Testing the Game For the Falln one.
"Where the hell are you going?" Stephanie demanded angrily. Hunter glared at her. "Out. I need to get out of this hellhole."
"You're leaving?" Stephanie sounded incredulous.
"Only temporarily. Sorry to disappoint." Hunter slammed the door as he left.
~What the hell was I thinking? I shoulda just stayted right away from the entire fucking family.~ Hunter thought. ~Then she'd be Mrs. Andrew Martin and I wouldn't be putting up with this shit day and night.~
Hunter looked around. It was a cold clear night. He was close enough to the hotel so that he would be found quickly if something was wrong but far enough away so that the lights didn't infere with the moonlight and the stars. He was on a slight hill, a frozen lake below him and what looked like a log to his left.
It had seemed like a good idea at the time. Stephanie was a cute kid, and he'd always had an attraction to the cute, almost ditzy types. The fact that she was McMahon's daughter was an added bonus.
He wondered if Test had realised what a bitch Stephanie was. If so, then why had he fought for her honour before Armageddon? Why had he been so upset about it all? Helmsley wrinkled his nose, both in disgust and fighting the urge to sneeze. "Achoo!"
"Bless you." said the log. Hunter stared at it in amazement, jumping to his feet. He rubbed his eyes to make sure that it was a log and not something else. Feeling foolish he replied "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Hunter gave a sigh of relief as he recognized the voice, then grew apprehensive again. "Test?"
"Who were you expecting? The ghost of PPV's past? Cause that ladder match against the Rock for the IC belt a few years back sucked." The log, which was in actuality Test in a sleeping back, sat up. Hunter squinted at him. "What the fuck *are* you doing?"
"Enjoying the cold night air. As a kid, I used to go outside, lay on the ground and look at the stars. Helped me relax." Test replied, still staring at the sky. "Thinking about stuff."
"What kinda stuff?" Hunter sat down next to Test. He was encased in a sleeping bag for Gods sake, if he got any lip from the kid, he'd just throw him in the lake, bag and all. Test laughed. "About how much I owe you."
"For what?"
"Taking Steph off my hands." There was silence. Test windered if he'd given Hunter a heart attack. "You knew?"
"Oh yeah."
"Why the hell didn't you say anything?"
"I figured you'd find out for yourself soon enough. Besides I was meant to be playing the devestated fiancee remember? Plus, I thought you were a prick for pulling a stunt like that. Vince could handle it, but poor Linda was absolutely distraught."
"When did you figure it out?" Hunter asked with interest. Test sighed. "Exactly one week after Shane called the 'war' off. I didn't want to break it off after all that and I hated the thought of hurting Linda. Vince, Shane and Steph are despicable people, but Linda really is a sweetheart. What about you?"
"The day after Armageddon." Hunter laughed bitterly. "She's a smart one, I'll give her that. She waited untill we'd gone through hell and high water for her then, when it was too late to hand her back, she showed her true colours."
"Amen to that." Test shivered a little. "Jesus it's cold."
"You can say that again." Hunter started shivering himself. "But I've really missed Canadian winters."
"What do you know about Canadian winters?" Test snorted. Hunter sounded annoyed. "I practically grew up here you know. Bording school in B.C, vactions in a summer home somwhere in Ontario. I loved it here as a kid, Canada has always felt more like home than the US. Every time I come back, I feel like something deep inside me has clicked back into place. You must get so homesick."
"I do." They sat in silence for a few minutes, looking up at the stars.
"Test?"
"Hunter?"
"I'm sorry for all the shit I put you through."
Test laughed. "Don't be. I mean, I got beaten up, but in the process, I managed to get rid of Stephanie *and* look like the good guy. A broken nose was a small price to pay for getting rid of that bitch." They laughed together. Test grinned mischieviously. "So - you and Trish huh?"
"Not exactly. Why worried I'm gonna steal your girl - again?" Hunter's tone was light. Test shook his head. "She's not mine to steal. She's a great gal, but I'm not interested in her like that. For what it's worth, you got my permission, hurt her and I'll kill you. Got it?"
"Got it. So ya think Steph is fucking Angle?"
"Nope. Kurt's infatuated, he'll never be brave enough to follow through. He's not the kind of guy to do a married woman and you've got him terrified." Test snickered. He turned serious. "If you wanna catch Stephanie cheating though -"
"Oh I do. If only so I get her off my hands and look like the good guy. For once. Who is it?"
"Jericho."
"WHAT?" Hunter was incredulous. "She hates him. He hates her."
"It's classic grade school psychology. Didn't you ever make life hell for some cute little girl in pigtails cause you thought she was the best thing since sliced bread?" Test asked. Hunter nodded. "Yeah and I did until I turned 18. But they're both mature adults - or so they claim."
"It's the perfect cover. I mean, if they were on speaking terms, they'd be weighing up each word and gesture and every one would get suspicious. But this way they rarely speak directly to each other and *never* civilly, so that when they do get together, it's hotter than hell." Test explained.
"Reckon they're fucking right now?" Hunter asked after a few minutes. Test shrugged. "Wouldn't surprise me."
They sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes. They were a strange pair, Hunter, shivering lightly in jeans and a thin jacket, Test snug as a bug in a rug in his sleeping bag, the ex fiancee of the other mans wife. Test yawned as something beeped.
"Aw, fuck my beeper." Hunter cursed, checking the message. "Billy and Jesse are having a domestic, better go ref. Been good talking to you."
"Same here. Who'dve thought we'd end up doing the guy bonding.... thing?" asked Test with a smile as Helmsley got to his feet. Hunter laughed. "Not me that's for sure."
"Good luck with you know what." called Test. Hunter waved. "Thanks pal."
Around a week later T&A were sitting around gossiping about a giant row Stephanie and Hunter had had backstage at Raw earlier that night.
"So, Test, you definately heard Hunter call Steph a 'lying cheating manipulative two faced bitch'?" Albert asked eagerly. He was like an old woman when it came to gossip. Test nodded solomnly. Actually he'd heard no such thing himself, he'd heard it from Edge, and Edge, despite his current attitude was not one to exaggerate. Plus the fact that Jericho had come in late looking white and threw up several times, before leaving right after his match was the icing on the cake for Test. Trish smirked as she speculated over who it could be.
"I doubt it's Kurt. Maybe it's Joey Abs, after all he and Steph did have a relationship once. Or it could be another member of the Posse..."
Trish was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Room Service." A bored female voice annouced.
"We didn't order any." said Test cautiously, getting up to check the door. The girl sighed. "It was ordered specifically for this room by the guy in room D24."
Test thought for a minute, then broke into a grin, opening the door. He was handed a bottle of Dom Perigon and a note which read -
"I'm celebrating here. You celebrate there. I caught em, thanx for you help, it was good talking to you."
It was simply signed "H"
