1.1.1 Prologue

"I can't even believe you, how could you do this to me? I saw you with my own eyes. Let go of me!" Amy wrenched her arm away from Matt, quickly wiping angry tears that had sprung up in her eyes.

"Amy, please, I swear it wasn't like that. I mean she kissed me! I didn't know what to do. I didn't kiss her back I swear!" Matt tried to reach for her but she pulled out his reach, and then turned around as the door behind them opened and Cassie walked in.

"You bitch, I can't believe you!" Amy yelled, "We've been friends for 10 years and...Oh god." And broke down and cried.

Cassie looked down at the floor and with tears in her dark blue eyes said, "Amy, I'm sorry. Please, I didn't mean to do it, it was my fault. Matt didn't do anything I just, I don't know what I was doing."

"I can't be here. Cassie, I swear, both of you! Don't call me, don't try to reach me, I, I can't deal with this. I can't believe you! It's over Matt!" She ran out of the room, eyes flashing with angry tears and disappointment.

"Amy wait, damn it, Amy!" Matt yelled and he tried to run after her only to be stopped by Cassie. He wrenched his arm away, "Don't ever f*cking touch me! I can't believe you! I thought you were her best friend, how could you do that! You kissed me, you..."

"Matt please let me explain. I just, I just wanted to see what it would feel, and I guess I was jealous this whole time of you and Amy. I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking." She cried, "But don't worry, I know she loves you, she does."

"Yeah, well thanks to you, she's not talking to me anymore and I'll probably never be able to tell her that I love her too." Matt said angrily. Jeff entered the room. "Hey, what's going on here?"

"Nothing, it's over.... I'm going to Amy's. I have to talk to her." Matt left the room, and the room was silent except for sobs from Cassie.

Jeff stood next to her unsure of the situation. "Umm, Cassie what's going on? Where's Amy?" Jeff had only met the girl yesterday. But had heard her name many many times from Amy whom Jeff and Matt had met about 8 months ago, when Matt and her had met at the gym and since then had been inseparable.

"Jeff, I'm sure Matt will explain. I have to go. Please tell him I'm sorry." And with that she walked dejectedly out of the room.

1.1.2 Chapter 1

Jeff opened the door to his house for Beth, the girl that he had been dating for almost a year now. He smiled as the strains of Eddie Vedder singing "Alive" reached her ear and she started singing to it. He was absolutely, inevitably, unshakably, in love with her. She was the perfect girl for him, great sense of humor, could be serious but fun to be with. He only wished his brother Matt could be as happy as he was.

"Hey Jeff," Beth said as she pulled him down on the couch with her, "Matt's here isn't he?"

"Well, who else would be blasting depressing music at 5:00 in the afternoon. He's definitely here."

"Hey, I have a great idea. I met this girl at school the other day and she'd be so perfect for Matt. She's got curly blonde hair, blue eyes, and she's really really sweet, why don't we double?" She said, reaching for his hand excitedly.

Jeff brushed her hair out of her eyes and shook his head, "Nah, we better not, not unless she had light brown hair, hazel eyes and her name is Amy Dumas, he won't go for her." "Brown hair? I thought he liked blondes," Beth said questionably. "Well since he already found his perfect girl and he thinks he can't have her he names other people, but seriously he's been hung up on Amy for like almost a year now. And if she's your friend, knowing Matt he'll go out on a date with her, they'd probably sleep together and then Matt would do that whole send the roses thing and never see her again. That's what he's been like since Amy and him broke up. No relationships. Just sex."

"Oh," Beth said, leaning her head on his shoulder, "well, that's sad. What happened to Amy?"

"I don't really know he doesn't really talk about it. She was this wrestler chick that we hung out with a lot back then and Matt was totally, absolutely in love with her. She was crazy about him too, even with the whole scheduling conflicts and stuff that we had; it was like as long as they had time for each other they were the only ones in the world. But anyway, that ended and all I know is it had something to do with her best friend this girl named...ummm, god what the heck was her name? Carrie, Callie...no, wait, it was Cassie... yeah Cassie. Amy's still in wrestling, in fact last time I heard she was in ECW..." Just then Jeff heard the door upstairs slam, "Oh shush, he's coming. He'll kill me if he found out I told you."

"Hey Matty," Beth said standing up and gave him a hug.

"Hey hun," he said, then walked over to the kitchen to grab an apple, "what are y'all doing tonight Jeff?"

"Shane and Shannon are going to be here in an hour to hang out before we go to that club...you game?"

"Nah, can I hang out here tonight? Dad's having that poker thing with his buddies and frankly I'm not up for smelling tobacco all night long."

"Sure, but are you sure you don't wanna go clubbing with us, it'll be fun and you never know who you might meet up with." Jeff said, wriggling his eyebrows.

"No thanks. Call me when Shane and Shannon get here," he said, climbing up the stairs.

Jeff stood up pensively. "Hey Jeff, what are you thinking about?" Beth said quietly. "What's the date today?" Jeff asked. "Ummm, August 4, why?" "Oh crap, it's their anniversary. That's why he's not going out tonight." Just then the doorbell rang and Beth walked over to open the door. She opened the door to Shannon and Shane, who pushed past her and ignored her then walked over to the couch. "Yo Jeff, where'd you get the midget." Shane asked, laughing at the outraged expression on Beth's face.

"I am not a midget you dork." She yelled as she ran over to him and jumped on his back, pulling hair. "AAAAAhhhh...Jeff get her off of me...she's got hair...get her off."

