Jeff stayed in bed for most of the next day. He was so exhausted not to mention he felt dead to the world and not just outside but inside as well. He knew he should have hated Hunter for what he did but his heart wouldn't let him. When he first woke up in the middle of the afternoon, he noticed that Matt had left him food by his bed on the nightstand, just like he used to when they were kids. He was almost certain the small cooler contained his old favorites: a club sandwich, a bag of pickle wedges and a Powerade drink since he never really liked soft drinks.

Jeff smiled then rolled over on his back staring up at the ceiling. Hunter called him Shawn. Plain as day he could still hear it in his head underneath all the slapping of skin and yet he still wanted him. He closed his eyes picturing Hunter with Shawn. Always. The love in Hunter's eyes was always there and in all likelihood it would always be there. At first it used to bother him until Hunter kept fighting for him, even after that fiasco with JBL a few months ago. Hunter proved to him that he still loved him very much but as usual he was once again running to Shawn's rescue. It frustrated him to no end that Hunter couldn't let Shawn go and Jeff hated him for it. He hated him and he hated Shawn up until he witnessed Hunter's brutal beat down of JBL and how torn up inside Shawn was.

"Shawn you can't drive anywhere like this. You'll kill yourself."

"I can call a—

"You can shut up and get some sleep. No one's going to bother us. Vince gave us the office for the night and we're going to take advantage of it." Jeff walked across the room and picked up a WWE blanket that had been draped over another couch. He kicked off his shoes, rids himself of his tee then sat back down next to Shawn. "We're sleeping here tonight so no arguing."

"What about Hu—

"To hell with Hunter." Shawn blinked a few times, taken back by Jeff's tone. He certainly wasn't expecting this and though it was touching how much Jeff resented Hunter's actions, Shawn knew love was too hard to find to just give up on so easily.

"You don't mean that."

"I do. I really do. That selfish bastard—

"Loves you very much," he finished. Shawn cupped his face looking Jeff straight in the eye. He needed Jeff to understand for both their sakes that giving up on Hunter wasn't the solution.

"Shawn…"

"I have no ill will towards Hunter about our break up and I have no ill feelings towards you. I'll always love him but not the way you can love him."

"But Shawn," Jeff choked. "After…after what he did tonight…after the pain he put you through…"

"Even I can understand that he did it out of love, even if it was the wrong thing to do. Give him another chance Jeff. I'm sure he loves you very much and will be devastated beyond reason if he lost a gem like you." Jeff was crying again and he didn't know what to do with himself. He pressed his head to Shawn's, gripping his shoulders, sobbing from the pain. "It's alright. It's going to be alright," Shawn whispered. Jeff managed to nod but not before his lips brushed Shawn's. Before he realized what he was doing, he was gripping Shawn's shoulders and kissing his lips. For a moment they both just let go; Jeff's mouth dominating Shawn's while he clung to Jeff for support. Jeff suddenly pulled away from Shawn having run out breath…

At that moment Jeff knew Shawn's heart was not with Hunter but with John.

And yet here I am, wanting to blame him all over again despite the fact that I kissed him too. Jeff laughed a little. It was funny. It was funny and ironic. The same man he bitched and moaned about Hunter still having googly eyes for was the same guy he kissed in Vince's office out of curiosity and loved every second of it too. Why did I even allow myself to think that the great Jeffery Nero Fucking Hardy would catch a break?

Jeff forced himself to sit up in bed. It was nearing 5 o'clock and he was certain Matt was probably worried but too afraid to confront him just now. He grabbed the cooler and with lots of effort, forced himself to leave the room and find Matt. Matt was sitting out back on their deck reading a book. Jeff quietly took a seat on the floor in front of Matt leaning back against his legs for comfort. The older Hardy brother looked down at him but remained quiet reading his book. It was times like these where no words needed to be spoken. Jeff was going to be just fine even if moving on wasn't an option.

X~**~X

John Layfield woke to the sound of soft knocking on his cabin door. He sat up having fallen asleep in his recliner, his laptop still open. He heard the knocking again, this time a little louder than it was before. He frowned. No one knew about this place except Shawn and for a moment his heart skipped a beat. Was it possible that Shawn came back for him?

