Disclaimer: I the lowly author, own nothing but the plot.
Notes: One shot that I'm really not sure if I can continue or will continue, just given my personal pairing preferences... I realize that people may or may not be OOC, ask me if I care. As stated prior, this is a one shot, really an experiment of sorts..
The heart has reasons that reason does not understand.- Jacques Benigne Bossuell
Lita wasn't sure what had possessed her to accept Christy's invitation for a pre-Valentine's day get together, but for whatever reasons … the former WWE diva found herself in Los Angeles for the festivities. And it wasn't like she was going there to see people she knew, from all the younger woman had told her, Christy was likely to be the only familiar face. Still, maybe that wasn't such a bad thing as far as Lita was concerned … not to say that she didn't want to see familiar faces or friends, just maybe she needed something different.
"So, we're going out tonight," Christy informed her friend over a late lunch, "meeting up with Traci, Crystal and maybe some of the guys as well."
"Okay," Lita shrugged in kind, "any names for reference purpose?"
Christy smoothed back a few long strands of hair, "probably Eric Young, James Storm since those two are inseparable lately, especially when it comes to drinking … maybe Lance and Jimmy. And Frankie claimed he was going to meet us, but you never know with him."
Lita half nodded, the names sounded familiar enough from watching TNA but she didn't really know any of them… "Should be fun at least."
The younger woman grinned, "oh you know it Li, you should have spent New Year's with us too… down in Tampa. We all hung out at Gail's for the day, went partying at sunset."
"I had plans Christy," Lita informed her friend solemnly, "resolutions to make…"
"Resolutions to keep or resolutions to break?" Christy questioned innocently enough, "and are you coming back to the business or not, huh?"
Lita wrinkled her nose, "that part, I'm still not sure. Yeah, appearing on RAW for the anniversary special made me realise how much I do miss some parts of the business but…"
Christy winked, "there's no saying that you have to go back to the WWE. You could come to TNA, you know. We could always use more competition in the Knockouts division."
Lita smiled, "Dawn keeps talking to me about that, saying that we should debut together in TNA."
"You should," Christy prodded, "but you don't have to think about it now… or anytime soon for that matter. Tonight, we're celebrating."
"Celebrating what exactly?" Lita arched an eyebrow, "when you invited me here, you didn't really give me any details."
The TNA Knockout shrugged, "well we really don't have to have a reason to celebrate, do we? Or we could just be celebrating the fact that we're single?" And at Lita's incredulous look, Christy held up her hands in mock defence, "or that some of us are single?"
Lita rolled her eyes, "did I tell you about the blind date that Dawn tried to set me up on?"
Christy blinked, "which one? She told me that she tried to set you up with—"
"This one was with Rob, who, I'll admit … we're friends and all of that, we hung out together after the anniversary show, but that doesn't mean anything."
"Don't worry, I didn't tell her anything about tonight so you won't have to worry about her showing up and attempting to play Yenta like she used to…"
Lita smiled sweetly, "if you did that Christy, I just might have to kill you."
Christy winced, "trust me; I learned my lesson after Christmas."
Lita nodded, "I'd certainly hope so… which means, that this supposed night of celebrating just isn't some scheme?"
Christy smiled, "I swear to you, it's not. I wouldn't do something like that to you, Li."
Lita simply shrugged, wanting to believe her friend but at the same time, the former WWE diva was still prepared for a scheme of some sort… it's just how her friends were. Good intentions and all of that, but often times misguided. Still, maybe tonight wouldn't be too bad but if it was … it was an awful long way to run back to Atlanta.
Later that night…
If she was more of a club going person, then maybe Lita would feel more comfortable in her current surroundings but she was not and thus… the former WWE diva felt more than a little uncomfortable in the plush booth. And it wasn't to say that she didn't enjoy going out and having fun, just this typically wasn't her scene. But maybe that was a good thing and maybe that was the point of coming to Los Angeles in the first place…
Christy propped her elbows on the table, red locks flowing over her shoulder as she leaned towards her friend; "you know Leets; the point of us coming here was so we could have fun… everyone else is dancing, it couldn't hurt…"
Lita arched an eyebrow, "I'm aware of what everyone else is doing, I've been perfectly fine watching them from here. Chris, you know this isn't my usual scene. Sure I can understand what they're saying but—"
"I know I know… Reggaeton isn't for everyone," the younger woman affirmed as she slid in next to her, "but that doesn't mean you can't attempt to have fun. Come on, just one dance with me please? For old times sake?"
"After I finish this," the former diva held up her drink, "and then I'll go dance with you, okay? I promise."
Christy frowned as she slid back out, "I'm holding you to that… and if you don't, I'm going to make sure that Jimmy and Lance serenade you with their finest rendition of November Rain when we hit that karaoke bar."
