Chapter 20: Aftermath, Raw and Persona's.
"Screw you, Orton."
"Come on, Jenni," He groaned. "Make me some pancakes."
"No, it'd mean getting up." Turning her back to him she mumbled. "I'm exhausted, I'm not getting up."
"Well that's understandable," Randy Orton smirked, though she couldn't see it. "I wore you out last night and let's face it…who would want to leave a bed with a naked Legend Killer in it?"
Jennifer turned to head to him, looking ready to comment so he shut her up by kissing her lightly, a kiss she forcefully returned. Needing air he pulled back from her and softly stroked her face, a small smile gracing him.
"What are you smiling at, babe?"
His smile widened and he ran his index finger over her lips. "The naked Diva in bed with me."
"You're a lucky man."
His hand slid under the covers, snaked around her waist and pulled her closer to him. "A very lucky man." Loosing himself in her kiss he was taken by surprise when he found himself trapped underneath her body.
"You in the mood for a good morning, babe?"
He bit back a moan as she murmured and somehow choked out, "Always am." She giggled and slowly captured his lips again and this time he couldn't withhold a moan.
Just as his hands were sliding down her back something terrible happened.
The bedroom door slammed and he woke up.
He squinted groggily at the light for a moment before his eyes adjusted and he saw Jenni shuffling around the room. He tried to lift his head to see her better but quickly decided that his head wanted to remain where it was.
"Oh God," he groaned, "My head is killing me."
She didn't even glance up at him but she spoke. "Well you better get over it pretty damn quickly," she said crisply while throwing things into a bag. "We need to get on the road in less than two hours. I know you're little trip to me wasn't planned so I'm guessing that you didn't bring your work stuff with you but it doesn't matter. You've got plenty of stuff here that'll have to do you."
In confusion he forced himself to sit up and stared at her, knowing she would feel his eyes on her he waited for her to turn around but she didn't, she carried on picking things up and he quickly realized what she was picking up. Shattered remnants of the night before.
"Go take a shower, I've got headache tablets and stuff so you should be alright by the time we hit the road. Oh and there's plenty of coffee. You'll be fine."
Without another word she left the room leaving Randy laying there, completely bemused, completely confused, a little angry, a little hurt and with a feeling that the day had no intentions of getting better.
Stepping out of the shower Randy stood toweling himself off and thinking far more than his headache permitted.
Ok Orton, let's think this one through properly. You and you're best friend - who you've fallen madly in love with but have treated like crap - spend the night having amazing sex and the next morning she doesn't even look at you and when she talks to you she doesn't mention it. That's not good in anyone's book. Fuck, my head really hurts.
Deciding that his headache took precedence over anything right now he quickly changed into some comfy traveling clothes and walked into the main part of the apartment.
"Place doesn't look so bad," he mused to himself. If he hadn't been there himself he wouldn't have known that the events of last night had even taken place. Jennifer had clearly been very quick about erasing the evidence. And for some reason that hurt. Oh Jesus, Orton, have you become so much of a pussy that a tidy room hurts your feeling now? You've got issues!
Walking cautiously into the kitchen he nervously wondered what he was going to say to her. Should he bring up last night? He had to; they were best friends, possibly even more. To ignore a pink elephant like that would be stupid, plus, he really didn't want to ignore it.
"Jenni," he said exhaling a breath, however before he could even begin to say more she spoke hurriedly and continued to avoid his eyes.
"It'll be all go when we get to the arena. It looks like they've pulled the plug on John. Jill called first thing and from the sounds of it the guys who got to the hotel last night seem to thing Dave's MRI didn't go well. They reckon new Champ for SmackDown.
"Wait, back up a second, babe. What do you mean…they pulled the plug on John? And are you gonna look at me at some point?"
"Edge won the title last night." She said still not turning to him and forcibly ignoring that he had walked so close they were almost touching, "they did the money in the bank angle. After the chamber match was over Adam and Amy came in; spear, 1…2…3. Makes sense really, fans just don't wanna know John right now."