"John it's me…Adam. I know you're in there so open up."

John's heart sank just as quickly as it had risen. No Shawn which meant he was probably half way to Calgary by now. "I'm…coming," he forced himself to say. He placed the lap top on the floor then slowly made his way to the door, pulling his silk robe tight around his waist. "Adam…" He rolled his eyes as his friend pushed past him inside the dimly lit room, not bothering to wait for an invitation.

"Adam what the hell time is it?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.

Adam looked around the room, his eyes rounding on the lap top as well as the scattered papers on the bed and on the floor. Adam shook his head. "Working. I can't believe you're working at a time like this." Adam pulled off his leather jacket tossing it on the bed before taking a seat on the bed, shoving all of the papers within arm reach to the floor.

"Adam, what the fuck are you doing? Those are important documents!" he yelled storming towards the bed, bending over to pick them up angrily.

"John you're fucking pathetic and if Bret runs off with Shawn then you fucking deserve it!" he spat angrily. John was being stupid and after all the crap that had taken place in the last few days or so, Adam be damned if he was going to let this go.

"Yeah well he loves him more than me anyway," he grumbled, straightening up the stack and slowly trudging across the room to put them away. Adam's words stung at first but he quickly pushed past it reminding himself that he was lucky to have known what love felt like to begin with.

"John…I don't get you sometimes you know? I mean…I guess what I'm trying to say is that you used to complain to me and the guys all the time about how you couldn't catch a break. You'd—you'd say things like 'If I ever found someone to love me for me then I'd do whatever it takes to hold on to him'. John….Shawn's that guy so I can't help but wonder why you're not even trying."

"Yeah well…" He snapped his brief case shut just as Adam crossed the room taking it out of hand.

"John, look at me." The room was rather dark. John had a few candles lit around the cabin but the cabin was already dark and dreary looking so the candles didn't do much. "John…"

John snatched away from Adam and went across the room to get his lap top off the floor. "Go home to your lover Adam and stop nosin' around other folk's business. What's done is done and it's too late to take it back."

Furious that he'd come all this way to see his best friend who did not seem fit to give him the time of day, Adam stormed behind him, snatching the lap top from his hands.

"Hey! Adam! Give that back and go home! I haven't the time for this nonsense!" John yelled.

"No," he said smugly and then his eyes caught glimpse of the screen and he paused, his face softening a little. It was a picture of Shawn lying in bed on his stomach. His hair was angled over his shoulder so that his face wasn't covered. The light reflected from the picture seemed to hint at sunrise, a streak of light cast over his face. Not very many knew this about John but he also dabbled a bit in photography. "Wow. John that's—that's awesome."

John rolled his eyes as he plopped back down in his chair, resting his head on his fist. "Thanks," he mumbled. "It was taken the morning after we first…" His voice trailed off as he recalled the morning after.

Shawn made love to him no less than three times, doing more to please him rather than himself. He wasn't even sure what to make of it but he knew he couldn't deny his love for him anymore. They both slept rather late or at least late for John. He stirred before Shawn, his new lover still lying on top of him. He remembered easing out of bed, combing the hair out of his face. The sun was shining brightly seeping in through the cracks of the blinds highlighting his gorgeous face. He couldn't resist. Shawn was out of it, having worn himself out the night before. John tip toed across the room and quietly grabbed the camera out of his bag. It took him a while to get the color just right and he was still an amateur at angles, but he wanted to try for moments like these were few in his life. He snapped several pictures and just as he was putting the camera away, Shawn stirred on the bed.

"Mnn…John?" He yawned rolling around on his back smiling at him. "Why aren't you still in bed?"

John chuckled softly as he crossed the room sitting on the edge of the bed. "Oh well you know me kitten. I've never been one for sleeping late. Never had a reason to…until now."

Shawn sat up pressing his lips to John's. "Mn…there will be many more mornings like this John. Trust me."

John smiled. "I do kitten. More than anyone I've ever trusted in this goddamned world."

