"Orton" Rey greeted politely.
"Mysterio" he replied.
"What do you want in here?" Rey eyed him suspiciously.
"I want to talk to Cody" he looked around.
"You have no right to bother him. You whore" Randy kept his expression neutral.
Randy's behavior pissed him of and he punched him "Get lost"
"Rey" Cody yelled "Don't stop me" Rey shot back "I kick his ass" he punched a second time but this time Randy was able block his fist with his injured arm. He groaned in pain while he watched how his white sleeve turned red.
Cody stared at his arm in shock "What happened to your arm?"
"I had an accident" Randy replied coldly before he left. Cody wanted to follow him but decided against it. He would ask around for information later "What the hell was that?" Cody glared at his friend.
"He deserved it" Mysterio huffed "He's a whore and I'll make sure he stays away from you"
"You have no right to interfere in my life" Cody yelled at him.
"Sorry to disturb your little banter but there is something I have to do before you can continue to bite your heads of" Kane entered.
"What do you want?" said Rey in a fretful tone.
Kane smirked "This" and punched him in the face. Mysterio landed ungracefully on his ass "I think you broke my nose you bastard" he muttered "Wait until Vince hears about it… he'll fire you"
Kane smirked "I don't think so"
"Why?" Cody knew Vince hated violence backstage.
"The punched was delivered with greetings from Vince" Kane bowed dramatically before he glared at Mysterio "Leave Orton alone or next time one of us will break your neck, by accident of course"
"We?" Cody looked from Rey to Kane "We keep him safe from people like him" he pointed at Mysterio.
"He can take care of himself" Cody spat.
"Are you sure?" Kane's tone softened, he shook his head and left.
"No, not anymore" Cody whispered to himself. He looked at Rey and argued with himself. Should he help him up or leave him behind? He decided to be nice even though he was angry at his friend.
"Thanks man" Rey mumbled.
"You deserved it" Cody changed his clothes and left. Rey stared dumbly at his friend, it seemed he made a mistake. It was time to bring them back together before one of them got seriously hurt.
"Cody" John grabbed his arm; he jerked his arm away but didn't walk away.
"Give him a chance" Cody was flabbergasted, that was the last thing he expected.
"Huh?" he asked dumbly.
"Take him back, please. I don't know what happened exactly but it's not what it seemed" John hoped he got the hint.
"I know what I saw" Cody shivered at the thought.
"Are you sure?" John said cryptically and left, it was useless to argue with the young man. He was certain Randy cheated on him.
Cody shook his head, he was confused and frustrated. He felt as if he was the only one who knew nothing.
"Adam where's Randy?" John ran down the steps.
"He packed his stuff and left" Adam had tried to stop him but the other man said it was for the best.
"Did he tell you where he's going?" John rubbed his forehead.
"He rented a flat not far from here" Adam explained "He knows you want him near and we know he wants to give us some space"
"He heard us"
"I think so" Adam agreed "I called Matt and Jeff they'll keep an eye on him while they're here"
"Rey hit him and his stitches tore, he had to get stitched up again" John settled down on the couch.
"I heard Kane broke Mysterio's nose" Adam grinned, John looked at him in surprise "Really?"
"Yes. Punk told me" he told him what happened "Cody seemed worried as his stitches tore and his sleeve turned blood red. At least that's what the rumor mill says but I think that part is true"
"I hope it's true" John snuggled closer to his lover "Cody loves him and I'm sure he'll take him back sooner or later"
"Better sooner than later" Adam sighed "We have to show him the truth, whatever the truth is"
"The most plausible theory is that Swagger … that he …urg… I can't even say it" John grimaced.
"I don't want to think about it" Adam frowned "Poor Randy, he's so in love with Cody and then someone like Swagger breaks everything apart"
"I'll kill him next time we meet in a match" John vowed "I think you're not the only one" Adam switched the T.V. on.
"What do you mean?" John grabbed the remote control, Adam smiled at him "Punk, Kane, Matt, Jeff, you and me but first of all Chris. I saw him looking at Swagger during practice. It was scary. Don't mess with Jericho or you can make your testament "
"That bad?" John put his legs on the table "I never saw so much hate in his eyes, it was like … I don't know. Do you remember the movie we watched last week? Where a young man killed the little brother of a young man, by accident, and they end up in the same prison?"
"Yeah, the look in the older brother's eyes was almost real" John agreed.
"That was the look Chris used" Adam added, he felt John shiver next to him.
"I saw the look on you too once" the blond kissed his forehead "The day Chris broke Randy's heart"
"I didn't" John pouted, Adam chuckled "next time I take a picture"
"He suffered enough, where is his happiness in life?" John thoughts wandered to Randy, he felt the urge to pay him a visit but Randy need as much space as they did.
"We have to convince Cody to give him a second chance" but the problem was how.
"Adam" John looked at him "I love you"
Adam smiled sadly "Love you too" he pulled him closer and gave him a passionate kiss "Let us enjoy the night and forget everything for a little while"
"Why is he so nervous?" Cody approached John two months later.
"What are you talking about?"John was surprised that Cody talked to him; normally he avoided him like the plague.
"His posture is stiff and he flexes his fingers, he does that when he's scared" Cody watched the Viper from afar.
