Always There
Chapter 1: Surprise
A/N: Hey, this is a repost of a story I had on here once before. I took it down because I was feeling insecure about it and unsure of whether I should leave it up because it just wasn't going the way I wanted to. I was ready to throw my notebook away and just forget about the story, but after reading some wrestling fiction again, I've decided to put this back up. I'm going to make changes to it that weren't in the original. I hope that you will all enjoy it, but even if you don't, that's okay. I'm still going to continue to write regardless of that because it's what I love to do. This story was originally in the first person perspective, but I've decided to change it to third person because it's easier since there are two characters in this story instead of just one. I hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the WWE Superstars mentioned in this story. I only own my OCs. I'm not making any profit from this story and am only doing it for fun.
Summary: Leah and Madison have always vowed to stick together no matter what and to follow their dreams. But when a tragedy strikes, they begin to question whether their dreams are truly what they should do or just a pipe dream.
"Madison!" Leah Kinney hissed. "Pay attention!"
Her sister looked at Leah and shrugged her shoulders. They were in English class, and the teacher was talking about the exam they would have next week. As usual, Madison was lost in her own world. Even though the girls twins, they weren't alike in any way. Leah loved English and hated math while Maddie was crazy about math and hated English. That was one of the reasons she wasn't paying attention to the professor.
After class was over, Leah pulled her aside. "Maddie, you better take this seriously," she lectured. "You're barely getting by in this class as it is, and you need to pass. If you don't Mom and Dad won't let you train to be a wrestler anymore."
Madison laughed. "Leah, relax," she said. "It'll be fine. I've gotten through stuff like this before. Besides, we only have one year until we graduate. After that, I'm going to be in the WWE."
"If you don't finish school, you won't be going anywhere," Leah warned. "Mom and Dad want us to at least graduate college before we do anything else."
"We will," Madison reassured her. "Stop worrying."
Leah sighed and decided to let it go. It was obvious Madison wasn't worried about anything that didn't involve being a wrestler. She lived in the land of dreams, never concerned about the real world. Leah had dreams herself, but she also knew that to achieve anything you had to work hard at your goal. Leah really wished Madison thought like she did.
Madison and Leah were identical twins, and the only way you could tell them apart was their eye color. Leah's eyes were green, and Madison's were blue. Both of them were the adopted daughters of Josh and Leslie Kinney. They adopted the girls when they were twelve years old. Josh was a computer salesman, and Leslie was an elementary school teacher. Before the girls were adopted by them, they were shuffled around to three different foster homes. The first two families kept them for a little while but decided the girls weren't what they really wanted. The third family seemed fine until Leah and Madison found out they were connected to drug dealers. After that, they weren't sure what would happen to them until Josh and Leslie decided to give them a new home. The girls weren't too trusting of them at first, but as time passed, they really learned to like them a lot.
"Leah, wake up," Madison said, waving her hand in front of Leah's face.
"Is she daydreaming again?" Deidre Ellis teased.
"It sure looks like it," Tiffany Underwood laughed. "What are you thinking about, Lee?"
Leah snapped out of her thoughts and turned to the two girls. "Nothing," she replied. "I just drifted off."
"Well, girl, you'd better wake up," Deidre said. "Andrew's headin' this way."
Leah turned and saw that she was right. Andrew Carson was a year older than Leah, and he was a really nice guy. They became friends when Madison and Leah first arrived at college and found they had a lot in common. Last year, the two began dating, and their bond grew stronger. Leah's parents approved of him, which was a huge plus for her.
"Hey, Leah, how's it going?" he asked her.
"Pretty good," she replied. "And you?"
"Good," replied Andrew. "Hey, I was wondering if I could come over and watch SmackDown with you. Do you think that would be okay?"
"I'll ask my parents and then call you," Leah said. "But I'm sure it'll be okay."
Andrew smiled. "Okay, cool," he said. "See you later. I have to get to class." He gave her a quick kiss on the lips, waved to the other girls, and left.
"I don't think Mom and Dad are going to like the idea of Andrew coming over," said Madison.
"Yes, they will," contradicted Leah. "It's not like I'm going to take him up to my room and make out with him. We're just going to watch wrestling. Besides, Andrew's been over for dinner a few times. I doubt it'll be a problem."
"Yeah, but your dad will probably watch you guys like a hawk," predicted Deidre.
"Dad's pretty laid back," Leah told her. "He knows Andrew isn't going to try anything with me. We all had a nice talk about that when we started dating."
"Yeah, Matt and Jeff are the ones who would be watching them like a hawk," Madison teased.
"When are they coming back?" Tiffany wanted to know.
"I'm not sure," Leah answered. "They're supposed to come back soon, but we haven't been told when."