Shawn grabbed John pulling him back on the bed planting an upside down kiss on his lips. "Okay. That was interesting," he laughed.

"Oiya. Kitten!" He sat up again, but only long enough for Shawn to disrobe him.

"Back. Now," he ordered.

John lazily did as he was told and was immediately topped by the blonde, who proceeded to smother him with tiny kisses. "Mn…Kitten…you're spoiling me."

Shawn paused, smiling down at John. "I plan to spoil you forever…"

"John? John! Are you even listening to me?"

John jumped, sitting up in his chair and blinking. He looked around the room before his eyes finally rounded on Adam. "I must have dozed off."

Adam frowned. "No…no you were staring off in space. What's going on in that head of yours? Have you finally come to your senses?"

John rolled his eyes. "Let it go blondie," he drawled lazily, not realizing that his face was wet.

Adam sighed. "John, you're crying which means a part of you regrets this little stunt you pulled. Go to him," Adam pleaded. "Go back home to your lover. He needs you right now. I can't fathom him taking Bret back after all the horrible shit he said to him over the years. I can't—I just don't see that happening John so please go to him!" Adam quickly crossed the room and dropped to his knees. "John…please listen to me. You need to go home. You need to stop running away and acting like you don't have a fighting chance because you do. You seem to have forgotten how much shit that man went through just to convince everyone that the love is real."

"Was."

"No. No I had it right the first time. It IS real love John. You could never stop loving him even if you wanted to so stop—stop doing this to yourself and get back in the game!" He was frustrated with John and it was really starting to show. "I have never, ever seen you just give up even if it did look hopeless. If you don't fight for him John then you lose all my respect."

John looked away. "I don't even care about respect anymore."

"That's a lie and you know it," Adam growled. "But that's alright. Just let Bret walk into your lives – never mind he still has a wife and kids – and just take something you rightfully earned." Adam waited for John to respond but when he didn't he cursed under his breath. Standing to his feet he said quietly, "I'm spending the night. I'll be sure to take the first flight back to Randy's in the morning."

John didn't say anything. He closed the laptop then shuffled the rest of the papers off of his bed and climbed in, lying awake for several hours until sleep overcame him.

*~X~*

Chris stared between the three men for a moment waiting for someone else to pitch in. When no one chose to speak again he shrugged and went back to Shawn. "So Shawn. You say the road to Survivor Series starts here. Can you give me a summary of events that took place?"

Shawn rolled his eyes. "More like a novel with many holes Chris." He clicked his tongue. "But now that we're all here, I supposed we can get some of those holes filled…that is, if everyone still plans on cooperating."

Bret looked over at Shawn rolling his eyes. "I said I would and I meant it. I got nothing else to hide since the biggest lie is already out in the open."

"You think so?" Hunter asked from the back of the room.

Bret rolled his eyes. "Not entertaining that one Hunter so Chris, please continue."

Chris blinked, looking over at Shawn who sighed. "Fine. I'll start. But let me recap for a moment. I won the big one from ego over here at Mania 12. It's debatable as to why exactly Vince finally gave me the push. Bret's story is that Vince wanted to give me a chance while my story is that Vince told me I was the guy." He shrugged. "At the time, I didn't so much know I was the guy. I knew in my heart that I was on Bret's level and since we were on again, off again lovers, I had no problem whatsoever throwing it in his face after winning it because after Mania, that's when things started getting bad anyway."

"Things were already bad Shawn," Hunter added. "They were bad before you won the belt because Bret seemed to think it wasn't his time to lose just yet."

Bret shrugged. "Fair enough. Maybe I didn't think it but if I was a low person, I'd kindly remind you that the ratings sucked ass when Shawn was champion." Shawn threw Bret the nastiest look he could muster, but Bret winced, holding up his hands. "Shawn, come on. We're all being honest here. The ratings were pretty bad."

"Yeah, maybe so Bret but you didn't stick around to carry the load again since Shawn couldn't handle it," Hunter added bitterly. "You ran with your tail between your legs and that's just sad man. You can give everyone the same story about Vince pushing your ass out the door but truth be told Bret, I'm inclined to believe Bischoff's story that you were meeting with him; plotting to leave anyway so I don't see what your problem is."

