A blast from the past: Dani & Jeff

I do not own WWE, or its superstars. I only own Danielle Ayden's character, Jaydon Nero's character, and along with all other names you don't recognize from WWE.

This is a series of One Shot's from Danielle Ayden-Hardy, and Jeff Hardy's past. This is something I came up with to let readers of "If Looks Could Kill" and "If Looks Could Kill: The sequel", get a better gist on Dani and Jeff's relationship, and how their lives were before Ben came into the picture.

Please review and let me know what you think!

Also, if you are a first time reader, make sure to check out both of the stories for "If Looks Could Kill"!

- Kimmi

Thank you to everyone who reviewing the first chapter!

iNdy MiLk, and Laffyxtaffy!

Chapter 3

August 4th, 1994.

Dani slowly opened her eyes, realizing she had slept at her father's house for the first time in nearly a month. The only reason she had chosen to do so, was because her father had left for the week to visit his mother. (whom of which Dani had not spoken to in nearly two years).

Now 17 year old Dani had been living mostly with her mother and new step-father a few miles away, but most of the time she stayed at her best friend, Jeff's house. Although, for the next two weeks that would be different. Jeff had finally gotten a few jobs with WWF, and they had just given him and Matt contracts. Shortly after signing, Jeff found out that they would be heading to Europe for a couple weeks doing promotional stuff. Of course Dani had been upset when she found out, as had Jeff. The most time they had spent apart since they met was two days when Dani's father forced her to visit her grandmother when she was eleven. But two weeks? That was something that she couldn't even bare to think about... even if those two weeks started in three hours.

Dani rolled over and looked across the room. Jeff was sound asleep on her big comfy chair, which her mom had given her when she moved out after the divorce. She glanced over at her clock, which read 9:56 AM. Matt and Jeff's plane took off at 1 PM. She considered the fact that this being Jeff's first big business trip, that she would let him sleep as long as possible before she woke him up. So - she grabbed a towel, and went into the bathroom to take a shower. She didn't want to spend that much time in there, because she wanted to spend as much time possible with Jeff before he left. Even if it ment she had to watch him sleep, it was still something.

Once she was done, she wrapped the towel around herself, then grabbed her hairbrush, and hairdryer, and dried her hair. Once it was almost dry, she twisted her long brown hair up into a lose bun and walked out of the bathroom. By the time she got back into her room, it was 10:36. Jeff was still asleep, but she wasn't sure if he was completely packed. In all honsety, she didn't even really care. She just wanted to wake him up so they could hang out before he left.

Dani walked over to the chair, and gently placed her hand on his arm. "Jeff." She whispered, but he didn't move. "JEFF!" She screamed. He jumped up, and looked at her.

"What the hell, Dani!?" He glared at her, annoyed.

She giggled a bit. "Sorry, but you wouldn't wake up."

"Did you even try?" He glared.

"Yes." She said, with a straight face. He kept glaring at her, knowing she was lying. "Sorta?" She giggled.

Jeff rolled his eyes, and laughed. "Have you eaten yet?"

"Nope."

"What do you want?"

"Whatever you want."

"Dani."

"Jeff."

"Chose what you want."

"You chose, I honestly don't care."

"You're absolutely no help, you know that right?"

Dani giggled. "Yep, I know." She smiled. Jeff rolled his eyes and laughed.

"Fine, we are going to have breakfast burritos then." He said, standing up and stretched.

"Eww, no! Those are gross." Dani wined.

"I thought you 'didn't care'." He giggled, mocking her.

"We can have anything but that."

"You're so picky."

"I know." She smiled. They both laughed, then started walking to Jeff's house. They spent the rest of the morning making sure Jeff had everything packed, and ready to go. Jeff's dad, Gilbert, announced it was time to head to the airport... the part that Dani had been dreading for days. She wasn't completely sure where she would go for the two weeks, most likely spend it at her mom and new step-dad, Brian's house. Dani was extremely proud of her best friends. They had worked hard for years to get to where they were today, and she wasn't about to get in the way of their dream. It was her dream too, to become a professional wrestler. The WWF had offered her a contract when they had offered Matt and Jeff one, but she denied. The one thing that stood in her way was school. She had still been training, but she wasn't about to go on the road during her last year of high school. They both got good grades, but it took Dani four times as much concentration as it took Jeff to study. She knew she wouldn't be able to handle it. Jeff, on the other hand - she knew he could handle it.

