When Chris finally made it back to his room, he hesitated to even go inside. Not because of Mike but mainly because he was worried about Shawn. The blonde simply tore out of the room at a lightening pace. Chris wasn't entirely sure why Shawn left but something about the look on his face screamed JBL. He was going to check on him but Bret offered to go instead. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, Chris didn't know. He just hoped for everyone's sake that Shawn was okay. Chris took a deep breath before entering his room. What he saw made his jaw drop. Mike was completely naked standing near the bed. His back was to Chris and he was seemingly in the process of getting dressed. Mike suddenly turned around to face him and practically jumped out of his skin.

"Oh my God Chris! I…wasn't expecting you for some time," he stammered nervously. His face turned a deep shade of red and he looked absolutely sick. Chris' embarrassment suddenly went away and was replaced by amusement. He clamped his opting for his signature smirk. Mike didn't look half bad in the nude. In fact he looked pretty damn good.

"Wow Mike. You know to be such a runt you don't look half bad like that," he teased. Mike quickly turned away from him and started nervously attempting to put on his boxers. Chris could only laugh at him. "I'm sorry Mike. I couldn't help myself. This morning's been a little intense so forgive me for having a laugh."

Mike finally managed to get his shorts on before he turned to Chris grinning. "It's okay. Glad I could be the source of some smiles. So…not that it's any of my business but you're back a lot earlier than expected. Did you convince them to let the interview go?"

Chris plopped down on the bed, propping his arm on a pillow. He watched a little entranced as Mike lotioned his arms and legs. "Uh…no I didn't. They both insisted that they get it finished so that they could get on with their lives."

"Ahh so it was another morning of painful memories."

"Not…exactly," Chris laughed. "They uh…talked about the morning after their lovemaking. It was kind of funny since Shawn was a bit moody yet strange as well."

"Strange?" Mike frowned.

"Yeah…he uh…apparently John was with him when he got up this morning."

"Huh? Come again?"

"My thoughts exactly considering Mark's the only reliable source on the roster. If he said Jibble's gone then he's gone."

"Then what was up with Shawn? Did he like…dream Jibble was with him this morning?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out. The interview was cut short when Shawn suddenly tore out of the room like a mad dog. I don't know if something Bret said got him thinking of John but whatever it was, it got the blonde worried about something."

"Oh. So why didn't you go after him?" Mike asked with a frown. "I know you still care about him."

"I did but then Bret decided it would probably be best if he went too. I wasn't about to be the third wheel not to mention a part of me has this feeling it was something to do with John. I can't even begin to imagine Shawn's face if he somehow discovered John's M.I.A. That would…I don't want to know."

"Yeah I understand that." Mike finally tugged his shirt over his head and for a moment Chris felt like pouting. He was enjoying the view but he supposed he needed to let that go. He didn't want to creep Mike out or anything. He valued his friendship too much to risk it all because he had a moment of weakness. The price you pay for not getting laid… Chris felt the bed dip and he suddenly realized Miz was lying next to him, his head resting on his hands staring back at him. Chris blinked and then smiled.

"So what do you wanna do for the rest of the day? I'm pretty sure I won't be seeing Bret Michaels any time soon and I really need an excuse to ignore any phone calls. I'd rather not know if Shawn's in a mental facility all because of me."

Mike laughed showing off perfect teeth that Chris never really noticed before. "Well…I don't know if you'd want to go but I was planning to go to the aquarium today."

"Aquarium? As in fish and things I love to eat?"

Mike laughed again. "Yeah. I'm not much of a zoo person but I do love aquariums. Everything about them is so cool. I especially love the colorful fish."

Chris couldn't help but laugh at the kid. His eyes just seemed to light up at the thought of seeing pretty fish. Chris had never actually been to an aquarium so he had no opinion of them. First time for everything... "I think I'd like to go actually."

Mike's jaw dropped. "What? Seriously? You'd go with me?"

"Of course," he smirked. "Unless you had some kind of hot date…"

"No, no, no, no, noooooo. No date."

Chris laughed at him again. He was so cute when he was like this. "No date huh? And why not?"

