"There are three kinds of love, - unselfish, mutual, and selfish. The unselfish love is of the highest kind. The lover only minds the welfare of the beloved and does not care for his own sufferings. In mutual love the lover not only wants the happiness of his beloved but has an eye towards his own happiness also. It is middling. The selfish love is the lowest. It only looks towards its own happiness, no matter whether the beloved suffers weal or woe." --Sri Ramakrishna

~xx~

When Cena finally made his way back up the hall to join him, Chris could only shake his head. "You're smooth Cena. Real smooth. Did you get him to talk? I heard you guys yelling for a minute but I couldn't quite catch the conversation." Cena didn't even entertain Chris' joke. The only thing on his mind was a question in the form of one word – how? Just how the hell did JBL do it he wondered? This is crazy…I can't believe it but Chris was right… "John!"

"What Chris?"

"Well? Say something! What's wrong with Shawn?"

"Nothing. He's just being Shawn I guess," he answered flatly.

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It means Chris…" Cena grabbed the bottle of water out of his hand and downed the last of it in one go. He tossed the bottle to the side then forced a smile. "It means that Shawn is in love with his boyfriend. He wants to make him happy and is willing to do whatever it takes," he mocked. "You were right Chris. You were fucking right and I hate you right now." His voice cracked and that's when Chris knew Cena was serious.

"No way. No fucking way. How do you-?"

"I gotta get to the ring Chris. Later." Cena hoisted his belt over his shoulder as he started the long trek to the curtain. As Chris watched him walk off a part of him felt bad for Cena. It was no secret to the locker room that Cena had mad love for Shawn. At first it seemed like a silly obsession from a boy with a high school crush but things changed so much between them as time progressed. When they hooked up as a tag team, magic was created. Even on screen everyone could tell that it was pure, honest to God love between the two of them. How quickly things can change with just a blink of an eye… Chris looked down at the vibrating phone on his side frowning.

"What? I know you're not here already. Shawn's in the ring right now with John and…John so it'll be a while before anything can go down."

"I know. I was just checking in. Making sure you're not going to back out now." Chris sighed.

"No, I'm not backing out. I want Shawn away from that loser as much as you do but..." He paused.

"But what?"

"What if we're wrong about him? What if Shawn really does love John?" What if Cena's right? Shawn…I don't want to do anything to hurt him more. It will just make things worse between us.

"We've already been through this Chris. There's no fucking way Shawn's in love with JBL and if he is then too bad. As for John, I don't think he knows what love is."

"I didn't either until I fell in love with Shawn."

"Touché," he laughed. "But it's not enough to get Jibble off the hook. Just do your job alright?"

"Yeah." Chris hung up the phone pushing back the doubts that were surfacing. Now was not the time to be having doubts. Tonight John Layfield is going to pay for everything. Chris turned to leave when he bumped into somebody. He stumbled backwards cursing out loud angrily.

"Jesus can't you move the fuck – Adam? Dave…Randy?"

"Yeah I know. Quite the odd group hanging together, but your eyes deceive you not," Adam grinned. "So tell me about that phone call. What are you not backing out of?"

"That's none of your business and…wait a second. Why the hell are you here anyway? Shouldn't you be serving time at home? I heard you were on house arrest because you're afraid big bad Mark is going to kick your ass." Adam stood toe to toe with Chris glaring down at him.

"I ain't afraid of nobody," he growled.

"Let it go." Dave pulled Adam away and stepped in front of him. "If you must know Chris, I'm acting as Adam's bodyguard for the night. His boyfriend Randy's scared that somebody might be after Adam now that Kurt's in the hospital."

"Kurt? Kurt Angle's in the hospital?"

"Yeah—

"Why? For what? Who did it? And—

"Whoa! Hey calm down Chris. One question at a time," Randy chuckled. "I am quite surprised to learn that the mouth of the locker room hasn't heard. He's been in there for a few days now. Got beat pretty bad too."

"And raped. Don't forget rape," Adam chimed in.

"Wow. I…I hadn't heard. Guess I've been too busy with my own diabolical plans that I failed to communicate with the outside world. Any idea who did it?"

"Nope. Not a clue," Dave answered. "But there was some talk of it being Mark." Chris shook his head.