Jeff pulled Beth off of Shane and cradled her in his arms, giving her a kiss on her forehead. "I told you to stop messing with my baby."

"Yeah whatever, get a room. Where's Matt?" Shane asked as he went through the fridge, pulling out carrot sticks, dip, a bag of chips, soda, and a carton of Chinese food. "Hey what the heck are you doing, we're only gonna be here for a few hours." Jeff said.

"What are you talking about we? This is for me." Shane answered as he settled himself on the kitchen table and started munching on the food, "So wherefvs matthfew?" "What? Ew, dude finish your food. That's disgusting." "Oh sorry, where's Matt?" "He's upstairs you sick dog! You're so gross. Hey Matt, the WCW losers are here!"

Matt came downstairs. "Oh dude, I have movies!" said Shannon rummaging through his backpack, "I've got the Pearl Jam tour video, a few tapes of RAW, Silence of the Lambs and oh my friend just sent me a copy of the most recent ECW Pay Per View." As soon as he said ECW Shannon knew he had made a mistake, "I mean I have a..."

"Shannon, it's okay. I'm over her all right, damn, I don't know why you guys still tip toe around the topic of me and Amy f*cking Dumas. She refused to see me, I tried but she refused, I accepted that then and I know it now, so you guys need to stop. Now, let's watch Pearl Jam."

Everyone quickly dropped what he or she were doing and immediately went over to the couch to watch the video. When it was over it was around 9:00 pm and Jeff, Beth, Shannon and Shane stood up to get ready to go out.

"Matt are you sure you don't wanna come with us?" Jeff asked before he followed everyone else to the car.

"No it's alright. I have a few things to do. I'll see you guys later."

Jeff left the house and ran to the car. "Hey Shane, listen, I want you to drive down the road and just wait for me. I got to do something real quick, I'll be there in like 5 minutes." Shannon, Shane and Beth all looked confused but nonetheless quickly did as he asked. Jeff quietly ran over to the window that looked into the living room, where Matt was still sitting. As soon as the car engine revved up, Matt stood up from his seat. He went into the bedroom, and Jeff saw that Matt had taken out the portable phone. He sat down playing with the phone a bit and then stopped staring at something on the side of the room. Then all of a sudden as if making a decision Matt stood up and opened Shannon's book bag, taking out a blank video, popping it into the VCR. Jeff shook his head as Matt quickly fast-forwarded the tape stopping at the part where Angelica and Danny Doring were coming out. Matt was still sitting down, concentrating on the match when Jeff's cell phone started to vibrate. He bent down and pressed the button, whispering "What?"

"Where the hell are you man? We're still waiting at the side of the road. What the heck are you doing?" Shane said.

"Shh, I gotta go, I'll explain it all later, bye" Jeff said hanging up. He watched as Matt leaned back and focused on the match. As soon as it was done, Matt rewound the tape and watched it over again. Jeff was just about to leave when Matt suddenly turned off the TV and once again fiddled with the phone.

Jeff watched carefully as Matt dialed the number, seemed to wait and then wait some more and then hung up.

"Damn, who is he calling?" Jeff said, and then a brilliant idea came into mind. Carefully, he took out his cell phone and dialed Shane's phone. "Shane, come back here now."

"Alright, Jeffro, you're actually really weird but I'll do it." Shane said, and Jeff could hear Beth asking worriedly what was going on as he hung up the phone. Meanwhile, Jeff could see Matt just dialing the number over and over again then hanging up after a minute or two.

As soon as the car pulled up, Matt dropped the phone in surprise. Jeff immediately ran to the door, signaling for everyone else to stay in the car. Seemingly out of breath, he opened the door to his house where Matt stood up in surprise. "What happened Jeff?"

"Um, I realized that I wore this shirt the other day and that I didn't tell dad we were going clubbing tonight. I mean what if something happened. I'm so selfish sometimes." Jeff said reaching for the portable phone and running to the bedroom. En route he was stopped by Matt who suspiciously looked at Jeff and said, "And you usually 'call dad' before going clubbing? Why couldn't you just use your cell phone?"

"Well there was no signal and, whatever Matt it was my new years resolution to call dad more often so I will. Back off." And with that answer, Jeff went into his bedroom and quickly pressed the redial button. The phone rang about 3 times and then an answering machine picked up. He shook his head as he heard what he had suspected. "Hi, this is Amy, leave me a message at the tone or I'm gonna hunt you down and hurt you. (Laughter). No seriously leave your number or else... Beep."

1.1.3 Chapter 2

"So let me get this straight," Shane said reaching for a beer from the round the waitress had just brought over to their table, "As soon as we left, he started watching the video just to see her and then he dialed the number just to hear her voice?" Jeff took a swig of beer before answering, "Yeah basically, and he rewound the parts where she was on over and over again." "Oh man, that's so pathetic!" Shannon responded. "Well I think it's sweet and sad," answered Beth, "I mean, he must still love her so much. And he can't have her, damn this is like a movie."

"Oh but he will soon," Shane said with a sly look in his eye. "What are you talking about Shane? What's up? There something you're not telling me?" Jeff asked suspiciously. "Well it's not a definite, but there will be a really really good chance of that happening since the rumor is Amy was just signed for the WWF."

"Shut up!" Jeff said, standing up in excitement, "Well, when's she gonna start?"

"I don't really know, but I think sometime this month. From what I heard she signed the contract a few weeks ago, but they don't really know where to put her yet."