"I…don't know. Guess I'd rather hang out with you than risk dating. At least with you I know I'm going to have a good time and I'll be treated like a real person."

Chris was almost rendered speechless but he somehow managed to play it off. He reached over and ruffled Mike's hair. "I didn't know you were such a softie," he teased.

"Hey! I'm not that soft! I just…like doing things most guys would find stupid."

"Most guys probably would but then I'm not most guys. In fact, I've never even been to an aquarium before so maybe I'll like it."

"Oh…really?"

Chris shook his head. "Nope. But I imagine it's a cool place to take someone on a date."

"I'd like to think so. It's pretty quiet and the aquarium itself is lit perfectly to give off a romantic vibe."

Chris snorted. "Romantic? God you're such a girl!"

"Don't pick! No one's making you go you know!" he snapped hotly. "And besides, I can't help it if I'm a little sensitive."

"A little?" Chris quirked his brow. "You might be more girly than a few others I know."

"Whatever," he mumbled. Chris reached out pushing his shoulder hard until he fell over on his back.

"Hey! What gives you mindless hypocrite?"

Chris could not stop himself from laughing. "You would call me that." Chris rolled off the bed then proceeded to drag Mike off the bed by his feet. "Come on Tiger. You have a date. Don't wanna disappoint do you?"

"I…a date?" Mike managed to get away before Chris could drag him to the floor but he couldn't really bring himself to move after that. A date? Chris said 'date' but what exactly did he mean by it?

"Hey? Earth to Mike? Are you going to keep your date waiting?"

"What? Oh…no." He forced a grin. "Guess not. You're really going to be my date?"

"Well duh! Now come on before I take you to the zoo."

"Oh hell no! Let's go," he grinned.

~*--*--*~

Shawn sat on the sofa still curled up in his sheet, mad as hell at himself for everything that's happened. He knew that it wasn't entirely his fault but he couldn't help but feel so guilty about betraying John. I need to get out of here… I need to talk with somebody… The old Shawn would have just called Hunter or Kevin to come and rescue him. They always had a terrible habit of doing so, even when Shawn felt like he didn't need rescuing. Prime example would be the incident with John, but Shawn couldn't just sit there with Bret. Already his brain was about to explode and he was feeling lonelier than ever before.

Shawn tiptoed across the room as quietly as he could and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket then retreated back to the couch. He skimmed through the contacts stopping for several minutes on the one that read "Sweetheart". He had to cover his mouth with his hand to muffle the sound of his cry. John… Sweetheart was the nickname he'd given John though he often settled for calling him 'baby'. Shawn wanted so badly to dial his number but he was sure John wouldn't answer. When John didn't wish to be bothered not even his sister or corporate worker could make him answer the phone. John was always a man of his word and if he meant to give Bret a trying chance then he likely wouldn't answer for several days. Shawn wiped his eyes and opted for another contact instead; the only one who'd listen without freaking out or making things worse. Come on pick up…

"What's up?"

"Jeff?"

"Oh my God Shawn! I didn't even think to look at the ID. How are you baby? And here I was thinking it would be Matty," he chuckled.

"Uh…" Shawn lowered his voice to almost a whisper. "I'm…I'm fine. I just needed to hear a friendly voice." Shawn glanced over his shoulder casting a look towards the bed. Bret was still snoring lightly which meant he was still asleep.

"Oh well that's alright sweets. You know I'm always here for you. So uh…what's going on?"

"Nothing," he lied.

"Then why are you talking so softly? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine…just…Bret's sleeping."

"Bret? Bret's sleeping? What the hell has Chris got ya'll doing?"

"Nothing. Chris is gone…probably in his room."

"Oh…and where are you?"

"In the room you and Hunter let me use."

"And Bret's there…with you…sleeping?" he asked.

"Yeah. He's uh…in bed."

"Shawn I can't really talk much longer because we're about to start taping but am I right in thinking that Bret's not just sleeping in your room because he wanted a nap?"

"Uh…yeah."

