A/N: Thanks for the review! Here is the next chapter.
Chapter Six: Talking
Quinn walked backstage, accepting a towel to wipe the sweat from her face and neck.
"Brilliant. Amazing. You are going to shine here!"
Quinn laughed as Nick walked over to her. She nudged him in the side as he slung an arm around her shoulders.
"Seriously Quinn. You should read what they are saying on Twitter and Facebook," said Nick, "You gained a lot of fans tonight."
Quinn shrugged, "We'll see. They may like me tonight, but it might not be the same tomorrow."
Nick frowned, "You need to stop doubting yourself. You are talented, Quinn. Everyone can see that. You had Shane and Bryan watching. Shane was talking about getting you involved in more complex story lines."
Quinn didn't know whether to believe Nick or not. She smiled at him and he grinned at her, "I need to go shower and change."
"Oh, sure. Hey, I'm hosting a comedy gig on Saturday in Tampa. Did you want to come?" asked Nick.
"I'll… I'll let you know," answered Quinn, spotting Jon standing near a crate looking at his hands as he removed the tape from them.
Nick gave a nod and Quinn hurried away, remembering she said she would meet Jon in the room her and Bryan had spoken in.
Jon threw the tape in the bin and watched Quinn hurry down the corridor. He turned to see Nick watching her, a small smile on his face. Nick looked over at Jon and gave a nod before walking off to who knows where. Jon let out a frustrated breath before making his way to where he asked Quinn to meet with him.
When he entered the room he saw Quinn was already there, sitting on a table swinging her legs back and forth and fiddling with her phone. She looked up at Jon and sucked in a deep breath as he shut and locked the door behind him.
"You wanted to talk?" said Quinn, "Or something?"
Jon nodded and drummed his fingers on the tops of his thighs as he looked at Quinn silently.
"Well?" asked Quinn.
"We… we had no real closure – between us."
Quinn said nothing and instead bit her lower lip.
"I-I thought I'd end up being fine around you, but I don't know," sighed Jon running a hand through his hair in irritation, "I see you and I either want to try and talk to you, or yell at you… and then I see you with Nick and I-"
"Whoa, back it up. Nick and I are friends. Who I am friends with doesn't concern you," said Quinn, "I know we didn't get closure and I know I am to blame. But you have Renee and she is lovely, Jon. I don't want to be the cause of any friction between you both. What do you need me to say to help you get past whatever it is that's bugging you?"
Jon looked at Quinn silently before sighing, "I don't know."
Quinn licked her lips before speaking again, "I am sorry for hurting you, you know? Jon, I loved you so much. I nearly broke at one stage and went to ring you but I saw something on the television – you were at Wrestlemania… and I couldn't bring myself to destroy that for you. I could see the passion in your eyes and it gave me the strength to let you keep living your dream with Joe and Colby."
"I can't be mad at you anymore," confessed Jon looking at Quinn and taking a step towards her, "Fuck, this was so much easier when I was angry with you… but you go and explain the thought behind your actions and it takes the anger away."
"I'm sorry?"
Jon couldn't help but chuckle but groaned and rubbed his face, "This isn't giving me closure, Quinn."
"Maybe we can forget closure. Maybe we can try to be friends? Start over?" suggested Quinn, holding her hand out, "Hi, I'm Quinn Gallagher."
Jon looked at Quinn's hand, noticing the tattoo on her wrist. He grasped her hand and felt a shock tingle its way down his arm and spine. From the light gasp that escaped Quinn, it was safe to say she felt it also, "Hi Quinn. I'm Jon Good."
Quinn smiled and looked Jon in the eyes, surprised to see the intense look in them as he looked at her. He took another step closer and Quinn quickly let go of his hand and stood up, moving around him towards the door, "I need to go. I promised Hanna I would Facetime her tonight. Umm, talk soon!"
Jon sighed and looked up at the ceiling for answers when he heard the open and shut quickly behind him.
Tampa, FL – Present
Quinn flopped down on her couch pleased to have finished cleaning her unit from top to bottom. She had a flight to catch to Allentown in a couple of hours. Shane had asked her to do live shows now, putting her in a match against Trinity while they built the heat up between Harley and Natalya on television.
It did mean missing Nick's gig, but Quinn wanted to leave early to get a good night's rest before the live show. At least that was what she told herself.
Quinn stood up to go shower when she heard a knock at her door. With a frown, Quinn walked over and peered through the peephole.
Her heart beat increased along with her breathing. Quinn backed away from her door and over to the hall table she normally put her handbag and phone on. Quinn opened the draw and pulled out the can of pepper spray Hanna made her buy. She grabbed her phone and unlocked it, opening her contact list.
