A/N: Holler my stars and studs! I know it's been a while. I'm working on fixing that, I haven't died. I'll be updating hopefully this weekend and next week. Maybe a songfic too. We'll see. Psst... My birthday is in seven days. Write me something and I'll love you forever. Only if you want to of course. Much love to I'mxAxRockstar, B0ttumofdabottle, Demonic Flame, Mandy, Angel, whitter23, Straight Edge Queen, matthotty101, hardygurl21 and extremechaingangenigma for their reviews. I love you guys! Read. Review. Above all, enjoy! Peace and love!
NO OWNAGE: Wrestlers own themselves. OWNAGE: I own Hope.
Edge wasn't exactly sure what he was supposed to do. He knew that Punk wanted to drug Hope and the right thing would've been to tell someone. But, then again, he and Jeff didn't exactly see eye to eye. Hope didn't deserve this. It didn't matter how much he hated the Hardys. They needed to know about Punk's plan and hopefully it wouldn't be too late to stop him. Edge made his way to the Hardys' hotel room and knocked lightly on the door. Jeff greeted him with a not so friendly glare. On any other occasion, Edge would've called him out. Now just wasn't the time. Though it took all of his willpower not to throw a punch.
"What do you want, Copeland?" Jeff sneered.
"It's about Hope," Edge started. "Punk's up to something."
"And I'm supposed to believe you?"
"I think he's gonna drug her."
Jeff rolled his eyes, refusing to believe Edge's words. He slammed the door in the Canadian's face, muttering under his breath. Who the hell did Edge think he was making up lies like that? Jeff honestly could've rung his neck. But, somehow, he managed to contain himself. It was bad enough that Jeff hated Hope being out with Punk, he didn't need Adam to screw around with him. Matt looked up at his brother and instantly knew something was wrong. He should've known when he heard Edge at the door.
"Everything okay?" Matt asked.
"Adam's just being his usual dick self," Jeff grumbled.
"What did he say?"
"Some bullshit about Punk wanting to drug Hope. As if I wasn't already pissed about her being with him."
Matt didn't reply at first. He was thinking about what Jeff said. On a good day, Punk would never even think about drugging Hope. But, everyone had noticed that Punk wasn't himself. Even so, would he really drug the woman he claimed to love so much? Matt glanced at up at his brother and saw that Jeff's nerves were completely on edge. That's when it clicked for the brothers. Punk was up to something. Jeff was the first to dart out the door, not caring that he didn't know where he was going. Matt suggested that they go ask the concierge where Punk's room was. Jeff agreed, trying to calm himself down.
What if Hope was hurt? What if Punk had done something terrible to her? Matt managed to sweet talk the female concierge into giving them Punk's room number. However, she refused to give him the key. Not having a key wasn't going to stop Jeff. He raced up to room 816 with Matt running close behind him. Without even thinking, Jeff kicked down the door. Neither one was prepared for what they saw. Punk was taking off Hope's jeans as he kissed her neck, his pants were already undone. Jeff took one look at Hope's unconscious, helpless body and he snapped.
He charged at Punk, tackling him to the ground. He kept throwing punches left and right as Punk tried to fight him off. Matt quickly moved towards Hope, checking to see if she was okay. As far as he could tell, she was just unconscious. He lifted her into his arms and carried her out of the room. Jeff grabbed Punk by the hair and slammed his head into the wall. As the straight edge superstar fell to his knees, Jeff smashed the lamp over his head. Punk felt the blood drip from his forehead as he struggled to his feet.
Punk tried to counter Jeff's attacks, but it was useless. Jeff seemed to overpower him, even when he got a hit in. The more he tried to fight back, the angrier the enigma got. He gave in, begging Jeff to stop. Jeff delivered one more blow to the head before pinning Punk up against the wall. He took a breath, trying to control his anger. It was no use. Punk had crossed the line hurting Hope this way.
"Stay the fuck away from Hope," Jeff spat. "I'll kill you if I catch you anywhere near her."
Punk was grateful when Jeff finally left. His entire body was in excruciating pain. It all started to sink in. He could've killed Hope. What if he would've hurt her worse than he already did? He wouldn't be able to live with himself. Punk knew he'd screwed things up even more now. He'd really lost her this time. She'd never speak to him again and he couldn't blame her. He was a monster.
* * * * *
Jeff still couldn't calm himself down even after going back to his hotel room. Matt was sitting by Hope, just watching her. There was much else they could. She was still breathing, they just had to wait for the drug to wear off. But, Jeff couldn't wait. He needed to know now that Hope was okay. Not in a few minutes or a few hours. He kept pacing back and forth, yelling and screaming about Punk.
"You need to calm down," Matt sighed.
"I can't!" Jeff roared. "He tried to rape her! You saw it!"
