Disclaimer, etc., in part 1... Welp... Got about one-fifth of this one posted so far... Thanks to those that have reviewed/favorited/followed this one.

Part Twelve

She was banned from ringside.

She'd been told it, but she didn't quite understand it. It didn't make sense. She didn't run around and interfere in matches, she just stood at ringside. This... She didn't understand this. There was no reason - no reason whatsoever - for her to be banned. Edge hadn't even gotten her banned from ringside back at Extreme Rules. And she knew Jeff wouldn't have her banned. He seemed to like the idea of her being out there when she didn't really want to be. He liked the idea of having some sort of power over her, over her job. It was becoming more and more obvious - to her, at least - that Matt wasn't the only Hardy brother that was a complete asshole that liked power over people.

Shaking her head, Eve stalked down the hallway, her high heels clacking loudly against the concrete floor, the woman knowing she was glaring daggers but figuring that people would know why once they learned she'd been banned from being out there for the triple threat match for the world heavyweight title at that night's special episode of RAW. Of course, people would probably figure that she was mad about not being able to be out there to cheer for Jeff, but that wasn't the case. That wasn't the case at all. Because in the days since SmackDown, she'd come to a decision.

She was going to turn on Jeff Hardy. And she couldn't freaking do that if she wasn't even allowed to be out there. And that was the thing. She wasn't allowed to even go out there on the stage. It wasn't fair, not at all, and since she didn't think Edge had demanded the stipulation, and she was pretty much certain that it hadn't been Jeff's idea, then that left pretty much just one person that would have done it.

CM Punk.

The man coming toward her right that very moment.

"Speak of the devil," she muttered, then mentally corrected herself that it was really more of a 'think of the devil' this time... But that didn't matter. What mattered was that he'd interfered and gotten her kicked out of ringside before she even had a chance to go out there tonight.

Letting her anger fuel her and not worrying about who saw them - the hallway was empty anyway - Eve grabbed Punk's arm as he started to walk past her, carefully not looking at her, the diva yanking open the nearest door and dragging him inside, only vaguely aware that she'd pulled him into a storage closet and not really caring. At least it had a damned light. She flicked it on quickly, then glared up at him in the dim light that the single bulb provided.

"Eve, what are you doing? We can't be seen together. It would screw things up for you," he hissed at her, keeping his voice low, and Eve reached out, shoving her hand against his shoulder, the move surprising him enough that he took a step back.

"Who do you think you are?" she demanded to know. "What gives you the right to get me banned from ringside tonight?"

He winced. "They told you about that."

"Of course they told me about that! They had to tell me I wasn't allowed to be out there," she snapped, and he shook his head.

"Yeah, but they didn't have to tell you it was me that-"

"They didn't," Eve told him, interrupting him before he could finish speaking. Since he could probably see the fury flashing in her eyes even in the dimly lit room, he didn't say anything about her cutting him off. "I figured it out myself by the process of elimination. Edge never worried about what I might do at ringside before, so why would he have me banned? And as for Jeff... He likes having me out there because it gives him the idea that he has some sort of power over me. So no, he wouldn't ask to have me banned. So that leaves you," she said, poking him in the chest as she finished speaking.

CM Punk was currently looking at her like she was some sort of wild animal that might attack him at any moment, and Eve couldn't help but wonder rather vaguely if that was the way he looked at any woman that got pissed off at him, or if he was just looking at her that way because he'd never seen her angry. He'd seen her out of it, he'd seen her upset and moved to tears, but he'd never seen her full-on ticked off, which was what she was right now. "Eve, I didn't mean-"

"Who are you to go and do that? To have me forced to stay backstage? You had me banned from ringside!"

"I thought you would want me to!" he shot back at her, throwing his arms up and shaking his head. "I just... After everything, I thought you wanted to be away from him. I thought the last thing you would want would to be out there tonight!"

"Well, it's not. Which is just proof that you don't know me very well at all. Certainly not well enough to make decisions for me, which is essentially what you did by getting me banned from ringside. I'm not even allowed to walk out there on the stage. I have to stay in the back, and it was suggested that I stay in the divas' locker room. The officials didn't pat me on the head and add 'like a good little girl', but they may as well have."