"They better get home soon," Madison complained. "I want to show them what I've learned and hear what's going to happen at the Royal Rumble."
"You know they won't tell us," Leah told her. "They'll want to keep it a secret so we'll be surprised."
Many people were envious of the fact that Leah and Madison were close friends with two of the biggest WWE Superstars ever. Leah truly believed that if Leslie and Josh hadn't adopted them they wouldn't be close with Matt and Jeff Hardy at all. Josh and Leslie were family friends, and the girls thought of Matt and Jeff as their brothers even though they weren't related by blood. Sometimes the boys were a bit overprotective, but that just showed how much they cared about Leah and Madison.
After school was over, Maddie and Leah drove home in one of the cars Leslie and Josh bought for them. Even though the girls both had their own cars, they often drove together to school. Both of them worked at school as tutors for students, and they got paid. That was how they'd been able to keep up on their car payments, though Leslie and Josh helped out as much as they could.
As Leah and Madison pulled into the driveway, they heard a voice yell out, "Well, if it isn't Bubbles and Firecracker!" Matt had given them the nicknames when they first met. He called Leah Bubbles because of her bubbly personality, and Maddie was Firecracker because of her quick temper. Both of them were surprised to see Matt and Jeff in their yard. Those two sneaks had surprised them!
"When did you guys get here?" Leah asked, giving them a hug.
"A little while ago," Matt replied. "We planned on visiting you guys when we found out Raw will be in Raleigh."
"You are so sneaky," Madison said giving them her trademark glare. "Mom and Dad knew about this, didn't they?"
"We sure did," Josh said as he came out of the house. "Matt called us and told us they were coming over. You like the surprise?"
Both of them couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, we do," they said.
"Come on in," urged Josh. "Your mom's cooking a feast."
They went into the house, and smells from the kitchen enticed them with their good aromas. Leslie was at the stove stirring something in a pot. She always tried to make different meals so they could try new things. Leah and Maddie always joked that she could have her own cooking show.
"Hey, everyone, you're just in time," she said. "Everything's almost done."
"What are we having for dinner, Mom?" asked Madison.
"Spaghetti and garlic bread," she replied.
"Awesome! exclaimed Leah. She helped take the garlic bread out of the oven when it was done and set it on the counter to cool. Madison set the table and poured everyone drinks.
"Man, this is some good food, Leslie," said Jeff. "You're a good cook."
"Did your mom cook a lot?" Madison wanted to know.
"Yeah, she and Dad would both cook," replied Matt. "Every day they traded off. Mom was famous for her apple pie, and we'd always help her make it. I guess that's one of the things we miss the most about her being gone."
"Yeah, Dad's not a baker," Jeff laughed. "He tried to make pie like Mom did and ended up burning it."
"But nothing beats his ribs," Matt told us. "He's really good at that."
"How was school today, girls?" Josh asked.
"Good," Leah answered. "We have a test in English next week."
"Yeah, and I'm not looking forward to it," Madison added. "English is torture."
"I hope you'll improve this semester, Madison," Josh warned. "If you don't you'll be kicked out, and you won't be able to train to be a wrestler anymore."
"Dad, calm down," Madison said. "I'll be fine."
"You need to take this seriously," Leslie told her. "You're on academic probation."
"I know," Madison said through clenched teeth. "It's not a big deal. I'm going to be a wrestler anyway. I don't need college."
"Madison, a lot of wrestlers have gone to college before they became wrestlers," Jeff told her. "Everyone has to start somewhere."
"Yeah, give it a chance, Firecracker," Matt urged.
"I've been giving it a chance for five years," Madison retorted. "I hate it. I want to be a WWE Superstar. That's been my dream since I first saw wrestling. Besides, you guys didn't go to college, and that's proof that you don't need a degree to be a wrestler."
"That's true, but that's not going to be your destiny," Josh said firmly. "I want you to at least graduate college so you have a degree in case wrestling doesn't work out."
Madison didn't say anything else and shot an accusing look at her sister. Leah gave her a look that indicated she was on Maddie's side, but she turned away from Leah. Leah could tell she was upset about this conversation, and she decided to talk to her about later.
Both Hardy brothers sensed the tension in the air and began to talk about the WWE and what was happening. The girls asked them to reveal what would happen at the Royal Rumble, but they didn't reveal anything and said that they had to wait. This happened all the time, and the girls always tried to catch them off guard, but it never worked.
Then Leah remembered that Andrew was supposed to come over. "Mom, Dad, Andrew asked me if he could come over and watch SmackDown," she told them. "Is that okay?"
"That's fine," Josh replied. "Are you two going to stay?" he asked Matt and Jeff.
"Sure, we can stay," Matt replied. "That was the plan anyway."
