After a few weeks of cutting secretive promos, grueling training, disgusting protein shakes, and a couple dozen meetings, tonight was the night. Standing close to the ring entrance you watched Roman and Dean in the ring, mics in hand. You adjusted your mask and dumped the contents of an entire water bottle onto your head, wetting your hair. You checked to make sure the buckles on your vest were secure. They were. You double checked the laces on your boots making sure they were tight enough. they were. Finally you pulled the bandana mask away from your face, heaving your guts out into the nearest trash can. Your nerves were shot to hell. The crowd was loud then silent, watching the promo you cut earlier that day. The mystery of the newest Shield member was about to be solved.
Wiping the remnants of your lunch from your lips you pulled the bandana up again, covering the bottom half of your face. You grabbed a steel chair and jumped up and down a few times to get pumped.
"You see, what you don't know is," You heard Roman say. "We've already found a replacement for Seth."
"THE HOUNDS OF JUSTICE WILL CONTINUE TO PUNISH THOSE WHO HAVE WRONGED!"Dean screamed. "You see, the three of us are stronger then when we were with Seth. Seth was a weak link that we NEEDED to get rid of!"
"Oh yeah? Who could you have possibly found to complete your little boyband?" Triple H taunted.
That was your cue. This was it. Holy Shit...
You stepped onto the top of the runway, staring down Triple H. The crowd erupted in a mass of confusion. Who was this mysterious phenomenon?
"It ain't no boy band anymore." Roman smirked.
You slammed the steel chair across Triple H's back. Oh my god. I just hit my boss with a chair. I hit my freaking boss with a chair. How many people could say they did that?! You turned your attention to Randy Orton who came after you with a punch. You slammed the top of the chair into his stomach than raised it above your head, bringing it down across his spine. Just as Triple H began to rise you let out a barrage of blows to both their backs until they remained down. Out of the corner of your eye Randy gave you a wink and a secretive thumbs up.
You smiled under your bandana as you sauntered up to the ring and joined the boys. Dean handed you the mic and you took the moment to look at all the fans surrounding you. Stage fright almost got the best of you but you pushed it down with all your might. You cleared your throat before raising the microphone to your mouth. "Never underestimate the HOUNDS OF JUSTICE!"
The crowd erupted in screams once again, chanting "The Shield" over and over. Dean gave you a pat on the back before the three of you put your fists together in front of you. Just then Seth's intro music rang throughout the arena. He made his way down the runway, stopping just where Triple H and Randy Orton lay "knocked out".
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, though I may have given up and turned my back on you two, you can't say that you've found someone better than Seth "Mr. Money in the Bank" Rollins. Sorry toots, but you're going to have to go back to the Diva's locker room where you belong."
Dean grabbed a hold of your shoulder and whispered something to you. Run...run and attack him. He'll stop but you'll need to keep going. Show him. Show the fans.
Roman pretended to yell something encouraging to you and you gripped the mic tightly in your hand. "Well Rollins, it seems I'm the only one with enough balls to stand up to the Authority, instead of running behind Triple H's skirt like the little boy you are!"
A round of "oooohhs" came from the crowd. Seth wiped the smug grin off his face and glared at you. God, he was so hot when he did that.
"You think you're tough, sweetheart? Why don't you come hit me right here?" Seth turned his cheek towards you and pointed to his chin. "C'mon now. Let's see what you've got."
"You think you're real cute huh?' You turned away from Seth and walked to the other side of the ring. Seth walked closer, taunting and pointing at his chin. You dropped the mic and ran towards him, throwing yourself through the ropes and onto Seth. You proceeded to grip his hair and punch him with all the theatrical punches you could muster. You were sure you got a few hits to his temple, which you'd have to apologize for later.
Roman and Dean came out from the ring and stood by your side. Dean screamed more stuff about the Hounds of Justice and the three of you jumped over the audience barricade and retreated up the stairs. You tried to stay calm as you heard people whispering about you. Several hands reached out to touch Roman and Dean and some even caught your shoulder. You wondered if they truly meant it or just wanted to touch a famous wrestler. Were you even famous? You might be after "beating" three heavy hitters. Once the three of you walked back into the locker room area Dean and Roman exploded.
"You were so good! Oh my god, amazing! Were you nervous? I was nervous for you!" Dean shouted.
Roman hugged you tight. "You did awesome, baby. I'm so proud of you. I bet Seth is too."
You smiled and loosened your wrist guard. "I puked up everything i ate today before i came out. I was so nervous. I almost ran away when it was my turn to talk!"
"I'm glad you didn't. The crowd seemed to like you." Roman replied.
"I hope so. It's either they like me or the WWE gets a bunch of flack for "supporting" violence against women or whatever."
"Hey, don't think like that. There will always be dumbasses who will say shit like that. You just gotta keep convincing the cooperate guys that you're good for business. You've got your rivalry with Seth that's gonna take you a long way." Dean assured you.
You nodded and took a swig of water. "Yeah, it'll be good. It'll all be ok. I think they're going to put me in a match with him but he's going have one hand tied behind his back so I can have a "better advantage" or whatever. It's so stupid."
"Just deal with it. Sometimes those CEO guys know what they're doing. You'll be fine. You look great, by the way." Roman sat beside you and kissed you quickly.
