Chapter 1 - Home

Disclaimer: I do not own WWE or anyone in affiliation with the WWE, blah blah blah. I do, however, own Alyssa, any other Oc's I have created for this story, and the plot line. Thank you for not suing.

Author's Note: I have decided that in this story, the events, feuds, and overall WWE entertainment will be real. No back stage scripts, because that's too realistic and that's not what most people want to read.

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"Things turn out best for those who make the best of the way things turn out."

-Jack Buck
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No sooner had she stepped out of the store, had it begun to rain. It was as if God himself was mocking her from the heavens, and in a fit of bottled rage she silently flicked off the dark clouds above.

"Just my lucky fuckin' day..." With what seemed like her fifth sigh that afternoon, she pulled the black hood over her head and began walking. When she was younger, she had always loved rain. But that was only because she had been able to enjoy it with her brothers. Now, it seemed as if the rain only visited when she was miserable.

With her head bowed, she silently weaved her way through the continuously busy streets of Orlando, Florida. She thought that in the several years she had lived here, she would grow to love it, she was wrong. The busy streets, the smog, the unconventional storms, even the people, she hated it all. Everything in the dark city seemed to inspire fear and paranoia. Oh how she longed to be back in her hometown, where she knew everyone, and the air was still clean. Alyssa's head seemed to bow further, as if the mere thought of home was weighing her down.

The enticing aroma of roasting coffee beans brought her out of her depressing state, and a slight smile found its way back to her lips. Coffee was just what she needed. Just as she was about to grab for the doorknob, she heard the familiar beep of her nextel and pulled it up to her ear to listen.

"What's yer twenty soldier." Alyssa rolled her eyes in amusement at the sound of Tony's voice. Almost a year ago he had absolutely insisted that she get a nextel, and had even bought the phone for her. Honestly, he had been the only person she ever talked to on it.

Knowing that he was still waiting on an answer from her on her 'twenty' she pushed the button and pulled it to her mouth. "I'm standin' in front of the coffee shop. Whatdya want?"

There was a long pause before he responded, as if he were trying to come up with a reason for calling. "My coffee. You are taking way too long soldier."

Deciding to take her time with an answer, she strode calmly into the local coffee shop. She responded with a smile to the occasional accolade thrown in her direction by a former client of Hazard Ink, referring to the near famous custom tattoo designs she had made for them. As she waited in line, the familiar beep echoed in her ears once more.

"Don't ignore me soldier!" Tony's voice seemed to boom throughout the small coffee shop, even through the small device on her hip. Receiving more than her fair share of awkward stares she glared down at the nuisance she referred to as her 'cell phone' as if it would somehow transfer her glare directly to the offending party. Feeling the blood rush to her cheeks she quickly reached down and snatched the phone from its protective clip, bringing it closer to her mouth. "Hold yer horses Tony. I'm gettin' yer friggin' coffee."

Satisfied with her response she promptly silenced her phone and jammed it back into its rightful place, sticking her tongue out at it as an afterthought. With that problem solved she turned her attention back to the counter only to jump at the sight of two coffee cups staring back at her. Alyssa looked up at the cashier only to be met with a gentle smile and a wink. "Don't worry about paying kid. I'll just put it on Tony's tab."

She simply blinked for a moment, staring at the older gentleman as if he had grown a second head. Finally, her scrambled mind registered the mans meaning and she couldn't help the grin that split across her face. "Thank you Big Joe!" Johnathan Walker, known as Big Joe to most, had grown up with Tony. When 'The Shop' was on the brink of foreclosure, Tony had jumped in and put the business back onto all fours. Ever since then, Joe's insisted on paying him back by giving him free coffee, a trade otherwise known as 'Tony's Tab'.

With a warm smile and a final wave to the occupants, she exited the shop. Her smile only seemed to widen as she looked up into the sky with the realization that the storm had passed, if only for a few minutes. Momentarily forgetting her personal problems, she made her way back to the shop, hot coffees in hand.

She had been staring at that magazine for hours, at least to him it had seemed that long. Every few minutes he would hear a depressing sigh, or see the ever present frown on her face deepen slightly. He hated to see her like that, especially when he could do nothing to help.