"My problem is you talking what you don't fucking know," Bret snapped.

Hunter laughed. "Then by all means Mr. King of Fucking Harts, enlighten us. Tell us all about that meeting with Bischy and how you have no one to blame but yourself for Montreal because you're a greedy, selfish bastard."

Bret jumped to his feet and started towards Hunter but Shawn was a step ahead of them both, quickly jumping to get between them. "Stop it! Just stop it right now Bret!"

"Why are you always taking this little shit's side?" Bret asked angrily. "It's just like you Shawn. To take up for the poison that ruined us to begin with!"

"Poison?" Hunter asked disbelievingly. "Oh…Bret that's real cute, calling me the fucking poison when clearly you were the poison from the start. Don't fuck a guy in the ass and declare your love for them if you're too chicken shit to be seen with him. Your homophobia and your lame excuses about family pride poisoned your relationship and that's why the two of you didn't make it! You were doomed from the start Bret, but this guy right here was too naïve and too stuck on you to realize it. He should have known the day after you fucked him in the ass that you were just like all the rest who came before and after you. You were a tool Bret, a bigger tool than I could ever hope to be and your family pride bit you in the ass at Montreal.

"I know we're not there yet," he continued, lowering his voice, "But I'm telling you how I feel before we get there; giving you the 411 because it's coming out today Bret. All of it's gonna come out and justice will be served because you were wrong. You were so wrong and if I were you, I don't think I'd have the guts to look in the mirror each day knowing that I let a man suffer for twelve fucking years over something that was just as much your fault as his." Hunter backed away slowly, never taking his eyes off Bret. He knew he'd just hit him with a low blow but it was the truth. Bret Hart was the key player in his own screwing and it was high time he swallowed that pill.

For a moment Shawn wondered whether or not Bret was gonna calm down but after several minutes of just standing there seething, he took a deep breath and went back to his seat. Shawn looked back at Hunter who promised he was done for now allowing him to take his seat again shaking his head. "I'm talking from this point on Chris." Chris nodded. "Alright so…my reign as champ wasn't exactly a good one. In fact, I only kept the belt a measly 4 months before I had to vacate it on Raw due to a knee injury. Now, I'm gonna hit the pause button here because I need to address the knee injury."

Shawn looked over at Bret waiting for him to say something smart but he didn't. Instead he just leaned over in his chair, elbows on his knees as he stared at the carpet. "You see Chris, at this point in my career, Bret and I were pretty much strangers. In fact, I believe we might have had sex—

"Made love."

Shawn rolled his eyes. "You make love to people you love. You didn't love me anymore Bret."

"Shawn," he said calmly, "We've already established that I still loved you. Always loved you. Always have and always will."

"Whatever. Anyway Chris, we made love, had sex, fucked—whatever you wanna call it. We did it maybe once or twice in those four months because I was busy. You might say Bret was busy too – and he was when he was champion. Like we said early on, we didn't have much time to be together and we couldn't exactly book a room together because then people would think that Bret was queer – couldn't have that," Shawn added bitterly.

"You say that as if you didn't know it would be that way," Bret said softly.

"I knew Bret and don't take it personally," Shawn answered. "I'm just saying…at the time…we were supposedly in love. You knew how I felt. You knew that I was tired of sneaking around and I just—fuck I'm not going there. To make a long story short Chris, we didn't have as much quality time and since I couldn't hang out with Bret, I spent a lot of time with Hunter."

"So—so I take it that's when you and Hunter kinda hooked up?"

Hunter shook his head. "Naa…and he'll tell you. Sean will tell you. Joanie will tell you. I didn't sleep with Shawn aside from the occasional spooning when he would complain about Bret or when he was hurting from his ring injuries. I loved him so much and yeah, you damn right I wanted a piece of him, but the few advances I made while Bret was still around all ended in vain because Shawn was loyal to Bret. That's the God's honest truth."

