Ten minutes later, Shane stops and shuts the car off.
“We’re here!!” he announces, slapping Rodney on the leg, waking him.
Joey sighs happily and looks into Ashlee’s eyes lovingly. “This is the greatest day of my life!” he exclaims.
Ashlee doesn’t reply, because she knows whatever she says won’t get him to change his mind.
Shane opens the back door so the two of them can get out. Joey and Ashlee blink rapidly at the sudden bright light. As soon as Joey gets out, he turns around and pulls Ashlee out, not letting go of her even as she is fully out.
“Joey, let go of me, please!” Ashlee pleads. “You’re smothering me!”
“Nuh uh! You might want to run away, and I certainly don’t want that to happen!”
Before she can reply, Mark and Jen pull up, tires squealing. They get out a few seconds later, grinning.
Nobody says a word as they drag Ashlee toward the Chapel doors. She struggles, but it’s 5-on-1.
Jen breaks the silence. “Give it up Ash! You’re not going anywhere!”
Ashlee sighs, but refuses to give up, trying to break free even when they enter the Chapel.
“Well, well, what do we have here?” Paul Bearer asks. “I thought you’d never arrive!”
“We’re here now, so let’s get started with the wedding.” Mark commands.
“Very well.”
Joey steps up to Paul, dragging Ashlee up next to him.
Paul glances at Ashlee, then Joey, and then back to Ashlee again, smiling.
He looks down at his big black book and starts to read.
“Do you, Joey take Ashlee to be your lawful wedded wife, to have and to hold-“
“You know I do, Paul!” Joey exclaims, cutting Paul off.
Paul nods then turns to Ashlee.
“Do you, Ashlee take Joey to be your lawful wedded husband to have-“
“No.” she mutters.
“What was that?” Paul questions, leaning in closer.
She glares at him. “I said ‘no’!”
He starts laughing, “It doesn’t matter now, because you know why?!”
She continues glaring, not saying a word.
“Because I now pronounce you man and wife! You may now kiss your bride!” Paul grins.
Joey turns to Ashlee, a gleam in his eye. Before she can say anything or react, he pulls her extremely close to him and kisses her passionately. Using his one hand, he grabs onto both of her hands to keep them from moving, and using his other hand, he places it behind her back and pushes her body up against his. He stops the kiss when he runs out of breath. The two of them gasp for air as the room erupts in cheers and call outs of congratulations.
Joey looks around the room grinning at everyone and saying thanks. He then picks up his new bride, who’s still in shock over what just happened, and carries her out the doors and out to his car.
“You and I are going to spend some time together.. alone.” He tells Ashlee, placing her in the car. He runs to the driver’s side and gets behind the wheel. Suddenly there’s a knock on the window, startling them both.
Shane looks at them through the window, smirking. “Forget something, Joey?” he asks, waving Joey’s keys in the air.
“Oh yeah, I forgot. I guess I was in a bit of a rush..” Joey admits sheepishly.
Shane nods, understanding. Joey opens the door and grabs the keys from Shane’s hand. “You two have fun now!” Shane says.
Joey chuckles, glancing over at Ashlee who is now staring out the window. “Don’t worry Shane-O, we’ll have lots of fun!”
Shane laughs. “I bet you will..” Joey starts the car and waves to his buddy as he speeds toward his house.
* * * * * * * * *
Meanwhile back at the empty arena in Greenwich,
Connecticut Andrew groans in pain. Where am I?? What happened
to me?? He sits up. The backstage area is dimly lit and eerily
quiet. He scans the room and notices another body lying on the floor.
“My God.. it’s Stevie! What did they do
to him?” Andrew asks aloud. He climbs to his feet, but yelps out
in pain as he leans on his bad ankle.
“Damn that Abs…” he growls.
He limps over toward the still Stevie. He bends down slightly and starts nudging his friend. “Stevie!! Stevie, get up buddy!” Andrew shouts out loud. “Those bastards must have gotten him good.”
He studies Stevie’s body, and sure enough, he’s got a lot of cuts and bruises. Andrew shakes Stevie lightly, and much to his surprise, Stevie lets out a slight moan. Andrew shakes him a little bit harder this time and Stevie blinks and opens his eyes.
He looks up at Andrew, pain in his eyes. “Andrew, what happened?”
“We got jumped by Joey and his goons.”
Stevie nods, trying to sit up. “OW!” he shouts out in pain. Andrew pushes Stevie back down on the ground. “Don’t try to sit up!”
