Disclaimer, etc., in part 1.
Part Thirty-Three
Eve jerked a hand through her hair as she made her way into the divas' locker room, the woman pausing for a moment to take a look around her, take in who was there and where they were... Quickly realizing that with Kelly's ribs keeping her at home and Maria not there because of a concussion, the locker room was a little lonely. Shaking her head slightly, she made her way over to where Melina was, the woman nodding her head toward the only other lockers that seemed to be taken at the moment.
"I'm guessing Michelle and Layla are over there? Or, at least, their things are?" she said questioningly, and Melina nodded her head.
"Yeah. They were just leaving as I got here. Off in search of catering or something. Or maybe just looking for someone to annoy."
"Well, I'm sure they won't have any trouble with the second option," Eve replied as she tossed her bag down, then looked over at her friend. "Did you see the match listing for tonight?"
"And notice that we're taking on dumb and dumber? I might have seen that."
Eve smirked slightly at the older woman's words. "Dumb and dumber, huh? Let me guess: Maria's dumbest, right?" she stated, drawing a laugh from the other diva.
"I hadn't thought about it yet, but it really does suit her," Melina replied, then sat down on the bench, looking over at Eve. "You talked to Kelly lately?"
"A few days ago, actually. And again yesterday. She's doing pretty well, considering. And she managed to find your match against Maria from Saturday on YouTube. She was appalled by Maria's ring gear, but very appreciative of your ass-kicking skills," the younger woman said, and Melina gave a smile that could only be called proud.
"I'm very glad. I did do my best. I think I might have also accidentally swallowed a feather at some point. Which really should not be a hazard of a wrestling match, you know?"
Eve laughed. "Well, you were wrestling against Maria. You never know what kind of hazards wrestling against her can lead to," the woman said, sobering as she spoke, her mind going back to what Maria had done to Kelly. That hadn't actually been in a match, but if Maria had proven herself willing to attack Kelly with a weapon outside of a match situation, then it just made to reason that she'd do the same thing during a match as well. Swallowing a feather was a hell of a lot better a consequence than getting hit with a tire iron and ending up on the injured list. Melina, perhaps noting the serious expression on Eve's face, arched a brow as she looked at her younger friend.
"Eve? Kelly is going to be alright, isn't she?"
"What? Oh, yeah... She'll be fine. Really. Before we got off the phone last time, she told me she was just trying to think of it as some unscheduled time off. She's actually sounding pretty cheerful."
"Then why the serious face? Is something wrong?"
"No. I mean... Nothing new or anything. I'm just... I was thinking about how Maria really can be a hazard these days, what with the tire iron and all. Attacking me backstage from behind and everything. She's a loose cannon."
"But she's not here tonight. Right?" Melina prompted, and Eve nodded.
"Right. I'm actually sure about that because Dolph Ziggler told me," the younger woman said, and Melina straightened up a bit at that, concern showing on the former champion's face.
"What? You spoke to Ziggler? Did he corner you or something? Did he try anything-"
"No. No, actually. I know the guy's a dick, but I ended up feeling sorry for him by the end of the conversation, actually," Eve admitted, cringing a little as she said it. "I mean... He seems like a total jerk and all, but... No one deserves to be played like Maria's playing him. He basically told me that Maria lied to him and told him that Jeff and I are together."
Melina's brows drew down, the furrow of them mirroring the frown on her face. "What? Why would she do that? And why would anyone that's seen you interact lately believe that? Because seriously, Eve, I know you two are having issues. Anyone that saw the way he acted when Maria attacked you backstage and you had the nerve to fight back could see that."
"Yeah, but this is going back... Back to when Maria and Dolph got together, I'm guessing. She talked about Jeff too much, so..."
"When he called her on it, she used the whole 'you don't need to worry 'cause he's already taken' routine. What a little bitch. I'm glad I knocked her loopy on Saturday. Maybe knocked some sense into her and all," Melina said with something of a sneer, the woman shaking her head as she spoke.
"Somehow I doubt it. Anyway... That's the only reason Ziggler really pulled me aside. To ask how I could stand it. Then he found out that I don't really care who or what Jeff Hardy does, so... Something tells me that Ziggler and Maria won't last for too much longer."
"No less than she deserves. Maybe he'll dump her publicly," Melina said with a smirk, and Eve rolled her eyes, the woman shaking her head as she started to dig through her bag.
"You're a vengeful woman, Mel."
