad." I rolled my eyes at her, crossing my arms over my chest. "Do something about it. You've been complaining that you can't see since I can remember. Now, can you go see Bret and put an end to this childish shit you've been pulling? The world will be a much more peaceful place if you get it done."
"I'm on my way, Iva. I'm on my way."
"Bitch," I muttered under my breath. If I stopped reacted so dramatically to people using my first name they would probably stop. I just hate it.
Laura walked away in the direction of her father, slowly and carefully. I watched as she walked right into Keegan and then proceeded to turn around instantly. No way did I want to be part of that. Last time the three of us had been together was the 2006 Hall of Fame and we'd gotten into a fight that caused my OVW debut to withhold.
April 1, 2006
The sight of Laura Hart and Keegan Calaway talking heatedly was enough to draw me to the interaction. I hadn't seen Laura in years – we'd once been good friends but boy how do things change.
"Whose fault was that? Did my dad ask to be screwed? It's Vince's fault. Vince and Michaels are both to blame. It's none of your fucking business." I used it as my opportunity to join the conversation.
"No, it's not hers. It's mine." I sneered at Laura. "You're not welcome here."
"I was actually invited, so if you don't mind." I crossed my arms and plants my feet firmly on the ground, blocking her path. "Really, Sunday."
I reminded her coldly, "You gave up on this."
"And with good reason." She snapped at me, putting her hand on my shoulder and pushing me out of the way.
I grabbed her shoulder and turned her back around, wasting no time in slapping her. The pain shot through my palm but I didn't even move to shake it out. She gaped at me, rubbing her reddening cheek. I could hear Keegan behind me, snickering at Laura's reaction. For the first time in a long time, Keegan was shorter than us but it made her no less intimidating. If it weren't for her perpetual fear of being in trouble, she might have been more of a help.
Laura slapped me back and I shoved her shoulders, sending her back a step. She wasn't fazed, though, and pushed me straight back. I barely lost my footing and came right back and charged at her. A typical cat fight ensued. It was pretty embarrassing given that I had started training at OVW early in the year – I probably could have been able to fight her properly if I changed a few moves and applied them properly. But how is that more fun than hair pulling?
"That's enough!" I froze the second I heard Vince McMahon's booming voice. "Sunday, go and find your father." I moved off of Laura, clamouring to my feet and giving my boss a pleading look. "Explain to him what happened and that I will be withholding your OVW debut for another month."
"Vince! She- what? No!" I protested, making numerous hand gestures in a failed attempt to get him to lighten up.
"Now, Sunday!" At his order, I squealed, stamped my foot and essentially threw a mini fit as I walked away. People had gathered around us, but I was fuming and they meant nothing to me. I sat down at my table, thankful that Shawn was nowhere to be seen. I had to calm down before I even thought about telling him I was in trouble before I'd even had my first match.
a/n I wrote a 'What If?' for Laura that you should check out! It's the 2nd chapter of "When You Mess With Fate"!