Damaged

Pairings: Jeff/Trish, Matt/Eve, Adam/Amy, others.

Rating: M

Ages: Jeff: 22, Trish/Eve/Amy: 23, Adam/Matt: 24 Others: 22-24

Summary: It was a nightmare and Trish didn't know how to wake up.

"I'm so sorry," Trish sniffed, wiping her eyelids with the pads of her thumbs. She felt Jeff's hand rubbing her back and she flashed him a watery smile.

His eyes were widened and concerned. He didn't smile back but his expression was warm enough that it made her feel better without him even saying anything. They sat in silence for a while, her sniffles eventually stopping.

Tentatively, Jeff reached out to cup her cheek, finally smiling as she eased into the touch. "I'm sorry if asking you brought back a memory you wanted to forget," he murmured, emerald eyes sad.

"It's not your fault, Jeff. I know that my behavior and the scars draw attention and curiosity." Trish fiddled with her blankets, "I'd rather not talk about it yet. I came here to enjoy myself and my friends, both old and new," she tapped her fingers against his knee, grinning as he blinked. "You've been absolutely wonderful to me and I want to thank you for that. Most times, people that meet me are very wary and very confused about me. They think I'm cold…but I'm just not use to warming up to people right away."

Jeff continued to stare at her, taking in her genuine and sweet smile and her honest chocolate brown eyes. He felt his fingers itch with the feeling of wanting to trace her facial featured but held himself back, gently stroking her cheek instead.

"You've been very easy to talk to and while I really do want to tell you," she paused, turning away from his eyes and looking towards the carpeted floor, "I'm afraid of what your reaction will be."

Jeff lowered his hand from her cheek and eased back onto the couch, his composure comfortable. "Don't even worry about it, darlin. You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to. I'm sorry for even asking in the first place…we hardly know each other," he chuckled when she looked back to him, "although I'm sure that if we continue to hit it off this well that we'll eventually become very good friends."

Trish giggled, "I think we already are." She brought her hand up to her mouth as she yawned, feeling oddly content and sleepy.

"You're tired," Jeff began to stand but stopped once he noticed her smile falter a bit. "Trish?"

The pretty blonde bit her bottom lip nervously, "Jeff, this is incredibly inappropriate and feel free to refuse but would you, would you mind staying with me? Here? There is more than enough room on the couch and if you want, I could even sleep on the floor-"

"Shh, darlin," he gently stopped her mid-ramble. He settled back down on his end of the couch, bringing his knees up slightly so that she'd be able to curl her legs if she wanted to. "I won't refuse. I'd be crazy to."

Trish fell asleep before she even realized her eyes were closing. The last thing she remembered seeing was those gorgeous green eyes and that last feeling she felt was warmth.

She felt safe.

*The Next Morning*

Jeff furrowed his brows as something poked his face. He grumbled, reaching out to bat away the thing touching his eyebrow and then jerked awake when he was flicked on the nose. He stared up into dark brown eyes and frowned. "What, man?"

Matt was standing over him with a funny look on his face. His hands gestured towards the couch with a quiet grunt of confusion.

That's when Jeff felt her.

Trish was pressed up against his side, her face hidden in the material of his dark grey hoodie. He could feel her bare legs, smooth and warm, tangled around his and he swallowed thickly, looking back up to his brother.

Matt frowned at him, crossing his arms and jerking his chin towards the door. A clear sign that he wanted to have a little talk.

Jeff sighed, bringing his hands around Trish slowly. He gently lifted her, maneuvering her so that she rested against the couch. He had to fight off a smile as she let out a whine before her face went lax, her fingers curling around the blanket.

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his hoodie as he followed his older brother outside, avoiding eye contact once they were on the front porch. He risked a glance up at Matt and was surprised to see the other man watching him thoughtfully.

"What happened last night?" Matt asked.

Jeff rolled his eyes. "I just went downstairs to talk to her for a while. Candice was keeping me up." At Matt's curious brow-raise, Jeff shrugged. "The girl snores like a wild boar."

Matt chuckled, "What else?"

"Nothing else, man. Trish and I talked for a good while and I guess we fell asleep." Jeff ran his fingers through his hair, pulling out his hair band and shaking out his colorful locks.

"You didn't do anything with her?"

Jeff snapped his head back to Matt, glaring at him, "Of course not. What kind of a guy do you think I am? I just met her."

"Easy," Matt held up his hands, "I'm not trying to be rude. I was just wondering." Matt stared up at the sky. "…I care a lot for her. We all do."

