Unexplainable [Original Version]

[chapter twenty: "hypothetically speaking"]

"She goes tomorrow to see when she'll be off of her crutches. I figure she'll take a couple of weeks off after that at most, but that'll just be to make sure her ankle is completely healed. Eric said that she's free to return as long as her injury isn't visible." I want her back with us as soon as possible, but not before she's ready.

"It's too boring around here without her. It's been too long since we've all gone out and done something, you know? Either the three of us or the four of us. I know we've seen her since she got hurt, but I miss her." Scott chuckles, looking over at me. There's a look in his eyes, the same one I saw all the time when we would talk about her during our WWF days. Being away from someone you really care for sucks.

"I'm sure being locked up in her house all day isn't good for her." I comment, trying to figure out how I'm going to bridge this conversation into what I want it to be.

"I don't doubt it. It's hell when you're stuck alone with your thoughts." Scott shudders before shaking it off. "We'll have to throw a big party when she comes back, without a doubt."

"Of course." I grin, thinking about how great it'll be when Joli returns. "Our group works best when we're all together. We had a nice little set up, us, Joli, and Kid. Can't wait to get back to that."

"Me either." Scott agrees, leaning back against the headrest. "Nothing has ever broken us all apart, and nothing ever will. Not an injury, or being in a different company, or any type of bullshit."

"What if one of us were to somehow start dating Joli?" Oh, fuck. That flew out of my mouth quicker than I had planned, and Scott is obviously a bit taken back by my question. "Hypothetically speaking, that is."

Scott runs a hand through his hair as he thinks for a moment, a somewhat stunned look on his face. Once he comes up with his answer though, Scott turns back to me with a nonchalant expression.

"I guess it all depends on which of us it was and how they felt about each other. I'd like to think that no matter happens in any of our personal lives, we're all still here for one another."

"We would be. I don't doubt that. I just..." I trail off for a moment, trying to gather my words. Ugh. "It's crossed my mind that it's possible that, at least at some point, with all of us being so close, we could end up together. You and Joli have been really close for a long time, as have I and Joli. I guess I'm throwing it out there that anything is possible."

Scott raises an eyebrow at me for just a moment, and I swear it feels like he's just seen through me completely. I guess that's one of the big downsides of knowing someone so well, and having spent so much time learning their behaviors and their motives. Then again, it was probably obvious from the start.

"You're right. It's entirely plausible that either of us end up with Joli, for however long. It could be forever, or even just a day." Scott then shrugs and folds his arms over his chest, sending me a small smile. "I don't think I ever told you about it, but I actually asked Joli out once. It was, uh, right after she got to WCW. We'd known each other for probably, what, two weeks at that point?"

"Really?" I've never heard either of them mention it, but I'm not surprised it happened. "How'd that go?"

"How do you think?" Scott laughs before a frown comes onto his face. "She shot me down, saying that she wasn't really looking to get into anything serious. I never pushed her on it, and she never brought it up to me again. I assume she's forgotten about that day by this point."

"Huh. You know, I always used to wonder why Joli never really cared about dating. I mean, I get it; lots of sex with whoever the hell you want without any commitment is nice." I pause to gather my thoughts, though Scott pipes in.

"But, there's always got to be some sort of connection when you're fucking your best friend, right? The idea is simple in theory, but it's a lot more complicated when you keep it going for a long period of time."

Scott and I just stare at each other for a moment. There's this... gleam in his eyes that I barely recognize. He's fallen for Joli too, hasn't he?

I wish I knew how she felt, because everything has become so crystal clear to me now.

He's right. We both started having sex with Joli because it was just a nice little release for all of us; as adults, we all enjoy a good fuck. Yet, over the past few years (the past few months especially), things have changed. No matter how much Scott and I tried to distance ourselves and not fall madly in love with Joli, it happened anyway.

I can tell by the way that Scott's looking at me that he knows that his feelings have just hit me. I should've known all along, but I guess I just wanted to deny the way we both felt about Joli.

I clear my throat before I speak again. I don't know if I should necessarily mention my realization or not.

"Anyway, as I was saying, I never used to understand why Joli never seemed interested in a relationship. I figured it was because she could have whoever she wanted at any given time, but I know now that isn't the case. It's not really my place to ask, and you can tell me to just fuck off if you don't want to talk about it, but have you learned anything else about the piece of shit that hurt her?"

"Thomas?" Scott sighs, running a hand through his hair. "No, she's not said anything else about him to me. I've wanted to try and talk to her about him, but like hell I'm bringing that up. Has she talked to you about him?"

"Not at all. She's not said anything to me and I've not dared to ask, especially considering she's never even mentioned him to me."

Fuck Joli's ex-husband. I'd love to just punch that fucker square in the face, or cut his nuts off, or throw him into the depths of hell. Whatever worked at the time.

"I see." Scott and I sit there for a moment before he stands up and walks over to his bag, grabbing some clothes out of it. "Hey, I'm going to go take a shower real quick, all right? Since we've got to be out early in the morning."

"All right." I watch as he walks towards the bathroom. "Scott?" He turns around, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, Kev?"

"Whatever the fuck happens in the future, it all boils down to what Joli wants. Nothing is coming between the three of us." Scott nods and throws up a too sweet.

"I know that." He grins as he chuckles and heads on into the bathroom. I sigh and rub the bridge of my nose.

Things are going to be interesting around here from now on, but I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I need to talk to Joli and just lay things out on the table for her, but I'm going to have to be super fuckin' careful with it.

Maybe she's into me, too? That'd be great.

It's also very possible that she's into Scott, and if that's the case, whatever.

I just have to figure out a way to talk to her, but it's not something I'm going to do over the phone. The next chance I get, it looks like I'm hauling my ass out to Virginia to have some sort of little heart-to-heart with Joli. Fuck, I hope this doesn't end badly.

I love you, babe. I just hope you love me, too.