A/N: THANK YOU for the reviews! I am so glad those of you who reviewed have enjoyed it. Thank you, thank you and thank you! Enjoy chapter two!
Chapter Two: Invention
"I like it," said William, a week later as he and Quinn went over her character design, "It's quite ingenious and better than what I had in mind."
Quinn smiled, "Do you think it will be passed by head office?"
"I don't see why not and I think we may even be able to get the Kehlani song rights for the instrumental. Go get to training with Sara and I'll get in touch with Paul and Shane. Once I know what they think I'll come speak to you some more."
Quinn gave a nod and headed down to the training floor. As she moved towards the warm up zone Saraya cut her off by standing in front of her with her arms crossed.
"You can't keep avoiding me, Quinn," stated Saraya, "If I have too, I will go to all the Smackdown shows until you tell me why you just left and cut ties with everyone."
Quinn breathed out slowly, "Look, I'll meet you this afternoon at the coffee shop on the corner and we can talk."
Saraya gave a slow nod, "Fine. But don't even try and slip out on me. I'll be keeping an eye on you."
"I'd expect nothing less."
Birmingham, AL
Jonathon Good walked into the arena pulling his bag along and carrying another bag over his left shoulder. Beside him walked Renee, talking on her phone to her brother. Jon made a gesture to Renee he was going to put his gear away, at which Renee nodded and waved. Jon turned up a corridor and walked along silently until he felt his phone vibrate in his back pocket. He pulled it out and was surprised to see Colby calling him.
"Hey," said Jon, nodding towards John Cena in greeting as he spoke into his phone.
"Hey man, so I heard the craziest thing," replied Colby, "Rumour going around is Quinn is back."
"Huh. Is that so?"
"Yeah. Joe heard it from Jimmy."
"It's true."
Colby went silent for a few moments, "It is?"
Jon sighed, "Hanna, her sister, reached out to me that Quinn was trying to get in touch with Paul but no one was taking her seriously. I spoke to Paul and Vince and … basically if she fucks up, it's all on me."
"Fuck… man… I mean, I know you and her… bro, seriously, does Renee know?"
"No," said Jon seriously, "And she isn't to know, okay? I don't need my past fucking with what I have with Renee."
"Man, you're bringing your past into your present. You're begging for it to fuck around with it… your house of cards is gonna fall down man and you're gonna have to work out which section you want to rebuild. Quinn or Renee."
"There is no Quinn and me. There hasn't been for years man."
Colby gave a snort of disbelief and Jon sighed, rubbing his face tiredly.
25th December 2011 - Cincinnati, OH
Quinn followed Jon on the staircase of the apartment building to the third floor. It was an old red brick apartment building complex and Jon had told Quinn it was where he grew up.
At the door, Jon didn't bother knocking and whipped out a key to unlock it. He grinned at Quinn and pushed the door open.
"Ma! Merry Christmas!" yelled out Jon as he walked in, turning to see Quinn still standing outside the apartment. Jon reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her inside, "She won't bite. I promise."
Quinn bit her lower lip nervously as a woman walked into the living room with the same coloured hair as Jon and similar facial features.
"Oh it's good to see you!" she said to Jon, hugging him tightly and kissing him on the cheek, "Merry Christmas, love. Oh, is this the lovely Quinn I have heard about?"
"Hello Mrs Good. Thank you for letting me spend Christmas with you," said Quinn holding her hand out to shake.
"Oh, honey, in this family we hug. Trust me, if I had known Jon had left a friend alone in Tampa for Christmas I would have made him eat out on the balcony."
Jon gave Quinn a look that clearly said 'I told you so' as a woman with curly blonde hair and the same blue eyes as Jon walked in.
"Hey sis," said Jon hugging her, "Merry Christmas."
"You too," she replied before smiling warmly at Quinn, "Hello. Nice to finally meet you Quinn. I'm Jon's little sister, Rachel."
Quinn smiled at Rachel, "Nice to meet you as well."
"Well, lunch is cooking. I'll go make us all a nice hot chocolate. Jon, show Quinn around would you? Rach, come help me prep the baked vegetables."
Jon placed the bag of gifts he had been carrying down by the small tree and gestured for Quinn to follow him down the narrow hallway. Pictures hung on the walls, mostly of Jon and Rachel in their younger years. Quinn chuckled at one of Jon dressed up for a school play as a tree.
"Laugh all you want. I'll have you know I was the best tree in that school's history," said Jon as they stopped out a closed door, "This, in all its wholesome glory, is my bedroom."
Jon pushed it open and Quinn was welcomed to a dark blue walled bedroom. The walls were decked out with wrestling posters and a few Playboy bunny girls. In the far corner was a double bed with a wooden bedside table. A wardrobe stood at the end of the bed with a bit of a gap beside it to allow light in from the only window. A shelf hung on the wall with photos, medals and a couple of books. Below the shelf was a wooden box and Quinn could see wrestling videos and DVD's occupied it.
"It's not much, but it's me," said Jon flopping down on the bed.
Quinn looked at Jon and smiled, "It's perfect. Pretty much what I expected from someone who lives and breathes wrestling."