Jeff sat quietly for a moment, not even noticing when Shane and Shannon stood up to dance with any girls they could find. Beth sat down and stared at her distracted boyfriend. "Hey Jeffy, what's wrong?"

"Huh? Oh sorry babe, I just feel bad for my brother ya know. I mean I just feel like I should have been around so I would know what had happened between them. I just want him to be as happy as we are."

She smiled at that and reached up to kiss him. "Matt's a big boy Jeff, I don't know if he'd appreciate you trying to fix his love life, I mean you know how he is, he doesn't even let anyone else go into his room, he's so private." Jeff thought for a moment, "All I know is that I want him to be happy and if invading his privacy is the only way I can do that, well then get ready for my invasion."

Across the club that night, Amy Dumas sat with a few friends around her. She really wasn't up for partying tonight. All she could think about was that it was August 4th. August 4th, damn how long was it gonna take for her to stop feeling depressed whenever this date came. "Matt. I wonder what he's doing right now? Probably with some girl or something," she thought inwardly, and was immediately angry at herself at the pang of hurt she felt. She knew that it was only a matter of time before she would be a regular at the WWF and then she wouldn't be able to avoid seeing him. She had followed his career all these years, knew that Matt had referred to himself as "single" although she could hardly believe that, and that they were riding high on a wave of popularity. As one of her girlfriends came back with drinks, Amy stared at the screwdriver that her friend had placed down in front of her. "Hey Ames, are you okay? You seem really distracted today." She looked concerned, and as soon as she said that, all other 4 girls huddled around.

"Guys," Amy said, "It's August 4th."

"Oh no. Ames, come on, not again, you've been doing this to yourself for way too long. He's not worth it." They all said.

"Yeah, but I really think he was and I blew my chance to ever know. He probably hates me and I don't blame him. I mean what if he was telling me the truth and Cassie really did do what he said, I mean I never gave him a chance, I was just so mad."

"Yeah, but that was justifiable. Look, why don't we go out to the dance floor and we can all boogie on down and just ignore the fact that well that it's August 4th, besides another half an hour and it'll be over." Said one of her friends. Amy laughed and allowed herself to be dragged to the dance floor. As soon as she was, her friends separated and she was pushed into two guys who were dancing with a girl in between them. They both stopped and stared at her as she mumbled an I'm sorry and went back to her friends. Shane and Shannon quickly stopped, said sorry to the girl they were dancing with and immediately ran over to Jeff and Beth who were slow dancing to a very fast song, but seemed to be in their own little world.

"Jeff Jeff, oh my god, you'll never guess who's here!" Shannon said excitedly.

"What? Who?" Jeff said. "Amy!" Shane and Shannon said.

Jeff turned around and looked at the dance floor, and then he saw her. Still looked basically the same, but her hair was longer and she looked curvier than usual but it was definitely her. He also watched as she laughed and danced with her friends. Laughed and danced, while his poor defeated brother sat at home listening to her voice on the answering machine. "That's bullshit," Jeff thought out loud. Shane and Shannon looked at each other, in the span of five seconds, Jeff had gotten really really pissed off, ever since they were little they had always been able to tell when Jeff was angry, his eyes would turn a dark shade of green and he somehow seemed sinister. Beth looked up at him worriedly and looked at the girl herself. She saw what Jeff couldn't see, that Amy's friends seemed to be saying things to make her to laugh and that while she was dancing with friends, she didn't seem as happy about it as she should have. Girl's intuition. But she knew that this was a bad time to bring that up with Jeff.

"Hey Jeffy, you wanna go home?" Beth asked quietly. "Yeah let's" Jeff said hoarsely and Shannon and Shane nodded in agreement.

1.1.4 Chapter 3

Two weeks later, Amy was en route to her first WWF show. She had no idea what to expect and frankly didn't even care. She was almost completely broke and frankly would do anything short of taking off all her clothes to get money. Little did she know that she would come close to it.

As she entered the back doors of the arena she could feel the mixture of excitement and nervousness run through and felt her stomach clench at the thought that she might see Matt for the first time in person today since they had broken up. She hadn't spoken to Cassie either, she thought forlornly, she missed her best friend and had been tempted many times to call her but had never been able to.

She walked in and looked for a woman named Megan who was supposed to show her around today or at least what she was doing. As soon as she entered she saw two scantily clad girls waiting on the side. She looked down at her jeans and hoodie. Hmm, guess I overdressed, she thought to herself.

She waited awkwardly for the woman, and was relieved when she saw a harried looking brunette looking straight at her. "Excuse me, are you Amy Dumas?" Said the woman quickly. "Yes I am,. Are you Megan?"

"Yep that's me, come on let's go, we need to find you an outfit and then you can just wait here with those girls." Amy could feel her stomach dropping, "On no. I'm gonna be dressed like them?" She thought, but she smiled at Megan and followed quickly. She entered a room where there were two rows of clothes, or what were supposed to be clothes. "Okay Amy, you just pick whatever you want, I'll be back in about 15 minutes. Bye! Oh I almost forgot, you're going to be one of Godfather's ho's tonight, is that going to be a problem." "No," Amy said unenthusiastically, "I know what they are." "Oh good, I'm sorry hun, I know you're a wrestler but we're short one tonight. Just go with it." Megan said before leaving the room.

Amy walked around the rows and finally settled for a pair of extremely short shorts and a mid drift baring tank top in silver, knowing that there was really nothing else she could wear and it wasn't like she had never done this before. She hurried outside to stand with the other girls.

