*!Make Up Your Mind!*

*************

As Shane leaped up the stairs he heard voices coming from Summer's bedroom. He knew he had to do this now or he was going to lose his chance, and his mind. Whatever came first. He knocked gently on the door, calling everyone's attention away from the things Summer was showing them.

"Shane, what can we do for you?" Summer asked a little taken aback.

"I need to talk to Hayley, if that's alright. Do you think I can steal her away for a few minutes?" he asked with a smile.

"Yeah, I need to get back to Jeff anyways, and I'm sure Trish has something she needs to do, like refill her drink?" Summer said nudging Trish in her side. She had thought there was something under the surface of Hayley's exterior when she had introduced them downstairs, and knew that this might be the chance she needed to confront it.

"Yeah, I do need another drink. We'll see you downstairs alright Hayley?"

"Yeah sure guys. This won't take long I'm sure. I needed to talk to him about some story lines anyway."

As Summer and Trish made their way out of the room giggling, Hayley turned to Shane and saw the look on his face. It was the same look from the club the other night when they'd talked the whole night. The same look she was hoping she would see again.

**********

"What do you need Shane?"

"I just wanted to talk to you for a minute, will you do that?"

"Yeah, I'm here and I'm listening. So what do you want to say this time?"

"I want to, god I don't know how to say this."

"It's easy, just say it."

"Believe me; It's not all that easy."

"Shane, you said before that you didn't need anything serious or want anything serious at the present time. So I'm here because Summer asked me. That's it. I didn't come here thinking you would be here so I could get into your system. I just wanted to make some new friends, since Summer was so nice to me on Monday night."

"I know."

"So if you know, then what are you up here for?"

"Someone explained to me what an idiot I'm being to you, and I wanted to say sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for Shane. We are both adults. Sure we had a good time the other night at the club, actually one of the nicest times I've had in awhile, being out with Amanda and Mike so much, but that's all it was. A nice time, and you want to keep it that way, and I completely understand."

"No you aren't letting me get this out, there's more to it and you know it too."

"I know absolutely nothing about you Shane. That's what I do know as of this moment. Is there something that will make that change?"

"God Hayley, why are you being like this?"

"Being like what Shane? I'm only being polite and understanding. I thought that's what you wanted. I can't see why we can't be friends. I mean we are going to be working together pretty closely over the next little while, I just want to make this job work as well as it can."

"You want the job to work right? So then do me a favor!"

"What kind of favor?"

"Go out with me. In the name of work if need be, just go out with me."

"Excuse me?" Hayley managed to choke out. Now this was something she hadn't expected happening at all tonight. She did want to get to know Shane better, but she wasn't going to push herself on him, and he didn't want it anyways. He had made that fact perfectly clear. She really had no idea where this was going, and she wasn't sure she wanted to know.

"Hayley Carmichael, I'm asking you out. I want you and me to go out somewhere alone, and just talk and have a good time like we did the other night."

"But I thought.."

"You thought wrong, and apparently so did I. So after I've spent the latter part of the day making an ass out of myself, I want to make it better. So will you go out with me?"

"I don't know Shane."

"What do I have to do to make you go out with me? I will do just about anything right now..."

"Explain to me where all of this is coming from, and then I will think about it."

Shane had no idea where to start with this girl. She was different then most of the girls he had gone out with before. The night spent at the club, there wasn't anything she wouldn't answer when he'd asked her, and the same seemed to happen to him. He normally didn't want people to know all that much about him, but with this girl, and her brutal honesty, he wanted to be the same way with her. He wanted to get to know her, and having her at work with him, it could only help him, couldn't it?

"When me and Shannon went to the club that night and I saw you sitting there alone, and Matt and Shan were all into talking about their girlfriends and wives, I figured I was as lonely as you were at that moment. So I took a chance and went to your table and talked to you. I had a really good time, and to be honest with you I couldn't get you out of my head. When you showed up at Raw in my locker room, I thought it was a dream. There was no way you could be there because I didn't tell you what I did or even give you my number. The reason I didn't do that was because I didn't want to lead you to believe I was home a lot of the time to call you, and I didn't want you to wait by the phone for me."

"But I never said I would do that did I?"

"No you didn't but let me finish okay babe?"

"Okay."

"When you showed up there and told me you were the new head writer, the one I'd been hearing about all night, my first thoughts were good, but then they turned bad because I don't want to throw you into my life, and make whatever was happening turn into a living hell. So I told you I wasn't ready for anything serious. The truth is, I'm 29 years old almost and I'm alone ninety percent of the time. All my friends are serious about their girlfriends or married. Jeff being the last one to do that. I don't want to be alone the rest of my life, but I don't want to mislead someone about me. So I pushed you away. I'm stupid and I thought that was right, but god you look so beautiful now, and I can't lie to you anymore. I want to get to know you Hayley."

"Are you done now?"

"Yeah I guess I am."

"Then here's my take on all of this. There are a lot of things we don't know about each other, and the only way to get past all of that is to try, so yes Shane Helms, I will go out with you. I will try."

"You'll what?" he asked. Shane had been hoping she would give this reaction so bad, but he knew after what happened the night before on Raw, that there was a chance she wouldn't even want to give it another try.

"You heard me Shane. You want to ask me out on a date with you, and I'm standing in front of you, saying that I will."

"So you'll give me a chance to make everything up to you? And get to know me better?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. So how many of your friends know about me now?"

"Matt and Shannon because they were there with me the other night, and well Jay because I wrestled with him last night and he knew my mind wasn't on our match when we were training. Jeff knows too, but he doesn't know you're the girl from the club, he just knows you as the head writer."

"Well okay then. We'll keep it that way for now. Summer and Trish might wonder what's going on, but at the time I don't want to tell them anything because I don't even know them yet. I would really like to know everyone that you know, to be part of your life at the moment, but it has to take time."

"Okay, I'll give you all the time in the world and I know they are all going to love you..."

"Yeah probably, I mean I am the head writer for half of them now aren't I? they have to like me!" Hayley smiled and hugged Shane gently. It felt nice to be this close to him, and know that he wanted to try something with her as well. Whatever that something was, only time would tell.

"So do you want to go downstairs and have a good time now?" Shane asked with a smile pulling out of the hug. He didn't want to let on to her the feelings he felt in his body having her that close to him. That would be better served for another time, when they were better acquainted.

"Yeah, I'm sure us being up here for so long is going to be the topic of conversation downstairs. Let's go have a good time. We have all the time in the world to discuss when we can go out on our first date."

"Yeah, all the time in the world."