Disclaimer: See Chapter 5
Chasing Shadows
Eve chuckled, holding up a bright red dress to Nikki's body. "This one looks fabulous! You have to try it on!" she said, scooting her friend into the dressing room. "Go on!"
Nikki giggled and headed in, closing the door behind her. "Eve! This dress is perfect! I can't wait to get it on. What do you think Jake will think about it?" she asked, filling the room with the sound of rustling clothes and zips.
Eve frowned, remembering why she stopped hanging out with Nikki. "I was going to ask you about him," she brought up, trying to play dumb.
"What's on your mind?"
"Well I had heard that you two had broken up so I figured instead of just listening to all the rumors I'd ask you," she said, leaning back against the wall and crossing her arms. She forgot how long it took Nikki to try something on.
"Who told you that me and Jake broke up?" Nikki asked angrily, yanking the door open, showing her slim form in the brand new dress. She placed her hands on her hips.
Eve straightened and shrugged her shoulders. "It was just some random chatter around the locker room that's all. I'm guessing none of it's true than," she asked, smiling at Nikki. "I'll have to rectify the rumor next time I hear it than." She giggled for good measure, watching as Nikki's face untwisted from it's currently pissed off face and eased back into a carefree one.
"I see. I wonder who started it. I dare one of those little sluts to try and take Jake away from me, man or woman," she snapped, throwing her hair over her shoulder before looking in the three mirrors just across from her room. "Eve, I love this dress! You think Brie will like it? You know she'll have to come get one too."
Eve nodded, watching as Nikki went back into the dressing room to put on her regular clothes. "You know she'll love it! We just gotta remember where we got it. We've got a zillion stores to go to still," she said, faking a happy tone. Honestly, she would rather be out with Melina, eating a nice lunch, getting hot and steamy in the shower before falling exhausted and mildly sweaty still in bed and sleep all afternoon. She sighed silently, thinking Jake owed her big time since she was out wasting her time with Nikki.
"I've never felt like this about anyone really Eve. Jake's everything I've ever wanted in a man and I know that I could be everything to him," she jabbered, pulling out different tops, looking at them, then putting them back. "I just have to tie up some loose ends of his past and we'll be perfect again." She smiled, turning to Eve before walking towards the counter with her newest dress. "It'll be perfect."
Eve nodded, voice gone. Nikki had to have meant Evan. Everyone knew that Evan and Jake were the best of friends and Jake would do anything for him. "What kind of loose ends?" she asked as soon as they walked out of the shop, pointing towards one just down the street.
"Well there's his place is Oklahoma. I want him to move out to Arizona with me, then we'll be living together and I won't have to worry about all the women out there." Nikki started, pushing open the next shops door. "Then we'll travel together and he won't have to wonder off to hang out with needy bitches that take up all his time." She giggled, looking at the beautiful dresses that were hanging around her. "I'm so glad you asked me to come up to LA. San Diego just doesn't have the same kind of boutiques."
Eve was fuming, knowing that Nikki was talking about Evan. She really wanted to hall off and punch Nikki right in her conceited face but decided against it so she wouldn't blow her cover. "I see," she said between gritted teeth. "And who are these needy people?" She tried to hold her composure for at least a little longer.
"Well Evan of course. It's like he doesn't function without Jake. I'm tired of having to split his time with someone like him." Nikki started sorting through the blue gowns before pulling out one for Eve. "It's like all he has to do is pick up the phone and call and no matter what Jake's doing he just gets up and leaves."
Eve bit her tongue, tasting blood. She looked over the dress and put it back. "Not my style," she forced out nicely, walking around the store, trying hard to keep up her act. "Jake and Evan have known each other for a long time though. They were in ECW all that time before being drafter over to Raw."
"Yeah, we saw them all the time but Evan didn't cling to him as much. Then again Evan was stuck on Matt Hardy then too," Nikki said, holding up a pink dress and giggling at Eve's disgusted face. "Don't like it?"
Eve shook her head. "Not at all," she whispered, letting Nikki turn around before she held up her hands ready to choke the life out of her. She sighed, rubbing her face with one hand, sure that hell had to be better than this.
Evan sighed, looking down at his phone. He tried not to cry as he looked over him and Jake laughing and joking one night at an ECW house show. They were still in their gear and sweaty but happy and definitely all smiles. He sighed again, rolling over and looking at the ceiling. He was tired of just laying around on Mike's bed but he really didn't have anything else to do. He didn't know anyone in LA besides Melina. Speaking of which she was calling, he noticed, looking down at the flashing lights. He hit talk.
"Hey Evan! It's Melina!"
"Hey," he whispered, really uncaring of the woman at that moment, the hotel incident still fresh in his mind.
"I was wondering if you wanted to go out and get some coffee. I feel like there's a lot I have to explain to you from last week."
