Chapter: 3: Use Somebody

Author's Note: I totally forgot that I hadn't posted the last piece of this! Sorry about that! Here ya go. Hope you enjoy. =)

Another three weeks pass by even more agonizingly slow than the first three, with still not as much as an e-mail from Justin. From what she's heard, he hasn't even been at any wrestling events. The fear that's been in the pit of her stomach keeps growing, and she feels worse than ever about the whole thing. It's one thing to want the best for Justin, it's another to cost him the people who care for him the most, herself included. But, she deals with it to the best of her ability, knows it's her fault anyway, so she has no other choice but to grin and bear it. After the fourth week with no sign of her friend at all, though, she pushes her fears aside, and heads to Justin's apartment, a knot of nerves in her stomach once more. He may be ignoring her, but he's still her best friend, and she can't help but be worried.

When Kelly goes to park outside the apartment, though, she nearly wrecks. There's a familiar car parked right next to Justin's, and Kelly thinks, no fucking way. She runs a trembling hand along the frame of the Mustang as she exits her own vehicle, equally thrilled and terrified at the possibilities that this simple sight could entail. As she approaches the door, she takes a deep, steadying breath, tries to prepare herself for whatever tragedy could possibly lie on the other side. By the time she raises her hand and knocks, she's sure she can take on anything. She finds herself ill-prepared, however, for the reality that is John Cena answering the door with a wide, beaming smile.

"Hey, Kelly!" he exclaims, something like excitement in his voice. "What a surprise seeing you here! Come on in."

"Dammit, John, I said-" Justin's voice interrupts the Superstar from behind him. John shoots the younger man a stern look as he steps to the side and beckons the blonde in.

"I don't give a damn what you said. We need to have this conversation and we may as well have it right now. She's coming inside." John tells his lover.

The first thing Kelly notices when she steps inside is Justin's totally submissive expression as he looks at the older. She's almost instantly distracted, though, by the very obvious presence of John spread all throughout the living room area of Justin's home. His things are now everywhere, she realizes, surveying the room in almost a complete circle. By the time she turns to face the two of them once more, door shut effectively behind her, her expression has turned to one of almost astonishment. She can't even help it.

"What's going on?" she asks in complete disbelief.

"Glad you went ahead and asked that." John replies, offering her a smile that borderlines on being condescending. "Why don't you sit down?"

And really, the way Kelly's legs are trembling now in sheer shock, she really doesn't have another choice. She plants herself on the couch and watches Justin shuffle awkwardly from foot to foot, refusing to really even get too close, despite John's encouraging look. John stares harder at the South African, willing him to just take a seat on the couch next to the girl. For a moment, Justin avoids his gaze completely, and Kelly's stomach turns at the sight. Finally, the high flyer shoots Cena a glare that succeeds in making the girl feel even worse, especially when he drops down onto the arm of the couch rebelliously. John rolls his eyes, and Kelly can almost see him fighting the urge to throw his hands up in defeat. She has to admit to herself, she's done the same thing many a time in relation to her friend.

"Oh, what the hell ever." John snaps, making her jump, eyes widening. Then, quieter, "Little shit."

Justin just crosses his arms over his chest, still glaring at the Superstar. "Let's just get this over with."

Kelly's gaze drops to her lap. This is never how she meant for things to go, she thinks. Then, John's speaking again and she has no other choice but to listen. She turns her eyes to him, but keeps her head pointed downward in something that feels closer to shame than she thinks she ever has.

"Now, Kelly. We're really glad you stopped by, because the thing is, we've been wanting to talk to you for a couple weeks now." John begins, but Justin almost instantly interrupts him.

"You've been wanting to talk to her." the high flyer mumbles, and this time, it's John's turn to glare.

"Justin." he says, warning in his tone. Justin lowers his gaze, lets out a light sigh.

"Sorry." the younger replies, voice soft. Kelly finds herself shocked watching their exchange, but she hides it well when John turns back to her.

"Anyway. Kelly." John addresses her again, and she sits up a little straighter. "You, little lady, came to see me a couple months ago, and you had a very angry message for me. So angry, in fact, that you left me with an ultimatum. Leave my wife, or leave Justin."

The blonde has to look away again at this. Her cheeks burn red hot with embarassment, and she can feel Justin's heated expression staring a hole in her. John keeps talking, though, completely ignoring her evident discomfort (much the way she had his in the first place, she thinks).

"I'll admit, at first, I was angry, too. Who the hell were you to come around throwing ultimatums at me? But, the more I thought about it...the more I realized you kind of had a point." John says, and Kelly's head snaps up to face him, amazement practically painted on her features. His expression is soft as he continues. "What I was doing wasn't fair, to my wife or to Justin. I was being selfish, and scared, and most importantly, stupid, and even though I didn't realize it, I really was about to lose the most important person in my life. So, regardless of how you felt, Kelly, I had a choice to make. Like you said, a damn important one."

Kelly's so shocked, she doesn't want to correct his language. She can't believe John is agreeing with her, can't believe she even got through to him. All this time, she'd been convinced she had pissed the older man off so much that he hadn't even wanted to be with Justin anymore, determined that their little trysts weren't worth it any longer if this was what he had to deal with. This is the polar opposite of those thoughts. Then, John continues speaking, and even though his presence tells Kelly exactly where this conversation is probably headed, she still finds herself on the edge of her seat as he does.

