Title: Nothing Stays the Same.
Author: Cathie McMath. (email: penrithpanther_03@yahoo.com.au)
Disclaimer: I don't own Jeff, Lita, Trish Stratus, Edge - or any other WWE wrestlers that I may mention in this fic. I dream about owning them every night.. but in reality I don't. Good ol' Vinny Mac does.
Summary: Lita reflects on Jeff's recent behaviour.
Rating: PG. I think it's nice and clean.
TimeLine: Now. Starting from January through to right now - April 2003.
Distribution: Just email me and let me know if you'd like to have it.
Author's Note: This chapter, of course, deals with Jeff's departure. A few things I need to mention - in Real Life, Jeff's announcement was made the day after the RAW ep where Lita got fired. In this fic, it was a week after. That's all from me now.. now go and enjoy this long-ish chapter!!
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
"No."
"No?"
The young woman nodded her head, her arms folded tightly across her chest. "That's right. I said no."
Jeff reached up and rubbed the back of his neck nervously, looking down at the cemented arena floor as he did so. "Um, Li, I hate to say this, but it's too late. It doesn't matter if you say no a thousand times more, it won't change --"
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!!" Lita said firmly, her body unmoving as the two stood in the middle of the hallway. She squared her jaw defiantly, staring at Jeff, waiting for his reply.
"Please, don't do this."
She unfolded her arms quickly, her face growing dark with anger. Her brow furrowed, her eyes narrowed, her lips raised into a snarl. "Don't do what?"
The man standing in front of her shook his head gently, not wanting to look into her eyes. "This. Making it harder than it already is."
"Oh, I shouldn't be making it any harder for you, is that what you're saying Jeff?" She took a few steps to her right, then moved back to her left, pacing the arena hallway. "You're actually saying that I shouldn't make LEAVING THE COMPANY any harder for you?"
Jeff cowered at the anger he could clearly hear in his best friend's voice. She was pissed. There was no doubt about that. And, he relented, with good reason. She had just found out yesterday that he had been released from the WWE - which was a bombshell in itself - but she hadn't even found out from him.
Lita had found out through the WWE website.
It was actually kind of ironic, Jeff had thought, that she had found out about his departure through the internet. Lita never liked computers or the internet. Hardly ever touched them. But she had been at Edge's house, helping him out with some housework. They decided to hop on the computer, surf the net. And as they clicked on the WWE website, they were confronted with the news of Jeff's release from the company.
Yep, Jeff nodded to himself. He knew why Lita was so angry. Still, he looked around, did she have to cause such a big scene?
The two friends were standing in the RAW arena hallway, other superstars walking past them every now and then and glancing their way, and some - like Triple H and Randy Orton - had actually stopped a few metres away to watch and listen to their conversation. Or confrontation, as it seemed to be headed.
Jeff focused back on Lita, who was standing in front of him, steaming with anger. He glanced at her quickly, then looked back down at the floor. "Why are you even here? Didn't you get 'fired' last week?"
Lita ceased her fuming. She watched Jeff as he looked down at his feet, not even looking her in the eye as they talked. She felt herself grow cold as she answered his question. "The reason why I'm here is because I came to try and stop you from signing those final papers." The redhead looked down at the bundle of documents in Jeff's hands. "I know that you're going to see Bischoff right now, Jeff, to sign the last of those papers. The ones that will completely sever you from this company. And I came here tonight to stop you."
"Lita, it's already done. There's just a few more things that need to be signed --"
"Exactly. It's not done - yet." She grabbed Jeff's hand gently, and pulled him over to the corner of the hallway. "Why are you doing this, Jeff? Why are you quitting?"
Jeff sighed. "I don't have the same passion for wrestling anymore. I want to go and try different things. Focus on my music, spend more time with Dad, maybe get out and --"
"That's the bullshit answer that you give to the press. Now I want the real answer." Lita focused her hazel eyes on Jeff's green ones, her gaze steady. "Tell me why you're really leaving."
For the first time since Lita had found Jeff in the arena hallway and stopped him, Jeff looked up from the floor and locked eyes with the redhead. He held her gaze, feeling a twisting feeling in his stomach as he looked into his best friend's eyes. He hadn't looked at her like this for so long... lately things had been so screwed up...
"I can't do this without you."
Lita felt a wave of nausea sweep over her entire body. She hadn't just heard that... had she? Did Jeff actually say what she thought he said? The diva took in long, gulping breaths as she tried to steady herself. Her legs had suddenly turned to jelly, and she felt as though she was about to collapse onto the floor. Her heart was beating hard and fast, the loud thumping ringing in her ears. She couldn't believe that six small words could have such a large effect on her.
