The Fear Series
By Ky
Disclaimer:
As much as I wish Jeff Hardy belonged to me, he doesn't, same goes for all the other people in this fic...doesn't life just suck!Series:
WWFSpoilers:
Everything up till just now! - 07/10/01 (Just to be safe)Rating:
I'd say it'll be pretty mild. Probably PG or 12Pairing:
Mwahahahahaha! Now that would be telling! ...to be honest, it won't be hard to guess!Feedback:
Is a wonderful thing...please be the wonderful people I know you all are!Email:
jeff_hardyz_gal@hotmail.comNotes:
Well, my friends tell me I'm sad! Yes, I finally caved in and wrote a WWF fic, they said I'd hit rock bottom (I laughed but they don't watch wrestling so all I got was strange looks...)I know this changes POV a lot, but I hope it's not too difficult to read.
I hope you all enjoy my first attempt at WWF fic!
*thoughts* are in *'s
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PART 1
FEAR IS ONLY A FOUR LETTER WORD
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Jeff smiled as he entered the arena, placing a confident aura around him as he passed by the security guard, nodding his head as a hello. Backstage was quiet as he took to the halls, the metallic feel of the building yet to be made friendly with the banter and laughter that the WWF stars usually brought along with them.
He was early. Not exactly something that happened very often. He could usually be found running in the door two minutes before the cameras started rolling. He liked to make an entrance. That was his excuse...the fact that he had trouble keeping track of time simply aided that. But not tonight. Tonight was one of the few nights he was early. Earlier even than the busy people that had to sort out the sound, lighting, camera equipment and everything else that had to be seen to before a show.
Sighing softly to himself, he entered his dressing room and quickly discarded his bag before walking out to the arena. It was eerie to see it this empty, the chairs stretched out before him in an echo of silence.
He pulled himself onto the top ropes and simply sat, staring at the small ring. Strange how it seemed smaller when it was empty than when it was filled with brawling wrestlers. He shivered as he thought of his upcoming brawl, he felt his stomach clenching and wished things were different. He wished he hadn't tortured himself by coming into the arena early, giving himself more time to wish he could back out.
He snorted at the thought. Jeff Hardy, so afraid of a stupid match that he wished he could back out. *Wouldn't that make the fans go wild* he thought sarcastically. But, no, no one ever knew and no one ever would. He would do what he always had in this instance. This was what made him who he was to the fans, what made him so special. He took risks, and risks he could handle. If only they could understand just how hard that was sometimes...He jumped as the overhead lights flashed on and off, signalling that he was no longer alone. It was time to get ready.
Shaking himself, he stood and, once again, placed his confidence around him like a blanket. He jumped from the ropes, landing steadily on his feet and began to head back to the dressing room. As he reached the top of the ramp he turned, giving the empty arena one last glance.
"Remember," he whispered to himself. "Fear is only a four letter word." If only he could make his stomach believe him.
~x~x~x~x~x~
Lita sighed, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. She was running late. Typical, one of the nights she knew Jeff would be at the arena early and had planned to be there for him, she had to get caught in traffic. She waved to the security guard as she jogged past, winking at him. As always, Ted winked back and cocked his head to the side. They played this game every time she was in town, just as they always had throughout high school. The familiarity of it was nice to have in a job that had her travelling almost every night of the year.
She checked her watch again as she rounded the corner. *Damn* she was later than she had thought. She quickened her pace, only to find herself sprawled on the floor after connecting with something rather painfully.
"Well, well, well, looky here."
She groaned and rolled her eyes, "Here to play 'Lets make a fool of myself' again, are we Kanyon?" she said smiling disdainfully as she pulled herself to her feet.
"You can play coy all you want, Lita, we both know you want me." He reached out to help her, but she pulled away.
"In your dreams, Kanyon."
"Always."
She glared at him before taking off down the corridor. He yelled something after her, but she couldn't make out the words, she really didn't know what he was saying half the time, she just knew that it could never be good.
She knocked on the locker room door before entering. She really didn't need to catch an eyeful of Terri Runnels again. *Ugh, I really didn't need to be reminded of that* she thought as she entered the ladies locker room. She glanced around, smiling at Lillian Garcia and Tori Wilson before dropping her stuff and heading to the Hardy's locker room.
