A/N: Seeing Maria last night just made me not like her even more. She was all…not Maria. And the heels carried the entire match, by the way. You'll know what I'm talking about when you see it on Friday night.

It kept getting worse and worse. Sure, she wouldn't be jobbing to Beth Phoenix and Jillian Hall every week. Didn't one of the more popular Divas deserve to win a match every once and a while? Of course, she wasn't as physically strong as the other girls, and most of the heel Divas had more wrestling skills than Maria did. The only person that she could see herself getting a certifiable win over was Layla, but she had just come onto the RAW roster as Maria left. Maria was optimistic about the competition on SmackDown for about five minutes. She remembered that SmackDown was home to Natalya, one of the most naturally gifted female wrestlers ever, and Victoria, a seasoned veteran. Not to mention Michelle McCool, who wasn't exactly the best record, but her bedroom credentials allowed her to win matches and become the first ever Divas Champion. It suited her well, Maria thought. A title with no value deserved a champion with no value, and Maria would prefer it if she wasn't associated with that belt.

Jeff Hardy was no stranger to heartbreak, either. He was soaring on top of the world. He was slated to win the WWE Championship. Things were going great.

Everyone knew the story. It didn't need any more retelling. That and the fact that his longtime girlfriend left him because things became too "difficult" for her, Jeff was on a downward spiral. And if he wasn't careful…

Three strikes, and you're out.

A fresh start on SmackDown? Well, not really.

He still had the power obsessed Triple H hovering above him. Triple H feared young people more talented than he, but he knew that power always beat out talent in the WWE.

How long would it be before he got another taste of gold? He didn't know. He assumed that creative would shove the Hardy Boyz down the throats of the WWE Universe for the umpteenth time. Either that, or his second strike would entail him to the doom of being the United States Championship mid-carder for eternity.

On his SmackDown debut, he was shockingly booked to beat John Morrison. Even that surprised Jeff since creative was very high on John Morrison. For once, Jeff was extremely grateful for his obscene popularity, something that he did not grow up having.

SmackDown was not a familiar place, nor was it very friendly, so far.

"Jeff!" Maria screeched as she saw her good friend for the first time since she was drafted to SmackDown. Her debut was held back a few weeks after Jeff's, so she wasn't at the previous taping.

Was this the same Maria that Jeff had hung out with on RAW? It had to be, because no other girl had that radiating innocence without trying. But somehow, she looked different. Maybe it was the length of time since he had seen her that was playing tricks on his eyes. She looked better than ever, at least to him. It's not that he hadn't seen her like that before. Naturally, he snuck a peek or two at her Playboy pictorial. Who hadn't? But even so, there was just something different about her. Jeff caught himself staring at her as she walked up to him with her arms outstretched for a hug.

But that was until Jeff did the gentlemanly thing and actually looked her in the eyes. Her eyes were different. The bubbly light was missing. Something was wrong.

Maria hugged Jeff tightly. "I'm so glad to see you!"

Jeff returned the enthusiastic gesture, picking her up and swinging her around once. "You too, Maria. How have you been?"

Maria quickly lied. "Oh, I'm alright. I'm excited to try out something new. How about you?"

"Same," Jeff shrugged as he lied just as well as she did. "Is something wrong, Maria? You seem…different."

"No, nothing is wrong," Maria said in a cheerful voice. "I'm perfect."

Yes, Maria, you are.