The room went quiet for a while, each man musing over their own feelings about each other, but Shawn didn't want to spend too much time thinking. "I'm sorry but we need to keep pushing." He took another deep breath before continuing quietly. "As a former champion yourself Chris, you know from experience the toll being the man takes on your body. I was wrestling at least five days a week plus doing talk shows, autograph sessions, commercials, PlayGirl – you name it. I was doing it. A typical HBK schedule in '96 was…I might wrestle a PPV in Atlanta Sunday, but I would then have to be at the next Raw in South Carolina the next night. So…I'd have my match against – let's say Davey Boy – in Atlanta. We'd go twenty to thirty five minutes and with my luchador style, I'd be running around and flying around none stop. The next night I'm at Raw, I might have to defend the belt again to match whatever WCW was doing so that meant yet another match only it might have a hardcore stipulation just to keep it interesting. Leave the show and immediately drive to the next city for a house show. We did house shows on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The Sundays that we didn't have PPVs, I was probably in a gym because I still had to look the part."

Chris shook his head. "I remember all too well those days and truth be told, it's not something you wanna go back to once you've had the experience."

"I know. Vince has been trying to get me to have a final run but I don't want it and I can't do Smackdown because of Bible Study. Anyway, you get the idea of how I was just running ragged and wearing my body out. Now you would think that since I was so busy, I'd take every opportunity I had of free time to recharge the batteries. Well…I wasn't so smart then…well, maybe I was but I didn't listen to my smarts. Instead of acting like a champion and carrying myself like one in public, I was rude, crude and a diva. I'd go party with Hunter and the guys after shows. We'd go into a bar and I'd just run wild. I'd flirt with loose women, but it was hard not to when they were all on me. I'd even flirt with some of the guys since they told me I was pretty – something I hardly heard from Bret those days since, you know, I wasn't good enough for him anymore."

"Shawn don't…," he began but Shawn continued on as if he didn't hear him.

"I was a pain in the butt Chris and Vince was constantly chewing my ass out. He would always get over it because he knew without me, he had no main event. I'm not being vain. These are just facts."

"I see," Chris nodded. "So by now, you were really feeling the strain of being a champ." Shawn nodded. "And that knee injury…is it safe to assume you weren't lying about it?"

Shawn nodded. "I wasn't kidding. My knees were killing me every night. They still hurt to this day but when Hunter and I play DX, he's always taking care of me after the matches. Vince tries not to work me so hard but I push myself. I want to be the example for these rookies. As a wrestler you're always going to be in pain. You just have to get used to it and push through it."

Chris nodded. "But did it never occur to you that you could be damaging your body for good? That you could…wind up in a wheel chair or something if you didn't slow down like so many who had come before you?"

"Yeah it did, but when you're champ and the rival company is kicking your ass, you're not allowed to dwell on those things. I was the top dog and everyone in that locker room may have hated me, but they also knew they needed me." He sighed. "But as luck would have it, I found out that not all of me is invincible and I had to vacate the belt. The whole 'I lost my smile' thing was probably true in more ways than my mom could ever know. I had little reason to smile those days. Being at the top was not all it's made out to be. From that point on, it was downhill from there."

Chris turned his attention to Bret. "So Bret, Shawn wasn't able to compete at Wrestlemania 13 so you and Steve kinda took his place. Its to my understanding that you were supposed to win the belt back from Shawn at this pay per view. Is that correct?"

Bret shrugged. "Yeah. Guess so. At the time I figured Shawn was pulling one of his little acts on Vince to keep from dropping the belt to me."

"And…you were once again, wrong," Shawn snided.

"Yeah well it's not like you didn't give me reason to suspect something like that. You were always throwing tantrums—

"So were you."

"I'm not…gonna argue with—Chris just—yeah I thought he was lying and yeah, if I choose to believe his story then maybe I was wrong—

"If you choose—where the hell do you get off—

"Shawn, you were a master at spinning tales—

"Whatever Bret," he mumbled. "You keep on deluding yourself from the facts while I keep dishing them. At the end of the day, the only thing that matters are the fans who will be watching this. Now if you're done I'd like to skip over the less important details and jump right into the final break up and Montreal…that is, if it's okay with you."