"I never noticed" John studied Randy's behavior.
"He does it pretty often recently" Cody hoped John would give him a hint.
"He misses you. He's a nervous wreck since you left him" Cena tried to show him how much the older man needed him.
"It's not that, there is something else" Cody ignored his appeal.
John huffed and looked at Cody "Why don't you talk to him? It's not on me to tell you what happened the last few months but please believe me when I say it was not his fault"
"I'm not sure it matters anymore" Cody tilted his head to the side and frowned deeply as Randy jerked away from Mark's touch "What was that?"
John turned around to look at Randy but he missed the important part, he gave Cody a questioning look.
"He jerked away from Mark's touch as if he got burned" the young man explained.
John nodded, what confused Cody "Cena!" the young man warned "He never reacted that way before"
"There are four people who can answer that question but I'm not one of them. We are pretty sure we know the reason but he won't tell us if we're right or not"
"Who knows what happened?" Cody needed to know.
"Randy, Chris, Vince and Swagger" John hoped the hint was clear.
Cody nodded "We have a show to prepare for; it's the biggest event this summer"
"Cut the crap and tell me to get the hell away" John nagged, how could the young man be so stupid? He gave a broad hint but Cody seemed to ignore it.
John and his friends did their best to keep Jack and Cody's friends away from Randy but the Viper remained jumpy. Adam thought that Swagger might have approached Randy a second time but there were no evidences for his theory.
Randy did his best to appear strong and healthy but he was dead on the inside. He felt like a robot, he stood up, he skipped breakfast, he trained, he skipped lunch, he trained or performed a great show, he ate dinner because his friends forced him after that he went to bed. Vince paid him a visit every week and treated him to dinner. They talked and made plans for the future. Vince thought it might be helpful to plan the future; it gave the Viper a reason to hold on. Randy found it kind of cute but nothing could change his mind, his time had come, his decease was past due.
But every time he decided to end it, his friends showed how much they cared and he had to change his mind for their sake. Sometimes he asked himself if he made the right decision, they would worry and care until the day he died. They would be sad when he ended his life now but they had the chance to go on once they got over his death.
Both options were unsatisfying so he delayed his decision for months now.
"Hey man" Mark touched his arm; he almost jumped out of his skin "Wow sorry it wasn't my intention to scare you" Mark put up his hands.
"I was lost in thoughts" Randy replied with a hint of fear in his voice. He hated to be touched especially after Jack caught him in the parking lot a few weeks ago.
He surprised him from behind, this time with the intention to rape him, but he was lucky right at that moment a car appeared. He had problems to sleep and he got paranoid. He saw him everywhere and he felt dirtier than before. No wonder Cody avoided him, he was a dirty plaything. How could the young man like him when he hated himself more than anything?
"Earth to Randy" Mark waved his hand in front of his eyes only then he realized that Mark was talking to him.
"Sorry, my mind wandered to the upcoming match" Randy lied.
"You're fighting against Rey tonight, right?" Mark nibbled on his bottom lip "Be careful he's in a bad mood"
"I'm always careful" Randy said sarcastically.
"I know, that's the reason you broke your collar bone" Mark countered.
"See, I could have broken my neck" Randy tried to lighten the mood.
"Be careful" Mark wanted to touch his shoulder but stopped himself, he didn't believe in rumors but this time he wasn't sure.
"You too" Randy meant what he said, he liked the older man "and take care of Kane or Punk will kick your ass"
Mark laughed "Yeah, poor Glen, his little one is a bit of a handful" and waved him goodbye.
Randy watched Cody's match and was proud of his boy. Cody had given his best and won. "Congratulation" he said to the screen.
"Randy it's your turn" John lent against the doorframe.
"I'm on my way" he rushed out of the room.
Randy went to the ring, posing like he always did. He listened to his entrance theme and wondered when he started to hear voices for real. He couldn't get rid of them; they were always present, screaming at him, telling him what a worthless loser he was.
Rey's entrance theme pulled him out of his thoughts and he got ready.
The matched started like planned, the fans were thrilled. Rey's moves were graceful and Randy was in his best Viper mood.
But things changed as Rey miscalculated the distance and gave Randy a hard kick to the ribs. Randy lost his balance his head hit the ground pretty hard, in addition to that Mysterio's feet hit the side of Randy's head as the ground absorbed their fall. He felt blood running down his face and knew from experience that the fall caused a laceration. He got to his feet to continue their match, his vision blurred and his whole body trembled slightly. Rey started his next move but didn't get a chance to strike as Randy fell over. He lay on the ground, not able to get up again. His body hurt and he felt cold.
"Dear god" Rey mumbled and kneeled down next to him "Don't move" he yelled for the paramedics. He hated Randy for what he did to Cody but it wasn't his intention to hurt him. Cody was still angry at him for the punch. Mystrio and the referee helped him out of the ring where the paramedics were waiting for him.
Randy felt how they lay him on a stretcher, he couldn't move his head. A ruff, he realized. "Cody" for one moment he was sure he heard and saw Cody but that must have been a dream, he decided. His ex-lover hated him. He tried to focus on his surrounding but it was pointless, he couldn't see or hear clearly. Randy closed his eyes and prayed for the pain to stop. He passed out before they reached the ambulance.