This moment, was the only time Dani had regretted making the decision not to accept the offer from WWF. She couldn't stand the fact of not seeing Jeff for two weeks straight. Even though they were just best friends, he was like a drug to her. He was the one thing that kept her sane while having to deal with her father, money, and everything else wrong with her life.

Once to the airport, Dani and Gilbert walked the boys to their gate; where they would say their goodbyes.

"So, umm..." Matt started, breaking the silence between everyone. Dani stood there clenching her purse to her shoulder, not wanting to look over to Jeff - knowing that she would cry. "We gotta go now, Dan. I'll call you tomorrow." Matt said, hugging his best friend; one that he often considered his little sister. She hugged him back, then slowly made her way to Jeff - trying to delay any time she could.

She took a deep breath in through her nose, then bit her lip. "Shorty, are you sure you don't want me to stay? I won't go if you don't want me to." Jeff said, concerned.

"Jeff, don't worry about me. I'll be fine. This is an important trip that you need to go on. Don't stay here just because of me." Dani replied, trying to sound convincing. Jeff sighed, and wrapped his arms around his best friend. "Will you call me?" She mumbled into his chest.

"Every time I get the chance." He whispered back into her ear.

"Promise?" She looked up, with a few tears now streaming down her face.

"I promise." He said, wiping one of her tears away with his thumb. Then brought her back into a hug.

"Jeff, lets go!" Matt yelled from about 15 feet away. Jeff quickly kissed the top of Dani's head, then broke the hug.

"I gotta go. I'll call you, I promise." He said, slowly backing away, then turned around and started jogging towards where Matt was.

Dani stood there and watched them walk until they turned to board the plane. "You alright, kiddo?" Gilbert asked, putting an arm around her. Dani nodded, then wiped the rest of her tears away. "Lets go get something to eat, then I'll take you to you're mom's."

"Okay. Thanks, Gil." She sniffled, then started walking with him. She felt horrible that Jeff would even consider staying home from his first major business trip, just so she wouldn't be upset. Obviously, Dani meant a lot to him, and vise versa. Dani sighed, she already missed him. The last time they spent more than a few hours apart had been a few years ago; but this was by-far the longest they would have to be apart. She flinched, knowing this was probably going to be the longest two weeks of her life.

Six and a half days later...

It was now 12:23 AM, and had been exactly six hours since Dani had spoken to Jeff. She was staying up late just so she could talk to him when he woke up. Every three minutes she would look at her clock, then back at the phone.

"Its not even eight thirty there yet. He's been wrestling for a week straight, so he is probably still asleep; which is something you should be doing." Brian yawned, walking down the stairs - hoping his new-step daughter would at least try and get some rest.

"Brian, he promised he'd call me before he left for the airport." Dani muttered quietly, trying not to wake her seven-year old step-sister.

"And what time does his plane take off exactly?" Brian questioned, slightly raising one eyebrow to her.

"Umm..." Dani began, knowing exactly what he would say to her answer. "4PM," She blinked, then looked to the ceiling. "his time."

Brian rolled his eyes, and looked to his step-daughter. "That's 10AM our time. Dan, go to sleep please."

"But..." She started to argue, but immediately dropped it when he gave her a look that she knew ment she was never going to win. She sighed and then ran her hand through her hair, then nodded. "Fine." Dani yawned, then stood up from the couch. Brian gave her a hug, and kissed her head before she finally walked upstairs to her new room, the one that she shares with a 7 year-old.