"You're not making things any better by screaming like a mad man."
Jeff opened his mouth to say something else, but changed his mind. Matt was right. His yelling and screaming wouldn't change anything. It might even make things worse. Jeff headed into the bathroom, hoping that a shower would calm him down. Even with the hot water against his skin, he could only think of Hope. He relaxed a bit knowing that she was safe and that they'd gotten there before it was too late. When he got out of the shower, Hope was awake and sitting up in bed. He quickly rushed to her side, shoving Matt out of the way.
"I'm fine, Jeff," Hope smiled. "You can relax."
"I shouldn't have let this happen to you," Jeff frowned.
"It's not your fault."
"I should've been there."
Hope took Jeff's hand, kissing him on the cheek. She saw the guilt in his eyes and she hated it. He'd done nothing wrong. She was the fool. She was the one that should've known better. Jeff sat on the bed, pulling Hope into his arms. She buried her face into his, crying softly. He felt her beat against his chest and he could see that Punk drugging her had shaken her up more than she wanted to admit. Jeff prayed that she'd bounce back from this. Not because he wanted to be with her, but because he couldn't stand to see her so helpless. Her grip loosened and the tears started to subside. She was starting to fall asleep and the brothers started to ease up.
Jeff held Hope close, knowing she couldn't be alone now. She was pretending to be strong so that he wouldn't worry. Even is she was mentally okay, he'd still be worried. Things like this didn't go away so easily. As he held Hope, Jeff wondered how Punk could stoop so low. Especially considering how he felt about drugs. Jeff just couldn't wrap his head around. Judging by the look on his face, neither could Matt. But, they didn't have much to worry about now that Hope was okay. Jeff was eternally grateful that they'd gotten to her before Punk really hurt her. He never would've forgiven himself.
"You think she'll be okay?" Matt asked.
"Honestly," Jeff frowned. "I don't know."
"What'd you do to him?"
"I taught him a lesson."
Matt wasn't surprised by his brother's vagueness. He didn't want to know all the details. He could only imagine how gruesome they actually were. Would he have surprised if Jeff had murdered Punk with his own bare hands? Not at all. However, he was surprised that Jeff didn't murder Punk. Well, now that he knew Hope was okay, there was no reason to. Matt glanced at Hope, smiling when he saw that she'd fallen asleep. It pained him to know that the sleep wouldn't last long. She'd have nightmares of what happened. That was more than obvious. A part of Matt felt bad for Punk as well. The poor guy was probably freaking out, wondering how badly he'd hurt Hope. Would he get an answer? Probably not. Jeff intended on keeping Hope far away from Punk. That was how it had to be for now.
* * * * *
"No… Punk, stop… Please…"
Hope muttered the words over and over, her subconscious going back to the hotel room with Punk. He was on top of her, ripping off her clothes. Jeff immediately sat upright when he felt Hope tossing and turning. She was in tears as she tried to fight Punk off in her nightmare. Jeff attempted to grab Hope, but she threw a punch. Once he recovered from the hit, he managed to grab her. She kept hitting and sobbing as Jeff tried to wake her up. Hope sat up quickly, her breathing heavy, still feeling the effects of her nightmare.
"It's me, sugar. It's me. It's Jeff," he whispered, holding her.
It took a few minutes, but Hope finally realized she was in Jeff's arms. She pulled her knees to her chest, burying her head in her arms. Jeff couldn't see her cry again. She wouldn't allow it. He could sense her tears instantly and it killed him to know that he couldn't make her feel any better. Well, he could try. She just had to forget about Punk for a while. That wasn't the problem. Jeff had a feeling that Hope would go right back to Punk after he apologized and bought her something nice.
Just the thought alone sickened him to no end. He silently swore that he wouldn't let that happen. Hope had to be protected. Jeff couldn't help but smile knowing that Punk had lost her for good. When the time was right, he'd make his move. Right now, she needed him as a friend and he respected that. All he had to do was try and resist her. Try. It was pretty tough to resist her when she fit so perfectly in his arms. Hope sighed, shifting her body so that she could look up at Jeff.
"What am I gonna do now?" Hope asked. "I wanted to forgive him, but now…"
"No. I won't let you go back to him," Jeff snapped. "Drugging you is unforgivable, Hope."
"Then why do I feel so shitty without him?"
Jeff didn't know how to answer that question. When Hope started to fall asleep again, he realized she didn't want an answer. She probably wouldn't like it, but Jeff would keep Punk far away from her. She'd come to him now. Everything was falling into place. Well, at least he hoped everything was falling into place. There was a chance that Hope would never get over this. No. Jeff knew Hope better than that. She was a lot stronger than what she gave herself credit for. She'd bounce back, especially with his and Matt's help. Against his better judgment, Jeff was feeling a little sorry for Punk. It wasn't like he wanted to hurt Hope. Still, Jeff knew that Hope wouldn't forgive him.
