246.13.10 EDIT rewatched some videos on youtube and fixed the chronological order of events in my story, that just so happens i messed up a little. everything should be correct now. if not, please let me know.
So if you were to look at my archive right now, you would see all stories with at least one OC in it. It has recently come to light that I am otherwise incapable of writing fanfiction with no OCs, or writing about a fandom as is. Well I'm going to change that!
Summary: Jeff Hardy notices a lot that goes on in the WWE and Smackdown. John Morrison thinks he's overlooking the important things. Following the 2009 draft, John decides that the timing is just right to stat playing a game with Jeff. It's a good use of time, interesting to watch, and if you play your cards just right, then everyone wins. It's a lot of fun, but who is it fun for? Jeff's about to find out.
Warnings: NO OCS! Wooo! But that doesn't mean I can't enjoy some slashy goodness. Angsty slash, implied or otherwise. Fourth-wall breaking throughout. Random bits of humor that are probably not very funny at all. Language.
Pairing: eventual Jeff HardyxJohn Morrison
Notes: I might be missing some stuff. Also, events may or may not be in chronological order. If not, please let me know and tell me how to correct it. this may be a two-shot, maybe longer. We'll see how it goes.
Disclaimers: I don't own anything. WWE and Smackdown and everything WWE-related including all wrestlers mentioned belong to Vince McMahon.
Copyright:but it seems that I do own this story. And as such, stealing is a no-no. So…
Nothing Casual © My Life Craves Pirates 2010-2012
Nothing Casual
by My Life Craves Pirates
Chapter 1: jeff hardy
Jeff had never really been in to the Divas. Some people would ask him why, on occasion, and he wouldn't give them an answer. He thought it was pretty self-explanatory. They were Divas. Sassy little toothpicks, nothing but trouble, that's what they were. He knew it, everyone else knew it. And yet some people manage to seem surprised when their relationship with a Diva eventually fails oh so horribly.
It was no surprise to Jeff Hardy.
The little love spat with Trish Stratus he had way back in 2003? That was for television purposes only, pretty much. Jeff had been approached by a member of the creative team, saying that he needed more on-screen appeal. He had disagreed with him at the time, but was in no position to argue his point.
It was a shame. Really.
He didn't like Trish, but he didn't not like her either. He just would have rather that the storyline had never happened. He wasn't in to Divas, but he didn't hate them. He just thought it was better not to get involved, on-screen or otherwise. He was better off that way.
So why complicate things?
And poor Matt. Four years with Amy "Lita," and it ended extremely unpleasantly when Adam "Edge" had decided to get involved. His brother was still feeling it. Five years later, he was still feeling the hurt, and he knew that. It burned him to the core just to look at Adam's face. Fighting with him in the ring took more self-restraint and -control than he normally used. Sometimes, Jeff surprised himself with how well he was able to keep himself from pummeling Adam beyond the safety realm. He wanted to help Matt. Even after Amy retired on account of the fans harassing her for betraying Matt, he wanted to help him. Matt had simply pushed the idea aside.
The Divas were nothing but trouble. Not that some Superstars couldn't be, also.
Jeff was a popular Superstar, he knew that. Every time he did public appearances, Fan Axxes, or even when he was just walking to his hotel after shows, he had hoards of fangirls throwing themselves at him. He was constantly hearing rumors that this Diva liked him, or that Diva liked him.
No, thanks. Beth Britt will do just fine.
Someone once asked him that if he had ruled out Divas, did that also mean that he had ruled out everyone else too?
Jeff just stared at him, perplexed. Who else was there? He didn't know how to answer, so he didn't. On occasion he would recall that question and deliberate. A wild idea crossed his mind once, but he quickly pushed it aside, saying that it was positively absurd. Nothing else made sense to him, so he officially abandoned the question for good.
A lot of Superstars seemed to disagree with him on a number of issues, in more ways than one. Even off-screen he found himself being sassed by storyline enemies. Maybe they were just method acting, who knew. It wasn't a very nice reaction to have to face and deal with, but you can't please everyone. The WWE, and professional wrestling in general, was a tough occupation to get by in.
So it goes.