Quinn slowly sucked in a deep breath and opened the wooden door, glad for the screen door she kept locked at all times.
"I don't care how you found me. I want you gone," snapped Quinn, keeping the pepper spray can hidden.
"Don't be like that," he smirked.
"Leave now," warned Quinn, not looking at her screen as she hit a contact, "Now!"
He gave a deep chuckle and stepped towards the door, "You're back in Tampa now, bitch. You won't always be safe from me, you know? You were the best I ever had."
"You raped me! You didn't have me willingly you fucking bastard!"
He looked around them and glared at her, "Shut your whore mouth," he took another step towards the door and Quinn seized the moment to spray him fair in the eyes,
"Bitch!" he roared as he lurched backwards, hands rubbing at his eyes.
"Trust me, there will be more added to that. Now fuck off or I will call the cops," warned Quinn, "I'm not a naïve little girl anymore. You can't control me."
Quinn slammed the door shut and looked down at her phone. Her heart slammed against her chest as she looked at the caller ID.
"Fuck," hissed Quinn as she ended the call and threw her phone to the lounge and away from her, "Fuck!"
Allentown, PA – Present
Jon sat on the stool of the hotel bar, watching the entrance to the hotel in silence. He drummed his fingers along the side of his glass of beer. He had listened in silence after initially trying to call out for Quinn when she had called him. He was surprised she still had his number – then again, he still had hers.
The voice of her rapist was familiar to him, but Jon couldn't place it. He needed to confront her, make her tell him who it was or get her to just move away from Tampa. He obviously knew Joe lived there, but Joe wasn't home the same days as Quinn would be, and he doubted Quinn would appreciate Joe watching over her. Her stubborn streak hadn't left in the past four years.
Jon jumped off his stool as Quinn walked in, wheeling her suitcase behind her and carrying a backpack. He couldn't resist the desire to take her in physically. She wore her leggings perfectly, paired with dark green doc martins and the same coloured tank top. Her curly hair was loose and from what he could see, she was make up free. The observation made Jon halt in his footsteps. What was wrong with him? He had a woman he loved at home in Las Vegas with their dog. He was happy with Renee. She made him laugh and made him happy.
Jon turned and grabbed his beer and sculled it. He needed to leave Quinn alone. He couldn't make things more confusing than they already were. He could still remember the shock he felt when they shook hands. It was an intoxicating feeling.
"Shit," hissed Jon as he turned and saw Quinn headed for the elevator.
Without hesitation, Jon ran over to the elevator and slipped in before the doors could shut. He looked up to see Quinn looking at him stunned. Her lips were parted in her surprise, before she licked them and looked away.
Jon had to try and remove the mental image and the urge he felt to just kiss her. Would it feel the same as four years ago? Would she respond the same and make him feel the way she always did whenever they would kiss? Like it was the first time every time?
"I shouldn't have called you," said Quinn softly and not looking at him, "I didn't know I had hit your number… and I don't even know why I have your number still."
"Probably the same reason why I have yours still," replied Jon.
He saw Quinn glance at him in surprise before she looked back away to the elevator numbers.
"I know the voice," said Jon, "Of who… attacked you. I can't pin point it but when I do Quinn… fuck he will pay."
"It's not your job to get revenge for me or whatever, Jon," said Quinn turning to look at him, "I can handle him myself and I will. Seeing him the other week freaked me out but I'm not scared of him. Just leave it alone."
"Leave it alone?" snapped Jon as the elevator came to a stop at Quinn's floor, "He hurt you! He… he took you away from me!"
Quinn didn't reply and instead exited the elevator with her bags, "Goodbye Jon."
Quinn stepped backstage after her match with Trinity. It had ended in a no contest due to interruption by Natalya. It was building the feud between Harley and Natalya for a match they would have at Survivor Series. Quinn and Natalya were hoping to get a No Disqualifications match so they could bring props in.
Quinn headed for the change rooms with Trinity, discussing tomorrow afternoons show in Trenton. Quinn was driving solo early tomorrow morning, as were most of the talent. The crew were leaving that night to get the location set up as most of the talent liked to go in during the day to fine tune any changes to their matches or just train in general.
After a shower and change of clothes, Quinn left the venue for her car. Her drive back to the hotel was silent as she contemplated what she would do for the rest of her evening. An ordered in meal and date with a movie sounded perfect.
Jon returned to the hotel with Allen and the pair separated at the elevator an hour after most of the other talent. Jon entered his hotel room and dumped his bag beside the bed and shrugged off his jacket. He was too wired to sit and chill out. He needed to move, to release the pent-up energy and frustration he was feeling.
