~This was inspired by a Matt Nathanson song called 'Still' and a long boring drive. I saw this scene in my head and had to write it, but I'm not sure where this is going next, or if there is even a next step. So if anyone has any ideas or feedback I would love to hear from you. Please let me know what you guys think. And it's supposed to be a bit secretive, see if you can guess who the boy is before you reach the end ;) Enjoy reading and please review! And as always, I don't own the song or any of the people mentioned~

~Still~

Alex wondered what measured success. Was it the number of hours of TV time one accumulated? Was it the quality of talent one worked with? Was it the money one got to make while living what was supposed to be only a dream to most? If all those answers could be argued then he figured they had both found success. But none of those arguments advised anyone to consider what they would be giving up as they struggled to succeed. Had he known that then, maybe he would have reconsidered the path he chose to walk down. Maybe Alex would have chosen the other company; or at the very least cherished the moments he now missed so badly. He was happy for the things he'd experienced and the things he'd been able to accomplish, but those things would have been better if he was still able to wake up next to a pair of warm mocha brown eyes.

Phone calls and e-mails weren't enough. The late night recaps in cold opulent hotel rooms could not compare to the all night talks they'd shared in ratty old motels squished onto a lumpy twin mattress with two more boys snoring in the adjacent bed, and one more camped out on the floor by the door. It was tough in those days, but that's what had made them so great. They were all young and starving, some nights almost literally when the booker was short on cash, but Alex was never deterred. As long as he had him by his side then he was ready to take on the world. It wasn't by accident that they'd gravitated toward one another; they were the youngest in the group. But Alex was always quick to remind him that he was indeed younger than the Michigan native. A fact the smaller brunette had to begrudgingly accept. But he really didn't mind. The ribbings from the other guys were all in good fun, and there was no way that Alex would ever let it get out of hand. He rather enjoyed how protective the older boy from Detroit would become. At first they had bonded over music, the long drives in between shows were perfect for going through CDs and fighting with the unreliable radio stations. He used to keep Alex company when it was his turn to drive. He'd sit in the passenger seat and they'd talk for hours. They found they had the same sense of humor, although Alex's sarcasm could have more of bite when he was upset about something. Alex was never shy to cut down any of the other guys when they pissed him off or did something stupid, but he usually held his tongue when the youngest was at fault and was more than likely involved with whatever mischief was at foot. Oh, what Alex wouldn't give to see that impish smirk that had saved them countless times, god he missed that. But most of all he missed the way the smaller boy would cuddle up to him in those awful hotel rooms on those uncomfortable beds and fit himself against Alex as if he was the key to his lock. Voices were always whisper soft and floated between brushing lips so the other boys sleeping in the room wouldn't wake up. Those nights hidden under the ugly stiff bedspreads were the happiest nights Alex ever spent. So many promises and plans for the future had been made under those covers; neither boy believing none of them would come to fruition. Alex still laid in bed most nights thinking back to those whispers, and the adorable kiss swollen pout they came from. It was as close to the real thing he came anymore.

He was startled out of his melancholy recollections by the loud speaker calling his flight to board. He shouldered his back pack and sent one last text message to his best friend assuring him that he'd be back in time for the TNA show they were scheduled to tag on. He just had to go see a certain youngster with a pair of beautiful chocolate brown eyes first.

The flight into St. Louis wasn't long, but it was almost unbearable for Alex. He tried to sleep, but his nerves wouldn't let him have a moment's peace. He ignored the ringing in his ears as he walked through the bustling air port, bypassing the luggage carousel he headed outside to hail a cab. Twilight was just beginning as he climbed into the back seat of a yellow taxi. He told the driver the address and he started the meter before pulling away from the curb.

"You fly in just for the show?" The cabbie asked pleasantly.

"You could say that," Alex replied pulling his phone out of its compartment in his back pack.

"I heard it was sold out," he continued.

"I don't doubt it. The usually are."

The cabbie glanced back in his mirror; Alex was gazing out the window watching the signs fly by. He recognized some of the names of the streets and when they told him the arena was just up ahead bats began to fly around in his stomach. He was all nerves and excitement and somewhere in between terrified of walking into the competition's building, even if he did have a few friends there.

Alex fished some bills out of his pocket and paid his fare. He slipped his back pack on and slid his phone open. He sent a text message and began to walk around to the back entrance. The burly security guards eyed him suspiciously, just as the largest one approached him the gray-blue door opened and Alex smiled gratefully.

"It's cool Rick, he's on the list up front he's just late."

"You got a pass for him?"

"Right here," a lamented pass dangled from the strawberry blonde's fingers. "C'mon Shelley."

Alex shrugged and hurried pass the guard. His confidant smiled at him and handed over his permit.

"Thanks for doing this Reso, I really appreciate it," the brunette said as he slid the plastic square into his pocket.

