Hello everyone. Remember me? Look, I updated! I'm sorry (as usual).. Been busy with school (as usual).. And I had writer's block (as usual). But here's the next chapter (and it's a pretty long one so I hope that makes you happy) to keep you grounded til the next chapter. ENJOY!
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All We Are
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Chapter 11: Boys Are Stupid
Frankie let out a sigh as he leaned against the balcony outside of the hotel room. It was only 8am; Logan had gotten up earlier to meet with her superior editors, and Joanie was still asleep in bed. Although Frankie was never much of a morning person—and he had a major headache from all the drinking the previous night—he found that he couldn't stay asleep. There was a lot on his mind, most of his thoughts involving Randy, and not to be forgotten, Michael.
Mikey… To be honest, Frankie hadn't even thought about the Miz at all yesterday. He wasn't thinking about him during his first RAW show, he wasn't thinking about him when he was getting drunk, and Frankie definitely wasn't thinking about Mike when he was making out with Randy Orton.
Frankie decided that the balcony was the best place to be; he wouldn't disturb Joanie from there. Frankie pulled out his cell phone and speed-dialed an all too familiar number. He heard the line ring a few times before someone picked up.
"Hello?" Frankie heard Mike's tired voice mumble over the phone.
"Hey, it's me," Frankie said softly. "Did I wake you up?"
"Don't worry about it," he could hear Michael shift in his bed—their bed—and Frankie could only imagine him leaning against the pillows, eyes closed as he held the phone against his ear. "Where are you?"
"I'm still in the city," Frankie whispered. He sank down to the floor, leaning his back against the metal bars of the balcony.
"When are you coming home?" The Miz asked quietly, and Frankie envisioned the condo that they shared in Brooklyn. He hadn't been home since Joanie and Logan came; he hadn't been home since he got signed onto RAW.
"I don't know," Frankie replied truthfully. Remembering the new schedule he had to memorize for RAW. "We're leaving for Jersey tonight."
"Are you kidding me!?" The Miz's voice seemed to have gotten louder over the phone. "I haven't seen or heard from you in a while, Frankie. And now you're telling me that you're leaving and you don't know when you're coming back?"
"I'm with RAW now. It's my job," Frankie defended. He didn't like the tone that Mike was starting to give him. "I'm required to go wherever RAW goes; I'm their lead photographer." He heard Mike huff over the phone, but continued on. "This is one of the greatest opportunities that I've ever had, and I don't wanna mess it up. I thought you'd understand," he tried to find some kind of support form his boyfriend. "Besides, I get to be with my friends.."
Michael growled. "Joanie the pink-haired slut with big tits and Logan the anti-social geek of a virgin. You'd choose them over me? That is fucked up."
It was Frankie's turn to growl. "First of all, it's fucked up that you actually just said that. I don't appreciate you trash-talking my friends. Second, I'm not about to quit my new position just because you can't handle me not being there. So you either better get used to me being gone for a while, or else you're gonna have to get used to me being gone for good." Frankie didn't even give Mike a chance to redeem himself. He hung up before the wrestler could get another word through.
That went well, Frankie thought bitterly as he glared at his phone. He let out another frustrated sigh as he pocketed his phone and stepped back into the hotel room. This whole situation with Mike was getting ridiculous, and quite frankly, he didn't really know if it was even worth it anymore.
--
The meeting had ended, and Logan was sitting in the lobby, typing away on her laptop. The magazine was almost finished; all she had to do was submit the page that she was currently working on.
"Hey Logan." The raven-haired girl looked up and smiled as John made his way over to her, holding a Starbucks coffee cup.
"Good morning," she greeted, and Logan's heart fluttered as John kissed her lightly.
"You're up early," John surveyed, taking a seat next to his girlfriend. He peeked at the laptop screen. "What are you doing?"
"Working," Logan simply replied, immediately getting back to her laptop. "I had a meeting with the editors earlier." As much as she wanted to pay attention to John, she also wanted to get the last page submitted first. "And I am just about done," she said just as she hit the save button. She closed her laptop and turned to face John, smiling. "What's up?"
