A/N: Well, I think I owe everyone an explanation right? It's been over a damn WEEK since I updated! But, I have an excuse that will prolly cut through all of that. The entire STORY was deleted, I'm sayin REMOVED from the face of the internet! 'Loving You RAW', the 75-reviewed story written by The Nav was REMOVED from Fanfiction.net! And why? The author didn't remove it, it was the website who did it. But the author isnt blaming the webhost either, it was my own fault (and I am the author! Hi, my name is Navid Haider) Thing is, this story contains GRAPHIC SEXUAL CONTENT which is an abuse to its rating (PG-13) it should and is supposed to be R-rated for all of that 'adultery'. That was the key-reason why Fanfiction.net removed my story and all of its reviews. And my account was closed/banned for the last 8 or so days BECAUSE of this crime. I am apologizing both to the board of Fanfiction.net for such a stupid act of rating AND sayin sorry to all the readers for it. And as you (by this time) probably must've noticed, Loving you Raw is now an R-rated story (dum dum dumm!!!!!! New Flash!). Now it's YOUR wish weather or not you want to read this, and if you already HAVE read it for my stupidity and it has abused you in any way, I'm saying SORRY and PLEEEEEASE don't sue! :-( I wasn't aware that this 'misrating' could cause so much of a hubbub bub. What else can I say? Oh yeah, all the 75+ reviews are now gone, flushed and lost somewhere in cyberspace. *sigh* if only I would've been more responsible. Thanks to FF.net for letting me know what I did. And a very special thanks to all the reviewers/readers who read Loving You RAW from the beginning. I hope you guys still review here, and we may not make that 75+ score, we will do the best. Here's to a better future of Loving You RAW the R-Rated version!
(please review!) ~The Nav
Thank you for being patient with me and now it is time for L-U-R to once again continue on a regular basis!
Chapter 17
The elevator in front of them opened its doors after a half-minute wait. Inside, the bellboy of the car stood, wearing the usual red-uniform and that not-to-excited look. But that changed real quick when he saw in a cleared sight just whom he was about to navigate.
"Oh my god!" He spoke with a great sound in his voice; "You're Matt Hardy and Lita!" He said as the two young couple proceeded inside while the doors came to a close with the only three occupants inside.
"Ah . . . YEAH. I think that's exactly what our names are . . . right Amez?" The Hardcore Champion had a folded forehead as he smiled at the reaction of the bellboy while looking at his girlfriend who had the same expression of a grin.
"Hey man can I get an autograph?" The young boy asked hesitantly after pressing the button that led for the lobby of the 5-star-hotel they were in.
"Sure." Matt agreed for both of them.
"But um . . . I don't have a pen or paper."
"Well we'll be leaving after lunch, is there a problem if we sign it then?" Amy asked in the kindest and decent manner.
"SURE! I mean, no problem. I'll be in THIS elevator. It'll mean a lot to me if you signed my autograph book." Exclaimed the boy.
"Alright then. We have a deal. But ah . . . don't expect any tips." Matt said that, meaning it to the outmost as the other two laughed out. "What?" He said again, "I was serious!"
"Yeah I guess your autograph will be better than a tip." The bellboy mentioned.
"Ahh . . . see Amy? That's what a Mattitude Follower is all about."
The few minutes inside the elevator ended short as Matt and Amy took off from that young lad and proceeded towards the restaurant where Trish and Chris was supposed to be waiting. They loved interacting with fans like that, it gave them the sense that at least someone was enjoying what they did in a every-day-basis; fighting in an underline of the ring while taking heavy life-threatening risks from time to time. And giving the fans that bit of a time of their own wasn't anything that was asked for too much. After all, it is the fans that made them who they are today: top-classed professional wrestlers, and a little time given to them, for a few autographs or pictures was never something Matt Hardy and Amy Dumas hated to do. Of course, there came times when they are in a rush that some fans sometimes be left alone and were to go home without the autograph or desire they wished. But that was for SOME times only.
Amy had her hand hooked tight on Matt's arm as they walked through the lobby as a real couple, her hair was released completely as she had it in her normal manner, adding a simple fact of hair-clips gave her a rather different look. Beautiful as always, Amy had on a pair of tight blue dusted-jeans and a full-sleeved dark-red T-shirt to match her hair and lipstick. But with this stunning outlook she wore for a cold day like this, her mood, or rather soul, was combined into mixed feelings of depression. As Amy and Matthew walked through the lobby, possibly getting the glance of some of the bystanders, all Lita could think about was her lost courage. Though she tried hard and heavy to keep a normal face while Matt had her arm to his, she couldn't resist the thought of how foolish she was to fall for the trap of Batista and Jericho.
Chris Irvine Jericho, she could still hear the words he yelled at her only the previous night. How he barked the words that her betrayal to her boyfriend was exactly her true nature, that Amy Dumas would sleep with any man who would come up to her bedroom and Chris Jericho was only using that truth to shield himself.
A change of facial expression glided through Lita's face as she recalled, she didn't knew what was the feeling that was boiling inside just now; Hatred? Anger? It was one of those moments where you just wanted to leap out and destroy and just unleash that raging beast within you at someone, anyone, but in reality, it was yourself you were blaming. Amy shut closed her eyes as she continued to walk with Matt to the near end of the long lobby, she had her hands gripping at Matt's arm, trying to fight the anger . . . trying to do SOMETHING about it. Her mind filled with the taunting, the jabbering words Jericho and Batista threw on her that night, crippling her emotionally. 'How could you fall and just CRY now Amy? Didn't it acquire to you when you DID it?' Jericho's voice echoed through her head, injecting that broken feeling, 'Now you are just going to have to live up with it! THINK about it Dumas! You are a slut!' She should've slapped him right there, right then, but she was too broken to do so. 'A first-class B—'
"You all right Amez?"
The voices that cursed in her mind finally stopped at the clear voice of Matt reaching her ears.
"WHA?" She almost jumped out of her skin at that sudden phrase. Matt's reassuring was all that took . . . "Um . . ." Amy continued in a silent way, " . . . yeah . . . . . . . sorry about that." Her eyes opened at his words as she realized they were a bit more revealed to the public as she and Matt stood inside the large restaurant of the hotel. He stopped her from proceeding inwards, releasing his arm from hers while he looked at her, he held her hands in his palms. "Amy . . ." Matt whispered to the one woman he gave his heart to. And she was rather confused of the whole positioning . . . passed his shoulder Amy saw Trish and Jericho about half the room away sitting in a 4-chaired-table. Her eyes returned back to see Matt looking at her.