"What?"
"You wanted to know the real reason why I'm leaving the company? Well, that's it." Jeff said quietly, still keeping his bright, green eyes focused on Lita. "I can't do this without you."
Before she could fall back into a wordless trance, Lita spoke quickly. "You've been doing this without me for a year, Jeff!" She could hardly believe the strain she felt in her voice.
Jeff shook his head slowly. "I guess I have. But just barely, Li, just barely. You've seen what I've been doing this past year." He paused, the words struggling to come out of his mouth. "I've been doing nothing. My ring work has been sloppy and lazy - nothing what it used to be like, and I know that you, and everyone else, can see that my heart just hasn't been into wrestling."
"What are you saying?" Lita asked, a confused frown marring her pretty face.
"I have stayed in this ring for the past year, without you being here. That much is true. But I always knew that one day, you would be back here with me. At the end of the day, I could say to myself that I was a day closer to having you back in the ring, by my side." Jeff shrugged, his voice small and quiet. "Now you're going over to Smackdown..."
Lita was still breathing deeply, partially unable to comprehend the words that Jeff was speaking. All of this emotion that he felt towards her.. all of this passion that he felt for her.. she had no idea. Here he was, saying he was quitting the business that he loved more than anything else in the world, because she wouldn't be there with him anymore. She could hardly believe it.
"Jeff.. this isn't worth quitting over! Please, you can still do so much here --"
"I just don't feel it anymore, Li. I don't feel the passion anymore. I don't feel the fire anymore. I don't feel the drive anymore." Once again, he looked down towards his feet. "I don't feel anything anymore."
The redheaded diva shook her head fiercely. "What about Trish?"
Jeff scoffed. "What about her?"
She raised her palms to him, curious. "What does she think about all of this? Isn't she hurt?"
"Hurt? Not likely." He rubbed his forehead, not particularly wanting to explain to Lita what had happened when he told Trish the news, but knowing that his friend needed to know everything if she was going to understand. "When I told Trish that I was just thinking of leaving, she turned into a completely different person. She told me that if I was to quit, there would be nothing to keep us together. She said that if I left the WWE, I would become worthless. And.." Jeff paused, clearing his throat slightly. "And she said that she didn't want anyone who was worth nothing."
"No." Lita gasped, reeling. No way in the world Trish would ever say something like that. Lita studied Jeff, and she could see the gut-wrenching pain that was clearly evident on his face. She saw the tears glistening in his eyes, and his chin quivering ever so slightly.
"Trish doesn't love me, Lita. Never did." He wiped at his eyes discreetly. "If she's hurt because I'm leaving, it's only because she needs to find someone else to use to climb to the top."
Lita shook her head, almost unable to take in everything Jeff had told her in the last ten minutes. "Jeff, I'm so sorry. I never would've thought.. I.."
Jeff waved her words away, keeping his back straight and trying to avoid showing any signs that he was more than a little upset. "Never mind. But don't you see? You were what was keeping me going. And now.. I just.. I can't."
"But you were going so well.."
"No, I wasn't!! The writers didn't know what they were doing. They'd change my direction every week, and just slap on a 'conflicted' label on my forehead to make it all okay!" Jeff took in a deep breath, a frown sliding onto his face.
"Maybe if you just talk to someone on the creative team. Stephanie, even. Maybe then --"
Jeff growled heavily. "Lita! I didn't know what I was doing!" He sighed, his anger fading into despair. "The creative team couldn't save me if they tried." Jeff raised his hand slowly, cupping Lita's cheek in his palm. "Only you could save me."
Lita found herself leaning into Jeff's touch, finding some strange sense of comfort with him touching her. But then she shook herself out of it, reacting to what he had said. "Stop! Please stop making this all about me!"
"But it is all about you. You wanted the truth, and I'm giving it to you."
Lita grabbed her best friend by the shoulder's, almost shaking him with her grip. "Jeff, you can do this! Just tell Eric Bischoff that you don't need these papers anymore, that you're staying on RAW with the WWE, and that you'll try your hardest from now on." She held him firmly. "You can do this, with or without me here."
Jeff stayed still, letting Lita shake him gently in her grip. He watched as she looked at him, pleading with him. Then, slowly, he removed himself from her grip, looked at the documents he held in his hand and walked down the hallway, his heart heavy.
