"Pride and Prejudice"
An Edge/Ashley fanfic

Thanks to Christal-R, Thee Britty, JeffHardyFan4Everx333, Edgesgurl, Kristin4 and xAttitudex for reviewing last chapter, you rule!

As promised i updated earlier than usual lol. Keep them coming if you want the next chappie soon :)
Hope you enjoy this one,
R&R


Chapter 37
"Already Gone"

Making a huge effort in fighting back the tears that she was well aware were coming, the punk diva quickened her pace and left her boyfriend behind.

Boyfriend? Actually ex as from now.

She had no idea of how she had been able to keep her composure before him while her heart sank down with every not-explanatory word he said… maybe that was the last bit of dignity she still had after what had just happened.

No, she wasn't going to let him see what he had done to her. He didn't have the right to watch her breaking down because of him… she refused to give him such right.

He could have fooled her and break her heart into pieces not more than 10 minutes ago in failing to give her any kind of explanation… but he surely as hell wasn't going to see her cry.

Not for him. Not tonight.

Her breath became heavier with every step she took and she knew it was only a matter of seconds now before her vision became blurred.

So, turning a corner and making sure not to hear his footsteps following hers, she finally set her emotions free as the tears immediately started to run down her face and let out a chocked desperate cry, her hand on her mouth.

She didn't know anymore where she was going, she didn't even know if there was someone else around her, she just felt… lost.

It was too soon to try to reflect about what had just happened, it was too soon even to try to understand that.

The only thing she knew was that until an hour ago she felt on top of the world, blessed with the love of who she started to think was the man of her life… and now… now she felt like someone had just shot a bullet straight to her heart, destroying her from inside.

"Ashley?" Someone unsurely called out as he came across the unusual sight of the diva literally crying her heart out "Are you okay?"

The genuine concern in the rhetorical question seemed enough to catch her attention as, through blurred sight, she lifted her eyes to find none other than her ex staring back at her.

The previous one, that was.

And in that moment she didn't care anymore of the last time they talked, of the nasty verbal fight they had about him, she just… needed someone.

"Ash?" He called her name again, cautiously taking a step towards her.

"Oh Matt…" She chocked out and, in the blink of an eye she had sprinted forward, finding refuge in his arms and holding onto him for dear life. "I'm so… he…"

"Ssh, it's okay." He soothed her, gently caressing her head "You don't have to explain anything right now… I'm here, just let it all out."

And so she did, her face pressed against his chest as he held her tight, feeling grateful for having run into him indeed.

Now if only she had seen that half smirk resting on his face in meanwhile.

x—x—x—x—x

Confusion was just a tiny part of the rollercoaster of emotions Adam had found himself entrapped into in the last minutes.

He had gone from the after-segment worry to the relief of finding her in his own locker room indeed; from the anxiety of explaining her the truth to the surprise of finding out she already believed him; from the hope that everything was fine to the puzzlement of her odd behavior… and then, and only then, to the most complete disbelief of her accusation/revelation.

Which had surely left him in confusion.

How on earth did Kelly and up with his… err… Ashley's bandana?!

And that story of he being the one who had given it to the ECW diva…?

C'mon, that was just… absurd!

Absurd, crazy, insane… whatever you wanted to call it, but still… inexplicable.

But she wanted an explanation, she demanded an explanation… and no, he couldn't blame her for that, but this definitely wasn't something he could do.

How was he supposed to give her, let alone his believable version of the truth, but even only a rational and plausible explanation when he was the first one who had no idea whatsoever of what had happened?

How could he plead his cause when what she was accusing him of was, for him, completely impossible?

He couldn't say anything… he didn't say anything, besides stuttering the usual and never good 'it's not like it seems'.

He couldn't have been more cliché if he had tried to, that was for sure.

Nevertheless he had failed to give her the only thing she asked for… and that was when confusion left place for another shock as she spat those three most dreaded words.

It's over.

And everything had abruptly stopped right there.

No more frenetic alternation of emotions… nothing at all. As he helplessly watched her walk away from him he felt completely numb. Almost as if she was taking all of him with her.