She had just introduced herself when she felt a breeze from outside come in. She gasped inwardly when she saw Matt walk in wearing black jeans and a leather jacket, one of the girls looked at her strangely and turned around just in time to see Jeff come in too. The two brothers walked quickly, not even noticing the girls standing on the side. Amy released the breath she was holding in. And noticed that the girl was still looking at them, "nice ass" she heard the girl whisper. "Which one are you talking about?" Amy asked, gritting her teeth. "The brunette, I'd have the blonde for an appetizer but he doesn't look like he would last, I'd definitely have the brunette as a main meal," She finished smiling at Amy in confidence. "Uh huh, that's great," Amy said coldly then turned away and sat down.

Meanwhile in the locker room, Jason Reso and Adam Copeland had just finished putting on their tights when the Matt and Jeff came in. Matt immediately walked over to the bench and began unpacking. "Hey boys, did you get a look at the new ho's? Man I swear if I didn't have a girlfriend who loves me, I would totally hit that." Jason said, winking at Jeff who had told them about Matt and his lack of interest in women as of late. "Yeah," Adam responded, "I would totally hit that too. How about you Matt?"

"Well, if I wasn't an hour late getting to the arena because of my idiot brother, maybe I would have more time to notice my surroundings." Matt answered as he pulled off his shirt and chose another one from his bag. "Damn Matt, I'm sorry. You know how Beth gets when we have to go on a loop she kind of gets freaked. I'm sorry." Jason and Adam stayed out of the argument knowing that eventually the brothers would work themselves out of it. Jason reached for the remote control and turned on the TV. "Yeahhh....new ho's," Adam said. "You are such a pig Adam," Jason said, "You should say, Yeaahhh, new scantily clad women, just to be politically correct." "Oh shut up Jay!."

Jeff wet his hair in the shower and grabbed a towel. He was just about to use it to snap his brother when he saw who was on the television. "Holy shit, turn that off!" He yelled at Jay and Adam. "What?" They said, perplexed at Jeff's reaction. "For the love of God, turn that off!" He said, trying to wretch the remote control from Jay's hand. "You're so weird Jeff," Matt said taking a swig of water, and looked over at the TV. Immediately he noticed who it was and spit the water out. "Ugh, Matt, that's gross." Jay and Adam said, "What did you two have to eat today? Now look, Matt turning all pale, what's wrong with him?"

Matt sat down on the bench, "That's Amy, my Amy and she's a...a..a ho....my Amy," he mumbled.

Jay and Adam's eyes grew big, they all knew about the infamous Amy. Jeff ran to turn the TV off. "Oh yeah, umm Matt, I meant to tell you, she just signed with the WWF."

"Signed with the WWF," Matt repeated as if he was being taught something.

"Yeah, she's gonna work here." "Work here, my Amy."

"Ok, Matt snap out of it, you're scaring me!" Jeff said, shaking his brother.

"What? Oh yeah, what?" Matt said.

"Focus Matthew, focus, we have a match in like 15 minutes, focus."

"I'll be fine Jeff, I gotta go. Gotta talk to her." He said, as he went outside the door.

"Woah..dude...that was Amy? She is hot!" Jay said. "Yeah, no wonder Matt's all bent out of shape about her. She's really really cute, not cuter than my girl, but she has really nice...ah....legs" Adam answered back. Jeff finished dressing and then said, "Yeah, like I'm sure you were looking at her legs. That bitch, has made my brother miserable for months. And look, he's still not over her. It's disgusting. I personally don't give a shit about her."

"Hey, relax Jeff, I mean you don't really know the entire situation behind their break-up. Don't judge her, just because your brother's hurting. I mean maybe she's hurting too." Adam calmly said.

"No believe me, she's not hurting, I saw her the other night, their anniversary, laughing and having fun."

"Well did you tell Matt about it?" Jay asked.

"Well, no of course not, the guy was sitting at home listening to her voice on her answering machine. How could I do that to him?" Adam and Jay looked at him and couldn't think of an answer, but still felt that there was something deeper going on.

Amy quickly pulled the clothes off and dressed back into her own clothes. She just wanted to leave; before she saw someone she just was not ready to face. And she ran out of the dressing room and into the parking lot. When she did, she heard the door open behind her, could hear his voice calling her name, but she was in the shadows already and knew that he couldn't see her as she ducked under a car. As soon as he went back inside, she quickly went to her own car and started the engine relieved and yet confused.

"He still wants to talk to me." She thought, then knocked down the feeling of euphoria that her and Matt could still be together gave her, "Yeah, he was probably just gonna yell at you for even being in there, and dressed like that, damn." She berated herself, and then turned on the radio hoping to block the thoughts circulating in her mind. It didn't. Every single song reminded her of Matt.

By time she arrived home, she was exhausted as she greeted her dog, Cody who eagerly greeted her. She saw the blinking lights of her answering machine and pressed play. "Hmm...5 hang ups? That's weird." She said to herself but didn't think anymore of it as she settled down for bed.

A week later, she was sitting across from one of the bookers from the WWF. "So let me get this straight? They are recommending that I get a boob job?" She said incredulously.

"Well yes," the man answered back a little uncomfortable, "Will that be a problem?"

"Well no, I guess, but I mean how am I gonna pay for that?"

"The company will pay for it."

"Yeah, but I do get to choose the umm, size don't I"

"Yes of course." The booker replied. Two weeks later, Amy had her operation, and was recovering from the ordeal.

