Title: The Burning

Author: NeroAnne

Disclaimer: I don't own the following wrestlers. Do I wish? Oh yes. But do I own? Oh no. XD.

Summary: Deep down, they hated each other. Deeper down still, they lusted for each other. All the way down at the bottom…they loved each other. On top of all that, though, they envied each other.

Note: Clearly, I need help.

ZZZZ

-Monday-

Jeff, Ted and Cody all walked together towards their lockers. Before Jeff even opened his, Ted had Cody pressed up against it, attacking his mouth furiously.

Jeff stared at them blankly before shaking his head. "Move it, Dory. I need my fucking Science book."

Ted didn't listen to him, he continued to suck and kiss Cody's mouth.

Jeff growled, "Dory…" before he could continue, he was slammed against the next locker. "What the fuck!?" he looked up, his eyes narrowing. "Get lost, shitface."

Matt smirked at him, "Oh, the brat has balls." He held up the signed "F" paper to Jeff's face. "You left that at home."

Jeff glared at him and shoved him away. "Fine." He snatched the paper from his brother before angrily turning away, listening to Ted and Cody quickly catch up.

"Man, it's like he gets off on torturing you."

Jeff snorted at Cody's comment. They entered the Lab, walking to their seats. Bearer peered down at Jeff.

"I hope your punishment will push you to do better in class from now on…"

Jeff smirked up at him, "Ain't gonna happen. You're on some serious fucking shit if you think Imma waste my time with Chemistry."

Bearer rolled his eyes, "That'll get ya an F in conduct."

Jeff's lips twitched.

Like he gave a shit.

The class started and not 20 minutes later, Jeff was being called down to the office.

Phil Brooks turned, smirking playfully at Jeff, "Sheesh, what'd you do?"

"Nothing," Jeff whined. He sneered, "Probably Matt being a dick as usual." He stood up, grabbing his things.

The class all snickered and some wannabe tough shit kid let out a cough, "Fag."

Jeff passed by the kid's desk, flipping the bird off right in the guy's face before walking out of the classroom.

He walked slowly, trying to think about what it is he did wrong. He walked into the office and walked over to the student assistant.

"Hey, Mickie," Jeff said. "I got called down here for something…"

Mickie James nodded, "McMahon wants to see you. He's in there with Kozlov, Michaels, Calaway, and that dance teacher from Connecticut."

Jeff's eyebrow rose and he quickly made his way to the Principle's door. He knocked.

"Come in, Jerome."

Oh come on! That wasn't even close to his name!

"His name is Jeffrey," Kozlov told McMahon.

"Right, right. Matthew's brother."

Jeff cringed at the title and opened the door, staring over at Kozlov. "…What's goin on?"

Kozlov merely smiled, "Sit."

Jeff looked over at Hunter and swallowed a bit.

The man was handsome…but he would never give him the time of day.

Jeff grinned at Mr. Michaels and Mr. Calaway. "Awesome, I get to see ya even though I don't have your classes today."

Michaels smiled at him, his head resting on Calaway's shoulder. They'd been fucking since before Jeff got to the school, so this didn't bug him in any way. He was the only one besides the faculty that knew they were together.

"What's this about then?" Jeff took off his bag, fixing the beanie on his head. He'd left his hair loose, the black beanie smashing it down nicely. His purple tank top had a stripe running horizontally down the waist and his kikwear pants had a tear in the left knee.

"We'd like to talk to you about a scholarship, Jerry."

Jeff blinked, not even bothered that Vince butchered up his name.

Oh shit.

{T*B)

-AP Calculus-

Matt hid a smirk, watching Cena drool all over his book. He leaned forewords, poking his friend hard in the ribs. "Dude, this work is half your grade!"

Cena snorted, his eyes opening. He made a disgusted face, "Awe, dude!" he wiped his chin off with his hand before wiping it off on Adam, who nearly screeched.

"John, you fucker!" Adam whined, rubbing the spot on his shirt with furious swipes. Randy sat next to Adam, but he was busy scribbling answers onto his paper. Every so often, his cell phone would vibrate and he'd text his girlfriend.

Cena blinked, seemingly remembering where he was. He yawned, "So much for Eve rubbing me down before a match…" his eyes suddenly sparkled, "Man, your brother did a great job at the recital!"

Matt shot him a glare. "Oh yeah. Slutting around the stage is his calling." He returned to his work.

Cena blinked at turned to Adam who shrugged at him. "…How much hell did Jeff catch with Legend?"

"A lot. He's got no phone, no practice, and so many chores." Matt snickered. He looked up when Cena made a sound.

