~DISCLAIMER~ I DO NOT own Shannon Moore, Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy, or Shane Helms. They all own themselves. I DO own Kasie James. I also do NOT own the song Because of You. That goes to it's rightful owners. =)

~Shannon's POV~

We strolled into bar; without Kasie. "Where's Kase?" Jeff asked Matt. "She's back at the hotel. Probably asleep on the couch." he answered, that familiar smirk settling itself across my best friend's face. A mental pic came to mind. Kasie James, lying on the couch in her trademark neon green tanktop and purple basketball shorts, asleep with that dreamy look on her face. I was Kasie's best friend. Kaise never told me what went on in her love life, and I'm not surprised. Girls always want to keep that stuff to themselves. But I wish she would say something. She always has these bruises that she swears are from falling into the door or the sink. She tells me that Matt would NEVER hurt her. I try not to think that Matt could have done it. He's been my best friend since him, Jeff, and I were little. But whenever they're together, she ends up with a new bruise. 'I hope Kasie ends it with him soon.' I thought.

~Kasie's POV~

My feet pounded against the sidewalk as I ran towards the bar. "Come on, Kase!" I told myself, pushing on. I pushed back the huge sleeves of the hoodie that Shannon gave me a week ago. 'Please don't let me run into Matt.' I thought as I showed ID and made my way to the back. "Next up for Open Mic Night, it's..." I stopped her from saying my name and walked onto the small stage. I flipped the hood off of my head, exposing my firey red hair. "It's me, Kasie James, performing my own piece, Because Of You. Matt, I love you, but I can't do it anymore. I've got to end it." I announced, tears pricking the back of my eyes. The 4 were in shock, Shannon more shocked than the others.

I will not make the same mistakes that you did
I will not let myself
Cause my heart so much misery
I will not break the way you did,

You fell so hard
I've learned the hard way
To never let it get that far

Because of you
I never stray too far from the sidewalk
Because of you I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt
Because of you I find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me
Because of you I am afraid

I lose my way
And it's not too long before you point it out I cannot cry
Because I know that's weakness in your eyes
I'm forced to fake
A smile, a laugh everyday of my life
My heart can't possibly break
When it wasn't even whole to start with

Because of you I never stray too far from the sidewalk
Because of you I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt
Because of you I find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me
Because of you I am afraid

I watched you die I heard you cry every night in your sleep I was so young
You should have known better than to lean on me
You never thought of anyone else You just saw your pain
And now I cry in the middle of the night For the same damn thing

Because of you I never stray too far from the sidewalk
Because of you I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt
Because of you I try my hardest just to forget everything
Because of you I don't know how to let anyone else in
Because of you I'm ashamed of my life because it's empty
Because of you I am afraid

Because of you
Because of you

I finished with tears in my eyes. "I love you, Matt." I whispered, and walked off the stage quickly while wiping fresh tears off my face. 'I didn't want to do it, but because of you, I'm afraid to do anything. I'm afraid to let anyone into my heart, and you made me that way.' The lyrics echoed through out my mind as I slowly walked to the hotel. I knew that I'd reach it before the guys because the bar was packed. It started down pouring, so I pulled up the hood and finally reached the hotel, wet from the rain. My stuff was packed and I moved it to the only room I knew Matt would never look in: Shannon's. Sitting on the floor, I leaned against the bed and memories flew through my mind. All had something to do with Matt. I did really still love him, but I was tired of it all having to be about him. I was tired of being abused and blamed. Everything that I am, was mostly his fault. "Where is she? She's not in our room, and she's not hiding out in Jeff's!" Matt yelled, echoing out in the hallway. 'Why weren't you there for me, Matt? Why was I always there for you when you needed me? But you're too busy when I need you.' I thought, getting up off of the floor and opening the hotel room door. "I'm right here, Matt." I choked. He stared down at me with concerned eyes. "Are you mental or something?" "No, I am the complete opposite. I actually stood up for myself. Why do you think the world revolves around you? The sun doesn't shine down on your ass(1)." I spat, my eyes burning with tears. "I have no clue what you're talking about." "Don't, Matt. Stop acting like you don't know." I growled. I turned around, unzipped the hoodie, and pulled off my tanktop, revealing the bruises. "Oh my god, Matt. What is your problem?" Someone's hand grazed a bruise and made me flinch in excrutiating pain. "Didn't mean for you to touch!" I almost yelled, pulling the hoodie back on. Shannon pulled me into his room. "That's what he's been doing to you?" "Yeah." I answered quickly. "Why the hell did you let him do this to you?" he asked again, softly. "What was I supposed to do? The only person I could have run to was you and you're best friends with Matt!" I practically yelled, tears fell onto the carpet, sparkling as they fell. "Hey, you could have told me anytime. I would have believed you." he replied, reaching out to wipe the tears away. "This is all his fault. If I hadn't of dated him, I wouldn't be here, screaming at my best friend, crying over my own broken body." I whispered, feeling really bad for yelling at Shannon. "If it helps with your anger, then you can scream at me anyday of the week." he shot back, making me smile a bit. "Thanks. I think I've done enough yelling for a life-" I was cut off by his lips against mine. Seconds later, he was staring me in the eyes. "Kasie, I love you." "I- I love you too." I stuttered, not sure if I had actually said it or not. "I'm glad you and Matt are over." "Why is that?" "2 reasons: 1, he's not hurting you anymore. And 2, I can kiss you all I want and get away with it." he answered, wrapping his arms around me gently, remembering the state my back was in at the moment. "Yeah, I like that last reason." I grinned, and pressed my lips to his before wrapping my arms around the neck of the one I TRULY loved and would always love.

This story is completely fictional. Matt Hardy is NOT an abuser, and Shannon NEVER fell in love with a Kasie James. Shannon and Matt are both awesome wrestlers and should be thought of as such. =D

(1) - My best friend Stephanie's sister, Alyssa, says this whenever her daughter Zoey is being whiney and annoying. She looks at the 3 year old, cocks her head, and says "The sun don't shine on YOUR ass, sister. It shines on MINE. I'm yo momma, so get over it. When you become 18 and you don't wanna live her no more, you can move out and get ya a hobbie." For the record, I freaking LOVE Stephanie's family. Her 3 older sisters and their kids are my family. Oh, and her older brother is family, too. =)