"You're heading up to Jersey today, right?" John asked.
"Yeah," Logan answered, hesitantly. "It's just a half-hour drive, right?"
John nodded. "Give or take," he said with a shrug. "So…How are you getting there?"
Logan could see the hopeful look in John's eyes, and she smiled inwardly. "I think I'm catching a taxi with Joanie and Frankie." A rental didn't seem necessary for a 30 minute drive anyway.
"Oh," John said, a big smile forming on his face. "Well, Ms. Parker," he continued, straightening in his seat. "I have a proposition for you."
"Oh really?" Logan grinned playfully. "Go on, Cena."
"Well, Randy rented out an SUV, and I'm the only one tagging along with him," John explained. "You and your friends are more than welcome to ride with us if you like." John wiggled his eyebrows at her and Logan giggled softly.
"Only if it's okay with Randy," she answered.
"Don't worry, it is," John reassured. "He said he had a lot of fun with Joanie and Frankie last night. We both thought it would be cool if we all hung out."
"Okay," Logan nodded. "I'll let the others know then." She paused for a while, and then tilted her head in question. "What do you think they did last night?" If Randy wanted to hang out with Frankie and Joanie again, then they must have done something to tickle his fancy.
John made a face. "I don't think I wanna know," he said, and he and Logan both laughed to themselves. He stood up and stretched, then leaned over to give Logan another kiss. "I'll see you later, okay?"
"Okay," Logan smiled sweetly, and she watched as John walked away. "Thanks, John!"
--
"A pink-haired slut?" Joanie stared at Frankie with a hint of amusement. "Did he really call me that?"
Frankie nodded, reluctantly. It was almost noon, and the three friends had just finished packing their luggage. They waited in the lobby after having checked out of their room.
"And he called me an.. An antisocial geek of a virgin?" Logan pouted. "I'm not antisocial," she denied.
"I beg to differ," Joanie replied with a smirk, and Logan scoffed.
"That's not the point," Frankie interjected. "The point is, he called you those things, and now I'm pissed."
"Are you gonna break up with him?" The two girls tried to hide their eagerness, but Frankie could see right through them.
"No, but I gave him an ultimatum," Frankie said, and the two girls had to hide their disappointment. "Either shape up, or I'm leaving."
Silence fell upon the three friends as they sat deep in thought. Logan looked up and smiled when she saw John advancing towards them, his own luggage in tow. "Hey guys," he greeted, and the other two looked up at him as well. "You ready?" The three friends nodded silently as they stood up. "Let's go. Randy's already outside with the rental."
The four made their way outside, and sure enough, a black Escalade hugged the curb, its trunk open for them. Randy leaned against the side of the vehicle, idly playing with his keys. John led the way towards the SUV, followed by Logan, Joanie, then Frankie.
Frankie suddenly got nervous, remembering the kiss that he shared with Randy the previous night. Although they were both drunk, Randy wasn't gay, and there was still a chance that the Legend Killer remembered everything that happened. Frankie hoped that Randy was too drunk to remember.
"Hey," Frankie greeted Randy as he hoisted his luggage into the trunk. He decided to act as if nothing had happened the night before, if only to ease the awkwardness.
"Hey," Randy replied, giving Frankie his usual smirk. "You ready to leave New York?"
Frankie only nodded as he climbed into the SUV. John had called shotgun earlier, and the two girls called the windows, leaving Frankie stuck in the middle, although he didn't mind it at all—it was the best place to steal rear-view mirror glances of the Legend Killer.
"Since I called shotgun, I think it's only fair that I be in charge of the music," John announced. Randy groaned. John's taste in music was much different from Randy's, but those were the rules: shotgun always controlled the music.
"It better be good," Orton growled, but John merely brushed him off.
"Of course it's good," John said confidently, inserting a burnt CD into the system. "The champ always has good music," he said with pride.
A heavy beat filled the SUV and John started to bop his head. Randy made a face. "What the hell is this shit? Rapping? You call this music?"