"I don't think that's very fair…I mean, I get that him being a dancer is kinda queer…but so what? It's his life."

Adam smiled, "Maryse is in his art class. She says he's got the best grade in the class."

"Probably because he's sucking off Michaels," Randy murmured.

Matt felt some anger at that. He frowned, staring hard at Randy.

Randy raised a brow at him, frowning back, "You've said it yourself, man. Hell, you said it two days ago."

…Oh yeah.

Matt forced himself to grin, "I said he was fucking Michaels, not sucking him."

They shared a snicker. Adam and Cena glanced nervously at each other.

"…What would you do to him if he were actually gay?" Adam asked tentatively.

"I wouldn't give a shit," Matt spat, "Dad would fucking disown him and mom would probably roll in her grave."

'Bullshit. You'd be ecstatic and beg to fuck him, Dad would probably get over the shock and mom would have just smiled and accepted it.'

Randy grunted. "He's gay enough. I mean, his best friends are my cousins. Talk about being wrong. Incest and gay. Gah…"

Matt thought hard about that while staring down at the problems in his book.

'Yeah…talk about being wrong…'

They all looked up when the TV turned on to broadcast the morning announcements.

Most talk was about upcoming finals and tests, the prom, and some expensive bash. Vince finally turned to the man next to him, who had been silent.

Matt recognized him as being the teacher from Connecticut.

"What I'm here for…is talent. People who can sing, act, dance, draw…could have an opportunity to compete for a scholarship to my school, which is one of the best in the world. We've already got one nominee…and if you want to beat him, you'll have to work…" his brown eyes shimmered, "A lot."

The camera zoomed in on Jeff, who was pointedly avoiding looking at the camera. His eyes were on the ground, a flush on his cheeks. Behind him, Kozlov and Michaels were proudly holding onto his shoulder and Calaway was further in the back, gazing down at Jeff with a slight smirk on his face.

Matt's jaw dropped. So did everyone else's.

Mr. Ross blinked from behind his glasses. "…Well, I'll be a son-of-a-gun." He muttered once Jeff's artwork was shown on the screen. Beautiful portraits of animals, plants, nature and then it transitioned into a clip of Jeff dancing at practice.

He was wearing extremely loose-fitting pants. They kept sliding down his waist every time he twirled, his hips dents and pelvic region exposed to Matt's hungry eyes. His movements went from quick and paced, to slow and flowy.

Matt's pencil snapped in his fingers.

{T*B}

"How mortifying," Jeff whispered, watching the video of himself practicing with the group.

"You have nothing to be ashamed of," Kozlov said fiercely, "You are magnificent."

This only made Jeff's cheeks get darker. He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "…Can I go now?"

Calaway snickered, shoving his hand on top of Jeff's head, causing the beanie to slide down and cover Jeff's eyes. "You're such an ungrateful little shit."

"I am grateful," Jeff murmured, completely blind, "it's just…my dad probably isn't gonna go for it…Matt's gonna convince him that it's evil or something."

As he babbled on, Hunter smiled and shooed the teachers off. Vince excused himself, heading for his office.

As they left, Hunter sat watching the young blonde boy ramble about how much his brother and father disliked his passion. His eyes moved down the boy's slim body.

"…and then I'm probably gonna get kicked out of the house for disobeying daddy again…"

Slowly, he stood, gently pulling the beanie away from the young boy's eyes.

Green eyes met brown.

Jeff let out a muffled squeak and glanced around the room. "…Mah…what happened?"

"You shouldn't hold yourself back just because your family doesn't approve of your decisions." Hunter began to walk, motioning for Jeff to follow him. They walked the empty halls, their footsteps padding the ground.

Jeff sighed, "What's the point? No matter what I do, I'm always gonna be Matt's less-worthy brother…"

"You won't. You are Jeff and you will be Jeff."

Jeff stopped walking, eyes wide and hopeful.

Hunter blinked down at him, "What is it?"

A watery smile crossed the boy's mouth. "…You called me Jeff…"

An amused grin came to Hunter's mouth, "Is that not your name?"

"Yeah. It's just that people tend to forget…" Jeff faced the ground again, suddenly finding his purple shoes so interesting.

Hunter nodded in understanding, "And do people forget Matt's name?"

"…Never…" Jeff felt Hunter's hand land on his shoulder and he looked up, lips drawn in a pout and eyes teary.

"I won't forget your name."

Jeff's mouth parted as Hunter leaned closer. His eyes squeezed shut as he felt the stubbly cheek against his, followed by a breathy whisper.

"I promise."

His lips met Jeff's forehead.

And dark brown eyes saw the whole thing.

