"What do you mean there's a goddamned delay?" I glare at the woman angrily. "I'm meeting my boyfriend at - oh hell, what's the name of the place? - Tullamarine Airport in Melbourne."
"I'm sorry, but the delay is unavoidable." She repeats mechanically. I sigh melodramatically. "I don't suppose the bar is open?"
"Sorry miss, as I told the gentleman over there, the bar closed half an hour ago." She says. A feeling of dread wells up in my stomach as I look at where she is pointing. "Oh fuck!" I turn back to the counter. "Please please please, I will do anything if you can get me out of here! Can you open the bar, just for me please?"
I sound pathetic and I know it. I don't care. I'm NOT staying here with him. It's been... god far too long now. I can't do this, I can't do this, I can't do this! The woman behind the counter looks at me pityingly. "I'm sorry, but no planes are leaving this airport until the weather clears up."
I smile sarcastically at her and pick up my bags, heading for the row of seats furtherest away from where he is sitting. The seats are too uncomfortable, so instead I stretch out on the floor, grateful that at least it's late and the place is nearly empty. I think if some wide eyed little kid came up to stare at me, or some giggling teenage girl tells me that I'm her idol I think I'll break their neck. What is it with Australian girls being feminists?
I lay on my back staring at the roof for a while, then check my watch. Oh god, it's only been 15 minutes. I wonder if he's as bored as I am. No! I'm not going over there. He can suffer too. I'm NOT going over there.
I manage to doze off for a while and when I wake there's one hell of a crick in my neck. Wonderful. I'm bored, grumpy, stuck in an airport with him and nothing do to. I love Australia so far but this is offically hell!
I rummage through my bag, looking for something, anything to do. Nada. Nein. Zero. Zilch. A big fat NOTHING. Why, oh why did I pack everything interesting in with my clothes? Same reason I thought I'd do some last minute sight seeing around Sydney on my own. Because I'm an idiot. At least if I'd dragged Billy around with me, I could've had some company. Damnit, why do I have to be so understanding to the fact that he hates sight seeing?
Damnit, now what? I'm not tired. I lay back down on the floor, using my bag as a pillow. OK, I'll lay here and stare at the roof for the next god knows how long because I am not going over there!!
I close my eyes, but the first thing I see his face, grinning at me in that way that used to make me melt. I open my eyes and go through my bag again, convinced that there's something I've overlooked. A pack of cards. Wonderful. Wonder how the lady at the counter would react if I wandered over and asked her to play a few rounds?
I play a few rounds of solitaire, the normal version and a weird version that Jesse taught me a few years ago. After a few boring rounds that take all of 14.23 minutes, a shadow falls over the cards. I close my eyes, but again the first thing I see is his face, grinning at me the way that made me melt inside. OPneing my eyes, I look up and see the exact same grin coming from the man standing over me. Oh joy, he's found me.
"What do you want?" I sit up angrily. He laughs and sits on the floor, leaning against the wall. "Just thought I'd come over and see if you wanted some company."
"Company, yes. Your company, no."
"Don't be a bitch. I don't like being stuck here either, but I'm not taking it out on you." he says, somewhat unhappily. I look at him in disbelief. "I had two choices - come over and talk to you or not and spend the next god knows how long staring at the roof. I choose to stare at the roof. Does that tell you something?"
"Yeah. You either hate me, which I know isn't true, because then you'd beat me up, Goldilocks has told you to stay away from me, which I also know isn't right because you never let anyone tell you what to do or you're too afraid to come over because then you may have to talk to me and discover that I'm not such a total asshole after all." He grinds out, watching my reaction carefully. When I don't answer, he sighs and brushes some hair out of his face. "Besides, I knew that if nothing else, you'd have a deck of cards with you."
"Oh really?"" I try to sound narky, but it's late and I really can't be bothered. Besides, it's either conversation Hunter or the voices in my head. And I think even the voices have taken an earlier flight without me. Crap, now I'm really going insane from the boredom. "How?"
"You always carry a deck of cards with you when you're flying." he points out grinning. "Remember the strip poker match in Toronto?"
How could I forget? That was in the lounge at the airport. I start laughing despite myself. Hunter grins at me and takes the deck gently out of my hands. He smiles at me. "See? We can make the best of this and not kill each other. Give you a game of Blackjack?"
"I'm not playing for money and I ain't stripping." I lay down the law. Hunter laughs. "I wouldn't expect otherwise."
As we play, we discuss our thoughts on Australia.
"I love it here. Everyone is so laid back. 18." I throw my cards down. Hunter sighs. "11. I give in. I know what you mean though. It's great down here. Shawn was right."
"About what?" I ask as he scoops up the cards. Hunter shuffles them slowly. "That it would be a great place to raise kids."