"Do…do you know what happened to her?" Jeff watched Matt's shoulders tense. "You do, don't you?"

Sighing, Matt rubbed the back of his neck. "It's complicated, Jeff. I know as much as Adam, Jay and Eve do. Amy…Amy knows everything but she's never told us because every time she tries she…ends up throwing up or crying."

"God."

They stood in silence, listening to the sounds of nature.

After a few moments, Matt turned to face his younger brother. "Listen, Jeff. I'm really glad that Trish is enjoying her time with you. I've never seen her open up to someone so fast, I mean that," he put a hand on Jeff's shoulder, "but give her time. Be patient. There are some things about her that you won't understand right away."

Jeff nodded, patting Matt's back as the older man went back inside. Jeff stared out into the distance for a while before turning and heading back inside as well.

"Do I snore?"

Jeff grinned, seeing Trish peeking up at him from the couch. "Even louder than Candice does," he teased and then laughed as she gasped in mock-indignation. He greeted Amy and Adam as the couple came down the stairs together.

"We're going to hit the store in the town after breakfast," Amy informed them, "I'm craving s'mores," she pointed at Trish, "and I know you want them as bad as I do. So, do you want to come with?"

"Absolutely! But I'm not going to go alone with just the two of you. I'm not going to be a third wheel," Trish looked to Jeff, who was playing with the zipper on his hoodie, staring off into space. He was so adorable. "Hey, space cadet!"

Jeff blinked, "Who, me?"

"Yes, you," laughing, Trish tossed a couch pillow at him, "Want to be the fourth wheel?" She ducked as he tossed the pillow back.

"I'm in!" Jeff ambled up the stairs, "I'm going to change."

"And I'll start breakfast," Trish replied brightly, walking off to the kitchen.

Amy turned to look at her boyfriend, seeing Adam staring questioningly towards the stairs. "They sure are warming up to each other fast."

"I know, it's interesting, huh?" Adam smiled down at the redhead and bent down to peck her on the lips. "It's nice to see our girl so lively." He looked to the stairs again and his brother came down, "Morning, bro."

"Yo," Jay sniffed the air, groaning happily, "Is Trish making biscuits?!" he raced towards the kitchen but then paused, turning towards the couple. "Hey, she's really being upbeat, isn't she? The last time we did this she pretty much just stayed in her room the whole time. What gives?"

Before Adam could answer, Jeff came back down the stairs, dressed in dark jeans and a black tank top under his grey hoodie. He made his way to the kitchen, nodding in greeting to Jason as he went by and then whooping in delight as he caught a look at their breakfast.

"Dibs on the chocolate ones!" the younger Hardy called out, causing Trish to laugh and Jason to stare in surprise.

"I guess she really likes Jeff," Amy commented, smiling as she and Adam made their way into the kitchen.

After their breakfast of warm, different-flavored biscuits, bacon, and scrambled eggs, Adam, Amy, Trish and Jeff found themselves in the store. It took a while to get there, about half an hour without traffic.

"Man, I haven't had a s'more since I was a kid." Jeff told Trish, picking up several bars of chocolate and examining each one, "Matty and I used to make them in the backyard with our momma. Me and her, we used to get dark chocolate because it tasted better with the sweetness of the mallows," he spoke fondly.

"That sounds really good," Trish picked up several bars of dark chocolate as well, "I'd like to try it out. My first time tasting a s'more was in 10th grade with Amy. She pretty much force-fed it to me after I told her I'd never had one before."

"You'd never had one before 10th grade?" Jeff echoed, staring at her in surprise. He felt terrible when she all of a sudden deflated, her mood becoming sad and her eyes closing slowly.

"You'd be shocked to find out how many things I hadn't experienced until I met Amy," her eyes opened and she looked up at him, "I lived a…very sheltered life."

"Hey," Jeff nudged her gently, "You don't have to say anything else." His eyes brightened, "I can't wait till you experience more stuff with me."

"Like what?"

Jeff smirked at her, "Ever done pranking?"

Trish's head tilted, "Pranking? You mean like tricks?"

"Oh, yes," Jeff wandered down the aisles until they reached the condiments. He grabbed a bottle of mustard and juggled it playfully, "Matt hates mustard. I can't wait to put this on his graham crackers."

Trish couldn't help it. His face was so positively mischievous and she laughed loudly, her head tossed back.