John scoffed. "Hell yeah. Not like y'all brought any of your own shit for the drive," he retorted.
"I have an iPod," Frankie suggested, softly.
"Gimme that!" Randy demanded desperately, reaching a hand towards the back while keeping his eyes on the road.
The three friends in the backseat laughed as Frankie handed the iPod to Randy, who immediately connected it to the stereo system. Soon, the vehicle was filled with the sounds of Metallica's "Enter Sandman". "Oh, thank God," Randy sighed, becoming visibly more relaxed.
John rolled his eyes. "Drama queen," he teased.
Randy and John were right. Having the three friends in the car with them was much more fun. They watched in amusement as Frankie used his cell phone as a microphone and the two girls on either side of him were playing air guitar and head banging to the music.
The windows were rolled down and the volume was maxed out as they rocked out on the streets of New York. Even John and Randy joined in with the singing and head banging.
It seemed that Rutherford came too soon as they pulled up to the Renaissance Hotel. Randy reluctantly turned the stereo down as they parked in front of the hotel. All five got out of the Escalade as the bellhop took care of their luggage. Randy gave the waiting Valet the keys and thanked him before he followed the rest into the hotel lobby.
While Randy checked them into the hotel, the others waited, looking around the beautifully decorated lobby.
"You look happy," Frankie observed sarcastically as Randy walked back to them.
Randy said nothing as he fanned out a set of five card keys and motioned for each person to take one. "I got us a conjoined suite on the top floor. Two queen-sized beds each," he explained with a grin.
"Awesome," Joanie grinned as she grabbed a card.
"Sweet," Frankie followed, grabbing the second card.
Randy quickly handed Logan and John their cards before rushing after Frankie and Joanie.
John and Logan stood there, holding their card keys with slight confusion.
Then, realization hit. "Hey!" Logan called out. "There are only four beds, but there are five of us!"
Randy merely turned his head back and grinned at the couple. "Well then, I guess you guys are just gonna have to share. But that shouldn't be a problem, right?" Before Logan or John could say anything back, Randy disappeared into the elevator along with Frankie and Joanie.
John turned to look at Logan and grinned sheepishly, flashing his dimples. "You don't have to if you don't want to," he shrugged it off.
"I never said I didn't want to," Logan replied quietly, looking up at her boyfriend and smiling softly at him. "Come on," she said, taking his much larger hand in hers and leading him towards the elevator.
Each suite had two queen-sized beds, all piled over with pillows. Their balconies gave them a view of the autumn trees, which were bright with orange, red, and yellow-colored leaves. By the time the five friends reached their rooms, the bellhop had already delivered their luggage.
Joanie and Frankie hurriedly ran into one suite, which meant…
"Well, buddy, it looks like you're stuck with us," John chuckled, patting Randy's shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll try to keep it down just for you," he joked.
Randy simply gave John the finger, although he grinned as well.
"Hey, I'll be back." Everyone turned to see Joanie standing in the doorway that joined their rooms together. "I wanna take a look around," she said before leaving.
"I'm gonna head out too," Frankie said, standing where Joanie had previously stood. He had his camera in hand and his laptop case resting at his side. "I have a bunch of pictures to submit," he explained.
"I'll go with you," Randy volunteered, realizing that he would end up being alone with John and Logan. He followed Frankie out the doorway but stopped before he closed the door completely. "Have fun, you two," he teased, "but not too much fun." He added the last part before shutting the door.
The couple was now alone. John was seated on the bed, and Logan stood near the dresser. She looked at him shyly.
"Come here," John extended a hand out to her, and Logan took it. He easily pulled her onto his lap and she wrapped her arms around his neck. "So what do you want to do?" He asked. They were alone in a hotel room for God-knows-how-long, and there were a million things that he could think of. But being the polite boyfriend that he was, he would let Logan decide.
"I think I have an idea," Logan grinned at him, and the smile that she gave John let him know that he was going to enjoy whatever it was.
--
Frankie and Randy sat silently in the conference suite, neither knowing what to say to the other.
