"What was all that about?" Matt asked.

"Nothing," Jeff answered. "Hope's like my little sister. I got a little overprotective."

"A little?"

Jeff shot his older brother a death glare. When it came to friends, both Hardys got extremely protective. They'd been that way since they were young. Matt saw that his brother was starting to calm down. Maybe he was wrong after all. Jeff only seemed to care for Hope as a little sister. Her feelings were even harder to figure out. It didn't matter though. Jeff was steering clear of relationships at all costs. All because of one girl. Michaela and Jeff had been a picture perfect couple. Sometimes they were so cute it made Matt want to vomit. He knew from the start that Michaela wasn't right for his brother. Jeff was too love-blind to see it.

"I'm telling you, man. Michaela's cheating on you," Matt told his brother.

"Would you give that a rest? She's not cheating," Jeff argued.

"Really? So why has she been avoiding you all this week?"

"She's sick."

Matt rolled his eyes at Jeff's pathetic reply. Sure, he had no proof that Michaela was cheating on Jeff. But, she had been flirting with him constantly. Like the other day, for instance. Jeff had gone to use the bathroom and Michaela started flirting with Matt almost immediately. Naturally, Matt told her to cut it out. Flirting with a beautiful girl was one thing. When that girl was your brother's girlfriend it was a whole different ballpark.

"Yeah, she's sick of lying to you," Matt mumbled.

"What the hell is your problem?" Jeff snapped. "What did Michaela ever do to you?"

"I just don't think she's good for you, Jeff."

"Jealous maybe?"

"Not at all."

Matt rolled his eyes, following Jeff into their hotel room. They'd just finished a show in Montreal and Jeff knew Michaela would be waiting for him here. If only he was prepared for what came next.

"Mickey?" Jeff called out.

He saw his girlfriend's red hair sticking out from underneath the covers of the hotel bed. A grin crossed his lips, thinking she'd fallen asleep. Jeff strode over to the bed and pulled off the covers. His grin twisted into a look of horror with what he saw. Michaela was asleep all right. But, she had two men wrapped around her slender body as well. Jeff couldn't speak, his throat was dry. Michaela opened her eyes, a look of horror crossing her face.

"Jeff, baby, I-I can explain," Michaela stammered.

"Don't," Jeff warned. "Don't even bother."

Matt took it upon himself to throw the two guys out. Literally. He grabbed them by their long hair, dragged them out of the bed and tossed them out the door. It was only then that Matt realized the two guys were Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder, the Edgeheads. Jeff noticed it too. He was sure Edge was behind this. Edge had stated, on more than one occasion, that Michaela deserved a guy like him; not a Hardy.

"Jeff, please. Let me explain…" Michaela begged.

"Get out," Jeff ordered.

"This was all Edge's idea. He…"

"GET OUT!"

Michaela didn't stop to grab her belongings, she just quickly hurried out. Jeff collapsed onto the bed, not saying a word. Everything was still sinking in. The realization of it all hadn't fully hit him yet. Matt looked over at his brother, feeling guilty that he'd been right all a long.

"Jeff…" Matt started.

"I swear if you say 'I told you so', I'll kill you," Jeff cut him off.

"I was gonna say I'm sorry."

Hope sighed heavily. She couldn't believe the way Jeff had acted when she'd been talking to CM Punk. It was just so overprotective. All they'd been doing was harmless flirting. Harmless? Well, for the most part it was harmless. It wasn't like she was trying to make Jeff jealous. No, no. She wasn't that kind of person. But, Jeff was like a brother to her. That was it. Nothing more, nothing less.

The kiss.

When he'd accidentally kissed her, she'd like it. More than she should have. Neither one of them were looking for a relationship. Hope had never had any really luck with guys. She'd always been part of the 'guy-uses-girl-to-get-best-friend' equation. Way to build self-confidence. Even with all that, Hope had retained her pride and self-confidence. She didn't come to WWE for a relationship. She came to fulfill her dream. That's what she was planning on doing.