" . . . What is it Matt?" She asked in a shaky manner,
"You . . . wanted to say something to me last night." The way they stood, it was obvious they weren't the center of the attention, Matt was more responsible than just to let a personal conversation like this to be a public-demonstration or something. The performances in the ring were always sculpted properly.
Returning once again back to what he was saying, Amy was shocked at the sudden 'request' of an opportunity to tell Matt what she did . . . but then again . . . preparing for this failed her. "Matty I . . ." Amy grumbled a breath, knowing 'This is your CHANCE!!' "I . . . . . . ." But it was stopping her. His look was more than enough to have second thoughts to say this . . . the love in his eyes, the purity of what he was giving her . . . all the attention at this very moment. "Matty, I do have something to tell you." She whispered to him.
"And what is it?" She could see his nods, a movement to indicate he was begging for the answer. But could he bear it? "Matt I . . . I was ready to tell you yesterday . . . I was ready last night but . . ." She stopped for one second, she knew very much that this wasn't the actual time . . . not this place, not this company and definitely not at a public place like this. Despite that no body was hearing them of the whispers they were sharing. "—I don't know if I can tell you now." She said it . . . a bit of the truth at least, she HATED to keep something as big as this from Matt but . . . now wasn't the time.
"You can tell me ANYTHING." He said, "Don't be afraid Amy . . . not to me." And those were the words of Matthew Moore Hardy, as soon those reached her ears . . . Amy realized something, her eyes turned slightly to a shock, but that was ignored and unseen as Matt pulled her to his arms, relaxing her to his shoulder.
"You can tell me everything."
Amy held back the tear of love, that was how much this man loved her, and she needed to realize that and stop thinking about fearing . . . she needed to realize HIM. A deep sigh lifted off from Amy Christine Dumas's heart as she closed her hazel eyes again to feel Matt inside of her. "I'll . . . I'll tell you later okay baby?" And she would.
He heard her smile and reacted by giving her a tight squeeze before releasing her. They returned face to face with Amy wiping her eye of a water drop, "Promise me that." He begged. "I will."
Amy handed him a smile from her lips and gently patted on his arm, biting her lip on the way, she said: "Now then," Sighing, "lets go have breakfast shall we?" But this wasn't backed with the cheery tone she usually had with her. Amy didn't wait for Matt's response as she walked past him, the fake smile never left her face, she knew just how much she could trust and love her Matthew Moore, but that didn't cure her from the lost courage of telling Matt. She wasn't afraid, but she wasn't ready either.
~----------~
She walked past him in a very verbal manner; she was ignoring eye contact for most of the time, even though Matt tried to look into her eyes, all he received was a simple glance and quick turn around to other points. Matt Hardy knew better than any one else in the world that Amy Dumas, his girlfriend, the girl he fell in love with the first time he saw her perform in the ring almost 6 years back, he knew better than anyone else that SHE was hiding something. That there was some reason she wasn't herself, something hurting her possibly? Matt heaved a sigh as he let Amy walk forwards and head towards the table occupied with her bestfriend, Trish Stratus, and that blonde's so called 'boyfriend' Chris Jericho.
Matt stood at the door, just waited a second before proceeding as he remembered the first time he saw Amy, a trained luchadur wanting to have a connection to enter the professional world of wrestling. Obviously, the ECW never did her justice as Matt recalled, Extreme Championship Wrestling had her only as a valet, a side-attraction where as Amy Dumas had the quality to be the main superstar in their women's division. She proved it once coming to the WWF, how glad he was when Amy first came in the World Wrestling Federation. To be honest, the older Hardy Boy had had some fantasies about the gorgeous Lita, he had a crush on her from when she trained for him and Jeff in their rookie days. When Amy first became the valet for Essa Rios, it did put a slight scar on Matt's heart, as he wanted to be part of her and close to her. But for a year or so, it was Essa Rios who took advantage of her. Matt was just glad he had her now, he was glad he had Amy Dumas's love. But why was she acting as if she was troubled? What was that thing she wanted to tell him? As the man who owned her heart, and the man who had his heart set towards her, Matt had a demand to know what was so deep that made HIS Amy fake a smile to him? For all he knew, she would never keep a secret from him . . . never him.
Matt Hardy tilted his head to the side just in movement of wondering. He gave a gaze and thought about his question . . . "No." He whispered to himself in the lowest of volume, "You can tell me everything Amez . . ." as his eyes locked onto Amy's body. "You don't have to keep a secret . . . not from me."
Matt shoved his hands in his jacket pocket and walked to the raven-haired beauty, he glided his arm around her waist, leveling their heads together as he pressed her closer. Amy quickly turned her head to see him gifting a small smooch just below her eyes, a kiss on the cheek before smiling and looking towards the two people sitting as their hosts maybe? Amy didn't say nor reacted to it.
~-------~
The blonde Canadian man sat at the 6th table from the entrance of the restaurant. His seat towards the window on which the thunderous rain splattered upon. Chris Jericho, real name Chris Irvine, was next to Trish Stratus, the woman he had completely 'won' away from Jeff Nero Hardy. Chris eyed at the two couple approaching him and his girl with a hand-in-hand perspective. Though Trish stood up from her seat to greet her best friend, Amy Dumas with a brief hug, Jericho remained in his sitting position. He was biting on his nails all morning, a habit he had from childhood.
"Morning." Matt quoted to Chris and Trish as he prepared to sit down just opposite to the seat of Jericho. "Hello Amy—" His voice was grim, a smile tugged at the very corner of Jericho's lips as he gave Dumas a look to which she gave back. He knew exactly why she was doing him, and not replying to the 'hello'. Chris smiled at Lita's reaction and quickly turned to Matt, ". . . Matt." He said in a firm fashion, slightly tilting his already tilted head towards the Hardcore Champion. He needn't the possibility of awkwardness right now, not when Trish Stratus and Matt Hardy was watching. Jericho kept his smirk, not trying to look challenging, he knew Amy Dumas would know the exact purpose of his sly grin, but that was his way of taunting her.
