STORY: Crash and Burn

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the wrestlers; they are owned by people who are not me. 'Money Bought' belongs to Nickelback.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Yes, it's my not-so-triumphant return. I've been suffering from serious writer's block, but hopefully this'll get me going again.

A/N 2: When I heard this song (on Nickelback's 'Silver Side Up' - buy it now, it absolutely rocks), I knew immediately that it was Steph. So, I had to write it. Good or bad, I don't care, I just needed to write it!

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I remember the first time I saw Stephanie.

She was perched on a stool in Lou's Bar, a favourite hangout for most of us. Crowded around her was a bunch of the wrestling students, and prospective future employees of her father.

She was demonstrating her party tricks to them, and, as I watched her tie a cherry stem in a knot with her tongue, I remember noticing how young she was.

She must have been about fifteen, yet she was in the bar with what looked suspiciously like a Cosmopolitan in front of her.

But of course, only the best for Vince's little girl.

She had come up with her father while he was checking out the Canadian 'talent'.

Every day, she would come in wearing something new and expensive - I never saw her in anything twice. The brand labels would be displayed somewhere prominent for all to see.

Her clothes just screamed 'I cost a fortune!'; so did she.

You could tell, just by looking at her stance and posture, that she was rich - she exuded a kind of self-assurance that you usually only find in people three times her age.

Yet I knew it was just a façade.

Her father had obviously tried to make up for his absences by buying her presents; lots of them.

As a result, Stephanie had everything a girl could want - the clothes, the makeup, the accessories, the shoes, the books, the TVs - but no more.

Sure, she had the attention of the guys, but only for sucking-up-to-Vince reasons.

Behind the clothes, the stance, the attitude, Stephanie was just a lonely little girl.

Stephanie held court at Lou's that whole week- the guys were always eager and willing to do anything for their future bosses daughter.

But me? I just watched from a corner. I wasn't about to partake in their superficial games.

More men would keep coming up to her, introducing themselves as if she should know who they were. Each time, a blank look would flicker over her face momentarily, but it would pass, and she would pretend that she did know who they were.

"And so I said, 'But why would they hire a housekeeper?!'," Stephanie exclaimed. The guys around her all chuckled appreciatively at her derisive remark.

Stephanie had only ever seen one kind of lifestyle.

How could she be expected to handle another?

As the week ended, Stephanie and her father left.

She didn't acknowledge one of us, simply choosing to put her headphones on her ears and tune out.

The money and the attitude.

I knew how she'd turn out.

And I was right.

A little less than ten years later, she was holding court again.

It was in a different bar, in a different country. The guys weren't the same, and she was old enough to legally drink now, but nothing had changed.

The clothes were the same. The attitude? If anything, it was worse.

Growing up around money had made her accustomed to it.

Her father had made sure that, in her youth, she had everything she wanted.

As an adult, she expected no less.

She had grown into a spoiled brat who couldn't care less about Chris Jericho.

But I loved her anyway.

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