"Thanks, I think I fit in quite nicely." You smoothed out your cargo pants and smiled proudly.
Dean pulled the bandana away from your face. "Still have your mask on dummy."
With your match with Seth almost over it was time to do your finishing move. You were nervous. Seth weighed more then you could lift at the gym. Lifting him onto your head and over your shoulders was going to be the biggest challenge you ever faced. Not to mention you were about to kiss him in front of 15000+ fans. You gripped him by his hair and kissed him quickly. You kneed him in the stomach, doubling him over so you could hoist him up. Using the strength in your knees you managed to get his body onto your shoulders.
"On the count of three. You can do this baby." His whispered to you. His hair was covering most of his face so the camera couldn't capture him talking.
You groaned, straining all your muscles. "I cant, Seth..."
"Don't you fucking tell me that. Do it! One! Two!-"
You lifted him over your head and dropped him onto your knee, hitting his stomach. Your shoulders burned like hell, and you could already feel the soreness creeping into your lower back. But it was done. The first 'Kiss of Death' in Raw history. You pinned him and pumped your fists into the air, giving the crowd time to cheer for you. Soon after you retreated to the locker rooms, making way for the match after you. You were done for the night. Your first night as a WWE superstar.
The rest of the guys had to get ready to leave, giving you some time to go outside and get a breath of fresh air. Leaving through the back entrance to capture the least amount of attention, you finally tasted the fresh air. It was a little warmer then the air conditioned venue but you appreciated that. You leaned against the railing of the boardwalk that overlooked looked the lake beside the venue. The night air cooled your sweaty skin and you sighed.
"Great match out there. I'm real proud of you."
For a moment you thought you were in a dream, like this entire whirlwind of events was something you mind had cooked up. That voice froze you into place and you didn't dare look at him. He joined you at your side and held out the largest bouquet of flowers you'd ever recieved. "Jeff...this is..."
Jeff Hardy smiled and patted your back. "You deserve them, you've come along way since the little college girl that wrestled me into the dirt back home."
Before you could register what your arms were doing they wrapped around Jeff and squeezed him tightly. His scent was still something you remembered, uniquely his, one that had lingered on you countless nights. He pushed your damp hair back and kissed your forehead. "Never knew you could get so sentimental." he chuckled.
You pulled away before you crushed your precious flowers. "You came all this way to see me debut?"
"No doubt. I wouldn't miss it for the world. I've been watching the past couple weeks just waiting to see you on the big screen. How ya been?"
"Pretty well I'd say. Been training hard, working hard. Lost weight so that's good." you answered.
"You always looked fine to me." He leaned on the railing beside you and smiled. Your heart skipped for a moment. Even after all this time his charm could still affect you.
"What about you? Are you...ok?"
He knew instantly what you meant. "It's been good. Better than before. Maybe I've finally kicked the habit...it's been a battle but the war isn't over."
"Jeff...you have to win that war. If not for anyone but yourself." You laid your head on his shoulder and stayed close. He entwined his fingers with yours and kissed your hand.
"I know. I lost you because of it. I've lost a lot of things because of it. I'm going to get my life back." he said with a determination you so loved to hear. "So, you seeing anyone?"
You dropped his hand and looked away, realizing that the moment had come to tell him. It had been awhile since you got his text at the wedding and you never had time to explain yourself. You hoped he hadn't gotten the wrong idea.
"Yes actually. Well...I'm seeing...Somehow I managed to date two guys at once."
Jeff's eyes widened in shock. "What?!"
You sighed. "It's complicated, SUPER complicated. But yeah...these two guys...we just all click together. Somehow we're making it work and I enjoy the time I spend with them."
"So they know about each other?"
"Yep. We're ALL dating. I'm dating them both, they're dating each other and me. One big fucked up confusing family."
"Ey, at least you didn't cheat on your college girlfriend with them." He nudged you and chuckled.
"Shut up Jeff, that was a giant mistake and you know it!" You realized what you had said as soon as the look of hurt appeared in his eyes. "No, Jeff, I meant the mistake was cheating, not us."
He gave you a smile that you knew wasn't genuine. "I know! C'mon, i obviously was cool with it. I got the girl at the end of the day. A hot college chick."
"Yeah, you fucking cradle robber."
The both of you shared a laugh. it was nice to see him acting like his old self, the Jeff you fell in love with. He straightened up and looked you dead in the eye. "Well, I hope those boys treat you right. You never know, I might come back here and swoop you off your feet."
You smiled. "Yeah, right, Jeffy-boy. You know I only believe it when I see you do it."
He leaned in close, taking your face into his strong hands. "You never know..."
When his lips touched yours you were lost. Some feelings that you buried deep down in your heart, forbidden to resurface had done just that. You were grateful though that it didn't last long. Your head filled with thoughts of Roman and Seth, the two that meant the world to you. You didn't have the heart to push Jeff away, he was sensitive and sometimes a little hostile. Thankfully he pulled back and smiled.
"See you around kid, maybe at your first pay per view!" You watched your ex head back to his car and you let out a sigh of realief. When you turned to go back into the venue you were stopped by two angry men staring down at you. You swallowed hard, knowing that Seth and Roman had seen everything.