Amy saw the man grinning at him, his glare fixed upon her eyes when she first went near her friend. In return, she had given Jericho the same glare and didn't response to his morning greet. She slowly sat down, as Matt shook Chris's hand in an orderly attitude with a responsible "Hey." 'Thank god for you Matt.' She muttered to herself, 'Thank you.' And that was for the saving of the start for a conversation with JERICHO of all persons. It made Amy really feel that she was never alone . . . even the guilty of not revealing her secret to Matt. She was just glad he 'covered' for her, and for the first time maybe in the entire week, Amy was rather fond of Matt's hate of Chris. She took her seat next to her boyfriend and shifted her gaze to Trish. Continuing to what she had to ask.
Jericho on the other hand, continued to bite his nails as Matt leaned back on his chair to read the menu as Jericho was leaned forwards on the table.
"SO," All heard the youngest member speak, "What took you guys so long?" Trish asked her best friend. "Chris and I have been waiting here for 15 MINUTES!"
"Sorry!" The redhead apologized, shouting with her girl friend. "I got hooked with time for the makeup. Sorry to keep you waiting."
"No it's alright, I was just wondering."
That stopped there, Trish noticed that neither Matt nor Chris were really talking, but busy with an object to ignore the other person. And Amy wasn't really in-to-it with Chris at all. Something was wrong with the group, she thought.
The sudden 3-second silence was broken when Matt commented about ordering. "NO we were waiting for you guys to come." Stratus explained. "Amez c'mon lets go get breakfast. You boys wait here 'kay?"
"Kay." Matt agreed. What else could he say? Nothing else TO say besides that, the Hardy noticed how strange Jericho was acting since they got there . . . it was a look that indicated something was going on. A little private time with the fellow roster-member would really be important if Matt wanted to figure out his 'plan', the Hardy never really trusted Jericho.
"Umm . . . Matty, what would you like?" His girlfriend/manager/ asked as if he was a 5-year-old. She didn't really mean it that way, Amy always took care of Matt in a way he loved to react to. "He babe," He leaned to her shoulder as Amy tried to stand, Matt said aloud, "I think you KNOW what I'd like. You pick for me 'kay sweetums?" A gentle kiss on her cheek was again presented.
"Oh Kay!" Amy sarcastically raised her eyebrows and stood up to leave with the fellow diva.
When Matt leaned back to his chair, he was once again face-to-face with Chris Irvine Jericho as the two looked onto each other. Chris did a two-fingered solute and returned to the menu he was so deep down to read. Matt took out a breath in annoyance.
~ Else where ~
"Thanks man," The wrestler bid a handshake to the blonde younger Smackdown superstar as he hopped off the car and took balance with his casket.
"No problem Jeff," He heard Shannon Moore speak through the downed window as the car roared into the snowy cold air. Every time they spoke, a fog of cold condensed breath appeared from their nostrils or mouth. The weather here at North Carolina was indeed very freezing compared to its normal sunny atmosphere.
Jeff Hardy flashed a piece sign to his older brother's 'follower' and walked off towards the NC Hospital where he was to get checked up about the leg, knee, arm and 3 damaged ribs. Also the neck as he had a very severe injury in that part about a year ago.
Jeff heard the never-stopping engine drive away from his back, normally he'd prefer to take a cab here but who gave a damn. It was snowing rather badly this week, kind of a perfect weather for snow-boarding, but alas he wasn't in the condition, nor mood, to go backpacking up a steamed mountain and jump off of it and claim it 'enjoyable' with an injured body right now. Jeff heaved out a foggy sigh as he stepped into the awkwardly crowded hospital and proceeded towards the elevator to take him to his destined floor.
The relief of the warmth of the indoor made him take in some deep breaths and rub in his numbed arm. Alone in the lift, Jeff didn't care about the happenings of his life at this state. He should, GOD knows he should, but the youngest Hardy-Brother was just too much pissed off of the outside world and the people who try to make him feel any better, for Matt. As much as he disliked what he did last night. Jeff Hardy wasn't actually FOND of what his older brother made him go through. On his point of view, Jeff crunched his fist to a ball at his brother's remembrance. "Yeah." He mumbled to himself, "Thank you SO much 'brother'." You could see the hurt in his eyes when he glanced down at the wounded leg, "Thank you SO VERY much for doing this to me."
He blamed Matt. The over puffed jacket and beanie cap with the equally thick trousers were enough to keep him warm, but his heart was still pounding when he remembered Matt's doing. His heart still froze at the thought.
Thankfully the elevator door in front of him reopened for an exit. And there, Jeff saw the person he thought could atleast cure his broken wound in his soul.
"Heey!" He heard the person speak from the right of when he came out of the lift. Jeff saw her miles away but he still pretended he just saw her now. "Hey!" He mutually shook her hand, removing his glove as the nurse went to stand beside him.
She wore her uniform, of course what else could she wear? And Jeff liked it . . . for a second or so . . . he thought he liked her dress.
"Well . . . ah . . . I see there are a lot of patients today." He had to mention at the notice of so many people jamming the building.
"Yeah, skiing month right? Heh, most of these patients are here for mild wounds they had from an accident or something. Thank God its still in the mild stage." Britney Spears, the nurse, explained as they walked towards the doctor's waiting room that was to check up on Jeff's caskets and wounds.
"So um . . . how's your leg?" She asked.
"Yeah that . . . ah . . . yeah it's better than before but we'll see."
"You have an appointment right?"
"Yes miss, yes I do." Jeff gave her a smile as they entered through the door.
"OKay then, Mr. Hardy if you'd care to wait a minute or so, the doctor will be with you shortly."
~ Back in Memphis Tennessee ~
With Amy and Trish leaving them alone in that public booth for the order of their meal, it was very obvious for the two men to remain silent and not start a conversation.
Each having various problems of their own to think about to rather just blab about silly things, Matt was partially trying to ignore Chris's movement and distracting smile that was forged across his face from the moment Matt sat down.