"Oh right. And you said Dave's out?"
"The boys seem to think so."
"Damn, there goes my main event. Jesus, the guy couldn't wait a few more months before getting all messed up? Selfish ass!"
She turned at that. "Are you kidding me? One of your friends could have a damn serious injury here and the first thing you can think about is Wrestlemania?" She leveled him with a cool glare. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"
He gave her a smile. "You wouldn't turn around. Had to get you to look at me somehow."
"What?"
"Now that we've established eye contact, are we going to talk about what happened last night?"
She seemed surprised that he had mentioned it but her eyes quickly went cold. "Nothing to talk about."
Ouch, that hurt. "Yes, we do."
"Look, Orton. I'm sorry, ok? Last night I said some things that were out of order but it's just been a real crazy few days. With everything with Becky and finding out about you and Sam…add that with you telling me what you think of me I just-"
"Wait a sec," he said, taking hold of her arm. "What do you mean what I think of you?"
"You told me you hate me," she replied quietly, apparently more affected by the words than she had been willing to show the night before.
"Well I didn't mean it!" He exclaimed, almost sounding like a desperate man. "You were right, things got crazy. Becky is in hospital and she's mad at me. The whole Sam thing. I don't even wanna think about how many messages are on my phone from her right now. And you, I just got… I know it didn't sound good but I was just… I didn't mean it."
"Yes, you did."
"No I didn't!"
"Why else would you have said it?"
He tried to think quickly, but he knew he would be lying to her. In a way, he did hate her just not in the way she was imagining. He hated that she was his best friend, because that's not how he wanted her. He hated that he was so close to her but couldn't have her. He hated that he was so ridiculously in love with her that he couldn't stop thinking about her. He hated that, deep down inside, he knew she didn't feel the same.
He hated her, because he loved her.
The admission to himself was more than he could take. "It's not what you think," he said lamely.
She laughed, but there was no humor in it. "Not what I think? You told me you hate me, how many ways are there to see that? Huh, Randy? Tell me! Tell me how it's not what I think!"
The anger in her voice and the pleading look on her face made his voice catch in his throat. The only thing he found himself say was the thing he had been hiding behind for so long.
"You're my best friend."
She stared at him a few seconds longer before looking down at the floor. At a complete loss Randy just stood in front of her and waited for her next move and quickly it came. She looked back up at him and her face looked broken but her voice was steady.
"No. I'm not you're best friend. We're not friends. I not sure I even know you."
He stood unaware of if he was even breathing and watched as she gathered her things before quickly leaving her apartment without another word.
He didn't know how he did anything all day. He barely heard the guys discussing Dave and his injury. He hardly noticed that Matt Hardy sat down and ate lunch with him, lunch he didn't even remember eating. And, if asked, couldn't tell you how his match with Beniot went, what moves he hit, how the crowd responded or if he even won or not. The only thing he was aware of was an ache…one worse than when he broke his foot, he mangled shoulder or the broken ankle he suffered as a kid.
Numbly walking into his hotel room he sat down on the bed and stared at his feet. Slowly he pulled out his phone and wondered who to even call. He was lonely but didn't want to be around anyone. He wanted to talk to someone but not be preached at. Canceling 15 new messages from Samantha he clicked through his phone book before hitting cancel.
Without even changing he lay down on the bed and unconsciously curled himself into the fetal position. No one could help him and right now he felt like the only guy in the world. There was nothing but him and his aching heart.
The next day proved a real challenge. The SmackDown taping was all over the place because of Dave's injury, and subsequent vacating of the title. People were running crazy backstage trying to get everything ready and people were panicked that Kurt's flight was going to be late; as it happened he only arrived twenty minutes before going on.
