Disclaimer:I don't own anyone that isn't my OC.

A/N: Hello. :D I like this chapter. It's a bit confusing toward the end, but I think most will figure it out... what it is, after all. Okay, that made no sense. Maybe I should just shut up? Yeah, good. Thank you for the reviewwwws. :) Enjoy! :)


Another few days passed without any contact between Ayla and Matt. Ayla brushed it off as he was a busy man with a demanding job. She was partly right – Matt had been getting ready to go to the Smackdown tapings with his brother on Tuesday, but he'd be home on Wednesday still. He also had no idea that Ayla wanted to apologize since Jeff was so intent on Matt never hurting again.

"You know, Man, I can't wait to get home and see what Ayla has to say. Call me crazy, but I really think things may just work out this time. She's great, Jeff. I want you to meet her."

Jeff cursed as he put on his ring gear on and tried to pretend he hadn't heard the question. What Matt didn't know was that he had already met Ayla.

"Jeff…?"

"Huh?"

"I was talking to ya, Bro."

"Oh. What?" Jeff lied, turning back around. He didn't understand it. Usually he was good at keeping secrets but every time he was around Matt he would almost blurt out the lie he was keeping in. Sometimes, he began to think maybe his older brother was right: maybe it was fate. How else would these two still be in each other's lives? Ayla had seemed eager to make up for the pain she caused. And it was obvious that Matt was love drunk over her.

"I want you to meet Ayla when we get back to NC. She's really great."

"She treats you like crap," Jeff mumbled. "How is she great?"

Matt rolled his eyes, taping his wrists. "She puts up these barriers for whatever reason but when I've cracked them on several occasions, there is this great girl behind them. When she laughs and when she lets loose per se she's a lot of fun. It's a shame she's so intent on everyone staying out. She's wonderful."

Guilt stabbed at Jeff. Matt really couldn't get this girl out of his head, he realized. He figured after a few days, the lusting would dim down a bit. But maybe he figured it would go down because it was lust… but what if it wasn't? What if Matt was really falling for this girl? He thought back to when he met Beth. It was the same feeling. Of course, Beth had been an open and charming girl who he'd quickly fallen for, also like Beth had fallen for him. But Ayla wasn't open. Still, somehow, Matt was sharing the same feelings that he'd felt so many years ago. He hadn't heard him talk like that since he had met Amy for the first time. Actually, he was daring to say that he was more excited over Ayla than Amy.

"Hey, Matt?"

"Yeah, Man?"

"We need to talk." Jeff sat down on the bench and came to a decision. If his brother was really that aimed on getting Ayla to be his, he couldn't hold out any longer. In the long run, it'd just hurt both of them. He didn't want to be responsible for curving fate in any way.

"About what?" Matt sat next to Jeff. "Smackdown starts soon."

"It won't take long," Jeff promised. "It's important though. About Ayla, actually."

Jeff knew as soon as he saw Matt's eyes light up at the mention of her name that he was doing the right thing. Why hadn't he seen this before?

"Ayla? What about her?"

Soon, he had explained everything that he'd kept in for the past few days and apologized several times. Jeff was careful to watch Matt's expression throughout the entire ordeal and he saw his brother was only slightly hurt, but more so expressionless. Whatever that meant, he wasn't sure. But it was probably a good thing that Matt didn't have a look of rage in his eyes. He didn't need to be getting slammed around before a match anyway.

"I don't understand," Matt finally spoke when silence overtook their locker room. "I'm a big boy, Bro. I can take care of myself. I'm not going to get hurt."

"Have you not seen yourself the past week or so? You're like a little puppy dog. You haven't heard anything anyone has said. And we're all running around making sure we don't end up with a mess on our hands."

Matt placed a hand on Jeff's shoulder. "Do you remember what Mom told us as kids?"

"She told us a lot of stuff."

That was true. Their mother was full of advice and motherly things that every kid should have. "About love," Matt continued. "She used to say something to us all the time. I asked once and since then, she had been saying it."

"I don't remember, no."

Matt smiled. "Love happens without reason," he whispered. "It doesn't have a place to start. It just happens. And sometimes, you have to endure a lot of pain to get to the nice parts. Call me crazy, but I think I can get to this girl. She likes me too, I can feel it. She's hurt in a lot of ways, but she's not a heartless person. I like her a lot and I'm not giving up without a fight. And obviously she is interested or she wouldn't have come up to you."

Truthfully, Jeff wasn't still sure if he could understand all of what was going on in Matt's head. He wasn't going to question it though anymore. His brother was an adult and could handle himself. Maybe it was because his love with Beth had come so easily that he didn't understand. But if Matt wanted to give Ayla another chance, he decided he would respect that.

"I'm sorry, Matt."

Matt shook his head, standing up and staring into the mirror with a small, but happy smile on his face. "Don't be. I mean, you were just looking out for me. Don't worry though. I know what I'm doing. This is fate, I'm sure of it."

-

Ayla was driving around a more country side of North Carolina, passing trees and pastures as she went. She was content with herself, waiting for Matt to return from his tapings, knowing when he did; she'd have a chance to redeem herself. At times, she wasn't sure if she could go through with it, but after careful thought, she'd compared it to her move to California. Ever since she had been offered the job at Love's Hope, there was several times she'd thought she couldn't do it and decided to stay home. But it was the thrill of a whole new life and adventure that had finally gotten her to book her flight across the country.

Some good things had come from it. She made a decent wage now and she had fun at her job. She didn't feel like she was going to work in the morning. And she had a great best friend who shared her love in wrestling and writing. Those were the good parts of California.

But there were parts that sometimes made her want to run back to her home state and never look back. It was those parts that also kept her away from taking Matt's offer up on several occasions. He didn't understand it. She wasn't even sure if she understood it anymore. But, she also had decided, if she let it control her life anymore, one of the most searched for things in life would go by her again: love. Ayla couldn't let that happen. This time around, she wasn't going to fall. For once, she was going to stick her head up high in the air and try for something better than what she had. Determination was her new best friend.

That Tuesday night, she found herself scrolling through the channels, passing by ECW and staring blankly at the screen. Truthfully, she was exhausted but her mind was keeping her up. It was running in overtime. All she wanted to do was see Matt and try to make things right.

Crash! The sound shattered around her as she tried to ignore it, covering her ears with her hands, trembling as she hid in the small pantry that was rarely used in the apartment. Biting down on her lip, she listened to the muffled, angered sounds of someone's voice and the stomping footsteps. "Ayla! Where are you?"

She shot up, her heart racing. The flashback had been so vivid, she was actually trembling. Where it had come from, she wasn't sure. The memory had barely come to mind in months, except for a few nights ago… that night.

"Oh Ayla," a person said. "You look beautiful tonight. You're going to love where we're going. I promise you." She giggled as the person smiled at her. "You're beautiful, Ayla. Gorgeous."

Ayla clamped her eyes closed. What was going on?

Cries ricocheted all around her. Someone was holding her hand to her right, but she didn't know who. The music played softly, the agony in the melody. "It's such a shame, such a shame…"


Jeffie isn't evil, peeps. See? And ooh, whatwhatwhat? READ AND REVIEW AND UPDATE I SHALL. ^__^