Back in 2006, he had been put into a storyline feud with Johnny Nitro. It was a very love/hate storyline, in his opinion. On one hand, he got to tag team with Matt and Lita against Nitro's stable MNM. That was always a lot of fun. The energy, the suspense, and the vigor created by that feud were downright unreal at times. The energy and adrenaline mixed with the support of the fans was intoxicating. But on the other hand, it was a vicious storyline, and he found himself being constantly harassed by all three members of MNM. But then Joey Mercury left in 2007, and a while later, Melina and Nitro broke up and she went on to pursue the Women's Championship. And just like that, the late, great stable of MNM just…left him alone. Or what was left of it, rather.
It was probably better like that.
Jeff had been thrown into multiple other feuds since the downfall of MNM. On occasion, he would see Nitro around backstage or in the locker rooms. Prior to teaming up with The Miz, he changed his name to John Morrison. And for the longest time, Jeff didn't like him.
Well, that's show biz.
It was interesting, he found, that the wrestlers would tend to mimic their Superstar gimmicks. Jeff never really noticed this in himself, since his gimmick was essentially his off-screen personality. But once Morrison and Miz split up and went to different WWE brands, he quickly became…almost tolerable. It was a comforting thought, to say in the least.
Morrison was moved onto Smackdown following the 2009 draft. Jeff himself was already on Smackdown, and thought that no good would come with the arrival of John Morrison. But turns out that he was too occupied with other storylines to care about what Morrison was up to. The creative team later decided that it would be a great idea to make Jeff and Matt feud with each other. Jeff was apprehensive to begin with, but both he and Matt concurred that it was just entertainment, and that the storyline, heavy and dark as it was, was probably a good idea. They both mutually agreed that no matter how many times Matt dropped a leg across Jeff's throat, no matter how many times Jeff wailed on him, they would go home at the end of the day, battered and bruised and laughing about it.
Having Matt for an older brother was nice.
On occasion, Jeff would see Morrison around backstage or in the locker rooms. He no longer got the icy glares, the cold shoulders, or snide remarks that he would get from Johnny Nitro. John Morrison simply let him be. It wasn't really that Morrison was still being an asshole, but it seemed like he was adjusting to being on Smackdown, from being pried away from possibly one of the best friends he'd ever had. But in Jeff's opinion, Morrison was better off without Miz.
Not that he spent much time thinking about it, now.
But things started shaping up for Morrison. It really showed through in his off-screen behavior. He was more decent to people, listened to directions, and even conversed with people whenever he could. He was being a friendly guy, and it made for a much less tense working environment.
But when it came to Jeff Hardy, he still just let him be.
For the most part, John Morrison was a good guy. He seemed better off that way. But with the face turn of John Morrison, it seemed that Smackdown was in severe lack of assholes. So in storyline, CM Punk took a violent heel turn and turned on Jeff. Backstage, Punk's personality didn't change much, so it was refreshing to see at least one person resisting the vices of their alter egos for once.
While Punk didn't change much personality wise off-screen, on-screen he was a real horror show. Jeff had won the World Heavyweight Championship from Edge at Extreme Rules. Wrestlemania 25 Money in the Bank winner CM Punk cashed in on Jeff and took the title from him about two minutes after he had won it. From there on, Jeff and Punk entered into an intense feud. Backstage, Punk was still Phil Brooks, but the feud took its toll on Jeff.
There were some younger Superstars in the locker rooms that didn't like Jeff very much. On-screen, Vince McMahon didn't seem to like him either, and he retained that same attitude backstage. Whether he was method acting or just really didn't like him, Jeff didn't know.
But Vince did like CM Punk. Punk was straight-edge, which made him a good role model. Even when Vince decided to use that to enhance his heel status, he was a good role model. Even when he used Punk to exploit Jeff's shady history of drug abuse, he was a good role model. Even though Jeff was a fan favorite and Punk wasn't, he was a good role model.
Vince made a point of showing everyone that he didn't like Jeff Hardy. Jeff was put into a match against Punk, and when Jeff lost, Punk went to town on him. He had wrapped a steel folding chair around Jeff's head and then shoved him, chair and all, into one of the ring posts. Jeff could feel the chair close around his neck, he could feel the air leave his body, and he could feel his neck snapping in half.
