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Amy was practically reeling, and certainly seething over what Stephanie had told her moments earlier. The brunette had left her after about twenty minutes, claiming she had her next class. In spite of her shock of the revelation, she had thanked the brunette.
She instantly thought of Stacy, and of how her friend was being taken for a fool. She had to tell her the truth, and as soon as she saw her next.
Getting up from the bench, the aggravated redhead decided to stroll across campus to the cafeteria. She was supposed to meet up with Stacy, Adam and Jay for lunch at one. She was a few minutes earlier than the others and kept thinking about what Stephanie McMahon had told her. Lord knew, she wouldn't be able to rid her mind of it if her life depended on it.
One thing was certain - she wasn't going to tell Adam or Jay about this. She really didn't want to involve them, especially with the thought that they might want to pick a fight with Paul and Shane. She wasn't sure about the latter, but the former was really quite big, and he could probably hurt the two blonds. Besides, she could handle this thing on her own.
She perked up as she spotted Stacy approaching a moment later. The tall blonde was smiling as she toted her books, her bag slung over her shoulder.
"Hey," she said as she neared.
"Hey, Stace." Amy bit her lip, relieved that she'd arrived alone, and first. "Listen, I really need to talk to you before the guys get here."
"Okay. Whoa, what's wrong?" She frowned uncertainly as she realized whatever it was, judging by the redhead's expression, it was serious.
"Well, here's the thing... Stephanie McMahon told me her brother and boyfriend have a bet going - about which one of them can score with one of us first."
Stacy's expression darkened.
"Whoa... Slow down. What?"
"They have a bet-"
"No," the blonde interrupted, "back up to the Stephanie part. She said this?"
Amy nodded and said, "She broke up with Paul because he and Shane made a bet on us."
The leggy young woman shook her head.
"None of that makes any sense," she remarked. "The Shane part has to be a lie."
The redhead frowned.
"What?"
"Stephanie broke up with Paul, you said?"
"Yeah," came the response.
"Okay," Stacy reasoned. "So, maybe she was mad at her own brother for whatever Paul did because of their friendship."
Amy gaped at her friend. She couldn't believe the blonde didn't believe her!
"You don't seriously think that's what happened!" she exclaimed.
"I think it is," the taller girl said. "Look, Amy - I know Shane. He's been nothing but kind and sweet to me. He wouldn't do something so low."
The redhead's eyed widened as she stared at Stacy. She couldn't believe she had been so fooled, so taken by Shane McMahon - and in such a whirlwind amount of time, at that.
"Stacy, the bet was probably all Shane's idea!"
The leggy blonde's eyes narrowed.
"Why would you think that?"
"'Cause I don't think Paul's clever enough to think up something like that himself," the redhead answered. "Stacy, please... open your eyes. Shane is using you - just like Paul was using me."
An oddly serene look suddenly crossed the blonde's features. She silently stared at Amy for a moment, then finally spoke, her words matching her facial expression.
"I don't believe you."
Those four words cut deeply into the redhead, and they downright hurt. She stared, incredulous, at her friend, nearly at a loss.
"How can you say that? How can you stand there and say that to me?"
Stacy shrugged.
"I don't believe Shane would do such a horrible thing to me. He likes me."
Amy shook her head, so angry and frustrated she could have reached out and strangled the blonde... or at least grabbed her by the shoulders and shaken her. But she did none of those things.
"Fine," she said shortly. "Fine, you go on and believe him... and don't believe me."
"It's not that I don't believe you, Amy. I don't believe Stephanie McMahon."
The redhead rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"And what purpose would there be for her to lie about her own brother?"
Stacy shrugged again.
"She's mad at her boyfriend, so she blamed her brother?" The blonde glanced quickly over her shoulder. "Look, I'm gonna go. You're obviously mad at me now, and I have something I need to do," she said. "I'll see you later."
Amy said nothing to try to stop her from leaving. Instead, she glared after her friend, fuming over her refusal to believe the truth.
A few minutes later, Adam and Jay came over. They both greeted her cordially. When she barely responded, the two blonds exchanged glances.
"Something the matter?" Adam asked. He studied her face, wanting to help.
"Hey, where's Stacy?" Jay asked.
The redhead shook her head and held up a dismissive hand.
"I don't want to talk about it."
The two men again exchanged confused glances as they followed her into the cafeteria.