"No problem man. I think it's awesome that you came all this way for him."

"I missed his official debut, I couldn't miss this too."

Jason smiled at the younger boy as he directed them to his locker room. There were only a handful of techs running around making sure the live broadcast continued to run smoothly. The stars of the show were all caught up in the schedule of the night and were busy concentrating on whatever part they had for the event. Alex was glad that he had some time to calm down before he had to face anyone else. Those bats were still ramming into his stomach walls.

"How's AJ?" Jason finally asked what he'd been holding back since he let Alex inside the building.

The younger boy smiled knowingly. "He's fine. A little frustrated about the current angles in TNA but we pretty much all are anymore."

"I don't blame you guys. I've been watching the shows, what the hell is wrong Jarrett these days?"

"Damned if I know," Alex scowled. "Oh, AJ asked me to give this to you."

He took his knap sack off and unzipped the front pocket. He pulled out a small figurine and gave it to the other boy. Jason studied it for a moment then a hearty laugh filled the small room. He held onto the AJ Styles action figure and shook his head.

"Smart ass," he muttered. "I tell him that I wish we could always be together and this is what I get."

Alex chuckled this time. "He didn't tell me anything about it, just told me to give it to you and you'd get it."

Jason's eyes were glued to the toy with a whimsical soft look, as if he was a thousand miles away instead of in the same room. Alex sighed, he missed that expression. He busied himself with readjusting his bag; the movement seemed to snap Jason back to reality.

"Sorry, I-"

"It's fine," Alex interrupted him.

Jason nodded, and glanced around for a new topic of conversation. He rubbed at the back of his neck and blew out a sigh.

"You hungry or anything? We could head down to catering."

"Nah, I'm good. I couldn't eat anyway. I just wanna see him."

"He's sharing a room with Johnny and Kofi; you could probably catch him before his match."

"No, I don't want anything to take his focus of tonight. This is his big moment ya know, he's so excited that he made to this show."

"And just what is wrong with ECW?" Jason demanded.

Alex smirked, "well let's be honest here Reso, it's really just a higher level of OVW. I mean all the good talent gets moved up once they prove they can handle it."

"Ah!" The current ECW champion fisted his shirt over his heart. "That hurts dude. Like wow, after I pulled all these strings to sneak you in here."

The former X division champion just shrugged, offering no sympathy.

"Whatever, at least I'm on TV every week unlike some."

The two wrestlers caught each other up on some mutual friends, but the attempt to kill the time didn't help Alex's nerves. He kept checking the digital clock on his phone; he never knew forty five minutes could feel so long. Finally they headed down to the central locker room to watch the main event on the communal monitor. Some people were still in their gear, others were already dressed but had stuck around for the end of the show. Alex couldn't help feeling a little like the kid from the wrong side of the tracks as he lingered in the door way watching everyone consort with each other. Jason smiled encouragingly and waved him over to the group he had joined. Taking a deep breath he made his way into the group.

"Alex Shelley? What the fuck are you doing here?"

Unruffled, the Michigan native just smirked. "Thought I'd come crash the party."

"Well don't let Vince find out, he'd probably have you ejected from the building."

"It's legit dude, I got a pass."

"Why didn't you tell us he was coming Jay?" A pair of brown eyes turned accusingly on the Canadian.

"'Cause it wasn't any of your damn business Punk," Jason replied in the same overly serious tone.

This allowed for a few chuckles within the small circle. Phil Brooks rolled his eyes then he swept the room in a quick glance.

"Where's Chris at?"

"Not here," Alex answered. "I came by myself."

"So for those of you that don't know, this is Alex Shelley, Shelley; this is everyone," Jason kind of introduced.

"'Sup," the visiting brunette nodded sheepishly.

A chorus of greetings was thrown back and the end of the night chatter erupted again. Alex took the opportunity to scan the room. Some of the faces he recognized, the few he knew he smiled at. Suddenly music started blaring from the front of the arena and muffled screams and cheers announced the start of the main event. Everyone in the room quieted down and turned to the large flat screen monitor on the wall. Alex watched as the top heel of this company and current champion of the brand climbed into the ring. He recognized the third generation wrestler and knew that this was going to be an awesome match. He knew how much the boy he'd come to see was anticipating this contest. They'd spoken about it just last week. He'd called Alex around 2 in the morning, just after he'd settled into his hotel room after a very long day. As tired as he was, Alex could still hear the excitement in his voice when he'd told him about tonight. That was the same night that Alex decided he had to be here for him. He was finally going to come through on one of those whispered promises made so long ago.

"Did I miss it?" Someone shouted sprinting into the room.

"No, Orton just did his entrance," Phil answered.

"Oh thank god. I'd be pissed if I missed it."

"Can't you ever put a shirt on dude?" That kid from the Real World chortled.