*I hope Jeff's okay* she thought to herself, *He can try to hide it all he wants, but I can see it...I just wish he could see that I do*
~x~x~x~x~x~
Jeff was pacing. The movement back and forth was really quite hypnotizing when you watched him for long enough...
"Jeff! Stop it!" Matt snapped. His brother jumped and looked at him, startled and Matt instantly regretted being so harsh.
"Sorry." The younger muttered, "guess I'm a little on edge."
"I hadn't noticed." Matt said dryly before smiling, "look, you'll be fine. Just try not to do something stupid...okay, like that'll happen, just try not to kill yourself and we'll be fine."
"Especially with me at ringside." Both Hardy brothers turned to look at the bouncing redhead entering the room.
"Well, look who finally got here." Matt said, pulling her into a tight cuddle, "Thought we'd lost you."
"Tried to you mean," she smiled, kissing the tip of his nose. She pulled back, eyeing Jeff in her peripheral vision. *God, he looks so on edge* she thought, frowning. She quickly walked over to him and pulled him into a tight hug, which he readily accepted.
"What was that for?" he asked quietly as they pulled apart.
"For confidence." She replied softly, "You'll be fine out there."
He offered her a lopsided smile, "Promise?"
"Promise." She replied hugging him again. Matt smiled at them, exchanging a smile with Lita who was staring at him over Jeff's shoulder.
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The crowd roared as their entrance music blared through the sound system and Jeff took a deep breath. He prepared to enter when he was startled by a squeeze to his hand. Turning to look at Lita, he ignored the tingling sensation her touch was giving him and squeezed back before following his brother out to the arena.
He played to the crowd, glancing at the redhead to his right from the corner of his eye. She had been watching him all night, not letting him allow his nerves to get the better of him, it was almost as if...no, she couldn't...but then she caught his eye and smiled reassuringly, before following her boyfriend down the ramp. And then it hit him.
*She knows*
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"Come on, Jeff!" Lita pounded the matt, blocking out the screaming fans. Why the decided to chant her name when she wasn't even fighting, she'd never understand. Sure it was nice, but it was the guys that needed their support, not her.
She flinched as Jeff's head hit the mat having fallen victim to a running bulldog from her "favourite person". Kanyon leered at her before returning to pound on Jeff. She hated this. They had known the odds were stacked against them from the start. And if she'd thought it would have made a difference, she'd have tried to talk the boys out of it, but she knew better, just like they knew better than to ask her to stay in the back...which they had tried anyway.
She stepped back as Matt flew past her and she quickly ran past the announce table as the Dudley's double-teamed him. She hated this. It wasn't a match, it was a beating. And the Hardy's were on the receiving end.
*Damn, Shane McMahon* she cursed. *Why? Why did he do it? TLC was one thing, but hardcore TLC, four on two was completely different.* She glanced into the ring breathing a sigh of relief as RVD missed a five star frog splash, although part of her wished he'd hit it and that it would finally be all over. She hated herself for thinking it, but she knew that the longer the match wore on, the worse things would get for Matt and Jeff.
She edged away as the Dudley's brought Matt over to the announce table. *NO!* she thought, looking around wildly as they lay him down. *I can't take this much longer. Damn Matt and Jeff for accepting this match!*
She wandered over to Lillian Garcia, vaguely noting the look of concern as the pretty ring announcer watched the Dudley's prepare to 3D Matt into the announce table. She urged the smaller woman up and grabbed her chair, not allowing herself the luxury of second thought as she folded it and ran over to the Dudley's.
*Please don't let this backfire* she prayed and swung the chair...
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A sickening thud made it's way to his ears and he forced himself to stand. He had been able to low blow Kanyon and had dropped Van Damn on his face, so he had, oh, about 2 seconds to breathe before they recovered.
His eyes searched ringside for the familiar locks of red hair and he almost gasped when he finally found them. Lita was grasping onto a chair and D-Von Dudley was sprawled over the announce table. This wasn't good. Okay, so the latter part was good, but she'd got involved, and that meant only one thing...The Dudley's were likely to want revenge.