Those three words were echoing in his mind over and over…

What was he supposed to do?

He wasn't used to deal with such situations… what did she expect? That he would just accept this as a fact and let her go like that?

Besides the meaning of the words, it had been her tone to paralyze him.

He had never seen her so… determined, so firm. Not even after what Kelly had done to her, not even after the fight he had witnessed between her and Matt.

No, he had wished for her to shout out, to insult him, to get mad, to hit him… but nothing, she was so… resolute.

He would have preferred anything but that. Anything.

Her tone meant one thing: she had made her decision, she was done with him.

There was no turning back for her. This was final.

But did she really think he was letting her go like that?

No, he had to stop her.

And he had to stop her right now.

So he suddenly sprinted forward, almost knocking an oblivious crew member down in the process, as he rushed after Ashley.

It wasn't too late to make her change her mind.

It couldn't be.

x—x—x—x—x

There was no doubt that Kelly Kelly was in an extremely happy mood as she stepped inside the women's locker room again with a smile brighter than usual.

And she hadn't even fully closed the door that the other girls immediately gathered around her.

Or, at least, her friends did.

"OMG! You and Adam!" Layla shrieked, prompting Victoria and Jillian to roll their eyes as they gathered their things in the back of the room.

"I know, right?" The blonde flashed her best grin.

"And what were you waiting for to tell us?!" The skilled dancer retorted with a playful slap on the arm before the two burst out with giggles.

"Anyway," Maryse jumped in as she flickered her hair behind in a quick movement "you were simply magnifique out there." She complimented the ECW diva with a smirk.

"Indeed you were!" Layla promptly echoed with a mischievous smile of her own "That was awesome! You… totally owned her!"

"Yes owned, that's the word!"

"Not to mention how you sent Cherry back in her place!" The curly haired diva was apparently on a roll "Hello? Since when she even found the courage to come out on her own?!"

"And with that hair… terrible." The French-Canadian shuddered.

Kelly giggled at her two fellow divas' compliments, shrugging her shoulders as an innocent smile appeared on her features.

"Well you know the saying girls… payback's such a bitch!"

"But why should have you given them a payback?" A third voice eventually piped up interrupting the new outburst of laughter and attiring three pair of eyes on her.

"I don't get it," a puzzled looking Brooke continued "I mean… you stole Adam from Ashley and you convinced Cherry to attack her… weren't you the one supposed to receive a payback?"

The much reasonable question was welcomed by a tense silence, during which Layla and Maryse stared at Kelly, maybe wondering the same.

But if they were, it didn't last more than a few seconds… until Kelly responded with a new found –and somehow forced- smile.

"Sweetie sometimes I wonder when they'll draft you to Raw… you'll be perfect in the role of the dumb interviewer!"

And that, apparently, settled the matter since the other two laughed along once again, forgetting any little shadow of doubt.

The brunette frowned at this, still failing to understand how Kelly's story made sense, but she was already forgotten as Layla piped up again.

"So I think we totally have to go out to celebrate tonight!"

"And you have to tell us all the details… and you know which ones I refer to." Maryse teased.

"Of course," the Extreme Exposé leader most willingly accepted "and what else did you think I was going to do?!"

And with other giggles the trio linked arms and got ready to leave the locker room… not before turning to shot an impatient glare in Brooke's direction.

"Are you coming or what?!"

"Yeah, sure…!" She immediately jumped up and hid an eye-roll as, once again, she found herself following her best friends wherever they decided to go.

x—x—x—x—x

"Better now?" Matt softly asked a few minutes later as they eventually pulled apart.

Ashley merely nodded, wiping a few tears away with the back of her hand.

"Good." He approved with a sympathetic smile.

"Matt I'm so sor--"

"Shh," he hushed her once again "you don't have to explain me anything, I told you. Now let's get you out of here, c'mon."

He showed her his best good-hearted smile as he firmly held her hand, leading her outside.

And she followed, not caring to look back even for a moment… too bad cause if she did she would have met the gaze of someone who in meanwhile had caught up with her.

