*** The POV will be switching between Aubree and Jeff in future chapters. Comments please!

A few hours later

When we entered the back of the arena, Adam was on high alert. He knew Jeff had been trying to get ahold of me for days and knew he'd more than likely make an appearance at work. I had told Adam over and over to relax. I understood where he was coming from, but Jeff wasn't going to hurt me. I think him seeing how badly my face was would deter him from coming close. I had brushed my hair over my face in an additional attempt to cover the bruise, but everyone knew it was an attempt to cover and not a new hairstyle. We walked hand in hand towards the medical staff office. He placed my work bag onto the desk and pulled me into a tight hug.

"I don't want to leave you. These last 3 days have been the best days of my life!"

I laughed. "You are going to the meeting and the gym. You aren't even leaving the arena, babe." I playfully hit his arm. "Vince would be mad if he knew you didn't work out at all since last show and lived off of pizza, beer, wings, and Chinese take-out." I joked.

He smirked at me. "Well, Vince doesn't have to know everything... besides, I definitely had a few good work outs with you."

I felt myself blush as he kissed me before turning to leave. "I'll come find you in a while." He said smiling.

I thought it was cute how protective and loving he was being. I turned on the computer and read my emails about returning superstars with their doctor's records and recommendations for physical therapy and equipment. I read the newspaper and a few magazines I'd picked up from the airport. A while later, the office door opened and there he stood looking terrified and like an absolute wreck. His long, multicolored hair hung wildly around his face.

"Bree." He said softly in his native southern accent.

I looked up at him as he looked shocked by my face.

"I'm so sorry!" he exclaimed as he came closer to me. His hands reached out towards my face. I backed away from him and he stopped instantly. "Don't be afraid!" he screamed showing how upset he was by the whole situation.

"What do you want, Jeff?" I asked.

"To make sure you're ok! You didn't return my calls or texts. I thought Adam would kill me if I came near you that night or at home."

I just looked at him; obviously he knew Adam was in Cameron with me. How he knew I could only venture to guess but I'm sure he wasn't just assuming. Jeff reached his hand towards me and carefully brushed my golden brunette hair off my face. I didn't fight it; part of me wanted him to see what my face looked like. I understood that he never meant to hit me, but the hit was meant for Adam. The bruise was fully visible. He gasped.

I shook my head and pushed my hair back over my cheek. I glared at him. "It's broken and I just managed to get my eye opened yesterday, it was damn near glued shut."

"What can I do?" he begged.

"Nothing anyone can do. It will heal itself eventually." I snapped. "But considering everything, unless you need medical attention, I don't think you should be here."

My words hurt him. I could see it in his face, like he'd been stabbed in the heart with a huge dagger.

"Why are you even here? Aren't you afraid of Adam being here?" I asked feeling like I had some intimidation over him.

"I saw him in a meeting. I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I never meant to hit you, and if Adam needs to handle things with me, I'll take my bumps because I was dead wrong." He said sounding sincere. "I love you and I never meant to hurt you. I'll leave you alone." He said before leaving the office.

His words hit my heart. The way he said them and what he said, I knew that the jealous asshole was gone. Not that I would want to be punched again, but at least it served a purpose. Part of me wanted to chase after him and tell him I forgave him and I wanted things to be like before, but I knew it wasn't possible. Adam wouldn't be exactly keen on forgetting the incident and after everything that had happened, even I couldn't just forget. Ever since Adam and my relationship came out, I felt like everything I cherished was gone.

My best friends treated me like I was invisible and the hurt I felt in my heart was nowhere near gone. Shannon was out on injury and even he seemed to push away from me. I wandered out into the hallway and saw Jeff sitting alone in the little vending machine snack area. He wasn't even paying attention to anything, just had his hands cupping his face as his elbows rested on his knees. I stood and watched him for a moment. I was torn. Aubree the friend wanted to comfort him and Aubree the realist wanted him to suffer the way he let me suffer for weeks. Maybe he feared that our friendship was completely ruined now, as I had feared for weeks.

My thoughts were interrupted by a strong southern accent. I turned to face the voice, but I also noticed Jeff's head jump up.

"There's my Bree!"

I was face to face with my father figure, and Jeff's actual father, Gil. He approached me and pulled me into a hug. "Look at this beautiful girl! I love the new hairstyle!" he exclaimed kissing me on my bad cheek. I winced in pain but smiled as I pulled away. Jeff stood by watching, but didn't dare come close.

"You alright?" Gil asked with concern.

"I'm fine." I said half looking at him, and half keeping my eyes locked on Jeff.

