The WWF had been undergoing a bit of a transformation of sorts over the last couple of months.  This was mostly behind the scenes so far, but it was slowly but surely coming to fruition.

Like all of the superstars, Amy had mixed feelings about having WCW wrestlers join the fold that was the WWF.  Over the past several months, ECW, her former company, had folded under, and a few of the company's former stars had joined the federation.  Amy couldn't have been happier about that, because pretty much all the ECW talent had been great, and she was reunited with old friends.

Some of the WCW people were friends as well.  Shane Helms was Matt's best friend, aside from Amy and Jeff, and Shannon Moore was a close friend as well.  She knew that Chris had many friends from the dying company as well, and that he was one of the people happier with the new developments.

"Hey, y'all!  It's great to see you again!"

Amy turned her head at the sound of the voice and jumped up from the small table she was sharing with Matt and Jeff.

"Shane!  How have you been?" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around the dark-haired man, who hugged her tightly.

"I'm great," he replied in a southern accent that matched that of the Hardy brothers.  "Let me look at you - it's been so long."  He held her back, taking in the long red hair, the happy sparkle in her hazel eyes, the smile playing at her lips, the black cargo pants, blue baby tee and clunky shoes she wore.  "You look beautiful, Ames...as always," Shane said with a grin.

"Hey, what about us?" Matt, who was normally known for his dry sense of humor, joked as he stood up and spun in a 360-degree circle, arms spread out at his sides.  "How do we look?"

Shane laughed, as did Jeff and Amy.  "You look...just like a Matt Hardy," the other man quipped.  "Besides, Jeff is the pretty one of the two of you."

Matt pretended to sulk while his younger brother laughed even harder.  Then, each brother exchanged hugs with their friend.  "Hey, it's great to have you aboard with the WWF," Jeff said excitedly.  "Maybe someday soon, we'll get to work together."

Amy looked up, spotting Adam and Jay as they entered the dining hall from the arena hallway.  She stood up and waved, instantly catching the eye of the taller blond.

"Adam and Jay," Amy began when they were standing before them, "meet our old friend Shane Helms.  Shane, these are two of our best friends."  She gestured toward one to the other as she spoke their names.

"Hey, good to know you," Shane said as he shook hands with Adam and then Jay.  "Any friends of little Ames here are friends of mine."

"Hey, what are we?  Chopped liver?" Matt questioned.

"Yeah, that just about sums it up."  Helms' answer elicited laughs from the small group, particularly the redhead.

More WCW wrestlers began filing into the dining area, some one-by-one, others in pairs or small groups.  They were introduced to the WWF wrestlers by Vince, Linda, Stephanie and Shane McMahon.  The McMahons had felt it would be a better way to break the ice to have a little, informal meeting in cozy settings.

While Stephanie came by to whisk Shane Helms away to meet other people, Shane McMahon approached their group with two beautiful blondes.

Amy's guard instantly went up.  The taller, thinner woman's smile looked slightly nervous and uncertain, but warm, while the other one's looked fake and plastered on her face.  Instinctively, she didn't like her.  It was just an odd feeling she had.

"Ladies," Shane said, "meet Amy Dumas, Matt and Jeff Hardy, Jay Reso and Adam Copeland - better know as Lita, Matt and Jeff Hardy, Christian and Edge...guys, this is Stacy Keibler..."  He gestured toward the tall, obviously natural blonde.  "...and Torrie Wilson."  And then, he gestured to the one Amy suspected was trouble.

"It's nice to meet you all," Stacy said sincerely, her smile a little less nervous.  She shook each of their hands in turn.  After, she turned to Amy alone.  "I've seen you on TV plenty of times - you do really amazing stuff in the ring."

"Thank you," the redhead replied with a smile.  She instantly liked the young woman.

"I hope I can be as good a wrestler as you are someday," Stacy said.

"I'm sure you can be...you just have to work really diligently at it."

The one named Torrie was currently checking out each of the guys, ignoring Amy and Stacy's conversation.  Amy noticed that out of the corner of her eye.  The platinum blonde had a silly grin plastered on her face, and she twirled a lock of hair around her forefinger, a habit Amy found very annoying.

