Frozen

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Lita looked up abruptly as a stagehand came over. He whispered something to her for a moment, which caused the redhead to shoot her head up to turn and face another wrestler standing nearby. A small smile came to her face at the realization that Edge was standing there.

"Wait right here... I'll be right back."

Trish stood and bit her lip as the taller diva made her brisk way toward Edge. In the meantime, she wrung her hands in nervousness. But her guard shot up as a couple of familiar yet unwelcome male voices neared.

Trish's brown eyes narrowed as she fixed them on Chris Jericho and Christian, who were heading right toward her. She swallowed hard, not wanting them to know the true emotions currently gripping her.

"So..." Christian remarked, a smirk dominating his face. "... All alone, huh? Well, see ya out there." He snickered. "And don't expect any mercy out of us, bitch. You can pass that message on to Lita, too."

Jericho didn't utter a syllable, though he stood by watching the exchange.

"Fuck you," Trish managed to mutter.

The short-haired blond man let out booming laughter this time. Although he'd had his attentions solely focused on Lita, he had to admit that Trish was cute.

"Maybe I'll have to take you up on that."

The blonde diva made a face that was half-shock and half-disgust. Y2J, on the other hand, shot his friend and tag team partner a dark look. He kept his crystal-blue gaze fixed on Christian as the other man led him away.

Trish's jaw was still slack, with her mouth hanging open a short while later as Lita returned.

"What's wrong?" she asked, frowning.

"Those two idiots were just here," she told her friend. "I said 'fuck you' to Christian, and he said he might 'take me up on my offer!'" She huffed and shook her head. "Of all the nerve!"

The redhead rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Oh, did he?" she asked. "And that surprises you why?" She waved a hand in dismissal. "Come on, we've got to get out there." She realized her theme music was playing. "I'll see you in a minute." Giving her friend a reassuring pat on the shoulder, the high-flyer walked past the curtain to go out into the arena.

Once on the ramp, Lita made her usual entrance, acknowledging the fans in the crowd and the whole nine yards. She refused to let the two jackasses in the ring know that she was actually nervous. Sure, she had gotten into the ring with men, had had matches against them before. He'll, she'd trained with men as the sole female in her wrestling school. But the difference here was that she would be facing two rather than just one.

The bubbly feminine giggle suddenly sounded through the arena's speakers, signaling Trish's entrance. Lita turned to glance up the ramp, and her reluctant friend made her way out. Unlike her, the blonde clearly exhibited that she didn't want to be here and wanted no part of this match. She didn't even do her customary gesture of acknowledging the crowd.

Trish's intense gaze was trained on the two blond men in the ring. She felt Lita's hand pat her on the arm, and her friend saying, 'Come on.' Reluctantly, she followed her into the ring, coming to stand beside her in their corner. Then, surprising Lita but perhaps herself even more, she volunteered to start the match.

On the opposite side of the squared circle, Jericho mouthed something to Christian, who then stepped over the middle rope to his corner. The truth was, Chris hadn't changed his mind about this Battle of the Sexes match. He did like Trish, to an extent, and he honestly didn't want her to get hurt - that was why he'd insisted on starting things off.

Jericho realized he at least wanted to be able to continue being friends with Trish. It seemed ludicrous, even to himself, since he'd used her in such a sleazy, creepy way - but he did. He neared her in the center of the ring, his facial expression placid as he tried to speak to her.

The little blonde wouldn't have any of it. An angry look taking over her countenance, she reached back, slapping him hard across the face.

Y2J's head rocked to the side from the force of the blow. He turned back to face her, surprised, but then she shocked him even more as she shot into action, delivering forearm shots to him in a hurry.

From the apron, Lita shouted, cheering Trish on. She was actually getting some good offense in on Jericho, who wasn't even fighting back. As far as she was concerned, this was a good start. She hoped they could keep up the momentum. Maybe, just maybe, they could actually win this match.

Part 22

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