1.1.5 Chapter 4

"So I'm walking in the cafeteria of the high school, and I realize that I'm naked..."Jeff paused for dramatic affect as he looked around the living room. It was Thursday night, their day off and Matt, Jeff, Adam, Alana, Denise, Jay, and Beth were all sitting in comfortable spots in the room. Jeff was sitting next to Beth on the love seat, Jay and Denise sat on the floor near them, and Adam had his head on Alana's lap, while Matt sat on the lazy boy on the side.

"Oh, I've had that dream before," Everyone replied.

"...And I realize that I have a bottle of water ... down...there..."Jeff continued gesturing downwards.

"Instead of a..."Matt asked.

"Yep..."

"Nope, never had that one," Everyone answered back, most with confused looks on their faces.

"Yeah, it's this Poland spring one liter bottle, and I'm looking down at it and suddenly it begins to boil. And this whistling noise comes out. Now I don't know what to do, and everyone's looking at me."

"What? They weren't looking at you before it started boiling. Umm, how about the fact that you're naked and you have a water bottle instead of a..."Jay said incredulously.

"Yeah okay...is this my story or yours Jay?" Jeff replied.

"Yours but..."

"Then I'd zip it! Anyways, I decide that I better open it before it explodes so I reach down and as I'm about to twist open the bottle, I thought to myself, oh men, this is going to hurt, and just before I twist it, I woke up."

"Okay...what the hell were you smoking when you had that dream?" Matt asked.

"Whatever guys...here I am, exposing my inner most feelings and all of y'all make fun of me!" Jeff said.

"Your thing was a Poland Spring bottle...you are soo insane!" Alana said.

"Okay, Alana, I'm gonna tell you to shut up, but I 'm sure you won't listen so here... I am beginning to ignore you...yup...IGNORING" Jeff said.

"Shut up," Alana began.

"What? Definitely still ignoring."

"Hey, stop being mean to her Jeff," Beth pleaded and with that, Jeff apologized quickly and then began kissing Beth.

"Ugh! Would you get a freaking room Jeff!" Matt groaned.

"All right, Betty-beth-beth, lets go to the kitchen...it's seems Matt can't handle our combined chemistry and hotness," Jeff said, pulling her up from the couch and laughingly drew her into the kitchen. He was leaning down to kiss her again when she pressed her fingers to his lips.

"Jeff, I have to talk to you about something," she said. "Huh?"

"Remember when we saw that girl Amy at the club?"

"Well what about her?"

"You got all mad because she was having fun with friends right?"

"Yeah?"

"Well I just wanted you to know that I really don't think she was having that much fun. I mean it looked to me that her friends were forcing her to have fun, like making her laugh and stuff. It just didn't look like she was all that much into it. It looked like she was pretty distracted actually."

"Beth, why are you telling me this?" Jeff asked.

"Because I know how you are. Since you think that she wasn't hurting as much as Matt, I know that you'll do everything to make sure they don't get together cause you don't think she's good enough for him."

"Well, she isn't good enough for him. But because you told me this I swear...I won't try to dissuade him from seeing her again."

"Ok, I just wanted to make sure. Umm Wow, that killed the mood." She said.

"Yeah, oh well. I love you." Jeff said.

"I love you too." She answered and they walked back into the living room together.

"Wow that was quick," Jay said as soon as they came out.

"Where's Matt?" Jeff asked.

"He went up to his room. I think he had to use the phone." Alana said.

"Let me go see what he's doing," Jeff said. He walked up the stairs and saw that Matt's door was just a little bit open. He stood outside, ready to burst open the door when he heard what Matt was saying.

"Hi, umm Amy this is Matt. I was just calling because I thought I saw you at the show the other night and I wanted to know if...ugh you're an idiot. Yeah ok, I just wanted to know if you would let me be in your life again. Ok, I can't say that."

Jeff pushed the door open to see Matt leaning on the table in front of the mirror holding his head in his hand.

"Hey bro." He said quietly.

"Hey. Jeff what am I gonna do? I really want to see her again. If anything just to see if I still feel the same way as I always have."

"Well give her a call."

"No, did you just hear me? I sound like an idiot."

"Well you just need to relax. Or you can just wait until she starts traveling on the shows with us."

"I guess. I just miss her you know?"

"Yeah, she was a cool girl. I miss Amy too. You never actually told me what happened between you two."

"Oh. Well you remember her friend Cassie?"

"Yeah, she was cute, really quiet but cute."

"She kissed me and Amy walked in on us."

"What?!" Jeff said incredulously, he had never expected this.

"I didn't do anything. We were sitting there talking, and I mean I was really nice to her because I mean come on; she was Amy's best friend. I was asking her how I should tell Amy that I loved her, because I never actually told her. And then she just leaned up and kissed me. I didn't know what to do, but before I could pull away, Amy walked in the room and started freaking. That's about it. And she wouldn't listen to me when I tried to explain."

"Well, I think you can fix this. It'll all be fine soon. Hey, tell ya what, since Dad isn't gonna be here this weekend, how about we just have everyone hangout here at the house. It'll be cool, like a weekend party. How about it?"

"Alright, let's go."

1.1.6 Chapter 5

Amy had fallen asleep in her living room while watching TV. She pulled the blanket around herself, knowing that she should go upstairs to her bed. She was just about to do so when the phone rang.

"Hello?" She asked groggily.

"Hello. May I please speak to Amy Dumas?"

"This is she. Can I ask who this is?"

"Oh Amy. Hello, this is Mrs. Adams, Cassie's mom."

"Oh, Mrs. Adams, hi is there anything wrong?" Amy asked, and she could feel a sinking feeling in her stomach.