Frankie set up his laptop and connected his camera to it. There were hundreds of pictures from the previous night's matches, and Randy noticed that most were from his own. Frankie silently pulled a blank CD out from his laptop case and inserted it into the laptop to burn.
"This is going to take a while," Frankie suddenly spoke through the silence. He looked around the room, avoiding Randy's eyes.
It took a while before Randy realized that the awkwardness was slowly torturing him. "Dude, we gotta talk about last night," he finally blurted out.
Frankie glanced at him slowly, knowing fully well what Randy was talking about. "Okay..?"
"We were drunk, but I can't stop thinking about…you know," Randy shrugged, "that kiss," he said the last part softly.
"Neither can I," Frankie admitted, his heart starting to flutter. Where was Randy going with this?
"But I don't want you to get the wrong impression," Randy suddenly said, putting his walls up. "I mean, I'm not gay or anything.. I was just curious."
Frankie bit back the urge to scoff and frowned, reverting his gaze back to his laptop. "And?" He said rather bitterly.
"And," Randy continued, "maybe I kinda liked it."
Frankie stared at Randy incredulously. "You just said you weren't gay!" At this point, he didn't understand Randy at all. He didn't know whether to be upset or flattered.
"I know," Randy sighed, slightly frustrated. "But that's just it.. There's something about you, but I don't know what it is yet."
"You're probably just caught up in that kiss," Frankie replied, his voice still icy. "We were drunk, and you were curious. Simple as that." Although deep down inside, Frankie wished it would have been more than just curiosity that had caused Randy to kiss him back.
Randy was silent as his eyebrows furrowed in thought. "What if," he started slowly, and Frankie raised an eyebrow at him skeptically. "What if you kiss me again? Then I would know if it was just the alcohol or if it's really me," he suggested.
The Legend Killer didn't wait for a response as he slowly leaned his way towards the photographer. Frankie's breath caught in his throat, not really knowing how to react. However, before their lips could even touch, a knock on the door startled them, and Frankie quickly pulled away.
"Frankie! Good to see you!" Shane McMahon greeted as he stepped into the room. "Hey Randy. I didn't think you'd be in here." Shane pulled up a chair and sat on the other side of Frankie.
"Uhh, yeah.. Frankie was just showing me the photos from last night," Randy quickly explained. He looked to Frankie for confirmation.
"Yeah," Frankie nodded. "I'm burning them right now. It's just gonna take a little while more."
"Great," Shane said, oblivious to the tension between the two men. "Just make sure I get those photos tonight so I can post them on the site."
"Sure thing," Frankie smiled weakly as Shane stood up to leave.
"Bye guys," Shane waved before he walked out completely, closing the door behind him.
Frankie sighed and shook his head. He looked towards Randy, who was concentrating hard on the table before him. "That wasn't a very good idea," Frankie said, referring to the almost-kiss.
Randy shrugged and gave him a faint smile. "What am I supposed to do?"
"If you're going to kiss me, then just fucking kiss me," Frankie demanded, bringing his face closer to Randy's, a challenging expression on his face. He waited for Randy to make the first move.
Although the door was closed, it was still unlocked, and there was the risk of getting caught. Nonetheless, Randy leaned forward. But just as their lips were about to make contact, he pulled away. "Sorry," he said, shaking his head. "I can't.."
Frankie pulled away and sighed loudly. He honestly couldn't have expected Randy to be serious, but it still didn't stop him from feeling utter disappointment. "Well then, there you go," he said, heartlessly. He grabbed the CD that had just finished burning and closed his laptop, sliding it back into its case. "It was just the alcohol," he simply explained, standing up. "Bye, Randy," he quickly said, walking out of the conference room and leaving Randy by himself. Boys are stupid.
Randy shook his head again. He wanted to kiss Frankie, he really did. Whether it was out of curiosity or because he had really started to develop feelings for the boy, he didn't know. And now with the way that Frankie had just walked out on him, Randy wasn't so sure that this issue would be solved so easily, or if it would even be solved at all.