Torrie shook hands with each of the men, not seeming concerned about the redhead in the least.  She flashed the smile again, and Amy again thought how phony she thought it was.  However, she was pleased to see that the guys didn't seem to think Torrie was any big deal.

Shane McMahon, who was still standing nearby, watched as the bleached blonde made small talk with Matt and Jeff.  To Amy, it was obvious that the elder McMahon child was smitten with Torrie.  The realization made her want to gag.

Amy felt a sense of relief when Chris Jericho made his way over to her.  Ahh...saved by the bell, she thought.

"Hey, Ames," the blond man said with a warm smile.

Before the redhead could utter a reply, Torrie Wilson looked over and waved.  "Chris!"

Jericho glanced the woman's way unenthusiastically, and Amy knew him well enough to see that he was refraining from rolling his clear blue eyes.  "Torrie..."

The blonde stepped away from the Hardys without so much as a word and bounded their way.

"Oh, great," Chris muttered softly to Amy.  His features transformed so that he was now wearing as broad and fake a grin as that which was on Torrie's face.

"Hey, it's been a long time," the newcomer said.  "How have you been, Chris?"  She pointed a long, manicured finger at him.

"I've been great, thanks...And you?"

"Well, I'm sorry that WCW is no more, but I can't tell you how happy I am to be here!" Torrie replied, bouncing ever so slightly.

Amy turned her head away, afraid she would stick a finger down her throat at any moment.  It was one thing to have a bubbly personality ala Trish Stratus, but another altogether to have one like Torrie evidently did.  Unlike Trish - who had once planned to go to medical school - this girl was an airhead.

"Oh, well, I'd better get back to Booker," Chris cut in.  "We were in the middle of a fascinating conversation."  He trotted away, leaving the redhead fuming as she stared after him with disbelief.  She decided she would somehow get her friend back for leaving her alone with this bimbo.  She turned back to the smiling Torrie and, not knowing what to say, flashed a smile back.

"Hey," Torrie said softly, in an almost conspiratorial voice.  She stepped directly beside the redhead and glanced over at the group of men with whom Amy had been standing.  "Is the tall blond guy seeing anyone?"

Amy's head turned sharply as she stared incredulously at the woman.  Torrie was obviously talking about Adam.  Yeah, she thought, he and I are engaged.  Aloud, she said, "No...no, he isn't."  She wanted to kick herself the instant the words left her mouth.

"Cool," Torrie drawled, her blue eyes fixed onto the sight of the tall, handsome Canadian.  "He's really gorgeous!"

Amy seethed inside, a surprisingly sudden, intense feeling of jealousy swirling through her.  Torrie Wilson was the last person she would ever want to see with Adam - or any of her friends, for that matter.  And Chris obviously disliked her, so she realized that her instincts about this woman were correct.

Quick as a flash, before Amy could react, Torrie left and sidled up to Adam, who was talking with Jay, Stacy and Shane Helms, who had returned.  She placed one hand on the blond man's arm to get his attention and started chatting up a storm.  Adam smiled back uncertainly, looking slightly confused as he tried to keep up.

Amy stared at them, her anger increasing in bushels by the moment.

*

Later, back at the hotel they were staying in, Amy found Chris in the lounge area and approached him.

"Hey...can I talk to you a moment?"

Chris looked up at her from the paper he was reading.  "Hey, Ames...you know you can always talk to me - about anything."  He gave her a friendly wink.

Amy glanced uncertainly around the nearly empty room and sat down beside her friend.  The only other occupants were an elderly couple and teenaged boy with a hand-held video game.

"By the way, thanks a lot for leaving me alone with that woman," the redhead said with a frown, her voice tinged with annoyance.  "I really appreciated it!"

"Eh...sorry about that," the man said.  "Let's just say I've never been fond of Torrie Wilson."  He made a face as if to prove his statement.

"Chris," Amy said softly, "tell me something...you, as a man who loves women and never hesitates to chase after them - why don't you like this Torrie?"

The blond man chuckled as he ran a hand through his long hair.  "Well...for starters, she seems so fake..."

"'Seems so fake'?" Amy cried.

"What I mean is...not her hair color or her breasts, Ames - her personality.  A little too contrived.  And most people can see right through her, although of course, there are some exceptions..."