The Hardy kept his eyes on the menu and lunch orders, not wanting to talk . . . but then again, he really wanted to investigate Jericho's attentions. When Jeff told Matt about him hearing one of the goons mentioning Jericho's name, it had to be true. And there were multiple facts to suspect Chris Irvine as the mastermind behind his brother's beating. But then again, it was Evolution's announcement that kept Matt grinding his teeth on. Ric Flair and Dave Batista, or Deacon Batista, which ever his real name was, their bounty on Matt's head and equally explaining his brother's tragedy had really gave Matt everything he needed to know. But the burning never stopped, even if Evolution DID put that bounty for no reason, why the hell would a bunch of goons attack JEFF?! Mistakenly as Flair mentioned? That just didn't sound right. And even if it WAS part of somekind of a storyline, why the hell wasn't Matt informed? He wasn't even told about the bounty thing! Yes, when you are part of a WWE brand you have to do what the General Manager says, but that doesn't mean you can't be informed about the play! Over all, segments were made up! They were always scripted, then why in God's name didn't Eric Bischoff tell Matt?!
As he thought about the issue, the more and more it got confusing. Matt closed his eyes to calm his brain-nerves. Evolution, Eric Bischoff, Chris Jericho, all of these people were surely the enemy. Even if the last person on the list wasn't proven yet, the Sensei of Mattitude could very clearly see it through Y2J. Jericho could never be trusted, he couldn't been trusted before when he was face in the WWF, he can't be trusted even more now. Yes, his 'character' onscreen was gradually changing from Heel to Face, but that persona was made up. Just as much as Matt's heel-character for the first few months on Smackdown was, sometimes you can just tell what kind of character that person is just by looking at their faces. And Chris Jericho lacked that look.
"SO . . ." And that untrusting person broke Matt away from his thoughts by that toned word, his eyes flashed open behind the menu. "Matt . . . heh, heh." Jericho's slow, mocking laughter cut through Matt's ears, "I guess you doubted me for nothing then." The blonde from across the table spoke.
Matt placed the outlet down on the flat empty space and gave Jericho a squinted-eyebrow-look, a confused smile was tugged at the corner of his lips. "Excuse me?" He said mannerly, directing his attention to the person speaking.
"Well I'm sayin' that . . . you . . . were mad at me before 'cause you thought I had something to do with your brother's accident right?" He could hear Chris blurt that out as fast as he could. Even though he never told him that, Jericho was right. Matt Hardy really was pissed off at Jericho for that very reason.
And despite Evolution's entire 'scheme', Matt still kept that man in his suspecting list.
"And . . . you're saying that, why?" The Hardcore Champion asked with a questionable tone, he leaned on his elbow and supported on the hard plain table to look more into Jericho's 'answer', he wanted to know what HE thought.
"Oh come ON!" Chris sounded as if it were a simple fact, never more. "The way you spoke with me after Jeff's thing, you sounded like I did it! Now you know that—" But the more experienced wrestler was cut-short by Mattitude's own line.
"—And what makes you think I'm not sounding like that now?" Matt didn't stop looking at the man's eyes as Jericho stopped at that simple sentence. Clearly, Evolution COULD have been backed somehow? The Hardy Boy didn't have any proof of it . . . yet. But as Mattitude's creator and sensei, Matt never gave up on his gut-feelings. Some people were right when they said he had good hunches.
Chris Jericho could only blink badly at what he just heard, could it still be the older brother doubting HIM? STILL after all that drama he saw only the night before? "Wa . . . Wait a second here Matt." He tried hard to cover up his sudden shock and lost for words . . . but Chris Jericho was also a fast-thinker, possibly better than any other athlete in the Hardcore-Division of the RAW Roster. He countered Matt's approach with the first thing he had on his mind before the conversation started, the same approach he was going for, and even though it would seem different, Jericho had his brain playing with it for a long time, so the blurting really wouldn't take much practice.
"Wait just a second here mister Coyote!" He nearly shouted in a sarcastic mood, "You know you don't have to act like this and blame this on ME Matt. If the accident with your brother was a freakin 'storyline' you shouldn't blame OTHER people for YOUR actions!" The blonde sounded clear, and tried to fight this case as if he was a lawyer.
"What the hell are you talking about?!" Matt's expense created a much louder battle vibrating through the air, as the two remained seated, but didn't stop the argument.
"What the hell am I talking about?"
"Yeah."
"Well the fucking hell I'm talkin' about is YOU!" Though the sounds weren't as loud so that it could be heard by the two girls way back at the counter, ordering. "If Jeff was part of a storyline, and his accident was part of that, you shouldn't be complaining with ME Matt. It's your fault in the first place that you SIGNED for that story-line to get your brother beaten!"
Flashing faster than the speed of light, Matt's angered hand grabbed Jericho by his collar and a fist formed into his right hand, his teeth clenched and his body shaking as both of them now stood on their feet.
This was what the world was saying to him now? This was what the world thought Matt was all about? Or was it all Jericho?
"Yeah man, go ahead." Chris whispered from his backed position, "Take a strike at ME. That's what you want right? To . . . just . . . beat up all your troubles? To . . . beat up the person who tells you how it is right? Y'know what I think Hardy? I think you're still curled up with that old Smackdown 'Version 1' persona of yours."
The shaking of his targeted punch lowered in speed, Matt listened to Chris Jericho's words, understood what he was saying . . . was he really like that? The grip was released . . . slowly Matt released him . . .
"You're SO retarded." Jericho told him, whispering his voice, "That's exactly what you do huh? Beat up people who pisses you off? Y'know what? I think you did this storyline on purpose, I think Jeff doesn't even KNOW that his brother did something like this to him. Why Matt? Why the hell did you turn against him like that? What wasn't it good enough for you that Jeff doesn't wrestle anymore? You wanted to make him suffer no matter what the cost was? You're SICK man! Completely—"
"—Shut. The hell, Up." Was all Matt could throw at Chris . . . that bastard, he cursed in his mind, slowly, Matt continued to finish his words. "You ever talk to me like that again Chris, and believe me as I say it, you're mouth will be pushed up your ASS!"
"Exactly! Like I said, that's what you do."
"You know squat about me and my brother, so next time, do yourself a favor and—" The Hardy looked at Chris from behind the strands of his dark hair, "Don't stick you nose into stuff you don't know about."
