Just A Little Bit of Something
Chapter One - The Works, Philadelphia, Penn.
I'm only getting' paid 3 notes a week and this is the kinda crap I'm expected to deal with? Mae Lancer thought to herself as she spun around and dealt the guy harassing her another blow to the cranium.
"The bigger they are…" she muttered and shoved him toward Carl, the 300-pound bouncer who kept her out of the hospital - or jail - when her temper got the better of her.
"Don't you think you ought to let me handle 'em from now on?" Carl hollered over the music pounding through the crowded bar. "How else am I supposed to earn my paycheck?" he continued, slinging his friend's latest victim over his shoulder in a fireman's carry and heading in the direction of the entrance.
"By flirting with underage girls when you're tryin' to figure out how they got their fake IDs, of course," Mae answered as she headed in the opposite direction - back to the bar she served from. "So, gentlemen," she exclaimed upon her return, "what'll it be?"
Awestruck by the petite brunette, the patrons took a moment before replying with their drink orders. Mae served them up with a smile and wink, gratefully accepting the tip they offered. Hey, a girl can't survive on a paycheck alone anymore these days.
Five hours later, last call was a welcome sign. Mae flopped on the bar, practically overjoyed to hear Carl lock the front door after shooing out the last of the night's clientele.
"Whassamatter doll?" her oversized friend teased, strolling across the floor to join her. "Rough night?" Mae raised her exhausted head and glared daggers at the man she had adopted as her big brother. His only response was to chuckle and ruffle her hair affectionately.
"Go home, get some sleep. I can finish up here with Molly, she hasn't had to deal with your particular brand of customers all night."
"Oh Carl you're a god among apes, you know that?" Mae sighed and shuffled to the locker rooms and was quickly homeward bound.
When she entered her tiny studio apartment she was greeted by a small pile of unpaid bills and her dog Atlantis, a 75-pound Doberman that the landlord knew nothing about.
"Hey Lanny-girl," she murmured as the dog sprang up from her sprawl on the mattress to greet her mistress. "Well you had a productive day I see," Mae added, noting the decimated roll of toilet paper that currently littered her floor. The dog just smiled her doggy-grin and gave her best Who, me? impression. Snickering, Mae ignored the mess and flopped facedown on her bed. Atlantis joined her within seconds and soon after, the two were completely passed out.
***
WWE event in Philly, at the superstars' hotel
"Yo! Matt! The fuck is taking you so long?" Jeff Hardy once again found himself pounding on the door of the bathroom he was sharing with his older brother, wondering what on earth it was that he could be doing.
"Keep your panties on, I'll be out in a minute!" came the answering shout. Jeff rolled his eyes in frustration.
"Staring at it won't make it any bigger, ya know," he called through the door, hoping if he irritated Matt enough he might just open the door and he could sneak in past him.
"It'll still be bigger than yours," came the taunting reply. Damn! Foiled again!
Practically growling in frustration, Jeff flopped on his bed and found himself channel surfing, occasionally knocking the back of his multi-colored head against the wall out of sheer boredom. Ten minutes later…
"Matt! What the hell man?!? Get out of the friggin' john!" The bathroom door opened to reveal Jeff's darker-haired brother with a look of extreme annoyance on his face. "What the fuck were you doin' in there?"
A few moments passed, then Matt's irritation turned to mischievousness. "Seeing how long it took you to get bored out of your skull," he grinned, and earned a slug to the arm. He countered with a headlock and soon the brothers were bouncing each other off the walls good-naturedly.
Fortunately, before they broke anything too expensive, they were interrupted when someone knocked on the door and entered, not waiting for an invite. The Hardy boys looked up at their guest simultaneously with identical looks of I've got him, just one more minute and he's mine! on their faces, causing their singular audience to burst into laughter.
"Kelly! Hey, what's up?" Matt asked, not releasing the chokehold he currently had Jeff in. To his credit, Jeff did wave at Kelly in greeting, as he was unable to speak.
Taking a few deep breaths to keep her giggles under control, the blonde Diva waved back. "Jeff, Matt, so nice to see you boys acting like adults." But her patronizing words were softened by the grin that rarely left her face. In answer, the boys shrugged in unison, then got back to business.
"Whoa, whoa hold it there!" she called over the thuds of elbows hitting possibly important internal organs, pausing the match once again. "John and Dave wanted to know if you guys are coming out with us tonight. Apparently there's some bar they really want to go to."
"Yeah, we're all for it," Jeff wheezed, his neck still a little sore. Matt was facedown on the floor but he managed to squirm out of Jeff's hold long enough to nod his assent before becoming pinned again.
