Title: Nothing Stays the Same.
Author: Cathie McMath. (email: penrithpanther_03@yahoo.com.au)
Disclaimer: I don't own Jeff, Lita, Christian, Matt Hardy - 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: Change happens all the time in the WWE. In fact, both Jeff and Lita are going through some major changes. But how do they deal with what's happening around them? What are the consequences of their actions?
Rating: PG. It's nice and clean. For now.
TimeLine: Starting from January through to October 2003.
Distribution: Just email me and let me know if you'd like to have it.
Feedback: It's what makes me happy! And we all want a happy Cathie, don't we? So go on, send those reviews! It's for a good cause!
Author's Note: Lita's still on Smackdown, and Jeff has still quit. And because I was lazy and slack I've had to do a bit of catching up with this fic, so this chapter and the next few chapters revolve around RAW a few months ago in October 2003.
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Running a hand through his cropped blonde hair, Christian rounded the arena hallway corner. As he walked, he glanced around him, taking in his surroundings and noting which doors he passed. The security guard at the arena doors said that the diva's locker room was right down the end of the hall, just after Paul Heyman's office...
As he turned another corner, the blonde canadian's eyes fell upon the two figures standing further down the hall. He paused slightly as he studied them for a few seconds. They were talking, smiles on both of their faces. A heart filled laugh flowed from the woman's lips as she patted the arm of the man beside her. They looked close, and friendly and... and maybe Jeff had every reason to be upset.
Before he could jump to any more conclusions, Christian walked up to the two, smiling widely. "Hey you two. Long time, no see."
The redheaded woman turned away from the man beside her, facing Christian. She smiled warmly as she looked at him, her hazel eyes twinkling. "Hey! Christian!" She opened her arms and the two friends hugged. "What are you doing here? Not that I'm not happy to see you or anything like that, but... what are you doing here?"
Christian pulled away from Lita, squeezing her hand gently. "I've just come to pay my favourite redhead a visit, if that's okay with you." She smiled, ducking her head. Christian winked playfully at her.
Then, his eyes met those of the man beside her. "Hi Matt. Good to see you."
Matt Hardy offered a hand to Christian, who accepted it readily. The two pulled each other in for a hug, patting each other's backs. They moved away, smiling softly at each other. Matt placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder. "It's been way too long, man."
"That's for sure. We'll have to go out sometime soon, to a club or something. Just like the old days." Christian sent the dark haired man a small smirk.
Nodding, Matt returned the smile. "That'd be nice. I haven't been out with the boys in such a long time. Not since Lita and I..." He sent a quick glance to the redhead beside him, and then corrected himself. "It's been a while, so that would definitely be nice."
Christian smiled once more, and then turned his attention back to Lita. "Do you have a moment? I'm here because I wanted to visit you guys, but I also have to actually talk to you about something. Are you free now?"
Lita looked over at Matt, who nodded at her. She turned back to Christian. "Yeah, that's cool. I can talk to Matt later."
Matt waved as he walked down the hallway to his locker room, and once he had disappeared around the corner, Christian placed his hand gently on Lita's arm. "Can we talk somewhere private, please?"
"Sure." Lita began to lead the way, and as they walked she looked over at her friend with raised eyebrows. "This 'talk' sounds pretty serious. No one's hurt or in trouble, are they?"
"No, no, nothing like that." Christian answered quickly. He pondered that for a moment, and then cocked his head. "Well, actually you could say he's hurt... but not like you're thinking."
"So no one's in hospital?"
"Nope."
"That's okay then." Lita sent him a quick, soft smile as they entered the diva's locker room. Walking in, she glanced around, checking to see if anyone was in there. She nodded to Christian. "It's okay, we're alone. Now what is it that you want to talk to me about?"
Christian sat down on a wooden bench, sighing slightly. "Jeff."
Lita felt herself tense up. Just the mention of his name and she already felt like crying her eyes out... she shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut. No. She would not do this to herself again. She folded her arms across her chest defensively. She scolded herself for being such an emotional, uncontrollable little girl. She COULD talk about that man without breaking into tears.
"What about him?"
Unable to predict how this talk would go, the blonde canadian raked a hand through his hair nervously. "Besides the fact that he's a hard headed, love sick fool?" He shrugged. "He's not doing too well."
Immediately, Lita filled with worry. He arms dropped to her side and her features softened. "Is he okay? What's wrong? Is he sick? What -"
"No, he's healthy and nothing is physically wrong with him or anything like that." Christian answered, waving his hands and shaking his head. "He just... God, he misses you like crazy, Li."
Her eyes dropped to the floor. "I miss him too." Suddenly, her gaze flew back to the blonde. "But I'm not the one who isn't returning phonecalls, or refusing to talk to me. I've tried to talk to him, Christian. I've tried. He mustn't miss me that much, because he obviously doesn't want to talk to me."
"That's not true!" Christian exclaimed, eyes wide. "So completely, totally, not true."
"But he doesn't return any of my phonecalls -"
"That's because he's a stubborn ass!" The canadian said with emphasis. "We both know that. Jeff doesn't like to give in or give up. He doesn't like people thinking that he's weak."
