email: tempest@thatbitch.com
disclaimer: I don't own anyone recognizable from the WWFE. Vince owns them, of course.
author notes: This fic is dedicated to Sassy Lil Scorpio. I thought maybe you'd be interested in Matt's view. *shrugs* Matt isn't a very nice person in this fic. At least not to Lita. I don't plan on making this a long series. 10 chapters at the most, but I see it ending in the next 2 or 3 chapters. It wasn't originally suppose to be a series. It was suppose to be a one shot deal.
*denotes thought*
Excerpt of lyrics from Sick And Beautiful by Artificial Joy Club - Melt or the Mission Impossible II Soundtrack (I think that's the song that's on the MI2 soundtrack. They've got a song on there.)

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3.

Matt started to notice a change in her after their first match against Chuck Palumbo and Sean O'Haire. She had made him furious during that match. First, she had backed away from the ring when O'Haire had looked at her, then instead of helping him, she had ran to the otherside of the ring and helped Jeff. He had no problems with her helping Jeff. If he had had things under control, he wouldn't have had any problems with her helping Jeff. He didn't want to see his brother hurt, but he also wanted to win. He did take out his frustrations on her that night; he had done it many times before. It wasn't something that he was proud of. He saw it as a dirty habit. The first time it had happened, he had swore to her it would never happen again. He said the same thing the second time and the third time. It came to a point where he stopped saying it at all.

After that match, he think he had beaten her more brutally than he ever had before. Things got out of hand a little as he smacked her around. He ended up smashing her face into a mirror. When she blacked out, he had just left her there. He didn't know what else to do. He was afraid he had killed her. So, he simply left. He needed to gather his thoughts together. If she was really dead, how was he going to handle it? After downing a few drinks in the bar and thwarting a few advances by Stacy, he went back into the hotel room. He walked into the bathroom slowly, and he nearly cried when he saw she was gone. That meant she was okay... this time. He wondered where she had disappeared to.

He walked out into the hallway, trying to remember whose room was whose. There weren't very many WWF members on this floor, mostly Alliance. He remembered that Scotty was down the hall a bit, Trish's room was at the end of the hall, and Jeff was up on the next floor. He knew it wasn't likely she had went to Trish's room, but when you've just had your face slammed into a mirror, he didn't think a person could be too particular. He knocked on Trish's door no answer, but he saw bloody prints on the door. She had been here. He walked down the hall, looking for places she had been. He came to another door where there were spots of blood on the door. It was Scotty's room. He knocked on the door forcefully. Scotty opened the door sleepily.

"Hey, Matt. What's up, dawg?" Scotty said rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Lita wouldn't happen to be in there, would she?" Matt asked.

"Naw man. She came by, but she didn't come in. She looked pretty bad like someone just beat her ass." Scotty said fearfully leaving out parts of the story.

"She did it to herself. She took us losing that match pretty hard. That's why I need to find her to assure her it's not her fault." Matt lied. "Do you have any idea where she might be?"

"I think I heard her knock on the next door over."

The next door over wasn't a member of the WWF's room. Matt racked his brain trying to remember who occupied that room. Then, it dawned on him. He had seen Sean O'Haire prancing in and out of that room. He doubted she was there, Sean was one the reasons she got her ass kicked. He frowned to himself, he didn't like Sean O'Haire at all. Something about him bothered Matt. He had been wary of Sean ever since him and Chuck interefered in the match they had against the Dudley's. Chuck and Sean had ran from the ring like a couple of punks, but were caught and brought back to the ring where they went through a table.

"I don't think so, Scotty. I think you were hearing things. I'm going to go check in Jeff's room." Matt drawled. "If she happens to come by your room again, don't let her out of your sight. Then call me, I'll be in either my room or Jeff's room. Jeff's room number is 402."

"No doubt, homie. I'll keep an eye out for li'l shawty, fo' sheazy." Scotty said before closing the door.

Matt walked to the elevator and headed to the fourth floor. He never gave another thought about going to Sean's room. Why would he hide her, anyway? She was a member of Team WWF. She was the enemy. She had to be with Jeff. There was no where else left for her to go, unless she got one of the girls to hide her. In her condition, she probably didn't. She didn't have time to answer questions about how that had happened to her. He knocked on Jeff's door. He heard something go crashing to the floor.