"Great, we'll come get you around eight," Kelly declared before taking her leave, not really sure if either of the brothers heard her.
"What'd she say?" Matt asked, climbing atop one of the beds and diving over his brother.
"You think I was listening?" the younger Hardy answered as he rolled out of the way just in time to avoid becoming part of the carpet.
***
Thankfully, when eight o'clock rolled around and the brothers had another impromptu guest, they were showered and ready to party. John Cena barreled through their door, and chased them out into the hallway, obviously more than ready to go.
The group consisted of John, Kelly, Jeff and Matt, Kofi Kingston, Phil Brooks (better known as CM Punk), Mike Mazarin (the Miz), John Hennigan (Morrison), Mickie James and Oscar Gutierrez (Rey Mysterio). Dave Batista had opted out, claiming he was still sore from his Lumberjack match earlier in the week.
They all piled into an assortment of taxis and, following John's directions, wound up disembarking in front of a blue neon sign that read The Works. Good natured chatter was constantly flowing throughout the group as they filed inside and found their way to the bar or the dance floor.
Jeff and Matt hung back for a minute, surveying the crowd. Matt eventually slapped his brother on the shoulder and went to join some of their friends dancing, while Jeff decided to stick to the wall and entertain himself people-watching.
Most of the subjects he found the most interesting were either drunk off their ass or well on their way. One such character had jumped up next to the DJ and was loudly requesting that he play some Metallica. A college-aged girl on the dance floor was yelling up at him, alternating between insulting his manhood and plaintively begging him to come down before he fell. Jeff chuckled to himself, and was about to join Phil and a few others across the room, when a sudden commotion broke out at the bar.
Jeff glanced over in time to see a man leaning halfway over the counter, grasping the bartender and it appeared that he refused to release her. The clearly sauced client seemed to be demanding something from the young woman and she was undoubtedly denying him. For reasons unknown to him, Jeff found himself making his way closer to the scene unfolding.
Mae's arm was sure to have bruises on it the next day, as she was currently being held in the vice-like grip of a 40-something businessman who had too much to drink and the wrong idea of the kind of services she offered.
"Listen buddy," she hissed through gritted teeth. "You've got exactly three seconds to get your slimy paws off me before you're left with nothing more than a stump." The drunk just chuckled, thinking she was playing hard to get.
"Aww, c'mon," he slurred. "I'll betchoo know how to show a man a goo' time."
"Time's up!" And Mae curled her free hand into a fist and slammed a powerful right hook into her tormentor's temple.
Jeff stared in shock as the bartender, who could not have weighed more than a pair of sandbags, even soaking wet, laid the drunk out in one smooth move. The man was then grabbed by the bouncer who had eagerly allowed Jeff and his cohorts into the bar, and tossed into the street without ceremony. This was unnoticed by Jeff as he continued to stare at the fierce brunette who had the meanest punch he had seen in quite some time.
Damn, he thought absentmindedly. I haven't seen a hit like that since the last time - Holy shit! The rainbow-haired warrior's train of thought had been completely derailed when he finally got a good look at the face of the bartender.
"Mae?" he heard his voice call, as if it had a mind of its own. The girl behind the bar didn't seem to hear him though, and began to make her way to the back. Intent on catching her before she disappeared, Jeff ducked and swerved his way through the crowd and managed to spot her slipping through a door.
"Mae!" he called again, this time louder. He knew she heard him, because her whole body stiffened before she slowly turned around.
It was a dream. This whole night was a dream, Mae kept repeating to herself. Because there was no way the man she had finally given up hope on ever seeing again had just appeared in front of her. In her city. In her bar.
Shaking herself out of her moment of disbelief, Mae noticed more than a few eyes were on her and Jeff, watchful for more drama. Not wanting that, she mentioned her old friend to follow her, and disappeared through the door she was holding.
Blinking, it took Jeff a moment to gather himself, but he followed her back to a plain, yet comfortable lounge. Mae was pacing when he entered the room, obviously distressed by the sight of him. Deciding to let her start, he sat down on the couch and began to wait her out.
It took Mae a few minutes to realize that Jeff had followed her and was currently sitting perfectly still, watching her every move. That made her blush and she turned her back and bit her lip hurriedly, trying to hide her embarrassment. Once she got her expression under control she forced herself to face him.
"What are you doin' here?" she demanded, hands akimbo, her stance practically threatening. Jeff's brows raised in surprise at her hostility, but his better judgment reminded him of the guy she had just taken out cold, and he remained calm.