Evan's heart started to beat harder, the memory playing over in his head quickly. He wasn't sure if he wanted to go out and risk making another scene in public or not. He decided that he had to face her eventually, they did work together and he couldn't hide from her for forever. "Sure," he muttered, sitting up. He threw the covers off, getting the direction to the coffee place from Melina before hanging up. He sighed slightly, looking around the room for some clothes for him to wear. He decided he would leave Mike a note after getting dressed and once it was written out he left it on the bedside table and leaving.
Evan's thoughts were his own as he walked down the street to the coffee shop; sure that Melina had lived on the other side of LA from Mike. He tried not to dwell on it as he made his way to the shop and inside. He looked around for Melina, finding her and walking over. "Hey," he whispered in greeting, sitting across from her.
She smiled, looking over the small male. "Hey," she returned, sipping at her coffee. "Evan, I wanted to apologize about the hotel. It wasn't the best way to go."
Evan looked up at her. "To do what?" he asked, his voice already in the stage of annoyance. He didn't want to sit there and listen to Melina try and explain everything to him like he was a child or like he was the one in the wrong. He didn't want anything to do with Jake or Eve anymore and that was final.
"To explain everything that's going on," she whispered, setting her mug down and looking at the remaining coffee. "Eve and Jake aren't dating. I wasn't lying when I said that Eve and I were together. Jake and Eve had this plan to work over Mike and some how get you two to break up since Mike was showing a big interest in Eve."
Evan looked down at his hands, that he'd placed on the table moments before. "I don't believe you…" he whimpered, crossing his arms over his chest. "I don't believe any of it."
Melina sighed. "What do I have to do to prove it to you Evan?" she asked, slumping down in her chair slightly. "It's not a joke to hurt you. You should know that Jake wouldn't do that to you. Look at how much he's done for you. He's always been there for you Evan. He wants you happy."
"Then why lie about Nikki?" he snapped back, the tears already threatening to fill his eyes. "Why would he let her be all over him after last weeks show?"
Melina tried not to smirk. Evan was trying to come around, at least listen to her. She reached out her hand for the younger man's. She knew Evan didn't want to believe it. She knew he wanted to just go on with his life and try and live it without getting hurt any more than he already had, everyone in the world was but that was part of life. "Evan babe," she whispered, once his hand was in hers, "I think that she's just jealous of you. She doesn't want to give him up because Jake told Eve that he'd broken things off and didn't want anything to do with her anymore."
Evan tried to deny it in his mind, tell himself that it wasn't true. He didn't want to believe it. He didn't want to trust anyone anymore. He just wanted to live his life without the constant nagging in the back of his mind of the other man and his confession. "Melina," he whimpered, looking up into her big brown eyes. "I can't… I can't compete with someone else for Jake. I can't live like that. If she wants him she can have him. I'm happy where I am." He tried to force out a smile, knowing that he was lying about most of it. He wasn't lying about living trying to compete with someone else for Jake's heart, but he wasn't happy and he didn't want to give Jake up to Nikki at all.
Melina sighed again, stroking the back of Evan's hand with the pad of her thumb. "Alright. If that's how you feel then I can't change it but you should think about how he feels. Jake really cares about you. Why else would he do this?" she asked, smiling softly. "He really cares Evan."
Jake was having no luck trying to find Mike in the crowds of LA. He looked around the crowded roads and sighed. If he felt like he was in a movie, it was now; small town boy in a giant city. He sighed again, feeling his pocket vibrate. He pulled it out and hit talk, answering with a quick hello as he tried to get away from the noise just enough to hear on his phone.
"Jake? You there man? It's Hennigan."
Jake was a little shocked to be hearing from John. "Yeah I'm here. What's up?" he asked, finding a mildly deserted area that he could hear. He smiled, seeing a small fountain that he could use as a seat to at least finish his phone conversation.
"I've heard that you were looking for Mike."
"Yeah. I want to talk to him," Jake answered, dipping a hand in the cool water. "Have you seen him at all?"
John was quiet for a moment. "No. Where are you?"
Jake looked around, trying to find signs to tell him where he actually was. "I have no clue. I'm sitting by a fountain with some angel figures on it. It's pretty deserted out here though."
John chuckled on the other end. "Alright. I'll be there in a few I know where you are."
Jake said he'd wait and his good byes before ending the call and thrusting his phone into his pocket. "Alright John. I'm waiting," he said, watching a few people walk by. He let his mind wonder and at the same time tried to keep it from wondering to Evan and how he was. He hoped that Jeff would ask him to come out to North Carolina with him for at least a little while.
"LA is not the place to be spacing out," John said after a few moments, startling Jake and causing him to jump.
"Hey," he said, smiling. "Where's Phil at?"
"In Chicago. He's got some stuff to do with his family. Anyway, why are you trying to talk to Mike?" he asked, sitting next to the other man. "I mean, he's not all that interesting."
"It's for Evan," Jake admitted, unafraid of talking about it. It wasn't like it could get much worse anyway. Evan already hated him and turned him down so there wasn't much else he could say against it.
"For Evan?" John questioned, looking over the other man. "I see. Mike's probably still beating on him, huh?" He could see the hurt in Jake's eyes and decided that it was true. "How's Evan doing?"