"Are you threatening me?" The other man asked in a curious way,
"Suit yourself if you want to call it a 'threat'. Personally, I'd consider it a warning."
And that was the end of their discussion for the longest time, Matt flushed his fingers to removed the hair that was scrapped on his face, even though he had it tied, the jerking movement of his head had released some of it from the front part.
"Fine . . ." Jericho mentioned after a whole minute, never really wanting to continue anything further more. In his own eyes, a smile formed that was unseen by the Mattitude-Creator as he was busy directing his attention back to the outlet of the menu. Chris steadied his own hair and looked at his side of the menu, no matter what Matt Hardy must be thinking, Chris Jericho had completed what he needed to do; make Matt believe that HE was responsible for Jeff's state. It would be a backup-plan if he lost the belief in Evolution, And Matt already told Chris about him still doubting the Canadian blonde, so insurance in something as big of a scheme as this, was needed very dearly. Everything was going according to plan.
~ The Girls ~
Trish Stratus and her friend, the current WWE Woman's Champion, Amy Dumas, waited for their breakfast to come to them after they finished ordering it in the counter. Apparently Amy suggested they take their food to the table themselves, rather than go back to the boys and wait for the waitress to take it. This triggered the question Trish had been edging to ask her best friend while the raven-haired woman leaned against the glassed ordering counter.
"Amy?" The blonde diva asked her,
"Hmm?"
"Would you . . . y'know, MIND if I asked you something?" Though there was a fifty-fifty chance Lita wouldn't, and Trish knew her best friend wouldn't 'mind' about any sort of question she would ask her, it was that slight feeling of being unsure of the other person's opinions that made the younger diva start the topic that way.
"Mind? Of course not! Tell me what is it?" Lita crossed her arms to support herself better and to completely listen to what Trish wanted to ask.
"Well . . . um . . . gee it's kinda . . . well, awkward really."
"Well I won't be able to help if you don't tell me."
"True . . ."
"Is it very important?" Amy asked back to the blonde-haired girl, Trish was only 8 months younger than Amy, they were born in the same year.
"To me, it is! Very important, heck I didn't even wanted to talk about this in front of Matt." Trish affirmed, but that made Amy wonder the type of question this was. Something TRISH wouldn't talk about in front of Matt? "Y'know," Trish continued, "Girl-talk."
She found the response with a slow nod from Amy, "Umm hmm . . . and? What is it you wanna ask me?"
Trish took out a deep breath before letting herself speak out the truth, even talking to Amy, this would mean the words really were true. And for the young blonde, she was confused on what to think. "It's about Jeff." She told her. "Do . . . you think he . . . still feels something about me? Y'know, do you think he still has a 'thing' for me?"
Amy could hear her best friend swallow hard after what he just said, and what she said really gave Amy a weird look. "Oh-My-God." The Woman's Champion had a wide-eyed look at the sudden realization of her best-friend's feelings.
"What? What? Does that mean 'Oh-My-God' as in you know something or is 'Oh-My-God' mean I'm in trouble?" The Canadian woman blurted out in the absence of staying patient for an answer.
"Trish?!" She could see a smile spreading across Amy's face. "Are you? I mean, do YOU still? Oh god I can't believe this!"
"Well what? What?"
"You still have feelings for Jeff don't you?!"
And she said that rather out-loud. But that was ONE good news that made Lita burst into smiles, one good news that made her feel happy instead of the feeling of depression she was in.
"Shh! Not so loud! Do you want the entire WORLD to hear it out?!" Trish sternly warned her friend.
"Sorry!" Amy smiled out from her mouth. "Oh God Trish! You still have feelings for Jeff?"
"I . . . don't know Amy. I . . . I am SO confused over this. I mean, I . . . I still love Chris but . . .wait a second. How did you know I . . . I mean, me and Jeff?"
"The look on your eyes rookie. I've seen it thousands of times before. Especially the first times when I saw myself in the mirror after watching Matt!" It was the God's truth; the beginning of her relationship with Matt had been one of the most interesting times of Amy's life. The first time when she met him at ECW, then again when she started training with him and Jeff, all this time, Amy had a little-girl-type-of crush towards the man. And when she first realized that he felt the same way, it was something she would treasure forever. And that thought kept her smiling even after what happened, it was that feeling of trust and love of Matthew Hardy that kept Amy Dumas to stay positive, and she realized that not a moment before when he told her and gave her that hug in the lobby.
Back to reality, the sudden mention of her sweet little 'crush' made Amy's cheeks turn slightly pink as did the Trish's. "But, Amez!"
"What IS it lover-girl?" Amy teased with the smile that couldn't be lift off from her face.
"I . . . I'm confused."
"What for? You are in love again! I told you Jeff was the right guy."
"Yeah but . . ." Trish stopped just short, she knew ANY one would say that. Well, any one except that person's name she just highlighted, "I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . still like Chris," and with that, Trish turned to the other side. Not wanting to see the fade of happiness that was to stop in her best friend's face.
"Tee . . ." Amy talked in a low tone, so that was what Trish was feeling like, she told herself. "Trish. There is something I think you should know about Chris Jericho."
"I'm LOST in words Amy! I still have feelings for Jeff, but I don't want to leave Chris! I . . . it just isn't fair! How come there are TWO perfect guys in my life?"
She heard Amy take out a deep sigh, before she grabbed Trish by her hand, "Listen to me girl, CHRIS JERICHO isn't what you think he is."
"What are you talking about? He—"
"Just LISTEN to me Trish. Jericho is nothing but a—"
"—Jackass!" And that interruption stopped Amy yet again from telling the truth. This time, it wasn't Matt or Jericho, not even one of the roster-members of RAW. Rather it was none other than RAW's own sheriff: Stone Cold Steve Austin.
"Oh c'mon Steve! It's just a SIMPLE thing to ask for!" The second voice came from Jay Copeland, also known as Christian.
"Look Copeland, I'm not the guy who makes matches alright? I just tell em' how it is. Now you got a Number One Contender's match tomorrow which you should be fighting big for. Now get the hell outta mah sight!" With all this explosion of the boss, one would be very still of his appearance, Lita and Trish stopped chalk-white and could only stare at Austin really acting LIKE Stone Cold. Normally the 'Sheriff' wasn't that big of a hothead in real life like his character but he was a hothead nonetheless and nobody would want to mess with him. The man wore a black leather jacket with his 'skull' T-shirt symbol peeping out from inside his chest. An average pair of blue jeans was also on him.