"I'm right?" he hissed. "So…so does that mean…" Jeff's voice trailed off and he waited hoping that Shawn wouldn't say what he was thinking but when he didn't answer he knew it had to be the truth. "I'm sorry Shawn."

"Yeah me too."

"Do you want me to tell Hunter?"

"No. Please. Don't tell anyone Jeff," he pleaded quietly. "I can't…I need to figure things out without people rescuing me. That's kind of why I called you. I knew you wouldn't yell at me or lecture to me. I just…I needed to tell somebody or else I was going to lose it. I'm just so confused Jeff."

"I know you are love. Listen I have to go but you take care of yourself. I am going to call you when I get done taping alright?"

"Alright. And…thanks for listening Jeff."

"Anytime love. Laterz."

-xx-

Jeff hung up the phone frowning as he stuffed the object in his bag. He didn't know why but all of a sudden he was feeling an extreme need to go rescue Shawn from Bret. It was probably a little childish considering he didn't know much about Bret but after seeing Shawn so scared the other day, he wasn't sure if he was ready to just let this go. I now understand why Hunter's so concerned… "Hey Jeff. What's with that look? Who was that on the phone?"

Jeff jumped having not expecting to have anyone sneak up on him like that especially since he thought he was alone the whole time. He shrugged it off, flashing JoMo a smile. "I was talking with Shawn."

"Uh huh. So what's up with him? Why would he be calling you right before a taping?" JoMo asked. He was standing in front of a mirror combing through his hair and for a moment Jeff saw his blonde friend instead of the cocky tweener standing near him. Jeff shook his head. "Nothing man. Just wanted to hear a friendly voice."

John turned to him, a look of concern on his face. "Is he doing okay?"

"Why you ask?" Jeff frowned. He wasn't sure how much John knew about the situation so he wanted to be careful. He'd promised Shawn not to say anything to anyone and he had every intention of keeping that promise…sort of.

"Just…Mark's been telling me a lot of things and he tells me because he's worried."

"Things? What kind of things?"

John suddenly looked around the room, quickly opting to take a walk towards the showers to make sure no one else was around. He returned a second later, hesitating a moment before actually speaking. "Just…I don't know Jeff. I know a lot of things. Question is, how much do YOU know about everything?"

"Enough to know that we all need to tread lightly over the next couple of days and it's all Chris' fault."

"I don't know if we should blame Chris for stirring the pot…at least not all the way. John did let Shawn do the interview."

"So you know about Bret and Shawn?"

"Probably more than you but I'm not going to exchange details…at least not here. How's he doing? Certainly better than Chris I hope."

"I don't…how's Chris?" he frowned.

John ran a hand through his hair. "Not…great according to Mizzy. Chris literally had a breakdown last night after ya'll left the room."

"Oh fuck. We don't need him flipping out on us too ya know. Ugh! Can this get any worse?"

"When it comes to Shawn, probably. But we need to get going. Shawn will be alright…I reckon. He's not alone is he?"

"Alone?" Jeff scoffed. "I wish."

"Hunter?" he winced.

"Huh? What? No!" he laughed a little. "Naa…Hunter and I are beyond that. We have an understanding about Shawn. No. Hunter's somewhere brooding."

"Then who's with Shawn?"

"Bret."

"Oh boy."

"My thoughts exactly."

"JEFF?! JOHN?!? WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?! YOU'RE ON IN FIVE!" The door burst open and in walked Glen. "You guys, Vince is about to pop a vein."

"We're coming." John turned to Jeff. "More later," he whispered. Jeff nodded as they broke into a run after Glen.

~*--*--*~

Hunter was not in a good mood but that was to be expected. His baby was gone to work; something he would have been doing if he hadn't been drafted back to Raw. No. Instead he was sitting alone in their hotel room attempting to watch ECW. He couldn't quite keep up with what was going on because of images of Bret flashing through his mind. And it didn't help that the Hart Dynasty were making their way down the ramp to the ring. Just hearing that rip from Bret's old theme made his blood boil. Hunter turned the tele off, his resentment getting the better of him. He didn't hate the Dynasty. In fact he'd spoken to David once and the kid seemed genuinely nice. Unfortunately for him, he was part of a group that reminded him too much of other persons – persons that he grew to dislike for personal reasons. Davey Boy and Bret…what an annoyingly arrogant combo…

