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 Three

Aracely was laying on her back on the bed, dangling upside down from it and grinning as she watched Jeff paint. Today was a cooler day so she was wearing jeans along with her usual tee with the sleeves cut off, and she'd borrowed a hoodie from Jeff that she was absolutely swimming in now.

"How on earth is that comfortable?" Jeff asked, enjoying the giggle that it prompted from Lee.

"I dunno, I just felt like laying here and hanging upside down." She shrugged a bit and Jeff couldn't help but laugh too. He paused in his painting when she struggled to roll over and then clambered off the bed, padding over to where he stood at the canvas.

"It looks good Jeffy. I really like it," she told him, missing the smile that her announcement prompted.

"Well that's good, you're my inspiration." He told her and a blush spread over her cheeks.

"Really?"

"Yes, really Lee." He said, smirking a bit and reaching out to paint a red stripe on her right cheek. She didn't even fight him on it but her cheeky grin in response reassured him that she had something in store for him. Despite this, he painted a matching stripe on her other cheek.

Lee reached out and deftly swiped up some paint on one of her fingers and like lightning she streaked a line of her own down his nose. Together they burst out in laughter and Jeff put aside his palette.

"Alright Lee, it's your turn to show me some of your work." He said, and a thoughtful expression came over her face in response. She bounced over to the bag she had brought with her and took out the sketchbook and the pencils Jeff gave her before moving to the bed. Jeff sat with her, though she lay down beside him and opened her sketchbook.

It didn't take long for her work to start taking form and Jeff leaned in a little, looking it over. "I like it." He told her softly and even though he couldn't see her face he could practically feel her grin.

"Well that's good, cause it's inspired by you," She told him.

Neither of them seemed remotely bothered when Matt opened the door and headed in. There was a vague greeting for him but Lee continued to draw and Jeff continued to watch, completely ensnared by her talent. For a moment, Matt paused and looked at them both, frowning a little. It's not that he thought she was a bad kid but he did wonder if she was the right person to be hanging around Jeff. He worried that she might get Jeff in trouble, if only for her age. After all, it had only been about a week at this point and they seemed so close. Closer than anybody else she had been introduced to… but Matt left it. He just had to trust his brother.

Later that evening, she and Jeff went down to dinner together, joining Shawn, Hunter, Randy, Adam and John. They walked side by side, close together and chatting away as they got closer with Lee positively beaming. They took a seat at the table, casually greeting everyone before Lee asked what John felt was a huge question.

"Shawn, do you mind if I stay in Jeff's room tonight? We haven't finished our art yet."

Shawn glanced from her to Jeff, then to Hunter and finally nodded. "G'head. Don't stay up too late though, and remember you have to find John tomorrow morning to go to the next town with him. I'll meet you there."

"No worries." She said, smiling at him before turning her attention to the menu.

Cena listened to all this silently, though he felt a little surprised that Shawn would say yes to her request. Not that he thought Jeff would do anything to hurt her but was it honestly okay to let her stay with someone who had that much of an age gap with her? Then again, he would be spending the better part of his day alone with her tomorrow. Maybe then he could talk to her, try and get through to her and find out what was going on underneath that mask she wore both physically and emotionally.

When dinner was done Lee and Jeff said their goodbyes, Lee offering Shawn a hug before heading off to Jeff's room with him. Again they walked side by side, shoulders nearly touching as they chatted.

"They get along well." Cena remarked, trying not to sound like he was stirring anything up.

"They have a lot in common, I guess." Shawn said, "They're both artists." He shrugged. He never was an artist himself, except for in the ring.

John just nodded and let the conversation swap to something else, even though he was lost in thought himself.

Meanwhile, back in Jeff's room, he and Lee were sitting on the bed again, both of them working on a sketch. Despite the fact there was a movie on in the background they were both talking to one another softly.

"Lee… I hope you don't mind me asking, but what happened to your parents?"

"I don't mind." She said simply, "They're dead. They have been for a while now… nearly 10 years." She could see the confusion on his face as he said this.

"But… if they've been dead for that long, how come you've only just been adopted by Shawn?" He asked in a gentle tone of voice. She knew he wasn't accusing her of anything, just curious and probably a bit confused.

"I was with a couple of foster families… then Shawn came along and I don't know how he heard about me, but I'm here now." She said, without going too far into detail about her life. Jeff didn't press her for details either… but he was sure she would tell him more soon.


Author's note: So here's chapter three! Hope you enjoyed it. I'm also gonna put up some new story images up on my profile if you wanna check them out. What are you expecting next chapter? :)