Authors Note: Matt tweets a picture of us together after Hell in a Cell, I force him to sing Monster Ballads. Seems fair to me.
Disclaimer: Ah Hell, I might as well own them at this point.
Song lyrics from "High Enough" by Damn Yankees and "When I See You Smile" by Bad English
Pause.
I glared momentarily at the heavily tattooed man next to me.
Unpause.
Pause.
"Do you hear that?"
"No."
Unpause.
Pause.
"Seriously, you don't hear that?"
"No."
Unpa .. Pause.
"Oh come on!"
"No Shannon, I don't hear Matthew standing outside my window singing obnoxiously at 1 in the morning."
"So you DO hear it!" Shannon put his controller down and hopped over the back of the couch, crossing the living room to the window. "How'd you know it was him?"
I sighed, tossing my controller onto the couch. The sound from outside grew without the TV masking it.
"He's been doing it every night for a week."
Shannon snickered, pressing his face against the window to look outside. He lifted his hand to wave.
"A week, for real?"
I joined him at the window, jamming my hands in my pockets and rocking back on my heels.
"For real."
Matt Hardy stood in the center of my front yard, the light from the porch acting like a spotlight, belting out a song that hadn't been popular in years completely off key at the top of his lungs.
"Well fuck. Same song?"
"Nah. Last night it was Poison, the night before was uh .. Warrant?"
"Ah, nothing like best of the 80's Power Ballads to say I'm sorry." Shannon nodded appreciatively.
We both stood at the window, listening. Matt finished up Firehouse and went immediately into his next song.
"I don't wanna hear about it anymore, it's a shame I've got to live without ya anymore, there's a fire in my heart, a pounding in my brain it's driving me crazy! We don't need to talk about it anymore, yesterday's just a memory, can we close the door, I just made one mistake, I didn't know what to say when you called me baaaaaaaaaaabyyyyyyyyy! Don't say goodnight, say you're gonna stay forever, ooohh all the waaaaaaaaaaay!"
"Wow."
"Yep."
"I don't wanna live without you anymore, can't you see I'm in misery and you know for sure, I would live and die for you and I'd know just what to do when you call me baaaaaaaaaaaby! Don't say goodbye, say you're gonna stay forever, ooooh all the waaaaaaay!"
"God, he sucks."
"Yep."
I turned away from the window, flicking off the front porch light on the way back to the couch.
"That's harsh," Shannon said, turning towards me. I shrugged, and he launched himself back over the back of the couch and grabbed his controller.
Unpause.
Pause.
"You gonna forgive him?"
"I haven't decided yet."
Unpause.
Pause.
"I'm just sayin', no way in hell I'd stand outside freezing my ass off for any chick."
"Duly noted."
Unpau -- Pause.
"'Cause if you're not gonna forgive him, you should spare him the embarrassment."
"Kind of like he spared me the embarrassment of walking in on him and another chick in bed together?"
Shannon cringed.
Unpause.
Pause.
"In his defense, he said nothing happened."
"And I say if it looks like a duck, and walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it's not a damn chicken."
"Can't argue with barnyard logic."
Unpause.
...
...
...
...
...
"I think he stopped."
I checked my cellphone. 1:37 am.
"He gave up early tonight."
Shannon stood up, tossing his controller down on the couch and stretching his arms over his head.
"Maybe he just gave up all together."
I frowned down at the controller in my hands.
"You can only push him away for so long before he actually goes."
I nodded, refusing to meet Shannon's eyes. He grabbed the hoodie he had deposited on the recliner and pulled it over his head, replacing and adjusting his baseball cap.
"See ya."
I stood up and walked Shannon to the door, flipping on the porch light as he opened the front door.
Matt was standing on the porch, hands shoved in his pockets.
"Hey," he nodded at Shannon, stepping aside to allow him to walk.
"Hey yourself." Shannon walked to his car, standing by the door to watch.
Matt looked at me. I started to close the door, but his whispering voice stopped me.
"Sometimes I wonder how I'd ever make it through, through this world without having you, I just wouldn't have a clue. 'Cause sometimes it seems like this worlds closing in on me, and there's no way of breaking free, and then I see you reach for me. Sometimes I wanna give up, wanna give in, I wanna quit the fight. And then I see you baby and everything's alright, everything's alright."
I tried to fight it, but I felt the corners of my mouth twitching.
"When I see you smile, I can face the world, oooh, you know I can do anything. When I see you smile, I see a ray of light, ooh, I see it shining right through the rain. When I see you smile, baby when I see you smile at me."
I looked down at my feet.
"That one's my favorite." I heard him exhale in relief.
"Well, it only took me two discs to get to."
I looked up at him, those brown eyes I got lost in every time.
"I didn't sleep with her, I swear. I passed out and when I woke up she was in the bed, and you walked in."
"Hmm." I raised an eyebrow at him, my arms crossed.
"I wouldn't do that to you. I promise you. I know how it feels."
Pause.
I had to admit, he had a point there. I'd watched his heart break firsthand through all that, I couldn't imagine he'd do that to another person, let alone one he'd known since childhood, one that he claimed had found him when he thought he was lost forever. Me.
"You're a terrible singer."
He shrugged. "Guess it's a good thing I'm paid to beat people up."
I smiled.
"Guess so."
I let him take a step closer, closer, closer.
Unpause.
No idea what the obsession is to make him sing in every story. I'm well aware he's a god-awful singer. *shrugs*