With or Without You
"Damn it!" Jay stormed through the locker room, destroying everything in his path. "It's not fair!" Other wrestlers looked on in confusion, even though they knew what he was angry about. Jay had always been so even tempered, so quiet about his frustrations, but lately it had been a different story.
Watching his best friend main event on Smackdown for the third week in a row was wearing on his patience. Jealously coursed through his veins. He was lucky to even get a curtain-jerker match on the prime-time show. His career was plummeting, and Adam's was beginning to soar.
Matt Hardy watched as Jay punched a locker and immediately began to rub his hand. He was tearing himself apart, losing his sanity. Matt couldn't help but fear for not only Jay, but others around him.
Adam entered behind Jay and quietly went to his locker, next to Stone Cold Steve Austin's. He didn't have to look at his friend to know he was pissed. The tall blonde didn't want to see his best friend in so much pain, but he sure as hell couldn't give up his career for the sake of Jay's.
Jay turned around to stare at Adam. The anger and hatred in his eyes scared Adam. He had never seen that look from those blue eyes before.
"You..." he started, his voice shaking in frustration, "You are RUINING my life!" Adam was startled. He opened his mouth, but the right words could not be found.
"Me.." he said after a minute, "How can I control this?" Jay glared, insanely jealous. "It's not my fault that you don't have anything." Jay's eyes grew wide. The piercing blue seemed to turn to ice.
"I'm nothing now! I used to be something!" He shouted, the other wrestlers in the room cleared out, one by one. "Remember when we were E&C?" He was almost in tears. "E&C...Edge and Christian. Never Christian and Edge. You knew you were going to be the star, you knew it from the start, that's why you made them split us up!" Adam looked hurt, but now angry.
"I didn't tell them to split us up! They wanted us to! They thought it would be better this way!" His brown eyes glanced down at the floor. He sighed, frustrated. "Jay, I can't help this and you know it. I don't want you to be jealous. Vince has big plans for you. I know it, just hang on a little longer and you'll see too." Jay shook his blonde head.
"No Adam. I'm done. I have better, maybe smaller, but better, things to do with my time. I am not going to be underused anymore." he moved across the room and began putting his clothes in a black roller suitcase. Adam stared at him, in shock.
"Jay, no. You can't just quit! It's not right!" He pleaded with his best friend, tears welling in his eyes. "Please! I can't do this without you. You're my support, you've always been there. " He rushed to stand next to the shorter man. Jay shook his head again.
"I'm leaving. I already talked to a few people. Not Vince yet, but the other people are going to talk to him for me." Adam sat down on the bench, holding his head in his hands.
"I can't believe this, you're taking the cowards way out." He was disappointed, shocked and in disbelief. He stood up again to be on an even level with the other man. "I'm gonna miss you Jay. Please keep i contact with me." Jay slightly smiled.
"How could I not? We've been best friends since we were what, 10?" He reached to shake his best friend and former tag-team partner's hand, but Adam pulled him into a hug. The two men held each other for a few minutes, tears flowing down their faces.
"I love you Jay."
"I love you Adam." He smiled, knowing things were going to work out. "I'll call you from the airport, ok? I want to spend some time with Denise and then I have been thinking about doing indy shows and maybe opening my own training center. We'll talk when you have time, ok?" And with that, Jason Reso took the handle of his suitcase and left his best friend, standing alone in a locker room, to continue on his path to stardom alone.