"I couldn't find one and I didn't wanna miss his entrance," his friend scowled raking his hand through his thick dark hair, it was still damp from his shower.

"Shh!" A pretty blonde with pink highlights hissed.

"Yeah John, shut-up," the one time reality star nudged the shirtless boy next to him.

John Hennigan had a retort to his friend Mike, but familiar music hit and all hopes of a comeback were forgotten. Alex fought to swallow the acrid ball of jealousy that was sitting deep in his throat as he watched the chiseled brunette watch the screen. He forced himself to ignore him and concentrated on the face he had come so far to finally see. The plucky youngster was determined and focused, but that unmistakable spark that ignited his chocolate brown eyes when he was enthusiastic burned bright, and the corners of his mouth fought that elfin smile as he slapped hands with the fans lining the ramp. Alex was soon as enraptured as the audience that had paid to see him and forgot all about John Hennigan. All he cared about was the boy making his Monday Night Raw debut in his home town.

The match began and the young brunette started strong against the champion. He used his superior speed to strike and move, keeping Orton off balance with his array of aerial maneuvers. Orton put him over well, the smaller boy got quite a few pops, but toward the middle of the match it became clear who was going over. Orton was able to catch the fluid performer and soon the younger boy was on the mat selling his injuries. Alex winced for him when he was flung between the ropes landing on the floor. He hit the barricade hard and was slow to get back into the ring. But he was right where he needed to be for the next spot, proving how tough he was. Alex knew there was no way he'd botch this match. He'd waited way too long for this opportunity, and was happily rising to the occasion. The champion won as he was supposed to, but this match had put everyone on notice. His Raw debut had been more than successful. His colleagues watching backstage had nothing but praise for the new comer as they watched him get helped to the back, the gauntlet match in the ring continued and the next opponent's music started.

"You gonna go meet him?" Jason's voice broke through the haze surrounding Alex.

The TNA wrestler finally tore his eyes away from the screen, still shaking with exhilaration. He watched him perform countless times; even worked inside the ring with him, hell they'd been involved in one of the most popular angles in ROH when he joined the faction that Alex had originally started only to be kicked out of later. They still joked about that. Alex held strong to the belief that he left Generation Next on his own accord, but the younger boy always countered arguing that Alex had been thrown out and he had replaced him.

"Where?" He asked breathlessly.

"Down to the end of this hall, you'll come to the curtain. Hurry or you'll miss him."

Alex was gone before Jason could even finish his sentence. He rushed to the end of the hall weaving around those in his way. He was so afraid that he'd miss him; he wanted to be the first thing the younger boy saw. He skidded to a stop in front of the black curtain. His heart was pounding, and he knew it had nothing to do with his impromptu run; it was the boy behind the cloth barrier. Finally, it was swished out of place. He was sweaty; his cropped dark hair was a damp mess sticking up in odd slants. He was breathing hard; the exertion in the ring was showing in the way he held his arm protectively around his ribs. His eyes were downcast as he undoubtedly assessed his own performance out there. Alex could do nothing but stare open mouthed for a few precious seconds; he'd never seen him look so beautiful. Stardust from accomplished childhood dreams seemed to make his skin glisten a warm honey color. He had succeeded tonight, and Alex had never felt so proud of him. He would've given up all the money and TV time in the world for this moment.

"Matty," he called softly when he finally found his voice.

The dark haired boy's head shot up at the sound of a name he hadn't heard in a very long time. Chocolate eyes widened and blinked rapidly like they couldn't be trusted to see clearly. He shook his head trying to get rid of the lingering cob webs. But he still saw him standing there, this was no apparition, he was really here.

"Alex? What… How…" He jumbled all his thoughts out at once. "Oh my God," he lunged at the older boy, throwing his arms around his neck, and slamming himself into his chest. "I can't believe you're here."

Alex clutched the sticky boy tightly, tangling his fingers in his moist hair. He wanted to hold him so close they melded into each other, became one body, one soul right there in the hall way. He wanted to hold him forever and never let him go again. He wanted to go back to those early nights cocooned in blankets and forget about the rest of the world and the grown up decisions that had taken them away from each other to begin with.

"Oh Matty… Matty, I've missed you so much," Alex whispered against his ear.

"I can't believe you're here," he mumbled into his neck. "You didn't say anything about coming."

"I wanted to surprise you."

"Huh, well you did." The smaller boy pulled away just enough to look up at Alex. His eyes were shimmering, dancing over every feature he'd missed so much. He locked eyes with another pair of dark brown staring for just a moment before nodding to himself. "It's really you."

Alex chuckled, pulling him tighter against him. "Of course it's me."

"This is just too perfect though. It has to be a dream."

"No Matty, I'm here. There's no way I'd miss this debut."

He snuggled even closer to the older boy, sighing contentedly. Suddenly Jack Swagger came strolling through the curtain. He raised an eyebrow at the scene, but merely shrugged.