Well, that's what it felt like, anyway.
Jeff had to be stretchered out of the arena with a brace around his neck. As he was being moved out, he wondered to himself: The number one policy of the WWE was the safety of the wrestlers above anything else. So it didn't make sense to be neck braced and stretchered out of the arena like he was.
After his heel turn, Punk didn't change much backstage. But later on, Jeff heard through the grapevine that the chair incident was Punk's idea.
The following week, Vince put Jeff in another match, against doctors' orders. Jeff couldn't move very well thanks to his neck injury, but that didn't mean he couldn't be in a handicap match and that the Hart Dynasty had to go easy on him. Jeff lost the match rather badly, which wasn't a surprise to most people watching. After the match, CM Punk came down to the ring to ensue a beatdown. It was much more injury than Jeff wanted or needed. He already had a neck injury, and Vince had already exploited it. Punk and the Hart Dynasty had suddenly turned into Vince's cronies, and the line between scripted and real was quickly becoming blurred. Punk was looking to tear him apart.
And then John Morrison intervened.
He fought off the three antagonists as best he could while Jeff was still in a pained daze. CM Punk wouldn't have it. He soon joined back in the brawl and turned the tables on Morrison, allowing the Hart Dynasty to take him out. With that being done and out of the way, Punk turned his attention back to Jeff. Again the chair came out, and again it was placed around his neck. Jeff was helpless. He tried to struggle against Punk, but was in so much pain he couldn't even see straight. He wondered, when Punk eventually would shove him into the ring post again, if his neck would actually break this time.
Matt Hardy made an unexpected face turn when he ran down to the ring to save Jeff from Punk's malicious deeds. Oh right, he forgot about that.
The Hart Dynasty and CM Punk were fended off and retreated as Matt and Morrison stayed behind to check on Jeff. He was fine, for the most part, but now considered his previous worries silly. He had known that Matt was turning face. In fact, he was the first person Matt had told when he first found out. Matt's seemingly unexpected act of heroism was scripted.
But John Morrison's wasn't.
It puzzled him and he wondered about it for the longest time, but somehow never managed to bring himself to confront John about it. He was grateful he helped to save him, and he made a point of talking about him as "John" now instead of "Morrison." John knew he was grateful and that was good enough.
On one occasion, he had actually asked Matt to confront John for him. It irritated and almost embarrassed him that the issue bothered him so much as to make him revert to a kindergarten-like personality just to avoid John. Naturally, Matt refused, and reminded him that he was acting like a five-year-old girl. Not that he needed reminding.
He didn't even know why the matter was bothering him at all. John helped to save him without being told, and he was grateful that he did. Maybe it was because John had recently turned face after being heel for so long, and that the sudden change in WWE standings had affected his moral judgment and actions. Maybe it was because being on the same brand as Jeff again, but now as a face, made him rethink the way he viewed him. Maybe he just was making up for being an asshole to him back on Raw. On one hand, Jeff appreciated it. On the other hand, the suddenness of his unprompted backstage face turn made him just a little bit uncomfortable, suspicious, and apprehensive.
On occasion, Jeff would see John around backstage or in the locker rooms. Every time they were in the same general area as each other, John would manage to catch Jeff's eye. He would stare at the enigma for a while, smirk, and then go about his business. Jeff was more confused than ever. In addition to frequent eye contact, Jeff would run in to John backstage more often now. He wouldn't even say anything, or make an attempt to strike up a conversation. It was just eye contact, staring, smirking, maybe a small "Hey," and then that was it. The more Jeff's expression said that he was confused, the more John seemed like he was enjoying it.
It was eerie.
There was no way this was just a coincidence. All of this, everything had to be related. John didn't start acting nice to him until long after he moved on to Smackdown and attempted to save him from the Hart Dynasty, and even that was unexpected. John's sudden change in attitude towards him was no coincidence. And why did it only start after he began his feud with Punk? After the Hart Dynasty tried to take him out? Why had he been given a cold shoulder up until then?
Why. Then?