"Great!" Leah exclaimed and dialed Andrew's number to tell him the good news.
"Cool," Andrew said after she told him. "I'll be right over."
"Okay," Leah said. "Matt and Jeff are here, so you can meet them." She thought about surprising him, but she didn't want to be rude.
"That's fine," Andrew said. "I'd love to meet them. I'll see you in a few. 'Bye."
"'Bye," Leah said and hung up.
Jeff smiled. "Aww, Bubbles is in love," he teased.
"Yes, I am," she told him.
"How long have you known him?" Matt inquired.
"I met him when Maddie and I first started college, but we didn't start dating until last year," Leah replied. "We wanted to take things slow, so we decided to date once we got to know each other more. He's from Raleigh and wanted to go to college because he thought it would be a good thing. He has a younger sister named Alyssa and is a huge wrestling fan."
When Andrew arrived Leah was worried that Matt and Jeff were going to be overprotective and interrogate him like a pair of lawyers, but they didn't. Leah could tell Andrew was nervous about meeting them, but he relaxed after talking to them for a few minutes. Things got even better when they watched SmackDown and commented on the wrestlers and the matches.
"Edge is such a dork," said Madison, rolling her eyes. "He doesn't deserve to be champion."
"I know," agreed Andrew. "He really needs to lose that title. Maybe if he did, his ego would disappear."
"No, if he loses the title he'll just whine and complain," Leah pointed out. "I remember when he complained that the fans had voted Shawn Michaels into a match instead of him."
"Yeah, that was so stupid," recalled Andrew. "Jeff, you deserve that title. You've earned it."
"Suck up," teased Matt.
Jeff gave his brother a look. "Are you saying I haven't earned it?" he asked, pretending to look hurt.
"No, I'm just saying that Andy's sucking up to you," replied Matt.
Andrew responded by throwing a pillow at the older Hardy. That led to an all-out pillow fight from all of them. They were having a great time until Leslie made them stop their antics.
After the show was over, Andrew said he had to head back. He said goodnight to everybody and that he was glad he'd met Matt and Jeff. Both of the brothers said they were glad they had met him and that if he ever wanted to see an event, they could hook him up. He thanked them, and Leah walked him to his car.
"Thanks for letting me come over," he said when they were outside. "Matt and Jeff are so cool. They're so polite compared to so many other celebrities on TV."
"Yeah, I know," Leah said. "They'll do anything for their fans. Most of the wrestlers are like that."
"That's cool," said Andrew. "I'll see you on Monday. I love you."
"I love you, too," Leah replied. She put her arms around him, and they kissed. Then Leah watched him get into his car and drive off. She was so lucky to have someone like him in her life.
When Leah went inside, Matt and Jeff complimented her on her boyfriend, saying they were impressed. She thanked them for their compliments and for not being so overprotective of her. Jeff said that when Andrew walked in, he could tell that he was trustworthy. It made Leah feel good knowing that they trusted Andrew and liked him.
"Well, we need to head home, too," said Matt. "We'll be back tomorrow to challenge you to some matches of SmackDown vs. Raw 2009."
"You're on," Madison and Leah said. They weren't about to pass up that challenge.
Both brothers said their goodbyes and headed out. After they were gone, Leah and Madison went upstairs to get ready for bed. Both of them were pretty tired.
"Well, that was an interesting night," commented Madison. "At least Andrew passed the Hardy test."
Leah smiled. "Yeah, I'm glad about that. I'd hate to think of what would've happened if they hadn't liked him."
"They probably would've thrown him out the door after beating him up," predicted Madison.
"Probably," Leah said. "Then he would've gone home in a bloody mess. You want to know what Andrew said?"
"What?"
"He said that Matt and Jeff were cool and that they acted nicer than celebrities on TV," Leah told her. "I thought that was very sweet of him."
"It was sweet," agreed Madison. "He's a pretty cool guy. You're so lucky to have a guy like him."
"You're not jealous, are you?" Leah asked her.
She shook her head. "Nope," she replied. "I'm happy for you, sis."
"Thanks, Maddie," Leah said and hugged her. Then they turned off the lights and settled down to sleep.
Leah always cherished the moments she had with her sister and her family. She was lucky that they had Josh and Leslie to be with them. But as Leah drifted off to sleep, she had a feeling that something was going to happen to change their lives forever. She tried to shake it off as nothing, but as she and Madison were about to find out, that feeling would become a reality, and it would shake them to their core.
A/N: So, what did you think? One of the big changes I made was that in the original draft Madison was secretly being trained to be a wrestler without her parents knowing about it. I decided that it wasn't logical for her to be training secretly, so I scrapped that part of the story and changed it. I really hope you enjoyed this story. Please feel free to leave a review after you've finished reading. Have a shelltastic day.