Jon went to his suitcase and started rummaging through for his gym gear and headphones.
Within fifteen minutes Jon was at the hotel gym running at a high paced jog on the treadmill, music blasting in a desperate attempt to free his mind and body of everything plaguing it.
Quinn glanced at the time and sighed. It was nearing midnight and she couldn't sleep. She rolled over and flicked the lamp on to read information in the hotels booklet. She noted the pool was a twenty-four hour one and got up from the bed and opened her bag. She located her swimsuit, changed into it and grabbed her towel and flip-flops. As she left her hotel room she tied her hair back into a tight ponytail.
Once at the pool Quinn dived in and began to swim laps, alternating her strokes between freestyle, breaststroke, butterfly and backstroke. Quinn maintained an even pace for each lap, speeding up for a couple of minutes before bringing it back to the even pace again.
As she turned to change into a backstroke, she came to a halt in shock at Jon looking down at her.
"F-fuck!" spluttered Quinn standing up and coughing up unwanted water.
"Sorry," muttered Jon as Quinn walked to the side of the pool and hoisted herself up and to sit on the side.
Quinn waved his apology away and wiped water from her face with her hands as she caught her breath.
Jon frowned as his noticed the thin red line at the middle, top part of her spine, as well as one running around her hip. Quinn looked up at Jon and saw the frown on his face. Hastily, she stood up and rushed over to her towel and grabbed it. She unfolded it and went to wrap it around her body when Jon caught her wrist in his hands.
"How injured were you, Quinn?" he asked.
Quinn looked from his hands speechlessly and looked up to his eyes, "Let me go, please."
"Tell me."
"It only matters that I am fine now. I defied the odds and here I am."
Jon breathed in a sharp breath, "You had surgery."
Quinn nodded, even if it wasn't a question, "I had a fracture to my thoracic spine. The collision caused a vertebra to… I guess pull apart. Surgery was the only option to fix it and make sure everything was stabilised around it."
"Your hip?"
Quinn sighed, feeling Jon's grip on her wrists loosen, "My leg was forced up in the crash. It caused my hip to break here, near my pelvis," Quinn pulled a hand from Jon's hold and gestured to a section of her scar that was a tad wider than the rest, "I had to get a joint replacement… it was painful. But it's what I deserve for drinking all that vodka and driving."
Quinn freed her other hand from Jon and wrapped her towel around her securely as he silently took in everything she had said.
"Why do you do that?" he asked finally.
Quinn looked over at him in confusion, "What?"
"You keep on blaming yourself for everything that happened to you."
Quinn just shrugged and turned to walk away but Jon wouldn't let her leave. He grabbed Quinn by the elbow and made her face him.
"You didn't ask that arsehole to rape you, Quinn. We were having fun that night. I should have walked you to the bathroom. I shouldn't have let you go alone," said Jon, raw pain flashing in his eyes.
Quinn hated the look in his eyes. She thought the look of anger and loathing he gave her was horrible to see, the pain was all the worse, "You aren't to blame. None of this is your fault."
"Then you need to stop blaming yourself, Quinn. Stop blaming yourself! I mean, look at you! Not many people can claim to have gone through what you have and come out the other side full of… strength… determination and still be full of passion for what they love."
Quinn swallowed a lump in her throat trying to ignore the way Jon's thumb was brushing back and forth across her arm.
"Far out," whispered Jon, taking a step closer to Quinn, his other hand brushing her wet hair from her face, "I want to kiss you right now."
Quinn sucked in a deep breath and took a hasty step back, "Don't… don't do this. Not now. Not when you have Renee and a good life with her. I won't be a home wrecker, Jon… w-we had something once upon a time… but that's in the past now. It needs to stay there."
Jon watched as Quinn hurried away, clutching the towel around her tightly and not once looking back at him.
Newark, NJ – Present
Quinn avoided Jon the next day and had managed to avoid seeing him at all until she got to the stadium at Newark. As she was walking in with her bags, she saw him getting out of his car with a talkative Renee. Quinn looked away as she saw Jon laugh and slip an arm around Renee's waist. It was what she wanted, right? For Jon to be happy with Renee. She was his present and future. Quinn was his past.
"There she is!"
Quinn smiled at Nick as he spotted her walking in, "Hey. I am such a newbie at this on the road business. I don't know how you all manage it."
"Ah, you'll get used to it! Besides, I heard you killed it at the shows!"
Quinn shrugged, "If they say I did, then I guess I did."
"Now she takes compliments," teased Nick.
Quinn punched him lightly in the arm and looked over at the board to find where her locker room would be located.
"Quinn! Jon!" came Shane's voice as he walked into the entry corridor, "Glad you both are here."
