Disclaimer, etc., in part 1.

Part Forty-Five

It was time.

Rey Mysterio had won his match against Dolph Ziggler - a result that Eve felt oddly disappointed by - and now it was time for the second main event of the night... Jeff's match against CM Punk. Earlier in the night, Randy Orton had retained the WWE title in a triple threat against Triple H and John Cena. The world heavyweight title match was the final match of the night, the true 'main event', and she knew that was another of Jeff's dreams... He wanted nothing more than to stand on turnbuckles at the end of a pay per view with the title in his hands.

She intended to make sure that it was a dream that didn't come true. Not tonight anyway.

Taking a deep breath, the diva forced the smirk that threatened off her face, knowing that she needed to put her best happy smile on instead. A smile that said she was so happy to be out there... That she was thrilled that Jeff was getting this chance. A smile that she would need to wipe off of her face when CM Punk came out with the title. She'd have to glare at him this one last time, pretend that she didn't like the fact that he was champion. Pretend that she wanted him to lose.

"You better not do something stupid and mess this up for me," Jeff muttered then, the man glancing over at her, and Eve arched a brow at him.

"How many times, exactly, has something I've done cost you a match?" she wanted to know, looking the man in the eye as she spoke, finding it difficult not to roll her eyes as she looked at him. It was so difficult to take the man seriously when he had that ridiculous face-paint on... He thought it made him an individual. Which was stupid, really, because he was far from the first wrestler to wear paint on his face. He probably wouldn't be the last, either. That didn't change the fact that Eve thought it looked kind of dumb, and that his looked worse than a lot of what she'd seen in the past.

"Just don't screw up tonight," Jeff finally said, probably because he knew that the answer to his question was that she'd never cost him a match and didn't want to admit to it. Of course, what he didn't know was that Eve was currently reminding herself that she simply hadn't cost him a match *yet*... She fully intended to do so tonight.

That thought in and of itself was enough that, when Jeff's music finally started to play, it was easy to smile as she stepped out onto the stage... Easy to keep that smile on her face even as Jeff did that dance that she had thought looked like a seizure more and more lately. As she walked down the ramp a few steps behind him - mostly to keep away from flailing limbs as he bounced around - she even managed to reach out and slap a few hands, still smiling as she did so, the diva able to hear some of the fans yelling and cheering for her, too.

She kind of figured that, after she was through tonight, they wouldn't be cheering for her any longer.

Climbing into the ring, she thought she caught sight of an annoyed look on Jeff's face, though he covered it pretty well, quickly ducking his head, making sure to look simply determined when he lifted it again. But Eve knew what she'd seen, the flicker of annoyance that had been there an instant before... Probably because she'd been playing to the crowd a bit when he wanted them to just be *his* fans and not hers. Whatever, she didn't really care, and it wasn't like he could do anything about it right now without looking like an ass. Truth was, she could pretty much do what she wanted out here tonight and not worry about the consequences when it came to Jeff because she wouldn't be leaving with him; she'd be leaving with Punk.

The thought made her smile widen even more.

Eve was forced to control the smile though, schooling herself to a more serious look as Jeff's music faded out and CM Punk's music came on. She tried not to look like she was drinking in the sight of him when he walked out onto the stage, that smirk on his face as he looked toward the ring. He looked like a confident, almost arrogant champion, which she supposed was what he was going for. She'd decided awhile back that, if a person walked out there looking like they expected to get beat, then in all likelihood, they would get beat. Confidence was a big key, and CM Punk looked very confident.