Matt refused to believe that this was a conspiracy of sorts. Not that Jeff used those words exactly, now.
It might have been because of the face turn. It might have been that he didn't start acting nice to him until the Punk Chair incident because he was still warming up to him, adjusting to being a face on Smackdown. Jeff didn't know. Every plausible, feasible, logical, rational answer he could think of, he considered. Some answers fit, some didn't. So he deliberated the hardest on the ones that did. But still he wasn't convinced.
Matt insisted that he was thinking too hard about it. He reminded him again that he was acting like a five-year-old girl and told him to just man up and ask John himself.
"He's not a bad guy anymore, you know?" Matt said. "Like, I'm convinced. I don't know what the hell your problem is."
Well, thanks, Matt.
He couldn't really expect Matt to understand what he was going through. The John-being-weird situation was happening to him, not Matt. But there was also the ever present "obvious" answer, as Matt called it, that Jeff was just being a paranoid prick. Jeff and John went through quite a lot of shit during their Raw feuding days, so it made sense to him to be wary, if he was indeed just being a paranoid prick.
And he more he thought about it, the more that answer started to make sense. To say that he was feeling stupid right now would be an understatement.
Matt was pleased, if not proud, when Jeff told him that he was going to take his advice and man up. Matt looked a little bit accomplished, maybe a bit smug. Jeff almost smacked him.
"Yeah, whatever," Matt said. "Tell me how it goes."
And now he was on his own.
Given by what he had been experiencing since the Hart Dynasty beat down, he doubted it would be hard to find John. Tapings for Smackdown hadn't begun yet, so he should be free to talk right now. He tried to dwell on the positive and rational aspects of his situation and tried to convince himself that Matt was probably right.
He couldn't say that he wanted to find John and talk to him, that he was whole-heartedly in to this search. But he knew that if he didn't get this out of the way, he'd be griping about it for forever and Matt would never leave him alone. He was probably telling Beth right now about what a sniveling little girl her boyfriend's become recently. Oh, that would be fun to explain to her.
Thanks again, Matt.
He didn't really want to talk to John, but it was a good thing he was at least making an effort. So he was slightly disappointed when he found himself circling the backstage halls fifteen minutes later and John was still no where to be found.
"That's so typical," he muttered. "When you don't want to see him, he's there. When you do want to see him, suddenly he vanishes. What the fuck, man."
Normally he wouldn't have been bothered by this setback, but the disappointment that came with the anxiety being shot down couldn't be ignored. He had braced himself, thought about what he was going to say and everything. How the hell could John be missing after he went through all that trouble?
He soon resorted to asking around if anyone had seen him. About five minutes later, and so such luck could be had.
It was pretty irritating, to say in the least. But at least he had made an effort.
"Man, this sucks."
He decided to head over to the green room. That place was always stocked with assorted bits of food and stuff before shows. He was after a cup of coffee, and the green room was the place to get it. It was less formal and less crowded than catering. It was nice, really.
The green room was actually empty this time, which was also nice. The coffee pot was fresh and full, and just a bit comforting. He filled a styrofoam cup with coffee and stood by the table for a while, staring at the wall. He was deliberating on his odd situation, not quite sure where to go from here.
"Heard you were looking for me."
Well, so much for that problem.
Jeff inhaled deeply and then took a sip of coffee. The disappointment was gone and the anxiety was starting to sink in again. He had to remind himself that John was mostly harmless and that his worries were probably naught. He took another sip of coffee. It was kind of calming.
"Only about, like, twenty minutes ago," he said, turning around. John Morrison was standing in the doorway of the green room, one hand in his pocket and the other propped up against the door. He was wearing his sunglasses, which was slightly uncharacteristic of him to be wearing them indoors when he wasn't getting ready for a match. But then again, he didn't exactly know him that well, so who was he to say what was characteristic of him or not?
"Well, I'm here now," John said, holding out a hand. "What's up?"
"You tell me," Jeff answered. "It's been on my mind for just, the longest time, man, and I know you mean well, I'm grateful you helped save me from the Hart Dynasty, and you know that, I know you do. But I can't help but question your timing."
"My timing?" John inquired. "Jeff, you're acting like what I did was a bad thing."