"Naa. Not Mark's style. The Deadman's a lot of things but a potential rapist isn't one of them. No…this…" This actually has Hunter written all over it but would he really rape someone for the sake of Shawn?

"You have any ideas Chris?"

"Huh? What?" He scoffed. "Dave, do I look like the type of person who hangs out with rapists? Of course not! I have no idea and to be perfectly honest with you, I'd rather not know. Now if you'll excuse me, I have things to do." Chris left them behind fuming as he headed towards the locker room.

~xx~

John made sure to let Shawn walk on up the ramp ahead of him. They just taped their last segment together until Sunday when they would tape one more then have the actual championship match with Cena. Shawn did a good job during their segment; he did it so well that John was sure Shawn was channeling real anger towards him, but who could blame him? As for Cena, well…John wasn't sure what to make of it. John noticed that Cena deviated from the actual script a little bit, adding his own flavor to it. "…you're not JBL's puppet…Shawn, we all love you…" It was like he was reaching out to Shawn as if he was feeling threatened by him - John. JBL. The thought of anyone feeling threatened by him normally made him smile but not today. Today it only made him feel worse.

Just the fact that someone like Cena could feel threatened by him because of Shawn just made John want Shawn even more. Selfish? Probably but John knew he was selfish. Always have been until now. Shawn's changed me in ways I never thought possible. John didn't even realize he was back behind the curtain until he almost ran into a wall. He managed to stop himself before he could make impact and just shook his head. I need to get out of here before I die of an accidental suicide. Then again, death might be the better deal at this point in my life… John paused at his private locker room listening intently for any signs of life inside. After a minute of waiting he decided to suck it up and just go on inside. Much to his surprise and dismay, Shawn was not inside. All of his stuff was there but not his body. As much as I want to see him again I'm glad he's somewhere else. Will make leaving him that much easier. John closed his eyes taking long, deep breaths. Thoughts from earlier were pouring through his head. The image of Shawn being pinned down to the floor, their erections touching while he sucked on those tasty lips… John cursed under his breath. Get a grip John. It's over. John grabbed his bags and headed straight out the door of the arena.

John barely had time to get both feet out of the door when he felt himself being hurled straight forward into something hard. His eyes instinctively shut in a vain attempt to ease the pain. There were sounds of glass shattering around him, but before he could register anything else he was forced to cry out in pain after something hard hit his back. John slumped over willing his body to fall down but he was being held up by something. He managed to open peel his eyes open only to find that he was actually looking into the interior of a car. I…I've been tossed through a window? "Oh…God…" he moaned. A roar of laughter erupted around him.

"Oh no John. I'm not sure God can get you out of this one." A pair of hands pulled John out of the window then slammed him hard against the SUV. John gritted his teeth, wincing from the pain that shot through his lower back. John managed to open his eyes some more and that's when his blood ran cold.

"My…oh God…Hunter? Scott?" John scanned the people surrounding him who were waiting to kick his ass. Hunter was standing in front of him holding a sledgehammer. Next to him was his current lover Jeff Hardy, Paul Wight, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and Sean Waltman. The Kliq. Here in the flesh and John was scared to death. "G…Guys please…" These guys are going to kill me!

"Shut the fuck up John," Hunter growled. "Men?" Kevin and Scott each grabbed one of John's arms standing him up. Sean took off a glove that he was wearing and smacked John several times across the face as hard as he could. They all laughed at John's disoriented look on his face. Jeff was the only one who didn't find it funny. Jeff tugged at Hunter's shirt.

"Baby, that's enough. Let's get out of here."

"No Jeff. Not yet. I want to see him sweat." He pulled away from Jeff. Kissing the top of his trusty sledgehammer, he shoved the handle into John's stomach.

"Oh shit…" John gasped. He wanted to fall over to the ground but because he was being held up by Hunter's friends, he was being forced to take the pain.

"Oh get over it John," Hunter said flatly. "This is nothing compared to the emotional damage that was done to Shawn. You deserve a lot worse!" He dropped the weapon to the ground and started pounding into John with his fists. John coughed and gasped for air, taking every punch to the stomach and the ribs. His eyes were tearing up and his legs felt like jelly. Paul aka The Big Show, stepped up and landed a right to John's jaw bursting his nose. All the guys looked on laughing like it was nothing except Jeff. Jeff looked absolutely terrified.