The diva watched as Punk made his way into the ring, hopping up onto the turnbuckle as was his habit, the man holding the world title high over his head... Jeff Hardy glaring at him the entire time, looking a bit like he wanted to go and yank Punk off the turnbuckle and get the match started right that very instant. He didn't do that, though, instead waiting for Punk to hop down from the turnbuckle, the man casually handing the World Heavyweight Championship to the referee for that night's match, Eve just barely picking up Punk's comment that he'd be taking that title backstage with him again soon. Like it was a given that he would retain. Of course, given what they intended for tonight, it was highly likely that he would retain. And while Eve was out there intending to cost Jeff the match and keep him from winning the title, there was still a part of the diva that hoped that CM Punk would find a way to win all on his own... She'd still attack Jeff even then, sure, but then it would be after the match. A slap to the face, a kick to the balls... Whatever. Enough to make sure that he knew she was through being his doormat of a manager, then she could walk off with Punk and everyone would still know that she'd chosen the Straight Edge Superstar over the walking wellness policy violation. But whenever her attack on Jeff happened tonight - during the match or after - she intended to make it very clear that she was no longer on his side.

As the ring announcer did the introductions - Eve all too aware of the crazy amount of cheers as Jeff was announced - the diva made her way out of the ring, fighting to keep her eyes from going to Punk. She'd known, of course, that being out there at ringside would be a challenge. It would be hard not to show her hand too early... Hard to pretend she was cheering for Jeff at all when the man he was facing was the man that she was involved with. The only man in the entire company that knew the way Jeff Hardy had treated her.

Taking a deep breath, Eve watched as the title was held up by the referee - the same referee that CM Punk had kicked in the head to get himself disqualified at the previous pay per view. That worried her a bit, because she thought that maybe he would be more lenient with Jeff because of it, and stricter with Punk. Of course, if the man wanted Jeff to win, he had to keep the match going, and disqualifying Punk might count as a loss for the world heavyweight champion, but it wouldn't cause the title to change hands. It could be that both men would be given a little lee-way. Jeff because the ref wanted him to win, and Punk because the ref didn't want to DQ Punk and cause Jeff to win but not get the title. No matter the case, Eve just wanted CM Punk to walk out of here still the champion.

"Come on, Punk," Eve muttered, the words said under her breath, low enough that she couldn't even hear herself, and because her head had been momentarily lowered, no one could have read her lips because they wouldn't have been able to see them. Shaking her head slightly, Eve looked up again as the bell rang, her eyes locking with Punk's for just an instant before the two men began to fight each other... Eve clutching her hands together as she stood there, knowing that she probably looked apprehensive, but hoping that people would think she was just worried about Jeff.

Keeping her eyes on the action in the ring - the two men already battling violently, CM Punk hitting Jeff with multiple kicks that could probably be heard from a pretty good distance away - the diva slowly moved around the ring, finding herself standing in front of the announcers' table for a few moments... Fighting not to make a face when she heard Jerry Lawler making a comment about her and her 'assets' at ringside. The guy was such an old pervert... He was actually older than her father, but he still acted like such a damn child.

Shaking her head, Eve started to head around to the other side of the ring, the woman quickly having to take a step back when she realized that the action was coming to the outside of the ring... Jeff had been knocked to the outside, and Punk was going for a suicide dive... And it took everything in Eve not to scream when Jeff stepped aside and Punk went into the barrier practically head-first-

If only Jeff hadn't been able to side-step that...

Standing near the ringpost, Eve looked down at the two men for a moment, mentally willing CM Punk to get up and keep going, willing the man to win this match, then she stepped away, making her way around the ring and away from the action, knowing that Punk wouldn't want her to end up in the middle of the action right now... He wouldn't want her to be in a situation where he could accidentally hurt her and, quite frankly, she didn't really want to get hurt, either.

Her eyes on the action as it once more made its way back into the ring, Eve made her way to the far side from the announcers, her back to the ramp, her arms resting against the ring apron as she stood there, the woman paying close enough attention so that if the action came her way, she'd hopefully be able to sidestep it.

