Hope woke up the next morning with Punk's arms wrapped around her torso. She tried to sit up without waking him. It didn't work and Punk sat up as well. He gazed at her and smiled sleepily when their eyes locked.

"Morning, sleepy head," Hope grinned.

"Mmm, so it wasn't a dream," Punk replied.

Hope shook her head, kissing him. "Nope. No dream."

"Last night was too good to be true."

"I should get back to my hotel room."

Punk faked a pout, pulling Hope close to him. Their lips lingered close but never touched. Hope winked before leaving Punk to head back to her hotel room. Once she got there, Maria, Ashley and Matt were waiting for her. By the looks on their faces, they knew Hope had been with Punk the night before. Hope looked at them, waiting for someone to speak.

"Have a good night?" Matt asked.

"Yeah, it was pretty good," Hope answered.

"Pretty good?" Ashley echoed. "If I spent the night with CM Punk, it'd be more than 'pretty good'."

Hope remained silent, looking away. She tucked some dark hair behind her ears, chewing on her bottom lip. Maria knew that was her nervous habit. Then it hit her. Maria's mouth pretty much dropped to the floor.

"You slept with Punk?!" Maria exclaimed.

Both Matt's and Ashley's eyes widened. They looked towards Hope, awaiting an answer. Hope didn't look up at them just yet. She didn't really want to answer the question but she had to. They'd hound her until they got an answer from her. She might as well give them what they wanted. She took a deep breath before speaking.

"Yes," Hope confessed.

"I thought you didn't come here for a boyfriend," Maria teased.

"I didn't! Can we drop this, please?"

"For now we can," Ashley replied.

She and Maria started to head out. Matt stayed behind to talk to Hope. He was still shocked at what she'd just confessed. However, he could sense there was just a hint of regret. Maybe he'd be able to get some answers out of her.

"You okay, Hope? You don't look so good." Matt asked.

Hope shrugged, "I'm not feeling so good right now."

"Does it have anything to do with Punk? Or maybe Jeff?"

"Both."

"Both? Well, how so? Maybe I can help."

"Matt, it's just…I can't explain it," Hope frowned.

"Hope, you can tell me anything," Matt replied.

"I like Punk, but when I see Jeff…I just melt."

"You melt?" Matt teased.

Hope shoved him. "Don't make fun of me, asshole."

"Okay, I'm sorry. The melting, is it good or bad."

"I don't know. Good?"

"If it's a good feeling, then go with it."

Hope and Punk started to see more and more of each other. Jeff was still in the dark about the full extent of their relationship. Hope had plans to keep it that way. Why? Just the simple reason that she was still struggling with her feelings for both tattooed and pierced men. Of course she had to go and meet two incredibly attractive men. And to think that people killed to be her position. Hope would kill to get out of it. Maybe Matt was right. The melting and fluttery feelings around Jeff were a good thing. Maybe she should just go with it. That still left Punk.

Jeff had this feeling that something had gone on between Hope and Punk. Something that everyone was hiding from him. Not even Matt or Maria would tell him anything. It seemed that the whole Raw roster knew what went on. Jeff had even stooped low enough to ask Edge and Randy if they knew anything. All he from those two idiots was a bunch of cocky, sarcastic remarks. Jeff was headed back to the locker room when he saw Ashley. He ran to catch up with her, hoping she knew something.

"Ashley, you got a minute?" Jeff asked.

"For you? Of course, Jeff," Ashley answered, smiling.

"What happened between Hope and Punk?"

"Oh, don't start that again. They're friends."

"You're lying to me. I know something happened."

Ashley sighed, "Jeff, they slept together."

"They what?"

"Slept together. Had sex. You know what I mean."

"I-I can't believe it. He…she…"

"Do you like her? Hope, I mean."

"I don't know. Maybe, it's possible."

Jeff didn't say anything further. What else could he say? There wasn't much. Why did Hope want to keep this from him? Maybe she didn't want to hurt him. If she didn't want to hurt him, did that mean she had feelings for him? Jeff desperately wanted to know. But, part of him didn't. There was this great part of him that wanted to shun relationships. Yet, the green-eyed monster came out when he thought of Punk with his arms around Hope.

"Jeff, I was looking everywhere for you!"

Jeff turned to see Hope rushing towards him. He stopped walking, letting her catch up to him. He couldn't help but smile when he saw her. How could he get mad at her for sleeping with Punk? She was just too cute, too sweet. Was it even possible for someone to be mad at her. Even if someone got mad at her, they'd forgive her as soon as they looked into Hope's beautiful, big brown eyes.