"You didn't come see me this past weekend when you were home. Too busy with your big, new exciting life I see." He said playfully.

I smiled. "No, never too exciting to see you. I was just under the weather."

"You are better now, I hope? Don't tell me my son made you come to work sick."

I stared at him in confusion.

"I'm glad you travel with the boys travel while Shannon is out. I told them that you need to keep each other safe. Especially my Aubree girl." He said smiling.

I was astounded. Jeff hadn't told Gil anything. Matt walked up behind Gil and put his hand on his father's shoulder.

"Hey Bree…" Matt said softly.

"Hey."

"How's your face?" Matt asked softly.

I wanted to punch Matt in the face. Here he had put me into the position of explaining WHAT happened and ultimately WHO did it. Before I could answer, Gil looked at me with concern.

"What is he talking about?"

"There was a stupid accident the other day. I'm fine." I said quickly.

Gil looked at me, he knew me since I was a kid. He knew my 'lying', 'kind of the truth' and 'truth' faces. His hand darted towards my cheek and careful pushed the hair aside. His eyes widened.

"Accident?" he asked. "Some accident."

"Yeah…" I said sheepishly as I stared daggers into Matt.

Gil turned to Matt. "You knew about this?" he asked pointing to my face.

Matt nodded. "Saw it happen."

"Well, what happened?" he demanded looking at both Matt and I.

"Two of the guys got into a fight, and I thought I could be Wonder Woman and break it up…" I spoke softly.

"A guy hit you?" Gil exclaimed. "You let a guy punch her?" he directed at Matt.

"There wasn't anything I could do." Matt replied.

Gil took my hand and stared into my eyes. "Who did this? Did you file a report? This isn't an accident, Darling. I mean look at this!" His hand caressed my broken cheek.

"It's broken." I said softly.

"What type of idiot can hit a female with such force to break her cheek and nothing gets done about it!" Gil screamed.

He was in full father mode. It was just a matter of time before Gil found out the whole truth. I wanted to throw up. I could feel the anxiety rising in my chest. My heart was pounding and I felt sweaty.

"Did you at least beat the guy's ass?" Gil demanded of Matt.

"No, not exactly."

"I'm very disappointed in you Matthew! She's like your sister! You need to protect her! Didn't I raise you better than that?! She's tiny compared to most of these guys and she needs someone to protect her! I can't believe you'd let somebody do this and stand by and just watch! Shannon would be so disappointed in you to know he can't even trust you to protect his sister!"

Jeff was lurking in the corner; he was watching intently. I wanted him to come over, and admit to it before Matt or I would be forced to dime him out. Matt was getting annoyed. I could see it.

"And where was Jeff when all this happened? Did he at least do something?" Gil demanded.

Here we go. I felt ill. My vision was beginning to blur. I felt sweaty and felt like my chest would pound out of my rib cage.

"I don't feel well…" I said without thinking. Gil looked at me.

"Aubree?"

I held my head, "Yes?"

"What about Jeff? Please tell me at least one of my sons did the right thing."

Matt's face was beet red. He was going to dime Jeff out. I knew it long before it actually happened. In these situations, minutes feel like hours and this whole conversation felt like days.

"Umm..." I stuttered.

Matt let out a loud, dramatic sigh. "Bree, stop covering up."

Oh ok, so I have to be the bad one. Thanks Matt… you fucking asshole!

"Aubree?" Gil asked softly.

I was silent. I wanted to cry.

"Someone had better tell me the truth right now!" Gil snapped.

"Fine, ok. Jeff hit her." Matt snapped.

I felt my heart sink and shatter into a million pieces. Gil looked positively appalled. Jeff wrongfully chose now to be the time to show himself. As soon as Gil saw him, Jeff knew the truth was out. I caught eyes with him, trying to tell him I was sorry for this.

"You hit her? This beautiful girl? Have I taught you nothing?" Gil screamed. Gil's hand cracked against Jeff's face as he continued to scream at him.

I looked at Matt and shook my head. Adam approached us quickly and saw the scene. I think he thought something else had happened with how fast he was by my side. He protectively placed his hand onto my shoulder. Gil continued to scream and swing at Jeff. I couldn't take it anymore.

"Dad, please stop!" I screamed as I began to cry.

Gil turned and looked at me.

"It was an accident. Jeff and Adam were fighting and I jumped in between them! It's not like Jeff hit me, knowing it was me."

Gil looked at me, then back at Jeff, then at me again.

"Adam?" Gil questioned.

Adam raised his hand into the air as I pointed at him. "My boyfriend."

