A/N: What's up, stars and studs? Well, I think there might be ten chapters left of this one. Sad, I know. But, they'll be filled with cuteness! Much love to Zay, StackIsTheNewBlack, cravingforsomeJericho, extremechaingangegima, NellyLove, AlwaysLove90, Vi4Sunshine, whitter23, Ali Amnesia, I'mxAxRockstar, hardygirl87 and Hermione Sandwich for their reviews. I y'all like a fat kid loves cake! Seriously. Read. Review. ENJOY. Peace and love!
Hope parted ways with Jeff when they headed back to the hotel. He hadn't been too keen on leaving her alone, but she'd insisted. Jeff sighed, just hoping that Punk wasn't up to something. The straight edge superstar wasn't the type to give up easily. Jeff knew that he had to keep Hope safe. What if Punk hurt her again? He refused to let that happen. As he walked, he noticed Punk heading in his direction. Just great. Jeff hoped that Punk would just keep walking, but something told him that wouldn't happen. A fight would start, he was sure of it.
Jeff kept his head down, hoping that Punk would get the hint and just ignore him. Sadly, that wasn't the case. Punk stood in front of him with his arms folded across his chest. No words were said, but Jeff could feel the other man's eyes on him. Something had to be said soon . The silence was only building up the tension and that would only make things worse. Jeff was seconds away from losing his cool. The only thing keeping him calm was that he had the one thing Punk desired most: Hope's trust.
"How is she?" Punk asked, finally breaking the silence between them.
"You drug her and now you have the balls to ask how she is?" Jeff snapped.
"She won't talk me and I just… I need to know."
"Physically, she's okay. But, you fucked her up mentally."
Punk frowned at Jeff's words. He already knew that he'd damaged Hope. He'd just hoped that it wasn't true. He'd just hoped that she'd be stronger than that. Punk never regretted anything, he never ached to take anything back. But, he kept wishing he could take what he did to Hope. His jealousy, his anger, none of that nattered. She deserved to be treated better than that. For the first time in his life, he regretted something. Now he understood more what drove people to poison their bodies with drugs and alcohol.
Jeff's patience was wearing thin. Punk could see it in his eyes. But, the enigma still had Hope's trust, maybe even her affection now. He needed to get that trust back. Maybe Jeff could help him. Punk almost laughed at the thought. There was no way Jeff would help him now. But, he was a desperate man. It wouldn't hurt to ask, right? What was the worst that could happen? Jeff could say no. He could get his ass kicked. Neither possibility seemed too awful. Besides, there was a strong possibility that Jeff would say yes. That possibility would be nonexistent if he were to ask John.
"I want her to trust me again," Punk admitted. "And I need you to help me."
"You've really lost your mind if you think I'm gonna help you," Jeff scoffed.
"Because you love her? Because you wanna seduce her?"
"My feelings for Hope have nothing to do with this."
"Shit!"
Hope groaned as she watched the Hershey bar she craved get stuck in the vending machine. That was just her luck. She hit the machine as hard as she could, but the chocolate remained stuck. Unfortunately for the machine, patience was a virtue Hope didn't have. She continued to hit the machine, yelling at it. The brunette didn't really care that some of the hotel guests had stopped and were staring at her. She felt someone put their hands on her shoulders and ease her out of the way. When she looked up, she saw John. He shook the vending machine once and the Hershey bar fell to the bottom. John passed the chocolate to Hope as she grumbled under her breath.
"Whatever's bugging you, H, I don't think it's the vending machine's fault," he teased.
"Screw you," Hope snapped.
"What's with you?"
"Jeff tried to kiss me today."
Hope sighed as she rested her back against the wall. For the first time since breaking up with Punk, her frustration had nothing to do with him. Truth be told, she'd wanted Jeff to kiss her. But, the fear of getting hurt again overpowered her. She wanted to be with him now. Something kept stopping her from admitting that. Did he want her as much as she wanted him? At one time, he did. Hope wasn't sure if he still felt that way. Her heart couldn't handle rejection, not in it's fragile state. Part of her still wanted to go back to Punk.
"Let me guess," John sighed. "You pushed him away because you 'weren't ready'."
"I got scared," Hope frowned. "What if he doesn't love me anymore?"
"Bullshit. There's no way he stopped loving you."
"What makes you so sure?"
"He cares about you so much, Hope. Trust him."
Hope didn't say a word as John walked away. He was right, of course. Jeff cared about her and she wanted to trust him. But, what Punk did to her caused to be afraid. Never in her life had she been of afraid of anything. Now here she was, afraid of true love. What was wrong with that picture? Everything. Hope just wanted to find happiness again. Maybe Jeff was her key to everything she wanted. That was what John had been telling her all along. That Jeff was her soul mate, the one she was meant to be with. She wasn't so sure, but she had to take a chance to be given one.
Another three weeks came and went like nothing. Only now the superstars had two weeks of vacation time. Everyone seemed happy to be going home to relax. Everyone except Hope. She was going home to be alone. John had nearly begged her to come home with him, but she'd refused. Just because her ex fiancé had cheated on her then drugged her didn't mean that she needed to be treated like a baby. So John reluctantly went home on his own. Hope was still at the hotel as she watched everyone leave for the airport. She hadn't bought a ticket back to New York, wondering if she even wanted to go home.