"In what way?" he retorted. "I told you I was grateful, didn't I? My problem is, why did you at one point come to Smackdown and act like I didn't exist, while acting like a nice guy to everyone else, and then suddenly start doing spontaneous things like save me from a scripted beat down and then show up everywhere I go?"
John shrugged slightly. "Maybe I was just waiting for the right moment to pull the good-guy move on you. The beat down was scripted, but my interference wasn't. What does that tell you about me?"
Jeff deliberated. "You know, back on Raw, you were a real asshole, even off-screen. I think you're making up for that."
John paused before reaching up to remove his sunglasses. His eyes were surprisingly dark and filled with an emotion he couldn't discern. "I think you're overlooking things."
Jeff was cast into another wave of confusion, but before he could ask him to clarify on his statement, John pushed himself away from the doorframe and walked off. So now he was stuck in a room by himself, holding a cup of coffee he didn't even want anymore, left with more questions than he started with and no answers to relieve him.
Life sucked.
But then again, he already knew that.
.xXx.
The next time they met up, Jeff thanked Matt again for not helping to solve anything. He told him what happened, his frustrations, the complications, and John's ultimate answer. Matt was pretty confused also, and Jeff was still fairly angry.
"I went through all that just to find out that he's being faux-nice?"
"Oh stop," Matt sighed. "You really didn't go through that much. Your reaction and the way you keep spazzing out about it is making it seem like it's a big deal. Also, I don't think he's being faux-nice. He's nice to everyone else, isn't he?"
"Okay, but what about me?" Jeff stressed. "He's genuinely nice to everyone but me. What's up with that?"
"He voluntarily saved you from a beatdown, Jeff. That sounds nice to me."
"Yeah, I know. But what about being a dick to me every chance he got up until the beatdown?"
Matt thoughtfully placed a hand on his chin and was silent for a while. "He said you were overlooking things. That probably means you're thinking too hard. Which is exactly what I've been telling you since the start, but no, you have to hear it from some sparkly pantsed pretty boy first before you'll believe it."
"No offense, Matt."
Matt gave him an over-exaggerated sigh. "None taken, I suppose."
"So what now?"
He shrugged. "Just wait and see what happens, I guess. Given by what you were able to get out of him by talking to him, I'd say that's all you can do. Unless of course, you want to talk to him again."
Jeff scoffed. "Yeah, right."
"Then just wait it out," Matt said, shrugging.
He scowled bitterly. "Fine."
Something didn't feel right.
.xXx.
The following week, the Hart Dynasty and CM Punk teamed up to take on the Hardys and John Morrison. It was a take off of the storyline twist that John had introduced, and the ongoing feud between Punk and Jeff. Others would argue that the match was just Vince's hooligans and choice favorite versus his non-favorites. While maintaining the storyline, of course. But most people maintained that Vince was still ragging on Jeff for not being as good a role model as Punk. Because Vince didn't like Jeff.
So it goes.
Jeff didn't like that he was being forced to wrestle, given his neck's current condition. So in the entire week leading up to the match, he attempted to cram as many chiropractic appointments, physical therapy, pain medications, and training into his schedule as possible. Beth worried that he was just going to hurt himself further.
"But there's not much you can do besides sit back and watch," she said.
"I know," Matt said.
Both he and Jeff reassured her that he would be just fine during their match this week on Smackdown. But even as he was sitting there at home with a comforting arm around his girlfriend, he found himself doubting his own words.
It wasn't a very reassuring feeling.
Even less reassuring was John's attitude going in to the match. He himself seemed thoroughly prepared for the match, though he only briefly conversed with Matt about what was physically taking place during it. Even briefer was his run-through with Jeff. He didn't know if that was because he was still wary of Jeff based on the confrontation, or if he was finally done being faux-nice.
Knowing that he was putting his safety almost entirely into the hands of a man he barely trusted was rather discomforting.
To say in the least.
But the outcome of the match proved Jeff's worries to be naught once more. John actually had his back most of the time, and even helped to hold off the Dynasty long enough for Matt to get the pin and score their team the win. Afterwards, he even checked on Jeff to make sure he was okay.