"Hunter….Hunter stop! You're going to…"

"Shut it Jeff!" Hunter yelled. He back away from John allowing him time to catch his breath. Kevin and Scott released John letting him fall to the safety of the pavement below. John landed on all fours, coughing and spitting up blood. His whole body was trembling with fright and he half wondered if he was going to be killed. He wouldn't put it past Hunter to leave him for dead over Shawn and as much as John hated it, he knew that Shawn was worth everything Hunter was doing for him. A kick to the side and John found himself rolling over into the blood he just spit up. Hunter and the others stood over him grinning.

"So John, how does it feel to be lying on your back?" Sean teased.

"Oh come on Sean. Give the guy a break," Scott scolded. He puffed on his cigarette some more. The guys all laughed as he blew the smoke in John's face. "Guys, I'm tired of this cigarette. Anybody want it? No? How about you Layfield?" He shoved the cigarette in his mouth while all the guys just roared with laughter.

"You guys…I wish you'd just do what you're planning to do," he breathed. John propped himself up on his arms only to be kicked hard in the chest, forcing him back down on the hard pavement. Kevin increased the pressure on John's chest smiling maniacally as John's eyes widened with fright. His arms flailed wildly all over the place as he gasped for air. "Please…Kevin…I'm sorry…can't…breathe…"

Jeff watched in terror as the group of guys laughed and played with Layfield. The more he watched, the more uncomfortable he became. If someone were to come up on the scene and see Jeff standing there, they would probably wonder why the hell he even bothered. Truth is Jeff really didn't want to be there. He wanted no part of any of this because he wasn't a violent person. Nobody deserved to be treated like an animal but Hunter insisted that John needed this. Jeff tried to talk his lover out of it but because it was Shawn that got hurt, there was no reasoning with him. So Jeff had no choice but to tag along. Hunter tried to make him stay away but Jeff knew he needed to be there. He heard that in the past, the Kliq had a habit of taking things a bit too far and so he made it his business to be there to stop Hunter from being sent to jail. Right now, all they were doing was taunting him but even this seemed over the top. God I can't take much more of this… "Hunter…guys look, I think you've done enough. He can't breath and he's coughing up blood all over the place. Can't we just let him go now?" Jeff ran over to Hunter tugging at his arm. Hunter cast him a sidelong glance wearing his signature grin. He shrugged his shoulders.

"Fine. Alright guys. You heard the man. Let's finish this up."

~xx~

Chris Jericho stormed up the hall. Hunter…You bastard! When Chris was safely inside the locker room, he quickly pulled out his cell. The phone rang several times but Hunter wouldn't pick up. "Dammit! The bastard!" I can't go through with this. Rape? No way...He lied…

"Chris?" Chris, never realizing that he had been pacing the room, looked up with a sick expression on his face.

"Sha…Shawn? What are you doing here?" he stammered. No no no! Just what I need.

"My…segment's over," he answered slowly, his eyebrow arched curiously at Chris. "Are you okay?" Shawn slowly approached his ex lover as he was very aware of the uncomfortable tension in the room. He didn't want to make it any worse but at the same time, he really had no where else to go right now. John was probably already gone for the night and even if he was still there, he highly doubted that John wanted to be near him right now.

"Yeah. I'm fine," he lied. Shawn rolled his eyes calling his bluff.

"Your voice is high pitched which means you're lying but whatever. It's not my business so I'll leave it alone. Unless you have a problem with me staying in here, I'm going to lie on the floor and listen to some tunes."

"Uh…" Chris bit his lip staring at the floor. What do I do? He's already here so I don't really need to stall if he's planning to stay in here. But if Hunter's the one who raped Kurt then JBL's in serious trouble. Rape…Gahhh I hate this!

"Chris?" Shawn sensed that something was eating Chris up very badly. His ex-lover had sweat pouring down the sides of his face. Since Chris didn't wrestle at all tonight Shawn knew it had to be stress. Chris was good at hiding things but right now, it seemed like Chris was having a really hard time hiding whatever it is. Shawn could see right through his act.