*-x-*

Paul stood outside the locker room watching the other guys nervously. Normally he didn't fear new environments. That just wasn't his thing to be scared. He always took new opportunities or experiences and embraced them but this was an entirely different situation. This was Vince McMahon. The guy that single handedly took out all the wrestling territories. There was nowhere else to go if he fucked up here so hell yeah he was nervous. Vince told him to look for a stunning young blonde named Shawn. Paul almost laughed at the word "stunning". Stunning was not the way you described one of the biggest kept secrets in all of professional wrestling and half thought Vince was joking at first but he supposed not.

"You need to get in good with Shawn and his friends. Like you, they are rising stars though one can argue Shawn's already a star. He's quite possibly the best performer I've ever seen and that's a big compliment coming from me. Find him. I'm sure you guys will get along great…unless of course you'd like to try your luck getting in good with the Harts."

That was Vince's advice and Paul wasn't going to ignore it. He had plans to become a huge star someday but in order to do that you have to network. Of course he wasn't really sure what this Shawn guy looked like and he hoped to God that he wasn't one of the ones blowing him off. He'd been standing outside the locker room for almost an hour and was yet to get a friendly nod from anyone. It could have been the fact that Paul's ring attire and character made him come off as a bit stuck up and rich but that was just a character. In fact he was far from being rich and stuck up. If anything he was probably the coolest guy anyone could ever hope to meet…unless they crossed the line. I really hope this Shawn guy is worth my time…

Paul didn't have to wait too much longer before he saw a really tall guy coming up the hall. He was dressed in black leather pants and a leather vest as well. His dark hair complimented his intense, dark eyes and he just had this aura about him that screamed 'fuck off'. For a moment their eyes locked and the big guy nodded his way. Paul, a bit shocked that someone like him was speaking to him, managed a stiff nod back then went back to warming the wall. Alright Shawn. Where are you? "Hey you!"

Paul blinked, not realizing that he'd almost dozed off. Standing before him was the huge guy who acknowledge him a few moments ago. "Oh, hey man."

"What's your name?"

Paul stuck out his hand. "Paul…but uh…guess around here you'd call me Hunter," he grinned.

"Ahh…Hunter." The big guy studied him for a moment as if checking him out. It kind of made Paul a little self conscious but he shrugged it off. The guy before him was huge and he wasn't about to insult him. The guy must have picked up on his uneasiness because he suddenly laughed out loud. "Dude. No worries. I'm not being a creeper. I was just thinking…Vince told me earlier that he had a newbie coming in today. He asked me to let you roll with us. You know, kind of show you the ropes. You seem like a decent guy and since you're the only Hunter around you must be the guy."

"Uh…yeah I am," he managed.

"Cool. My name's Kevin."

"Nice to meet you Kevin," he smiled, shaking his hand. "Uh…well, I have to tell you Vince never said anything about you. He told me to get in with a guy named Shawn but I haven't seen him around. Are you a friend of his?"

Kevin laughed. "Friend? Dude I'm his bodyguard!"

"On screen?"

Kevin suddenly frowned. "Both but that's something best discussed later. Not that you're a creep or anything but Shawn's my baby. Not baby in the sense that we're together but…you'll see. The guys know that I'll hurt them if I hear word of them bothering him."

"Wow. Shawn must be very important around here," Paul noted.

"Well not really but he's a really good guy. A little hot headed at times but you learn to deal with it. If you knew what was going on with him, you'd understand why he's a bit…"

"Temperamental?"

Kevin laughed. "Something like that. Say…how about I introduce you to him?"

"Oh that would be great!"

"Well come on," he grinned. Happy to have finally found what he was looking for, Paul eagerly followed Kevin into the locker room. There were several superstars mixing and mingling but you could already tell that cliques had been formed. Paul just hoped he was walking into the right one. "Hey beautiful. I got someone I want you to meet." The "beautiful" guy in question was bent over in the tightest red tights lacing up his boots. Paul was surprised to see how small he was which kind of made him nervous. It was no secret that Vince loved big guys so if this was Shawn, Paul feared he'd have a time taking him seriously. God I hope Vince didn't just pull one on me… His attitude quickly changed when the blonde finally turned around.

