CM Punk was simply minding his own business in the hotel lobby when Edge came over. Of course he'd brought the Edgeheads with him. Didn't Hawkins and Ryder have anything better to do than follow Edge around? Apparently not. Punk did his best to ignore Edge's presence. It worked to no avail. This was Edge. He always made himself known. Even if everyone booed him, he still claimed to be the Rated-R Superstar. Rated-R for Retarded, Punk thought to himself as Edge started to speak.
"I'm shocked that you let a Hardy go off with your girl," Edge said, pretending to be astounded.
"Hope's best friends with the Hardys," Punk explained. "And, she's not my girl."
"Best friends? How do you know they're not lovers?"
"Are you asking for me to beat the shit out you, Adam?"
"Somebody sounds jealous," Hawkins laughed.
Edge and Ryder joined in on his laughter. They were so caught up in their laughter that they didn't notice the anger building in Punk's eyes. It's too bad they didn't. They could've prepared themselves for Punk's next actions. No, that still wouldn't have helped them. Punk was unpredictable. He shot one last glare at Edge before slapping the taste out of Hawkins' mouth. Hawkins stumbled back into Ryder's arms, holding his jaw in pain. Hawkins didn't hit Punk back. He and Ryder just stormed off. Edge, however, remained.
"You're gonna regret doing that, Punk," he sneered. "Mark my words.
"Yeah," Punk rolled his eyes. "We'll see about that."
He said nothing further to Edge. It was like talking to a wall anyway. Edge had the I.Q. of a raisin. Punk's words probably went in one ear and out the other. He had a feeling Jeff wasn't going to give up easily. However, he was sort of having mixed feelings about the whole thing. What if he really hurt Hope? He wouldn't be able to live with that, hurting such a sweet girl. Punk knew if he wanted answers, Matt Hardy was the guy to talk to. Which explained why he was knocking on the oldest Hardy's hotel door. He waited patiently for Matt to open the door.
"Punk, hey," Matt said, opening the door. "Uh, can I help you?"
"I need to know about Hope and Jeff," Punk replied, bluntly.
"They're friends, okay? That's all I know."
"That's bull. Jeff's your brother, he had to tell you something."
"Boy likes girl. Girl likes another boy." Matt sighed, "That's all I'm saying."
"So Jeff really likes Hope?" Punk inquired.
"From what I can tell, yeah. He does."
"Hmm."
"You're really twisted if you're planning something," Matt said. "Is it really worth it?"
"I don't remember asking for your opinion, Matt."
Before he said or did something he'd regret later, Matt slammed the door in Punk's face. Jeff was his little brother and Matt would do anything for him. Which was why he'd tried to tell Jeff to go with his feelings when he first met Hope. The problem with Jeff was that once he made up his mind, there was no changing it. Matt sighed as he sat on his bed. He pulled out his cell phone, stopping on Jeff's number. He knew Jeff and Hope were still hanging out but his brother needed to know about what Punk was planning.
"Jeff, it's Matt. Look, I know you're with Hope and everything. But, this is important. Call me as soon as you get this. Bye."
Matt hung his cell, tossing it onto his bed. He had this feeling that Hope had feelings for Jeff too. He'd gotten to know her a lot and she was like his sister. That was why he was determined to set her up with Jeff. They needed each other more than they knew it. Matt hated that Jeff was afraid to commit now. All because of Michaela and the Edgeheads. That was such a low blow. It wasn't the first time Edge had ruined a Hardy's relationship. Oh, great. Now Matt couldn't help but think about how his relationship with Lita ended. He really just wanted to rip Edge to pieces.
When Hope got back to her hotel room, her childhood friend John Cena was sitting on her bed. However, she hadn't noticed him at first. She shut the door behind her, dropping her purse onto the dresser. John tried his best to stifle his laughter at his oblivious friend. He was simply laying there, sprawled out on her bed and she'd yet to notice him. John thought back to growing up with Hope in Massachusetts. She hadn't changed much. Still the same slightly oblivious sweetheart. John couldn't hold it in anymore. He had to make his presence known.
"Hope Richman," John's voice echoed in the room. "You grew up, you filled out."
Hope spun around, hearing the deep male voice. She squealed when she saw John. He laughed at the girlish noise as she ran and jumped into his arms.
"John!" she grinned. "I missed you!"
"I can see that," John laughed. "Damn, you look good."
She playfully hit him in the shoulder. "It took you this long to come see me?"
"Ah, touché," he sighed. "I've been busy. Beating the crap out of Randy Orton."
"Oh, please. That's not that hard to do."
"I hear you've been kicking ass too. Melina's ass, in specific."
