A/N: NEW CHAPTER! I know what you're thinking; you're probably thinking that you're hallucinating since I usually never have another chapter out this fast. The truth is, I was feeling the itch to write this one ever since I finished the last one, and a few nights ago, I was listening to my IPod and the first two songs that came up on Shuffle were from my Let Me Fall playlist (Yeah, that's how hardcore I am about this story; I actually created a playlist for it on my IPod, lol) Well, that pretty much cinched it, so I spent last night and tonight banging it out. It kind of took a bit out of me getting the emotions down on paper, but hopefully it was a success and you all will enjoy it. Because you're all awesome. PEACE!

A/A/N: The song lyrics are from "All The Way to You" by Armchair Cynics; all the rights, etc. belong to them.

Thank you to cherrycokerocks, LetNys, Esha Napoleon, rebelwilla, DarkAngelMel2, PrettyReckless09, Extremist, nightmarelover, and BigRedMachineUK for all the fantastic reviews on the last chapter! You know that I love you, but I will say it anyway: LOVE YAS!

Chapter 23: All The Way To You

Wait

I've been trying to make sense

But all my thoughts get in the way

Of everything I've been wanting to say

Tell me, what's a boy to do

When you've got me so confused

Like a drunk in the dark

I stumble all the way to you...

Melina leaned against the wall outside Jeff's hotel room, closing her eyes and trailing her fingertips across the textured surface of the wallpaper. She hadn't spoken a word since leaving the News Arena; Matt had been equally taciturn during the cab ride over here, and was currently down at the front desk trying to wrangle a spare room key away from the hotel clerk. Truthfully, though, the Dominant Diva was grateful for the lack of conversation. There was no word that could adequately describe how she was feeling right now; too many conflicting emotions were simultaneously fighting for dominance within her skull. She wasn't sure if she was elated, terrified, miserable...or even...hopeful.

Melina still couldn't quite believe that the elder Hardy brother was helping her carry out this insane mission. True, he had agreed to help her last week-but then again, it had been under the proviso that she first find some way to make her boyfriend lose his title match. And even then...the look on Matt's face...the tone of his voice...he had made it seem as though any aid he did provide would be at an absolute minimum and doled out with the utmost reluctance.

Let's get one thing straight...I'm not doing this for YOU...

But tonight, ever since she had approached him in the hallway, his whole demeanor, the way he was treating her, had changed-it now seemed almost...sympathetic.

It was as though the elder Hardy brother had somehow grasped what the paparazzi princess still wasn't entirely sure of herself...that both she and Jeff were miserable without each other.

My brother's in pain...and I hate seeing him in pain...and I just can't shake this idea that you're the only one who can make it go away...

Melina drew in a deep shaky breath. Right now, she wasn't certain of her ability to make anything go away; her heart was racing along at a million beats a second, and her chest felt tight, almost uncomfortably so, as though her ribcage had contracted several sizes in the last few minutes.

This is crazy... The Dominant Diva's eyes drifted open a crack, blinking against the glow of the soft overhead lights. She recognized the disapproving inner voice almost immediately; it was all that remained of the selfish, spoiled, arrogant Diva who always had to be in control. It had been pulverized to almost nothing in the past seven days; reduced to little more than a voice inside her head. You saw the look on Jeff's face, the things he said. Even if he doesn't throw you out as soon as he sees you, there's no guarantee that he'll listen to anything you have to say...

Face facts, Melina, there's nothing for you here. You'd be better off going back-

Back to what?... the paparazzi princess retorted silently. Back to a clueless philandering boyfriend who doesn't care? And then what? EIther wait for him to get tired of me or else shrivel up and die on the inside?...

Maybe you're right...maybe there IS nothing for me here...but I have to try. I have to try...or else, what's the point?

Isn't it better to feel something for a few moments than to spend the rest of your life feeling nothing at all?...

Despite her apprehension, the Dominant Diva almost had to appreciate the irony of the situation; true to form, she was once again running away...but this time, she was at least running in the right direction.

"Hey," The soft lilt of Matt's Southern accent-so much like Jeff's-floated across her thoughts, stirring her back to the present. Melina quickly straightened up, opening her eyes and crossing her arms over her chest. The elder Hardy brother had an electronic key card in one hand, which was extended in her direction.

The paparazzi princess stared at it for several long seconds, then gradually swung her gaze back up to Matt's face. "That was...fast," she remarked, cursing herself for how stupid and slow she sounded.

The SmackDown Superstar shrugged. "Yeah, well, it helps when the guy at the front desk also happens to be a Team Extreme fan." He pushed the card toward her again, a little bit more forcibly this time.

The Dominant Diva opened her mouth to add something else, then realized there was really nothing more to be said. Instead, she accepted the key card, her fingers curling protectively around the small plastic rectangle. "Thanks..." she whispered. "I...thanks..."