"Oh." I watch as Hunter deals another hand. We keep playing card games, Snap, Rummy, Two Player Solitaire, Poker and Go Fish, while we talk about Australia. Slowly, our conversation drifts into reminiscing about the old DX days.
"16 Pairs. Win." I grin and poke my tongue out at him, feeling totally relaxed. Hunter shuffles the cards before sighing and looks at me. "Where did our fairy tale existance go Chy?"
I don't answer. I can't answer. I just watch a house of cards form under Hunter's skilled hands. He keeps talking, as I avoid eye contact. "Right from the word go, we had it all. Way back when it was just you and me. Then DX was formed and we had the world at our feet."
I don't know what to say. What does he want me to say? Then I realise, he doesn't want me to answer him, he just wants me to listen.
"You had Shawn wrapped around your little finger in a matter of minutes. You have no idea how many fights he got into backstage defending you. I've since found out that some of the other guys were in awe of you and wanted to get to know you better. They were all cowards, caved into peer pressure. I'm glad they did though. Gave me a chance with you."
He laughs, a little bitterly. I glance up at him but his concentration is on the cards. I study him carefully.
"I never meant to hurt anyone. Our Corporate turns were just a story line remember? You changed after that. You became more abitious, more serious. The guys and I couldn't deal with that especially Jesse. You grew up and the rest of us remained like little kids. I mean, The Outlaws would be happy doing the same shit year in, year out as long as their having fun. X-pac, he's well, the class bully. I still haven't forgiven him for what he did to Kane. But you, you grew up, you realised 'I can do this.' I hate admitting this and if you ever repeat this I will rip your tongue out, but Billy will never be main event status. He just doesn't have the drive for it."
"Do you love him?"
"Who? Billy?"
"No, the Loch Ness Monster. Of course him!"
"Do you love Steph?" I ask keeping my voice calm. For some reason my heart is pounding and I honestly want to know the answer. He gives me a probing look. "You first."
"Yes. I do. Your turn."
"Define love. I mean, I care about her, but it's nothing like what I felt for you." He sounds a little confused. I laugh. "What we had was extemely special. You can't compare it to anything else we'll ever feel for anyone again. Billy knows that the way I loved you and the way I love him are completely different."
"How serious is it?"
"Guess how he got the nickname 'the one'?" I grin and hold up my left hand, flashing the ring that Billy gave me shortly after his return. Hunter's jaw clenches and I can see that little muscle twitching again. He smirks at me and says "And how many is that for the year?"
"Only one." My voice is calm, I knew he would ask that. "Eddie and I were just a story line."
"Oh." He looks at me for a long minute then cracks up laughing. "Well you damned sure had everyone backstage convinced. Even Shawn remarked on how happy Eddie was making you. You've never been able to fool him before."
I giggle, I can't help it. I was never meant to leave Chris for Eddie. But Chris and I had had a huge fight just before going out for that match. He'd pissed me off, so I 'turned' on him. Jericho has a problem separating his wrestling life and his personal life, so far as he was concerned, I'd just left him.
Hunter sighs. "You know what I think went wrong? You were the one who grew up. For all those years you'd been at my side, you were strictly my girl and the DX girl. When ever Tori was referred to as the 'Green Goddess' someone backstage would always say that you were the original and only green goddess. The point is, you were always DX."
"But when you went Corporate, you began to make friends with the others. All of a sudden, Chyna, the backbone of DX was hanging out with Rocky and Kane. None of the guys could accept it. DX was it's own little clique, we didn't spend time with the others. You changed that. I mean, come on, you're one of the most liked people in the back. And if they don't like you then they respect you. What really ended things, was when we started hanging out with others. You were still at my side, but you were spending more and more time with others, X-pac was tagging with Kane... it just broke things up."
There is a long silence in which I can hear that bitch at the counter announcing that our flight will be departing in half an hour. After thinking about how to word my reply, I answer "Maybe I just got tired of being taken for granted."
"Is that how you felt?"
"Yes it is." I've never admitted this to anyone, not Chris, not Billy. Hunter looks hurt for a minute, I feel slightly guilty, but I have to drive the point home. "Would you have come over to talk to me if you knew I wouldn't have the cards with me?"
"You've made your point." He grinds out, standing up and walking away without looking back. I sigh, and stand up, stretching painfully. I lift my bag onto my shoulder, it brushes lightly past the house of cards as I do. Without ceremony, the delicate creation crumbles, leaving a scattered heap of cards where the house of cards used to me.
I decide to leave them there and get on the plane. As I walk off, I glance back and can't help wondering, how my relationship with Hunter, which had once seemed as long lasting as a mountain, could fall apart like a house of cards.