"Wow," he breathed, though it was merely a bad case of word vomit. Shawn's long, silky looking hair was hanging freely complimenting a sparkling set of baby blue eyes that had Paul ready to run a marathon for. He expected a lot of things but what he did not expect was for Shawn to look that damn good.

"Hi, I'm Shawn." He stuck out his hand packaged with the most breathtaking smile he'd seen in ages.

"Uh…I'm…"

"This is Paul," Kevin answered for him. "But you can call him Hunter."

"Hunter…I like it," he grinned. "So uh…what's up?"

"Paul here met with Vince earlier today and he told him to hang out with us. I've already threatened to kill him if he decides to become a douche so don't worry your pretty blonde head over him. He just might fit right in."

"Oh cool! Well welcome to the snake pit that is the World Wrestling Federation."

"Snake-pit is one word for it," Kevin mumbled.

"Oh be nice big guy," Shawn scolded. "I'd rather not let him hear you. I'm not in the mood for him today."

"You shouldn't be in the mood for him any day."

"Kevin…don't. Not tonight alright?" he warned.

"Fine. I'll just be over here schooling the rookie."

"You do that."

Kevin pulled Hunter away from Shawn shaking his head. "Stubborn ass male."

"Maybe but damn. I wasn't expecting him to look so…"

"Hot?"

"Well…yeah. He's so…"

"I know what you're going to say and I'm telling you now as a friend, don't. In fact don't even think about his beauty. If you can get past that then you'll be fine."

"Oh like that will be easy to do," he scoffed. Paul cast another glance Shawn's way watching him comb through his hair. Shawn had to be the single most gorgeous man he'd ever laid eyes on.

Kevin sighed. "He's taken Hunter."

That got Paul's attention. "Huh? Come again?"

"He's taken…at least figuratively and before you ask anymore questions I'm telling you now to let it go. Shawn's off limits. Got that?"

"Yeah got it." I should have known anyway. He's much too pretty to be single… All of a sudden the doors burst open and in walked four more guys. Three of them were sporting pink and black attire while the other wore trunks that had the British flag embroidered on them. They came in laughing about something or another opting to carry on in their own corner of the room. Paul watched as several superstars quickly exited the locker room giving those guys half the locker room to themselves. This made Paul frown. Just who the hell are those guys?

"That's The Hart Foundation," Kevin mumbled in his ear. "The stout one is Jimmy Neidhart. The short, blonde kid is Owen Hart and standing to his left is his brother, big bad Bret Hart. That's their cousin in the trunks, Davey aka The Bulldog."

"Oh…so—

"Don't stare!" Kevin hissed. He grabbed Paul pulling him back towards Shawn's area and away from watchful eyes. "Not that I'm afraid of them or anything but too many times I've wanted to ring a certain person's neck for personal reasons. I can't because those guys happen to run things around here and with good reason. Jimmy and Bret had tag team gold at one point but now Bret's WWE Champion. Bulldog was the IC Champ until Shawn won it from him. Now he's the European champ while Jimmy and Owen have been chasing the tag belts for the last few weeks."

"Oh I see. So…basically if I want to keep my job…"

"Yep so – What do you want?" Paul turned around and found himself face to face with Bret. His championship belt was being held by his younger brother and all of them were surrounding him and Kevin. Bret was pretty handsome Paul noted, with a striking set of dark eyes. His tan only complimented his dark hair so Paul was impressed.

"Just was going to introduce ourselves to the new guy." Bret stuck out his hand. "I'm sure you know by now that I'm Bret Hart. This is the rest of my family."

Paul shook his hand, forcing a weak smile because for some reason he wasn't sure Bret's intentions were as he claimed. Shawn suddenly squeezed himself between Paul and Kevin moving to stand out front. "Is there a problem?" Shawn asked. Bret looked down at him smirking.

"Oh no. No problem at all. Just getting to know the new guy here."