"Well, I'm actually not feeling that well right now. I know that you and Cassie have grown apart but you've always been the best friend she's ever had. I just wanted you to know that she's not doing that well and if you wanted to, you can visit her."

"Excuse me? What do you mean she's not doing well?"

"Didn't Cassie tell you that she had leukemia?" Mrs. Adams asked, her voice shaking.

"What? No, I.... she never told me." Amy said, as tears began to fall from her eyes.

"The last time she came to see you, she had just found out. I'm so sorry Amy, had I known you didn't know, I would have gone there and told you myself."

"Oh my god. We got into a fight and oh my god."

"Amy, dear please is there a friend you can call or someone, I don't feel well with you being there alone."

"Is she...?"

"No, not yet. But I have to tell you, she's really not doing well"

"I'll be there as soon as I can. You're still in Florida right?"

"Yes, same house, but I'll be at the hospital. My number is 555-9898. You just give me a call when you can dear."

"I will. Thank you Mrs. Adams." She put down the phone with shaking fingers. She didn't know what to do. Cassie had been her best friend for years, and she was losing her. She grabbed a bag and her keys and began the drive back to Florida.

1.1.7 Chapter 6

The hospital was quiet when she finally arrived late in the afternoon. She went to the hematology suite of the hospital, unsure of what to say or do. She asked for the room of Cassandra Adams, but was told that she had to be a family member in order to see her.

"Well, then can I please talk to Mrs. Adams? She's my best friend. Please." Amy pleaded with the nurse, tears coming into her eyes. The older woman looked at her and could see the helpless terror and vulnerability seemingly invading every pore of her being. She quickly paged Mrs. Adams.

"Amy dear, thank goodness you're here." A tall, slim blonde woman came into the hallway. Amy had never seen Cassie's mother like this. Growing up with her, Amy had known that Cassie and her mother had never gotten along. Unlike her own close relationship with her mother, Cassie and Mrs. Adams hadn't really been able to talk to each other. But seeing, the woman now, the fatigue and sadness in her eyes, and Amy knew just how much she really did love her daughter. She walked over to her and hugged her.

Tears began to flow freely down both of the women's cheeks. "She's asleep right now, but do you want to see her?"

"Oh yes, please." Amy said, shakily, still not really able to believe the news that she had been told.

"Alright, but I have to warn you before we go in there, that she doesn't look that well. There are a lot of machines in there, and she lost her hair during the chemo. But she still looks beautiful," and then Mrs. Adams was shaken with tears. "I just can't believe I'm losing my baby."

Amy hugged her and handed her a tissue. "I'm sorry, I just have been feeling like this ever since the doctor told me that there was only going to be a few weeks left. I thought I had already prepared myself, but..."

"I understand, Mrs. Adams."

"Come on." They walked together down a long hallway. Amy shivered. She was trying to prepare herself for the worst and yet knew that she would never be really ready to deal with losing Cassie. They stopped in front of Room 525. Mrs. Adams walked in first, followed closely by Amy. She turned on a small light near the bed and Amy looked down at her friend. She looked so tiny. Cassie was wrapped up in blankets, her small hands flat on either side of her, with tubes going to a needle in her arm, with all sorts of machines around her. Amy covered a sob as the finality of the situation hit her.

"I have to go talk to her doctor," Mrs. Adams said, patting Amy on her back, trying to comfort her. "You can stay in here and wait for her to wake up, she should be up in a few minutes. I'll be right back."

Amy pulled a chair near Cassie and picked up her hand. She tried to stop the flow of tears, in an attempt to be brave when her friend woke up, but couldn't. She looked down on the floor, willing herself to stop crying when she heard a quiet voice say:

"Amy? Is it really you?"

"Yeah, it's me Cass." Amy said, using the nickname that only she had been allowed to use.

Tears began to flow out of Cassie's eyes. She squeezed Amy's hand. "I'm sorry about Matt, I'm so so very sorry Amy."

"It doesn't matter now. You're what's important now." Amy said, shaking her head and wiping her tears away. "Why didn't you tell me that you were sick?"

"When I went to visit you, I meant to tell you. But then I saw how happy you were and I just couldn't bring myself to tell you. But please Amy just let me explain. I have to explain to you what really happened, before it's too late," Cassie said, breathing heavily.

"Cass, please that's not important now." Amy said, worried that the discussion was upsetting Cassie.

"No, just let me explain. Before you came in, he was asking me how to tell you that he loved you. He loved you so much Amy. And I sat there listening to him, and I knew that I would never know what love like that felt. I felt so angry at the world, and I took it out on you. You're the only person who I always knew would do anything for me...and I hurt you and him and I'm sorry." Cassie said, crying even harder.

"I understand Cassie. I do." Amy said, crying along with her, realizing that so much heartache and loss would not have happened had she just opened her heart a little and listened to both Matt and Cassie. And now she was losing her best friend. She leaned over and hugged her.

"I love you Cass," Amy said brokenly, holding on to Cassie's hand.

"I love you too Aims." Cassie said.

1.1.8 Chapter 7

Amy stayed the night at the hospital. Cassie had fallen asleep again, after the doctors had once again examined her. She looked out at the door of the room to see Mrs. Adams talking to the doctor. She watched as Mrs. Adams began frantically shaking her head, and began to hysterically cry. Amy looked down at Cassie and then stood up to talk to her mother.

"Mrs. Adams?" Amy said softly, pushing open the door and sat down next to Cassie's mother who had collapsed on one of the hard, plastic chairs of the hospital.