She lay down in bed, terrified to go to sleep. The whole two weeks Jeff had been gone, she been getting horrible nightmares. Some she couldn't remember what they were about, but she would wake up in a cold sweat with her heart beating fast. Sometimes it was about her father hitting her, which he did rarely now; but it still gave her nightmares. Other times, she dreamt that something bad had happened to someone she deeply cared about. Most of the time it was about Jeff, other times it was about her mother, Matt, Gilbert, step-father, or step-sister. It seemed like the only two times she didn't have nightmares were the nights when Jeff woke up early his time, so he would be on the phone with her until she fell asleep.

Slowly Dani fell asleep, and as she did - she dreamt. This time, it was different...

"Jeff? Jeff!" I screamed, but I couldn't see anything. It was dark, but there was a streak of sunlight shining down through the trees. Where was I? I decided to follow the direction of the sun, which was coming from the north. As I walked, I searched for the only person I know that would help me. "Jeff! Where are you?" I kept walking, until I heard something, or someone, behind some bushes. I thought it was an animal, but once it appeared - it turned out to be something much scarier.

"No! Get away! Someone, help me!" I screamed, which felt like the top of my lungs - but I couldn't hear anything. The person standing in front of me had black paint all over his face, but with dots of red under, and above his eyes. Suddenly, the man disappeared. I searched all around me, but he was gone. Suddenly there was a loud shriek, almost like fingernails on a blackboard. I looked behind me, and he was standing there... with Jeff. "Let him go!" I cried, "He doesn't deserve this, just take me instead. Please, leave him alone!" I screamed, but again, I couldn't hear myself. I repeated myself, screaming again as loud as I could. This time, it came out as a whisper. "Please, I'll do anything. Just let him go." I told the man that held my best friend, ready to kill him. And then, they were gone. "No! Come back! Please, I need you, Jeff! Come back!" I cried, but there was nothing. Again there was a shriek, and I looked up and the sun disappeared. Everything went black.

"No!" Dani screamed, as she sat up in bed.

"Daddy, Jo, somethings wrong with Dani!" Kayla yelled from their room, down the stairs. Dani noticed that it was now bright outside, as she fought to catch her breath.

"Kayla, I'm fine. I just had a bad dream - that's all." She told her little sister in hopes of calming her down, but Jo was already in her room. "Mom, I'm fine." Dani insisted, and her Mother rushed to her side.

"What happened, baby? Don't tell me you had another nightmare?" She asked. Dani nodded, running a hand through her hair. "What was it about?" Jo muttered to her daughter, looking over her shoulder to make sure Kayla had left the room. Dani sighed, and shook her head. "Jeff again?"

Once again, Dani nodded. "Mom, I got to go see him. This happens every time I don't talk to him. I just don't know why." She sighed.

Jo bit her lip, and stared out the window. "I'm pretty sure I know why, hunny, but you don't want to hear it."

"No, I don't mother. We are just best friends. Can you just drop it please? Forever?" Dani pleaded. Jo nodded in agreement, and stood up. "What time is it?" Dani asked, changing the subject.

"11:42 in the morning." Jo said, picking a few articles of Kayla's clothing off the floor, and folding it.

"Holy crap! Why did you let me sleep so late?!" Dani asked in shock, as she rushed to find some clothes to put on.

"Dan, relax. It's summer, and you haven't slept hardly at all the past few weeks."

"I know, but Jeff's plane took off an hour ago..." Dani yelled from the bathroom as she put her long hair up into a bun.

"Oh yeah, he called too. I told him you were asleep, so he said he will just see you when he gets home." She muttered, but loud enough for Dani to hear.

"Mommmmm," Dani wined. "Why didn't you wake me up so I could talk to him?" She asked, now back in the room in a different outfit.

"You were asleep." She answered, and Dani rolled her eyes. They both went downstairs, and Dani ate breakfast then ended up reading for most of the day. She needed to do something to keep her mind off of tonight. Matt and Jeff's plane landed around 11:30PM, and Dani wanted to go to the airport to pick them up, but her mom insisted it was too late at night to go. So, Jeff would probably just end up coming over when he got home.