"Shit." He heard Jeff swear before he opened the door. "Matt. Come in."

Trish was smiling at him from the bed. Everything seemed to be in order with her so that meant hadn't tried to hit it. He nodded at her slightly. He wasn't her biggest fan. First, she kissed him. Now, she was after his brother. That girl made no sense. Women in general didn't make sense. There was no sign of Lita. Matt saw a big purple stain in the middle of the floor. He stared at it frowning.

"Trish was helping me dye my hair; when you knocked on the door I accidently dropped the dye." Jeff explained noticing Matt's gaze on the floor.

"Why weren't you in the bathroom?"

"I figured it wouldn't hurt to do it in the bedroom, but I forgot I had a fuck up for a brother who made bad things happen."

"Hey, watch it." Matt warned. "I didn't mean to interrupt the slumber party, girls. I see we're doing hair. What are you going to do next? The nails?"

"Well, since you mentioned it.." Jeff trailed off.

"Anyway, I can't find Lita. I thought she was up here, but as I can see we're playing dress up here."

"I haven't seen her." Jeff said shaking his head.

"She hasn't been up here, at all?"

"No, unless she came up here while I was down at the pool."

"How long ago was that?"

"I got up here about 20 minutes ago. Don't worry, Matt. She might just be exploring. You know how Amy likes to wander around, taking pictures, meeting people." Jeff said reassuringly.

"If you see her tell her I'm looking for her."

"Will do, Captain Matt." Jeff joked saluting him.

Matt walked out of Jeff's room confused. Well, there was no sense in going around the world looking for her. She would come back to the room. He went back to his room and got settled into bed. Soon, he was fast asleep.

The door creaking open woke him up. He saw Lita tipping back into the room. What time was it? He glanced at the clock 8:56am. Where had she been all this time? She walked into the bathroom and started the shower up. He didn't get up. He didn't know what he would say to her. A simple sorry would probably do, but she had heard sorry so many times before. It probably didn't mean anything to her now. She could have at least called him and told him that she wasn't coming back to the room. When she came back into the room, he turned the light on. She jumped. Her face had some cuts and scrapes on it. Her right cheek was swollen. He pulled his eyes quickly away from her.

"Where have you been?" He asked her.

"I slept in the rental." Lita lied quickly shifting her eyes away from Matt.

She was lying. She could never look him straight in the eyes when she lied. He guessed that she had chosen not to tell him the truth to keep him from grilling that person. He had a bad habit of asking people what Lita had told them after they fought. Matt didn't say anything as he got out of the bed. He had to go to the gym, and he was starved. He quickly showered and dressed. She was lying in the bed when he came out the bathroom.

"I'm going to stay here. Just tell everyone, I'm sick... or something." She said calmly.

Matt grunted in response. She seemed a little nonchalant. Usually when he hit her, she stopped speaking to him til he did something to make up for it. Today had been different. Why? She seemed so calm. Any other time she would br jumpy and moody after he hit her. She didn't seem jumpy or particularly moody. Maybe, she was doing this to scare him. If she was, it did scare him. He wasn't use to her being calm. He was suppose to be able to predict her moods, but this was definitely new. And he definitely didn't like that. Before he walked out the door, he saw her hug a pillow and turn her back to him.

He was gone the rest of the day. When anyone asked where Lita was, he told them she was very sick. When he got back to the room later that night. She was gone, again. He let out an exasperated sigh. If she didn't want people to see her, why was she running around like a damn whore? She came back to the room a couple of hours later smiling. When she saw him, her smile quickly left her face. Her eyes clouded up, and he thought he saw her actually scowl at him. He couldn't be sure because when he looked again her face was rather placid. She didn't say anything as she started to take off her clothes and get ready for bed. He didn't ask her where she had been. It didn't matter she was back now.

He often wondered why she didn't leave him. No matter how horrible he treated her, she always came back to him. She had never even threatened to break up with him. He knew she didn't like it. She was crazy if she did. He didn't even know why he did it. It's just like someone else took over his mind when he hurt her. He loved her, he really did. He didn't know why he did it, and he was afraid to admit he had a problem. A few people had noticed the bruises that appeared on her sometime. He would laugh it off saying Lita was clumsy, or she did it to herself. At first he felt bad about making Lita out to be the bad person, but he didn't want people to talk about him behind their hands. He wasn't a bad person really. Things went well for a couple of weeks. Then he started to really notice her change.