He had been made to watch her suffer like that for almost two months now, constantly moping, sighing, or just being off. The worst part of it all was that he had no clue as to what was making her that way to begin with. She never told him what was wrong, had even gone to the extreme to deny being upset at all, saying that it was all in his head. It had been the first time they had ever been in an argument over, well anything really. Now that he had the time to think about it, they had never really argued over anything since they met each other a few years back.

Usually she was up and about everywhere, smiling and just simply bringing life to everyone and everything. Ever since that strange phone call came in about two months ago, things had gone downhill. He remembered that day as if it had happened yesterday. They had been joking around about her latest design, some hippie dragon looking thing, when the store phone started ringing. He didn't know what was being said, but he knew that it couldn't of been good. Her shoulders had sagged as if a heavy weight had been dropped on them, and he could see the tears burning just behind her eyelids. After she had hung up the phone, he remembered that she had simply walked into one of the back rooms and wouldn't come back out until it was closing time. She never told him what exactly had been said.

Finally his questions were answered. "What the fuck happened Jeff?" A thick eyebrow raised, and he racked his mind for a connection. Jeff? That name sounded familiar to him. Finally it connected, and he smacked his head mentally for not realizing it sooner. Jeff Hardy, one of Alyssa's older brothers. He only remembered because she had talked about them incessantly ever since he could remember. So something had happened to him?

Deciding now was a good time to make his presence known he let out his usual grunt, a sly grin spreading across his face as he saw her jump. Tony shook his head slightly, the girl could be so ignorant of her surroundings sometimes. "You scared the shit out of me Tony." He couldn't help but grin innocently as she tried in vain to glare at him, her 'angry face' only helping to make her look like a little kid.

After a few moments of silence she spoke up, stretching while she did so. "You want coffee? I need a break from this place." Before he could even open his mouth to answer her she was up, collecting her things.

Instead of bothering with a 'normal' answer, he simply shrugged his shoulders and plopped down in the chair she had previously occupied. He didn't even bother to check and make sure she had caught the shrug, Tony had just assumed she did. That's how it always was for them, instead of actually talking, most times he would just make a bodily movement, and like magic she would translate an entire sentence out of it. It was odd really, but that was how they lived.

He watched her until she was out of his line of sight, deciding that she would be safe. With that out of the way he turned around to his next order of business, the magazine. If miss secretive wasn't going to tell him what was bothering her, then he would just have to figure it out for himself. Tony knew that being nosy was not conducive to their friendship, but he couldn't stand to watch her suffer any longer. So with a new found sense of duty he looked over the opened magazine page, analyzing every last sentence.

After he was finished he leaned back in the chair, running his thick hands over his bald scalp. "So that's whats botherin' her..." So her brother had been suspended for drugs, again. He remembered her telling him about Jeff's problems a few months ago, about how worried she was that history would repeat itself. From what he gathered, it had.

Taking out his nextel, he decided to check in on her, Orlando wasn't known to be the best place to walk around alone even in daylight. "What's yer twenty soldier?"

"I'm standin' in front of the coffee shop. Whatdya want?" He could hear the annoyance in her voice, and it only served to make him laugh. She never did like nextels. In fact, the only reason she had gotten one in the first place was because he had begged her to, and then bought the phone when she started complaining about price. Tony knew she was the only one she talked to on it, and for some reason that made him feel special.

They went back and forth for a few minutes, before she had turned off her phone, showing that she was done with him. Like a child he stuck his tongue out at it, as if somehow she would see it.

Suddenly the bells above the entrance jingled. Tony raised his eyebrow and double-checked the appointment list, had he somehow forgotten about a tattooing session? Seeing that there were no appointments, he turned around, maybe it was another walk-in. His eyebrows seemed to raise even further.

"How can I help ya, sir?" Something about this guy seemed familiar. He could of sworn that Alyssa had shown him a picture of some kid that looked like him. Of course, not exactly the same. Maybe he was just overreacting again. Alyssa told him he should take a vacation, maybe he should of taken up the offer.