There was a knock on the door and Maria entered along with Ashley. The two Divas were both carrying some junk food with them. Maria tossed the junk food onto Hope's bed, a smiling dancing on her lips. Ashley was smiling too. Hope had a feeling Maria had mentioned the altercation between Punk and Jeff.

"What?" Hope asked.

"You know what," Maria rolled her eyes. "What's with Punk and Jeff fighting over you?"

"They weren't fighting over me!" Hope argued. "Jeff's like my brother."

"That's not what Matt said," Ashley sing-songed.

"I wasn't going to tell her that!" Maria shoved her.

"Tell me what?!" Hope demanded.

Ashley and Maria both fell silent. Hope didn't take her gaze off of either of them. Maria chewed on her bottom lip, looking up at Hope. She stole a glance at Ashley, who simply nodded, telling her to go on.

"Well, it's not a hundred percent true," Maria started. "But, I overheard Matt and Jeff talking about when he kissed you."

"So?" Hope said.

"So, I asked Matt about it. He said that Jeff admitted to liking you," Maria replied.

"But, when I asked him about it, he kept saying you were like a sister," Ashley added.

"I talked to Punk too. He definitely likes you," Maria grinned. "He said your charisma is pretty damn hot."

"He really said that?" Hope asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Mhm," Ashley nodded. "I was with her when he said it."

"What are you gonna do?" Maria asked.

Hope tilted her head, "What do you mean?"

"Gee, I don't know," Maria said, sarcastically. "You have two guys fighting over you!"

"I'd go for Punk," Ashley offered. "But, you and Jeff would look great together."

"Stop it. Both of you," Hope ordered. "I didn't come here for a boyfriend."

"So you say," Maria and Ashley said in unison.

Hope tossed a pillow at them, a grin forming on her face. She'd tried--and failed--to hide it. Ashley grabbed the pillow and tossed it back at Hope. Maria caught the blonde Diva off-guard with another pillow. The three Divas collapsed into a heap of giggles, throwing pillows at each other. As the pillow fight went on, Hope kept picturing Jeff's face in her mind. His lip ring, his eyes. All of him.

As the months passed, Hope's skill kept increasing. She'd lost only one match since her debut. That match had been against Beth Phoenix and it was the toughest match Hope had ever been in. Monday Night Raw was in Hope's hometown tonight: New York City. She had a match against Michelle McCool, another Diva she'd gotten close with. Hope won the match with a handspring back elbow. That became her signature move. Jerry Lawler had dubbed the move 'Losing Hope'. The name fit. After being hit with that, Hope's opponents lost all hope of winning the match.

After her match, Hope was heading backstage. She caught a glimpse of Punk waiting for her. Once Vince found out about the fight between Punk and Jeff, he thought it was brilliant. He wanted Punk to frequently make visits to Raw and have matches with Hope on his arm. Jeff was then supposed to get all jealous and attack Punk. The attack would inspire Vince to give the two a match at the upcoming PPV. The next PPV would be Backlash and Hope's match was set. She was going against Mickie James for the Women's Championship.

"Stalking me now, Punk?" Hope teased.

"Aw, you caught me, darling," Punk replied. "No, my match with Santino's next."

"I see. That should be easy for you."

"Listen, Hope. I'd really like to take you for a drink after the show."

"I don't know, Punk. I just…"

"Please say yes," Punk looked her in the eye. "C'mon Hope, leave the Hardy boys alone for one night."

Hope sighed, smiling. "Sure. I'd love that."

"Great. I'm gonna get ready for my match."

"Here is your winner…CM Punk!" Lillian announced.

Hope raised Punk's arm in victory. Punk pulled the slim brunette into a hug, then, without warning, he kissed her. At that moment, Jeff's music blasted and Jeff came running out. He dove into the ring, spearing Punk. He grabbed the mic from Lillian.

"Don't you dare touch her like that again!" he grumbled into the mic.

Punk quickly jumped to his feet. This wasn't just for the storyline anymore. This was an actual feud. Punk shoved Jeff, ripping the mic from his hands. The two men stood glaring at each other. Hope tried to hold Punk back but he pulled his arm out of her grasp.