She barely kept herself from flinching when Jeff took Punk down again, Hardy then going up to the top turnbuckle, the diva vaguely thinking she could go around and pull Punk out of the ring to break up the three-count if she had to... But no, Punk wasn't out of it enough for Jeff to hit the Swanton Bomb on him, the man easily rolling out of the ring. Jeff then turned to jump to the outside on Punk, but that didn't work either, as CM Punk sidestepped his jump, causing Jeff to slam into the barrier, the world champion then climbing back into the ring to wait, clearly not minding if he got the victory by count-out... Eve was pretty sure that, if that happened, Punk would then commence with a post-match beatdown of his opponent, and she'd be invited to join in. That wasn't to be, however, as Jeff made it back into the ring before the count of ten. Not that the referee was counting very quickly or anything.

"Come on," Eve whispered, her hands still braced against the apron as the men battled it out, the diva losing track of time as she stood there, somehow becoming too absorbed to even really look for the right spot, but that was okay because so far, Punk was more than holding his own. That really shouldn't have been surprising, though, because Punk was tough as nails, always had been... Both of his titles may have been won on Money in the Bank cash-ins, but that just meant he was tough enough and skilled enough to have won Money in the Bank not once, but twice. No other competitor could say that. Yes, Edge had technically cashed in twice as well, but he'd only had one of those briefcases because Kennedy had been dumb enough to put it on the line in a match.

Even though he'd made it back into the ring, Jeff wasn't at his best thanks to slamming into the barrier, and Punk took advantage, trying first for a pin cover, but Jeff kicked out... So Punk got up and kicked him, landing blows to Jeff's back and even his head, going for multiple covers, making Jeff expend the energy to kick out. At one point, Punk even went for a bow-and-arrow submission on Jeff, and Eve had to fight like hell to keep from cheering Punk on. It was hard not to tell the fans to shut up as they tried to cheer for Jeff to fight out of it... Harder still not to cheer when Punk landed a vicious kick to Jeff after letting the submission go.

And it got worse when Jeff got on the offensive. The man managed to counter what was going to be a superplex attempt on Punk... But the move hurt Jeff as well, making it impossible for Jeff to really take advantage... At least at first. As both men got to their feet, Jeff took the advantage, and Eve began to more seriously look for a chance to interfere. Or she did until Jeff went for a move using the ropes and Punk knocked his feet out from under him, causing him to straddle the top turnbuckle and fall onto the mat below hard. After that, Punk got in the running knee he liked to use so much, but Jeff fought off the bulldog and somehow managed to go into the corner to hit Whisper in the Wind... It was at that point that Eve started to move, intending to climb up on the apron for a distraction, anything to keep the referee from counting the three... But Punk kicked out before she could do anything, Eve able to make her movement seem more restless than like an attempt to interfere, the diva keeping her eyes focused on the action as Jeff continued to take the advantage... But Punk wasn't through yet, the man sitting up to avoid a Swanton before delivering a backbreaker on Jeff, then locking in a dragon sleeper to put pressure on every bit of Jeff that he could. His eyes were on hers when he did it, and she figured that the announcers were probably saying something about how he was trying to taunt her by staring right at her as he did the painful submission move on Jeff, but she knew that wasn't the case. Yes, she knew that this match was to retain his title, but she also knew that at least part of the pain he was putting Jeff through was for her.

And that was when it happened.

She saw CM Punk's eyes widen in horror, the man dropping the submission hold he was using and starting to move forward just as a pain screamed through her back and ribs, driving Eve to her knees. After that, things were a blur, Eve trying to protect her head and neck as she was tossed into the steel stairs and more blows rained down with what was undoubtedly a weapon of some kind. Protecting her head left her ribs open for another nasty hit, a kick added to it, and she could hear yelling and screaming coming from the ring - Punk's voice was the one she picked out, but she thought the ref was yelling as well - and the crowd and the person attacking her. And it was as the referees finally dragged Maria off of her that Eve was able to turn her head to look up at the Titantron...

Just in time to see Jeff Hardy pin CM Punk for the three-count and the win.