A/N: This is my first foray into the wrestling world's fic, although I have been an avid fan for years. I hope you all like this story. Any comments and or suggestions are appreciated!

I do not own the characters in this story, much to my dismay. How I would love to have a Shane all to myself. :)

Shane McMahon had always been far more sensitive than he wanted to admit.

He watched his father, Vince McMahon, dote on his little sister Stephanie. It didn't matter what she did, his father always bailed her out. He always protected her. The same couldn't be said for Shane. What he got was the complete opposite. Vince always came down hard on Shane. When Stephanie would get hugs, Shane would get his ass kicked. Shane always felt unloved, mediocre. No matter how well he did or how hard he tried, it went unnoticed by Vince.

Shane's mother, Linda, wasn't much better. She was so engrossed in the business dealings in the WWF that she barely noticed Shane. Stephanie was always good at gaining Linda's attention and affections, just like she was with Vince. Linda would drop what she was doing if she felt her little girl needed her. When it came to Shane, however, he was swatted away like a pesky fly.

Stephanie never let Shane forget the fact that he was the forgotton child, either. She would goad Shane into an argument over that very thing at every opportunity. It was always 'Shane, you're not good enough' here and 'Shane, why don't you go jump off a bridge, nobody would miss you' there. When he would become angered enough to raise his voice to Stephanie, there was one of his parents, sticking up for Stephanie. Shane couldn't get a word in edgewise to explain himself. It was simply punishment time.

Little did Shane's family know that it would all come to a head.

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Sixteen year old Shane was sitting around a bonfire in his friend Rodney's backyard, along with his friends Pete and Joey. It was Friday night and Shane had just gotten his driver's license. Rodney had gotten some alcohol from a friend of his who was old enough to buy for the boys. They stayed around the campfire, talking about girls and getting completely drunk out of their minds, until they were out of alcohol.

Shane stood up after a couple of attempts, legs wobbly. "Man, I... I gotta go... m-my dad's gonna kill me!" Shane laughed as he started staggering from the backyard to head home.

Rodney hollered after him, "Get back here you pussy! Jus' stay here... daddy dearest won't know a thing!"

Shane shook his head, pausing briefly with a laugh to regain his balance. "Can't... told 'em I'd be home. Catch y'all later!"

Shane slowly made his way down the street, back to the McMahon home. He gazed up at the house with glassy eyes, noticing that the house was dark. Shane couldn't believe his luck as he giggled to himself, staggering to the front door. He opened the door as quietly as he could in his current state, closing it just as quietly. He was almost home free! It was then that he tripped over a pair of shoes, presumably Stephanie's, falling to the floor with a thud, cursing in what he thought was a whisper, "Gahdammit! Stupid brat!"

In reality it would have woken Vince had he not already been awake. He had been impatiently waiting for Shane to return. He had given Shane a curfew and Shane broke it. This did not sit well with Vince. As Shane slowly pushed himself up to a wobbly vertical base, he heard his father's voice, "What the HELL is wrong with you?"

Shane bit the inside of his cheek; even drunk he knew that tone. "I uh... nothin', dad. Just going to bed..." Shane tried to exit but the back of his shirt was grabbed by Vince, halting his escape.

"I don't think you're going anywhere. Do you know how late it is? I don't have time to mess with this crap from you, Shane! You're practically a man and I still have to treat you like a child. I have an early flight and I'm tired. Then you come strollin' in the door at 1am, drunk out of your mind! I should kick your ass!"

The noise roused both Linda and Stephanie from their beds. They stood at the top of the stairs, watching the exchange between father and son.

"Why do you bother? Its not like you give a damn if I come home or not! None of you do! Go to bed! Nobody asked you to wait up for me! Stay out of my business!" Shane tried to pull away from Vince but to no avail. Instead of getting away, Shane was whirled around and before Vince could stop himself, he'd backhanded Shane in the face.

Vince heard the gasps of his wife and his daughter from the landing, as well as his 10 year old daughter's, "Daddy, no!", his eyes widening as his son hit the floor in front of him. He had never manhandled Shane like that in his life; sure, he'd spanked him a time or two but he had never, ever treated Shane like this. This truth was evident in his son's eyes as well. Shane stared up at his father and Vince felt the pain that was eminating from his son. Vince attempted to reach out to Shane but Shane scrambled away from him, out of reach.

"Stay away from me! Don't touch me!" There was more fear than malice in Shane's voice and it broke his heart.

"Shane-O..." Vince tried, but was cut off by Shane once again.

"Go to hell, Vince! Go back upstairs to mom and your little girl. I'm out of here!" With that Shane was on his feet, scrambling away as quickly as he could, grabbing a set of car keys hanging by the door on the way out.

Vince's eyes were filled with regret and fear as he heard the keys jingle by the front door. He was out the door like a shot, trying to stop Shane before he could take off. Vince was too late; Shane was peeling out of the driveway as Vince got close. Vince ran his hands through his hair, pulling on the dark strands for a moment, calling, "SHANE! NO!"

The black sports car sped off into the night.