"Yeah, I'm lookin' for Ally, ya seen 'er?" Just like that, the idea was gone.

Getting back to the shop seemed to take twice as much time as it took to leave it. It seemed as if every step she took, someone knew was stopping her. Some to give her new ideas for future tattoo designs, others to ask about her brothers. The latter questions she tried to ignore, she didn't want her mood so quickly destroyed by a curious fan.

It was a normal experience for her, to be hassled by Hardy Boy fans. Ever since they made that documentary and mentioned her, their fans had been all over her, wanting to know details about them she would never be able to give. Sure, her father made sure to include her in their lives, telling her little tidbits of information every now and then so she could always be up to date. She even watched wrestling every night, despite her schedule, just to see her brothers in action.

Even with that information though, she wouldn't be able to answer their questions, nor did she want to. She wasn't trying to be mean or anything like that, she was just respecting her family's privacy.

After what seemed like hours she made it to the sanctuary of Hazard Ink. Her head was down as she walked in, so she didn't notice the new guest. "Alright, I'm back Tony. Now before you start yellin' at me 'cause I ignored my phone..." Before she could finish her explanation though, he cut her off.

"Ally, ya got a guest." Something was off with his voice, it was like he was hiding something from her. Setting down the coffees, she slowly turned around, only to come face to face with a ghost from her past.

"Hey there Al, long time no see?" Her purse suddenly slipped from her fingers to clatter on the tile floor, and her jaw felt as though it would fall to the ground as well. "S...Shannon?"Her voice cracked slightly, and she had to swallow to get rid of the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat. She saw him nod slightly, that all too familiar lopsided grin all the evidence she needed. Just like that she ran, straight into him. Alyssa wrapped her arms tightly around his stomach, tears running freely down her cheeks. It had been years since she had seen any of them, thanks to her father's worries.

She felt him hug her back, his cheek resting on the top of her head as he chuckled slightly. "Al, I missed ya too... but... I kinda need to breath.." This forced a giggle out of her, which surprised Tony, he hadn't heard her honestly laugh for a while now. She relinquished her death grip on him and grinned.

"So, why are you here exactly?" Alyssa looked up at him with questioning eyes, paranoia suddenly nagging at the back of her mind. It wasn't that she hadn't wanted to see him, God knows she was jumping for joy just because he was there. She knew him too well though, he didn't make random trips around the world just to 'visit', there was always a motive, and she could see one in his eyes.

Shannon let out a sigh and ran a hand through his blond hair, she caught him again. She was getting too good at that. "Well, doll, the truth is I'm here to kidnap you and drag ya to North Carolina..."

Her jaw dropped even further, if that was even possible. Home? He wanted to take her home? Tears begin to sting at the back of her eyelids again. "Why now?" Man, she just had to ruin every good moment with a question today didn't she?

"Well..." He sighed again, his footing shifting side to side, a sign that he was nervous. "It's yer brothers, Al, they're actin' weird... I think they need their little angel back. You were always good at keepin' them sane... that and everyone misses the hell outta ya."

She ran her long fingers through her hair, so, there was a catch. There always was a catch. "Alright. Uhm... I'll have to talk with To..."

"Already done kid, now git outta my site." Tony's gruff voice cut her off for what seemed like the millionth time that day. There was no anger in his voice though, only the brotherly tone that he had adapted with her. She looked over at him with a raised eyebrow. "Ya sure? What about the designs? And I would need to talk with Afa..." God, she was making it sound as if she didn't want to go, when in fact, it was the exact opposite. She was absolutely ecstatic, but she would never let them know that.

"Woman, stop makin' excuses an' git." That was all she needed to hear. With an ear to ear smile she ran over and tackled him around his midsection, man she felt short. "Thank you, Tony.."

A/N: Boom! So, what did you guys think? Yes, I know, this chapter is short too.. I'm not good with long chapters. I feel that they drag on too much. Maybe that's just me. ANYWHO, so yeah. That's chapter two. R&R.

Next Time: "Alyssa, how would you like to bring back the Hardy Trio?"