Dani kept her eyes on her book, trying to concentrate on it - but her concentration was quickly broken when Kayla begged her to play a game with her. Finally, Dani gave in. They spent two hours playing monopoly, and another two hours playing barbies. Finally, it was time for dinner - and of course, right after they finished eating Kayla insisted on playing more Barbies.

Around 9:05 Jo had put a movie on, which Kayla fell asleep to. Dani nearly fell asleep herself, but kept herself awake knowing there were only hours left. At the end of the movie, it was around 10:40 at night - Brian carried Kayla to her bed, and Jo kissed her daughters forehead and headed to bed herself. One more hour, just one more. Dani kept saying inside her head. She turned off the VCR, then went to sit back down on the couch and started flipping through channels. News, news, cartoons, news. All the same. Just pick one Dani, it's not that hard. She whispered to herself. After flipping through all 60 channels, frustrated, Dani turned the T.V. off and went to sit outside in the fresh air.

It was around sixty-four degrees. The cool air blew upon her face, as she in hailed it and slowly relaxed. Why was she so nervous? It was just Jeff after all. Just Jeff... She laughed to herself. Of course, she hadn't seen Matt for the same amount of time. She was very excited to see him too, but she didn't just want to see Jeff; she needed to see him. Before she totally went insane with all these weird dreams.

Dani sat down on the steps of her front portch, and stared off into the distance. What was that dream about? Obviously it was about Jeff, but who was the guy with the face paint? Why would he want to hurt one of the sweetest people in the world(to her anyway)? But I guess the real question would be, why does she always dream about Jeff? Wither she dreams about her Dad hurting her, or someone hurting someone she loves, Jeff is always involved in the dream somehow. He's the only one that is always there.

And why was she missing Jeff so much? The obvious answer would be because she is always with him, and they have never spent more than two days apart since they met. Not to mention he is always there when she goes to sleep, and usually there when she wakes up. No one understood how they could be just friends. But they really had never been more than that. Honestly, Dani had never even thought about it. Didn't want to either. Every time her Mom brought it up, about them possibly dating, it made her extremely nervous. She didn't want to think about it. Even thinking about it would make their friendship awkward. She didn't want that.

Dani took a deep breath in, and looked down at her watch. It was only 11:14pm. Damn it, the dang plane doesn't even land for fifteen minutes. She complained silently to herself, as she lay her head down on her arms, which wrapped around her knees. Suddenly a lights from a car glimmered through the trees in front of her house, and sure enough, the car pulled up to her. A bright smile flashed across her face, and she jumped up. Jeff quickly opened his car door, and before he could even shut it she leaped into his arms.

"I missed you so much!" She cried into his ear. "I was going crazy!"

Jeff giggled, as he continued to tightly hug his best friend. "I know, I missed you too, Shorty. That was the longest two weeks of my life." He whispered back. Jeff and Dani still hugging, Matt walked up the front porch.

"Yeah, nice to see you too, Dani! I'm just gonna go crash out on you're couch. If you don't mind..." He said, then went inside.

Dani finally broke apart, then wiped a few stray tears of happiness away before she looked up to Jeff with a questioning look on her face. "Don't worry, he's exhausted. You know how grumpy he gets when he's tired..." Jeff nodded as he spoke. Dani giggled, then they both went inside. While Matt slept on the couch, Jeff spent the next few hours telling Dani all about his trip (even though he talked to her three times a day, everyday he was there). It was still a huge deal for both of them.

"Guys, shut up and go to sleep. It's almost one in the morning." Matt grumbled, then rolled over and fell back asleep.

"I guess he's right, you need to get some sleep too. You're mom told me this morning that you haven't been sleeping that well." Jeff whispered, only loud enough for Dani to hear him. She shrugged innocently. Jeff giggled, then reached over and pulled a quilt off the back of the couch and lay it over Dani's legs. She rested her head on Jeff's shoulder, and they both fell asleep.

A/N: Very very long chapter. I wasn't sure what to write about, but Tiffy helped me out :) Then once I got it in my head, I couldn't stop writing. Hope you like it! Watch out for a new chapter of ILCK very soon! :)

- Kimmi