Matt said nothing; merely dipped his head in a subtle nod. Melina ducked her chin, turning away from him and focusing on the door. Just as she was about to slip the card into the slot, however, the elder Hardy brother spoke up once again: "Just so you know-"

Melina turned slightly, meeting Matt's gaze almost out of the corner of her eye. The SmackDown Superstar's expression hadn't changed, but all the same, there was something...harder...about it now, as though for a moment, all the warmth had been drained out of him. The elder Hardy brother's tone was flat; rumbling with just the faintest hint of a threat: "If you break his heart again...I'll make your life a living hell."

For a second, the paparazzi princess said nothing. Then, gradually, the corners of her mouth turned upward in a weak smile. "Fair enough..." she murmured, and with that, she shoved the key card into its designated slot, turning the knob and pushing open the door.

The room was empty, as she'd expected it to be-Matt had informed her that Jeff would most likely wait out the rest of the show in either the trainer's room or some deserted corner of the arena before heading back to the hotel to crash. However, the Dominant Diva could still sense the presence of the room's current inhabitant. The unmade bed, the open suitcase, the clothes strewn across the floor-all of it sent a powerful wave of poignant memories crashing over her; so acute that for several long moments, she was helpless to do anything but be swept away in their wake...

When I look at you...I can barely breathe...and when you touch me...I feel like I wanna die...

If either of us had any sense...we'd walk away right now...because THIS... whatever it is...will burn us alive if we're not careful...

I don't want this to go away...any more than I want to stop flying...

Eventually, Melina forced herself to stir; forced herself to put one foot in front of the other as she moved further into the room. The recollections didn't subside, however; merely advanced closer to their inevitable conclusion. The paparazzi princess halted in front of the window, and for an instant, a heartbeat, she thought that she could feel Jeff's arms wrapped around her waist; could hear her soft query and the Charismatic Enigma's tender response...

Jeff...what's it feel like to fly?...

It's like nothing else in the world, princess...

The Dominant Diva sank down into a padded armchair in the corner next to the window, unzipping her stiletto boots and kicking them under the seat. Pulling her knees up to her chest, she hugged the oversized hoodie-Jeff's hoodie-tighter around herself.

Melina rested her head against the back of the chair, staring at the faint radiance emanating from the parking lot outside. Against her will, she felt her eyes begin to drift closed-and a few seconds later, the exhausted Diva had dozed off into a tentative sleep.

The sound of the lock tumbler sliding out of its slot jolted the paparazzi princess from her uneasy slumber. Melina sat bolt upright, her fingers unconsciously playing over her clothes, her hair. Waves of apprehension were radiating outward from her stomach, causing her whole body to shake.

Part of her-her old self-was panicking, urging her to bolt; to run away and avoid this confrontation altogether. But the Dominant Diva forced herself to remain precisely where she was. It was too late to escape; whatever happened after this would happen.

Besides...it had been too late for her long before she had set foot in this room.

A widening rectangle of light materialized in the gloom as the door swung open, followed by the unmistakable silhouette of the Rainbow-Haired Warrior. Jeff was moving gingerly, obviously still feeling the effects of his battle with Nitro and the beatdown that had followed.

Melina tensed, waiting for him to say something, but the younger Hardy brother merely closed the door, blotting out the hallway's illumination, humming softly to himself. The paparazzi princess heard a soft SNAP, and the lights sprang on, casting away the shadows, leaving her feeling vulnerable and exposed-but also affording a better look at the Charismatic Enigma.

Jeff had his back to her, earbuds plugged into his ears. His newly-won Intercontinental Championship was slung over one shoulder, and he had a large bag of ice pressed to the side of his face. The Rainbow-Haired Warrior turned, still humming along to whatever tune was blasting out of his Ipod...and then abruptly froze as he saw the Dominant Diva sitting in the corner.

Melina felt her head leap into her throat, as though propelled upward by a pump. She couldn't move; her hands were clamped to the chair's arms, her fingernails digging into the fabric.

The bag slipped from Jeff's grasp, hitting the carpeted floor and spilling jagged ice cubes everywhere. The title belt followed suit, landing with a loud TWACK. Slowly, as though he wasn't even aware that he was doing so, the younger Hardy brother reached up, daintily removing his earbuds and shoving them into his pocket. His green irises never wavered from hers, and Melina could feel their intensity from the other side of the room.

For a minute or two, neither one of them spoke. Finally, Jeff broke the silence, forcing the words out, his expression indecipherable. "How...how'd you get in here?"

The paparazzi princess couldn't speak at first; her throat had gone dry and her tongue was glued to the roof of her mouth. Eventually, though, after what seemed like an eternity, she was able to compose herself enough to form coherent syllables: "Your brother helped me."