"No offense Bret but since when do you care about new recruits?" Kevin challenged. Bret's smile faded and the look he cast Kevin screamed 'death'. The tension in the air had risen immensely and for a second Paul wondered if he'd made the right decision. Kevin moved to stand over Bret, both guys staring each other down as if waiting for the other to make a move but Shawn pulled Kevin back. "No…Kevin please…don't…" He moved in front pushing Kevin back. "It's not…"

"One of these days Bret," he growled.

"To get to Bret you'll have to get through us first," Davey grinned.

Kevin made an attempt to get to Davey but Shawn pushed him back. "NO! Kevin…" The guys all turned to leave laughing loudly as they exited the room. The only one who remained was Bret. Shawn spun around to face him, his eyes flashing dangerously. "You…."

Bret smirked as he moved closer towering over the blonde. Shawn's face was turning all shade of red too. Paul wasn't sure what to make of this because in his opinion, Bret was really pushing his luck. He watched as Bret twirled a strand of Shawn's hair before backing away. "See you later princess."

When Bret was finally gone Paul let out a low whistle. "That was interesting."

"Interesting my ass," Kevin growled. "Shawn I don't know why—

"I told you not tonight Kevin!" he snapped. "We have to get going anyway. I have to wrestle Davey tonight so you have my permission to kick his ass and anyone else's if they don't act right during my match alright?" Kevin still didn't look very happy but Shawn seemed to have a way of calming him down. Paul watched as Shawn threw his arms around Kevin kissing his cheek. "Look, I know you mean well and I appreciate it. I love you for everything you do for me. You're the best friend I could ever hope to have, but you know the deal with him. I promise you I'll let you know when I can't deal with it anymore."

"I'm…sorry baby girl." He pulled Shawn into his big, loving arms and it was all Paul could do not to secretly long to be in Kevin's place even though he hardly knew Shawn at all. Kevin raked his fingers through Shawn's hair and sighed. "I just…I hate this. I hate that it has to be this way for you and the way he acts…but I'll do what you say. You know I'll do anything in the world for you."

Shawn looked up at him and smiled. "I know. Now let's get going." Shawn looked over at Paul flashing him a smile that ran all the way through his body. "You coming?"

"Oh…uh…sure…if you'll have me that is."

"Of course. I could use another bodyguard." He winked at Paul before turning to leave. Paul was sure he had the goofiest grin on his face but he didn't care. He was honored to be Shawn's bodyguard. Shawn led the way out of the room followed closely by Kevin then Paul, but when they got outside the door Kevin lingered behind. "I hope this is alright with you," Kevin said.

"Oh the bodyguard thing?"

"Yeah. I mean on screen you don't have to…you know but I could really use your help looking out for him. I know you're a bit skeptical now but just wait til you see him in the ring. Amazing."

"Oh I bet he is not to mention he's so damn pretty."

"Yeah he is," Kevin smirked.

"Um…if you don't mind me asking, what was that scene all about with the Harts? Do they hate him or something?"

"Some of them might."

"But generally speaking, no?" Kevin nodded. "Then what's the deal with Bret? Why was he all in Shawn's face like that and why the hell did Shawn let him get away with that? I know I haven't been here long but I swear something about Bret's attitude tonight rubbed me the wrong way. If that was me I swear to God I'd have decked him. Princess?"

Kevin sighed. "I told you Shawn was off limits."

"Yeah I know but—

"Shawn belongs to Bret Paul. Bret and Shawn are lovers."

"WHAT?"

"Yeah and shush. Not so loud," Kevin hissed. "Anyway if you haven't figured it out by now, Bret was probably just 'marking his territory' so to speak. I'm sure he saw the way you were looking at Shawn but he needs to get used to that. Everybody looks at Shawn that way. You can't help it."

"Wow. Bret…and Shawn…" This just completely blew Paul's mind.

"Yeah and I'd advise you in the future to stay out of anything to do with those two. Bret's really not a bad guy from what I can tell, but he's got some major insecurities. Anyway we gotta go. I'll fill you in on things on a need to know basis alright?"

"Right."