"So let me get this straight," he began as he faced Jeff. "Aubree is dating someone and you fight him, but end up breaking her face? Am I up to speed?"

"Yeah," Jeff replied softly as he held his face, which was now starting to redden and swell.

I caught a glance with Jeff and instantly felt terrible for him. He looked so beaten and broken down that I just wanted to give him a hug. Gil had stormed off and Matt followed him quickly. I stared at Jeff for a few seconds which felt like minutes until I felt Adam's hand on my shoulder.

"You, ok?" he asked. His words broke my connection with Jeff and startled me as I gazed into his eyes.

I nodded my head. Adam looked at me and smiled. "I need to go get ready. I'll walk you back if you'd like."

I looked at Adam and my eyes shot towards Jeff. "I want to talk to Jeff actually. I'll come find you before your match ok," I said giving him a soft kiss. Adam looked at me and nodded his head. He understood me and my reasoning.

He kissed my cheek then walked away. I turned and stared at Jeff. I bit my lip, part of me wanted to breakdown and cry but I refused to let the tears come. We stood a few feet apart and just watched each other in silence.

Jeff ran his hand threw his multicolored hair and looked at me. His green eyes were locked on me. "I'm so sorry."

I looked at him and took a step closer. "Are you ok?" I asked reaching out to his reddened cheek. My hand touched the hotness of his skin and a small wince of pain escaped him. "Sorry." I whispered as I looked into his eyes.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything! I'm sorry for hitting you and how I pushed you away! I feel like I'm losing you!" He screamed. With frustration, he ran his hands through his hair.

"You're not losing me! You never were until you started treating me like I was invisible! What are you talking about?!" I screamed. I could feel the tears in my voice.

"You didn't tell us about Adam! You didn't tell ME about him! The only reason I found out is because he was at your house! Why didn't you tell us? That's why I felt like I was losing you! Plus, you being in a relationship changes EVERYTHING!" He screamed.

"I didn't do anything wrong! I didn't tell anyone because I wasn't sure what it was until it was something!" I screamed.

"But we tell each other everything! You dating a friend of mine was a big deal! I just don't know why neither of you told me. You told me about that dweeb from school you were seeing! You told me about that one kid from your internship having a crush on you... I just don't understand why you'd hide it from me! Obviously, it was going on for a while if he was spending the night at your house!" He screamed.

I listened to him and heard the pain in his voice. He was clearly upset but why? "I didn't hide anything from you! You make it sound like I intentionally went out of my way to lie to you! Even so I DID tell you I was talking to someone..."

"...Never once hinted it was Adam! I assumed it was someone from home or your job!" He screamed cutting me off.

"Why does it matter WHO it was? I don't have to tell you every detail of my life, Jeffrey!" I screamed feeling rage boil inside of my body. I knew how much he hated to be called Jeffrey but I didn't care. I was angry.

"Aubree! It does matter! You don't know him like we do! He's not right for you! You're too sweet and you don't see it! I don't want you to get hurt!"

I stared at him. He was so upset he was shaking. I noted that he'd called me "Aubree" which Jeff never did. I was always Bree to him. Or Breezy. This is not at all what I wanted. I wanted my friend back, not an escalating screaming match at our job. I wondered if anyone was listening or watching us. I pinched the bridge of my nose and looked at the ground.

"I'm not a little girl anymore! You can't always protect me and even so Adam isn't going to hurt me! Jeff, he's in love with me. Can't you please just be happy for me? Please?" I pleaded. "Why can't I have my best friend and be with the person I am in love with? Why do I need to choose?" I cried.

His eyes shot from the ground and connected with mine. He looked embarrassed. "You're in love with him?"

I bit my lip and nodded my head. "Yeah, Jeff, I am... and he's in love with me too." The tears streamed down my face. "I miss you Hardy. I need you because I feel lost without you."

Jeff watched as I wiped the tears from my eyes and instinctively pulled me into a tight hug. "I miss you too, Bree."

"Everything ok?" Adam spoke from behind us. Jeff instantly released his embrace from me as he turned and we both looked at the tall blonde. I looked at my boyfriend as I wiped the tears from face. At this point, Jay, Matt, Shane and Chris Jericho were all there.

"What's wrong, Aubs?" Adam asked as he quickly pulled me from Jeff's side into a tight hug.

"Aubs?" Matt asked as he stood next to Jeff and Shane. Jay and Chris stood near Adam.

"What's you do now?" Adam screamed towards Jeff.