"Thought your neck might have gotten jacked up again," he said. "I saw you land on it funny. And then, you know, Phil started wailing on it."
John actually looked him in the eyes. This wasn't creepy-staring-at-you-from-across-the-room John, no. This wasn't cold-shoulder John who was too good to talk to you, but not too good to get under your skin and then laugh about it, no. There was a softer side to him he had never seen before. The genuine concern was even weirder and more unnerving than the cold indifference. Not that he would prefer one over the other, now.
"Well now I'm confused," Matt said.
They were both backstage now, getting dressed and packing up in the locker rooms. John had long since departed for the hotel after complimenting both Hardys on the match.
"Maybe he's only nice to me when no one else is around?" Jeff suggested. "I don't know, hell."
"That sounds ominously creepy."
"Thank you for finally seeing this through my eyes."
"I'm not ruling anything out," Matt replied, calmly. "I still maintain everything I've mentioned previously."
"Fine," Jeff said. "But I don't know what the hell to do anymore. I tried talking to him, and that didn't work. I tried waiting things out and that was even less helpful."
"Sounds like it, yeah."
"Great! What the fuck do I do now? I don't know how much more of this I can take, Matt. I don't know why he's even getting to me so much like this in the first place!"
"Maybe you're just wary because a former enemy wants to make amends," Matt suggested. "That sounds reasonable."
"I don't know," Jeff replied. "But I have to do something. If not, it's just going to keep bothering the hell out of me."
There was a brief silence as they finished packing and stood up. Matt glanced over at his brother.
"So what are you going to do?" he asked.
Jeff didn't say anything for a while. Then he inhaled deeply, thinking. "Probably something stupid."
"Oh good," Matt said, throwing his duffle bag over his shoulder. "For a minute there I was worried that it was going to be something uncharacteristic of you."
"Next week," Jeff said. "I'll do something next week when I see him again for Smackdown tapings. I don't want to like, stalk him at the hotel. Just because he's a creeper doesn't mean I have to be too."
"Good philosophy. Let's go."
.xXx.
The ride to the hotel seemed like a long one, despite that the hotel was just down the street from the arena. There was no reason he could really think of that would make this ride seem longer than usual. He was tired, he was hurting, he was stressed. Maybe it was just because Matt was one driving.
"You've got a lot on your mind, I get that," Matt said. "I try to be understanding, but don't diss my driving."
The matter was dismissed, and he pulled in to the hotel parking lot. They had checked in about two days ago, so Jeff was relieved when he was able to bypass that hassle and go straight up to their room. On one or two occasions, he thought he saw John lurking somewhere down the halls or around the corner, but Matt told him he was just being paranoid. Their good friend Gregory Helms was staying with them for the duration of their tour in this city. He had called ahead after he was done with ECW tapings to say that he was already in the room. So it confused them a bit when they opened the door to their room and he wasn't there.
"Aww man, what the fuck," Jeff sighed.
"Great. Just what we need. Hey, Greg? You here?" Matt called.
"Just call his cell or something. I need to take a shower and then pass out until next week."
"Hold on, why don't you call him?"
"Because my battery is almost dead, I left my charger back home in Cameron, and I need my remaining battery to call Beth, since I promised her I would," Jeff answered. "Anything else?"
Matt scowled at him. "No, that's fine. Go take your damn shower."
Jeff smirked and grabbed his things out of his suitcase before heading into the bathroom. Matt rolled his eyes and dug around his bag for his cell phone. He glanced bitterly towards the door as he punched in Greg's number and brought the phone up to his ear. The phone rang a few times, and he tapped his foot.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Greg? Yeah, it's me, Matt…"
.xXx.
The hot water was soothing. Whatever stress, worries, or injuries Jeff was harboring, it was washed away in an instant. His iPhone was sitting on the edge of the bathtub along side a small bottle of scented oils. He didn't even know where the bottle came from, or if it was just a complimentary item, but whatever it was, thank god for it. It made his bath that much more relaxing.
