Disclaimer: If I seriously owned anything in this story, do you think I'd be writing it? Exactly. I own Charity Burns, her family members, and all the other OCs. Nothing else. Zip. Zero. Nothing. Nada. Notadamnthing. :) Kapeesh? :)

A/N: Hey, hey, hey guys! So I'm pretty excited about this chapter... it seems to have come out pretty good, though it seems a little rushed in the end, but that is for a reason. On a side note, I shall never take a picture of John Morrison out at my lunch table again to people who aren't wrestling fans... they were trying to rip the pic apart... Morrison is too damn hot, haha! Well... I may update tomorrow, but it depends how much I get done with homework and such tonight. If I don't there will not be an update to around late Sunday as I'm going away for the weekend to meet my niece for the first time... I'm an auntie! Anyway... enjoy!

-Shannon's POV-

Someone could hit me with a truck right now and I don't think I'll care. They say heartbreak is horrible. They have no fucking idea how bad it hurts. I thought it hurt when Crystal and I split a few years ago (even between what happened with us, I still loved her) but nothing feels worse than seeing Charity completely let go in the lockerroom. It's a feeling that has shaken me and I don't know what to do.

The empty lockerroom around me reminds me of a prison and it tortures me with its walls. I want to talk to her so badly but I don't know what to say. She probably hates me. I'm sure he hates me. She has to hate me. You don't hear what Adam said and not hate me.

At least she hates Adam more like the asshole he is. I always thought Adam was still a descent human being despite what happened between him, Matt, and Amy but I don't think I'll ever believe that again. What was his motive for that in the room? Is he really that cold hearted? Edge would do something like that… but Adam? I still remember hanging out with him back before the love triangle shit happened… it just doesn't seem to fit.

Is he really still that angry after all these years? He's completely destroyed two more relationships. Congratulations. I don't even what to think about Matt either. He likes Charity… I'm not surprised about that though, I still remember the night at his house when they were dancing… there was this untraceable look in his eyes, sort of as if he was in a trance.

I'm worried about Charity. She just looked so weak and fragile when I went past her lockerroom. I couldn't bare make it any worse. John and Mike don't help me any, even though they tried to.

Matt, Jeff, and Beth are just trying to figure out how to keep Charity from being off the deepend before she leaves tomorrow and I'm sure they're also trying to figure out how to deal with Adam. Adam… that asshole.

"Shannon!" a voice yells, stumbling into the room and crashing heavily into the benches beside where I've laid my body… or what seemed to be left of it. My heart's no longer in the same place.

I want to ignore the person. Was this all really over? It seemed hard to believe. I almost want to cry… I don't cry. I don't.

The body of Brian Myers stands over me, his eyes semi-frantic. He doesn't seem too happy either for a friend of Adam's. "I really don't want anything to do with you," I mumble, shaking my head. "Go back to the devil." I'm not that dramatic.

"I need to talk to you," Brian says, completely ignoring my statement.

I look to the ground, staring at the tattoos on my hands with a sigh. I wish I could take it all back. Go back from before the contest. A voice in my head says it won't last forever. Don't tell me that. I ignore both the voice and the Long Island native.

"Come on! Don't just pretend I'm not here." Why not? I question in my head. It's sure as hell a lot easier than looking you in the face. "Shannon! Listen to me damn it. If you care about that girl—"

"She has a name," I state grimly. I don't even know where my voice came from, but it sounds angry. Of course it is. "She has a fucking name. She isn't just a fucking girl. Her name is Charity. That girl… that GIRL?!" Maybe I'm losing my mind… I don't know what else it could be.

Brian backs up, eyes wide with shock. I don't think he expected an angry outburst. "Whoa, man, sorry. I… uh… sorry. Charity, right. If you care about her at all, you need to listen to me."

"Give me one good reason to why," I mutter. He doesn't get it. His personal and fucked up mistakes weren't just told to his co-workers. They don't even know why… they don't even know what happened and why taking her cell phone – which I still have – is so bad. I know some of them are judging us North Carolinian boys right now… the NC boys always got to stir up trouble, don't they? I bet that's what they're thinking. Assholes. No idea do they have.