I literally felt like I was in the middle. My 3 lifelong best friends on one side. My boyfriend and his 2 best friends on the other. I heard Matt ask Jeff about calling me Aubs. I realized they weren't used to hearing me being called anything but Bree. I stared at Jeff, my eyes pleading with him.

"What'd you say to make her cry?!" Adam snapped.

I touched his shoulder. "He didn't do anything! We were just talking!"

Adam looked at me. "Why are you crying?"

I didn't want to talk about this in front of an audience. I didn't want to try to explain to 6 guys that I was embarrassed and emotionally drained. After everything with Gil and finally talking to Jeff, I was exhausted. I was tired of talking, and explaining.

"Jeff and I were just talking. He didn't do anything. I'm fine." I said looking at him. I grabbed his hand into mine. "Everything is fine." I looked at Jeff. "He was apologizing for everything that happened last week. It was an accident."

Chris and Jay sensed the tension and looked at Adam. "It's almost show time. We need to get ready."

I watched as Matt and Jeff walked away. Shane looked sadly as he turned and followed the Hardys. Adam placed his arm around my shoulders as we all walked together towards the medical area. I sat alone watching the monitors as Adam and Jay were in the ring. I loved watching the shows and I loved that I was building relationships with all of the guys in the company. I loved that I had found a way to be involved with wrestling without physically being a wrestler. Even so, I wasn't the build of any of the women wrestlers. I was 5'8" which is tall for a girl. Plus, I wasn't super skinny, athletic, or pretty like any of the girls. I was jealous of girls like Amy and Trish. They were beautiful and I wished I looked like them.

As I sat in my office, I thought about my friendship with Jeff. I missed him so much. He was always the first person I thought about; now he had been replaced by Adam. I guess my relationship did completely alter the dynamic of our friendship. It felt like a huge void in my heart. I heard the door open and I looked up. Jeff stood there awkwardly in the doorway. I looked at him oddly.

"Hey..." he said softly. He sounded like his usual self once again.

"Hey..." I replied.

He closed the door and walked towards me. "I was thinking... I've been thinking a lot actually... but you were right. I gotta stop looking at you like a little girl. You haven't been a little girl for a long time. You're a woman Bree. You are my best friend and I've felt so lost without you. I don't like Adam and you together. I just don't think he's right for you. I've known him for a while and I know how he is with girls. He sleeps with girls than moves on to someone else. You're too sweet and kind hearted to see him for how he truly is."

"Maybe he was like that before..." I say softly. "Maybe he is different than you know."

Jeff shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I just don't want to see you get hurt. I love you and I can't watch you get hurt if I can prevent it."

"But Adam hasn't hurt me. He's kind and makes me feel like I've never felt before." I look at him. "He makes me happy and he thinks I'm beautiful. He makes me feel beautiful. I've never felt like I mattered to anyone and now I feel like I do."

"You don't feel like you ever mattered?!" His voice sounds disgusted. "You've always mattered! Are you serious?! He makes you feel beautiful?! How can you not know how gorgeous you are?! Everyone thinks you're gorgeous!"

I laugh. "I'm not gorgeous! I'm fat and plain. I fade into the crowd! No one realizes I'm around half the time. Especially being surrounded by girls like Amy and Trish!"

Jeff laughs "Amy and Trish know they are pretty and they tend to be bitches because they KNOW they are pretty! You are gorgeous inside and out! You not realizing how incredible you are makes you more of a precious gem! And fat?! Where are you fat?! There's nothing fat about you! Except your ass and your head!" he said smirking.

I didn't know what to say. I was tired of fighting. I cracked a small smile.

Jeff sighed and shook his head. "I just don't understand why you are so down on yourself that you can't see yourself how I see you."

He walked towards the door and opened it. I watched him leave and said nothing. A while later, Adam can into the room with a smile.

"Hey beautiful." He said as he kissed my cheek. I smiled as I stared at him. Jeff didn't know anything about Adam. I tried to shake Jeff's words for the rest of the night. As we headed towards our hotel, I smiled at Adam as he drove. Chris and Jay chattered in the backseat of the car. I felt my phone vibrating from the pocket of my jacket. I pulled it out and saw an unopened text from Jeff. It had been months since I'd seen a text from him. I was completely drained as I debated with myself about reading it. I figured get all the fighting over with tonight and start fresh tomorrow. I clicked the text opened and read it to myself.

"I love you and I don't want you to feel like you have to choose. I don't like your boyfriend, but I want my best friend to be happy. I will always have your back and I will fuck him up if he hurts you. You love being right, and this time I hope you prove me wrong."

I smiled as I closed the message. Adam glanced at me. I nodded my head and smiled before I drifted off to sleep.