"We totally did it kid," he beamed that thousand watt smile. "Awesome job out there by the way, you totally stole the show. "

He detangled himself from the embrace, but his hand had immediately slipped into Alex's. Blushing he thanked the All American American. Jack smiled again and gave him a wink before going on down the hall.

"I should got take a shower… I'm gross," he concluded.

"You're beautiful," Alex argued.

Shaking his head he smiled at the older boy.

"But you should go get changed, I've got a few more surprises for you," the Detroit native pulled him close again and brushed his lips teasingly over that adorable pout.

"Mmm" he purred, "I love your surprises."

Alex smirked and they tore themselves away from each other long enough to navigate the hall way back to his locker room. It was empty when they reached it, and Alex decided to take advantage of the more private setting. He pressed the smaller brunette against the wall and claimed him in a mind numbing kiss. He ran his hands over his bare torso, smirking at the way the taut muscles quivered under his touch. He soon felt nimble fingers tugging at his hair, and soft nibbling on his bottom lip; he pulled him off the wall and flush against his own body by the brim of his ring pants. The younger boy moaned into the kiss and fought to break it. He gasped as he felt lips descend to his neck.

"'Tricks… wait… please-Oh…" His head fell back when Alex reached his ear. With one gentle tug to his earlobe he lost all ability at coherent thought.

Alex placed a light kiss to the spot just under his ear before lifting his head back up and staring into a pair of half lidded eyes.

"I believe you were saying something," he smirked.

"Hmm… Oh yeah." He wound his arms up around his neck while he spoke, "As much as I've missed you and this," he paused to place a chaste kiss on his lips, "I'd rather not get caught having sex in the locker room my very first night on Raw."

Alex pretended to ponder for a second. "Fine, I see your point. Go get ready so we can leave then."

Even though he said it he didn't remove his arms from around the younger boy. Instead he leaned in engaging in another kiss. Alex felt the arms around his neck tighten and he smirked into the kiss. Slowly, they recoiled, resting foreheads against each other as they tried to catch their breath.

"I really need that shower if we ever wanna get outta here." He leaned back on the wall trying to create space away from the heady kisses and intoxicating scent of the boy whose arms he was still wrapped in.

Alex sighed. "Okay."

He stole one more kiss then released the younger brunette. He needed a deep breath before he was able to move off the wall, then he went to his bag and began gathering clothes. When he turned around Alex was watching him.

"What?" He scrunched up his nose.

"C'mere," Alex smirked.

Giggling he allowed himself to be pulled into another embrace. Arms snaked around his hips and before he knew it lips were crashing into his again.

"Tricks, we really need to go before this goes anywhere else."

"I know, I know. Hurry up."

"You gotta let me go first."

"I'm never letting you go again."

He smiled, "Good."

The door to the locker room pushed open and a voice stopped in the door way.

"Hey, Ev I… Didn't know you had company," John Hennigan faltered.

"Oh, hey Johnny," the youngest smiled. "This is Alex Shelley, Alex this is John Hennigan. Or Morrison if you prefer."

"Hi," John forced out the pleasantry. "Didn't I see you with Jay watching the monitor?"

"Jay! I should've known," the newest addition to Raw glared playfully at Alex.

"Don't be too mad, I made Reso swear on AJ's life not to tell you."

"That's just mean."

Alex shrugged.

"Um…" John cut in, "Some of the guys wanted to take you out Ev, ya know to celebrate."

"Oh, wow…" He bit his lip looking at Alex. "I really appreciate it Johnny, but Alex and I kinda made plans."

"Oh," John replied curtly trying to shield his disappointment. "Um… No big deal, some other time then."

"I would it's just I didn't know he was coming… "

John shook his head, his dark tresses swinging about his shoulders. "It's fine."

"Do you wanna go Matty?" Alex knew the younger boy hated to disappoint people.

"But we were-"

"It's fine," Alex plastered a smile on his face. "We can hang out with the guys for a while."

"You're sure?"

"Positive."

The younger boy beamed and was glad to accept the invitation.

"Now will you please go take your damn shower," Alex chastised.

"I was trying to earlier." He rolled his eyes, "I'll be back in a few minutes."

Alex watched him go, cringing when he was finally alone with John. He glanced over at him only to find Hennigan staring at him. Alex squared his shoulders and crossed his arms over his chest. He met John with a raised brow of his own.

"How do you know Evan?" The question wasn't as personable as it should've been.

"Matt and I met in the Indys." Alex hurled the correction like a dagger. "A bunch of us traveled together for a while and we worked ROH together."

"Matt?"

"His name. He wasn't always Evan Bourne."

"Maybe not, but that's the name people know him by now." John retorted. "He might be Matt to you, but here, to us, he's Evan."