"I just wanted to help you," he said, his voice quiet, the man glancing at the door as he spoke, and Eve quickly realized that she needed to keep her voice down, too, or else there was the possibility that someone walking down the hallway would hear them talking and maybe even run to Jeff... Jeff would probably figure that she and Punk were plotting against him, which really didn't make sense because Punk was the one that had gotten her banned from ringside, but somehow she doubted that bit of information would prevent Jeff from accusing her of plotting against him. Of course, in all honesty, she *had* been plotting against him for tonight but, unfortunately, her plans had been thwarted by the simple fact that she wouldn't be out there to cause Jeff to lose the match. Because the man in front of her had taken it upon himself to make sure she wouldn't even be out there in the first place.

"Well, you didn't help me. This is not what I wanted," Eve spat at him, fighting the urge to stomp her foot in anger. "I wanted to be out there."

"Why? Do you suddenly think the sun shines out of Jeff Hardy's ass again or something, because after what happened a few weeks ago, I'd have thought you would be too smart for-" He broke off when Eve's hand came up, the woman slapping him across the face, then stepping back, her eyes wide with shock at what she'd done. The diva didn't rush to make an apology, though, instead looking him in the eye.

"Don't ever say that about me again, because I am not fooled by Jeff Hardy. Not now, not ever again. I had my reasons for wanting to be out there tonight, but that doesn't matter anymore, does it? Because I'm not allowed out there, and it's all your fault."

Punk reached up to rub at the cheek that she'd slapped. To his credit, he didn't really act angry over the fact that she'd hit him, and she wouldn't have been able to blame him if he'd been pissed at her for that little stunt. She knew that she shouldn't have slapped him, but she'd been mad, and he'd been the only thing there she could hit besides maybe the wall and it would have hurt to hit the wall. Of course, her hand stung a bit from the contact of her palm against his face anyway.

"I thought I was doing what was best," he finally said, his voice quiet. "I don't trust Hardy or Edge. Edge is a bastard who will do whatever it takes. To be honest, I'm surprised he's never attacked you out there before. And while everyone else thinks that Hardy cares about your well-being, I know he doesn't. We both know he doesn't. I'm the only one out there that would care about what happened to you. I can't be sure that Edge wouldn't spear you. I can't be sure that Jeff Hardy wouldn't 'accidentally' take you out just to get more sympathy for himself. He'd act guilty, and people would feel bad for him. And finally... I couldn't guarantee that, if something happened on the outside, if I went for them... I couldn't guarantee they wouldn't use you as a shield. What if I was throwing myself to the outside of the ring to hit one of them, and they pulled out in front of them and I couldn't stop myself? I don't want to hurt you, Eve," he told her, pausing for a moment, a somewhat cynical smile just touching his lips as he shook his head. "Of course, it seems I did that anyway. By doing what I've done. Because now you hate me-"

"I don't hate you," Eve muttered, the diva wrapping her arms around herself as she stood there. Standing there and listening to his reasons for what he'd done made her feel even worse about slapping him, but she still didn't apologize for it, and she still didn't necessarily agree with what he'd done. Especially since he'd gone behind her back to do it. "I'm still mad, though. You should have told me what you were going to do. It wasn't fair to have this just thrown at me. I don't want... This is my life, and it's my career, and I don't want someone that just looks after me. I don't want to spend my career as the weak little girl that has to be taken care of."

"Eve, I don't think-"

"Yes, you do. If you didn't, if you actually thought I could handle myself at all, you wouldn't have done that." She shook her head, turning to leave the storage closet they were in, stopping and stiffening when she sensed Punk's hands getting close to her shoulders. To his credit, he didn't actually touch her, instead letting his arms fall back to his side.

"I didn't mean to hurt you, Eve. Or to imply... I'm sorry. And I really don't want you to hate me for what I did."

"I don't hate you. I'm angry, but I don't... Good luck tonight. I want you to win. I wanted to be out there when you won, but... I guess not." She took a deep breath. "And just so you know... I planned to turn against Jeff tonight, but since I'm not allowed out there at all... I guess I can't."

And with that, Eve pulled open the door, carefully glancing each way before stepping out... and then she was gone.