--
One thing that Joanie didn't like was being by herself, but right now, she reveled in it as she walked along the estate that was the Renaissance. She was deep in thought; the conversation that she and Logan had the previous night had her contemplating deeply.
Around the same time that Frankie had outed himself as gay, Joanie had started to realize that she was attracted to both men and women. Joanie snorted at the thought. It's amazing how Logan stayed normal when she has friends like us.
Joanie had always leaned towards men, but after what Brock did, she had seriously thought about giving up on men altogether. All men were liars, deceitful, scum. Well, all men except for my dad, Frankie, John, Randy, she thought to herself, laughing softly. Maybe a guy wasn't what she needed. Maybe what she needed was another woman. Joanie inwardly laughed at that thought. "Yeah, like that'll ever happen," she said to herself.
Walking back into the luxurious lobby of the Renaissance, Joanie settled into one of their plush loveseats, rested her head against the back of it, and closed her eyes. She tried to think of the perfect woman, and within a few seconds, she had a visualization. She would have long, flowing, wavy brown hair; deep brown eyes; a cute nose; pouty lips; pearly white teeth; and the cutest dimples to ever grace a person's face. And her voice; Joanie subconsciously licked her lips at the thought of what her dream girl would sound like. The way her dream girl would say her name would sound absolutely beautiful.
"Joanie.." She could just hear it now. "Joanie.." She smiled to herself as the voice got louder. It sounded all too real. "JOANIE!" It was real.
Joanie shot her eyes open only to have Mickie James staring down at her curiously. Joanie froze as she looked at Mickie—wavy brown hair, brown eyes, cute nose… Oh God, she thought to herself. All this time, Joanie had been describing her!
"Uhh, hey," Joanie greeted, blushing at her thoughts. She took this time to take a good look at Mickie. Although the bruise on Mickie's left cheek was merely a small splotch that could barely be seen, Joanie frowned at what she saw next.
"Joanie, I need you to cover this for me," Mickie said softly as she pointed to a new bruise forming on her other cheek.
"Did you fall down again," Joanie asked harshly, but regretted it immediately once she noticed the look on Mickie's face.
"No," Mickie defended. "I got it from my match last night," she explained.
"Bullshit," Joanie called her out, and Mickie stared at her with wide eyes. "You were up against Maria last night, and you know she doesn't throw hard punches."
"Look, could you just please cover this for me?" Mickie sat down next to Joanie and looked at her with pleading eyes.
"No," Joanie answered sternly, shaking her head.
Mickie frowned and pleaded again. "Joanie, please.."
"Not until you tell me what the fuck is going on," Joanie sighed. "What the hell is he doing to you?"
Mickie nodded, realizing that Joanie was being serious. "You have to promise not to tell anyone," she started, and only continued when she saw Joanie nod. "Kenny… Well, we get into a lot of fights. Mostly since we've been engaged. Sometimes he gets so angry that he hits me," she said sadly. "The first time he did it, I threatened to leave him. He cried and begged me not to go; he promised that he wouldn't do it again, and I believed him. But he did. And he keeps promising it won't happen again, but it keeps happening anyway."
"Mickie," Joanie frowned, reaching a hand out to hold Mickie's. "Why aren't you telling anyone? Why are you still with him?"
"I'm scared, Joanie," Mickie admitted, a stray tear rolling down her face. "I wish it was that easy, but I can't leave him. He's going to hurt me again."
"You have to leave him, Mick," Joanie reasoned. "If you spend forever with this guy…he's going to kill you.." Joanie flinched as thoughts of Mickie getting beaten to death flooded her mind.
Mickie remained quiet as she contemplated on what to do. "I'm scared," she said again. "I don't know if I can do it."
"Yes, you can," Joanie gave Mickie's hand a reassuring squeeze. "Don't be scared. If Vince finds out that he's hitting you, his ass is out the door. That, and the other wrestlers won't be too pleased that he's been abusing one of our top Divas. And I'm here," Joanie smiled lightly at Mickie. "You know I'll always be here if you need me, right? And I'll even kick ass too if I have to."