"I can't."
Author: Cathie McMath. (email: penrithpanther_03@yahoo.com.au)
Disclaimer: I don't own Jeff, Lita, Trish Stratus, Edge - or any other WWE wrestlers that I may mention in this fic. I dream about owning them every night.. but in reality I don't. Good ol' Vinny Mac does.
Summary: Lita reflects on Jeff's recent behaviour.
Rating: PG. I think it's nice and clean.
TimeLine: Now. Starting from January through to right now - April 2003.
Distribution: Just email me and let me know if you'd like to have it.
Author's Note: This chapter, of course, deals with Jeff's departure. A few things I need to mention - in Real Life, Jeff's announcement was made the day after the RAW ep where Lita got fired. In this fic, it was a week after. That's all from me now.. now go and enjoy this long-ish chapter!!
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
"No."
"No?"
The young woman nodded her head, her arms folded tightly across her chest. "That's right. I said no."
Jeff reached up and rubbed the back of his neck nervously, looking down at the cemented arena floor as he did so. "Um, Li, I hate to say this, but it's too late. It doesn't matter if you say no a thousand times more, it won't change --"
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!!" Lita said firmly, her body unmoving as the two stood in the middle of the hallway. She squared her jaw defiantly, staring at Jeff, waiting for his reply.
"Please, don't do this."
She unfolded her arms quickly, her face growing dark with anger. Her brow furrowed, her eyes narrowed, her lips raised into a snarl. "Don't do what?"
The man standing in front of her shook his head gently, not wanting to look into her eyes. "This. Making it harder than it already is."
"Oh, I shouldn't be making it any harder for you, is that what you're saying Jeff?" She took a few steps to her right, then moved back to her left, pacing the arena hallway. "You're actually saying that I shouldn't make LEAVING THE COMPANY any harder for you?"
Jeff cowered at the anger he could clearly hear in his best friend's voice. She was pissed. There was no doubt about that. And, he relented, with good reason. She had just found out yesterday that he had been released from the WWE - which was a bombshell in itself - but she hadn't even found out from him.
Lita had found out through the WWE website.
It was actually kind of ironic, Jeff had thought, that she had found out about his departure through the internet. Lita never liked computers or the internet. Hardly ever touched them. But she had been at Edge's house, helping him out with some housework. They decided to hop on the computer, surf the net. And as they clicked on the WWE website, they were confronted with the news of Jeff's release from the company.
Yep, Jeff nodded to himself. He knew why Lita was so angry. Still, he looked around, did she have to cause such a big scene?
The two friends were standing in the RAW arena hallway, other superstars walking past them every now and then and glancing their way, and some - like Triple H and Randy Orton - had actually stopped a few metres away to watch and listen to their conversation. Or confrontation, as it seemed to be headed.
Jeff focused back on Lita, who was standing in front of him, steaming with anger. He glanced at her quickly, then looked back down at the floor. "Why are you even here? Didn't you get 'fired' last week?"
Lita ceased her fuming. She watched Jeff as he looked down at his feet, not even looking her in the eye as they talked. She felt herself grow cold as she answered his question. "The reason why I'm here is because I came to try and stop you from signing those final papers." The redhead looked down at the bundle of documents in Jeff's hands. "I know that you're going to see Bischoff right now, Jeff, to sign the last of those papers. The ones that will completely sever you from this company. And I came here tonight to stop you."
"Lita, it's already done. There's just a few more things that need to be signed --"
"Exactly. It's not done - yet." She grabbed Jeff's hand gently, and pulled him over to the corner of the hallway. "Why are you doing this, Jeff? Why are you quitting?"
Jeff sighed. "I don't have the same passion for wrestling anymore. I want to go and try different things. Focus on my music, spend more time with Dad, maybe get out and --"
"That's the bullshit answer that you give to the press. Now I want the real answer." Lita focused her hazel eyes on Jeff's green ones, her gaze steady. "Tell me why you're really leaving."
For the first time since Lita had found Jeff in the arena hallway and stopped him, Jeff looked up from the floor and locked eyes with the redhead. He held her gaze, feeling a twisting feeling in his stomach as he looked into his best friend's eyes. He hadn't looked at her like this for so long... lately things had been so screwed up...
"I can't do this without you."
Lita felt a wave of nausea sweep over her entire body. She hadn't just heard that... had she? Did Jeff actually say what she thought he said? The diva took in long, gulping breaths as she tried to steady herself. Her legs had suddenly turned to jelly, and she felt as though she was about to collapse onto the floor. Her heart was beating hard and fast, the loud thumping ringing in her ears. She couldn't believe that six small words could have such a large effect on her.