"Oh Amy, the doctor said she probably won't make it past the night. I...I think she was waiting for you."

Amy held her while she cried, and then helped her back into the hospital room to be with Cassie.

Cassandra Adams never woke up again that night. And in the last hours of the night, just as the soft pale fingers of the sun began to touch the sky, she died in the presence of the two most important people in her life.

Amy stayed in Florida for the next two weeks, helping Mrs. Adams prepare for the funeral and also because she had been asked to give the eulogy for Cassie. On the last day of her stay in Florida, before she was going to go home to North Carolina, Mrs. Adams knocked on the guest bedroom door where Amy had been staying for the past few weeks.

"Hello Amy, are you packed?"

"Almost, Mrs. Adams. I'm just finishing up."

"I just wanted to tell you that there is a package in Cassie's room that I think she was going to send to you, right before she was hospitalized. I probably should have sent it to you, but the cancer just spread so fast in the past few months, that I just forgot about it. I hope that opening it will give you some closure about all this."

"Thank you Mrs. Adams, I will."

"And Amy, thank you so much for staying with me. I just don't think I could have handled being here alone after she passed away," Mrs. Adams said, her eyes filling with tears.

"She was an amazing person, Mrs. Adams. And I'll always be here for you if you need me. Just give me a call. Are you going to stay here?"

"I'm not sure. My sister has asked me to move with her up to Connecticut. She's there alone with her son and daughter as well and she hates the idea of me here alone. I'm not really sure, but I know Cassie would want me to stay with them. She was always worried about how I would be if I was alone."

"I think you should move in with your sister. Life will go on, and at least there you'll have someone to help you grieve." Amy said.

Mrs. Adams hugged her and kissed her on the cheek. "I'll miss you Amy."

"I'll miss you too Mrs. Adams." And with that, she left the room and let Amy finish packing.

Amy slowly climbed up the stairs to Cassie's room. She had not been there since the summer she was 19, before she had left for Europe. It had always been a haven for the two girls. The one place they always knew would give them privacy. She pushed open the heavy oak door and turned on the light. It was the same, same floral wallpaper, with Cassie's dolls sitting on her bed. Even growing up, Cassie had been the more feminine of the two, while Amy had always been a tomboy of sorts. Yet somehow they had always been able to tell each other everything.

Amy sat down on the bed and picked up Cassie's favorite doll. She hugged it to her chest and let the tears flow. She sat there, holding the doll for almost an hour and just cried. She was just about to leave when she remembered the package. There it was sitting on the dressing table near the door. It was a small box, and a letter leaned on it. It was addressed and stamped for her. She picked up the letter and opened it.

Dear Amy,

Thank you for opening this letter. I don't really know how to begin. First, I guess I have to tell you how much I miss you. I miss our talks, and just being sure that I'll always have my best friend around. I'm sorry about what happened with Matt. He was so happy when he told me that he was getting ready to tell you that he loved you. I kissed him Amy, I guess because I've always wanted to have a person who loved me as much as he loved you. It was a stupid action and I'll regret it for the rest of my life. He really does love you, and I hope that after you read this letter, even if you don't want to forgive me, that you'll somehow meet up with him again because I know that he was the one for you. Even if you don't, I'm sure you'll still meet up with him someday because a love like the two of you shared for each other isn't something that can be replaced. I hope I'm right in this.

Amy, I also wanted you to know that I'm sick. I know I should have told you when I first came to visit you, but just seeing you so happy, made me not want to. I've always told you that you deserved to be the happiest person in the world, and for a while there you were. I didn't want to be the one to ruin your paradise, but ironically, in the end it still was me who ruined it for you, and I wasn't able to tell you about my leukemia. I don't know if I'll still be alive when you get this letter. But I wanted to tell you this. You are the most amazing person in the world. You're strong, and kind and beautiful. Do you remember when we were kids and we told each other that if either one of us ever died before the other, that we would watch out for the other person? We told each other we'd be guardian angels, during and after life. I miss that closeness that we once had, and I know that now I'm a fallen angel in your eyes. I want to fly again, but I'm not sure I can so I got these wings to help me so I can still be your guardian angel wherever I am. I'll miss you forever and love you forever.

Always,

Cassie

Amy wiped the tears from her eyes and carefully opened the package. Inside was a delicate silver chain and at the end of it hung a pendant of two angels wings. She picked it up and put it on, holding it to her heart.

Early the next morning, before the sun came up, Amy said good-bye to Mrs. Adams for the last time, and she drove off for home. Her family, who had also been present at the funeral, had gone home a few days before and had asked her to go home for a visit, but Amy knew where home was now. As she watched the sun fight it's way past the dark clouds of night she thought of Cassie, and as she held the pendant around her neck, she knew what she had to do.

1.1.9 Chapter 8

In record time, she had arrived in the small town of Cameron.

She parked her car outside of an average farmhouse, her hands shaking in nervousness. She quickly ran up the steps to the front of the house and knocked timidly. She was just about to turn around when the door opened and she saw a girl in pajamas, a few years younger than her open the door. She felt her heart sink; sure that this was probably Matt's girlfriend. But she steeled herself against the disappointment she felt.

"Hi, can I help you?" asked Beth smiling, then her mouth dropped open as she realized who it was.

"Uh, yes, I'm looking for Matt Hardy?" Amy answered. She could hear someone bounding down the stairs.

"Beth, who's at the door?" Jeff asked, opening the door wider and then realized that it was Amy.

"Hi Jeff." Amy said quietly.