“Okay, okay, I won’t.” He looks around. “Hey, Andrew, where’s Ashlee?”
Andrew’s eyes fill with worry. “I-I don’t know.. I think maybe they snatched her…” his voice trails off.
“Well, we gotta get her back!”
“I know, but first you and I have got to get to a hospital, then we’ll deal with them.” Andrew stands up, leaning lightly on his ankle. “A-ha. A phone.” He looks down at Stevie. “I’ll be right back.” Andrew makes his way toward the phone, but trips on his way there.
“DAMNIT!” He falls down hard, landing on his knees. He howls in pain like a wounded animal. Once the pain subsides, he looks to see what it was he tripped over. It was his brand new Intercontinental title. There was a note attached. He picks it up and reads it silently to himself, his eyes glowing with hatred.
“Andrew, what is it?” Stevie shouts across the room.
“A note.”
“What’s it say?”
“’Dear Andrew and/or Stevie,
How are you two feeling? I hope we didn’t hurt you too much! By now you are probably wondering where your dear friend Ashlee is. Well, since I’m in such a great mood, I’ll tell ya! By the time you read this, she’ll probably be with Joey, celebrating their wedding!! Yes, you read that right, WEDDING! Well, don’t miss her too much!”
Sincerely,
Shane-O & Friends.’”
“Marriage? WHAT? There’s no way Ash
would go through with it!” Stevie exclaims, not believing what he
just heard.
Andrew crumples the note up and throws it away. “We’re going to get her back if it’s the last thing we do.”
“Right!” Stevie says enthusiastically.
He sits up fast, but pain runs through his body almost immediately and
he shrieks out in pain.
Andrew limps hurriedly to Stevie’s side.
“Oh yeah, we got to get to a hospital first!” Andrew makes his way back
to the phone, making sure to not trip again.
* *
* *
Joey and Ashlee arrive at Joey’s house and he drags her to the front door. He unlocks it immediately and pushes Ashlee inside. He flicks the light on then proceeds to lock the door again. Hearing the click of the lock, Ashlee turns to Joey.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she asks, watching him.
He grins for about the 10th time that day. “I’m locking the door, dear. What’s it look like?”
“I know that, but why are you locking it?” She questions, glaring at him.
After completely locking the door, he walks over to her and casually places an arm around her shoulders, and holds her tight. “I don’t want you leaving me, that’s why.”
She sighs. That’s just great. He’ll never let me out of his sight.. My only hope is Andrew and Stevie.. I hope they’re doing okay.
“Ashlee?” Joey waves his hand back and forth in front her face.
She blinks rapidly. “Huh?”
“Didn’t hear what I said, did ya?” She shakes her head.
He looks into her eyes. “I want to request something from you..”
She raises her eyebrow in confusion. “Request what?”
“Well…” he looks down at the floor. “I want a kiss from you.”
“A WHAT!?!”
“You heard me. I want a kiss from you.”
“B-but, you’ve been kissing me all day!” she stutters.
“I know that, but it’s like you said. I was the one kissing you. You weren’t the one kissing me!”
She looks at him with a look of disbelief on her face. “You have got to be kidding me Joey.”
“I’m not..” he grabs her arms, his eyes pleading with her.
She shakes her head. “NO!”
He sighs. “I guess I’ll have to go call Shane and tell him to check up on Andrew…” his voice trails off.
“No! You don’t want to do that Joey!”
“You sure?”
“Yeah.. I’m sure.. I’ll give you your stupid kiss.” She cringes at the thought of having to kiss him. She steps up on her tippy-toes and gives him a quick kiss on the cheek. She looks at him, expecting a smile, but instead gets a frown.
“That wasn’t the kind of kiss I was expecting. I want one on the lips.” He stares at her, studying her expression.
She sighs, exasperated. As long as it prevents Andrew and Stevie from getting hurt anymore, I’ll do it. She tells herself.
“Fine, fine.” She stands up on her tippy-toes once again. Just a short, quick kiss… Joey smirks, watching her. Taking a deep breath, she kisses him on the lips, and as she tries to pull back, she realizes she can’t. Joey holds her head in place and kisses her back hungrily. She puts her hands on his chest in an effort to push him back, but he doesn’t budge. He starts to lean on her, causing her to take a few steps back. She keeps walking backwards until she walks right in to the wall. She’s trapped and Joey’s got her right where he wants her..