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Early March 2002
He watched the other man suspiciously as he stood hidden away in a nearby corner of the backstage area of the arena.
Currently, Chris Jericho was conversing with his new business partner, Stephanie McMahon. They were speaking in such hushed tones that he couldn't make out what they were saying, although he guessed it was yet another strategy on how to take out Triple H - the brunette's soon-to-be ex-husband.
The man crossed his arms over his chest as he watched the pair, a scowl taking form on his handsome face. It annoyed him how, over the last three or so months, Y2J had gone from being one of his closest friends to... Well, to quote the man himself, an ass clown. Jericho's attitude had definitely soured since December, and to add to that, he'd teamed up with Stephanie, of all people. Christ... The Billion Dollar Princess was the same woman who, as little as four months earlier, had tried to take out the WWF with the Alliance. What in hell was Jericho thinking?
He's sure as hell not thinking with his head - at least not that head, anyway, the man thought with annoyance.
All of a sudden, Stephanie moved closer and embraced Chris, and the blond man's eyes narrowed as he watched the display. After Jericho hugged her back, the woman pulled back and walked away.
The man gritted his teeth together as he stepped out of the shadows of the corridor in which he'd been hiding. Now was his chance.
Chris Jericho looked up suddenly as he noticed a movement just to his right. Before he could even react, the blur of black clothing and long blond hair grabbed him, and he found himself being shoved against the wall - hard.
Instinctively, he squeezed his eyes tightly shut upon the impact, then opened them to stare into the enraged face of Edge as the taller man grabbed hold of his shirt collar.
The tall blond man felt as though he could punch Jericho's light out. Over the last several months, Lita, his girlfriend, had been acting a bit peculiar. Edge had reluctantly suspected she might be messing around on him - and awhile ago, he'd caught her with Chris Jericho. He'd spotted the two of them together on several occasions - once in the parking lot at an arena, together out in the arena hallway a couple of times, and once he'd even seen the redhead exiting the then-new Undisputed champion's locker room.
"What the fuck are you trying to pull?" the furious blond demanded between clenched teeth.
Chris eyed the other man with shock, his arms spread out to his sides in an almost placating gesture.
"What are you talking about? What'd I do?"
Edge pulled him a couple of inches away from the wall, only to shove him hard back against it.
"Don't fuck with me, you arrogant son of a bitch...What the hell is going on between you and Lita? She's my girlfriend, in case you forgot..."
Although jolted, Y2J stared directly into Edge's green eyes, not missing the fierce gleam in them. For a second, he actually felt afraid of the other man and his obvious wrath.
"Let me go, Edge..." he demanded, his voice soft but firm. "There's a whole lot about Lita you don't know..."
"Yeah? Then why don't you clue me in?"
"Look," Jericho said as he gave Edge a bit of a shove to get the man off of him, "get your hands off me and I'll explain."
The taller man continued to glare murderously at him, but surprisingly, he backed off.
"Come with me to my locker room," Y2J said, his face serious.
"No...why don't you just talk right here?" the tall Canadian demanded. He'd be damned if he was going anywhere with Jericho. He trusted him about as far as he could throw him. He could see it now - he would go with the Undisputed champion to his locker room and then be ambushed.
Chris ran a hand through his long blond hair and sighed.
"Okay, fine...I know you don't trust me - and I understand and don't blame you," he said. "I haven't exactly been giving anyone any reason to trust me lately...but it's all with good reason..."
Edge nodded, his eyes still slightly widened in his fury. "Oh yeah? 'With good reason,' huh?"
"Yeah," Chris said, keeping his voice at a discreet tone as he looked directly into the other man's eyes. "Don't worry - there's nothing going on between us...Lita's not cheating on you with me if that's what you're thinking..."
The tall blond man cocked his head to one side, his arms crossing over his chest. He wondered why in hell he should believe a single word that came out of this man's damn mouth.
"It's the truth, Edge," Jericho continued, his eyes never wavering or flickering. "But something is going on between us - I'm helping her with something."
"Oh, really? You're 'helping her...' How interesting." Edge felt as though he might just pound the other man into a pulp.
"I'm telling you the truth. I swear it. Look into my eyes, man."
The Canadian regarded the other man suspiciously, but he had to acknowledge that the champion did seem sincere. His gaze was clear, and his face serious. Likewise, his body language didn't look at all conspicuous.
"Then what the hell is going on?" Edge demanded.
Chris stared at him silently for a beat. Then, "I'm seeing to it that someone in particular pays for hurting her awhile back."
"What the hell are you talking about?!"
"Exactly as I just said - someone hurt her really bad," Y2J said, gesturing as though to prove his point. "She's been through a lot of bad shit, Edge - stuff you know nothing about. I'm looking out for her. And if you want to know exactly what I'm talking about, I suggest you ask your girlfriend - it's not my story to tell - it's hers."
With that, the shorter man started to walk away, and Edge stood there in confusion and watched him disappear down the hall. Although he had no clue as to what had just happened, he decided Jericho was right about one thing - he definitely had a few questions he needed to ask Lita...