Lita started glowing after their next big blowout. Was glowing the word to describe it? She started to absolutely beam. They had gotten into over something she had heard. Apparently, Scotty had a big mouth and couldn't resist telling everyone that those bruises that Lita sustained were by her own hands. One of Lita's little friends told her about it, he had a feeling it was Jackie. Jackie was one of those people that felt that anything that could be said behind your back could be said to your face. He had denied it, of course, but Lita could see right through his lame lies.

"You're lying. I can see it in your eyes." Lita said after he denied it.

"Who told you that?"

"Does it matter?" She shot back at him.

"Yes, it does to me. I want to know who's going around spreading these lies about me." Matt said angrily.

"They're not lies, Matt. Admit it, you said it. Why? Why would tell people I did this to myself?"

"Because.." Matt said not finishing.

"Because why?" Lita yelled her face turning red.

"Because I don't want everyone to think I'm a bad person." Matt admitted.

"So, you'd rather they think I'm crazy than them thinking you're a bad person." Lita spat at him. "Do you know how embarrassing that is? Do you know how much that hurts me?"

Matt didn't say anything as Lita continued her tirade.

"I don't like to find out people are talking about me because of some lie you told them to save face. This really beats everything you've ever done, Matthew Hardy."

"You don't understand - "

"I understand you don't care about me. You left me in a hotel room after you had sent my face through a mirror. Then you cover up your rages with lies. You're not even man enough to admit what you did. Instead, you come up with more these lies to make yourself feel better. Well, I hope you feel really good about yourself because you're nothing."

The blood rushed into his ears. Before he knew it, his hand shot out and went across Lita's face. Then, she did something that really scared him. She put her hands over her face and started to shake. He thought she was crying, but she was laughing. It wasn't just a small chuckle, but a hearty, deep throat laugh. It was the kind of laugh that started in your stomach. It was the kind of laugh you used when you watched a movie that made you laugh so hard, you cried. She turned her face back to him. Her eyes were brimmed with tears, but she was laughing. Then, realiztion set in. She was laughing at him.

"I hope you're real happy with yourself. Once again, you've proved how much of a man you are." She laughed as he backed away from her.

She took a couple of steps toward him. She really was going crazy. She did something she had never done, ever. She slapped him back. It was a hard slap, it cracked throughout the room, and snapped his head to the side. Then, she turned and stormed out of the room. He didn't know what was getting into her. She was starting to stand up for herself more. She had started acting so weird since that night. She started spending less and less time with him. She had started getting her own room. She didn't even spend as much time with anyone. She still talked to everyone, but when the group went out together. She was usually missing in action. When someone inquired of where she was, she always said around with a sneaky smile.

On the night of their rematch again Sean and Chuck, he caught her singing in the locker room. Had she ever done that before? Jeff was bobbing his head to Lita's reendition of 'I'm Good At Being Bad' by TLC. He had never heard her sing before. She never sang with him.

"God, Lita. Are you trying to kill us all." Matt said when he caught her singing. "I didn't know you wanted Invasion to end that bad."

"I kind of dig her voice. It's raspy and cute. She sounds like the girl from the Artificial Joy Club." Jeff said taking up for Lita. One of the few times he did. "Sing a few lines from Sick and Beautiful. That's my favorite song. I know you know it. I've only pounded it into your head a hundred thousand times."

"All the world's your ashtray... I'm just Marlboro... Light me up and butt me...You're sick and beautiful." Lita sang.

"Make it stop." Matt moaned.

"Are you crazy, Matt? Her voice rocks." Jeff argued.

"You sound like she's swallowing a cat, Lita. Don't listen to Jeff, he'll listen to anything." Matt said only semi-joking

"Whatever. I don't care. Someone likes my voice." Lita said smiling not meaning Jeff.

"Well, don't forget. We have a match tonight." Matt said.

"We won't forget." Jeff promised "Hey, sing some more."