"I'm not fucking helping Adam!" Brian yells. I roll my eyes at him. He runs his hands through his hair and paces around the room angrily. "You know what? FINE. I won't help then. You're all fucking ridiculous and don't want the help… then good, I won't give it. When it happens, expect me to say I told you so." I open my mouth to ask him what he's talking about but he's already gone from the room.

I don't trust Adam's friends and you can't really blame me. Now I wonder what he's talking about… oh well. The Smackdown taping has already started I can tell because the walls a vibrating slightly from the yelling. Maybe I should head to the gorilla after all; I still need to do my job.

-Matt's POV-

"Should I go look for her yet?" I ask Beth. Good thing we have a woman around. It's enough of a mess without the female hormones coming around. Beth can understand what Charity is going through more than Jeff or I can. She's probably going through hell though.

I feel bad for what I did. Well, I really didn't do anything that caused my former friend Adam to lash out at us like he did (and trust me, revenge will be coming his way) but I feel bad for lying to Shannon about my feelings.

I don't even know where the hell he is. John and Mike say he's hiding and not in the mood for talking… of course he isn't. I'm more worried about Charity than him though. Shannon's pretty used to the drama by now. Charity is an innocent eighteen-year-old girl who just came to hang out with her favorite wrestlers and just thrust into some shitty high school drama like crap.

Shannon's a big boy… he's fine, or he'll be fine. I don't think Charity will be. She's just gone through so much the past few days and I wanted to make this so special for her… oh how I have failed miserably. The girl probably hates my guts too, if she doesn't think I'm a pervert for liking her. She's almost sixteen years younger than me. Maybe she thinks both… I just hope not.

Alvin told me he passed her lockerroom while looking for Shelton… she's been sobbing non-stop. Beth says its best for us just to let her cool down somewhat. I want to ask her if she hates me. I want to ask her if she's any okay and I wonder if she'll even want to go out there still. I hope she does at least… hopefully something could go right for once this week.

I almost forget I just asked Beth a question. Even though she's talking to me, I don't hear her; she repeats her answer. "Not yet… wait a few more minutes. And when you do go, I'm going with you… God knows you don't know how to deal with a crying girl."

"HEY!" I reply. "That's a lie."

"Maybe," she almost taunts. She's right though… I have no clue what to say to the girl. Beth can comfort her and make something seem okay. I don't have that. Women are good for crying and sobbing together… maybe Beth should just go alone. No… that wouldn't be good. It'd look like I'm avoiding her. I want her to know that she's going to be okay. I also think at this point any feelings (and there sure seem to be a lot of them) for her I need to put aside. I don't matter to a degree. Adding to her confusion and angst won't help.

I still don't understand why I fell for her in the first place. Amy and Ashley were headstrong, loud, powerful girls and yet Charity is so opposite. How does that fit? She's not even my type. She's so soft-spoken and unsure of herself, very unlike me. Do opposites really attract? I've never believe that. You need common ground and common hobbies to stay together in my opinion… there needs to be something to grow on, right? So what would be hours? We have nothing… so it's pretty much a silly crush. I'm a thirty-three-year-old man… I shouldn't be getting silly crushes.

Jeez.

"I don't want to wait anymore," I decide suddenly, telling Beth and Jeff. My thoughts are starting to get jumbled… quicker I can talk to Charity the more sense it will hopefully make. "I'm going now. Plus, our match is in a half hour, we need to get ready and find Shannon," I add to Jeff. He nods.

Beth stands up beside me. "Are you sure you want to talk to her right now? I'm sure she's… I don't want to call her a mess," she explains, looking at me when I send her a puzzled glance.

"She is a mess," Jeff answers. "The girl has been crying in an arena lockerroom for the past hour… that generally makes her a mess."

I roll my eyes at Jeff and turn to Beth. "I'm sure; let's go."

She looks at me for a moment, searching my eyes with her own. "Alright… let's go."

"Do you think she's still crying?" I ponder, trying to break the silence that's come over us while walking.

"I don't know, Matt," Beth answers. There is hostility in her tone. I look at her.