Perhaps she could just disappear for a while. No. That wasn't good. The brunette didn't want to be alone with her thoughts. She was trying to avoid Matt and Jeff, knowing that they'd drag her to Cameron with them. The two of them didn't take no for answer. Figuring that everyone had gone, Hope gathered her stuff and stepped out of her hotel room. That was when she came face to face with Jeff.
"Go home, Jeff," Hope rolled her eyes. "I'll be fine."
"You're coming with us," Jeff smirked.
Before Hope could protest, Matt had grabbed her bags and Jeff had thrown her over his shoulders. She truly hated it when the brothers double teamed her. They always had that unfair advantage. Hope muttered under her breath as they shoved her into a taxi. Couldn't they have just asked her nicely? She was capable of walking on her own. The brunette sat between the brothers, her arms folded across her chest. She thought about mentioning that she had no ticket, but she was sure that they'd already taken care of that. Unfortunately, they thought of everything.
Jeff was watching her. Hope hadn't looked up since they first got into the taxi, but she could feel Jeff's eyes on her. Just the thought of his eyes made her heart race. Hope nearly jumped when she felt Jeff's arm slide around her. She allowed him to pull her close and she rested her head on his chest. John's words kept echoing in her head. She had to trust Jeff. Even now being in his arms felt right. Hope snuggled closer to Jeff and she could almost feel him smile. All three were quiet as the taxi dropped them off at the airport. Hope barely noticed when Jeff laced his fingers with hers. She didn't noticeably react, but she felt her heart beat faster. The enigma led her away from Matt, a serious expression on his face.
"I'm sorry for kissing ya that day, Hope," Jeff frowned. "I let my feelings get the better of me."
Instead of saying anything, Hope grabbed Jeff by the shirt and pulled him into a kiss. She slipped her tongue into his mouth as she felt his arms slide around her waist. She pulled away briefly only so she could smile up at him. Jeff held her gently as they gazed at each other, a smile etched on his lips. He bowed his head, pulling her into another kiss. This was real, right? He wasn't imagining it? Hope's tongue did battle with his, her hands now gripping his t-shirt. Jeff didn't want to pull away, but he ached to know if this moment was real or not.
"Please tell me this isn't a dream," Jeff whispered.
"Nope," Hope smirked. "It's all real."
Their hands were entwined as they found their way back to Matt. The older Hardy gave them a curious look as he tried to hide a smirk. It wasn't like Jeff and Hope noticed. Their eyes were only on each other. The three boarded the plane and Matt couldn't help but smile. His brother had finally gotten the girl of his dreams. He could see how bright the smile was on Jeff's face. Matt only hoped that when the news of Jeff's and Hope's budding relationship got back to Punk that it wouldn't cause World War III. He knew that that was a strong possibility.
Punk was going home to clear his head. He couldn't make up another plan to get Hope back. That last one had screwed him over royally. How was he going to redeem himself for that? It seemed like such an impossibility. He really didn't want to give up, but the odds were really stacked against him now. Jeff was probably already manipulating Hope's fragile heart. The thought alone made Punk want to punch something. He took a deep breath, regaining his composure as he unlocked the front door to his house. He made his way inside, tossing his suitcases to the side. Just as he was about get comfortable, the doorbell rang. Grumbling to himself, Punk went to answer it and was surprised to see Maria standing on his doorstep.
The redhead flashed him a soft smile as he motioned for her to come in. They were two outcasts now. Though most had chosen to forgive Maria as of late, considering that her betrayal hadn't been so bad. But, Hope's forgiveness was most important and she still didn't have that. That would (hopefully) be changing soon. Maria intended on asking for Hope's forgiveness after these two weeks were over. Well, that was as long as her nerves held up. She truly hated not speaking to her best friend.
"What are you doing here?" Punk asked, hating that he sounded harsh.
"I figured you wouldn't wanna be alone for two weeks," Maria replied.
"You'll save me from being alone with my thoughts."
"Hope will never take you back if you continue with this pity party."
Punk had half a mind to argue that Hope wouldn't take him back at all. But, there was still a chance of that. It might've been a small one, but a chance was still a chance. That was probably the only thing that kept him going. Punk was grateful to have Maria with him now. Maybe talking to someone would make his problems easier to fix. That was a joke. But, at least Maria would be able to talk some sense into him. He needed that more than anything right now. As soon as he cleared all this insanity from head, he could win Hope back the right way.
From the moment the plane had touched down in Cameron, Hope and Jeff had been wrapped up in each other's arms. At this point, Matt found it sickening. But, he just ignored them. They left him alone when they arrived back at his house anyway. Jeff led Hope out back, pulling her down onto the soft grass. Their lips met briefly before she rested her head against his chest. He didn't want to let her go and she didn't seem to mind. The enigma was still having trouble believing that this was all real. Hope was his. It'd finally happened. Hope smiled when she noticed the far off look in his eyes. She knew exactly what he was thinking.
"I'm really yours," she whispered in his ear.
"Feels like a dream" Jeff smiled.
Hope laughed as he left kisses along the nape of her neck. John was right. Jeff made her happy. They belonged together and she hated herself for not seeing it sooner. She turned her head, catching Jeff in a kiss. He pushed her back against the grass as he straddled her, his hands slipping under her shirt. Her arms moved around his neck after he'd pulled off her shirt. Their lips didn't part and their hands kept roaming, even when Matt had called out that dinner was ready. They were lost in their own little world. Jeff paused for a moment, looking Hope straight in the eye.
"I love you," he whispered.
"I love you too," she grinned.
A/N: There. The start of cuteness. Review. xD