Disclaimer: I still own nothing but ideas and Serenity. Thank god I don't own the Sandman or he wouldn't be himself anymore.
I wish I could, leave and never return. Baby I know I should, but for you I'd burn…
So, for the next month and a half, Jim and Serenity lived double lives. The days were spent ignoring each other and only talking to each other in secret and away from the others. The nights of course, were spent with each other.
But it wasn't long before word got out of their secret hang out. That's when things started getting bad. Phil stopped talking to her. The other ECW superstars started to give her the evil eye, and some even shouted insults at her, knowing she couldn't do anything about it.
Serenity was about to break and she knew it. One night she decided enough was enough. She took out her cell and called Jim. He didn't answer. He was probably out partying with the guys.
"Hey…Jim…it's me. Listen, I can't do this anymore. I'm gonna ask Phil if he can get me a ticket back to Chicago. I'm really sorry. Just know that none of this is your fault. Thanks for being here for me. Call me back when you can or E-mail me, whichever. See ya".
Her phone rang almost instantly.
"Hello?".
"Kid, what are ya thinking? Wait no, don't answer that because you're not thinking at all!".
"Jim, I don't appreciate you snarling at me like this!".
"Snarling?! Look, that's beside the point. Ya honestly think runnin' from this is gonna help?!".
Serenity didn't answer. Jim continued.
"Let me tell ya somethin', Serenity. It won't help anything. It'll make things worse. Plus…I don't want ya to go".
"Do you think I wanna go? Jim, I hate this…but I'm so tired of being hated on. I hate to say this, but I'm out. I'm done, and I'm sorry. I just can't do this anymore. My own brother hates me because of this".
"Alright…look, hear me out. Stay for one more show. One more week is all I'm askin' for. After this upcoming week, you wanna go back to Chicago, I won't stop ya. I'll try, granted, but I won't stop ya. Or you can stay and not let it be such a hassle. Just one more week Serenity. All I want is just one more week".
"Fine…one more week, then I'm out".
"Don't count your chickens before they hatch".
"Good night…Dream".
"I hate that character".
Serenity didn't say anything. Jim sighed.
"Alright, good night. You ain't comin' over?".
"I don't think I'll be able to make it tonight".
"Well then…Look to your door".
Serenity got up and lord behold, he was right at her door. He hung up his cell and gazed at her with knowing, brown eyes. He smiled devilishly.
"Why's all the beer gone?".
Serenity laughed and let him come in.
"See…you might not be able to make it to me, but I sure as hell can make it to you".
The night was spent talking and snuggling, like always. Jim only showed his tender side to her, only to her. He knew she'd never hurt him, but he was ready to test her. Would she stand up for him if he was ever seriously injured by her brother? That was what he was about to test.
******
The following week saw another show gone by. Another week of living a not so secret double life. People still hated Serenity for betraying the New Breed, but she stayed with her brother to keep them away. They might've hated her, but people loved her brother.
"Are you sure you wanna be out there tonight? Things are probably gonna get crazy" Phil warned her.
"That's fine. I've seen you, Burke, Striker, Cor Von, and Thorn in some pretty gruesome fights. This one will be no different".
"What about the Sandman?".
"That Original? Please…I'm done with him" she lied, but made it look good.
"Did you two fight or something?".
"I guess you could say that. It was a dispute over the phone".
Her cell rang and she answered.
"What do you want?!" she made it sound really good now.
"Oooo, that's perfect, kid. You ready for tonight?".
"Hell yeah I am. My brother's gonna kick your ass, you crazy drunk bastard!".
"We'll see about that".
"Yeah, goodbye to you too, asshole!".
Serenity hung up and looked at her brother. "It was him".
"I'll tell him not to call you again while I'm out there".
"He gets the message".
Serenity followed her brother out to the ring, along with the rest of the New Breed. Most of the Originals were there, but the Sandman wasn't there. Moments after they arrived, he emerged from the crowd and shifted his brown eyed gaze at Serenity. She gave him a look of pure hatred…hey, she had to make it look as if she really hated him.