Astonishment flashed across the Charismatic Enigma's face, genuine and unchecked, and a few seconds elapsed before he was able to push it aside enough to sputter: "Matt? He-he what? Why-why the hell would he help you?"

The Dominant Diva shook her head. "I don't know," she admitted honestly.

Jeff shook his head, averting his gaze. The revelation about his brother had shaken him, and it was clear that he was striving to retrieve his initial emotionless control. "You know what?" the Rainbow-Haired Warrior finally retorted. "It doesn't even matter." He jabbed his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the door. "Get out."

A second crawled by. Then another. Gradually, Melina shook her head, her voice just above a whisper. "No."

Jeff's eyebrows shot upward in surprise. "No?" he repeated incredulously, his face flushing as anger crept into his tone. "Look, princess-I'm tired, I'm still jet-lagged, my whole body hurts because your boyfriend hit me in the face with a fucking ladder-the last thing I want to see right now is you, in my room, wearing my sweatshirt!"

The younger Hardy brother took a step toward her, ice cubs crunching beneath his feet. His voice was low, laced with ire...and pain. "Get...the hell...out."

"I said no!" The paparazzi princess sprang to her feet, her voice rising up to a shriek on the last word. She moved forward as well, matching Jeff's wounded glare with one of her own. "I heard you out last week; I let you call me a bitch and a liar. But now it's my turn to talk and your turn to listen." Another step forward. "If you want me out, Jeff Hardy, then you're going to have to throw me out because I'm not leaving."

Another long stretch of silence crept by. Eventually, the Charismatic Enigma shrugged. "All right, princess, you win. As always...you win." There was mocking in his tone, but his voice was thick, as though he was using scorn to mask how much he was hurting on the inside. He walked over to the room's double bed-still leaving a considerable distance between the two of them-and sat down on its edge, folding his legs up Indian-style. His expression had closed up into a kind of resentful acceptance. "I'm listening."

The Dominant Diva was temporarily at a loss for words-even after all the times she had pictured this moment, she had never once envisioned what she would actually say. But then, all of a sudden, she felt something inside her crumble, as though some inner reservoir had given way, and the words poured from her lips in a rapid stream of syllables: "You were right...about me: I am a liar."

Melina pushed back her reddish-brown curls with both hands, tearing out some hairpins in the process, but she didn't care. "I've lied to everyone-the fans, the roster, Johnny, myself-everyone...except for you." She hesitated. "I never lied to you."

At this, the younger Hardy brother rolled his eyes, but the paparazzi princess pressed on. "You were always the one person that I could never lie to-because you always saw through it. No matter how many walls I put up, you still knew when I was deluding myself, when I was lying to myself."

The Dominant Diva took a deep breath. "When you looked at me...you saw me...when even I'd forgotten who that person was. Everything in my life is fake...but with you, it was always real."

Melina abruptly advanced forward, dropping down to her knees in front of Jeff, biting back a wince of pain as the ice cubes dug into her bare skin. She peered imploringly up into the Rainbow-Haired Warrior's face. "So...why can't you see it now? Why can't you believe that I'm telling you the truth? You saw it out there in the ring-I could tell by the look on your face. Even though you didn't want to believe it...deep down, you knew that I helped you win; that I tripped Johnny up on purpose." Her lips trembled as her normally strident voice fell to a whisper. "Why can't you believe me?"

"What's the point?" Jeff's tone was dull, and as equally broken as hers. His emerald eyes were fixed on an unseen patch of floor, unable to meet her gaze. "What's the point in trying...when, in the end, all you're going to do is go right back to him?"

The paparazzi princess swallowed hard, slowly shaking her head. "Not this time..."

Now it was the Charismatic Enigma's turn to shake his head in the negative. "Bullshit," he spat, the epithet emerging almost as a growl. "You're too much of a coward-"

"It's the truth!" the Dominant Diva insisted.

"And why should I believe you?" Jeff retorted.

"Because I love you!" As the words fell from her lips, Melina saw the younger Hardy brother visibly flinch, as though he'd been struck by a bullet. All the color drained from his face, making his green irises seem even more brilliant, and his features went slack and soft with shock. For an instant, something flashed across his expression-a look of longing, yearning-but in the next, it hardened.

However, the paparazzi princess could tell by the way his entire body seemed to be quivering that it wasn't natural. It wasn't that Jeff didn't care; quite the contrary, in fact. No...instead, he was trying to force himself with every ounce of strength, will, and resolve he still possessed to convince himself that he didn't care, that he didn't love her.

And he was losing the battle.