"What did you need, Hope?" Jeff asked.

"I wanted to know if you wanted to grab lunch tomorrow," Hope answered.

"Yeah. That'd be great."

"Awesome. I'll call you later."

Jeff smiled at her as she walked off. Maybe by then he'd figure out what his feelings were. Then maybe he'd stopped feeling so low. He hated that feeling so bad. It wasn't as bad as when he caught Michaela cheating on him. But, it was still pretty bad. What sucked was that Hope kept her feelings to herself. Jeff had no idea how she felt about him. Well, he knew she didn't hate him. That was obvious, though. Hope made it very clear if she hated you. Other than that, unless she actually said 'I like you', you didn't know.

CM Punk was on a roll. Since he'd gotten closer to Hope, he hadn't lost a match. And neither had she. Things couldn't be better for Punk. Except the fact the in the beginning he'd been using Hope. Now it was a different story. Granted, it only seemed like a short period of time. But, Punk really fell for her. What would she do if she found out that he'd been using her? She'd kill him. No questions asked. She'd also use his signature move the G.T.S. on him. He'd recently taught Hope the Go To Sleep and she wasn't half bad at it. She was a quick learner.

But, Punk didn't like the way Jeff was so protective over he. Quite frankly, it pissed him off. Was it Punk's fault that Jeff didn't have the guts to admit his feelings? No. If only Punk knew the half of it. Regardless, the whole overprotective gimmick was annoying and unnecessary. They both knew Hope could take care of herself. She made sure they knew. Punk wasn't too happy about Hope going to lunch with Jeff. But, he couldn't do anything. They weren't dating and even if they were, he still had very little say. It simply bugged him that Hope hid her feelings. What was she so afraid of? Punk was now determined to find an answer to that question. He knew it would take some time before Hope fully opened up to him. That was fine. He had no problem waiting. Besides, he truly cared for her.

Jeff sat in a booth a the little diner Hope had told him about. She said they made the best burgers ever. He wasn't waiting long when he saw the familiar brunette stroll in. She waved and made her way over. Just as she sat down, the waitress came over. Hope ordered a bacon ranch cheeseburger and Jeff ordered a plain old hamburger.

"You're so boring," Hope teased. "A plain old hamburger?"

"It all ends up in the same place," Jeff laughed.

"Yeah, yeah."

"Are you dating him? Punk, I mean."

"No. What makes you think that?" Hope raised an eyebrow.

Jeff shrugged, "I don't know. You're always together."

"About that," Hope started. "I missed hanging out with my Hardy Boyz."

"Hope," Jeff paused, looking into her eyes. "I like you."

"Aw, Jeff. I like you too," Hope grinned. "You're one of my best friends."

Jeff smiled weakly, picking up his soda. He took a long sip as he stared out the window. Talk about pain. This was way worse than one of Ric Flair's low blows. This was brutal. But, at least he'd said it, right? At least he said something. Oh, who was he kidding? It probably wouldn't have worked out anyway. Wait. What was he thinking? He was Jeff Hardy. He was the Charismatic Enigma. He'd get the girl. Now he was determined. Did Punk really expect him to go down without a fight? Oh, no. This was war. Punk might've won the battle but the war raged on.

"You okay, Jeff?" Hope asked.

Jeff grinned, "Never been better, darlin'."

He knew that if Hope found out what he was planning, she'd personally kill him. But, Jeff didn't want to hurt her. That was the last thing on his mind. However, he happened to know that Punk was simply using Hope to make him jealous. It was low. Even for Punk. Jeff wouldn't have dared to do that. To anyone, not just Hope. He knew what it was like to be used. It hurt like hell and then some. There was no way he'd let Punk get away with that. Whether he liked Hope or not, Punk was going to regret this.

Hope couldn't help but think that Jeff was lying to her. Both her Hardys were her best friends. But, did Jeff feel something else? He never said anything to her, never made a move. Only after Punk started showing interest in her. Did Jeff and Punk hate each other that much? No. That was just too extreme. But, then again, Jeff Hardy and CM Punk were synonymous with extreme. Hope sighed, running her finger around the rim of her glass. Whatever was going on between the two, Hope wanted to know. She didn't want to be a pawn in their little game. She assumed they knew that.

"You wanna go play Guitar Hero?" Hope asked. "I've been dying to own your ass."

Jeff laughed, "You're on, Hope. Just don't cry when you lose."

"I wouldn't worry about me losing."

"Oh? Well, we'll see about that."