{T*B}

-Dinner-

Jeff was smiling all throughout dinner, his soft lips tilted upwards.

Matt wanted to smack him. He kept his face neutral though. He'd keep his self in check until after dinner.

Lindsay smiled at Jeff, "You look happy."

"I was nominated for a scholarship," Jeff told her, grinning.

Gil looked up, interest in his eyes. "Oh?"

Before Jeff could open his mouth, Matt cut in.

"It's for dancing." He met Jeff's eyes.

Jeff sneered at him, "It's for art, bitch." He swallowed at the narrowing of his father's eyes. "Sorry."

Gil strummed his fingers against the table, "…Jeffrey, we've been over this. Dancing is not important."

"You always turn the other cheek whenever I talk about dancing…" Jeff whispered, the hurt clear in his voice.

"Because it's stupid!" Matt cut in. "You're going to ruin your already pathetic life by being a show girl for men?"

Jeff picked up his drink, smirking, "You're just jealous that I actually know how to dance, Jimmy-Legs."

Son of a bitch!

"Me jealous of you?" Matt smirked, leaning closer, "Who's at the top of their class, Jeff? Who's popular? Who actually has a girlfriend? Me. Who's already got college all figured out? Who's actually gonna grow up to be successful?"

Jeff glared heatedly at him. "I will be successful. I don't need your fucking support. In fact…I didn't need your support when I won all those ribbons for my portraits."

"I get ribbons for just being in class," Matt sneered, "You've never even gotten a trophy whereas I've gotten twenty."

Jeff scooted his chair out from under him, his face dark. "…At least momma would have supported me," he clenched his fists, turning clouded eyes to his father.

"I am going to be a dancer whether you like it or not. Do what you want with me. Ground me, mock me, disown me…but when I'm on stage, and I'm being paid a fucking lot of money to do what I do best…don't expect me to welcome you with open arms. And you, bitch," Jeff said, turning his eyes to Matt, "If you hate me so much, why even bother with me? How hard is it for you to leave me alone?"

Jeff smiled weakly at Lindsay, "…Please excuse me." He made his way upstairs, his door slamming shut loudly.

"…Does he really think I hate him?" Matt whispered to his father.

"No, son," Gil said gently. "…He's just angry...and hurt."

Matt nibbled on his lower lip. "…I think I should talk to him…" he stood, moving up the stairs and into Jeff's room.

He blinked as the music blared out from the stereo. Mozart…

Jeff only ever played that when he was extremely bored…or extremely upset.

Matt pushed the door open, leaning against the door frame.

Jeff was lying face down on his bed, his shirt off. His jeans were down past his hips, the pale skin glowing in the dim lighting. His arms were wrapped tightly around some ratty old bear…

Matt looked around. He hadn't been in Jeff's room in years…

Art lined the walls…so many portraits. His eyes moved to one in particular. His eyes widened and he moved closer.

Jeff turned his head but said nothing. He turned on his side, watching Matt examine the portrait.

"…When?" Matt asked softly, tracing the picture. "When did you draw this?"

"Started it when I was nine, finished it about three months ago…" Jeff answered quietly, stroking the bear's ear.

They both stared at the beautiful portrait of Matt and their mother. Ruby's arms were wrapped tightly around Matt's shoulders, her mouth pressed against his cheek. The colors were beautiful…the picture looked so amazing.

"She was so beautiful," Matt whispered.

"...Like you." Jeff sighed, sitting up. He placed the bear on his lap. "What are you doing in here? I thought I told you to leave me alone."

"What you said upset me." Matt sat down on the baby blue sheets. "…You don't really think I hate you, do you?"

"Remember when mom died, Matt?" Jeff pulled his knees up to his chest; the bear crushed in between, "and how I was so scared that you were gonna die too? Cuz you were athletic like her and cuz you looked so much like her? I went to your bed, Matt…and you…you…" he looked down, lips trembling.

"I shoved you off my bed," Matt said, remembering well. "Jeff…I'm sorry. I truly am…but I couldn't let you see me. Not when I was going to cry myself to sleep like I did every night since that first night without mom."

"…You cried yourself to sleep? You?" Jeff swallowed, "You never cried for anything…"

"I cried so much, Jeff. I cried because I was lonely…because I had no one to hold. Mom used to hold me…and when you were born, she would still hold me and I would hold you…but after mom left, I had no one to hold."

"…Why didn't you hold me?" Jeff questioned brokenly. "I needed you…"

"I don't know, Jeff." Matt said quietly.

"…Will…will you hold me now?"

"…I can't." Matt stood, walking towards the door. "I hate you. Remember?" he shut the door, leaning against it.

{*T*B}

Awe…

Tissues?