Melina inched closer, reaching up to put her hand on Jeff's knee. The Rainbow-Haired Warrior instantly stiffened at her touch, but fortunately didn't pull away. "I love you...so much..." the Dominant Diva whispered. "And you're right; I am a coward. Right now, I'm so scared-of Johnny, of what he did...to me...to you...of what he'd do if he ever found out about us. But the truth is that I'm even more scared of what'll happen to me if I go back to him and pretend like it never existed. Like...we...never existed."

She peered up at the younger Hardy brother, her expression hardening for a second. "If I'm a coward, then so are you-because you're the one who's trying to go back to the way things used to be. You think...that you can just forget...about us, about that night...about how right it felt. But what you don't realize is that you can't!"

One by one, tears rolled down the paparazzi princess's face, her voice cracking. "No matter how hard you try, you can't...function...without me-any more than I can function without you. We're not supposed to have anything in common...but we do. We don't fit in anywhere, we don't belong anywhere...but when we're together, for some reason, everything makes sense."

Melina impulsively gripped Jeff's hand. The Charismatic Enigma looked down at it, then back up at her, but otherwise did not move. "You once asked me if I wanted this," the Dominant Diva murmured. "And I do. I want it more than anything. But like you said...I can't do it alone. I can't do it...unless you want it, too."

A minute ticked by slowly-but the Rainbow-Haired Warrior said nothing. Melina pressed her lips together, trying to prevent herself from dissolving into helpless tears. "Why can't you say it?" she whispered. "I can see it in your face, Jeff-despite what you might think, you're no good at hiding your feelings. You want this. You want it just as much as I do-so why can't you say it?"

"Because they're just words, princess," Jeff finally spoke up. His voice sounded strained, cracking under the weight of so many pent up emotions. "They don't mean anything. Words don't mean anything."

The paparazzi princess slowly nodded. "You're right," she admitted. "But sometimes-they mean everything." She clasped Jeff's hand tightly, her dark eyes boring intently into his emerald ones. "I fucking love you. I want to be with you...I don't know what else I have to say to make you understand." She stopped, waiting for a response.

Jeff stared down at her. His expression was a shifting hodgepodge of doubt and misery and longing so acute that it made her heart ache. His mouth was moving slightly, almost forming words-but he still said nothing.

The Dominant Diva's face fell. After a long moment, she bowed her head, tears dripping from her lashes and plopping onto the already-damp floor. "Or maybe...I should just stop wasting my breath," she eventually remarked, her voice flat and almost completely devoid of emotion.

Slowly, Melina rose to her feet, unable to meet the younger Hardy brother's gaze. "Sorry I bothered you." She turned to go, then stopped. "Wait...you probably want this back." Shrugging off the oversized hoodie, she tossed it onto the bed beside the Charismatic Enigma before turning her back on him and moving toward the door.

The paparazzi princess's thoughts were dim and muddled; the only thing she was completely cognizant of was that she was going to burst into uncontrollable tears as soon as she stepped out into the hallway. Tentatively, she reached for the door handle, her fingertips grazing the cool metal-

"Melina...wait..."

The Dominant Diva froze, drawing in a sharp hopeful breath as Jeff's quiet directive floated through the air. Behind her, she heard the Rainbow-Haired Warrior shift a little on the bed before he spoke: "Please...princess...don't go."

Melina closed her eyes, air escaping from her lungs in one long shaky exhale. "Give me a reason to stay, then."

She never heard Jeff move; only the crunch of ice beneath his shoes as he stood. Then the next thing she knew, he was grabbing her arm, whirling her around, pushing her up against the door as his mouth descended on hers in a passionate kiss. Melina returned the kiss, reaching up to grip the back of his neck. She hiked her leg up against his waist, and Jeff slid his hand along the length of her thigh, gripping her ass as he pulled her even tighter against him.

They abruptly pulled apart, both gasping slightly for breath. Melina couldn't talk; her head was spinning and she felt like she could barely stand. Gazing at the younger Hardy brother, she sensed that he had been similarly affected by that intense kiss. Jeff eventually spoke, forcing the words out with profound effort. "How...how's this for a reason?"

The paparazzi princess smiled, reaching up to brush a few strands of multi-colored hair back from Jeff's face. She cupped his cheek in her hand and the Rainbow-Haired Warrior groaned softly, lacing his fingers through hers and pressing his lips to her palm.

The sensation of his lips on her skin made Melina feel as though her insides had turned to liquid, and she quickly gasped out her answer before words failed her entirely: "It'll do."

The corners of Jeff's mouth twitched upward in a smile. Leaning down, he pressed his lips against her ear, murmuring something before sealing her mouth in another fierce kiss. And as they stumbled toward the bed, peeling away pieces of clothing, their initial kisses already giving way to more intimate caresses, the Dominant Diva could still feel his words resonating with her, like a current of electricity dancing across her skin.

I love you, too...Melina...