*Damn, why did she have to get involved. Why couldn't she have just stayed in the back like we asked?* Jeff brushed past a ladder as he moved towards her, watching as Buh-Buh Ray dropped Matt to the ground like a rag doll. He was going to go after her and Jeff couldn't let that happen. He would not let him hurt her. He watched as Lita began to run and he turned away. He eyed the double height ladder positioned at the side of the ring closest to the ramp. And then it came to him. Lita was headed in that direction, he could help her.
He glanced at Kanyon, who was still rolling around clutching at his groin. He held back a smile, knowing that he had only a few seconds. His stomach clenched at the thought of what he was about to attempt. *Fear is only a four letter word* he repeated, hoping to gain some strength from it. Glancing at Van Damn, he frowned slightly before running to the ropes...
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*Oh my God, he's going to catch me* that was all she could think as she ran towards the ramp. She was nearly there...she might make it. Some part of her noted that she was still clutching the chair and she quickly threw it behind her, hoping to slow the larger Dudley's progress. And that was when she saw him. He was running towards the ropes...up and on to the top rope...he was jumping...
*Oh God, Jeff, no...*
She watched in horror as Jeff landed unsteadily on the top of the 20ft ladder and she ran backwards, almost on instinct as it toppled towards her and landed on Buh-Buh Ray...taking Jeff with it.
~x~x~x~x~x~
Matt groaned and pulled himself to his feet. He'd heard the crowd's collective gasp and knew instinctively that something had happened to either Jeff or Lita...or Van Damn, they seemed to like him. Turning, he noticed D-Von slowly coming to on the ground next to him.
He frowned, *I should have gone through a table, the only way that wouldn't have happened...Lita!* he spun around a little too quickly and instantly regretted it. He could hear JR and Paul Heyman chattering in the background and wished he could get his head to stop spinning so that he might hear what they were saying.
He stumbled towards the ring, hoping that the height it would place him at would give him the leverage to see what was going on. He pulled himself up, and kicked Kanyon as the man struggled to his feet.
*Where's Jeff?* he wondered. Standing up straight he looked towards Van Damn, noting the stunned look on the man's face and followed his gaze to the screen at the top of the ramp.
*Replay* he noted. His eyes widened at what Jeff was doing, had done...and then he collapsed to his knees, his stomach churning wildly as he watched his little brother swaying on top of a falling 20 ft ladder. As the ladder hit the ground, Jeff fell on top, his head smacking off the side as he landed, his legs twisting in an awkward position and then everything went black.
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Lita fell back, sitting as her hands connected with the metal ramp. The crowd was silent. Everyone was silent. And Jeff wasn't moving.
She tried to move towards him, tried to sit up and walk over to him, check he was okay, but her body wouldn't listen to her. She could now hear Buh-Buh Ray groaning, trying to move the ladder from on top of him, only to stop at the sickening sight of Jeff sprawled on top of it, his blood seeping onto the larger man's chest.
She heard movement behind her, heard the familiar voice chanting "Oh God," but still she couldn't move. EMT's rushed past her, barely stopping to move round her. She watched as they tried to decide the best way to help Jeff, to help Buh-Buh and she wanted to scream at them to just do something, but she couldn't speak.
She felt Chris sit next to her, still chanting, his hockey shirt attempting to warm her as he wrapped his arms around her, but she still felt cold...that was all she felt. Nothing but empty and cold.
A small part of her registered movement in the ring but all she could see was Jeff. All she could replay in her mind was Jeff falling from the top of the ladder. All she could hear was the sickening cracks from his body, the thud of his head hitting the metal, the gasp of the thousands of onlookers. All she could do was watch the EMT's place his limp body on a stretcher.
He'd done this to save her...he hadn't cared what happened to him, he'd done it for her, and now he could be dead. His voice rang through her head...
*Fear is only a four letter word*
*Well, fear might only be a four letter word,* she thought, *but Jeff was afraid of heights and now he could be dead* ...and that four letter word was her fear.
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END OF PART 1
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Please let me know what you think!
Ky
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