The redhead nodded.

"...There were rumors about this girl back in WCW - that a few months after she first started working there, she had an affair with Kevin Nash."

"Big Sexy?" Amy questioned.

"None other," Chris replied.  "And he was married at the time, too.  Basically, Nash's marriage fell apart when his wife found out about it.  Kevin and Torrie kept seeing each other - that is, until Torrie dumped him."

The diva, rapt, leaned slightly forward and shook her head.

"She's a man-eater," Chris stated.  "Right after that, she started seeing Ric Flair's son, David.  But she tossed him over like yesterday's garbage for Billy Kidman, but then he caught her in the sack with Curt Hennig."

"Mr. Perfect?" Amy asked, her eyes slightly widened.

The blond man nodded.  "And Eddy Guerrero, whom you know is one of my oldest and best friends, told me she tried to get with him as well - but he told her to take a hike because, number one, he was married, and number two, he wasn't interested anyway."

"God, that is all just unbelievable!"

"That's not all of it," Jericho said evenly as his clear blue eyes met his friend's hazel ones.  "She came onto me as well..."

"Really?  And what did you do?" Amy questioned.

"Well, I was involved with the Nitro girl known as Fyre at the time - we dated for a good year and a half...Torrie knew this but propositioned me anyway.  I rejected her.  I told her I was in love with my girlfriend and that I wanted no part of her."

"Good for you!" Amy exclaimed.

The blond chuckled again, then shuddered.  "Ugh...as must of a 'ladies man' you think I am, Torrie Wilson gives me the heebie jeebies."

After a moment of silence, he spoke again.  "So, tell me, Ames...why the interest in this woman?"

The diva ran a hand through her long red locks and sighed.  "Okay, Chris...I'm going to tell you something, but you have to promise me you won't say a word to anyone."

"Hey, you know me," he said, raising a hand as if in scout's honor.  "I can keep a secret."

Amy glanced around their surroundings one more time, then leaned in closer to her friend.  "Earlier, when you ditched me, she asked me about Adam's situation..."

"You mean she expressed an interest in him..."

"Right," Amy said.  "But the thing is, Chris...when she did, I just got so angry, so jealous...all of a sudden, these feelings just came over me - consumed me."

Jericho smiled.  Why was it always they were the last to know?  Reaching over, he placed one hand on the redhead's knee and gave it a soft pat.

"I don't know quite how to tell you this, Ames...but you're in love with Adam," he whispered.

"What?!"  Then, lowering her voice, Amy stared directly into the man's blue eyes.  "Why do you say that?"

"Simple - because it's true...it's so obvious, Amy.  And that's why you had such feelings when Torrie asked you about him."

"No, I don't think..." the redhead stammered.  "I...it's not that...I just don't like Torrie Wilson, and I don't want to see Adam's good heart broken by her - especially after everything you just told me."

Chris smirked.  "Don't worry...I don't suspect Adam would ever have any interest in the likes of her."

"Really, Chris!  I don't want to see any of you guys with her!" Amy insisted.

The blond man smiled.  "I should hope not."  But he knew that his friend's reasoning of why she didn't want to see Adam with Torrie was a flat-out denial of her true feelings.

*

Adam and Jay had just returned to the hotel after a few hours of training in the ring at the arena.  They were both tired and hungry and had been planning on going down to the hotel's cafe when they suddenly heard a knock on their door.

Adam instantly got up to answer, hopeful that it might be Amy who was paying them a visit.  He had missed the redhead that afternoon when she'd declined his invitation to train with them.  A slow grin spread across his face as he opened the door...

...But his face fell when he saw who was standing there in the hallway.  Torrie Wilson, a big grin on her face, gazed coyly up at him.  Somehow, he suspected that there was really nothing "coy" about this woman at all.

"Hi," she said, and, glancing past Adam, she waved at Jay as well.  "I was wondering if you wanted to come grab a bite with me, Andrew...or go for a drink...?"

"My name is Adam," the tall blond corrected.  He glanced slightly over his shoulder and noticed Jay apparently trying not to laugh - but he was failing miserably.