Jon grinned and wiggled his eyebrows, "Wanna make out?"
Quinn burst out laughing and grabbed the pillow from his bed and pegged it at his head, "Unless there's mistletoe, you can keep dreaming Mr Good!"
Present – Tampa, Florida
Quinn wiped her face with her towel and stretched her arms out. As she went to head to the locker rooms William came jogging over to her holding a folded up bit of paper.
"What's this?" asked Quinn with a frown.
"Shane wants to meet you to discuss your initial storyline and so you can meet the women you'll be working with."
"So I fly out Saturday morning," read Quinn with a slow nod, "Sounds good to me."
William nodded, "Shane is all for your gimmick and so is Paul. Paul will discuss it with all the important people and he should have an answer for you Saturday when you meet with Shane."
"Great… it's all really happening."
William gave Quinn a genuine smile and patted her on the shoulder, "It is. I am very glad you were given another chance."
Quinn thanked William and went to shower and change into fresh clothes. As she walked out she spotted Saraya waiting by the door. Quinn sucked in a deep breath as she walked over to Saraya.
The walk to the coffee place was a silent one with Quinn jamming her hands into her shorts pockets so Saraya couldn't see how nervous she was. They both ordered their coffee's and found a table outside to sit at.
Quinn focused on adding her sugar and milk, followed by stirring. After a couple of minutes, she looked up to see Saraya watching her with a slight frown.
"I-I don't really know where to start," admitted Quinn, one hand gripping onto the stirrer so tightly that her knuckles were white.
"Maybe start with what happened… before you decided to leave," suggested Saraya.
Quinn cringed internally, not realising she had done so visibly. She sucked in a deep breath and licked her lips before letting it out slowly and looking at Saraya, "Okay."
Las Vegas, NV
Jon walked into his house breathing heavily from his long morning run. He'd pushed himself extra hard that morning to try and escape the thoughts – no memories – plaguing his mind. He knew his distance was starting to be noticed by Renee and he hated for putting her in that position.
Jon headed to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of cold water and sculled down half of it as he looked out the kitchen window. He could see Renee playing fetch with their dog, Blue, and he smiled softly at the sight before letting out and sigh and turning away to look at the black bench top.
"What the fuck were you thinking?" he muttered to himself, "Idiot. Idiot!"
Jon left the kitchen to go shower when a familiar song came on the music channel playing in the living room came on.
"In another life I would be your girl
We keep all our promises, be us against the world
And in other life I would make you stay
So I don't have to say you were the one that got away
The one that got away."
31st December 2011 – Tampa, Florida
Jon made his way down to the beach with Joe and Colby. The three man laughed and joked around as they spotted the bon fire where shadowed figures stood or sat around.
"You started without us?" yelled Joe in mock outrage.
"You guys were taking too long," replied Ivelisse with a joking smirk, "It's New Years Eve. We needed to fuel our party tanks."
"Well I brought beer," said Jon gesturing to the blue esky he was holding, "None of that fruity cocktail shit."
"So no vodka?" asked Danielle.
"You do want to be fit enough to return to the centre on Tuesday right?" asked Colby, seriously.
Danielle gave a sigh and took a beer before returning to sit with Austin, Aaron and Curtis.
"A hoy, hoy!" greeted Saraya with Quinn arriving with her, "I bring sparklers and Quinn brings alcohol!"
"Fruity cocktail shit?" asked Jon.
"Beer and some wine," replied Quinn with a shrug as she put the esky she had brought, "Saraya insisted on the wine after I talked her out of vodka."
"We need music!" insisted Saraya as she cooked herself a marshmallow.
Colby reached into his bag and pulled out a battery operated stereo and connected his phone to it and began playing a mix of songs.
Quinn grabbed herself and beer and sat down on the sand, pulling her sandals off once she was settled.
The night began to pass with laughter, drinks and a range of food cooked by Trinity and her boyfriend Jonathon, Joe's cousin. Quinn was dragged up to dance with Saraya and a few of the other FCW women, much to Quinn's mortification. When Saraya was distracted, Quinn slipped away, heading down to the water front to clear her foggy head.
She let out a sigh as the still warm water washed over her feet.
"…our future like we had a clue
Never planned that one day I'd be losing you…"
Quinn stared out at the dark sky as the lyrics from the stereo floated down to where she stood.
"I wondered where you got too."
Quinn looked up and gave Jon a smile as he stood beside her, "Yeah, it was getting a bit intense so I figured I'd get a moments break from it all."
"Oh," said Jon, "I can leave you be if-"
"No! No, you don't have to go. It was more tipsy Saraya and giggling Danielle that I needed to escape."
Jon chuckled, "They'll sleep well tonight and tomorrow."
"I have to go home with Saraya, so I'll need to make sure to stock up on coffee and Advil."
"…downtown singing the blues
It's time to face the music, I'm no longer your muse…"
"Any new year's resolutions?" asked Quinn curiously.
Jon glanced over his shoulder and saw Colby grinning and giving him the thumbs up. Jon quickly looked back at Quinn in time to see her turn to look at him, "Probably… just speak up about how I feel… you?"