While everyone and their mother was getting crazy Randy allowed himself a minute of quiet by going to catering, which thankfully was empty. Idly he picked up a ham sandwich and sat down running a hand over his head, in an attempt to clear his mind of thoughts.
Unfortunately he hadn't been seated more than thirty seconds when a high pitched, screech like voice cut threw the air.
"You asshole!"
"Melina," he said flatly without even looking up. "Not to be unsociable but I really don't want company right now."
"What the hell happened? What did you do? I swear to God, Orton, I don't want to have to kick your sorry ass but I will if I have to!"
"Have I ever told you how much I enjoy our little chats?"
"I mean it, Orton. What did you do to her?"
"I didn't do anything," he protested, not even asking who she was referring to. "What did she say to you?"
"She just said that you guys weren't friends anymore." Apparently Melina registered the anguish on the young mans face because her voice softened considerably. "What happened?"
"We had a fight." He said simply. "We had a fight, we had sex, had another semi-fight and then a … parting of ways."
Had he looked up at her he would have seen her jaw slacked and her eyes bulging in surprise.
"You had sex?"
"Yeah," he suddenly laughed even though happiness was the last thing he was feeling. "Somewhere in there I think I told her I love her as well but…I think she just thought I had drunk too much."
"You told her you love her?"
"Yeah, I also told her I hate her, you know me, Mr. Mixed Messages."
"You told her you hate her?"
He finally looked up at her, "You know, if your wrestling career doesn't work out you should consider becoming a parrot. You're really good at repeating the crap other people say."
"Randy, why did you tell her? Why would you tell her you love her?"
Eyes wide he pointed at her. "You told me too. You did, John did, and my mom did. Christ, everyone said I should!"
"Yes but not in the middle of a fight." She said as though stating the obvious. "You had to find the right time. Between shouting and sex is NOT the right time."
"Gee thanks Melina." He sneered sarcastically. "I never would have guessed that if you hadn't told me. I'll be sure to remember that for next time."
He sat back in his chair wanting nothing more than for her to go away. It was strange in a way, last night he wanted so badly to talk to someone but right now, he was craving his own company.
"Next time? Orton, you might not have a next time. Jennifer's leaving."
"WHAT!"
Suddenly looking as though she had said something she shouldn't she tried to backtrack.
"Um, well…not leaving exactly…she's just, uh…oh crap!"
"Melina," he implored, standing quickly, coming around the table and gripping her arms. "What's going on?"
"Randy…look I'm not even supposed to know. It's being kept quiet-,"
He cut her off and gripped her tighter, "Melina," he said sharply, "Why is Jenni leaving?"
She stared for a second; apparently trying to work out if there was any getting out of it before sighing. "She's not leaving the company or the business or anything like that but she's leaving SmackDown."
"Why?" He asked at a loss. "When did this happen?"
"Stephanie mentioned it to her a while ago. She said she didn't want to at first but just before Armageddon Steph asked her again and told her to think about it. She did and called her this morning. She's joining Raw at the Royal Rumble."
He was in shock. Jennifer was soon leaving SmackDown, moving to Raw…and she hadn't told him a damn thing about it.
"Why didn't she tell me?"
"I told you, Stephanie did want her telling anybody."
"I'm not just 'anybody' though. How do you know?" He asked exasperated, his emotions all over the place.
"I overheard her on the phone to Adam yesterday. So, I asked her and she told me."
"Adam knows?"
"Yes. John told him."
"Fuck! Was I the last person to know! I'm supposed to be her best friend."
She raised an eyebrow. "Are you though?"
Randy was angry. No, that was an understatement. He was incensed. Furious. Seething. How could it be true? Jennifer was leaving. It wasn't possible.
However the more he thought about it the more it made sense. She had done SmackDown. It made perfect sense for her to move to Raw. She could get back mixed up in the Women's Division, something she had been more or less out of for a while. If she went to Raw she could once again mix it up with Trish, Victoria, Lita. Maybe start a feud with Mickie James. A new start on Raw. The only problem he could find with her leaving SmackDown was that she was leaving him.