"I'm…I'm sorry. Do what you want. I'll just…" I can't leave. If I leave then I might see something that I don't wanna see and… Chris, calm the fuck down. This is not your concern. All you want is for Shawn to be happy. Yeah. Happy. But if they are planning to do to John what they did to Kurt then Shawn will freak…Oh God have I gotten myself into a mess?

"Alright. Spill it Chris. You're acting way weirder than usual and it's driving me crazy. I've had a bad week and tonight was probably the worst night I've had in a long time. Despite that, I'm willing to listen to any problem you may be having because at least it'll take my mind off of all of my problems." Shawn grabbed Chris' arm and pulled him over to one of the benches where they sat. Shawn squeezed Chris' thigh smiling over at him as best as he could. He was not in the best of moods either. Right now, all he really wanted to do was get back to the hotel so he could cry his eyes out about John but it looked like Chris was in worse shape so he couldn't just ignore him. "Talk."

"Shawn, I don't need—

"Just talk to me. Please?" Chris shook his head no but Shawn wasn't taking no for an answer. "Chris please. Talk to me. Right now, I think talking will do both of us some good. I've had a sucky week and you're having a sucky night so why not?" he pushed.

"I want to talk to you Shawn. I really do but you can't help me. No one can. I got myself into this and I need to get myself out of it."

"Out of what?"

"Just…something. A deal…promise I made," he said off handedly.

"Oh well I know how you're feeling then," he laughed. "I hate breaking promises and I know all about deals gone wrong." Both men just sat there in silence, listening to the muffled sounds of laughter coming from the other side of the door. Chris looked over at the older man and his heart just sank. Shawn was sad. He was really sad about something yet he was doing his best to hide the feelings in order to cheer him up. He was being selfless, something that Chris needed to learn in the future.

"What did you do about it?" he finally asked.

"What did I do?" Shawn repeated, more to himself than anything. "I wish I knew Chris. God I wish I knew."

"You too huh?"

"It's not that I don't want to keep my promise," he explained. "I try so hard to keep them but sometimes things happen and I just can't do it."

"Why is that?"

"Well…I guess my selfishness is one reason. I'm…a really selfish person. I want what I want and will do whatever it takes to get it. In the past if it meant breaking a promise then so be it. But now…now I can't do that anymore."

"Why not? Why the change of heart?"

"Because Shawn Michaels can't have everything he wants," he replied sadly. "If that was the case then I wouldn't be alone today." Alone? Chris stared at Shawn dumbstruck. I know he didn't just say…

"So you and John… Are you two through?" Shawn blinked several times then cursed under his breath. He said it out loud without even thinking and it was too late. "He dumped you didn't he?"

"No, it's not like that."

"Then what do you mean by alone? Are you planning on leaving him?" Chris stood to his feet, half outraged and overjoyed.

"Yeah. I…guess I am," he answered softly. But not because I want to. Chris Jericho just stared at him in disbelief. He certainly wasn't expecting this. But despite Shawn's determination to be selfless and get rid of John, Chris could tell by the sound of Shawn's voice that he wasn't so sure. The only reason he wouldn't be sure is if…damn. Chris kneeled down in front of Shawn clasping his thighs.

"Do you love him?" Shawn didn't answer him. He just continued looking down ignoring Chris' question. "Answer me!" Chris yelled. He was getting irritated and it was a combination of all sorts of feelings. He knew Shawn had gone through a lot over the span of a week but right now he needed to know otherwise he was going to be in deep shit. When Shawn chose not to answer that's when he knew… "My God," he gasped, the realization overcoming him. "You…you do love him…" Shawn looked up at him but couldn't bring himself to speak. His throat was knotted up and he didn't want Chris seeing him cry. "I…I can't believe…" The door suddenly burst open and in walked Adam. When he spotted Chris with Shawn he paused. Shawn didn't even look up because he was too busy biting his lip, fighting back tears. Chris rolled his eyes irritated at having being disturbed. "What?" he snapped. "What the hell do you want?"

"Uh…" Adam glanced over at Shawn again and saw that he was fidgeting. He hesitated to speak up because the news he had for them would surely upset Shawn. What to do? I already owe Shawn so much for what I did to him but what would be the right thing?

