Before they knew it, Hope and Jeff were standing backstage with WWE cameras on them. The two were deep in conversation about the basic things that Hope needed to know. Right on cue, Santino and Melina came by. Santino started on Jeff immediately, talking in his horrid broken English. His Italian wasn't much better in Hope's opinion. She pretty much zoned out when Santino spoke.
"…And your little rookie diva could never be as beautiful as my Melina," Santino finished, his Italian accent thick.
"Good luck tonight," Melina spat. "You're gonna need it, silly little whore."
Hope smiled sweetly. Then she threw a punch at Melina. The Diva staggered back, holding her jaw. The punch wasn't in the script but neither was the 'whore' comment. Santino and Jeff stared at the ladies in utter shock. Hope half expected Melina to hit her back. But, she didn't. She was probably in too much shock.
"You've just made the biggest mistake of your life," Melina snapped.
The cameras followed Melina as she and Santino stormed off. When the cameras were gone, Jeff burst into laughter. Hope hit him in the chest but he kept laughing.
"What's so funny?" Hope demanded.
"You nearly knocked Melina off her feet!" Jeff exclaimed. "Oh, that was great."
"She just pissed me off. I can't stand her."
"I think it's safe to say the feeling's mutual."
Hope rolled her eyes at Jeff's comment. Pretty soon it was time for her match. The brunette stood backstage, warming up. Both Hardys had just wished her luck and she was feeling better than ever. Once Hope heard her music, everything else lost existence. She entered the ring Stacy Keibler style. People were actually cheering for her. There were a few 'boos' in there as well. But, Hope didn't expect to be cheered at all. She fought an eye roll at the sound of Melina's music. Her entrance was so cheesy. The paparazzi, the split. All of it. Melina didn't hide her hatred for Hope.
The moment the bell rang, Melina speared Hope. Hope hadn't seen it coming and felt the spear at full impact. As Melina prepared to drop an elbow on her, Hope kicked her in the face. The match went on with each Diva getting in a few good hits on each other. Just when the fans and everyone thought Melina was going to win, Hope surprised them all. She used a spinning heel kick to Melina out and pinned her for the three count.
"Here is your winner…Hope!" Lillian Garcia announced.
Hope was ecstatic when the referee raised her arm. God, it felt so good. Jeff even came out to the ring and raised her hand in victory. He gave her a victory kiss too. This time it was on the cheek. Hope could hear Melina whining about how it wasn't fair. That only made the night even better for her. Her first victory felt amazing. When she got backstage, pretty much everyone was cheering for her. Maria came over to her and squeezed her into a hug. Hope and Maria had met when Hope first started her training. They've been like sisters ever since.
"Your match was absolutely amazing!" Maria squealed.
"I agree," a deep voice said. "I couldn't tear my eyes away."
Hope and Maria both turned to see CM Punk. Hope couldn't take her eyes off of his lip ring. Sure, his tattoos were hot and all. But, it was the lip ring that did it for Hope. That and just the way he looked. Yeah, she understood why girls swooned over him. But, Hope didn't plan on swooning. She planned on flirting.
"Really, Hope," CM Punk said. "Your match was great."
"Thanks, Punk," Hope replied.
"So, you thinking about celebrating tonight?"
"Well, I was gonna--"
"Why don't you take it easy, Romeo?" Jeff interjected.
Hope remained silent as Punk stepped up to Jeff. The two stared each other down for a few minutes. Punk had only been flirting with Hope for fun. Until he saw the death glare Jeff was giving him. Then he was intrigued. Did Jeff have a thing for Hope? That seemed to be the question on everyone's mind.
"Sorry, Jeff. I didn't know you owned her," Punk snapped.
Before Jeff could do or say anything, Matt held him back. He knew his little brother could be severely hotheaded at times. Like now, for instance. Matt wasn't sure if Jeff was being overprotective because he liked Hope or because he thought of her like a sister. Jeff kept denying anything about having feelings for Raw's newest Diva. Matt was beginning to think otherwise now.
"Don't, Jeff. Just leave it," Matt ordered.
"Whatever," Jeff replied.
He walked off with Matt following close behind him. He was pretty pissed at the moment. Who the hell did Punk think he was? How dare he flirt with Hope when she was… When she was what? Punk was right. Jeff didn't own Hope. Nobody did. Jeff tried convincing himself that Hope was simply like a sister to him.