"You can't say she doesn't deserve it. She's running around attacking people for Jeff, making it all too clear that she's into him more than she is her boyfriend, and Ziggler actually came out to help her on Saturday. I mean, he stayed out of the way during the match and didn't try anything then, but he did help her to the back and take care of her and all of that." The diva made a face. "You're right. Even though the guy's a jerk, I do sort of feel sorry for him. Hope he doesn't decide to chase after you to try and get back at Maria or something."
Eve made a face. "Not interested, thanks. And besides that, I'm pretty sure he knows that Maria messing around would hurt him more than him messing around would hurt her. I mean, he's not what she really wants, so..."
"She wouldn't care if he found something on the side, because it would give her an excuse to dump him and come out of it smelling like roses."
"Bingo. Except maybe she won't look so good anyway, seeing as how she attacked Kelly unprovoked at the last pay per view and everyone knows it."
"Yeah. I'm pretty sure she didn't think that one through. Or maybe she just thought that since she thought it was a good idea, then all the fans would, too," Melina said with a roll of her eyes. Given the way Maria's logic seemed to work sometimes, it was probably true.
Shaking her head, Eve reached for the buttons on her shirt, the diva figuring that she may as well start getting ready for their match tonight... Freezing when the door to the divas' locker room suddenly swung open and someone that was most definitely not a diva barged in.
Melina quickly rose to her feet and shifted so that she was standing in front of Eve, trying to shield the taller woman from view, which was nice, but also not entirely necessary since Eve had only gotten a few buttons undone and nothing was really showing since she was wearing a tank top beneath the button-up shirt anyway.
"Did you miss the sign on the door that says this is the divas' locker room?" Melina snapped out, crossing her arms over her chest, then smirking slightly. "And by diva, it means actual female competitors. The male competitors that act like total divas? They're not included. Not even the ones that wear far more makeup than any of the women."
Jeff Hardy made a face, more or less ignoring Melina in favor of looking over her shoulder at Eve. "I need to talk to you."
"Then talk," Eve said with a shrug, deciding that Jeff was a loser and she didn't really give a damn anymore and going back to unbuttoning her shirt. She pulled the shirt from where it was tucked into her jeans, finished unbuttoning it, then shrugged it off. Jeff's gaze narrowed, the man clearly not happy with the way she just didn't seem to care.
"Alone," he stated, like he thought that would suddenly sent Melina running or something, but the diva merely stared at him, her hands on her hips.
"Divas locker room. I'm a diva, and you're not. I'm staying."
"Then Eve and I will go somewhere else to talk-"
"Like hell we will. I have a match to get ready for, and I need to change. And don't you have a match to get ready for, too? Against Kane? I wish you luck," she said, not stating whether she wished him good luck or bad luck, but she figured everyone in the room knew she meant the latter instead of the former.
"You're walking me out."
"I have a match. Yours is first. Mine is shortly after yours. You're wrestling a man that some people refer to as the Big Red Monster instead of just the Big Red Machine. I'm not putting myself at risk just so you can have someone at ringside. I have a tag team match to think about and a partner that I don't want to have to leave alone in a handicap match. So no, I'm not walking you out. My contract with you states that, if ringside safety is an issue or I have a match of my own that night, then I don't walk you out. That's the way it is. If you want to find someone else to walk you out, you're perfectly welcome. I'm sure that Maria... Oh, wait. Sorry. Maria isn't here tonight."
Jeff's eyes narrowed at that, the man clearly angry, and Eve got the feeling that if there wasn't a witness around, then he'd probably be manhandling her like he had in the past when Edge had ended up rescuing her. Instead, since Melina was there, he merely cocked an eyebrow at her, though his anger was coming off of him in waves. "You know, what you did to Maria-"
"Was entirely deserved. Eve merely beat her. I'm the one that concussed her, and I consider it payback for the tire iron to the ribs that Kelly got from her. Since Kelly was unable to make her pay for it, I decided that I would. Now, if you'll kindly remove yourself from the divas' locker room, Eve has a match to get ready for. You wouldn't want to take away from her time to prepare, would you? Especially since I'm sure you need some time to prepare for your own match. Maybe add some new face paint or something," Melina told him in a clipped voice, and after a long moment, Jeff turned and stomped out of the room, and Melina turned to look at her friend. "I don't know how you put up with him."
"I try and spend as little time as possible with him."
"Eve, I know you said that there's stuff I don't know and that everything will be okay, but-"
"I know. And I know what I'm doing. Sort of. I'm just biding my time, Melina."
"And while you're biding your time, you're putting yourself in danger."
"I know. But... I want it to be perfect. I want it to count. After all the shit that's happened? Trust me, Melina. When I make my move, it's going to mean something. And Jeff Hardy will never forget what I helped do to him. I guarantee it."