Jeff could see through her red-rimmed eyes and pale complexion that something was wrong.

"Hi Aims, come in." as he quickly let her into the house before running up the stairs to find his brother. He found him in bedroom, lying down on the bed listening to music.

"Hey Jeff, don't you knock?" Matt said, annoyed at his brother for interrupting his thoughts.

"Sorry Matt, but you gotta come downstairs."

"Why?" Matt said puzzled at the concerned expression on Jeff's face.

"It's Amy," Jeff said, watching as Matt immediately stood up from the bed and pulled pants and a long-sleeved shirt on. "She looks kind of upset, like she's been crying." But Matt was already out the door, and running down the stairs.

"Amy?" Matt called out as he ran to the living room; stopping when he saw her looking the most vulnerable he had ever witnessed her before.

"Hey Matt, can we talk?" she said. Matt sat down on the seat across from her, unsure of what to expect.

"Of course," he said tentatively, holding back any emotion in his voice and action, knowing that all he wanted to do at this point was hold her close and never let go.

"First of all, I wanted to apologize. I never gave you or Cassie a chance to explain what happened. I guess deep down, I felt that something had to go wrong in our relationship because it had been going so well. Too well, so when I saw you and her together I just assumed the worse, and I cut you both out of my life. I'm sorry if I hurt you." She said, tears forming.

Matt moved to the couch, unable to stop his self. He just couldn't see her cry. He held her hand. "Amy, I'm sorry too. I should never have let that kiss happen. I'm sorry. I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too. I missed having you as a friend and I can't bear to lose both of you."

"What do you mean lose both of us?"

"Matt, Cassie died a few weeks ago."

"What? Oh my god, I'm so sorry Amy." He held her close as she cried again.

"She told me what really happened, and I'm only sorry that I hadn't listened sooner. I lost her before I had to because I was stubborn and ignorant. I missed the last months of her life. I'll always regret that. I just knew that I didn't want to lose you too."

"You've never lost me. You were always in my heart." Matt said.

1.1.10 Chapter 9

Matt and Amy's relationship slowly became stronger. This time, they started off as friends, neither wanting to rush the other into a more serious relationship. Their friendship grew when they began to travel together to shows and was even involved in a story line together. It took time and trust but after a few years the strength in the relationship they once had was back and stronger than ever.

"Aims, you ready?" Matt asked, as he once again felt his pocket to make sure the ring was there.

"Matthew, I'm coming. Jeez, you'd think we were going to see Pearl Jam instead of Life House. You don't even like them that much, why are you freaking?"

"Because we have front row seats," Matt began then turned around as she walked out into the living room.

"That are reserved, so there is no risk in losing them," Amy responded, reaching up and kissed him. "Alright, now I'm ready, let's go." Amy said walking towards the door, then laughed as Matt grabbed her hand and pulled her back for another kiss.

"Hmm, maybe we can be just a little bit late?" She asked giggling when he looked down at her with a pained expression then grabbed her hand again and ran out the door.

The concert was amazing. The seats were amazing. She cuddled closer to Matt as the band began another song. "I love you." She whispered, and he kissed her temple.

"Alright, now for this next song, I want to bring up someone from the audience." Jason Wade said on the microphone. He looked down straight at Amy. "Excuse me, would you please come up here?" Amy looked around in confusion and shook her head in embarrassment.

"Oh no, come on now don't be shy, you can bring your boyfriend too if you'd like," the singer said with a wide grin on his face.

"Come on sweetie. This'll be fun," Matt said, as he stood up and pulled Amy to the stage where she was seated on a stool with Matt standing behind her.

"Find me here

Speak to me

I want to feel you

I need to hear you

You are the light

That is leading me

To the place where I find peace

Again

You are the strength

That keeps me walking

You are the hope

That keeps me trusting

You are the life

To my soul

You are my purpose

You are everything

And how can I stand here with you

And not be moved by you

Would you tell me,

How could it be,

Any better than this

You calm the storms

You give me rest

You hold me in your hands

You won't let me fall

You still my heart

And you take my breath away

Would you take me in

Would you take me deeper now

'Cause you're all I want

You are all I need you are everything

Everything"

Matt held Amy's hand during the whole song, and he knew she would cry. As the band played the last few chords of the song, Matt kneeled down in front of Amy.

"You're my everything. Amy, will you marry me?" He asked, wiping the tears from her face with his hands.

"Yes!" Amy said, pulling him up and hugging him tight.

1.1.11 Epilogue

A woman kneeled down carefully, placing the flowers that she had brought with her on the side of the gravestone.

"Hi Cass. I miss you. Thank you for making me realize that Matt was the one for me. I'm so happy. In fact I guess everything would be perfect if you were still here. But actually it is perfect because I know you really are watching me. I wanted to tell you that you were never a fallen angel to me, but apparently even if you were the wings that you gave me worked. Matt and I got married on August 4th, last year, our original anniversary. And actually tomorrow will be our first anniversary, and he took me here to Florida so I could visit you and tell you that I gave birth to our daughter on June 21st, your birthday. We named her Cassandra after you because; she has the most beautiful blue eyes, just like you did. Matt is absolutely insane about her. You should see how careful he is with her, and he won't even let Jeff touch her. Oh Cass, I wish you were here. I love you and miss you so much." Amy touched the wings that she still wore around her neck and kissed the gravestone. She stood up and walked across the graveyard to the man standing near the car, holding a little girl in his arms. He leaned down and kissed her and up above in the heavens Cassie smiled down at them, happy that all was right in their world.

2 The End