If he even still had her.
"Mom, really I'm fine. I'm just calling to see if Becky's ok."
"She'll be ok. We're bringing her home tomorrow. But really Randy, you sound terrible."
"Thanks for that, you really cheered me up."
"Look, Randy, I'm just trying to-,"
"Sorry, I've got to go. I'll call you in a couple of days."
"Randy-,"
He didn't hear what she was about to say as he flipped down the screen of his phone. Pacing the room he considered his options. He could stay here and bitch and moan at the bedspread. Or he could bang down Jenni's door until she decided to talk to him.
Staring at the duvet he made his decision. "Might as well fight with something that can fight back."
"I have a confession to make," Melina said quite timidly.
Jennifer, who was busily packing her suitcase ready for the next morning didn't even acknowledge that her friend had spoken but Mel didn't take it as the snub and 'get the hell out of here' that Jennifer intended it as. She may consider Melina one of her best friends but over the last few days the beautiful Latina had been annoying the hell out of her.
"I told Randy that you're leaving."
Jenni froze her movements but stayed quiet for a moment. Slowly turning her head to face the older woman she murmured, "What?"
"I didn't mean too." Melina said quickly, "I just kind of…came out."
"How did it just come out?"
"Well I was talking to him in Catering-,"
"Why where you talking to Orton? You don't like him."
"We're not the best of friends but I don't dislike him."
"Really, Mel? Because you've been doing a good job of calling him every name under the sun the past couple of days."
"That was before I knew what happened!"
"What do you mean, what happened?" Suddenly standing straight she looked almost afraid, "What's he said?"
Before Melina could answer there was a loud knock at the door. Angrily Jennifer walked over and flung it open. "What?"
"Good to see you too, babe." Randy said cockily, registering the shock on her face he walked past her and onto the room. "Melina," he greeted with a nod."
"Randy, I don't think it's a good idea for you to be here." Mel said trying to avoid any kind of confrontation.
"No he shouldn't," Jennifer agreed, turning to her former friend. "But I've got this feeling that the Legend killer isn't leaving until he's said his piece. Am I right, Orton?"
He smirked at her and for a moment was reminded that she truly did know him better than anyone. She knew from the second he walked in here that he was hiding behind the Legend Killer persona. He wasn't willing to let her know how hurt he was, or how angry. And by calling him by his nickname he sensed that she was willing to play along with his game.
Probably because she was playing the same one.
"It's ok Mel," Jenni said, still eyeing Randy. "You can go. I had a feeling this was coming either way."
Melina quietly excused herself and left the two alone to talk.
"Is this gonna be one of those heart to heart conversations, Orton?"
"No," he said quickly, "I don't think I could stomach for one of them."
"So what then? General chit chat? Talk about the weather? Basketball?"
Oh yeah, she was playing the game alright. She was allowing him to be the Legend Killer and in return her English Vixen character was making itself present in her mocking tone.
"Please," he scoffed, "you couldn't talk about basketball if you life depended on it. We're gonna talk about us."
"There is no us," Jennifer said evenly, her gaze never wavering.
He smirked at that and gently sat down on the edge of the bed. "That's funny, sweetheart. Because I've got the memory of you screaming my name to prove you very wrong."
If anyone is still interested in this story I applaud you because I know that I have terribly neglected it. I've had a string of personal problems, technical problems and a bunch of other crap that I really will not bore you with. But I will admit to this; this chapter SUCKED! I'm honest enough to admit that and while I have probably rewritten this thing about ten times and changed the direction of it twenty I just couldn't make it fully click. I'm trying to do better and now have a full idea where this story will go, I think ther is 3 maybe 4 chapter left (and a possible sequel left, but that's another matter). I just want to say thank you for the support and thank you for sticking with me.
Love Ya!