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The Next Morning
Adam felt as though he were half-dead as he forced down his breakfast. He was sitting at a table in the hotel restaurant with friends and fellow wrestlers Alvin Burke, Jr. and Phil Brooks, better known as MVP and C.M. Punk to wrestling fans.
He couldn't remember the last time he felt so overly tired. Actually, yes, he could, but that was too unpleasant for him to want to remember right now. His girlfriend, Rebecca, had kept him on the phone way too late the previous night. He'd tried to hang up a few times, but no dice. Truth be known, it angered and upset him. She hadn't seemed to grasp or care that he had to travel to another city for SmackDown early the next morning.
He yawned as Phil looked past him, then got his attention. The straightedge young man gestured with one hand.
"Looks like we've got some former diva company."
In spite of himself, the Canadian turned fully, glancing over his shoulder. Sure enough, Amy and Trish had just entered the place and were being seated at a table for breakfast. Trish saw him and smiled, raising a hand to wave. He waved back, but Amy, on the other hand, hadn't seemed to even notice him. However, the little blonde gave her a nudge and then she glanced over her shoulder to wave.
Adam suddenly found himself grinning like an idiot. He was sitting there, staring at the back of Amy's head as she sat down and started looking at a menu. He only snapped out of it when Al swatted at him.
"Hey, Adam, we've gotta get going soon."
Adam finally faced forward again and glanced at his watch, dumbfounded. Meanwhile, his two friends exchanged glances, which went unnoticed by him.
"Damn it... I hope I have enough energy for my match tonight," he muttered.
"You better," Al retorted. "I mean, you're only winning the World Heavyweight Championship on Sunday." He smirked, and it became a smile.
Phil was placing some cash down on the table. Adam hadn't even realized the waitress had come by with their check. He was either that tired or had been that consumed with staring at the back of Amy's head - maybe both.
"Well, it's been fun, but I have to split," the dark-haired, tattooed man announced as he stood up.
"Yeah, me too." Alvin rose as well, tossing some bills onto the table. "See you later, Adam."
"Later, guys," he replied. He was a slowpoke this morning, but he couldn't help it. He gulped down the rest of his coffee as he reached for his last bite of toast.
It took everything he had not to turn around and openly stare at Amy again. He couldn't help himself. She was his ex-girlfriend and all that, but it was like a drug for him. He knew he had never gotten over her.
Just then, he became startled by the sudden ringing of his cell phone. It was silent but on vibrate, so not only did he hear it, he felt it. Reaching for the device, he glanced down at the display and groaned. What could Rebecca possibly want now? He should have shut the phone off.
Resignedly, he flipped the phone open to answer as he placed some money on the table.
*
Amy studied Trish's face as the little blonde watched with intensity.
"Is he gone?"
Trish met her friend's eyes and burst out laughing.
"Yeah, he is. You should see yourself - you look so funny!"
The redhead stared at her, not quite getting it.
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, come on, Amy," the blonde said. "It's so obvious you wanted to turn around and look at him yourself, but you're being all silly about it. It's like we're back in high school! 'Is he gone?'" She cracked up loudly enough to draw attention, which mortified the taller woman.
Amy said nothing but stared down at her menu for a beat. She had actually been kind of distracted when she'd heard Adam talking on his cell phone. It had been very obvious as well that he'd been speaking with his girlfriend. She didn't know why, but for some reason she'd felt a tiny bit bothered by that.
"As I live and breathe... Look who's here."
Both women looked up at the sound of the voice to see Mickie James, the owner of it. With her were Chris Jericho - who was holding her hand - and Jeff Hardy.
"Oh, my God!" Trish squealed and got up to hug them in an instant. Things had been so rushed the prior night at RAW that they hadn't gotten to see everyone.
Amy rose as well, delighted to see her three good friends. They all exchanged hugs, and the redhead smiled to herself as she watched Jeff and Trish. The little blonde had had a huge crush on the rainbow-haired man a few years back, but it had gone unrequited. Amy couldn't help but wonder if she was still carrying a torch for the younger Hardy.
"You ladies really got the fans going last night!" Jeff exclaimed. He still had an arm around Trish's slender shoulders, a gesture that had the blonde's heart beating somewhat faster. She also couldn't seem to stop grinning. She let out a nervous laugh.
That was the precise moment that Amy got an answer to her mental question... Yup, sure enough, it seemed that Trish had never gotten over Jeff. She smiled knowingly. Then, clearing her throat, she surveyed the trio.
"Do you guys want to join us?" She gestured around the table.
"Sure!" Mickie said in her normally happy, peppy tone. The brunette squeezed into the booth beside Amy as Chris reached for a chair, pulling it over to the head of the table. In the meantime, Jeff seated himself beside Trish on the opposite booth.
The waitress came by in an instant to hand menus to the newcomers. Moments later, when she came back and they ordered, the redhead turned to Jericho and Mickie. The two were again holding hands, this time of course on the table's top.
"So... When did this happen?" she asked, gesturing to their hand-holding.
Chris and Mickie exchanged glances, with the bouncy little brunette looking almost giddy as her cheeks tinted slightly red.
"Oh, the night of my return," the short-haired blond man said, raising his girlfriend's hand to kiss the back of it. "I saw her backstage and had to know her."
"We started talking and went out," the former Women's Champion continued. "And we've been inseparable ever since."
"Aww, well, good for you two!" Trish said with a bright smile.
Although Amy definitely felt happy for her two friends, she couldn't help feeling sad. It felt as though
something had been missing from her life for nearly the last year. And it made her feel incredibly empty.