Author's Note: I own diddly squat. The only thing that's mine is Aracely… and anyone else you don't recognise. I got this idea the other day when I was thinking about how you can't judge a book by its cover. Enjoy.

Nothing Lasts Forever

Chapter One

"So you're adopting a kid?"

"Well, she's not really a kid. She's actually nearly an adult. She turns 18 in about five months," Shawn told his best friend.

"So… if she's gonna be an adult so soon, why adopt her?" Hunter asked him.

"Rebecca and I heard her story and we felt drawn to her. So, we decided to do something about that. Now she's a part of the family, adult soon or not. She's going to be joining me on tour in a couple of days."

"Her story?"

"It's a sad one. But she seems like a good kid. I think she just needs some guidance." Shawn said thoughtfully.

"She's not off the rails or anything?"

"No. No she's not but I think without some guidance she could stray off the path and I want to help her in choosing the right path. After all the bad choices I made, I think it's fitting that I help someone avoid making the same bad choices."

Hunter nodded a little bit and looked up as the door to the locker room opened, smiling as his wife walked in…

~/~

The girl was sitting in the corner of the lounge, the buds of her headphones resting in her ears, when Hunter walked in. She was petite, fairly short with long blonde hair and pale white skin. Her eyes were very blue and they were rimmed with thick black eyeliner and there was a dark red gloss on her lips. She certainly looked like someone who could easily go off the right path, though Hunter reminded himself that looking a certain way didn't mean you weren't a good person.

Shawn, who had been reading stood up now and he and Hunter hugged briefly, the girl on the lounge turning off her iPod and taking the buds out of her ears so she could put it away. She stood up as Shawn turned to her and took a couple of steps forward.

"Aracely, this is my best friend, Hunter. Hunter, this is Aracely." Shawn introduced them.

"Call me Lee." She said in a slightly husky voice, as she took the hand Hunter extended.

"Nice to meet you, Lee," He said, smiling at her, relieved when she smiled back. Shawn was right, he thought, she was a good kid but some guidance in her life wouldn't hurt.

"Nice to meet you too, Hunter."

"So, you ready to go get some food and meet some others?" Shawn asked, putting an arm around the girl's shoulders. She tensed slightly but she nodded a little as she glanced up at Shawn.

"I guess so."

Hunter opened the door and watched as Lee and Shawn walked out, his arm still around her shoulders. He was glad she seemed comfortable with his friend, settling in with him fine. He wasn't sure what he had expected really but it wasn't this. The kid looked a little rebellious, unsettled but she did seem to have her head screwed on straight so far. Maybe Shawn was intervening before anything had happened to upset her.

It didn't take them long to arrive at catering and they all walked in, Shawn leading them over to a group of men sitting at a large table.

"Guys," he said, that one word getting everyone's attention. "This is Aracely, though you can call her Lee. Rebecca and I have just adopted her." His voice held a firmness as well as some affection, making it clear that the girl was his daughter and no one was allowed to mess with her. "Lee, this is John Cena, Randy Orton, Ted DiBiase, Cody Runnels, Chris Jericho, Adam Copeland, Jay Reso, Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy."

If she recognised any of them, she gave no obvious sign though her soft, "Hi," was a little awkward. It wasn't surprising though, considering it was a large group of people she was meeting.

All nine of them looked her over, not in a perverted sense, just taking in who she was. She was wearing black jean shorts that went to her mid-thigh, a loose black Motorhead tee with no sleeves and black converse. She also had a stack of black jelly bracelets on each wrist. They offered their various hellos and she managed a smile.

"Take a seat honey, I'll grab you some food." Shawn told her, and he and Hunter went to grab some food for the three of them. She chose to sit by Jeff, not John as the conversations around the table resumed.

Jeff however, looked at her, "Aracely? Nice name." He said with a smile. She enjoyed the way his Southern accent just flowed. It sent warmth through the girl.

"Thanks. I prefer Lee though." She told him with a bit of a shrug.

"It's okay," He said, "I prefer Jeff or Jeffro to Jeffrey." It made her smile a little bit and immediately she felt comfortable with him.

"Nice hair." She commented, reaching out without thinking to lightly touch Jeff's hair which was bright red at that moment. He chuckled softly and let her touch it without objection.

"I could say the same to you, it's nearly white. Is that natural?" He asked.

"Pretty much. My hair is a little darker naturally but not much. I use that lightening shampoo on it every so often." She told him. "I've experimented with colour too but I think I look better with my hair like this. You pull off the bright red pretty well though."

Jeff liked the way she smiled as she spoke to him, "Why thank you. So, Motorhead huh? You'll get along well with Hunter then."

"Yeah, I love Motorhead. But I like loads of different music. If I like it, I listen to it, whatever it is." She shrugged a little.

Shawn was soon back though, putting down a plate in front of Lee and she thanked him before tucking in. Despite her petite form, she did seem to be very happy to eat. Shawn sat beside her and started on his own food, Hunter next to him. They merged into the group conversation easily, although Jeff and Aracely kept talking between themselves. He was glad she'd found someone she could talk to easily, though the fact it was Jeff did make him slightly uneasy. Still, he trusted Jeff with her.

Someone else who was studying the way she interacted with Jeff was John Cena. He felt drawn to her and he really couldn't explain it. He even felt worried about her- she was so petite, though he could clearly see that she was eating now. Her grungy appearance also unsettled him- he wondered what kind of trouble she had gotten herself into before Shawn adopted her. But things would change now. He was sure that he could help Shawn transform her into the beautiful young women he knew was hiding under all that makeup.

Author's Note: Alright, so I suppose technically this is set a couple of years ago lol. I don't know 100% where I'm going with this story but I know the general idea of it all. It's not supposed to be about pairings either. All it is, is the story of Shawn adopting a young woman who needs a family and parents in her life to help her. It's the story of a girl who people find hard to understand, especially John Cena, though he genuinely does want to help her. The story of a young woman whom Jeff Hardy can see right through and understands, and who Shawn learns to understand. And finally, the story of a 17 year old who actually teaches Jeff a life lesson. So this is chapter one, and we'll see where it goes from here. (Also, I wish these stories had the options for three characters lol)