*-x-*

Hunter knew on day one that he hated Bret but it was more or less because he had Shawn as a lover. Overtime though he grew to hate Bret because of his 'holier than thou' attitude and treatment of Shawn. Hunter sighed. The longer he sat there alone, the more he'd have time to think of memories, something he's rather not do. He quickly scribbled Jeff a note before leaving the room. He needed to do something otherwise he was going to lose it.

~*~*~

Just as Shawn closed his phone, he was greeted with a kiss on the neck. He quickly jumped up turning to glare at Bret. "Don't…touch me," he growled. Bret simply smiled as he took a seat on the couch where Shawn had been sitting.

"Are you going to be this way all the time?"

"How else you expect me to act Bret?" he snapped. "You…you—

"Don't blame it all on me princess. You could have stopped me if you didn't really want it."

"Oh my God! You're such a – I was grieving Bret! I…I had no idea…"

"Keep telling yourself that Shawn but you enjoyed every second of it and so did I. Now can we please talk like civilized adults? I'm not in the mood to argue."

"You should have thought about that before you followed me from the studio. I don't want to talk with you let alone see your face!" Shawn stormed back towards the bed and started snatching up his clothes. "I'm leaving. I'm not finishing the interview because you've officially ruined my life."

"What?!? I ruined your life!" Bret jumped up hurrying across the room after him. "Shawn I'm not the one who left you sweetie."

"Don't call me sweetie! I am not your sweetie and for the record you did in fact leave me!"

"But that was 12 years ago Shawn and it's not like you made it easy for me stay. Shawn…baby look at me."

"No—

Bret grabbed his arm snatching him around. "Stop it! Just…stop with the tantrum Shawn."

"Let me go!"

"No! Now you listen to me." Bret closed the gap between then Shawn could feel Bret's body heat against his naked torso. "I'm sorry you're so upset about John but don't take it out on me. He left you. And maybe I did leave you but that was a long time ago. We were both young and stupid and I'm sorry about that, but you have to stay and hear me out. You have to let me tell my side of the story."

"I've heard your side of the story too many time to care anymore! It's my story that needs to be told."

"Then stay. Stay and finish the interview."

"I'm sick of the interview!" he snapped. "I want my life to go back to normal."

"You're making this harder than what it is Shawn."

"No I'm not. You've always done things like this. You always take advantage of the situation. I can be mad at you but then you do this…this…you play nice and then we end up in bed and all is well again," he spat. "I should have listened to Kevin and Hunter when I had the chance!"

"Oh…oh." Bret took a step back, his eye brows raised defiantly. "I said I still loved you but I am not going to let you defend those two like they were so perfect. Hunter's had it in for me from the get go."

"Yeah well he could see right through you," Shawn said dismissively.

"Oh baby I don't want to make you mad but trust me when I say, you've done your fair share of things too. In fact, you were probably worse than me doll."

"I didn't start acting like a jerk—

"Until Hunter came into the picture."

Shawn's eyes flashed dangerously. "Why are you always so quick to—

"Because it's the truth!" Bret snapped back. "Hunter's a big douche but he's so good at it that you hardly notice. I could tell you things—

"Then stop yapping and get to talking! Just tell me all of these so called 'things' Hunter used to do."

"Oh not tonight love. Not unless there's a camera rolling. I'm covering my ass this time."

"Tsk. Whatever. I would call Chris now but I'm sure he's sick of us for the day."

"So what now?"

"I'm going to put some clothes on and watch some TV until I get sleepy. First thing in the morning we're going to headquarters and we're to finish this. This is taking entirely too long and I'm supposed to be on vacation!"

"So you're just going to sleep on the couch?"

"That's right. I'm certainly not sleeping with you!"

Bret sighed. "I'm…not…I wasn't just trying to get you in bed Shawn. All those things I said this morning were a joke. I was only kidding."

"Whatever."

"What is it going to take for me to prove to you that I still love you and not just for your body?"

"I…don't know Bret and…you shouldn't even want to be with me! For Christ's sake you're married. MARRIED!"

"I can change that."