"Yep. My debut match. It was the greatest."
"I'll bet. See? I told you'd always be part of the WWE."
"Yeah, yeah."
"Don't 'yeah, yeah' me," John laughed. "Hey, are you okay?"
Hope frowned, "Not really. I'm kinda torn between…never mind."
"We grew up together, H. You can tell me anything."
"I don't know, John."
"Fine. But, I'm not leaving until you tell me what's bugging you."
"Ugh, fine. Pain in the ass, you win."
Hope explained to him about how Jeff had trained her and she kinda-sorta fell for him. She went on about how CM Punk flirted with her and how she slept with him. The whole time, John simply nodded his head. Hope was glad he'd come to see her. He was the only person that she could talk to that wouldn't judge her. She finished off by saying that she was torn between Jeff and Punk.
"What's your heart telling you?" John asked.
"I don't know," Hope answered. "It beat too fast and so loud when I'm with Punk."
"And with Jeff?"
"With Jeff I turn into mush. I melt."
"You? Melt? I never thought I'd see that day."
"You're telling me. I hate this feeling."
"So do something about it."
"I don't know what to do, John. I don't wanna hurt either of them."
John pulled her into a comforting hug. He whispered a soft 'don't worry' in her ear. Hope snuggled closer to John, letting him wrap his muscular arms around her. No matter what, he'd always made her feel safe. Whatever her problem was, he'd fix it. No questions asked. There was nothing John wouldn't do for Hope and she knew it. He was the one friend that never lost touch when Hope moved to New York with her father. That just showed how close they were. Closer than close actually.
"What would I do without you?" Hope asked.
"All right, Matt. I got your message."
Matt looked up to see Jeff in the doorway. He motioned for his brother to come him. Should he really tell Jeff that Punk had plans to destroy him? He deserved to know. Matt took one look at the smile on his brother's face. This would crush him. No doubt about that. But, there was something else in the youngest Hardy boy's smile. Something Matt believed to be vindictiveness. Was Jeff planning something too? Was Vince in on it? Whatever the case, it sure as hell wasn't going to end well. That was the only thing Matt knew for sure. Matt finally looked back at his brother.
"I need to talk to you about Punk and Hope," he said.
"There's no need," Jeff replied. "I have my own plan."
"I was afraid you were gonna say that."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Punk's just using Hope. If you plot against him, you'll be doing the same thing."
"No. Unlike Punk, I care about her."
"And how do you know Punk doesn't? Hmm?"
"Since when are you taking Punk's side, Matt?"
"Taking sides? That's not what this is about!"
"Really? So then enlighten me, big bro, please."
"This is about hurting an innocent girl," Matt said, serious. "A girl you love."
Jeff hesitated a moment. He knew Matt was right. If he kept this feud going, he'd only end up hurting Hope. Eventually she'd realize the whole story and she'd kill them both. That was no joke. Bad things happen to good people. The prime examples were Matt and Jeff. Two good guys who got screwed over by the same asshole. Jeff desperately tried to leave that in the past. He simply couldn't. It still hurt too much.
"Jeff?"
The rainbow haired warrior looked up from his comic book, locking eyes with Michaela. Biting his tongue, he quickly went back to his comic book. Why was she here? Jeff had made it crystal clear that he didn't want to see her anymore. Every time he thought about Michaela, he pictured her with Hawkins and Ryder and their tongues down her throat. It sickened him to think about.
"Jeff, can you answer me, please?" Michaela begged.
"I told you not to come back here," Jeff almost spat the words.
"Baby, please. Don't act like this, I'm sorry."
"You're sorry?! That means crap and you know it!"
"It was a mistake, baby. Everybody makes mistakes."
"No. A mistake is putting down the wrong answer on a Math test," Jeff snapped. "Cheating on your boyfriend with two guys that have the I.Q. of a kumquat isn't."
Before Michaela could make another reply, Edge walked in. He was his usual cocky self, especially since he had a match with Jeff next. The Rated-R Superstar draped his arm around Michaela as he watch Jeff's facial expressions. He enjoyed gloating more than anything. Edge could tell Jeff was hurt. It was just like when he slept with Lita and broke Matt's heart. This was just one of Edge's games.
"Mickey, baby. What are you doing with…this riff-raff?" Edge asked.
"Adam, don't," Michaela warned. "You'll regret it.
"I've taken on the Hardys before. It's like taking on Hornswoggle."
That was it for Jeff. He let the anger build up for too long. He speared Edge and started punching the life out of him. Michaela kept screaming for him to sop. That was useless and she knew it. Edge and Jeff kept going at it until a ref came to break them up. That was the exact moment that Jeff swore off relationships.