A fire in Lita's belly flared. She stepped towards Christian quickly. "I wouldn't think he's weak! I would never think that! I just want to talk to him!"
Christian stood from the wooden bench, and began pacing around the locker room. His brow furrowed, he spoke gruffly. "But you have to understand how Jeff is thinking at the moment, Lita. He already thinks he gave up on you by leaving the company. And now he thinks that not talking to you is the best thing to do, for both your sake and his own."
Lita began to protest once more, until Christian cut her off.
"Plus the fact that he thinks you and Matt are back together doesn't help at all."
A mixture of confusion and disbelief flashed in Lita's eyes. She narrowed her eyes at Christian, shaking her head slightly. "What? Jeff thinks that Matt and I are back together? Why in the world would he think that?"
"Because he watches the show and he sees you two acting all chummy and together and friendly, and... I don't know... he just thinks you guys are back together." Hesitating cautiously, Christian pressed his lips together tightly before asking his question. "Are you back with him?"
Looking at Christian with pure disbelief, Lita folded her arms over her chest. "Do you think I am?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. I don't think so. But you two DO seem pretty friendly with each other, considering that three months ago you couldn't spend two minutes in the same room as each other without erupting into a screaming match."
"Matt and I have sorted out our differences, Christian." Lita answered with a hard glare. "We're trying to be friends again. And it's working out okay, so far. But there is no way in the world I could ever go back to him."
The blonde man nodded. "Just can't forgive him enough?"
"No, that's not it." Lita let out a soft, scoffing laugh as her gaze dropped to the floor. She unfolded her arms, and hugged herself consolingly. "I've forgiven Matt completely. I could never go back to him because I'm in love with another man."
Christian stared at the woman in front of him for a few moments, no words able to escape from his lips. He watched her, and as he watched, as he studied her, he realised that she looked so sorrowful, and regretful and just so lost...
"It's Jeff, isn't it?"
Eyes still on the floor between the two, Lita nodded, a grim smile forming on her lips. "Yeah," she whispered. "Yeah. I'm in love with Jeff."
He stepped forward, grabbing her hands in his and forcing her to look up at him. "Then let's do something about it."
"Like what?" Lita asked desperately. "He won't talk to me, Christian! He won't -"
"Do you think Paul Heyman is a romantic man?"
Slowly easing out of her heartbroken trance, Lita rose an eyebrow at her friend. "And why the hell would you want to know the answer to that question?"
Pulling her out of the divas locker room, and towards the General Manager's office, Christian locked eyes with Lita. "Because I need you to come back to RAW with me."
Author: Cathie McMath. (email: penrithpanther_03@yahoo.com.au)
Disclaimer: I don't own Jeff, Lita, Christian, Matt Hardy - 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: Change happens all the time in the WWE. In fact, both Jeff and Lita are going through some major changes. But how do they deal with what's happening around them? What are the consequences of their actions?
Rating: PG. It's nice and clean. For now.
TimeLine: Starting from January through to October 2003.
Distribution: Just email me and let me know if you'd like to have it.
Feedback: It's what makes me happy! And we all want a happy Cathie, don't we? So go on, send those reviews! It's for a good cause!
Author's Note: Lita's still on Smackdown, and Jeff has still quit. And because I was lazy and slack I've had to do a bit of catching up with this fic, so this chapter and the next few chapters revolve around RAW a few months ago in October 2003.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
Running a hand through his cropped blonde hair, Christian rounded the arena hallway corner. As he walked, he glanced around him, taking in his surroundings and noting which doors he passed. The security guard at the arena doors said that the diva's locker room was right down the end of the hall, just after Paul Heyman's office...
As he turned another corner, the blonde canadian's eyes fell upon the two figures standing further down the hall. He paused slightly as he studied them for a few seconds. They were talking, smiles on both of their faces. A heart filled laugh flowed from the woman's lips as she patted the arm of the man beside her. They looked close, and friendly and... and maybe Jeff had every reason to be upset.
Before he could jump to any more conclusions, Christian walked up to the two, smiling widely. "Hey you two. Long time, no see."
The redheaded woman turned away from the man beside her, facing Christian. She smiled warmly as she looked at him, her hazel eyes twinkling. "Hey! Christian!" She opened her arms and the two friends hugged. "What are you doing here? Not that I'm not happy to see you or anything like that, but... what are you doing here?"
Christian pulled away from Lita, squeezing her hand gently. "I've just come to pay my favourite redhead a visit, if that's okay with you." She smiled, ducking her head. Christian winked playfully at her.
Then, his eyes met those of the man beside her. "Hi Matt. Good to see you."
Matt Hardy offered a hand to Christian, who accepted it readily. The two pulled each other in for a hug, patting each other's backs. They moved away, smiling softly at each other. Matt placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder. "It's been way too long, man."
"That's for sure. We'll have to go out sometime soon, to a club or something. Just like the old days." Christian sent the dark haired man a small smirk.
Nodding, Matt returned the smile. "That'd be nice. I haven't been out with the boys in such a long time. Not since Lita and I..." He sent a quick glance to the redhead beside him, and then corrected himself. "It's been a while, so that would definitely be nice."