Austin's eyes turned when he saw the two ladies standing next to him with a frightened look. "Oh . . .ah . . . sorry ladies. I was just ah . . . tryin to shut this boy here up." Steve Austin apologized for his behavior,
"It's alright Steve." Trish affirmed for the two of them, "So, anything we can do to help?" She followed.
"Actually yeah . . ." He said, Austin was carrying a folder with multiple sectioned plastic-files in them, he took out 3 of them and placed the folder back under his arm. "I needed to talk with you girls about tomorrow's House-Show, are you busy or something?"
"Oh no, we were just ordering breakfast, would like to have some?" This was Amy talking from Trish's back.
"Oh no thanks Amy, I'm all full right now. By the way ah . . . where are the guys?" The Texan 'Rattle-Snake' asked them as he eyed from one diva to the other.
Trish answered the sheriff's question, "Yeah they're all the way back there at the table," Her finger pointed through the partly crowded place. "Matt and Chris that is," Trish confirmed.
"YEAH two of my best-guys hangin together! I'll be waiting for you three with them alright?" Jay dragged himself along the path after announcing that and helped himself go towards his 'best-buds'. Leaving Amy, Trish and Stone Cold at the counter while they continued to talk about the flight scheduling.
~ The Guys ~
They weren't talking, nor were they trying to communicate. The two men sat in their respective seats and tried to avoid any type of eye contact as they waited.
Chris Jericho was kind of worried as what would happen if Matt Hardy knew about his secret? He knew how badly he was sweating, despite the cold weather, he knew he started sweating at the flashing moment when Matt grabbed his collar, and Chris hasn't stopped yet, he played it cool then. In his mind, Chris thought about the various possibilities that were the reason of Matt's continuing doubt towards him. One, Amy Dumas, his GIRLFRIEND for crying out loud, told him about Chris's deal with Evolution. Two, Matt found out about his deal with Evolution by some way. Three, Matt didn't believe in Evolution or Eric Bischoff. What the hell was he thinking when he told Amy about his plan?! Why couldn't he just stay shut? Damn that Batista, if it weren't for his 'detailed recap' none of this could ever take place! Obviously Matt Hardy knew about his scam, both it was that; and Matt was playing mind-tricks by not even talking, or Matt doesn't really know about it yet! It's either Matt Hardy has knowledge, or Matt Hardy has shit. Chris tried looking out the window, but all he saw was the blurry image of a rainy-world outside. Leaving the Hardy Boy and his nosey girlfriend would be the best thing that would keep Chris carefree for at least a day. But he knew very well about the WWE's plan to head for New York. He and Trish would leave now, but Matt and Lita would follow them in the afternoon flight. The only way Chris Jericho could work it out, was either he kept his mouth shut and continues to be a suspicious individual in front of the entire group, or he melds in. Just like that old saying goes: If you can't fight em' join em'. But could he do that? If Chris continues to fight while being joined, it'd be risky, in truth to his own words, even Chris Jericho wouldn't like to be beaten up by an angered Hardcore Champion. Especially when the Hardcore Champion finds out he broke his brother and blackmailed his girlfriend!
But then again, Jericho thought about a second possibility, what if everything DID went wrong and Matt started to go bananas? Jericho could still work with Evolution, and together they could beat HIM up! Or . . . he could do something else with the Evolution members, especially Dave Batista! : The guy who almost raped Matt Hardy's gal-pal.
The eased smile returned to his face, Chris turned from the window to see Matt still covering his face with a book of some sort, "Prolly' got tired of the menu." He told himself, not caring if Matt heard it or not, it was said out loud. Jericho leaned back on the chair, he took out his wallet and opened it, a complete picture of Trish Stratus, Stephanie McMahon, Torrie Wilson, Stacy Keibler, Lita and Chyna was in there. A picture from the 'Women Of Wrestling' collection. Above all of them, Trish Stratus and Stephanie McMahon were Jericho's favorite women as many would quite easily guess. And even if he was with Trish, Jericho still had that sick hunger towards Hunter's wife, and in his own mind, Chris actually sort of liked it that Stephanie was married. Now, having a sexual relationship with Stephanie McMahon would be even more 'fun'. Chris shifted his gaze to Trish's photo; of course, Trish was in totally another league. He had her really, that's what Jericho felt; Trish was with him now, as he told himself over and over again: Trish was in his bag. But that didn't really stopped him from trying to get more of her, Chris once again looked back to Stephanie's pic, it was a photo taken from her wild collage years. The time when most young-adults would hang around and take photos in a wild-way, everybody knows how revealing Stephanie was as a youth, Jericho only eyed it and watched it in complete sexual pleasure.
"Hey dudes! Wassup!"
The startling voices of Christian made Chris snap his wallet shut and dive it into his pocket as he jumped to a normal sitting-position. "Jay?!" He heard Matt speak, lowering the book to see his cousin there.
Jay Copeland pulled one of the chairs from under the table and landed on it with the back-facing front, he rested his hands on the rim of the expensive piece of furniture. "Heey!" The youngest member of the three men slammed the other two on the arm as he continued his morning blabs. "Mornin' guys! How's it goin?"
"Jay I REALLY don't have a mood to natter right now." His older brother warned after an annoyed sigh.
"Yeah well you never really DO have a mood to natter any how." Chris heard his tag-partner mocking the man who almost gave him a beating. So in a way, Chris was glad Jay tagged in along. "Chris! Mah man, give me some details on what happened last night!"
"What the hell are you shittin about Christian?"
"Y'KNOW what I'm talking about big-boy! Heh, heh You KNOW what I'm sayin! I may be against the idea of you and Ms. Stratus ONSCREEN but OFFSCREEN pal I want them details! Haahaha."
Matt could've sworn he saw Jay elbowing Jericho and winking at him in a very, extremely dork-type-of-way.
"Look man, just . . . eew! Stay away from me! You got mustard all over your God-damn shirt!"