Jeff watched her laugh, smiling softly. Trish was so beautiful. She had a looming sense of sadness that surrounded her almost all the time and still, she was lovely but when she was happy…she was so gorgeous. Her face completely free from hurt, her livelihood so much more expressive and carefree.

"Oh, I forgot the gummy worms!"

Jeff raised a brow, "Gummy worms?" He watched her head back towards the candy aisle, "What do you need worms for?"

"To put them in the s'mores!" she called back, giggling as he let out a disgusted sound, "You've got to try it!"

Jeff shook his head, "Meet me at checkout," he shouted back at her before moving towards the line. He could see Amy and Adam in line 2, their shopping cart full of groceries. They agreed to just do a shopping haul after realizing how far away the store was. He stepped up behind them, placing his items on the belt and handing over some money to help pay for all the stuff.

"Where's T?" Adam asked him, putting down the eggs carefully and reaching to take the next item Amy handed him.

"She went to grab some gummy worms for her s'mores," Jeff scrunched up his nose, "which sounds totally gross, by the way." He hummed, "she should be back now though, I'll go see what's taking her."

The couple nodded at him and he went off, stepping lightly but quickly throughout the store, excusing himself as he made his way through the crowd of shoppers. He reached the candy aisle and paused, looking around the for the tiny blonde.

He found her.

She was holding her items against her chest, looking at the ground nervously. Her bottom lip was caught in between her teeth and she was shaking ever so slightly. There was a man in front of her, smiling at her and talking to her. Jeff watched the guy reach out to grab Trish's arm, watched the way she flinched in response, watched the guy's eyes narrow and heard the guy when he spoke.

"C'mon, babe. Don't be so harsh, I just want your number."

Oh, fuck no.

Jeff made his way over to her, pushing himself in between her and the asshole. "Get away from her," he spoke firmly, eyes dark.

"Who the hell are you?" the guy sneered, not backing down at all.

Jeff felt his fists clench and he stepped closer. He had at least a few good inches over the guy and he could easily knock the little punk down on his ass. It wouldn't even be a problem. "Back off, man. This doesn't have to get ugly."

"Oh, I think it does, you shit. I was about to get this chick's number," the guy snorted, "but if you're so ready to defend her then I guess you're her man, then? Figures. No wonder she was being such a bitch."

Jeff grabbed the guy's collar with both fists, pressing him against the shelves roughly. The guy cried out as his head bounced off against the metal plating but Jeff didn't care.

"Apologize," Jeff hissed, his entire body coiled tight, "Apologize to her for what you just said."

The guy grunted, trying to pull away from Jeff's hold but it wasn't going to happen. He blanched as Jeff reared his fist back.

"Say you're sorry or my fist is going to fly," Jeff warned one last time.

"Fine, damn it!" the guy yelled. He turned cold eyes to Trish and mumbled out a sad excuse of an apology.

"Jeff, please," Trish gently grabbed onto his arm, "I just want to leave." Her voice was small, scared. "Please…"

Jeff growled and shook the guy away from them. "You're lucky," he told the little asshole, "I would have punched your nose into the back of your head." He grabbed Trish's hand and pulled her away, minding his strength.

They made their way to Amy and Adam, both of them ignoring their confused looks. They continued to pay and Jeff let Trish go ahead of him. He leaned down, lips pressed against her ear. "Are you okay?" he whispered.

Trish nodded slowly. She turned to face him and then, she wrapped her arms tightly around him. Stunned, he hugged her back, pressing his chin against her head.

"Thank you," she said softly and she smiled up at him.

Jeff smiled back easily, "Anytime, darlin."

R&R please!

maryeemeeh- thanks so much for the kind review! Omg, I just read your story in one sitting and I do so hope you continue it as well! It is so good. There are too few amazing Jeff/Trish stories. Candice is just not interesting to me, she never was. I'm sure she's a hell of a nice person in real life though lol.

hiki94- Thank you for the review! And yes, their relationship will continue to blossom. Her past will definitely be revealed in future chapters.

TrishOrton- He is very sweet to her. I always pictured him as a genuinely sweet guy and yes, Candice is not pleasant. I've never been a fan of hers. I'm sure she's great as a person but her character in WWE was very annoying to me.

Mexican ninja1996- no, no, I just have a lot of things to deal with. I promise to make updates more regular now that I'm on break!

KrysDixie- Thank you so much! I hope you will stick to the story. I am enjoying writing it.

Justice Hiddleston- Thank you! I will update when I can!