"Are you mad at me?" I ask her. "And tell me the truth."

Beth looks at me, and shrugs. "If I said I didn't think it was wrong that you hid from your own best friend about liking Charity, I'd be lying. You should have told him… though Adam has no right to do what he did. This whole thing is a mess." She looks around her and sighs. "Maybe you were right at the beginning of this… the contest seems like it's been more trouble than enjoyment… doesn't it?"

I nod at her. "I know what you mean. I mean, Charity is a sweetheart, but if she hadn't come there wouldn't have been all this drama." I pause. "On the other hand… she's great and I think this was good for all of us in a way."

"Yeah… I agree," she whispers, coming up to the door of our lockerroom. She peers in and I hear soft cries. She's still crying… oh boy. "What me to go in first?"

"Let's go in together."

We walk in shoulder to shoulder, almost silently. I don't know if I should speak first or let Beth. This whole thing confuses me. Beth nudges me… I guess I should speak. "Charity?" My voice sounds minute in the large room and so unlike me. I'm a leader, confident and don't let anything in my way… why does my voice sound so different?

She looks up, her face puffy. Her eyes are bloodshot red and there is dried mascara coming down her cheeks. Charity's lips are glossy and her nose is red too. She almost looks like she's been fighting a nasty cold. "Hi…" Her voice sounds worse than mine. Sugar, you're breaking my heart. She really is… I don't and I know Shannon didn't want to cause this… we all wanted fun.

"Hi sweetie," Beth gently continues for me, moving the blue dress Charity was in before we headed over to the 'meeting' over and sits next to her. Women have that sympathic face – they all have it –when another woman is upset… Beth is giving her it now. I just stand behind her, unsure how to say I'm sorry for all her pain. "How you holding up?"

She laughs (only she's still crying so it comes out strangely) bitterly. "How does it look?" Her tone is so sarcastic and unlike her. I instantly feel worse.

"Sorry sugar," I murmur. "I'm sorry about what happened in the meeting. None of us had any idea or we wouldn't have even went. Adam – as you can see – is an asshole. Everything he did will return with karma in time." I take a deep breath and look at Beth for moral support. She smiles softly at me. "And I'm sorry that your time you've been spending with us hasn't been what it should be. This shouldn't be happening like this and I fully understand if you don't want to go out there tonight." I don't want to go into liking her with Beth around… that is something she and I will have to talk about later.

It becomes silent quickly as Charity tries to contain herself in front of us. She sniffles softly, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Matt's right, hunny," Beth adds, "You're not obliged to anything."

"I owe this to myself," she murmurs.

"What?" Both Beth and I ask her, a little perplexed.

Charity looks at me and shakes her head, her brown hair flying with her. "First off, my time here has been amazing… some rough… patches… and uh, stuff… but I've enjoyed the majority of it. You guys have been amazing for me." She takes a similar breath to mine. "And who told you I wouldn't be going out there tonight?"

I can feel Beth smiling from in front of me. "Well I—"

"I look too damn good in that dress and have waited for this too damn long…" she trails off. "Plus, I think I owe something to Penn and this isn't something I would normally do… going outside my comfort zone will make him proud of me," she adds softly.

I'm honestly proud. Beth pats her tear-stained leg and smiles. "Good for you hunny," she tells her. "But you need to hurry to get your hair and make-up done. I don't think you'll want to go out there like this. And you need to get that dress on…" Charity realizes Beth's advice and stands up, looking in the direction of hair and make-up.

"I gotta go!" she yelps, grabbing the dress and running towards the door.

"Go get 'em, girl!" Beth yells as she runs down the hallway.

I smile as she runs, chuckling softly underneath my breath. She really is one special girl we picked for so many reasons. "Do you think she'll be okay?" I murmur to Beth.

Beth wraps her arms around me in a hug. "I think so Matt… she will eventually. Let's just hope she can enjoy the rest of the night."

Side note: Sorry for a bit of confusion to the chapter before this... Charity did NOT have the dress on at the meeting. I should have made that more obvious, I'm sorry. :( And there was a typo too not failing but falling. :) Read and review, and update I shall. :)