Jake shook his head unsure of how to even respond to John. "I don't know anymore, he hates me right now," he murmured, looking down at his feet.
"Well that's different," John said, leaning back slightly on the edge of the fountain. "Last I knew you had the hots for him. I mean being on Smackdown has it's pitfalls since I can't talk to you as much but I never thought that it would change."
Jake smirked. "It hasn't. I made a stupid plan that backfired in my face and when I told Evan how I felt he rejected me. I don't know what's going on anymore," he explained, deciding not to go into details. "All I know is that he's still with Mike and I can't get rid of my ex."
"So you finally dumped Nikki?" John asked, slightly amused. He was wondering how long it was going to take the other man to dump the second Bella.
"Well, I tried to. She just jumped on me in front of Evan, making it seem like I was lying to him about wanting to be with him," he explained, sighing. "I just wanted to talk to Mike to see what it was going to take to make him let Evan go."
John was quiet, knowing what it would take. "He wants me," he whispered, leaning forward, his hands clasped under his chin, his elbows resting on his knees. "Not to sound narcissistic but we all know that. Jake, I know you want Evan and I know he needs out but I can't leave Phil. I love him so much."
Jake smiled, resting a hand on John's shoulder. "Don't worry. I'm not asking that much of you," he said, looking towards the sky, finding that it looked rather cloudy. "Could you do me a favor though?"
"What's that?"
"Could you talk to Mike and see why he's still dating Evan? He can have anyone in the business but he sticks to him," he said, taking his hand back and standing. "Even if Evan hates me right now, I don't want to see him hurt. I can find a replacement for him, hell I'd take all the shit Mike does to him for him. But I can't do it without your help."
John nodded. Even though he didn't want to speak to Mike to avoid the constant advances he had to help Jake out with Evan. After all, no one deserved to be his replacement or beat on the way Evan was.
Evan sighed, his meeting with Melina playing over and over in his mind. He didn't want to believe her or even let what she had said seep into his mind but it had and while he was trying to think of how the show was going to go the next night his mind constantly turned to the All American American. He turned over to his side on the big bed, curling up as tears entered his eyes. He finally gave up trying to ignore his thoughts of Jake and let them invade him mind as he closed his eyes.
He knew Jake had been sincere and honest when he'd said he loved him. A tear escaped the barrier of his closed eyes when he remembered how he'd completely denied it. He knew he had to have hurt Jake when he denied the confession but at the same time he didn't want to believe it himself. He opened his teary eyes and looked around the bedroom, finding that all he wanted to do was talk to someone other than Mike. He got up from the bed and looked around the floor for his thrown cell phone. He found it by the door and frowned.
Nearly a dozen calls had been missed while he'd had it on silent so he could ignore all forms of contact that came in after he'd gotten home from sitting and talking with Melina. He looked over the calls to see that Mike had called twice, Eve once, Kofi three times, Jake once, Melina once, and Jeff three times. He sighed, finding he had two voicemails that demanded his attention. He dialed his voicemail and waited, finding Jeff's first.
"Hey Evan! It's Jeff! Call me back so we can plan on when you're little butt's coming out to spend some time out here in North Carolina with me! Call me back and sometime today so don't ignore this until tomorrow or something! Love ya!"
Evan couldn't help but chuckle, Jeff was too funny not to. He smiled, finding he had the best friends anyone could ask for. He wasn't sure if he wanted to listen to the other one. He'd been skipping it since the night he'd gotten it, knowing it was from Jake. He bit his lower lip, knowing that he couldn't ignore it forever. He went to press play only to have Jeff's ring tone play just before his finger could get to the button. He was almost grateful. "Hey," he whispered, getting a cheery hello from the other end.
"Hey Evy! You didn't call me back," Jeff whined.
Evan smiled. "Yeah I just got the voicemail like two seconds ago," he replied, thinking about if he should go out to NC or not. IT could be what he needed after all, just some time away to clear his head.
"Well have you thought about when you're coming out?"
Evan nodded, his mind already set on that he needed a vacation. "Yeah. I'll fly out right after the show tomorrow. You gonna pick me up from the airport or am I gonna have to get lost again?" he asked, slightly chuckling, remembering when he'd told Jeff and Matt he'd find his way the last time he'd went up there. He'd gotten so lost that Matt had to search for almost two hours to find him and lead him to Jeff's place.
"I'll pick you up from the airport. Just text me the flight number and when you're going to land and I'll be there."
"Okay. I'll talk to you later then Jeff," he said, giving his farewell's and reassuring Jeff that he would text the information. He smiled as he hung up thinking that maybe all he needed was to get away for a while. It was only a moment later that dread set in and he thought about what he'd agreed to. If he went to see Jeff that meant that he'd inevitably run into Matt. He sighed, a reminder of one unheard message on his screen. He wasn't sure what he was going to do.
(A/N): Poor Evan. He's so torn. So this chapter was pretty fun to write! I don't have too much to say so I hope everyone likes it and let me know what you think please! Title is Chasing Shadows by Deep Purple.
JacktheSinister_JaketheJust