Matt smiled at the annoyance that Jay provided, at least he's for SOME kinda use, Matt thought. Christian was disturbing the man Matt SO much wished he could just beat up. But he stopped, Matt stopped at that time . . . he could've taken a complete shot at the guy but he didn't. At least Jay was fighting his battle for the time being, in an unmattitude-and-partly-whining/annoying-type-of-way. The older Hardy boy shook his head just before he saw the girls coming their way with someone with them . . . he looked up to see Sheriff Austin standing there, a bunch of transparent files in his hand and a green folder on the other.
~ The Sheriff with a Stone Cold heart ~
"Hey guys, breakfast is served, oh and Jay, I thought you said you already had yours?" The bald, yet hairy in personality, man started this meeting his own way. And there never really was a better way to start off a Stone-Cold speech without the mentioning of food. Beer or whatever, food nonetheless (am I right?).
"Ah . . . yeah I guess so." Jay quickly dropped his wacky-tone and started getting out of the chair which was very near to the Sheriff.
Austin said; "Oh hey, its alright, you sit I prefer to stand."
"Oh I know that, I was getting up for Trish here! heh, heh!" But his humor didn't really get Steve a smile, only a glare. Christian pulled another chair from the empty table and sat on it while Trish and Amy placed the trays of food on the table, sitting beside their boyfriends.
"All right guys, as you guys already know, the WWE got these new storylines for all of you, a new storyline is given to you each month to prepare for your 'character's roles in the live shows and crap." Austin stopped just for a second before he heard the complain of the only person Steve thought he'd get today; Matt Hardy.
"Hold on just a minute man, STORY LINES?! Yeah, you're giving me my storylines NOW after my brother got jumped on like last month?! Or should I call it last YEAR?!"
"Look Matt, we all know what happened with you and Evolution. It was just a last minute scheduling. Deal with it! Now are you gonna fight and be a man or just whine around and be a wussy like Christian right here?"
"Hey!" —Jay Copeland called it out from the corner, he sat in the middle of Trish Stratus and Chris Jericho.
"Oh just be quiet will you?" The bald man ordered with a look that drew out the feeling of how pathetic he thought Jay was.
"Look Steve, I'm not blaming you OR Bischoff, I'm saying that I should've been told about this! Jeff didn't know about it and now he's injured because of that! It's like this is happening in REAL LIFE or something!" Matt Hardy spoke with a serious tone.
Sighing, "YES I understand what you're saying but that doesn't change anything now does it? This is RAW LIVE and as far as the audience and we know, it can happen in real life! Go blame Evolution for that as it was their idea in the first place. Not ours okay? Go . . . blame Batista or something. Y'know how cozy Eric Bischoff is with that faction, he'd consider the slightest of twists in a character-storyline for them. I think its 'cause Paul is McMahon's son-in-law or something. Anyway, I want to run all of you down with the scheduling for this week." Austin's words completed with Matt giving out a deep sigh, he leaned back on his chair and listened to what the 'boss' had to say, everyone was listening to what Sheriff Austin had to say.
"Okay, so first off, Matt, since Amy is your official manager now, I took the liberty to push in the two of you in one file. And Amy, since you're the manager, here is yours and Matt's storyline for the entire month." Steve handed one of the files to Lita and she showed it to Matt, the file had the words 'Matt Hardy and Lita, WWE Hardcore Champion and WWE Woman's Champion' bolded on top of it.
"Thank you." The Sheriff heard Hardy say under a controlled voice.
"All right, Jericho, you don't have a manager so here's yours." And without a second to waste, Austin tossed the file to the blonde's hand! Thank fully Chris caught it.
"And Trish, here's yours. Actually, the two of you will spend a lot of time together on mic so I'm suggesting you both go through it at least once before tomorrow's house show." The third and final file was handed to Trish Stratus; she happily took it and placed it in front of her on the table. Looking back up, all five wrestlers were waiting for the next phase of Sheriff Austin's planning.
"Okay, now that we're settled with the story-lines, Matt, if there isn't any problem with yours if you want to share?" Austin asked first, he always was a good GM but now he isn't one any more, he was there to make sure the GM was doing things properly, for some reason, the Texas Rattle Snake wanted to hand the schedules to the 'Hardy-Clan' himself, and not get Bischoff involved.
"I'll read it in a while, I'll let you know if we have anything in mind." Matt finished and started drinking the cold glass of orange juice that Amy brought with the breakfast.
"Fine. If you guys have any other plans, you can just call me on my cell, or you can call Eric Bischoff or the RAW Creative team. Anyway, let's get back to present tense. As you all know that you're heading for NY today, you'll be stayin there tonight and tomorrow night's gonna be the big RAW Brand House-Show at 8:30 PM central time. But before we get on with that, Trish and Chris. You two will not only be in the House Shows but also you'll be signing autographs at Times Square tonight! You know that by now right? Good, well your flight leaves in just 3 hours and I'm gonna be in the same flight so if you need to know about anything else you can ask me then OR you can find everything scheduled in your files. The signing session will be from 3:30 PM to 7:00 PM sharp. You guys get to your hotel rooms and stay warm for tomorrow's show. And as for you Lita, I'm afraid there is bit of a twist in your schedule. See you won't be performing in the House-Show. But what you WILL do is sign for the WWE Originals tomorrow! Your session will take place between 2:30 in the afternoon to 7:30 in the evening. I know, I know, it's a long stretch but you'll get a good line-up, the session will be in the same place Chris and Trish will do it; Times Square, and the company is gonna be even larger in numbers. Stacy Keibler from RAW and SMACKDOWN'S own Rey Mysterio Jr. and John Cena will also be signin with you. SO it'll be a blast I hope."
Amy knew exactly what that meant, another lame excuse and another freakin' waste if she doesn't tell Matt about her tonight. If she's leaving for the signing session after lunch tomorrow, Matt will probably be busy warming up for his matches from tonight to tomorrow morning. This will occupy her throughout the day signing graphs for the fans and ultimately when she will get back to the hotel room, both Matt and herself will be too much exhausted to even bare such big thing like that. She relaxed when Matt gave her a little tug around her arm, just squeezing to make sure he was there.
"Well um . . . can I at least go to the show?" Amy asked Austin.
"Well yeah you CAN go, but you cant go on stage or anything, I'm sorry Lee, but maybe on Friday's show or something? You can go and just . . . y'know, stay backstage that wont hurt but don't go up front. Okay any more questions?" Austin surveyed the group, and only Jay was the one who stood out for something.
