______________________________________________________
Night of No Way Out, after the pay-per-view
"Knock, knock!" Phil called, his arm around the shoulders of Melina as they stood in the doorway of Adam's hotel room.
The tall blond man smirked at the unique couple, then gestured for them to enter.
"Movie night, just like planned," the straightedger declared. He gestured to his girlfriend, who held a DVD in each hand.
"What have we got here?" the World Heavyweight Champion queried. He took the two movies from Melina and glanced over the boxes.
"Night of the Living Dead and White Oleander?" He cast Phil a look. "I know you chose this - it reeks of you. But this girly film... Why do you insist on doing this to us guys, Melina?"
She snatched the White Oleander DVD back from him.
"It's not a 'girly' film, Adam. It's horror and it's great." She eyed him with amusement as he glanced back to his fellow tattooed superstar, who nodded.
"She's right, buddy... It's actually a pretty awesome movie."
"Oh." Adam gave up and ran a hand through his shoulder-length blond curls. And why would a girly movie really upset him, anyway? Lord knew, he'd seen more than enough of those with Rebecca in the few months they'd been together. He'd never really complained.
There was a new knock at the door. As Phil and Melina began setting up the DVD player, the Canadian went to answer.
"Hey, man," Alvin said with a smile. He slapped Adam's hand in a friendly manner and was carrying a bag of junk food for the get-together. He handed it to the taller man. "Here you go. So, what's playin' for tonight?"
"Go check it out for yourself," Adam said, hooking a thumb over his shoulder toward the other two.
Before he could shut the door, two more people arrived. He heard Al complaining about the lack of an action movie when Trish and Jeff suddenly appeared in the doorway.
"Bet you know why we're here," the rainbow-haired man said cheerily.
"I bet I do."
"You know me, Adam," Trish quipped. "I never was one to miss movie night." She smiled appreciatively as the tall blond man stepped aside to let them in.
As the little blonde went to stand near Melina, the two women suddenly launched into a conversation. Adam stayed by the door. He knew more people would show up, but he really only cared about one in particular, and the truth was, he had no idea if she would appear.
*
"Come on, Red," Chris said with frustration. "I swear, you're not gonna be imposing on us!"
Amy stared up at Jericho and Mickie from her seated position on her hotel room bed. Stubbornly, she crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head.
"Nonsense. The last thing I want is to be a third wheel while you two are out on a date!" she protested.
Chris and Mickie stared at her, then exchanged glances. The brunette rolled her eyes in exasperation as she broke away from her boyfriend to come over and sit beside her friend.
"Amy, don't even think that way. You could never be a third wheel. We just want you to come and hang out with us for awhile." She put her arm around the redhead as she continued. "You've pretty much just been moping for awhile, and we want you to have some fun, that's all."
Amy met her warm brown eyes before looking over at Chris, who smiled. She figured she was probably being silly, but she hated tagging along on other people's dates! And although she had a boyfriend, such a thing made her feel so incredibly alone.
"I don't know, Mickie."
"Well, I do," the brunette replied. "And guess what? I'm not giving you a choice."
The redhead stared at her with surprise.
"You are coming with us, and I'm not taking no for an answer, Amy." Mickie leapt off the edge of the bed to stand, and she tugged the other woman's hand, pulling her up. "Put on a pair of shoes," she ordered.
Chris stood by with an amused expression on his face. He could hardly keep from snickering as his girlfriend barked orders at their friend, who was by now probably fearing they would make her their sex slave.
"Okay, okay," Amy replied in surrender. "You win, Mickie!" She put her hands up in a retreating fashion as she located a pair of worn sneasker near the bed. Quickly, she slipped them on her feet and barely had a chance to grab her purse as the brunette steered her toward the door.
*
"Jeez, Al, can't you wait?" Phil cracked as he eyed the other man. Alvin had already dug into a bag of pretzels he'd brought over, and they hadn't even put a movie on yet.
"Here's your Pepsi." Jeff handed the former ECW Champion a cup of the cola.
"Thanks," the straightedge man said.
Adam looked up as another series of knocks sounded at the hotel room door. That had to finally be Chris and Mickie. He rose and went to let them in.
"Hello there!" the perky brunette sang. "We came bearing a gift, shall we say." She pulled someone who was at her left directly into his view. And he found himself gazing into Amy's beautiful hazel eyes.
"Hi, Adam," she said. She appeared strangely shy or embarrassed.
"Hey, Amy."
As they all stepped over the threshold, the tall blond man realized Mickie was mouthing something to him.
"You're welcome!"
He grinned. Things were certainly looking up.