Quinn shot a surprised look at Shane and walked over to him, adjusting her bag.
"We are changing the night's main event. We needed to shift things to fit in another segment, so we have made a mixed tag team match. Dean Ambrose and Harley verse AJ Styles and Natalya. How does that sound?"
"Fine," answered Jon with a nod, "I'm positive we can pull this off perfectly."
"So am I," agreed Shane, "Quinn?"
"Let's do it."
"Great because it's the opening match so you need to be ready."
Shane walked off and Jon looked at Quinn silently. Quinn cleared her throat and gave Jon a tight smile, "I'll see you again soon."
Smackdown kicked off with the music of AJ Styles sounding. The champion strode out in his cocky manner as the commentators spoke about how the two on going feuds were brought together for that night's opening match. AJ stepped into the ring and held the title up yelling about how he was the champion and no one could take that away from him.
The music changed and Natalya's came on as she walked out determined to end Harley once and for all. AJ watched his tag team partner curiously as she stepped into the ring and spoke to the crowd, saying she belonged here and Harley didn't. Natalya turned her attention to AJ and held her hand out, which AJ shook firmly, sealing their pact to work together that night.
Natalya's theme was cut off and the Lunatic Fringe came out donning his usual blue jeans and white top. Dean strode down to the ring, stopping at the end of the ramp and looking at AJ Styles in amusement. He simply raised his eyebrows at Natalya as he jammed his hands into his front pockets to wait for his tag partner for that night. Harley's music started and the woman causing Natalya grief skipped out. She paused at the top of the ramp and grinned down at Natalya before twirling. She made her way down at the ramp, giving Dean a curious look before skipping over to the ring and sliding in. She stood up to come face to face with an irate Natalya.
"Back up, Natalya!" yelled the referee.
"I'll go first," stated Dean to Harley.
Harley gave a simple nod and went over to her place on the ring side. The bell sounded and Dean and AJ launched into action. Harley watched the match, bouncing about on her spot, at times seeming to dance.
"Come on, AJ!" yelled Natalya as Dean gained the upper hand.
At Natalya's yell, AJ shoved Dean backward hard and jumped at Natalya to get the tag. Natalya ran into the ring and Harley pulled herself up and over the top rope, jumping to hit Natalya with a flying forearm. Natalya fell backwards and Harley rolled forward, jumped up to her feet, slapped AJ hard across the face and turned to duck a hit from Natalya and respond with a high kick to Natalya's face.
The crowd roared with approval, a chant of, "This is awesome!" breaking out. Harley let out a war cry and yanked her tank top off to reveal her usual shirt underneath. She threw it to the side and ran at Natalya as she got up and hit her with a knee to the shoulder. Harley bounced from the ropes and got Natalya with a baseball slide kick. As she stood, Natalya rolled, grabbing Harley's ankle and forcing her face first to the mat.
"Natalya is going for the sharp shooter!" yelled JBL, "That's the Hart genetics! Always have something up your sleeve!"
Harley yelled out as Dean pleaded for her to fight through it. Harley pulled herself towards the ropes, managing to roll onto her back as Natalya yanked her back towards the middle of the mat.
"And Harley has fighting spirit!" said Byron, "She won't let Natalya get her win so easily!"
Harley kicked Natalya in the backside, forcing her to break her hold. Harley rolled across the ring and tagged Dean in, sliding out of the ring to catch her breath as the two men locked into battle once again.
Suddenly Dean came flying out the ring, slamming into the barricade. AJ jumped out and stalked towards Dean, chuckling.
Harley stood up on the side of the ring and ran along it before jumping from it and landing on AJ's shoulders. She whipped him through the hurricerana and brought him down to the ground before moving to Dean's side and yelling at him to get up. Natalya grabbed Harley from behind and slammed her into the side of the ring. Harley slumped down as Natalya kicked her in the mid-section. Harley cried out and tried to stop Natalya from pulling her up again. Natalya shoved Harley towards the steel steps but Harley managed to stop her momentum and stepped up onto them, turning and jumping at Natalya, and tackling her to the ground. She managed to punch Natalya as the bell rang for the end of the match. The sound of Dean's theme hit as Jojo announced the winners.
"Here are your winner's – Dean Ambrose and Harley!"
Harley stood up from Natalya with a smirk and did a mock curtsey before skipping over to the side of the ring and picking up her shirt. She did a twirl and threw it into the audience before skipping up the ramp, leaving an impressed and amused Dean Ambrose in the ring.
A/N: So... the tension is building between Quinn and Jon... will Renee pick up on it? Will anything more than friendship occur between Quinn and Nick?
Review to find out!