"So, I took some time, thought it over...and decided to tell Liz what was going on." John informs the girl. This time, she has to fight to keep her jaw from outright landing on the floor. She knows her eyes must be wide as saucers, staring the Superstar down in sheer amazement. He tells her, "That's why I didn't talk to Justin for a little while. I didn't want anyone to know until it was all over. The second everything was settled a couple weeks ago, though, I came straight here, and I've been staying here ever since."

Kelly is struck speechless. She never dreamed things would play out like this, ESPECIALLY not because of her. For a moment, she wonders if she is dreaming, but she knows the discomfort she was feeling earlier, the unease that has completely disappated from her, was very real. She finds herself utterly shell-shocked as she struggles to absorb all the information. She single-handedly made John Cena leave his wife. Before she has a real chance to let it sink in, John's voice cuts through her thoughts once more.

"Basically, what I want to say, Kelly, is thank you. You may have been a bit out of line, but it turned out alright. You told me what I needed to hear but didn't want to, and you helped me fix things. So, thank you." John says, and Kelly feels her breath catch. An expression of gratitude is the last thing she'd expected to receive upon her arrival here.

"Y-you're, uhm. You're welcome?" she manages, tripping over her own words. "I-I mean, I'm sorry for being so rude, John. But I'm glad things worked out okay?"

The blonde can't even help it, she's back to being slightly nervous. It hasn't escaped her attention that the whole time, Justin has remained totally silent, perched on the arm of the couch not even looking at her. It hurts that even with the way things turned out, her best friend won't acknowledge her presence in anything but anger. She can't help wishing he would at least say something her. It's like he doesn't even notice she's there, just keeps staring at the floor, even as she looks sadly at him. John notices, though, and he clears his throat loudly, startling the high flyer and making him jump so hard he almost falls off the couch. He turns to John with a curious expression.

"Justin." John says his name softly, and nods toward the blonde girl. Justin looks at her briefly, shoots her a half-hearted glare before turning back to his lover with a much more solid one. Kelly watches for a moment as they have what seems to be a silent conversation before suddenly, Justin heaves out a sigh. He mumbles something just under his breath, and John prompts, "What?"

Justin glares hard at the older, but turns a soft expression back to Kelly before repeating himself, "I said, I'm sorry, Kelly."

"Really?" she questions, astonishment in her tone.

"Yea. I shouldn't have been so cruel to you. I know you were trying to help, and really you did. I mean, I guess I should really be thanking you, too, for how everything turned out." Justin replies, moving to sit next to her on the couch, finally.

"No, Justin, no. You really don't have to thank me for anything. I really was out of line, and I understand why you were mad, because I was scared for the same reason. I messed up, even if it did turn out okay. I stuck my nose where it didn't belong, and on top of that, I was rude about it, and I feel awful about it." Kelly explains to him quickly. She looks between the high flyer and John as she continues. "That's why I came over. I was going to apologize."

"Well, apology accepted." John says, offering the two of them a beaming smile. "Now, what say we kiss and make up and move on from here in a positive direction, huh?"

Justin snorts in laughter at his boyfriend's ridiculousness, and it makes Kelly smile, as well. Then, the two turn to each other again, and Kelly's nerves return once more. She asks timidly (hopefully), "Can we?"

The high flyer's gaze finally, finally softens, and Kelly feels tears begin to fill her eyes as he offers her a light smile.

"Yea. I guess we should, huh?" he replies, and she has to bring a hand to her mouth to stifle her near sob.

Justin can't even help it, opens his arms for his friend to fold herself into. She does, too, burying her face in the crook of his neck and trying so very desperately not to cry. This time, however, they're tears of joy, for so grateful is she to have Justin back in her life. She'd been outright terrified for weeks that she had messed up beyond reason, lost one of the best friends she'd ever had. Those worries seem a million miles away with his arms around her now, hand running through her hair, soft shushing and foreign endearments drifting through her ears. She manages to keep her tears at bay long enough to pull back, look Justin in the eye.

"I missed you so much. I'm so sorry." she tells him, voice rushed and almost panicked. He presses a soft kiss to her forehead in response.

"I missed you, too. And I accept your apology, as well. I was really, really mad at you, but not anymore. Not at all." he replies, hugging her close again as he notices the tears coming back.

Justin meets John's eyes over her shoulder, and the older offers him a thumbs up and a relieved smile. Justin smiles as well. As angry as he was before, he can't help but feel relieved now, too. He admits, he was even still angry at Kelly the moment he'd heard her car pull up out front, the instant she'd knocked on his door. But now that he's heard the whole story, knows that John wouldn't even be here right now had it not been for the blonde, he can't help but feel grateful, as well. He presses another kiss to the side of his best friend's head, and she hugs him tighter, cries a little harder.

As Kelly lets out all of her emotion from the last few weeks, she notes the vast difference between today and the way she'd left the apartment a few weeks prior. Though she'd been crying all the same, now, Justin's here to hold her and comfort her, the way a best friend should. It's not as though she needs comfort, however, tears of happiness dripping down onto Justin's skin from her face. John surveys the scene, takes it all in. It's hardly the first time lately that he's heard a woman crying, but this time, it relaxes him somehow. He honestly couldn't be more thankful to be here, right now, with his lover and his lover's best friend, not having to worry about getting home to Liz. This is home now.

Things are definitely different, and they all know it now. It seems as if their entire world has been flipped on its head, all three of them, but for once, none of them are scared. In fact, not a single one of them could be happier. Right here, in this moment, they're all exactly where they want to be. And that is the truth.