Bret scoffed. "As if you needed my permission."

"Well I don't know. I figured if I asked it would inflate your ego and distract you long enough where I could continue."

"You're just determined to push me away aren't you?"

"I thought I did that the night I told you I didn't love you anymore?" he sang.

Bret smirked. "Tantrum." He shook his head, leaning back in his chair. "Figures. I'll shut up now and let you finish."

"And let me finish…right." He nodded. "So yeah, let's just get to the point. Montreal. Oh boy. Am I excited!"

Hunter snickered from the back of the room earning a glare from Bret. "Don't give me that look Bret. It's not my fault you were a whiny baby. 'Oh Vince! Please don't replace me with that blonde bimbo! Hunter's corrupting him! He's not interested in helping the company! He's only interested in helping his little Kliq!'" Hunter mocked.

Bret shrugged. "And I still stand by all of that. Shawn, you may have wanted to help the company succeed. I won't take that from you but you were also interested in helping your friends."

"Which is totally different from looking out for my entire family," he said rolling his eyes. "Unlike you Bret, I didn't have a family. The Kliq acted as my family and like you wanted to protect Owen's interests, I had every right to want to protect Hunter's. I don't see much of a difference. Do you Hunter?"

H shook his head. "Nope."

"Shawn that's not fair," Bret replied. "I wasn't—

"Don't," Shawn warned. "Don't go there with me about politicking because we all did it. You, for that ginormous fucking contract that guaranteed you X amount of dollars while I, the fucking champion, was being paid considerably less. Please. Let's not go there."

"I was protecting—Vince was losing money and I did what any smart person would have done. I made sure that I was going to be taken care of."

"Which wasn't at all selfish since you were still having talks with Bischoff behind Vince's back," Hunter chimed in.

"No one asked you Big Nose and yeah, I met with Eric but Vince knew about those meetings. In fact he encouraged them."

"I don't believe you," Shawn replied.

"Yeah well you don't have to. Much like you don't have to believe that Vince was obsessed with you but he was. He treated you the way he used to treat me before you came along batting your pretty little eyelashes at him."

"Bret, you make it sound like Vince wanted to screw me."

"Well…"

Shawn shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe you would go so far as to spin some kind of bogus tale…"

"It's not a tale Shawny. It's real talk. I'd be willing to bet my life Vince had dirty thoughts about you. Hell half the fucking locker room used to talk about you that way, but with Vince…he's a business man and would never exactly mix business with pleasure. Instead, he gave you everything you wanted and you know it."

"Bret, I didn't always get my way."

"Yeah but most of the time you did and when you didn't feel like cooperating, he would find a way to convince you using his charm; a charm that used to get to me all the time too. Shawn…"

Bret turned to him holding his hand. "I know you love Vince like a father and so did I, but..I'm sorry. I've had 12 years to mull over this and I can't help but think he turned us against one another; that he used our relationship against us. Nothing else makes sense to me because…well yeah. Okay. So maybe I was making plans to leave for WCW but if my brother were alive today he'd tell you that I didn't really wanna go. I just—I was leaving because Vince thought it was the right thing to do and like you, I found it hard to go against him. I—he had me convinced that I was doing myself a favor and it didn't help that you and I were fighting all the time."

"And you couldn't tell me any of this before I decided to storm Vince's office after hearing the rumors?"

"Shawn you don't have to go there," Hunter spoke up, leering at Bret. "We haven't even gotten to Montreal yet and already he's trying to plant the seed that he's innocent. Well he's not about to put one over on all of you while I'm in the room," he growled. "Bret didn't tell you he was planning to leave and that was what led you to that meeting with McMahon and Pat."

"He and I technically weren't together Hunter, but of course you already know this since you went out of your way to make sure I knew he was done with me for good," Bret spat. "I did what I felt I had to do and if you don't like it then too fucking bad. I loved Shawn. At the time I fooled myself into thinking I didn't give a damn. I hardened my heart and listened to the rumors. I let the rumors of Shawn being an easy slut and a cock tease keep me focused on my goal, but that's not the entire reason I decided to leave and I did not make the decision as quick as you think I did."