He lolled his head in the direction of his phone. He pulled his arm out of the water to reach for it, but found himself hesitating. Jeff rested his arm on the edge of the tub and tapped his fingers on the screen of the phone. He contemplated his options. He promised Beth he'd call her, but then again, she'd probably understand if he wasn't able to. The low battery thing wasn't his fault. Maybe a text message would suffice. He glanced at the phone again.
"Then again, I do miss her…"
He picked up his phone and punched in her number, quickly drawing his chilly arm back into the warm water. It was better already.
"Hey Jeffie."
Now it was even better than better.
Jeff closed his eyes and smiled. "Hey, you," he said. John Morrison and the whole weird situation disappeared.
She laughed softly. "What's up?"
The weird situation came back. He thought he heard a thump outside the bathroom door. Jeff opened his eyes and his heart skipped a beat. He looked towards the door apprehensively.
"Jeff?"
"Sorry, babe," he said. He stuttered just a little bit. "Just a bit tired."
She paused. "You know, Matt texted me a while ago. He told me you were turning into a sniveling little girl. I had a good laugh about it at the time, but I still have no idea what he was talking about."
Jeff sighed and clutched his forehead. "Knew it. Don't worry about it."
"Isn't that my job, though? To worry about you? Work has been making you weird lately."
"In what way?"
"Well, you don't call me very much anymore. And whenever you do, the calls are short and you always seem on-edge. You seem more stressed than usual, your excuse is always that you're tired, and last time you and Matt were reassuring me about your match with John against Phil and the Dynasty, you got all tense and well…weird when we mentioned his name."
Despite the warm water, he shuddered. "Who, John?"
"Yeah. Listen, I want you to take it easy, okay? I'm worried about you."
Jeff smiled. "At least one of us is doing their job well."
She laughed. "No, but seriously. If you worry me anymore, I just might have to slap you upside the head."
"Heh. Yes, ma'am."
"Be safe, okay? I love you."
He couldn't get John Morrison off of his mind, but Beth certainly helped the situation a great deal.
"I know, babe. Love you t—."
He wasn't able to finish his sentence. As he was starting to get the last words out of his mouth, someone from the outside abruptly started pounding on the bathroom door.
"Hey, Jeff! Jeff Hardy!"
The door muffled the voice, and in his delirium, he put a name to the voice without giving himself any time to think.
"John?"
Startled, Jeff quickly stood up. In his wild haste, his wet and shaking hands dropped the phone on the way up. The phone missed the water, but landed on the hard tile floor just outside of the tub, where it hit with enough force to pop the back cover off.
"Shit!"
"Jeff?"
"Don't come in!" he shouted, hastily grabbing a towel from off the rack. He wrapped it around himself and jumped out of the tub. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"What are you talking about? I'm your brother!"
Jeff froze, standing there with towel wrapped loosely around his waist and dripping water onto his broken phone. The delirium was starting to clear, but if anything, it was more like it was just being clouded over by deep chagrin.
"What?"
"It's Matt, man. What the hell's wrong with you? Come on, you know it's me!"
Jeff sighed, mentally kicked himself, and then secured the towel around his waist. "Fine. Come in."
Matt opened the door as Jeff was bending down to pick up the pieces of his phone. He walked in cautiously, first peering around the door to make sure everything was okay. He spotted Jeff on the floor, bent over his phone.
"Sorry about that. Are you okay?"
"Hang on, dropped my phone when you knocked."
He watched Jeff put the cover back on and power it up. "Is it broken?"
"No, but the battery's finally dead," Jeff answered, despondently. "Great. I was in the middle of a call, too."
"To Beth? You can use my phone if you want."
"Maybe, we'll see. I might be okay," he said. A few seconds passed. "Hey, what was up with that back there?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing."
Jeff gave him a look. "What do you mean? You were the one that scared the shit out of me."
"Well then I scared myself scaring you. Happy?" Matt asked, sarcastically. "I just got off the phone with Greg, and apparently our boy met up with some ECW and Smackdown friends after television tapings and they went out to hit the town."
"Oh, nice of him to call."
"He said he couldn't get a signal."
Jeff shrugged. "Okay, I'll buy that." He didn't appreciate Matt scaring him, but in a heartbeat, he would admit that it was much better than what he originally thought it was. John was definitely getting under his skin. "Oh, Matt, did you hear a thump a few minutes ago too?"