Lita held up a hand in mock defence, watching on as Christy returned to the crowded dance floor … later, she'd already decided, but for now… the booth was more than comfortable and she still had a beer to finish; the former diva blinking as the bench shifted slightly underneath the new amount of weight… "Hey, I was under the impression that everyone was out there…?"
Frankie Kazarian shrugged his shoulders, an unopened bottle of beer in one hand. "I was, kind of but not really…" Grinning, he added: "I was at the bar near the edge of the dance floor."
The former diva nodded, "good plan … Frankie, right?"
"Guilty as charged," he confirmed, even though everyone had already been introduced earlier, that had been rather rushed… "And you're Lita."
"That's my name…"
"Don't wear it out?"
Hazel eyes regarded him slightly suspicious, "do you actually like Pee Wee Herman?"
He blinked, genuinely confused, "is that a crime that I'm not aware of?"
Lita wrinkled her nose, "no… it's just how my friends are, and I've been the unsuspecting victim of more than a few blind dates in recent memory."
"Well that's why you're unsuspecting," Frankie concluded and then shook his head, "but no… I wasn't given the twenty questions, wasn't given a list of topics to bring up or to avoid."
"So you just like movies then?"
"Doesn't everyone?"
The former diva shrugged, "mostly everyone, but I just don't know many adults who like Pee Wee Herman."
He grinned, "Well then it's a good thing that I'm not like most adults. I find that to be kind of boring anyway, business suits, stuck in an office … no thanks."
Lita gave a mock shudder, "that would really suck. Everything the same day after day, same group of people, same little cubicle—"
"I can't see you in a cubicle, a corner office maybe… but not in a cubicle." At her confused look, he shrugged, "people who aspire to be professional wrestlers don't belong in a cubicle."
"Point," she conceded first and then sighed, "plus having to adjust to life after professional wrestling? I don't know if that's really truly possible, even when you think you have it all figured out. The business just gets into your blood, becomes a part of your life…"
Frankie ran a hand through his hair, leaning his body back a fraction against the cushioned booth. "Raven would always say that, Rhino too… Booker—"
Lita smiled slightly at the mentioned names, "someday, you'll say the same."
"You could always come back, be an agent or something … maybe announce?"
"Been there with the announcing thing and not wanting to do that again," her hazel gaze drifted over to the dance floor, "I'm happy with what I'm doing, achieving another goal in life."
The TNA wrestler idly picked at the label on the beer bottle, "you could become a referee?"
The former WWE diva shrugged, "I could … but I don't know if I would be entirely happy just being a referee. I'd want to compete."
He turned slightly so he was facing her, "then what's stopping you from coming back?"
She tucked a few strands of hair from her face, "the obvious with my band and…"
"And?" He prompted when she trailed off, "what else is stopping you? Christy mentioned that you still have what it takes."
"I don't think anyone who's been in this business ever really loses that mentality," Lita skirted the issue for now, "Booker was talking about maybe wrestling for his fed."
Frankie winked, "there are some really good guys who go over there. You should go, just to see it."
Lita smiled, "I take it he's asked you?"
"Yup," he set half of the peeled label on the table, "but that isn't why you should go. You just should, you know?"
"Yeah," she brought the bottle of beer in her hands to her lips, draining the remainder of the light amber liquid in one gulp. "Well damn it." And at his confused look, she frowned a little. "I kind of promised Christy I'd hit the dance floor after I finished my beer."
He nodded and then set the still unopened bottle in the centre of the table. "Well, I might be able to help you out," Frankie gestured to the bottle, "I wasn't going to drink that… or," he rested a hand lightly on her shoulder, "I'll dance with you and we can look equally uncomfortable together."
Briefly, she considered her options, hazel eyes darting between the beer bottle and the man seated next to her. Before tonight, he'd only been a person she'd seen on television but she supposed, that was all he really knew about her… "I'm not really a beer drinker," Lita finally said as she brought up a hand to rest lightly over his. "And besides which, Christy already threatened with the prospect of—"
"Jimmy and Lance doing a Guns and Roses tribute?" Frankie shuddered as he slid out of the booth, maintaining a light grip on her hand; "that's not something that any of us want to live through."
"You'll have to tell me about that then," Lita suggested as they managed to find an unoccupied spot on the dance floor, "if you want to, anyway."
He grinned, "so long as you don't expect an impression? I'll tell you."
Despite the fact that she still felt out of place in the club, at least she wasn't entirely alone in feeling out of place. And maybe that was what mattered or maybe that was the point… Lita wasn't entirely sure. All she did know was that, by this point of the evening, she wasn't sitting in the booth, she didn't have another beer to pretend to like … and she was spared from a serenade at a karaoke bar. Perhaps this wasn't her exact idea of a good night, but, the former diva concluded that it could have gone a lot worse and for that, at the very least, she was thankful.