"…I would be your girl
We keep all our promises, be us against the world…"
"Umm… enjoy the here and now," replied Quinn, "I'm such a stress head, you know? I over think things."
"10!" came a sudden yell from around the bon fire.
Quinn and Jon both looked at each other in silence.
"9!"
"Time to say goodbye to 2011," said Jon.
"8!"
"That's a shame," replied Quinn.
"7!"
"Why?" frowned Jon as he stepped slightly closer to Quinn.
"6!"
"It's been a good year," replied Quinn with a shrug.
"5!"
"I guess it has been," nodded Jon in agreement as his hand brushed Quinn's.
"4!"
"But 2012 can only be better."
"3!"
Jon nodded, feeling his heart thud against his chest.
"2!"
Quinn felt her pulse quicken as the gap between her and Jon grew smaller.
"1!"
"Happy New Year, Quinn," murmured Jon as he cupped her face with his free hand.
"Happy New Year," replied Quinn, her hand moving up his chest to his shoulder.
As the gap between their lips grew even smaller they were suddenly pulled apart by Saraya grabbing Quinn by her shirt and both toppling into the water.
Present – Las Vegas, NV
Jon towelled his hair dry and yanked on a shirt as his phone buzzed on his bedside table. He picked it up with a frown and was surprised to see it was a message from Saraya. He opened the message and let out a deep breath as he read the simple sentence.
When you see her and she explains it all, you'll understand.
Hershey, PA
Quinn checked over her outfit as she stepped out of her hire car – dark blue, skinny jeans, black flats and a dark green, sleeveless blouse. Her curly hair was pulled back into a messy bun and her face donned simple make up. Quinn shut the car door and opened the back one to grab her shoulder bag with her pass William had given her the day before.
Her nerves were on a frayed edge. She knew who would be here and she knew there was a very big possibility she would cross paths with him. It had been extremely hard to tell Saraya everything, but it had turned out positive after doing so and her sister, Hanna, had been extremely proud of Quinn for coming clean to Saraya.
"Okay, Quinn," murmured Quinn to herself, "Keep your head high and realise this is your dream coming true. You deserve this."
Quinn walked towards the talent and crew entry, flashing her pass to the security guard. He gave her a nod and she walked in and along the corridor until she reached a cross section. Now she had no clue which way to go.
"Quinn?"
Quinn turned around and smiled in relief at seeing Shane McMahon himself, "Hi, yes, that's me."
"Pleasure to finally meet you," replied Shane as Quinn shook hands with him, "Let's go have a chat."
Quinn gave a nod and walked alongside Shane, answering the typical starter conversation questions.
Jon halted in his walking as he spotted Quinn in the corridor intersection. He instantly felt his pulse quicken at the sight of her and had to look away to get a grip of himself.
He looked back and really looked at her. She hadn't changed. Same fit build that made her wear those jeans like a second skin. Her hair was as curly as he remembered it – though possibly a bit longer but he couldn't be sure.
"Hi, yes, that's me."
Jon watched as Shane greeted her and led Quinn away. Hearing her voice had shot shivers down his spine. The last time he had tried to speak to Quinn all he had gotten was complete silence. That simple memory shot a deep burning anger through him and Jon soon found himself cursing Quinn for returning – and himself for making it possible.
"So I have good news," said Shane brightly, "We have the all clear on your character, theme and the look you are going for. Branding wise, I have the marketing guy coming here today to meet with you. He'll help you get a first lot of merchandise set up and we can go from there."
"Brilliant," grinned Quinn.
"Now, storyline wise, we need something that is going to get you noticed. Currently we have Becky as champ and Alexa is the number one contender. Carmella and Nikki have their feud on going… so I was thinking we sit you on the fence – neither face or heel. Let's have you torment both Natalya and Naomi. Interfere with their matches, interviews – cause havoc."
"I like it," grinned Quinn.
Shane smiled, "Good, I'm glad. So, you will debut on the 11th of October in San Jose. Sound good?"
"Absolutely perfect."
Quinn ended the meeting with the marketing guy, positive with how everything had turned out. She learnt she needed to go to the upcoming Smackdown on Tuesday at Cleveland for her photo shoot. She was excited for that because it meant she could get in her full character kit and begin getting into her character's mindset.
Quinn headed for the exit, her head in the clouds as the happiness surrounded her. That was until she reached the doors and came to a halt at who she saw walking ahead. Jon was talking with John Cena, both laughing about something. Quinn swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. She had been feeling lucky all night for not running into him.
Quinn breathed in and out deeply and started walking again, aiming on keeping the distance between them. She kept her eyes on Jon until she exited the building and almost ran to her hire car, yanking her keys out of her bag and dropping them in the process.
"Fuck!" cussed Quinn and she turned in a circle in search of them.
She flicked the torch on her phone on and spotted them, kneeling down to grab them at the same time as another person. Quinn looked up and audibly gasped when she locked eyes with Jon himself.
A/N: DUN DUN DDDUUUUNNN! Review my dears!