Mickie smiled, laughing softly and feeling more hopeful. She sat quietly as Joanie pulled out a compact from her pocket and started to lightly brush foundation over the new bruise.
"Just promise me that you'll stand up to him," Joanie finally said once Mickie's bruise was finally covered. The two girls both stood up. "You're a strong woman, Mickie. And you don't deserve to be hurt like that. No one does."
Mickie nodded. "I promise," she replied. She turned to leave but stopped to face Joanie again. "Oh, and Joanie?"
"Hmm?" Joanie looked at her curiously.
Mickie silently walked back to her and engulfed her in a hug. "Thanks..for everything," she said as she placed a soft kiss on Joanie's cheek. She pulled back and started to walk away, feeling better than she had a few minutes ago.
"You're welcome," Joanie said to herself as she watched Mickie James leave. She touched her cheek where Mickie had kissed her and all she could do was smile.
--
After spending time alone in thought, Randy decided to head back to the room. He was going to make amends with Frankie. He didn't know how, but he knew he had to make things right between the two of them. Randy stopped abruptly once he neared his door and surveyed the scene before him.
"John, not too hard." That was definitely Logan's voice coming from inside the room.
Randy furrowed his eyebrows together and tilted his head in confusion. Joanie and Frankie were leaning against the door, pressing their ears against it. "What's going on?" He asked.
"Shh!" Both Frankie and Joanie had their fingers up to their lips. They motioned for him to listen as well.
"I'm sorry baby, but this is how I usually do it," they could hear John say through the door.
"But I haven't done this before. Can't you ease up a little?" This time it was Logan. All three at the door looked at each other. They couldn't be doing it right now.. Could they?
"Heh, get used to it, babe. You wanted me to do this, so we're gonna do it my way," John said, and the three outside of the door heard the bed squeak.
"Wow, John, how romantic," Joanie said, shaking her head, and Frankie and Randy grinned at her remark.
"Okay, meanie," Logan's voice rang out with sarcasm, and then there was silence. "Ow!! JOHN! Too rough!"
Randy closed his eyes and shook his head. He had heard enough. Against his better judgment, he slowly reached for the doorknob.
"Dude, what are you doing?" Frankie whispered, watching as Randy slowly turned the knob.
"Uh-oh.." Joanie covered her eyes as she realized what Randy was about to do. Frankie followed.
Randy braced himself for what was to come, and he turned the knob completely, pushing the door all the way open. "What the—"
At the sound of Randy's voice, Frankie and Joanie removed their hands from their eyes and stared on in confusion.
Yes, John was on top of Logan, but not in the way that they had previously thought. Logan was stomach down in the bed, facing the door, and John was on top of her. One of Logan's legs was bent back and caught between John's legs, and her head was caught between his huge forearms. It was John's signature submission move: the STFU.
"Hi guys!" Logan grinned, waving at them from where she lay.
John removed his arms and slowly rolled off of her. "Hey," he greeted them as well.
"What were you guys doing?" Frankie had to ask as he and the other two gave the couple suspicious looks.
Logan laughed nervously as she sat up on the bed, John following her. "We were just wrestling," she said casually.
"Yeah," John confirmed. "And she was this close," he used his fingers to show just how close, "to tapping out until you barged in," he glared at them playfully.
It was silent for a while as Frankie, Joanie, and Randy took in all that they had said. Suddenly, Randy broke out into fits of laughter. Everyone turned to give him odd stares. "Oh man," he shook his head as his shoulders shook with amusement. "And to think we thought you guys were having sex!" John and Logan's eyes widened at this remark and they both flushed red in embarrassment. Frankie and Joanie started to laugh as well. "The things you were saying," Randy continued. "Oh John, not too hard!" He mocked Logan in a high-pitched voice.
Logan blushed even more but she and John soon joined in on the laughter as well. "Meanies," Logan stuck her tongue out at them.
The whole situation seemed funny, and soon enough, all their problematic thoughts were soon forgotten.
--
Review?
Oh, and a HUGE thanks to LEGACYCHICK for sending me that message the other day. You made me remember why I love writing stories.