"It—that doesn't matter," he snapped irritably. "You didn't tell me. I found out through everyone but you so what was I supposed to do? What was I supposed to think?"

"Shawn…baby you should have just come to me—

"Oh yeah right," he scoffed. "Come to you when you were too damn scared to speak to me in public? When we were all the time literally coming to blows each time we saw one another? When you couldn't even look at me anymore with love in your eyes; only rage that tore through me like a knife through the chest? Tell me how the hell was I supposed to come up to you and talk about it?"

"Yeah, but you didn't even try Shawn…," Bret began, sounding somewhat defeated but Shawn was beyond furious at this point.

"I didn't try? Are you kidding me? How dare you say that to me! I was always trying! Yeah maybe I was a bitch to you in public and in the ring, but you made it—God Bret I loved you so much and I felt like you didn't put the effort—why am I wasting my breath here?" He leaned back in his chair, shaking his head. Once again he felt an overwhelming desire to scream and cry. This was all too much. They weren't even at Montreal yet and already he could sense the confusion. So much happened in the days leading up to Montreal that the idea of having to relive them made him sick to his stomach.

Chris cleared his throat. "Alright. Shawn…Bret I'm still…a little confused right now so let me ask you both this. The week of Montreal…what happened? I need to hear it from both of you because the story I've heard is this. You Bret, met with Eric a final time and had already practically signed the papers. Vince handled your release and it was set in stone that you would be leaving immediately for WCW following Survivor Series. Is that correct?"

Bret nodded. "Yeah."

"Alright, so Shawn, I've heard so many stories surrounding your week of Montreal that I don't know who to believe. Vince and Pat say one thing, you say one thing, Hunter says one thing—too many stories—so all I ask is for your timeline. What exactly happened that led to your meeting with Vince about Montreal?"

Shawn remained eerily quiet for a moment as he let his mind wander back to that horrible week. After a while he spoke up quietly. "It started with the rumors of Bret's departure. For two months I kept hearing the rumors and two weeks before Montreal is when I stormed Vince's office. I was supposed to be winning the belt back—at least that's what I thought. He told me…" Shawn looked over at Bret who simply nodded, urging him to continue. He took a deep breath and began his story. "I was in the locker room…"

AN: You guys I'm so sorry but I almost hit the delete button in this fic. I absolutely despise this story and have decided to quit trying to please everyone. The updates will come when I see fit. Love you all very much though xD

- I'm not on anyone's side. However, I now know how the fic will end and I am happy with it. If you're a fan of the Harry Potter series, then expect a doozy of an epilogue.

- Been working on this chapter for 2 months. It may not seem like it but I have. This whole Montreal thing is mind blowing not to mention it took forever to work certain things back into the fic. The interview almost took over and I didn't want that yet.

- If you have questions, ask them in your review.

- In case you didn't know, I will NOT be writing anymore fics like this when I'm done. I don't have the heart to write wrestling fics anymore and since Shawn has retired, I have lost my inspiration to do so. Another thing, people tend to lose inspiration because of people not reviewing. Me personally...I don't give a damn about reviews because all of you have been following me for so long that I'm used to my regulars. You know who you are. BIG SHOUTOUT TO ESHA NAPOLEON! I love you!

- Anyway, a lot of fic writers get discouraged so please. If you're reading their fics be it straight smut or actual work like this, take the time to leave a review, even if it's just a quick 'I love it' or 'I hated it'. At least they won't feel bad.

- It's pretty pointless to beg me to put certain people together at the end. My decision is final.

- You might not like what's going on at this point but again, my theories and I'm sticking to them. I did the research. I put in the time to watch the vids. I did a hella lot with this fic so if you're pissy because H seems like a tool or that poor Bret's being treated badly or poor Shawn's crying too much, then I'm sorry.

- This chick is RETIRING from fic writing. Seriously. When I'm done I'm done. Just reminding you again. xD

- I think I'm turning into young Shawn. o.o It's really weird.

- Um...yeah I think that's all. Next update will be when my heart's in it.