"Well? Aren't you going to talk?" Chris stood to his feet waiting for Adam to speak but all he got was a sort of apologetic wince. Chris noticed that Adam kept cutting his eyes towards Shawn with a grim look on his face. Something's wrong… "Uh Shawn? Sweetheart I'm going outside to talk with Adam. I'll be back alright?" Shawn nodded his head. Adam grabbed Chris by the arm and quickly pulled him out of the door. Once outside, Chris snatched his arm away from Adam. "Dammit Adam! What the hell man? Grabbing on me like that. This better be important because Shawn and I were having a very important conversation."

"Yeah yeah yeah," Adam said hurriedly. He looked around to make sure no one was around then he spoke softly. "I've been looking everywhere for you man. There's some serious shit going on outside the arena. Vince is still in his office and I'm sure if he knew…"

"What's going on?" Chris noticed that Adam was sweating pretty hard despite the fact that there was adequate air-conditioning in the building. "You're nervous. Come on man spill it! How come you didn't want Shawn to know?"

"Because man…it's…Hunter…he's…"

"He's what? Spill it Adam!"

"Him and his boys are outside…it's bad man. Real bad." Adam swallowed hard, forcing himself to continue. "I…I didn't go out there but Randy and Cena are out there now. Randy wouldn't even let me see the damage. He's scared they might get me too. They're all out of their minds and no one dares crosses the Kliq."

"Oh…Oh man…" Chris covered his face groaning into his hands. "This is bad…This is…So John…is he…?"

"I…I don't know. All I know is that somebody's gotta go out there and reason with them. Randy won't let me and so I thought maybe you—

"Where's Dave?"

"He's outside...somewhere. Hell if I know! Look Chris, I'm…I'm kind of torn right now because JBL is a friend of mine. I...I've never had any problems with him until the bar incident but I can't just stand around and let them do things to him. Mark kicked my ass. Okay. So I deserved it but the way they are humiliating John…" The locker room door opened and out walked Shawn. Both guys jumped, instantly stretching their mouths in half-hearted smiles that only made Shawn even more suspicious. Shawn glared at the two of them.

"Someone mentioned the Kliq. I want to know and I want the truth, right now."

~xx~

JBL was a filthy, bloody, naked mess, but he didn't care. His head was throbbing so badly that he was sure his brain would explode any minute now. His ribs felt like they were cracked in several places and his back was in dire pain. John tried to lift his arms but they too hurt like hell. God just kill me now…Kill me now… John felt himself fading out. Why is everything so dark? John closed his eyes giving into the darkness. No more pain…no more pain…

~xx~

"Well guys, we did good tonight."

"I agree Hunter," Kevin chuckled. "I just don't know how I feel about getting my hands dirty twice in a week's time."

"It was for a good cause," Sean replied casually. He popped his lollipop back into his mouth earning some laughs from the guys.

"I can't believe you guys! You…he's unconscious now!" Cena was standing a few feet away from the Kliq, his fists clenched tightly. Him, Dave, and Randy heard some commotion earlier and came running outside only to find the Kliq beating the hell out of John. It was sickening. JBL was lying unconsciously on the hood of his limo, naked, bleeding, and bruised. The sight made Cena want to hurl. Blood was everywhere and John's limo looked like it semi crashed into it. It was just a mess.

"Oh get over it Cena. You'd have done the same thing if Shawn was your man."

"But that's the whole point Hunter. Shawn's NOT your man anymore. Your man is so disgusted with you that he's sitting inside your limo crying his eyes out because of you." Hunter dropped his sledgehammer. Eying Cena dangerously, he approached him stopping just inches from him.

"Why are you out here Cena?" he growled. "This has nothing to do with you. You're not part of the Kliq and you're not with Shawn so why should our business matter to you?"

"Hunter…Hunter back off." Randy came over pushing Cena aside so he could face his former stable leader. Hunter gave him the once over cracking a smile at the younger man.

"My how you've grown," he noted.

"Hunter we're not kidding man. This was over the top, even for you. You could have done this somewhere else man. Look at him!" he screamed. "He's naked and practically dead yet you could care less. What the hell is up with you?"

"Not you too." He rolled his eyes.

"You should be worried about Jeff and not spending all of your time fighting Shawn's battles!"