"Oops!  Sorry," Torrie said innocently, covering her mouth with one hand.  "I must have mixed your name up with the other tall, hot blond guy's name...didn't I?"

Adam arched an eyebrow.  "Well, Drew's not exactly my type, but I guess the answer is 'yes.'"  He couldn't help but chuckle at his own wisecrack, which elicited a near fit of giggles from the platinum blonde.

"So, does this mean you'll go grab a bite with me?" Torrie asked, clasping her hands behind her back and slightly rotating her upper torso back and forth.  The gesture seemed to Adam to be a weird combination of innocence and impatience.

The Canadian turned to glance back over at his best friend, who was listening with great interest, as if anticipating his answer.

"Well," he began as he turned back to the young woman, "Jay and I were going to get some food together..."

"Great!" Torrie exclaimed, smiling more broadly than Adam would have ever thought possible.  He thought her face might break.  "Then we'll all go together!"  Then, without waiting for an invitation, she stepped into the room and stood in its center, placing herself between the two men.  "We'll call it a threesome!"  She burst into a nearly uncontrollable fit of giggles.

Adam and Jay exchanged glances, and behind Torrie's back, the smaller blond man rolled his eyes.  Torrie began yakking up a storm, her words all blurring together as Adam cursed himself for somehow getting them into this mess.

*

Amy and Chris had continued talking in the lounge for awhile longer.  Before long, the blond had suggested they go to the hotel's restaurant, as he needed his afternoon cup of coffee.  Amy knew her friend was a self-admitted caffeine addict who needed his daily cup of coffee with every meal.

They were there for about ten minutes, Chris sipping his coffee and Amy nibbling on a chicken salad sandwich, when the redhead suddenly looked up, surprise registering on her lovely face.  The surprise was quickly replaced by an angry frown.

Chris didn't even have to look up to realize the identity of at least one of the new occupants of the diner - Torrie Wilson's voice chattered on a mile a minute.  The blond man looked nearly frantic as he quickly glanced around the area as if searching for a place to hide.  When it seemed he was safe from hurricane Torrie, he turned and glanced in the direction of the voice - and was surprised.

She, Adam and Jay were just being seated by a hostess, who handed them all menus.  Torrie had made sure to sit next to Adam, and she moved her chair slightly closer to him.  Come to think of it, Chris shouldn't have been so surprised to see who the blonde was with, judging by the expression on Amy's face.

The redhead continued to frown while a myriad of emotions swept through her.  She felt shocked, disappointed, regretful, saddened, furious - and she felt such disdain and jealousy that she was afraid she could go right over and punch Torrie Wilson right in the nose.

While she was staring their way, Amy suddenly shifted her focus to Adam.  The blond man was gazing back at her, an odd expression on his face.

*

Adam paid only half his attention on Torrie as she went on and on about having been a cheerleader in high school.  He heard Jay utter, "uh huh," "yeah" and "you don't say" a few times, as if to humor the chatterbox of a woman.

He was currently looking Amy's way.  The redhead was seated at a nearby table with Chris Jericho, and she didn't look too happy.  In fact, she looked about as unhappy as he felt.  He wished she would come over and whisk him away from Torrie, but she didn't budge.

"...And so, that's how I ended up in WCW," the blonde was saying, the grin on her face, dimples in both her cheeks.

"Yeah, that's really great," Jay said.

Adam wanted to figure out a way to somehow get himself and Jay out of this bind, but he didn't want to be rude.  He decided that after a quick snack, that was it - no more Torrie.  Somehow, someway, he would manage to get Jay and himself free of her.

*

"Man!" Jay exclaimed an hour later, when they were back in their room.  He sat down on his bed and rubbed at his eyes.  "If Torrie Wilson wasn't so damn annoying, I supposed I'd want to get with her...I mean, she's hot and all, but...damn!  The fact that she's such a boring, self-centered airhead just ruins it!"

"I know what you mean," Adam concurred.  "I was hoping Amy or Chris would come by and rescue us from her."

"Shit!  Why does she have to be so irritating?!"

"I guess that's just the way she is..."

"Yeah - the exact opposite of Ames, huh?" Jay said with a broad smile.

Adam thought, That's exactly what I was thinking...