"Yeah, I tripped over your suitcase. Way to leave it in the middle of the room," Matt replied. "So what was up with you? I knocked on the door and you said 'John.'"
"Yeah, um…" he started. "You know, it's nothing, really. But uh, if you could just leave now, I have to—."
"Bullshit."
"Huh?"
"Jeff, you're paranoid. I can't believe that you would be so paranoid as to think that John's actually stalking you in your hotel room. There is no way that he could have gotten under your skin like this. Come on, Jeff, I know you," Matt said. "But seriously, when are you going to get it? He's a nice guy now. Know why he does all that crap for you? Because he's a nice guy now!"
Jeff buried both of his hands in his hair. "Matt, I—."
"Beth is right, bro," Matt said, softer now. "Work is making you weird."
Jeff looked up. "How did you…?"
"She told me. But listen…" He moved forward to place a hand on his shoulder. "I'm worried about you, Jeff."
He bit his lip and glanced towards the ground. The effect the situation was having on him was not good for his health. He hated to make them worry like this, but could he help it? He looked back up at Matt and placed a hand on his arm.
"I completely agree," he said. "Next week, I'm going to get to the bottom of this, and then there will be no more talk of John Morrison."
Matt sighed and slid his arms under Jeff's. "I'm glad. Don't make me tell Beth that you haven't been listening to her, because I know she told you to take it easy."
Jeff hugged him back. "I know. Sorry, bro."
They stayed like that for a moment. Having Matt for an older brother was nice.
"Hang on…" Matt said, pulling out his cell phone. He flipped it open and stared at the screen for a second. "I got a text from Beth."
"Probably about my phone," Jeff sighed. "What's it say?"
"'Is Jeff okay?'" He looked up at him, scrutinizing him with an over-exaggerated look of intent thinking. "Sure, why not? It wouldn't be a good idea to worry her any more than she already is."
He typed out a reply: he's fine. i startled him and he dropped his phone. sorry about that.
"Matt?" Jeff said. He paused as he looked up at him again and shut his phone. "Why are you still here?"
Matt stared at him, confused. "What do you mean?"
Jeff fidgeted. "I mean like, can I get dressed now? Please?" His hands were on the towel again.
"Oh! Right, sorry." He moved towards the door. "Anyway, I'm going to stay up to wait for Greg, but you go ahead and get some rest. At least we're going home tomorrow and you can go charge your phone, or whatever." He started to leave, but stopped. "But more importantly, so you can rest up and regain some much needed sanity."
"I can't wait," Jeff replied.
The rest of the night was peaceful and soothing. Being around Matt and Greg made him feel comfortable and secure. He doubted he'd have to constantly worry about John Morrison and what he was up to, or if he'd have to see him again until next week. He didn't know what he would do next week, how he would confront him, or if he even really wanted to. Something had to be done, though, he knew that. But now was not the time to worry. He was going home in the morning, and he would get to see Beth. Even just thinking about her made everything seem better.
The next morning, Jeff didn't see John on his way out of his room. He didn't see him when he was going down the elevator, and he didn't see him when they were checking out, or when they entered the parking lot. It confused him, and he wondered how John could, at one moment, be everywhere, and then suddenly be nowhere.
It was eerie.
But now was not the time to worry about it.
Later on, Jeff heard through the grapevine that John Morrison's room had been right next to his.
So it goes.
End Chapter 1
Ooo weird. Did John arrange for his room to be next to Jeff's? wow, even I don't know.
the next chapter should be interesting. I conjured the idea while fine-tuning this chapter for the millionth time. Seriously, I did so many edits on this chapter. But anyway, Chapter 2 should answer a lot of unexplained questions I'm sure you all have.
I don't expect this story to be very long. Three chapters, four at the most. And I have no idea how I'm going to end it, I really don't XD.
I know this chapter was long. I didn't mean for it to be. So if you read the whole thing, you're officially my favorite. I can only hope that you'll go on to read the other chapters, which I'll try not to make as long as this one was.
unless you want that…
but at any rate, review please!