"What is it Jay?" Austin sighed out, knowing it had to be something idiotic.
"Yeah Sheriff, I wanna know about our matches! What about my Intercontinental title match?"
"Look Jay, you'll get a number one contenders match tomorrow, if you can win, you are in the spot light, you loose you're outta there! Which reminds me, does any of you know where Shane Helms is? The contenders match is between you Christian and The Hurricane?"
Matt answered to that, "Actually, he went back to North Carolina for a personal reason, he said he was coming to NY by himself."
"Yeah Matt, thanks. And next time, tell your friend to let US know about his plans before he pulls off something like that all right? I had to give his ticket to someone else. Ahem, Okay so about your matches."
And that grabbed everyone's attention more vibrantly than before.
"Tomorrow on RAW Brand's house-show, we'll start things off with The Hurricane and you Christian for the number one contender spot of the intercontinental title on FRIDAY'S house-show. Good luck on that one." Jay nodded.
"Then, Hardcore Champion Matt Hardy, you will be teaming with Y2J Chris Jericho to fight against the Dudley Boys if that's alright with ya."
Jericho raised his hand, "What is it?" When the Sheriff wanted to know what Chris thought, Y2J responded by saying in a moody tone; "Yeah aha . . . you want ME to team with Matt? I thought we were like ENEMIES since last week?"
"You still are, according to your characterizations, none of you can trust the other guy so you'll have to act as if you really DON'T trust the other guy." Completed Austin before switching some of the papers in his hands.
"yeah that'll be easy."
"What's that Matt?"
"No nothin, go on Steve." From the corner of his eyes, Matt saw Chris give him a look, and a Tag-Match with Chris Jericho . . . even in real life Matt didn't trust him so it really wouldn't be much hard to 'act'. Especially when he wouldn't be 'acting'.
"Right . . . anyway, um, Matt, Booker T and Test will have a number one contender match as well for your Hardcore title defense this Friday, be prepare for that. You could be defending that title of yours up to next week's RAW so I'm saying you really should pump up a bit and get that blood moving."
"Sure. Nothing I can't handle Steve, don't worry about that."
"Good. Now then, ah . . . Amy, you'll be defending your title on Saturday, you'll find your info on the file alright? And lastly . . . Trish. Tomorrow night is gonna be a big NY-Style House Show so . . . I think I told you this before, you'll be in a Lingerie Match with Miss Jackey, hope that isn't much of a problem?"
Trish shook her head, she wanted Chris to say something but alas, he didn't. Instead it was Amy who told her earlier about the Bra-and-Panty match. "No I signed for it, its okay." She agreed with Austin's nod.
"Fine then, I guess that's about wraps it up? You know about your flight times so be there in New York by tomorrow for your matches and signing sessions."
With that, Austin finished his speech, shook Matt and Jericho's hands and left for other unfinished businesses he had to attend. Jay remained with them and talked about more about his life than trying to hear about his friends'. Chris supported the fellow blonde Canadian on that because this way HE didn't have to make eye-contact with Matt Hardy. But what he did see, was a gaze by Amy Dumas . . . a gaze Jericho wasn't a fan of . . . something was going on. He told himself, what if Amy did tell Matt about him? Everything would go down the drain . . . every single pathetic thing.
"Hey Matt," Christian's voice broke him back to reality, "What's the time man?"
Chris saw Matt looking at his sport-watch before giving Jay the time, Matt said '8:45', of course, the rest of the morning flied by without a second conversation taking place between the Mattitude Sensei and Y2J.
~ Cameron North Carolina ~
Jeff Hardy glanced at his wristwatch, the same watch Trish gave him on his last birthday, the time read 15 minutes past 12 PM.
He was sitting at the cafeteria of the hospital Britney worked in. As planned, they were having lunch together and were discussing about various subjects; one of them being a certain topic Jeff really wasn't comfortable talking: Relationships.
And the more and more they talked about it, the more and more Jeff Hardy realized the one person he missed being with . . . the more and more they discussed it, Jeff realized the person he wanted to be with. He realized about Trish Stratus. And as much as he wanted to deny it, he found himself talking to Britney about her only, it was as if she completely understood what Jeff was going through.
"Wow," She said to him, cutting a piece of the potato wedge she was having. "You must really love her."
"I don't KNOW Britney, it's like, even when we broke off, I think I'm still having feelings for her. Its like something . . . I can't really explain it. Its kinda complicated." Jeff finally admitted.
"Well if you still feel about her, you should go and tell her about it. Trust me, it'll go better than you could think. As far as you know, what if SHE'S feeling the same way?"
"She can't Brit, she . . . she's living with the other guy! They're practically staying together all the time I . . . I don't think I stand a chance."
"Listen to me . . ." When Jeff looked into her eyes, he saw something else, "Talk to her," Britney told him. "It doesn't matter if she's with someone else or not, you LOVE her. People don't always find love, you did, now you should call her, let her know how you feel. It's the only way you can feel any better."
She was right, Jeff felt that vibe again, could Britney really be right? If Trish really did feel something . . . "Y'know what?" He said after a long while. "You're right, I should call her. Infact, I'm gonna call her right now!"
"Wait I thought you said she was leaving for NY in about an hour? She's probably in the flight now, you should atleast WAIT until she lands there lover-boy!" She saw him blush and that made her laugh out loud. "Oh GOD you really are in love!" She giggled,
"Ha, ha, well thanks to you now I know I am. Thank you. Thank you VERY much for opening my eyes Brit," Jeff touched her in the hand, "Thank you." He said for the last time, before releasing her, there was something in that touch, something that was weird . . . Jeff felt that too.
"I need to go and wash my hands, I'll be back in a minute kay?"
"Kay." She smiled at the Hardy while he stood up, steadied his jacket and left for the men's room at the corner.
In about a minute or so, there was feeling of wet salted drops running down Britney Spear's cheeks, there were tears in her eyes.
(To Be Continued)
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A/N Next update on Monday/Tuesday and I wont be late! Sorry for all this confusion, but my account was banned! Now lets see if I only can POST this chapter! See ya on Monday and don't forget to review (please?)
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