When the match started, it was leader versus leader. Rob Van Dam faced off against Elijah Burke. RVD had always found new ways to fascinate Serenity. He was so damn flexible with his high kicks and such. It took a lot of exercise and a great quality of strength to do that. She gazed up at the Sandman, who raised an eyebrow at Serenity. She looked away, and he smirked. Man, she was good! He almost thought she really hated him.
Elijah tagged in Kevin Thorn, a follower of vampirism, after a little bit and Rob brought in Tommy Dreamer. Now this was a guy that Serenity had grown to like and admire. He was known as the heart and soul of ECW and Serenity couldn't argue that. Other than Jim, Tommy was someone she actually wanted to socialize with. She made a note to herself to ask Jim to introduce her to him when all of this was over.
The Vampire was strong, but not quite strong enough, Tommy easily took him down and got the pin, leading the Originals to victory. But that didn't satisfy the New Breed. They immediately entered the ring and started pounding on Tommy. Rob, Jim, and Sabu (Terry) all rushed in to defend their friend. CM Punk got his sights on the Sandman and attacked him.
Serenity watched helplessly as her brother was able to take the original down and kick his Singapore cane out of the ring. It was his only weapon, his only real defense. Phil continually beat Jim to a pulp. All the while, Jim was breathing hard, defending himself in anyway he could, but never once did he ever stop looking to Serenity.
He was pleading with her using his eyes. She had never seen that before, nor had she seen it coming. He looked like a helpless animal stuck in a trap. She had to do something, but could she turn against her brother? Could she save the man she loved? She started to cry as she came to her decision.
Serenity rushed to the other side of the ring and grabbed the Singapore cane. She knew what she had to do, and she was ready to do it.
"Forgive me!" she screamed as she went behind him and whacked…Phil Brooks!
Her own brother went down and Serenity fell to her knees, looking traumatized. She tossed the cane back to Jim, who crawled over to her.
"Serenity-".
"I know what you were trying to do. How dare you have the audacity to doubt me?! Don't ever make me do something like that ever again! Please! Just don't do it again!".
Jim was appalled with himself for the first time in a long time. He had hurt her without actually meaning to. He got up on his knees and embraced her.
"I'm sorry" he crooned softly in her ear, "Let's get outta here".
The two slunked away from the fighting group, unnoticed by everyone except the audience in the stands. Backstage, he had to console her a little more. Jim's back was against the wall and he was holding fast and tight to Serenity.
"I'm sorry, Kid. I'll never make ya do it again, I promise. And I never doubted you. I just wanted to come up with a dramatic way to get you stay".
"You've succeeded".
Her hand trembled as it met the warm skin on his face. Blood trickled down from the wound on his forehead. He thought for a minute he was about to get her to kiss him, but she moved her hand away.
"We might wanna get that checked out".
"It's nothin' serious kid. You know I do this all the time. What do you really wanna do?".
Serenity thought a minute. Her blue eyes met his brown and she knew then what she wanted…what he wanted from her. Serenity put her arms around his neck and kissed him. It was wrong, and she knew it. He was old enough to be her dad, but right now, it didn't matter. This was okay, then it was great. But a red flag went up in her head when he reached his hand under her shirt to touch her back. Serenity immediately pulled away.
"No, it can't go to that".
"Got to wha-" Jim caught on, "Oh, you're talking about…Serenity, I'm sorry, I had no idea you were…insecure about it. I'm sorry. I'll…I don't know what I'll do. But I won't do that anymore".
"Do you want to?".
"Only if you wanna".
"No…yes…no…I don't know. One part of me wants to, but the other part of me just doesn't".
"You're not ready…that's fine. I'll wait".
"It's not that. I promised my dad before he died that…that I'd save all that for marriage. I just wanna keep my promise, that's all".
"Like said, I'll wait. I respect that. Your dad taught ya well. And I mean…it'd be a little wrong when you think about it. I'm old enough to be your dad, and it might seem a little wrong. I won't press, I promise".
Serenity smiled. "Thanks. I wanna go home. Can we go back to the hotel?".
"After you…".
A/N: Yeah, I don't write smut guys. I can't worth anything. Trust me, I wrote smut once, it was bad. Very bad as in terrible. Next chapter: I honestly don't know what's gonna happen. I'll think of something eventually. See ya then!