"What?"
"You wanted to know the real reason why I'm leaving the company? Well, that's it." Jeff said quietly, still keeping his bright, green eyes focused on Lita. "I can't do this without you."
Before she could fall back into a wordless trance, Lita spoke quickly. "You've been doing this without me for a year, Jeff!" She could hardly believe the strain she felt in her voice.
Jeff shook his head slowly. "I guess I have. But just barely, Li, just barely. You've seen what I've been doing this past year." He paused, the words struggling to come out of his mouth. "I've been doing nothing. My ring work has been sloppy and lazy - nothing what it used to be like, and I know that you, and everyone else, can see that my heart just hasn't been into wrestling."
"What are you saying?" Lita asked, a confused frown marring her pretty face.
"I have stayed in this ring for the past year, without you being here. That much is true. But I always knew that one day, you would be back here with me. At the end of the day, I could say to myself that I was a day closer to having you back in the ring, by my side." Jeff shrugged, his voice small and quiet. "Now you're going over to Smackdown..."
Lita was still breathing deeply, partially unable to comprehend the words that Jeff was speaking. All of this emotion that he felt towards her.. all of this passion that he felt for her.. she had no idea. Here he was, saying he was quitting the business that he loved more than anything else in the world, because she wouldn't be there with him anymore. She could hardly believe it.
"Jeff.. this isn't worth quitting over! Please, you can still do so much here --"
"I just don't feel it anymore, Li. I don't feel the passion anymore. I don't feel the fire anymore. I don't feel the drive anymore." Once again, he looked down towards his feet. "I don't feel anything anymore."
The redheaded diva shook her head fiercely. "What about Trish?"
Jeff scoffed. "What about her?"
She raised her palms to him, curious. "What does she think about all of this? Isn't she hurt?"
"Hurt? Not likely." He rubbed his forehead, not particularly wanting to explain to Lita what had happened when he told Trish the news, but knowing that his friend needed to know everything if she was going to understand. "When I told Trish that I was just thinking of leaving, she turned into a completely different person. She told me that if I was to quit, there would be nothing to keep us together. She said that if I left the WWE, I would become worthless. And.." Jeff paused, clearing his throat slightly. "And she said that she didn't want anyone who was worth nothing."
"No." Lita gasped, reeling. No way in the world Trish would ever say something like that. Lita studied Jeff, and she could see the gut-wrenching pain that was clearly evident on his face. She saw the tears glistening in his eyes, and his chin quivering ever so slightly.
"Trish doesn't love me, Lita. Never did." He wiped at his eyes discreetly. "If she's hurt because I'm leaving, it's only because she needs to find someone else to use to climb to the top."
Lita shook her head, almost unable to take in everything Jeff had told her in the last ten minutes. "Jeff, I'm so sorry. I never would've thought.. I.."
Jeff waved her words away, keeping his back straight and trying to avoid showing any signs that he was more than a little upset. "Never mind. But don't you see? You were what was keeping me going. And now.. I just.. I can't."
"But you were going so well.."
"No, I wasn't!! The writers didn't know what they were doing. They'd change my direction every week, and just slap on a 'conflicted' label on my forehead to make it all okay!" Jeff took in a deep breath, a frown sliding onto his face.
"Maybe if you just talk to someone on the creative team. Stephanie, even. Maybe then --"
Jeff growled heavily. "Lita! I didn't know what I was doing!" He sighed, his anger fading into despair. "The creative team couldn't save me if they tried." Jeff raised his hand slowly, cupping Lita's cheek in his palm. "Only you could save me."
Lita found herself leaning into Jeff's touch, finding some strange sense of comfort with him touching her. But then she shook herself out of it, reacting to what he had said. "Stop! Please stop making this all about me!"
"But it is all about you. You wanted the truth, and I'm giving it to you."
Lita grabbed her best friend by the shoulder's, almost shaking him with her grip. "Jeff, you can do this! Just tell Eric Bischoff that you don't need these papers anymore, that you're staying on RAW with the WWE, and that you'll try your hardest from now on." She held him firmly. "You can do this, with or without me here."
Jeff stayed still, letting Lita shake him gently in her grip. He watched as she looked at him, pleading with him. Then, slowly, he removed himself from her grip, looked at the documents he held in his hand and walked down the hallway, his heart heavy.
"I can't."
