Matt
executed a perfect Twist of Fate on Devon and Jeff finished him off
with a Swanton Bomb off the top rope. Matt rolled Devon up for the
cover. 1...2...3 and there was another victory for the Hardy Boys and
Team Extreme.
Jeff smiled to himself. When he came out to the
ring he looked for Riley. He purposefully stood on the top turnbuckle
just to look for her. He saw her looking up at him with the same
smile and look of encouragement in her eyes. Throughout the match he
could hear nothing but the cheers of the crowd. And through that he
could hear Riley; cheering for him, causing him to push harder for a
victory. That was how it had been since they were kids; him always
going to the extreme and her always cheering for him on the
sidelines. There were very few times when the roles were
reversed.
Riley
was very sheltered by her father since her mother had died when she
was very young. When she, her father, and her twin brother AJ moved
to North Carolina she was the typical Southern girl. But meeting Jeff
that all changed.
It was in the middle of the
school year.
"Excuse me class," the teacher tried to get the attention of the rowdy class who were throwing paper airplanes and watching Matt and Jeff "wrestle" on the ground. The teacher had had enough of the noise.
"CLASS!" That got their attention and they all froze. "Mr. Hardy and Mr. Hardy would you like to sit down?" Matt and Jeff got up from their positions on the floor and got into their seats.
"Thank you. Today we have two new
students. This is Alexander-James Carter."
A
rather handsome and tall boy with short brown hair and dark brown
eyes stood in front of the class. He was dressed in khaki pants and a
blue button down shirt.
"And this is his sister RyLynn Amber
Carter. RyLynn?" AJ walked outside the classroom to retrieve his
sister. He came back seconds later with a girl.
Jeff
could tell she was shy because she kept trying to hide behind her
brother's form but he kept pushing her forward. She was a petite girl
with long, curly brown hair and the same chocolate brown eyes as her
brothers. Instead of his pale skin she was quite lively looking and
had little freckles scattered around face that brought out the color
a little more. She was wearing a baby blue dress and a blue ribbon in
her hair.
"Alexander you can take a seat next to Matthew and RyLynn...." Jeff raised his hand volunteering the empty seat next to him.
"You can sit next to Jeffery." Riley
had to laugh, 'his name sounds worse then RyLynn'. She sat next to
Jeff.
"Hi, everyone calls me Jeff. So, your name's
RyLynn?"
She could hear the hint of laughter in his voice as to say, 'RyLynn? What kind of name is that?'
"Yes it is JEFFERY but I guess you weren't
paying attention." She turned around and ignored
him.
That same
day after school Matt was picking on guess who; the new kids.
"Girls can't play baseball, especially in a
skirt. Besides, aren't you a little YOUNG to be playing with us?"
This got Riley incredibly angry.
"That's funny cause your
letting my TWIN brother play. Meaning I'm 8 and he's 8. And if girls
can't play, why are YOU playing?"
The crowd surrounding
them broke into 'ohs' and ahs. Truthfully, it stung Matt. "Okay.
I thought in Georgia they taught girls to be ladylike."
At
this moment Jeff stepped in. "Come on Matt, don't be so
mean."
"Is Jeff going to defend his little
defenseless girlfriend?"
This was the last straw. Riley
was about to burst into tears. "Oh, what is the baby going to
cry?" he said in a mocking tone.
"No. The baby is
going to do this!" So, Riley brought her fist back and punched
Matt squarely in the nose.
Jeff smiled, 'looks like she can
take care of herself'.
"RyLynn sorry my brother's being such a jerk
and I'm sorry I was being such a jerk."
Riley smiled,
"apology accepted. And I hate my first name."
"Okay,
how about..." he thought for a moment. "Riley."
This
produced the second smile Jeff had seen from Riley all day. "I
like it - Jeff."