Lita jumped on a chair and started to dance. When had she ever done that? She was full of life. She looked happy, even though they were going through some problems. Jeff jumped up and started to play air guitar as Lita started to sing again. Matt walked out of the room leaving Lita and Jeff singing Sick and Beautiful. He thought a little more about what Lita said. "Someone likes my voice." She had said. He had a feeling she didn't mean just Jeff. Is that where she was spending her nights, in the arms of another guy? He didn't think so. Lita hadn't shown too much interest in any of the other guys. Then again, it was a common known fact that women cheated and lied better than men.

The match again Sean and Chuck went better that night. They won, that's all that mattered. During the match, he thought he saw Lita stalling again. What was it about her when they faced O'Haire and Palumbo? She just froze up. Was she intimidated by them? She never acted like this with anyone. Then, Sean had got in her face talking trash. That was all the motivation she needed. When Sean turned his back, Lita climbed the ropes. Matt hit him with a couple of times. Sean turned around, and Lita took him down with a hurricarana. She climbed the ropes again and did a moonsault off the top rope. Chuck tried to climb in the ring to help O'Haire. She knocked him down with a baseball slide. She was on a roll tonight. Matt took off his shirt and picked Sean up. Matt executed the twist of fate and pinned O'Haire for the win.

After the match, he kissed Lita for the whole world to see. He was proud of her. Whatever it was that was keeping her from interfering, she got over it and helped them pull out a win. She didn't seem to enthusiastic about the kiss. When he asked her if she wanted to go out with him and Jeff, she refused saying she was tired.

"I'll stay in with you." Matt said.

"No." Lita said rather quickly. He looked at her oddly. "I mean I'm just going to take a shower and sleep. You go on and have fun."

"Are you sure? I know we haven't spent a lot of time together, lately."

"Don't worry about it. There will be plenty of time for us."

"Okay, last chance." Matt warned.

"Go, go. You and Jeff have fun. Don't worry about me." Lita said before leaving. "Be careful."

He smiled when she said that. She always told them to be careful when they went out. He thought of it as an endearment. She always took on a motherly tone when she said it. She would raise her eyebrows and take on a concerned look. He didn't know what she expected to happen. She hadn't said it to him the last few times when he went out. Did that mean they were slowly coming to terms?

The next odd thing he noticed with her was how her team spirit seemed to be dwindling. When the invasion first started, she had been as vocal as the rest of them. Now, she barely commented on things that had to do with invasion anymore. When they watched the match between The Undertaker and Kane against Sean O'Haire and Chuck Palumbo she hadn't said anything at all about. She just sat there looking worried for some God forsaken reason. She even shot Jeff a dirty look when he said something negative about the match. She didn't know he had saw her, but he had. Then that night, she said she went straight to her room, but when he went to her room she didn't answer the door. So he went to Jeff's room. As usual, Trish was there, but nothing was going on but a friendly visit. Or so they said.

"Has Lita been acting a little strange to you lately?" Matt asked Jeff.

"Sort of, but women are weird creatures. You know how their moods are."

"Jeff!" Trish said offended.

"Well, you are." Jeff said dodging a pillow Trish threw at him.

"I thought I saw her shoot you a dirty look when you said something tonight about the cage match." Matt said.

"Maybe, she has a crush on Sean O'Haire or Chuck Palumbo." Trish piped in. "Personally, I'd go for that O'Haire. He's gorgeous."

"And there ya go, from the mouth of a woman herself." Jeff laughed.

"That's not funny." Matt said angrily.

"Lighten up, Matt. She was joking." Jeff said.

"I'm just kidding, Matt. Invasion has taken an emotional toll on all of us. Don't worry when this thing is over she'll be the same Lita." Trish said apologetically. "At this rate, who knows when that will be."

"I wonder where Hunter is really going to stand when he gets back?" Jeff asked trying to change the subject.

"Well, I've got some interesting thoughts on that -"

Matt tuned Trish out as he thought about what she said. She could be right this could just be stress on Lita's part. He had to admit that he was more than a little stressed himself. What if Trish was right about her having a crush on Palumbo or O'Haire? That would be more than he could handle. *Trish better be right about the stress part for Lita's sake. If I catch her with Sean O'Haire or Chuck Palumbo, I'm going to kill her.* Matt vowed silently. He meant every word he had just spoke in his mind, and he would stand by them.