Someone who now, if possible, felt even worse than before.

If until a few minutes ago he was numb, now Adam definitely felt as someone had suddenly waken him up… with a hard slap right on his face.

Fuckin' Hardy.

This was the only mutter that escaped his lips as his hand instinctively closed into a fist on his side.

x—x—x—x—x

"Do you think he has found her in meanwhile?" Cherry asked as she and Michelle silently drove back to the hotel.

The all-American girl shrugged her shoulders "It's a possibility. Maybe he succeeded when we failed." She faintly smiled.

"I hope they make up… they look really good together," she let out a weary sigh as she looked out of the passenger's window "I mean he scares me to death sometimes… but he's very nice to Ashley."

Michelle couldn't help but softly giggle at the last sentence.

Cherry was definitely something different.

"Yeah, I wouldn't have betted one dollar on this relationship at the beginning… but I totally agree with you now." She eventually replied, focusing on the road "Who knows, maybe while we're worrying they're already working things out." She hopefully said.

"Even though that kiss… do you believe what Kelly said?" The shy diva finally brought herself to ask, almost afraid of her own words.

The faith-heart-soul diva took her moment to reply, thinking over the evening's events once again.

"To tell you the truth, I really don't know… I mean, we all saw the kiss… but after all it's Kelly we're talking about. On the other hand, yes we know Kelly was after him since day one of Smackdown and ECW working together… but not only there's a video showing a kiss between them, we're also well aware of Adam's past. It's… difficult."

"Poor Ash, I wouldn't wish to be in her position right now… so confusing…"

But Cherry's words trailed off as Michelle's text alert went off and both divas exchanged a hopeful look.

The smaller blonde hurried to take the electronic device out of Michelle's bag and not more than two seconds later she exclaimed what they both were hoping for…

"It's Ashley's!"

"Thank God," she let out a relieved sigh "what does she say?"

"That she's not coming back to your room tonight and to not worry." Cherry quoted, lifting her eyes on the athletic diva once again "Maybe this means they got everything sorted out?"

"Let's hope so, I guess we'll have to wait 'till tomorrow to find out." And with that she shrugged her shoulders once again, hoping Cherry was right in her assumption.

x—x—x—x—x

Little both divas know that, instead, in that very moment Ashley was in the room of the last person they would have imagined.

"Thanks for letting me crush here." She gratefully smiled, drying her long blonde hair in a towel after taking a much refreshing shower.

From the other side of the room Matt chuckled as he prepared his own bed.

"Don't even mention it, what's the use in having a spare bed then?"

"…Shannon's bed is not exactly a spare one though." She pointed out with a soft giggle… the first since they had met in the arena's corridor earlier.

"He'll be fine rooming in with Jimmy for one night," he shrugged "and wait… was that a smile? About time." He winked.

She bit on her bottom lip, feeling her cheeks' color rising.

"You know why you bumped into me like that, right?" She almost whispered.

He took a moment to reply, then abandoned his task and went to sit down on the edge of her bed.

"I was watching the show from the locker room, let's put it in this way." He faintly smiled.

She grimaced.

"And to think that you warned me… you told me this was someway going to happen…" she sighed "and I treated you so--"

"Hey hey, there's no need to talk about that, alright? We were both angry, we said bad things we didn't mean… it's okay." He promptly placed an arm around her shoulders.

"I should have listened to what you said instead of attacking you." She sniffled, feeling the tears threatening to spill out once again that night.

"Let's not even think anymore about that, c'mon." He playfully messed her hair up.

"And you're letting me stay here anyway… thank you, really. I didn't feel like explaining the whole situation to the girls tonight…" She trailed off.

"Ash, I told you. Stop thanking me." He chuckled pulling her into a hug "One, that's what friends do. And two, we both know now what it's like to deal with people… people like that."

She didn't say anything for a few moments, her cheek pressed against his chest as she hugged him back… then she eventually found her voice again.

"I'm glad you're here."

"And I'm glad to be here." He responded with the same sweet voice he had used for the last hour… the one that masked the sick grin on his face.