"John rounded everyone up and decided this was the place to be tonight," he answered, his eyes never leaving her face. "You know how he gets when he's been in a hotel too long." He was about to continue explaining when Mae interrupted.
"Wait a sec, what d'you mean everyone?" Rolling his eyes in annoyance, Jeff didn't answer her, just met her gaze evenly. "You mean everyone, don't you?" Mae muttered, her entire body seemingly deflated and she collapsed in an armchair. Silence stretched between them again until Jeff couldn't take it anymore and began questioning her himself.
"Where the hell have you been?" His old friend's eyes shot up to meet his when she registered the undercurrents of emotion in Jeff's voice. And just when he thought she might actually answer him honestly, her eyes hardened and she turned away.
"Nowhere. So what brings you to Philly?" Realizing he wasn't going to get anything cleared up with her in the back room of a bar, Jeff let it go - for now.
"Same thing that brings me everywhere Mae - wrestling."
In the back of her mind, Mae was practically having a meltdown. One side of her psyche was screaming to run, run now! He hurt me once before, he'll only do it again! Meanwhile the other side of her kept urging her to go to him, touch his hair, make sure he was real and then hang on for dear life. And at this point, she was pretty much helpless to listen to either point of view. So she did the next best thing and avoided it all.
Jumping up, she headed for the door and back to her bar. "Well listen, I got customers calling. Can't just hide in back cuz I got assaulted again."
Jeff snorted, making her turn and fix her questioning gaze on him once again. "Somethin' funny there, Jeffro?" Without even meaning to, the old nickname had rolled right off her tongue, like it had been waiting for its chance the past six years.
"Oh no, I'm sure you feel all shaken up about that little 'incident' earlier," he scoffed. "I think we might need to re-acquaint you with the meaning of the word 'assault' though. Cuz from where I was standing, you were doing just fine all on your own." The grin that had been threatening to spill out ever since he sat watching her, finally spread over his face and Mae had to bite down twice as hard on the urge to run to him.
"Gotta keep the fans in line," she replied sarcastically and then was gone, leaving Jeff trying to convince himself not to follow her. He was still arguing with himself when he stepped back into the main part of the bar and right into his brother.
"Hey there you are! We been looking for you everywhere," Matt cried. "Where the hell you been?"
"Oh nowhere. Just in the back, talking to Mae," Jeff replied nonchalantly.
"Well alright, but next time - wait, what? Mae?" When Jeff simply nodded and turned his brother's attention to the bar, Matt could only stare for a moment before charging over to the young woman he had considered a little sister.
Mae was just about to swing herself back behind the bar, when she was grabbed for the second time that night - this time strong hands gripped her waist and bodily heaved her into an equally strong chest.
"Does everyone want a friggin' concussion tonight?" she yelled in aggravation, struggling to get away. Her body instantly stilled when a familiar voice answered in her ear.
"I dunno babe, you just point 'em out and I'll let you know."
"Matty!" Mae turned her head and caught sight of Jeff's older brother - the most welcome sight she had seen in quite awhile. The moment he set her on her feet, she was jumping back into his arms, this time giving him the bear hug. "Oh my god I didn't even think - when I saw Jeff it just freaked me out so much I didn't even realize you would be here too!"
"C'mon babe, you know where one Hardy goes, the other ain't far behind. Especially when it comes to our best girl," Matt answered, completely understanding her train of thought. "I missed you so much, Mae."
Hearing those words almost made her lose it right there in the crowded bar - almost. "I missed you too Matt. I can't count the number of times I wanted to call you." Pulling back to get a good look at her face, Matt's expression turned to one of slight confusion.
"Then why didn't you? How come none of us have heard from you in so long? You know the second you called we would have been there." Mae nodded, dropping her gaze to the floor, answering Matt's question without speaking. "You didn't want him to know where you were, did ya?" he murmured, already knowing the answer, her nod of assent only confirmed the suspicions he had the past several years. "Oh honey," and he wrapped her back in a hug.
Jeff didn't join the two in their reunion, but he did watch from the sidelines and his chest became extremely heavy when he saw Mae's face fall at something Matt said, and then bury herself in his brother's chest. A moment of jealously flared within him before his brain kicked him into remembering there was never anything going on between the two most important people in his life, and that there never would be.
He shook himself out of his thoughts when he saw Matt glancing around, looking for him. He lifted his arm in a wave and once his brother caught sight of him, the two began making their way over.
"Mae's coming with us," was all the elder Hardy had to say, and Jeff's life turned upside down.