Christian smiled once more, and then turned his attention back to Lita. "Do you have a moment? I'm here because I wanted to visit you guys, but I also have to actually talk to you about something. Are you free now?"
Lita looked over at Matt, who nodded at her. She turned back to Christian. "Yeah, that's cool. I can talk to Matt later."
Matt waved as he walked down the hallway to his locker room, and once he had disappeared around the corner, Christian placed his hand gently on Lita's arm. "Can we talk somewhere private, please?"
"Sure." Lita began to lead the way, and as they walked she looked over at her friend with raised eyebrows. "This 'talk' sounds pretty serious. No one's hurt or in trouble, are they?"
"No, no, nothing like that." Christian answered quickly. He pondered that for a moment, and then cocked his head. "Well, actually you could say he's hurt... but not like you're thinking."
"So no one's in hospital?"
"Nope."
"That's okay then." Lita sent him a quick, soft smile as they entered the diva's locker room. Walking in, she glanced around, checking to see if anyone was in there. She nodded to Christian. "It's okay, we're alone. Now what is it that you want to talk to me about?"
Christian sat down on a wooden bench, sighing slightly. "Jeff."
Lita felt herself tense up. Just the mention of his name and she already felt like crying her eyes out... she shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut. No. She would not do this to herself again. She folded her arms across her chest defensively. She scolded herself for being such an emotional, uncontrollable little girl. She COULD talk about that man without breaking into tears.
"What about him?"
Unable to predict how this talk would go, the blonde canadian raked a hand through his hair nervously. "Besides the fact that he's a hard headed, love sick fool?" He shrugged. "He's not doing too well."
Immediately, Lita filled with worry. He arms dropped to her side and her features softened. "Is he okay? What's wrong? Is he sick? What -"
"No, he's healthy and nothing is physically wrong with him or anything like that." Christian answered, waving his hands and shaking his head. "He just... God, he misses you like crazy, Li."
Her eyes dropped to the floor. "I miss him too." Suddenly, her gaze flew back to the blonde. "But I'm not the one who isn't returning phonecalls, or refusing to talk to me. I've tried to talk to him, Christian. I've tried. He mustn't miss me that much, because he obviously doesn't want to talk to me."
"That's not true!" Christian exclaimed, eyes wide. "So completely, totally, not true."
"But he doesn't return any of my phonecalls -"
"That's because he's a stubborn ass!" The canadian said with emphasis. "We both know that. Jeff doesn't like to give in or give up. He doesn't like people thinking that he's weak."
A fire in Lita's belly flared. She stepped towards Christian quickly. "I wouldn't think he's weak! I would never think that! I just want to talk to him!"
Christian stood from the wooden bench, and began pacing around the locker room. His brow furrowed, he spoke gruffly. "But you have to understand how Jeff is thinking at the moment, Lita. He already thinks he gave up on you by leaving the company. And now he thinks that not talking to you is the best thing to do, for both your sake and his own."
Lita began to protest once more, until Christian cut her off.
"Plus the fact that he thinks you and Matt are back together doesn't help at all."
A mixture of confusion and disbelief flashed in Lita's eyes. She narrowed her eyes at Christian, shaking her head slightly. "What? Jeff thinks that Matt and I are back together? Why in the world would he think that?"
"Because he watches the show and he sees you two acting all chummy and together and friendly, and... I don't know... he just thinks you guys are back together." Hesitating cautiously, Christian pressed his lips together tightly before asking his question. "Are you back with him?"
Looking at Christian with pure disbelief, Lita folded her arms over her chest. "Do you think I am?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. I don't think so. But you two DO seem pretty friendly with each other, considering that three months ago you couldn't spend two minutes in the same room as each other without erupting into a screaming match."
"Matt and I have sorted out our differences, Christian." Lita answered with a hard glare. "We're trying to be friends again. And it's working out okay, so far. But there is no way in the world I could ever go back to him."
The blonde man nodded. "Just can't forgive him enough?"
"No, that's not it." Lita let out a soft, scoffing laugh as her gaze dropped to the floor. She unfolded her arms, and hugged herself consolingly. "I've forgiven Matt completely. I could never go back to him because I'm in love with another man."
Christian stared at the woman in front of him for a few moments, no words able to escape from his lips. He watched her, and as he watched, as he studied her, he realised that she looked so sorrowful, and regretful and just so lost...
"It's Jeff, isn't it?"
Eyes still on the floor between the two, Lita nodded, a grim smile forming on her lips. "Yeah," she whispered. "Yeah. I'm in love with Jeff."
He stepped forward, grabbing her hands in his and forcing her to look up at him. "Then let's do something about it."
"Like what?" Lita asked desperately. "He won't talk to me, Christian! He won't -"
"Do you think Paul Heyman is a romantic man?"
Slowly easing out of her heartbroken trance, Lita rose an eyebrow at her friend. "And why the hell would you want to know the answer to that question?"
Pulling her out of the divas locker room, and towards the General Manager's office, Christian locked eyes with Lita. "Because I need you to come back to RAW with me."