"You sound a little jealous, Hardy," Punk spat. "Because I got the girl and I won the match."

Hope stepped in between the two of them when she saw Jeff was about to lunge at Punk. Moments later, Vince's music started to play. He came about halfway down the entrance ramp before he started to speak.

"If you two wanna fight each so badly, that's fine with me!" Vince began. "At Backlash, it'll be Jeff Hardy versus CM Punk…in a ladder match!"

With that, Vince turned headed backstage. Punk and Jeff still glared at each other while Hope stood between them. Jeff grabbed Hope by the arm and pretty much dragged her out of the ring. Punk stood there for a moment before he left as well. There was a mixture cheers and boos as he left. For once, Punk paid the fans no mind. This wasn't a silly storyline anymore.

Once they were backstage, Hope pulled her arm out of Jeff's grasp. He glared at her, pumping green fire into her face. She wanted to hit him but couldn't bring herself to do it. Not with those eyes staring deep into her soul.

"What's your problem, Jeff?" Hope snapped.

"I'm sorry," Jeff frowned. "I just don't trust Punk. At all."

"I can take care of myself, y'know."

"I know. You're like my little sister, I have to protect you."

"Yeah, yeah," Hope teased.

"You wanna go grab a drink at the bar?" Jeff asked.

"Actually, Punk asked me earlier."

Jeff forced a smile, "Oh, that's cool. I was wondering when you'd get sick of being a Hardy girl."

"I'll never get sick of you. Or your brother," she laughed. "See ya later."

"Yeah. See ya."

Jeff frowned, watching Hope walk off. He didn't want to lose such a great girl to Punk. But, he also wasn't sure if he was ready. Getting hurt again was not an option. When he looked up again, Randy Orton was standing in front of him. Jeff tried to hide a groan. This would just make his night so great.

"What do you want, Orton?" Jeff asked.

"Oh, nothing," Randy replied. "I just couldn't help but notice how you let Punk walk away with your girl."

"She's not my girl," Jeff argued. "She's just a friend."

"Yeah, right," Randy rolled his eyes. "And Santino Marella is a great wrestler."

"Don't you have anyone else's life to ruin?"

"I'm just saying, Hardy, you don't want to lose another girl to a better guy."

Jeff slapped Randy in the face. Before Randy could retaliate, he stormed off. Leave it to the overly-cocky Orton to put him in a pissed off mood. He went back to the hotel for a quiet night, no longer in the mood for a few drinks with everyone. Matt had tried to convince him to still go out but that worked to no avail. When Jeff made up his mind, good luck trying to change it for him.

Punk led Hope to a table in the back. He was surprised that she still agreed to go with him, especially after his verbal spat with Jeff. But, Hope naïvely believed it was just for the storyline's sake. Punk didn't have the heart to tell her the truth. He knew Jeff didn't either. He ordered them both Apple Martinis.

"Listen," Punk began. "I'm sorry about that whole thing with Jeff."

"It's okay," Hope waved him off. "It's for the storyline."

"Yeah…"

"Is something wrong?"

"No, no. Everything's fine, Hope."

"Are you sure? You can tell me."

Punk turned to look Hope in the eyes. Instead of telling her anything, he pulled her into a deep kiss. This time there was no hesitation, no one to interrupt them. Hope found herself kissing Punk back, her hands discovering his face as she bit his lip ring. She felt his strong arms around her and his tongue feeling for hers. Hope didn't want to pull away but she needed to come up for air. Their eyes locked and a smile formed on both their lips.

"How about we go back to the hotel?" Punk offered.

"That's a great idea," Hope replied.

Punk smiled, taking Hope's hand and kissing her once more. He led her back to the hotel, his arms around the whole time. Hope couldn't keep the genuine smile of off her face. She was glad to get away from the Hardys for one night. Punk hung a 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the door before he locked it. He guided Hope towards the bed, kissing her soft lips.