"And you should mind your fucking business! Shawn means everything to me and so does Jeff. I would have done the exact same thing for my current lover so don't you dare insinuate that I don't care for him!"

"Shawn means the world to me too but I didn't freak out and try to kill someone!" Cena yelped. "You humiliated that man! He…He wasn't even directly involved in the rape!"

"And how do you know?" Hunter snapped back. "How the fuck would you know anything? You wasn't there. None of you were! Shawn was fucking raped on John Layfield's watch and in my book it makes him every bit as responsible for this. Besides, I'm sure Shawn will warm up to you sooner or later Cena. In fact, you're part of the reason we broke up in the first place. You just couldn't keep your fucking hands off of him could you?" Cena drew back to punch him but Randy held him back.

"Shut up! JUST SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH HUNTER! YOU DON'T KNOW SHIT ABOUT ME AND SHAWN! I FUCKING LOVE HIM! WHILE YOU WERE…while you were on Smackdown neglecting his feelings, running behind the little Hardy runt over there, I was the one sticking up for him. When I got injured, Chris picked up where I left off and helped Shawn make it through another famous breakup due to your selfishness!"

"When Vince put me on Smackdown, that wasn't your cue to move in on my man Cena. You took him from me and—

"Oh so this is what this is about? You're mad because I took Shawn from you so now you're taking all that pent up anger out on JBL?" Cena scoffed. "That's some bullshit man. You brought the breakup on yourself."

"You're asking for a fight Cena. Don't test me."

"I'm not afraid of you." Cena shoved Randy aside and got right in Hunter's face.

"You want us to get him Hunt?"

"Stay back Kev. I got this." Hunter moved even closer to Cena until he could feel Cena's breath on his lips. "I've never liked you Cena," he seethed.

"The feeling's mutual. Shawn deserved better."

"Certainly not you. You're a few steps down the ladder."

"Actually I think I'm above the ladder but it's not about what I think or what you think. At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is what Shawn thinks and to be perfectly honest, I'm not sure he thinks too highly of either one of us these days."

"Oh yeah? What makes you so sure Little Man?"

"Because JBL is the one he cares about."

"I don't think so." Cena smirked.

"Go home to your little Hardy Boy before someone takes him from you."

"I don't think that's possible."

"Fuck with me and I WILL take him. Just like I took Shawn—

Hunter silenced Cena with a punch across his face knocking him backwards. Hunter turned to leave but Cena ran after him pushing him to the ground. He straddled his waist and the two of them rolled around on the ground, punching and clawing at one another.

"FUCK YOU CENA!"

"NO, FUCK YOU! SHAWN WILL NEVER BE YOURS AGAIN!" All of a sudden Cena felt himself being pulled off of Hunter. He struggled to get away at first until he realized that everyone was…quiet. Too quiet… It took him a minute to realize that everyone was staring in the direction of JBL's limo. Cena reluctantly pushed his way past Sean and Paul to see what the fuss was all about. What he saw made his heart sink. Oh no…

There was Shawn standing there next to the limo, his whole body trembling. His fists were clenched tightly as he looked upon the lifeless man lying naked on the hood of the vehicle. The silence was so deadly that Cena was sure he would explode any second now.

He watched as Shawn pulled his wrestling tee over his head placing it over John's exposed member. Afterwards, Shawn leaned forward against the hood, gripping the sides tightly. God forgive me but I'm about to sin… He slowly bent over picking up the sledgehammer that Hunter left laying there. His hands shook uncontrollably frightening everyone as he turned to face them. For a second, Cena wasn't sure if Shawn could even hold the heavy weaponry. His beloved's eyes flashed dangerously as he looked around the group of men. All of them were guilty in his book and they were ALL going to pay.

"Shawn…" Cena whispered. "Please…let us…explain." He looks…almost deranged…

"I'm going to kill every last one of you and smile while doing it." Cena's blood turned cold. Oh God he's snapped… He had snapped and it was about to get really ugly real quick if someone didn't stop him.

AN: I know Big Show isn't part of the Kliq, but I added him for extra man power. In this fic, Paul and Hunter are good friends too. That's why he tagged along for the beating. And I hope you're paying close attention to the quotes...They seem to highlight the story very well...May even clue you end on the ending...Yes, the end is nearing...That is all.