* * * * *
Punk felt like the biggest asshole on the planet when he walked into the Smackdown locker room the next day. It seemed that everyone had learned about what he'd done. Everywhere he looked, someone was giving him a glare. The superstars shunned him and the divas all cursed him. He couldn't blame any of them. His body was aching so much and the only thing he wanted was to see Hope's face. Instead, he looked up to see Maria joining him. Was she going to yell at him now? Did everyone really feel the need to make him feel even worse?
"Are you okay?" Maria asked, trying to hide her concern.
"What the hell do you care?" Punk snapped.
"I wanna help you. I know you didn't really wanna hurt her."
"And how do you plan on doing that?"
"I could talk to Hope."
Maria knew that probably wouldn't do much, considering Hope still wasn't speaking to her. But, she was praying that would be easily fixed. She'd given Hope enough time, right? They'd work things out and she'd get Hope to forgive Punk. Did he deserve to be forgiven? In Maria's eyes, he'd made a mistake because he was desperate. Everybody deserved a second chance. Even if they did something as terrible as what Punk did. Punk frowned, knowing that Maria was simply trying to help. But, Hope wouldn't be so easily swayed.
"I don't think she'll ever forgive me," Punk said.
"That's no reason to give up," Maria replied.
Punk figured that Maria had to have a point. It wouldn't be easy, but he had to win Hope back. Preferably before Jeff stole her away. He wasn't blind. He knew that Jeff was already planning on making Hope his. He'd play on her emotions, knowing full well that she was vulnerable. It made Punk so angry to think about it. No. It made him livid. Hope didn't deserve to be played like that. But, Punk had his own plans. Jeff wasn't going to win now. Maybe for a little while, but even the enigma had to admit that Punk and Hope were meant to be. Hearing a familiar voice, Punk looked up to see Hope on her cell phone.
He just watched her, trying to listen to her conversation. From what he could tell, she was talking to John. He didn't doubt that John was threatening to kill him. Jeff had already threatened him and he was sure that Matt would as well. When Hope hung up her phone, Punk managed to make his way towards her. She didn't even look up at him and it killed him. She wasn't physically harmed, though he knew he'd really hurt her. Punk knew better than to reach out and hold her. He'd most likely get smacked.
"Hope, I'm so sorry. I don't know what I was thinking," Punk frowned. "I never wanted to hurt you."
"Y'know what's funny?" Hope snapped. "I was gonna forgive you because I loved you."
"Loved?"
"Go to hell."
Punk didn't say a word as Hope stormed off. Was she trying to say that she didn't love him anymore? It was a minor setback, but he wouldn't give up. Jeff was bound to break Hope's heart. The man couldn't commit. And Punk would be there to pick up the pieces. Sure, that would probably take a while. But, that was his plan B. Plan A had to be a lot more crafty and it had to work. There was still that little voice in his head telling him that he didn't deserve a second chance. He had to prove that voice wrong.
* * * * *
Jeff held Hope's hand as they walked the streets of his hometown. She'd been quiet ever since she'd run into Punk earlier. It was starting to drive him insane. She wouldn't say if Punk upset or anything about the matter. She just kept silent. Jeff sighed as he stopped walking, taking hold of both her hands. Hope looked him in the eye, biting on the corner of her lip. She knew her silence was upsetting him. But, she didn't want to talk about Punk or anything that had to do with him or how he hurt her.
"Are you okay, sugar?" Jeff asked.
"I'd be okay if everyone stopped asking me if I was okay," Hope muttered.
"I don't believe you."
"I just don't wanna talk about Punk."
Jeff was about to say something else, but found that Hope had gotten distracted by a pet store. Before he could stop her, she was cradling a small gold retriever puppy in her arms. He shook his head, already reading Hope's mind. She wanted the puppy. Granted, the furry little thing would get her mind off of Punk. But, he happened to know that her apartment building in New York didn't allow dogs. Hope turned face him and the smile on her face made it so hard for him to tell her no.
"Don't even ask," Jeff sighed.
"But, I want him," Hope pouted.
"Your apartment doesn't allow dogs."
Hope pouted again as Jeff excused himself to make a phone call. She put the puppy back in it's crate, fondly gazing at it. She almost jumped when she felt Jeff's hand on the small of her back. She turned to face him and was caught off guard by his smile. Jeff's arms surrounded her, pulling her close. He bowed his head and Hope felt her race as his lips inched towards hers and their eyes slipped shut. Just as they were about to touch, she pulled back.
"Too soon," Hope whispered.
A/N: So things will get cute, yes? Review.