"Bret…I cant…deal with this right now." Shawn pulled the sheet tighter around him, the cold and his nerves causing him to shiver. Bret moved closer to him probably just for a hug but Shawn pushed him away. "No…don't. Just…leave me alone. If you want to make me happy then give me some space. This is too much for one day."

"Aright." He sighed. "Whatever you say. Just…I do love you Shawn. I hope you know that." Bret grabbed his clothes and went into the bathroom to shower. When the door closed behind him Shawn let out a breath. This whole situation was completely screwed up but what's worse was that Shawn was starting to wonder about his future. With John being gone, he had no where to run. He was being forced to deal with this on his own. A few months ago Shawn was ready to handle anything. He was ready to bury feelings for the sake of others if it meant a better life for other persons involved but this time things weren't so simple.

The one guy that Shawn thought was finally free from his heart was once again finding away to insert himself in again and Shawn hated it. His life was perfect. For three months his life was worry free but damn Bret for actually showing up for the stupid interview. Shawn walked around the room picking up pieces of clothing. When he grabbed his jeans, something fell out of them with a soft thud. Shawn bent over to pick it up but just staring at the box made his heart sink and stomach churn. He'd forgotten all about it until now… He choked, finally willing himself to pick it up and without opening it, he stuck it back into his pocket as he shed tears. What now? Just what did the future have in store for him now? Right now, Shawn hadn't the slightest clue and little did he know, his friends didn't either. How quickly things can change in just a blink of an eye.

FYI: Some things you should take into consideration:

- Some of you like the way the main characters are portrayed, some of you don't. For those who don't I want you to know that I am basing their characters on the way their DVD bios said they were. Shawn was always very timid outside of the ring. He didn't get 'confident' until he got a lot of friends. Bret was always confident among other things. I try not to make Shawn come off as a 'girl' but when you're writing slash, you can only do so much. Bret even said in a shoot that Shawn had a certain 'lack of masculinity'. Take that for what it's worth.

- I am not making Shawn out to be a God. Believe me, he will become the Heartbreak Kid everyone hated...when I get there.

- Hunter said in an interview that he basically walked up to Shawn and introduced himself. From then on they were buddies. I kind of tweaked it a bit but for the most part it may have went something like that.

- Bret said on his DVD that him and his family basically ran the locker room. So take that for what it's worth.

- I'm actually really tired of writing this fic. I don't plan on 'quitting' but if I ever get really fed up with it, I'll stop updating until I'm motivated to finish it.

- Don't expect an Oscar winning ending...if it ends at all.

- I'm going to put a list of songs/links on this profile that go with this fic. It's actually music that helps me write the fic. Certain songs fit certain chapters and if you'd like to know what songs motivated each turn of events (besides the obvious real life stuff), just look under 'soundtracks' on this profile. If I could make a soundtrack for this fic, it would be one hell of an album.

- DKaneanite and wrestlefan4 get a big thanks this time around b/c if it wasn't for their randomness on Twitter, I wouldn't have typed this chapter to begin with. Thank you two so much. You are loved about as much as Shawn, Chris, Matt and John. (Take your pick. I like several Johns.) :P

- Cooking Killer gets an uber hug because her ShawnCena fic made me all gooey inside...and it helped with this chapter. Thanks for that. Which reminds me....

CHALLENGES!

- I want more Cenico fics. Cenico = John Cena & Chris Jericho. I usually have these two involved somehow with a certain blonde but when I was typing a chapter for "Everybody Wants Shawn", I realized that this works too. :P

- I want more ShawnCena (obviously) These two motivate me to type.

- I want more Mizzico. Mizzico = Jericho & The Miz

- I want a damn Sting/Styles fic! -__-

- More people should write Bret/Shawn. Why? So that I don't have to do it.

- I'd like LESS badly written Chris/Stephanie fics. In fact, let's do away with that one. Period.

- Is it wrong to want a Punk/Taker fic? But it has to be all Taker in control/creepy-undead kind of thing.

Take your pick. And....I think that's all. Going to watch/read some 'Naruto' now. I have anime stuff to update. Ta Ta ~Shawn's_Angel